Category: CANA News

A 29-year-old contractor died on Wednesday after being attacked by a swarm of bees while working on a road contract in the village of Triumph, to the east of here.

Contractor Winston Semple suffered multiple stings about his body and collapsed at the scene. He was rushed to the nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Another worker, 40-year-old Glendon Sampson, was also attacked by the bees. He was also rushed to the hospital and has been listed as being in a critical condition.

The Police said residents in the community of Triumph were key in getting the two men to the hospital after the attack by bees.

A post-mortem examination is to be performed on Semple’s body shortly.

Meanwhile, several agencies are assisting with the investigation.

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has refuted claims made in an article published on Demerara Waves online news that the rescue and fire-fighting capacity at the Cheddi Jagan International airport has been downgraded.

In a statement late Thursday, the GCAA’s Director General, Lt. Col. (Retd) Egbert Field, said there has been no downgrade of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport’s status from category eight to category five and he has not signed any document to suggest such a change.

‘The GCAA wishes to highlight that unnamed sources in the article, unfortunately, provided inaccurate and misinformation regarding the category rating of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.The GCAA does not disclose or discuss inspection findings and reports on aviation stakeholders with third parties.’

The release added that the GCAA ‘maintains its commitment to the highest standards of aviation safety and regulatory oversight and assures the public that Cheddi Jagan International Airport continues to operate safely and efficiently.’

Bangladesh reached 296 for eight off their 50 overs after electing to bat against the West Indies in the third and final One Day International here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.

BANGLADESH 296-8 in 50 overs (Soumya Sarkar 91, Saif Hassan 80, Najmul Hossain Shanto 44, Towhid Hridoy 28, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 17, Nural Hasan 16 not out; Akeal Hosein 4-41, Alick Athanaze 2-37).

Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday, acknowledging ‘the gravity and importance of this office’ and pledging to do ‘my best’.

Boodoosingh, who succeeds Justice Ivor Archie, who announced his retirement on Tuesday, was sworn in by Acting President Wade Mark under Section 102 of the Trinidad and Tobago Constitution, which states ‘The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition’.

Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago in the presence of the Acting President, Wade Mark

The new chief justice, who was appointed a Justice of Appeal on September 14, 2020, having previously served as a Puisne Judge since September 2007,’ thanked Archie for his ‘significant contribution to the judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago both in terms of the scholarship of his judgement and the leadership he has offered to the judiciary’.

He said he had done so at the expense of ‘personal sacrifice’ and that he country owes him ‘the deepest debt of gratitude’.

The Chief Justice said he wanted to re-assure the population of his commitment to Trinidad and Tobago and that he intends to perform in the position ‘to the best of my ability.

‘I give you my commitment of hard work, of dedication to duty and that through it all, I will try to walk humbly. I understand how important this office is to the nation, to our country. I will attempt to build on the platform of the previous chief justice and the chief justices who have gone before me to ensure that when it is time to move on.that I would leave the judiciary in a better place’.

Justice Boodoosingh was admitted to practise as an attorney at law in October 1992 and latter joined the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions where he spent seven years prosecuting cases at various jurisdictional levels. In 2001, he became a lecturer at the Hugh Wooding Law School where he was the Director of the Trial Advocacy programme and taught Ethics, among other courses.

Justice Boodoosingh is the holder of the Master of Laws degree (Merit) specialising in International Dispute Resolution from the University of London. He has been certified as an adult education trainer by the University of the West Indies, an advocacy trainer by Gray’s Inn, and a Judicial Education Trainer by the University College of London. He continues to function as tutor to the Trial Advocacy Programme at the Law School of the University of the West Indies.

The author of four books, including a textbook on Trial Advocacy, Justice Boodoosingh has also been trained in settlement conferencing and mediation and has conducted Judicial Settlement Conferences.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Dr Kishan Khoday, says Bahamian organizations can now access climate action grants under a new funding cycle of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP).

He said that the US$75,000 is the first since GEF SGP globally deepened its partnership with the UNDP, which is now effectively both the executing and implementing agency for GEF SGP worldwide.

Dr. Kishan Khoday

The UNDP said that Bahamian non-government organizations as well as academic institutions, can qualify for the grants by submitting project proposals during a month period starting on November 9.

Khody told a ceremony attended by representatives from the Bahamas Protected Area Fund (BPAF); Smart and Strong Sisterhood (SASS); Organization for Responsible Governance (Bahamas) Foundation (ORG); FEM STEM Bahamas; Bahamas National Trust (BNT) and The Nature Conservancy, that the winning project proposals will cover at least one of four thematic areas.

He said these are community-based conservation of threatened ecosystems and species; sustainable agriculture and fisheries, and food security; low-carbon energy access co-benefits; local to global coalitions for chemicals and waste management; and water conservation.

UNDP/GEF SGP Senior National Coordinator in The Bahamas, Deon Stewart, said that smaller planning grants of up to US$5,000 also become available to conduct studies for the implementation of a pilot project, collect information to support the full proposal, and/or proposal development assistance.

He said UNDP/GEF SGP will be conducting proposal workshops to support interested organizations in preparing for the project proposal and submission process.

Khoday said the development marks a deepening of organizational cooperation on climate and ecosystem resilience, which are priorities under UNDP’s strategic plan.

‘SGP’s work on the ground widens the base of UNDP climate partnerships in the field, where real challenges are felt and pragmatic solutions, generated. Importantly, this development also paves the way for upscaling GEF SGP projects leveraging complementary UNDP projects and donor resources’, Khoday stated.

Since 2009, the UNDP/GEF SGP in The Bahamas has granted more than US$2.9 million to 44 local NGOs, with an equal amount in co-financing, for a total of US$6.4 million to climate projects.

The path to the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup became clear today, and it will be a challenging one for Guyana’s young talents.

The nation was drawn into a demanding Group A for the CONCACAF Qualifiers, where they will face regional hosts Honduras, Bermuda, and Suriname.

The stakes for the tournament could not be higher. With 34 nations competing across eight groups, only the winner of each group will earn a coveted ticket to the global spectacle, leaving absolutely no margin for error.

The Guyanese squad will be based in Honduras for the preliminary round, which runs from February 3 to 12, 2026.

Their campaign will be a rigorous test of endurance and skill, with three critical matches packed into a six-day window.

Guyana’s Group A: Fixtures: February 6: Guyana vs. Bermuda, February 8: Guyana vs. Honduras, February 11: Guyana vs. Suriname.

The clash with the host nation, Honduras, on February 8 is poised to be the group’s marquee match. In the previous qualifying cycle, Honduras successfully navigated this stage to reach the World Cup, alongside traditional powerhouses like the United States, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, and Panama.

The qualifying tournament will be hosted across six Central American and Caribbean nations: Honduras, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.

All groups will be played in a single-round-robin format, meaning every match is a must-win encounter.

Representatives from at least three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries will attend the sixth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The October 29-30 meeting will bring together senior authorities from the ministries and areas involved in population and development-related matters in the region.

The two-day event is being organised by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and chaired by the Colombia government.

Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and Suriname are among the current vicechairs of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development that is chaired by Colombia.

The other vice-chairs are Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Peru and Venezuela.

ECLAC said in the run-up to the meeting, there will be the launch of the Demographic Observatory 2025, Low fertility in Latin America and the Caribbean: Emerging trends and dynamics, which is an annual publication by ECLAC that analyses the region’s population estimates and projections and provides data on key demographic trends.

In addition, ECLAC will present the document ‘Persons with Disabilities: From Statistical Visibility to the Exercise of Rights,’ which presents the conceptual framework and institutional context that articulate the rights of people with disabilities with the population and development agenda, based on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and a social and rights-based approach.

The publication further addresses the challenges related to producing the statistical information needed for public policy design and implementation, and it analyzes the sociodemographic situation of persons with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

It also offers conclusions and policy recommendations aimed at promoting their inclusion and ensuring full exercise of their human rights.

The Bahamas government is defending its decision to table legislation aimed at transferring funds from dormant accounts to the Disaster Emergency Fund saying that conservative estimates suggest that over 40 per cent of the country’s national debt exists because of climate change.

Prime Minister Phillip Davis told legislators that what’s needed today, more than ever, are innovative, strategic, and sustainable solutions taking on the most pressing climate-related challenges to create opportunities for a more resilient and prosperous future.

Prime Minister Phillip Davis

‘And that is why we are here today. One of the things we have learned is that disaster preparation, and the funding and infrastructure that supports it, must be proactive. It must be sustained, and it must also be robust enough to account for the threats we face.’

Davis said that the resolution currently before the Parliament seeks to ensure that when disasters strike, the government has the financial capacity to respond swiftly, effectively, and equitably.

‘In decades past, disaster management in The Bahamas was, unfortunately, reactive, focused mainly on disaster emergency response in the aftermath of a storm,’ he said, noting that the passage of Hurricane Dorian on September 1, 2019 ‘laid bare how woefully unprepared we were for this era of more frequent and more intense storms.

‘We cannot allow the flawed response and recovery mechanisms that were exposed by Dorian to be repeated. This is why, in recent years, this administration has transformed our approach from managing disaster responses to managing disaster risk.’

He said the establishment of the Disaster Risk Management Authority (DRMA) represents a fundamental shift in mindset with the focus being on risk reduction, mitigation, preparedness, and recovery.

‘We are focused on building resilience before the storm and then rebuilding stronger after it.

The passage of the Disaster Risk Management Act, 2022, was a turning point. It provided the legal foundation for a comprehensive, structured, and accountable disaster management system,’ Davis said.

He said this change necessitated a new model for funding disaster-related efforts and that the new strattegy was prepared by the Ministry of Finance in consultation with the DRM Authority and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

‘It is a practical, evidence-based, best practice-aligned plan that funds every stage of our disaster risk management cycle. We are funding risk analysis, which allows us to know the extent of the risks we are facing. We are funding risk reduction, so we can take decisive, proactive action to minimise damage before it occurs.’

Davis said the strategy was developed by experts using advanced risk analyses and post-disaster risk assessments to identify our risk profile, quantify potential losses, and enhance our financing capacity, ensuring that our mitigation and response mechanisms are adaptive and resilient.

‘The findings from the work of these experts are sobering. The government faces potential losses of up to US$700 million from major hurricane and flood events,’ Davis said, adding ‘that is the scale of damage the government must be prepared to face from a disaster’.

He said the strategy recommends a layered approach such as a blend of investments, insurance, and reserves to diversify risk and reduce fiscal pressure.

Prime Minister Davis said that the resolution beforethe Parliament represents another important step forward toward funding the country’s disaster risk management efforts.

He said under Section 19 of the Disaster Risk Management Act, the Disaster Emergency Fund must be maintained and used to finance response, rehabilitation, recovery, and financial protection instruments.

Prime Minster Davis said the experts have determined that this Fund should hold a minimum of US$17 million to ensure adequate liquidity following a severe natural disaster.

‘This resolution authorises the transfer of US$17 million from the dormant account proceeds held by the Treasurer, which are now part of the Consolidated Fund, into the Disaster Emergency Fund.

‘These dormant accounts are, essentially, unclaimed resources that can now serve a national purpose. Resources that were sitting idle can now be used to invest in our future and serve as the first line of defence when disaster strikes,’ Davis said, noting that currently, regulations and operating procedures are being developed to ensure the efficient and effective management of these funds.

He said the regulations will clearly outline what the funds can be used for, how unused funds can be invested to grow the fund, what will activate their use, and the appropriate steps that must be taken to ensure accountability.

Davis said that these funds ensure that when disaster strikes, the government can mobilise immediate assistance without delays or dependence on external financing.

‘By capitalizing this Fund today, we are advancing the goals of our Comprehensive Financial Strategy for Disaster Risk Management. And we are reducing potential losses by 45 per cent over the next decade, which will improve fiscal resilience so that each storm that makes landfall does not drive us deeper into debt.

‘We cannot prevent storms from forming. But we can strengthen our nation’s capacity to withstand and recover from them,’ Davis said, adding ‘that is what today is about’.

The last four months of 2025 are packed with regional, hemispheric, and global activities in a toxic and turbulent geopolitical, military, economic, and physical environment. Individually, these activities pose significant challenges to the social, economic, physical, and environmental sustainability of the Region.

Together, they constitute a crucible from which escape requires divine intervention, maximum collaboration, a willingness to sacrifice, deft diplomatic manoeuvring, and technical and political leadership of the highest caliber, confidence, and experience.

Does CARICOM possess these ingredients in 2025?

KEY EVENTS AND ISSUES

Among the major issues and events are:

Launch of a United States Armada in the Caribbean, in August 2025.

The 80th Anniversary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, September 2025.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) 30 in Belem, Brazil, 10 to 21 November 2025.

The 10th Summit of the Americas in the Dominican Republic, 4 December 2025.

THE UNITED STATES ARMADA IN THE CARIBBEAN

Under a newly minted Department of War, President Donald Trump announced the deployment of an unprecedented array of war assets in the Caribbean on . August 2025. The deployment included eight advanced warships, led by the guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson, as well as the nuclear submarine USS Newport News. According to financial news outlets, at least five of these vessels are armed with land-attack Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The official justification for the deployment, without consultation – counter-narcotics operations – strains credulity. This should have triggered immediate consultation among CARICOM States and a coordinated summoning of the United States diplomatic Representative in the various Member States to explain.

Small States, like those in CARICOM, have no defence against mighty Countries and their armies except the thin sheet of their cooperation and commitment to each other, and the blanket of the 80-year United Nations. CARICOM States failed to prepare and take advantage of these mechanisms, despite opportunities such as the week-long high-level segment of the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations, with the theme ‘A Global Commitment to Peace, Security, and Development.’ This resulted, inter alia:

The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago making the alarming statements, ‘The notion that the Caribbean is a Zone of Peace has become a false ideal. The reality . no such Peace exists today,’ and ‘Trinidad and Tobago is particularly grateful for US Military presence in the Southern Caribbean’.

The Prime Minister of Jamaica, as Chairman of CARICOM, failing to mention the existential threat to Caribbean peace, security, and development of an active United States military buildup in the Caribbean Sea. This, after the United States sank three defenceless small boats, killing some 17 persons, and destroying all evidence of the crimes, justifying the lethal actions.

CARICOM Countries moving in three directions, exposing the Region’s vulnerable and exploitable underbelly, on the historically important issue of Israel and Palestine.

Reports in Times Caribbean that the United States is preparing a formal request to the Grenadian government to permit the deployment of U.S. military assets on or near Grenada. Massive pressure on small Grenada because Washington sees the Country ‘as an exceptionally strategic location for its southern Caribbean operations, particularly given that the island lies only about 100 miles from the Venezuelan coastline’. The provocateur seeking to pull little Grenada, a Member of the Regional Security Service (RSS), into its self-determined conflict with Venezuela.

The Caribbean is the largest cruise shipping destination in the World, the overwhelming majority of Caribbean States depend on tourism as their number one or number two economic activity, and States such as Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia benefit immensely from the yachts and super yachts that domicile in their ports for most of the year. These activities do not thrive in turbulent and unpredictable environments.

THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP) 30.

COP30 will be held from 10 to 21 November 2025 in Belém, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. This ‘COP30 Amazônia’ will focus on protecting the planet for the future of humanity, highlighting the importance of the Amazon in global climate regulation.

COP 28 in the United Arab Emirates and COP 29 in Azerbaijan, two major oil-producing countries, refused to address the existential climate issue, namely, agreed, and actionable programmatic commitments by major carbon-emitting countries to reduce emissions so that increases in global warming can be kept below 1.5 Degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. One result, a breach in the long-agreed 1.5 Degrees Celsius ceiling in 2024, and projections that 2.0 degrees could be reached by 2030. There is a deeply held view that COP 30, hosted by Brazil which organised the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), 33 years ago, is the last opportunity to achieve the required outcome.

Alas, a focus on ‘Amazônia’ will not achieve that result. It could provide cover for diversion. CARICOM and other SIDS cannot afford diversion.

THE 10th SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS

The 10th Summit of the Americas (SOA) is scheduled for December 4, 2025, in the Dominican Republic. The Countries to be invited has been a controversial issue since the first Summit in Miami in December 1994. President Bill Clinton, as initiator and host decided to invite all 34 countries, except for Cuba. CARICOM Countries have always strategized and supported inclusion. They settled because Cuba was not a Member of the Organisation of American States (OAS). The President of the Dominican Republic has invited 32 States. He has omitted Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, as the United States did for the last Summit.

CARICOM States must strategise and ensure that this neither divides nor diverts them from the substance of the Summit.

WHAT NOW, CARICOM?

The answer to this simple question could determine the future of this 52-year-old integration arrangement, second only to the European Union in the World. That is not an achievement to be trifled with.

In our article published on . we urged Prime Minister Andrew Holness, as Chairman of CARICOM, to use his Office to develop coordinated positions on the two existential threats we identified, and to champion them unequivocally at the UNGA. He did not.

We again urge the Chairman to act, but on the wider range of issues identified. If the Chairman does not act, we respectfully remind other Heads of Government that any Member may petition for a Special Meeting of the Conference. These next 3 months are too important for the Region to drift.

*Ambassador Byron Blake, is a former Deputy Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, and Former Assistant Secretary General at the Caribbean Community Secretariat.

The Guyana government says it is considering introducing innovative measures, including ankle monitoring systems, as it seeks to strengthen interventions against domestic violence.

Home Affairs Minister, Oneidge Walrond, spoke of the key strategies now being considered aimed at ensuring greater safety, accountability and support for victims of domestic violence.

Walrond said that an ankle monitoring bracelet would allow authorities to track the movements of offenders in a proactive approach, sending real-time automated alerts if the individual approaches a restricted area or comes close to a victim.

‘We have a mandate as a government from the people to deliver to them a safe and secure country. People want to feel secure and have that standard of living where they’re able to walk down the street with their children and not have to worry,’ she said, noting that the Safe City Initiative uses facial recognition, vehicle tracking, and license plate recognition to aid in investigations.

This has resulted in a faster response from authorities in ongoing investigations and was designed to make communities safer, playing a crucial part in crime prevention and Waldron highlighting the importance of an alert app that works like a panic button.

Walrond noted that although these strategies will be implemented, there is still a need to build trust between citizens and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to have transparency and accountability in every step.

‘People want to feel that there is a police force that I can trust and that cares and that will respond to me,’ she said.