Category: CANA News

Leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) whose countries operate the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, have held talks with the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, according to a statement issued by the Office of the Office of the Prime Minister of St. Lucia.

It said that Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre along with his Antigua and Barbuda counterpart, Gaston Browne met with Brunner on the sidelines of the ongoing 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) here.

The meeting was also attended by the OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules and the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine.

‘The discussion centred on the future of citizenship by investment programmes following the European Commission’s request that Eastern Caribbean countries operating such programmes phase them out by June 2028,’ the statement said.

The brief statement said that the prime ministers ‘reiterated that citizenship by investment programmes are an important source of development financing for the OECS countries that operate them.

‘They also underscored the need for continued dialogue with the EU on a transition path forward that takes account of EU security concerns and the economic realities of the region,’ the statement said.

In a later statement posted on his Facebook page, Prime Minister Pierre said ‘we recognise the security concerns raised by our European partners, but any path forward must also recognise the economic realities of our small island states and the importance of these revenues to development.

St. Lucia will continue to engage constructively with the European Union and our regional partners to protect our national interests while maintaining the highest standards of transparency, security and accountability,’ he added.

St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis operate CBI programme providing citizenship to foreign investors in return for them making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of these islands.

Last week, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said that the OECS leaders are hoping to mount a ‘high-level mission’ to Brussels later this month after the European Union had earlier announced it would be moving towards ending the visa free programme for the regional countries.

In July, the leaders said they would undertake the mission ‘at the earliest appropriate opportunity’ to engage directly with the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Council, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

‘These engagements will seek to deepen mutual understanding of the unique vulnerabilities and development realities of small island developing states, to explore practical and mutually beneficial solutions to the issues identified by the European Union, and to strengthen the longstanding partnership between the European Union and the Eastern Caribbean.

‘But the plan was to have a meeting towards the end of September and we are hoping that both sides can stick to keep looking at it, but we haven’t pinned down the date, precise date yet,’ Skerrit said.

Guyana Thursday made an impassioned plea to the global community to support its candidate Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett for the position as the next Secretary General of the United Nations amid international media reports that the United States may veto her selection.

The final selection process to replace the incumbent Antonio Guterres, whose second term concludes on December 31, 2026, is expected to take place by October.

President Irfaan Ali, addressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) said the United Nations needs its next Secretary General to work with all member states to restore confidence in the organisation, mobilise its energies, and turn the language of multilateralism from aspiration into action

‘The reform of the United Nations, the restoration of trust, and the need to manage transformation is, therefore, inseparable from the question of leadership. And the choice of its next Secretary General will be, in no small measure, a choice about the kind of United Nations we wish to leave to the generations that follow.

‘It is in this spirit that Guyana has put forward the candidature of Her Excellency Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett for the office of Secretary General of the United Nations,’ Ali told the UNGA.

The New York Times has reported that Washington is opposed to the candidacy of Guyana’s Ambassador to the United Nations over her stance on the situation in Gaza, describing it as a genocide.

In a comprehensive report on the race for the next United Nations Secretary General, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration was also against the nomination of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet over her positions on abortion. She dropped out of the race last week.

But Preaident Ali said that his country’s nominee had served her country, represented the developing world, and worked within the multilateral system with a deep understanding of both its promise and its imperfections.

‘We believe that her experience, her convictions, her record of service speak directly to the leadership this moment demands. Her candidature, therefore, requires special significance amid the profound challenges confronting the United Nations and its national order.

‘We need leadership capable of restoring trust without compromising principles, of listening without surrendering conviction, of building bridges across the widening chasms between North and South, between large states and small, between the developed and developing world.

‘We need a Secretary General who will defend the Charter not only when it is politically convenient but precisely when its principles are under pressure,’ Ali said, noting that on a personal note, the Guyanese diplomat comes from every experience.

He said her very upbringing crossed every struggle and that every aspect of her accomplishment defined and broke barriers.

‘An Indigenous woman coming from a small Indigenous village, defying the odds, the odds against Indigenous persons, the odds against women, the odds against poverty, defining every challenge and rising to the top amidst those challenges.

‘Her character is built on struggle, sacrifice, commitment. Her accomplishments are crafted in her humanity. This is an individual of extreme qualities, not because she is a Guyanese, not because she comes from Guyana, but because I know personally, and many of you know this too, the permanent representatives sitting here in New York.

‘You know her character. You know her integrity. You know her will. You know her commitment. You know her love for humanity. You know her love for this world and I know that this world will be a better place with Carolyn Rodrigues as the Secretary General of the United Nations’

Ali said in ‘the humblest of ways’ he is calling on the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, including the United States ‘and every member here to look beyond the small country that nominated her.

‘Look beyond the small country that nominated her,’ he said, adding that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping ‘as a body has endorsed her.

‘Let us rise to the challenge of giving this Indigenous woman the chance of helping us craft together the United Nations we want to see succeed,’ Ali said, adding that the responsibility for recommending the next Secretary General rests in the first instance with the Security Council.

‘And we therefore respectfully place before its members the candidature of Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, endorsed by the Caribbean Community, we invite all to consider her candidacy, on its merits, and to judge whether her vision, experience, expertise, and record can help restore confidence in the United Nations at this critical moment.’

If she is elected, Rodriques-Birkett would become the first Caribbean and indeed the first woman to lead the global organization and in the UN Security Council’s informal secret straw polls, she has maintained a leading position among the declared candidates.

In the third straw poll held earlier this month, she received eight ‘encourage’ votes, six ‘discourage’ votes, and one ‘no opinion’ vote.

Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis says while the Caribbean has so far not recorded a single hurricane this season ‘the Atlantic lies as still as a sleeping giant’.

The Atlantic hurricane season ends on November 30 and Prime Minister Davis addressing the ‘Rising Nations Gala Dinner’ on Tuesday night on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), said he wished he could all that good news, but he cannot.

‘Because the same force that has quieted my ocean has set another on fire. The winds that shield The Bahamas are feeding the storms of the Pacific. Two Category 5 hurricanes. The Northern Marianas struck by super typhoons, twice. Hawaii hit head on,’ Davis told the event that was held under the theme ‘Celebrating the UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise: From Ambition to Implementation’.

He told the event at which the French President, Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Feleti Teo, received the ‘2026 Rising Nations Leaders Award’ that countries needed to be honest ‘about what this quiet is.

‘The hurricane season is not over and to date we have been spared. Others have not. And many of them are sitting in this room. No policy spared us. No treaty. No fund. No sea wall.

‘To date this year, she chose the Pacific. Next year she may choose the Caribbean. We remember what that feels like.’

Prime Minister Davis recalled that in 2019, Hurricane Dorian sat over Abaco and Grand Bahama and ‘would not leave’ as families watched the sea take the only land they had ever known.

‘That is life in a small island state. We do not decide whether our year is kind or cruel. We wait to learn whose turn it is. And while we wait, the sea keeps rising. It does not take turns. It rises on all of us, every year, in silence.

‘Friends, no nation’s survival should depend on luck. And no nation should take comfort in a mercy that is paid for by someone else’s suffering,’ Prime Minister Davis said, adding ‘yet that is the temptation of our time.

‘We live in a fragmented world. Nations are turning inward. Promises are made loudly and kept quietly, if at all. Each country is tempted to say: it is not my storm, not my coastline, not my problem.

‘The ocean does not recognise that thinking. It is one body of water. What warms in one hemisphere breaks upon another. The sea has never been fragmented. Only we are.’

Prime Minister Davis said that this is why the Declaration being honoured matters so deeply. ‘In a divided world, the nations of the world agreed. It is proof that we can still act as one. Now we must make it real. Real means this. Climate mobility is the human face of this crisis. ‘

He said that by 2050, up to 8.2 million people across the Greater Caribbean could be on the move.

‘Our people do not want to leave. So, protect their right to stay, with adaptation finance that is larger, faster, and placed in the hands of communities themselves. Some cannot leave, even when they must. The poor. The rural. Too often, women. Do not abandon them on the front line. And where people must move, let them move with dignity, with rights, and with their culture intact.’

He said that this is the work of the Rising Nations Institute and the Communities Climate Adaptation Facility and that The Bahamas stands fully behind them.

‘So from a Caribbean that has been spared, to a Pacific that has not: we see you. We stand with you. Your storm is our storm. One day the Atlantic will wake again. When it does, let it find a world that did not look away.’

New Saint Lucia senior men’s national football team head coach Rajesh Latchoo has selected a strong, experienced yet youthful 25-member squad for his first match in charge, which is Friday’s CONCACAF Nations League clash with Barbados here at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

The Piton Boyz will meet the Bajan Tridents to open their League B, Group B campaign in what is dubbed the beginning of a new era in St. Lucian football.

Latchoo was officially introduced Tuesday during a press conference at the Saint Lucia Football Association headquarters, outlining a long-term vision for Saint Lucia football, while making clear his immediate objective.

‘The mission in the short term is 18 points,’ Latchoo said, referring to the total he believes is needed to top the CNL group.

‘That is the only way we could guarantee, and not have to hope something happened or something didn’t happen, 18 points is the mission to place first.

‘The staff will do everything, and I know the SLFA is doing everything to get the players ready. It is a short space of time, but this is big football, and in big football, you only have five days. The players have the competence and the ability.’

Latchoo also called on the public to back the team.

‘What we would ask now, we ask the public if they believe. If they believe, it’s not just the team, the FA, and the staff; it requires a whole country, a whole nation, to qualify,’ he said.

‘If the nation doesn’t support the team, then how could the players give 100 per cent if 100 per cent of the nation doesn’t support the team and the mission?’

The new coach has brought in new backroom staff, including legendary former Saint Lucia international Earl ‘Ball Hog’ Jean.

Latchoo said he wants players to have specific roles at different age levels and stressed a results-oriented approach as he plans for the next four years leading to the 2030 World Cup.

‘Every milestone from now to that time is very important,’ he said. ‘And the first milestone is dealing with the CONCACAF Nations League. The team is composed of different level players from different backgrounds and with different abilities. Each of them is an expert in their own right. Every single day, we will hold them accountable, as they will hold us as the staff, as the SLFA will hold us as the staff, and as the nation will hold us as the staff and the team.’

Nearly half the squad, 12 players, feature in the Saint Lucia Semi-Professional Football League, including top scorers Garvin Reggie of Dennery and Yanic Noel of La Clery, as well as La Clery goalkeeper and Footballer of the Year Devone St Prix. Six players come from the two-time defending SPFL champions.

Goalkeeper Vino Barclett is one of four Jamaica-based players, joined by fellow keeper Darren Donaie, defender Melvin Doxilly and young attacker Shevon Byron.

Defenders Terell Thomas and Arkell Jude Boyd arrive from the United Kingdom, while attacker Donavan Phillip comes from Colorado Rapids in the United States.

Veteran fullback Kurt Frederick joins from Grenades FC in Antigua and Barbuda. Jason Similien returns from AC Italia Hilden in Germany. Caniggia Elva enters the forward line from Canada’s Cavalry FC, and Djal Augustin joins from Warta Srem in Poland.

The squad includes only six players aged 30 or older and two teenagers, with most in their early 20s. Saint Lucia will lean on that youthful core as it aims for a strong start on Friday.

Barbados has become the latest Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country since the start of the new academic year this month to announce a zero tolerance policy for violence at schools.

In a statement, the Ministry of Education Transformation said that physical fights among students are being deliberately organized, recorded and being uploaded to social media for public consumption.

‘This is not only a dangerous practice, but it is in direct violation of the rules and regulations which govern our schools,’ the ministry said, adding that it has a zero-tolerance policy on violence in schools and students attending any education institution are expected to abide by these rules and keep the peace.

‘Students who are found to be participating in this type of activity, whether planned or otherwise, inclusive of those who record and upload, will all find themselves bearing the full consequences for their actions.

‘Parents, we continue to appeal for you to speak to your children about making good decisions for your children’s safety and health. You remain an essential partner of the Ministry, teachers and principals in ensuring that your children receive the best education and reap the benefits of a positive school experience,’ the ministry said.

It said that it continues to provide the necessary Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools through the reinstitution of the Positive Vibe programme, the launch of the Community Service Learning (CSL) in all secondary schools and the continued provision of service-based clubs and activities that help to nurture the resilient contributing global citizens raised with Barbadian values.

‘While we do not believe these instances are wide spread in our school system, we are of the view that one fight is one too many and is not worth the potential consequences.

‘To our students who continue to contribute positively to their schools and the wider community, we see you and laud your efforts in helping us build the number one education system in the world,’ the ministry added.

Earlier this week, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government issued a warning to school students who engage in public brawls and other criminal behaviour with National Security Minister, St. Clair Leacock, indicating that disorderly students will face firm police action and that there will be no tolerance for street violence involving schoolchildren.

Leacock made reference to a recent viral video of schoolgirls fighting in the streets of the capital, Kingstown, adding that such behaviour would be treated as a matter for law enforcement, not just school discipline.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has warned that students who physically assault peers, teachers, or principals will face expulsion and criminal prosecution,

She urged teachers to send persistently misbehaving and disrespectful students straight home to deal with their parents, famously challenging critics by asking them to ‘volunteer to take them into your own homes’ if they oppose removing violent youth from classrooms.

Jamaican educational leaders and security agencies have previously stepped in to address spikes in campus fights, online threats, and bullying, urging stronger parental accountability and conflict-resolution strategies.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Marlon Morgan, at the start of the new school term urged school administrators, students and parents to play their part in maintaining a learning environment free from violence and bullying.

West Indies Women’s Captain Hayley Matthews says the Caribbean side is targeting a full six points from their three-match ICC Women’s Championship ODI series against Zimbabwe, but warns they cannot afford to underestimate the hosts.

The series, which forms part of the qualification pathway for the next Women’s Cricket World Cup, bowls off on Thursday at Harare Sports Club at 3:30 am ECT.

Speaking to the media ahead of the opener, Matthews expressed the team’s eagerness to return to Zimbabwe, noting that the last visit for the World Cup Qualifiers was a brief one.

‘The first opportunity that we do get to play against Zimbabwe in a series like this, so it’s a lot to look forward to,’ Matthews said. ‘Last time we were in Zimbabwe for the qualifiers, we were in and out pretty quickly. So I think all the girls are happy to be back, looking forward to a series.’

Matthews acknowledged the threat posed by a Zimbabwean side that is in its first year within the Championship cycle, emphasising that the West Indies must be at their best to secure crucial points.

‘Zimbabwe is obviously a growing team. I know they’re certainly going to be looking to come out hard and play some really good cricket, and they’re certainly a side that we can’t underestimate, even though they’re pretty new,’ she said. ‘We’re still going to need to be playing really well. But I think as a group, we’re all pretty excited to be here. Conditions pretty similar to back home with the heat. So, yeah, we’re looking forward to it.’

The West Indies skipper highlighted the significance of the series in the context of the Championship standings, where automatic qualification for the next World Cup is the ultimate prize.

‘The games here are going to be very important. I think when you look at where we are in the table, obviously wanting automatic qualification for that next World Cup. So we must try to come down here and be able to take all six points,’ Matthews stated.

‘That’s certainly the goal for us. It’ll put us in a much better place on the table. So three really important games, and as I said, we certainly can’t underestimate Zimbabwe. But yeah, a series where we’re looking to come out here and hopefully go back home smiling with all six of those points.’

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Captain Josephine Nkomo is embracing the historic nature of the series, which marks the nation’s first home tour under the Future Tours Programme (FTP).

‘I’m super excited. What makes it more special is that it’s on home turf, and it’s our first home FTP tour,’ Nkomo said. ‘Well, the goal is just to compete, just go out there, and just be positive. At the end of the day, cricket is a game of bat and ball, and not names or anything like that.’

The Belize government Wednesday said that it had filed its written observations to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in response to the written statements submitted by Guatemala.

‘The written observations, which consist of two volumes… were filed in the Registry pursuant to Article 85, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Court, within the time limit as extended by the Court in its Order of 16 April 2026,’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said in a brief statement. It said that the written observations of Honduras on Guatemala’s written statement were also filed in the Registry on the same day.

Belize and Guatemala have a long-standing territorial dispute with Guatemala claiming more than 11,000 square kilometers of Belizean land, islands and maritime areas. The dispute is now before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

In March 2000, Belize and Guatemala resumed discussions on their territorial dispute with the assistance of the Organization of American States (OAS) and on November 8, 2000, they signed the first Agreement on Confidence Building Measures, establishing an ‘Adjacency Line’ and a one-kilometer ‘Adjacency Zone’ on either side.

A second Agreement was signed on February 7, 2003, and subsequently amended in September 2005 by the ‘Agreement on a Framework for Negotiation and Confidence Building Measures between Belize and Guatemala.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister John Briceño said the ICJ would receive oral presentations in the case between Guatemala and Belize from February 22 -26 next year.

Briceño in a nationwide radio and television broadcast, said that he has been informed by the registrar of the ICJ that oral presentations in the Belize, Honduras case will be heard from March 5, 2027 regarding the sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes and that these hearings will take place at The Hague.

‘For too long our borders have been disputed by our neighbors. In keeping with our commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for the rule of law, we have had recourse to the court.

‘We are confident that all doubts will be removed by these two court cases. Belize will be vindicated. Belize has engaged a stellar team of international lawyers and experts to advise us and to present our case before the court,’ Briceño said.

Suriname has signed a five year cooperation agreement with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) designed to accelerate economic diversification and the local processing of raw materials and agricultural products.

The Programme for Country Partnership (PCP) 2026-2031 is also aimed at assisting the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country attract investment, strengthen entrepreneurship, and create more jobs.

Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation Minister, Andrew Baasaron, and UNIDO’s Director-General Gerd Mller, signed the agreement on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The PCP provides a framework within which government, business, development partners, and financiers can jointly develop projects and mobilize investments.

Baasaron said the programme aligns with the plans to base economic growth more strongly on sustainable diversification and in this regard, special attention is given to youth employment and entrepreneurship, the economic empowerment of women, digitalization, and the involvement of Indigenous and Tribal communities.

‘Suriname has been set on a path of economic growth, based on sustainable diversification of our economy,’ he said, adding that teams from government and UNIDO have been working on the elaboration of the program over the past few months.

The PCP rests on four pillars. The first concerns the improvement of policies, regulations, and institutions for sustainable industrial development. Additionally, enterprises must become more competitive, and agro-industrial value chains, green industry, and skills development are stimulated.

A third component is the mobilization of green and mixed financing for productive investments. The fourth pillar focuses on forest-related value chains and the development of the bioeconomy.

The programme also examines the potential development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Such zones could be used to stimulate investment, industrial activities, and local value creation.

Mller said UNIDO is willing to assist in developing a framework for sustainable economic zones. The aim of the PCP is to combine economic development with maintaining the position as a country with high forest cover and relatively low deforestation. Climate resilience, efficient resource use, and low-carbon development are therefore included in the programme.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, the PCP must offer opportunities to increase their production and competitiveness and to access financing and investments more easily. Additionally, the emphasis is on creating high-quality jobs, with particular attention to young people and women.

Bermuda has issued a warning alert after five cases of fish poisoning have been recorded here so far this year.

The Ministry of Health and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in its advisory to the public and the fishing community are warning of ‘ongoing risks associated with ciguatera fish poisoning and scombroid (histamine) poisoning’.

It said that the advisory follows recent reports under investigation and that to date, five cases have been confirmed including four in August.

‘Ciguatera is caused by naturally occurring marine toxins that can enter the food chain and accumulate in large predatory reef fish. Although ciguatera has not traditionally been common in Bermuda, large barracuda, yellow jack, amberjack and bonita have been implicated in previous cases, and other large reef fish may pose a ris,’ the authorities said in the joint statement.

They said symptoms can include nausea, diarrhea, itching, tingling, numbness, muscle pain and a reversal of hot and cold sensations.

‘The toxin cannot be detected based on the appearance, taste or smell of the fish, and is not destroyed by cooking or freezing.’

With regards to scombroid poisoning, the statement said it occurs when certain fish are not chilled quickly enough after being caught, allowing histamine to build up.

‘It is commonly associated with tuna, mackerel, wahoo and dolphin (mahi mahi). Symptoms may include facial flushing, rash, headache, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Histamine cannot be detected based on the appearance, taste or smell of the fish, and cooking or freezing will not destroy histamine once it has formed.’

The authorities are urging the public to engage in good handling practices help prevent scombroid poisoning, reminding fishers to bleed and gut fish immediately after capture, thoroughly ice them as soon as possible, and keep fish cold throughout handling, transport and storage.

‘Members of the public who experience illness after consuming fish should seek medical care promptly and report relevant exposure information to their healthcare provider. Physicians will report suspected cases to the Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, which continues to monitor and assess any new reports and will update the public if further action is required.’

A director of the state-owned Surinamese Aviation Company (SLM) says the recovery and future plans must contribute to the further development of the national airline.

John Sandie told the state-owned Suriname Communication Service (CDS) that he believes based on studies undertaken examining the routes and financial position, the airline has the potential to be a ‘healthy airline’. ‘We have the opportunity to grow big in this country, and we are going to do so,’ Sandie said, even as he acknowledged that funding and approval of the plan are needed to proceed.

He told the CDS that SLM is in a transition where stability, operational reliability, customer orientation, digitalization, and stronger partnerships are central.

He said because of safety concerns there are delays everywhere in the aviation industry, adding that ‘no one will depart if it is unsafe.

‘Of course, you don’t like to see these things happen. You don’t want downtime, you don’t want disruption. That is why we are actually looking to the future. We are aiming for stability, peace of mind, customer orientation, digitalization, better machines, better partners, stronger partners.’

Sandie said that SLM has established a working relationship with several Caribbean-based airlines and is holding talks with larger partners, whom he does not name.

But he said that from September 27, SLM will fly with Eastern Airlines on the Mid-Atlantic route. Eastern Airlines will become Surinam Airways’ new partner on the Paramaribo-Amsterdam route for the next two years.

He said that the national carrier will deploy its own Boeing 777-200 starting in December and that in the coming years, he expects the airline to acquire more aircraft and add new destinations given that SLM has received invitations for new destinations while Barranquilla in Colombia, Sint Maarten, and Jamaica are further possibilities. He said the airline wants to resume flying to Curaçao.

Sandie said SLM also wants to play a larger role within Suriname’s tourism product and develop a hub function.

‘We really want to engage with the sector, involving it in our plans. But even more so, we want to be an international operator.’