Category: CANA News

West Indies batting coach Floyd Reifer is confident that the regional side will put up a much-improved batting showing against New Zealand in the remaining two One Day Internationals at Kensington Oval.

The West Indies’ batters were undone by the visitors’ spinners, led by Jayden Lennox, for the second straight match, to slump to a six-wicket defeat at Providence Stadium on Thursday.

After winning the opening contest, the home side was skittled out for scores of 138 and 140 in the following two matches after being asked to bat first and now trail the five-match series 2-1.

Speaking in a post-match press conference on Thursday, Reifer said while the conditions in Guyana were challenging, there was no excuse for the Windies’ disappointing display with the bat. ‘Obviously the last two games we didn’t bat to the best of our ability, but the conditions were very challenging. Batting first in Guyana the toss is a major factor where we know the ball will spin, the pitch is slow and stuff like that, then on evenings you have the dew factor which is easier to bat.

‘However, saying that, I still thought that we could have put up a better batting performance. If we had gotten anything past 200 or 210 runs, we would have made a game of it, but there is no excuse really for the batting performance that we displayed over the last couple of games,’ Reifer admitted.

He said based on the team’s batting performances over the past 18 months, and especially at home, he was confident there would be major improvements in the final two matches of the series in Barbados.

‘If you look back at the games that we played in the past year and a half we’ve been batting really well in this format…We have two more games left in the series and we go to Barbados and two bad batting performances don’t make a bad batting side.

‘I’m still confident in the guys, the guys are still confident that when we get to Barbados, we will put up some good batting performances,’ Reifer said.

The prosecution has filed an appeal against the ruling of a High Court judge who imposed an EC$8,000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) fine on entertainer Harrison Horsford, better known as Jesse Fyah, after he was found guilty of two sexual offences committed against a young woman in 2020.

The Court ordered that Horsford to pay an EC$5,000 compensation award to the complainant following his conviction for serious indecency and an EC$3,000 fine on the charge of indecent assault.

But the state in its appeal is arguing that the punishment is unduly lenient and does not reflect the seriousness of the offences, each carrying a maximum prison term of up to five years. Horsford had remained in custody since May, when a jury convicted him on both counts after deliberating for less than an hour.

The court was told that on October, 27, 2020, that a woman, in her early twenties, and who had known Horsford for several years in what had been described as a casual relationship, had accepted a lift from Horsford, believing he was taking her home.

Instead, he drove to another location explaining that he needed to meet someone regarding a billboard. But the court heard no such meeting took place and that once there, Horsford allegedly began making sexual advances that the complainant repeatedly rejected.

The court heard that he kissed her against her will, grabbed her by the throat as she resisted, exposed and fondled her breasts, and forcibly touched her genital area while telling her she belonged to him.

Despite her repeated pleas to be taken home, Horsford instead ordered her out of the vehicle, leaving her on the roadside.

A passing motorist, who stopped after seeing the complainant, testified that she was crying, visibly shaken and holding her clothing together before asking to be taken to the Johnson Point Police Station, where she made a report.

Horsford denied committing the offences and in an unsworn statement from the dock, claimed he had simply offered the complainant a ride after seeing her standing in the rain. He told jurors they spoke amicably during the journey and that he had even offered to help her secure employment.

He said that thewoman had requested EC$3,000 from him, which he refused to provide and that he had dropped her off without incident. Horsford said he only learned of the allegations later that evening after receiving a Facebook message accusing him of rape. He said he responded by warning that legal action would follow if the false allegations continued.

But the jury rejected Horsford’s version of events and convicted him on both charges.

Justice Ann Marie Smith in delivering the sentennce said Horsford appeared to believe the complainant’s perceived sexual history entitled him to treat her as he did. The judge rejected that notion, saying that every woman has the right to refuse unwanted sexual advances and that consent must be respected regardless of past relationships or reputation.

At least six people were killed and two others injured following a head-on crash between a truck and a minivan along the Trelawny leg of the North Coast Highway on Friday. Emergency personnel, including members of the Jamaica Police Constabulary and and the Jamaica Fire Brigade are at the scene of the accident as investigators work to determine the cause of the crash.

The names of those killed have not yet been disclosed.

Media reports said that the death toll in traffic crashes in Trelawny since the start of the year has risen to 20, five more than what had been recrded for the corresponding period last year.

out recovery operations while investigators work to determine the cause of the crash.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who has been declared ‘persona non grata’ by the Venezuelan National Assembly in October last year, says she is ‘deeply touched’ to have receive a letter from Acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

In a statement posted on her social media page X, Persad-Bissessar, whom Caracas had accused of supporting United States military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic, said that the letter expressed ‘the gratitude of the Government and people of Venezuela for Trinidad and Tobago’s support following the devastating earthquakes of June 24.

‘In my response, I reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to stand with the people of Venezuela during this difficult time. To date, more than 230 tonnes of humanitarian supplies have arrived in La Guaira, we continue to facilitate the delivery of vaccines, and we have approved overflight requests to support international relief efforts

A High Court judge Friday issue an order that the extradition proceedings against the former vice president of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Jack Warner to the United States ‘be permanently stayed’.

In addition, Justice Karen Reid ruled that the defendants should shall pay to Warner ‘damages in respect of the breaches’ of his constitutional rights that would be assessed by the Court in default of an agreement. In the 71-page ruling, the defendant, the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, is also ordered to pay Warner’s costs certified fit for Senior and Junior Counsel and that the assessment of damages is fixed for case management conference on September, 30 this year.

Warner, 82, faces 29 charges from United States authorities for fraud, racketeering, and illegal wire transfers that allegedly took place in the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and other countries between 1990 and June 2011.

He was arrested on a provisional warrant under the extradition request and later released on TT$2.5 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) bail. Warner is one of several senior FIFA officials indicted following a 2015 US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice probe into corruption in international football.

In August last year, Attorney General John Jeremie launched an internal investigation into how the State handled Warner’s extradition case, after serious allegations emerged regarding misrepresentation and misconduct tied to a 2015 agreement with the United States.

Former chief magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle had in June 2023 said that there was no formal written agreement between Trinidad and Tobago and the US authorizing Warner’s extradition.

The extradition proceedings were halted following the grant of an application made by Warner to refer a number of questions to the High Court for determination pursuant to section 14(4) of the Constitution.

On 21 September, 2015, the then Attorney General issued an Authority to Proceed (‘ATP’) pursuant to section 9 of the Extradition (Commonwealth and Foreign Territories) Act, which authorises the commencement of the formal extradition proceedings before the Magistrate.

On 27 November, 2015, Warner commenced judicial review proceedings challenging the legality of the ATP, but those proceedings were dismissed by the trial judge on 27 September, 2017.

Warner appealed against the trial judge’s order and that appeal was subsequently dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 11 June, 2019. The Court of Appeal’s order was then appealed and dismissed by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on 17 December, 2022, making way for the resumption of the extradition proceedings before the Magistrate.

The extradition proceedings then recommenced before the then Chief Magistrate, following which Warner made an application on 3 March, 2023 to refer certain constitutional questions to the High Court, which questions now form the subject of this judgment.

These constitutional questions concern what Warner alleges are breaches of his constitutional rights arising from what he asserts to be an alarming breach of the state’s duty of candour during the proceedings

In her ruling Justice Reid said that the issuance of an Authority to Proceed in the absence of an arrangement with the Requesting State that guarantees the protections on specialty required under section 8(3) of the Extradition (Commonwealth and Foreign Territories) Act, ‘constituted a breach of the claimant’s right to liberty and his right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law’ as enshrined in the Trinidad and Tobago Constitution as well his right to the protection of the law.

She said that continuing the extradition proceedings against Warner following the proceedings in Privy Council Appeal of 2020 in which the defendant ‘falsely’ represented that a special or bespoke arrangement on specialty had been entered into between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago regarding Warner, and ‘wrongfully obtaining an order permitting the continuation of the same on the basis thereof, constituted a breach of the Claimant’s right to liberty’.

She ruled that it also breached Warner’s ‘right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law as enshrined in Trinidad and Tobago Constitution.

The judge said that the continuation of extradition proceedings against Warner in the absence of an arrangement between the US and Trinidad and Tobago that guarantees certain protections constituted a breach of Warner’s right to liberty and his right not to be deprived of that liberty except by due process of law as in the Constitution.

She issued an ‘Order that the extradition proceedings against the Claimant be permanently stayed’ as well as ‘an Order prohibiting and/or a final injunction restraining the Defendant from enforcing the costs orders made against the Claimant in the earlier judicial review proceedings’.

The cricketing fraternity has been thrown into mourning following the death of Barbados’ National Hero, Sir Garry Sobers on Friday.

Sir Garry passed away at the age of 89 at his home in Highgate Gardens, 11 days shy of his birthday.

Considered as the greatest all-rounder in this sport’s history, his son Daniel Sobers, who was at his father’s side at the time of his death, said he had been ailing for some time.

‘His breathing had increased and we had him on oxygen. I couldn’t believe how powerful he is; he just refused to go.

The Belize-based Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) say they have taken an important step toward working more closely together to help protect the Caribbean’s oceans, fisheries, and coastal communities from the growing impacts of climate change.

A meeting of the leadership of the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) organizations were held on Thursday and according to a statement issued Friday, they ‘discussed how to combine their knowledge, resources, and experience to tackle some of the region’s most pressing environmental challenges’.

The statement said the CRFM shared updates on several major projects that are helping Caribbean countries build stronger, more sustainable fisheries. It said that these initiatives improve marine planning, support renewable energy, strengthen local fishing communities, and promote gender equality in the fisheries sector.

‘One of the biggest topics of discussion was sargassum, the large amounts of brown seaweed that continue to wash up on Caribbean beaches. While sargassum can harm tourism, fishing, and marine ecosystems, both organizations agreed that it could also become an opportunity if safely transformed into useful products through a circular economy approach.’

The statement said that they also emphasised the need for more research, better coordination, and shared information to solve the problem effectively.

‘The meeting also highlighted the growing importance of Blue Carbon; the carbon stored in coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrasses, which plays a key role in combating climate change.

‘It was noted that there has been a conversation in the region about the need to develop a Blue Carbon Policy to help Caribbean countries protect these valuable natural resources,’ the statement said, adding that another major priority discussed was improving access to climate and marine data.

‘Both organizations recognised that better information is essential for making smarter decisions, creating stronger policies, and helping Caribbean countries prepare for future climate challenges. They agreed that sharing data more openly will benefit governments, researchers, fishers, and coastal communities across the region.

‘Both the CRFM and CCCCC emphasised that stronger partnerships are essential for protecting the Caribbean’s marine resources and ensuring that future generations can continue to benefit from healthy oceans,’ the statement said, noting that the partnership reflects a shared vision: a Caribbean where healthy oceans, thriving fisheries, resilient coastal communities, and climate-smart development go hand in hand.

Below is a statement issued by President of Cricket West Indies Dr Kishore Shallow on the passing of Sir Garfield Sobers.

‘There are moments in the story of a people when the life of one individual becomes woven into the hopes, dreams, and identity of generations. Today, the Caribbean mourns the passing of such an individual, The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers NH, AO, OCC, a son of Barbados whose extraordinary journey became part of the story of our region and whose brilliance carried the name of the West Indies with distinction across the world.

‘In the story of cricket, there are great players. There are champions. Then, there are those rare individuals who redefine the very meaning of greatness. Sir Garfield Sobers was the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen. His mastery of batting, bowling and fielding was unparalleled, but his true significance reached far beyond the boundary ropes.

‘He emerged from the Caribbean at a time when our region was finding its voice and asserting its place on the world stage. Through his excellence, he gave millions across our islands and in the diaspora, a renewed belief in what was possible. He showed that greatness was not confined by the size of our nations, the geography of our islands or the circumstances of our beginnings.

‘Sir Garfield Sobers became more than a sporting icon. He became a symbol of Caribbean excellence, resilience, and possibility. His achievements brought pride to Barbados, inspiration to the West Indies and admiration from every corner of the cricketing world.

‘As a young cricketer, I was fortunate to benefit from Sir Garfield Sobers’ contribution through the Sir Garfield Sobers International Under-19 Cricket Tournament. I remain grateful not only for that opportunity, but for the encouragement, wisdom and support he personally shared with me over the years. His kindness and influence will forever remain a treasured part of my journey.

‘Sir Garfield Sobers has completed his final innings, but his legacy will forever endure in the hearts of our region, and the story of the cricketing world.

‘On behalf of Cricket West Indies, I offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, the Government and people of Barbados and all those across the world who mourn his passing.’

Antigua and Barbuda has written to United States legislator, Nancy Mace, of South Carolina regarding legislation she has introduced in the United States House of Representatives, indicating that there are several measures that need to be corrected.

The Third World Immigration Moratorium Act was tabled in the House of Representatives on Wednesday and includes Antigua and Barbuda among 40 countries that would be subject to broad immigration restrictions. But Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders, in his letter to Mace and copied to several high-ranking members of the House, said that while Antigua and Barbuda fully respects the right of a legislator to propose legislation on immigration policies, he believes that any proposed measures affecting friendly countries, should be informed by accurate information and objective facts.

Sanders said that the Gaston Browne administration has repeatedly advised the United States government that the statement made about Antigua and Barbuda in Presidential Proclamation 10998 is factually incorrect.

The Proclamation states that Antigua and Barbuda ‘has historically had Citizenship by Investment without residency’ but Sanders said that Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme has always included a residency requirement and that this has been formally communicated to Washington on several occasions.

Under the CBI programme. Antigua and Barbuda grants citizenship to foreign investors in return for making a substantial investment in the island’s socio-economic development.

Ambassador Sanders also drew attention to a drafting error in the proposed legislation, which refers separately to ‘Antigua’ and ‘Barbuda’ as though they were two independent countries. The diplomat said that Antigua and Barbuda is a single sovereign state and that ‘the error illustrates the importance of ensuring that legislation affecting friendly nations is founded upon accurate and verified information’.

He also challenged the listing of Antigua and Barbuda in the same category as several countries facing armed conflict, prolonged economic instability or large-scale irregular migration.

Ambassador Sanders said that Antigua and Barbuda is an upper-middle-income country with one of the highest per capita incomes in the Caribbean. He said it is a stable parliamentary democracy founded upon the rule of law, with an independent judiciary and democratic institutions that have earned the confidence of its citizens and international partners alike.

Addressing the implication that Antigua and Barbuda presents immigration or security concerns comparable to those of the other countries listed in the proposed legislation, the Ambassador said that ‘the relationship between Antigua and Barbuda and the United States is longstanding and mutually beneficial.

‘United States citizens travel to Antigua and Barbuda without visas, many own homes and businesses in the country, and American investment has long been welcomed and protected under Antigua and Barbuda’s laws. The two countries cooperate closely in security, law enforcement, disaster response, education, tourism, trade and investment’

Sanders said that the movement of people between Antigua and Barbuda and the United States has, for decades, been orderly and lawful, noting that no citizen of Antigua and Barbuda has ever sought refugee status in the United States.

He said visa overstays have traditionally remained at little more than one per cent, and that Antigua and Barbuda has consistently cooperated with United States immigration authorities in accepting the prompt return of its nationals who are lawfully removed.

Ambassador Sanders has since invited Mace to reconsider the inclusion of Antigua and Barbuda in the proposed legislation and to ensure that any future consideration of measures affecting the country is informed by accurate and current information.

The death toll from the early morning vehicu;ar accident involving a truck and a minivan along the Trelawny leg of the North Coast Highway has climed to seven, health officials have confirmed.

Five of the victims died at the scene of the accident, while two of three injured passengers died at the Falmouth General Hospital from their injuries. The driver of the Toyota Regius bus is reported to be the lone survivor

The identities of the deceased have not yet been released.

Media reports said that the death toll in traffic crashes in Trelawny since the start of the year has risen to 20, five more than what had been recrded for the corresponding period last year.

out recovery operations while investigators work to determine the cause of the crash.