Category: CANA News

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) says Haitians will vote in the first round of presidential and legislative elections on December 13 this year.

The elections will be the first since 2016 when Haitians elected Jovenel Moise as the country’s President. Moise was later assassinated on July 7, 2021, by armed groups including mercenaries at his private residence overlooking the capital, Port au Prince. The Eminent Persons Group (EPG) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) says it welcomes the publication of the electoral calendar by the CEP.

In a statement, the CEP has set aside February 21 next year for the runoff ending months of speculation as to whether the French-speaking CARICOM country would be able to stage an election in a country where criminal gangs control a significant portion of the capital. The February second round is also for local government elections.

‘The first round includes presidential and legislative elections as well as a popular vote on proposed constitutional reforms,’ the CEP said in the statement, adding that the calendar depended on ‘the establishment of an acceptable security climate and the necessary funds to pursue electoral operations.’

According to the revised calenda, published on Monday after being submitted to the government four days earlier, replaces a previous timetable that had scheduled the first round of elections for August 30 and the runoff for December 6.

The CEP withdrew the calendar in April at the government’s request while officials revised the country’s electoral framework to align it with a National Pact for Security and the Organization of Elections signed with political stakeholders, and constitutional reform plans.

Under the new schedule, final election results are expected by March 7, with newly elected officials taking office by March 12, 2027. But the CEP is warning that elections can proceed only if several conditions are met.

The CEP said that the government must restore security nationwide to allow voters, candidates, election workers and materials to move safely. It also stressed the need to secure the funding necessary to organize the elections.

‘These prerequisites are essential to meeting the proposed timeline and organizing credible, inclusive and transparent elections,’ the CEP said.

In a July 20 memorandum the coalition Forces Politiques et Sociales de l’Opposition Progressiste, which includes dozens of political parties, accused the CEP of advancing isolated electoral steps without presenting a comprehensive roadmap.

‘Without a serious electoral calendar, logistical planning, voter registration, the acquisition of sensitive materials, and the training of polling station staff become impossible. The absence of a precise timeline fuels skepticism among the population and opposition actors,’ the coalition said.

Earlier this month, the CEP and government agreed on a proposed US$120 million election budget, but it has yet to receive Cabinet approval or be officially published. Authorities have not disclosed how the funding will be secured or how much international partners are expected to contribute.

Earlier this month, the CEP said it had begun registering voters and training electoral security agents, and published a definitive list of over 300 political parties approved to compete in the coming electoral process.

Two Americans nationals were on Tuesday found guilty of the murders of Canadian businessman and his partner whose bodies were found in a burnt out vehicle on December 1, 2023.

A nine-member mixed jury took a few hours to find Jonathan Lehrer, 58, and 63-year-old Robert Snider Jr guilty of the murders of animation pioneer and Canadian philanthropist Daniel Langlois and his 58-year-old longtime partner, Dominique Marchand. The prosecution had alleged that between November 29 and December 2, 2023, the two Americans murdered Echo Resort owner and former software innovator and founder of Softimage, Daniel Langlois and his partner, Dominique Marchand, whose bodies were found incinerated in a car near Gallion, in the south of the island. Langlois and Marchand had been reported missing for several days.

Investigators and reports had tied the hostility to a long-running legal dispute between Lehrer and Langlois over access rights to the public road traversing the Bois Cotlette property

In 2024, Lehrer, through his lawyers, had applied for bail on ‘medical grounds’ to travel to the United States and in August last year, Chief Magistrate, Candia Carette George, dismissed a no case submission by lawyers representing two Americans

Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Sherma Dyrample, told reporters that the verdict sends a message that the justice system here is efficient.

‘This matter happened in 2023 and we have already secured a conviction. The state also expended a lot of resources, so the state is very much interested in law enforcement and fighting crimes,’she added.

Trinidad-based Senior Counsel, Keith Scotland, praised the DPP and her team including the police for their investigations and professionalism.

Scotland, who led the prosecution said ‘we felt that justice was served in this case’ which took five to six weeks.

‘We called 46 witnesses in this case from France to Germany to Barbados to Jamaica to St. Lucia,’ he said adding ‘this was a very difficult case because it was based on circumstantial evidence because there was no eye witness.

‘But how the police worked and how the DPP and I and our team worked, we put the pieces together.We brought the evidence before the jury and we say respectfully that this was a jury’s verdict that was in accordance with the evidence that was presented before the court’

The defence team led by Trinidad-based Senior Counsel Ravi Rajcoomar has not indicated whether it will apeal the verdict, but Scotland said he would not be surprised if an appeal is fled.

‘I will not be surprised, we will expect an appeal. We think that this is a safe conviction. The DPP and I we are ready to defend any appeal, but for today we will take in this stage in the process and we will await an appeal if and when we see it,’ Scotland said.

‘ We are able to stand by the evidence, and we are able to say that the conviction is safe. We did everything within the realm of the law, and we operated on the grounds of fairness throughout the matter,’ Dyrample added.

Scotland said that the prosecution presented its case ‘fairly’ adding ‘we did our best for Daniel and Dominique’

He said that the 46 witnesses during the trial each represented a strand in the cord of circumstantial evidence.

‘From the farmer and Charles Mitchell, to the driver, to the security officer, to Magdalene Hunt, to the expert ballistic, to the pathologist, every witness had a part to play, he said, noting that the DPP had to travel to France to interview a witness, who was not well.

‘We want to thank everyone and we say that every single witness was important in this case, all 46 of them,’ he said.

Pakistan requires 183 more runs for victory after reaching 28 for three at lunch on the fourth day of the first Test at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy here on Tuesday.

Scores

WEST INDIES 311 and 181 in 54.5 overs (Shamar Joseph 38, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 35, Justin Greaves 20, Kemar Roach 18, Jomel Warrican 14, Shai Hope 10; Mohammad Abbas 5-22, Mohammad Ali 2-52, Khurram Shahzad 2-54).

PAKISTAN 282 and 28-3 in 10 overs (Babar Azam 16 not out; Jayden Seales 2-4).

Scoreboard of the fourth day of the first Test between West Indies and Pakistan at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy here on Tuesday.

WEST INDIES 1st innings 311

PAKISTAN 1st innings 282

WEST INDIES 2nd innings

(overnight 126 for seven)

Tagenarine Chanderpaul c Usman b Jamal 35

Brandon King c +Rizwan b Abbas 5

Kavem Hodge c Rizwan b Abbas 0

Amir Jangoo c and b Ali 4

+Shai Hope b Shahzad 10

Justin Greaves c Azam b Abbas 20

*Roston Chase c +Rizwan b Shahzad 8

Kemar Roach c Azam b Abbas 18

Shamar Joseph b Ali 38

Jomel Warrican b Abbas 14

Jayden Seales not out 6

Extras (b8, lb6, nb8, w1) 23

TOTAL (all out; 54.5 overs) 181

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-7, 3-28, 4-43, 5-80, 6-85, 7-93, 8-154, 9-169, 10-181.

Bowling: Abbas 15.5-6-22-5, Shahzad 15-2-54-2, Ali 14-1-52-2, Jamal 10-2-39-1.

PAKISTAN 2nd innings

Azan Awais c +Hope b Seales 3

Imam-ul-Haq c +Hope b Roach 3

*Babar Azam not out 58

Salman Agha lbw b Seales 0

+Mohammad Rizwan b Greaves 11

Aamer Jamal lbw b Greaves 0

Ali Usman c Greaves b Roach 2

Shan Masood c Joseph b Seales 3

Khurram Shahzad b Seales 4

Mohammad Ali c Greaves b Joseph 0

Mohammad Abbas lbw b Seales 23

Extras (lb9, nb4) 13

TOTAL (all out; 40.2 overs) 120

Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-21, 3-25, 4-46, 5-50, 6-53, 7-64, 8-70, 9-71, 10-120.

Bowling: Roach 8-2-27-2, Seales 14.2-6-20-5, Joseph 10-0-44-1, Greaves 5-1-12-2, Warrican 2-1-6-0, Hodge 1-0-2-0.

Toss: West Indies elected to bat.

Result: West Indies defeated Pakistan by 90 runs to lead the two-match series 1-0.

Player-of-the-Match: Justin Greaves.

Umpires: Alex Wharf, Richard Kettleborough.

TV Umpire: Jayaraman Madanagopal.

Reserve Umpire: Zahid Bassarath.

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe.

Jayden Seales’ fourth five-wicket haul in Tests sealed a memorable and historic 90-run victory for West Indies over Pakistan in the opening match at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy here on Tuesday.

In a match that swung back and forth for all four days, Seales’ impressive bowling spell capped of a sensational performance from the home side after they were bowled out for 181 before lunch, setting Pakistan a victory target of 211 runs with a day and a half remaining.

The Trinidadian pacer snared 5-20 from 14.2 testing overs, as the visitors were bundled out for 120 in 40.2 overs, to slump to their eight successive Test defeat away from home.

Resuming the day in real trouble at 126 for seven, tailenders Kemar Roach and Shamar Joseph added 28 valuable runs to extend their overnight partnership to 61 runs.

When Mohammad Ali broke the stand by bowling Joseph for 38, Roach, Jomel Warrican and Jayden Seales together contributed 27 more runs to push the West Indies’ overall lead past the 200-run mark.

Mohammad Abbas, however, claimed the last two wickets of Roach and Warrican to complete his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests and gave Pakistan a realistic chance of victory.

Abbas finished with 5-22 from 15.5 overs, while Mohammad Ali took 2-52 and Khurram Shahzad 2-54. Pakistan found themselves on the backfoot almost immediately when the ever-dependable Kemar Roach produced a snorter that kissed the gloves of Imam-ul-Haq on the way through to the wicketkeeper in the third over, with five runs on the board.

Azan Awais then suffered his second failure of the match when he chased a wide half-volley from Seales but ended up edging a catch to the keeper to make the score 21 for two.

And when Seales trapped Salman Agha lbw for a duck in his next over, Pakistan was in dire straits at 25 for three, eventually limping to lunch at 28 for three.

Mohammad Rizwan hit Seales for two boundaries on resumption, with captain Babar Azam also showing positive intent by flicking Shamar Joseph to the midwicket boundary.

It took just two balls by first innings hero Justin Greaves to make an impact, with the medium pacer bowling Rizwan for 11 and in his next over, he struck again by trapping Aamer Jamal lbw for a duck to see Pakistan slump to 50 for five.

Pakistan’s position worsened three runs later when Ali Usman’s brief stay at the crease came to an end when he was caught at second slip by Greaves attempting to drive a fullish delivery from Roach.

First innings centurion Shan Masood – batting down the order due to a finger injury – made just three before loosely driving Seales straight into the hands of Joseph at backward point, to essentially end any hopes Pakistan had of staging a recovery.

It looked as though the Windies would wrap up the match before tea when Seales sent Shahzad’s middle stump flying and Joseph had Ali caught at second slip wafting at a delivery, to reduce Pakistan to 71 for nine.

However, Abbas hit four fours in an entertaining knock and together with Azam carried Pakistan to tea at 114 for nine, with Pakistan still requiring a further 97 runs for an unlikely victory.

Azam duly completed his 32nd Test half-century, but the West Indies predictably ended the match when Seales fittingly had Abbas lbw after the break for 23 off 33 balls to end their 49-run partnership.

Greaves, who was named Player-of-the-Match for his seven-wicket haul in the contest, grabbed 2-12 and Roach 2-27.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Trinidad and Tobago Securities Exchange Commission (TTSEC), Lystra Lucillio, says virtual assets operate beyond national borders as she underscored the importance of regional cooperation in dealing with the situation.

She told the second instalment of the TTSEC’s 2026 Industry Dialogue Series held under the theme ‘Caribbean Regulatory Cooperation in Virtual Assets and Securities Markets’ that collaboration among regulators has become even more important.

‘By sharing our experiences, strengthening partnerships and learning from one another, we can build regulatory frameworks that protect investors, preserve market integrity and support responsible innovation throughout the Caribbean,’ Lucillio told the virtual conference that brought together securities regulators and financial sector leaders from across the Caribbean to discuss the evolving regulation of virtual assets.

The virtual forum provided an opportunity for over 70 regional regulators from 11 jurisdictions to exchange experiences, share practical insights and explore opportunities for greater collaboration as jurisdictions continue developing regulatory frameworks for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). The discussions follow the proclamation of Trinidad and Tobago’s virtual assets legislation last December

Representatives from the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, Bermuda Monetary Authority, Barbados Financial Services Commission, Belize Financial Services Commission, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, Financial Services Commission Jamaica, Turks and Caicos Islands Financial Services Commission, and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC) also participated, sharing updates on legislative developments, supervisory experiences and emerging regulatory priorities.

The Dialogue featured a keynote presentation by the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica, which examined emerging international regulatory developments, evolving global standards and the importance of coordinated supervisory approaches.

Senior Director, Securities Supervisory Division at the Financial Services Commission (FSC) ofJamaica, Karene Blair, underscored the need for a robust licensing regime supported by strong Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terroris (AML/CFT) controls, ongoing stakeholder consultation and inter-agency cooperation.

Blair also stressed that, given the borderless nature of virtual assets, continued regional collaboration among Caribbean regulators is essential to strengthening supervisory effectiveness, promoting investor protection and supporting the development of consistent regulatory standards across the region.

A statement issued here said that the panel discussions focused on cross-border supervisory cooperation, AML/CFT, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, investor protection, market integrity, stablecoins, decentralised finance (DeFi), cybersecurity and the regulatory implications of emerging technologies.

The delegates acknowledged that while Caribbean jurisdictions are progressing at different stages of implementation, they face many common challenges, including rapidly evolving technologies, limited resources and the increasingly borderless nature of digital financial services.

The discussions reinforced the importance of continued collaboration, information sharing and capacity building across the region.

The TTSEC’s Director, Compliance and Inspection, Rosalind King, in her closing address encouraged participating jurisdictions to continue strengthening the relationships established through the Dialogue Series.

The Dialogue concluded with strong consensus on the need for greater regional cooperation to effectively regulate Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and address the evolving risks associated with virtual assets in the region.

TTSEC said that the Industry Dialogue Series reflects its ongoing commitment to advancing regional regulatory cooperation and that as it prepares to assume the chairmanship of the Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators (CGSR) in 2027, it remains committed to fostering collaboration, facilitating knowledge exchange and promoting high standards of regulation throughout the Caribbean.

The Barbadian men’s doubles pair of Stephen Slocombe and Kaipo Marshall created history on Monday when they qualified for the final of the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC).

In doing so, they will earn their country’s first-ever tennis medal at a major multi-sport Games, which also includes the Pan American Games or Olympic Games. Slocombe and Marshall advanced to the gold medal round without taking the court, as they recorded a walkover victory over Puerto Rico’s Yannik Alvarez and Leonardo Vega.

Earlier, the Barbadians produced an impressive performance in the quarterfinal to upset the fourth seeded Mexican pair of Alan Sau and Rodolfo Jauregui 7-6 (5), 6-3, to book their spot in the semifinal.

In the final, they will face El Salvador’s Cesar Cruz and Diego Duran, who qualified by creating a major upset, defeating the top ranked Colombian duo of Juan Sebastian Gomez and Cristian Rodriguez in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

Demario Prince and Romaine Beckford captured Jamaica’s first two gold medals on the track when they won the men’s 110-metre hurdles and long jump events, respectively at the Commonwealth Games here on Monday.

The 24-year-old Beckford claimed the first track and field medal by soaring to victory in the men’s long jump with a leap of 2.25m, becoming the first Jamaican man to win the event since 1958 when Ernle Haisley set a then Commonwealth Games record 2.06m to capture gold.

He edged India’s Sarvesh Anil Kushare, who also cleared 2.25m into second place, while England’s NCAA champion Kimani Jack was third with 2.20m.

Two-time World Indoor bronze medallist Raymond Richards just missed out on a medal, placing fourth also with 2.20m.

Meanwhile, Prince, the fourth-straight Jamaican and fifth in the last six editions to win the 110m gold medal, ran 13.17 seconds (0.4m/s) to claim his first major global medal. England’s Samuel Bennett ran a personal best 13.30 for the silver medal and Milan Trajkvoc clocked a season’s best 13.32 to deliver Cyprus’ first medal in the event.

Jamaica’s Jerome Campbell was sixth in 13.86.

Prince, who was fourth in the 60m hurdles at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March, was delighted with his performance.

‘This means a lot. You know that was the aim coming into the Commonwealth Games. You know, just to get the gold medal, do it for myself, my family, and the fans. So yeah, I’m very, very pleased, very happy with the win,’ Prince told the Jamaica Observer.

‘I feel like I can still give more and still wrap up more gold medals. I was more confident going into the final, I just had to go back in the mindset to know that I can go out there and execute as I was not pleased with the prelims.

‘I spoke to coach Ben (Dalton) and he told me not to worry about anything, he told me that I can do this. It is a regular thing for me to go out and execute and go get the medal for Jamaica,’ he added.

The Belize government has welcomed the decision of the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide full members to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country in its International Drug Monitoring (WHO PIDM).

‘This milestone recognizes the significant progress made in strengthening Belize’s national pharmacovigilance system and its capacity to respond to medicine-related safety concerns,’ the government said in a statement. It said that a key part of this achievement was the successful connection of Belize’s national reporting systems with the WHO global database for adverse event reports. It said this was supported through close collaboration between the Drug Inspectorate Unit and the Maternal and Child Health Unit, strengthening Belize’s ability to contribute national safety information to global monitoring efforts.

Last month, the WHO said that Belize had been officially included as a full member of its PIDM and that it reflects years of sustained work by the Ministry of Health and Wellness of Belize to strengthen its national pharmacovigilance system, regulatory oversight, and post-marketing surveillance of medical products.

Belize initially joined the PIDM as an Associate Member in 2020 and the WHO said that full membership in the PIDM recognizes Belize’s growing capacity to detect, assess, understand, and prevent adverse effects or other medicine-related problems, while contributing data and expertise to the global network coordinated by the WHO and the Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC).

The WHO said that as a full member of the PIDM, Belize will have greater opportunities to collaborate with countries around the world, access international analyses and safety information, and contribute to the global detection of medicine-related risks.

In its statement, the government said that the membership will allow Belize to contribute more actively to international medicines safety monitoring and access global safety information to better protect patients.

It noted the dediccation of the teams and healthcare professionals who contributed to the achievement adding ‘this accomplishment reflects the Government of Belize’s commitment to strengthening the country’s systems that help ensure medicines and other medical products available to the public are safe and of acceptable quality’.

The following is the CANANews and SPORTS Schedule for Tuesday, July 28, 2026.

ST. GEORGE’S – Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell Tuesday defended the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme as the government tabled legislation aligning the programme to Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA).

GEORGETOWN – The Eminent Persons Group (EPG) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) says it welcomes the publication of the electoral calendar by the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) as the French-speaking CARICOM member states continues preparations for elections last held here in 2016.

PORT OF SPAIN – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the alleged plot to assassinate her and senior members of her government has widened significantly and now involves multiple foreign agencies.

RIO DE JANEIRO – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it will collaborate with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) to expand early HIV diagnosis in Latin America and the Caribbean.

CASTRIES – If you have raised or taught a teenager in the Caribbean over the past fifty years, you know the SBA. (CMCFeature by Dr. Didacus Jules).

SPORTS:

PORT OF SPAIN – West Indies have set Pakistan a victory target of 211 runs after being dismissed for 181 before lunch on the fourth day of the first Test at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy here on Tuesday.

GLASGOW – Demario Prince and Romaine Beckford captured Jamaica’s first two gold medals on the track when they won the men’s 110-metre hurdles and long jump events, respectively at the Commonwealth Games here.