Category: CANA News

Guyana has stepped forward to host the 2027 CARIFTA Games, just one week after St Kitts withdrew its bid to host the Caribbean’s top athletic sporting event.

Guyana’s decision to host the Games was revealed by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) on Thursday, which also announced that Barbados had taken responsibility to host the Games in 2028.

The news comes exactly one week after St Kitts pulled out of hosting the 2027 Games, with the St. Kitts-Nevis Athletics Association and the St. Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee citing that it was ‘not the most ideal time’ for the island.

NACAC Athletics said the commitments followed the swift intervention and support of the CARICOM Heads of Government.

‘On behalf of the NACAC Athletics Council, officials, and athletes of the NACAC Athletics family, I wish to thank the CARICOM Heads for their swift and positive response in support of the CARIFTA Games,’ NACAC Athletics President Mike Sands said during a media briefing.

‘I especially thank President Ali of Guyana and Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados for agreeing to host CARIFTA 2027 and 2028. This secures the immediate future of what is arguably the world’s premier junior athletics event.’

NACAC is expected to engage the relevant authorities in Guyana and Barbados to support early planning for both editions while continuing discussions with CARICOM leaders on a more sustainable framework for athletics and major youth sporting events in the Caribbean.

Jamaica’s Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) says it is ‘horrified and deeply saddened’ by the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl whose body was found along a dirt track in the northern parish of Trelawny earlier this week.

The child has been identified as Shani Coke, also known as ‘Kaja.’

The agency said the tragedy is another painful reminder that too many Jamaican children continue to be victims of horrific violence at the hands of adults who should be protecting them.

‘Every child has the right to grow up in a safe, nurturing environment where they are protected, valued and given the opportunity to realise their full potential,’ the CPFSA said.

Chief Executive Officer Laurette Adams-Thomas expressed condolences to Shani’s family and the wider Troy community, saying the agency is mourning alongside them.

‘Each time a child is abused or murdered, our society has failed,’ Adams-Thomas said.

According to police, Shani was walking home from a nearby shop shortly after midday on Tuesday when she was abducted. Her body was later discovered by a farmer searching for one of his cows after hearing unusual sounds coming from nearby bushes.

Following the discovery, an angry mob attacked a father and son after accusing the son of raping and killing the child. Police said the son was beaten, chopped and stoned to death, while his father was also assaulted and remains hospitalized.

Adams-Thomas condemned the mob killing, saying ‘jungle justice’ is not an appropriate response.

She said CPFSA first responders are in the community assessing whether other children connected to the family require immediate protection and evaluating the psychosocial needs of the victim’s relatives. The agency said it stands ready to provide support and continues to work closely with the Jamaica Constabulary Force as investigations continue.

The CPFSA is urging anyone with information that could assist the investigation to cooperate with the police.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Appeal Court has ordered an expedited hearing of the judicial review and constitutional challenge brought by businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife, Genevieve, over Preventive Detention Orders (PDOs) issued against them during the State of Emergency.

The ruling came after attorney Gerald Ramdeen, representing the State, told Justices of Appeal Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell and Joan Charles that, while the State was not consenting to the application, it was not opposing an expedited hearing in light of the couple’s continued detention and fresh medical evidence indicating that Dominic Hadeed’s health has deteriorated.

Ramdeen said the new medical evidence justified urgent consideration of the case and argued that it would be more beneficial for the matter to proceed quickly before the High Court than continue with the procedural appeal.

The Appeal Court subsequently ordered that the judicial review and constitutional claim be given accelerated and urgent treatment.

The Hadeeds had appealed a July 17 decision by High Court Justice Vigel Paul to adjourn the proceedings until mid-September.

The latest ruling comes one week after another panel of the Appeal Court ordered that the couple be released from prison and placed under house arrest. However, they remain at the Golden Grove Prison after a separate panel, led by Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh, stayed that order pending the State’s appeal to the London based Privy Council.

The Privy Council has since advised that the appeal cannot be heard before October, meaning the Hadeeds are expected to remain in custody until at least September 17, when the State of Emergency expires, unless the stay is lifted.

Also being held under a Preventive Detention Order is 70-year-old Star Sabga, a relative of the Hadeeds, whose constitutional challenge is scheduled to be heard before the High Court on Friday

President of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Michael Ricketts strongly believes the country will be awarded the rights to co-host the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Last October, Jamaica along with the USA, Mexico, and Costa Rica launched a joint bid to host the 2031 tournament.

While an official announcement from FIFA is expected in November, Ricketts said he was confident Jamaica’s bid would be successful.

Last month, Sports Minister Olivia Grange told Parliament the island had been selected as one of the hosts, although FIFA has yet to officially confirm the successful bid.

Hosts were initially expected to be confirmed at the FIFA Congress in Canada in April, but the world governing body postponed the announcement until November 23.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Ricketts said he was optimistic Jamaica would create history by being chosen.

‘When the FIFA team came here, we had intense discussions with the contractors who would be doing the renovation and the refurbishing of the National Stadium, and they would have done a presentation which, based on the body language from the FIFA reps, we’re pretty satisfied and pretty confident that we will be in a position to host the Women’s World Cup in 2031.

‘Minister Grange did make an announcement in Parliament. She was pretty confident and so am I, and I want to believe that we will be one of the four countries that will be hosting the 2031 Women’s World Cup,’ Ricketts said.

A FIFA delegation visited the island in February, inspecting facilities including the National Stadium and meeting with JFF representatives and the Government.

The redevelopment of the National Stadium, which is intended to meet FIFA standards, is expected to begin in July or August 2027, with United Kingdom-based Ryder Architecture and global consulting firm CAA Icon currently completing the detailed design phase, after the feasibility study and concept design.

Jamaica has never hosted a FIFA tournament, but it has staged several Concacaf competitions, most notably the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, becoming the first Caribbean nation to do so.

The San Diego-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) has welcomed a move by Texas Democratic Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia to force a US House vote on the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act.

Garcia has launched a discharge petition that, if signed by 218 House members, would bypass Republican leadership and bring the legislation to the floor.

HBA Executive Director Guerline Jozef said the bill would provide long-overdue protections for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients.

‘These individuals have worked, raised families, paid taxes, and strengthened this country,’ Jozef said. ‘Congress must act to ensure families are not torn apart and provide a permanent path forward.’

The legislation would create a pathway to citizenship for eligible Dreamers and allow qualifying TPS and DED recipients to obtain lawful permanent resident status. It has previously passed the House with bipartisan support in 2019 and 2021.

Garcia said the measure is urgently needed, arguing that Dreamers and longtime TPS holders are increasingly at risk of detention and deportation under the Trump administration.

The initiative has also received backing from Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat, and immigration advocacy group FWD.us, all of whom urged lawmakers from both parties to sign the petition and allow the House to vote on the legislation.

West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews topscored for MI London Women, but her team still went down by seven wickets to Sunrisers Leeds Women in the opening match of the Women’s Hundred here on Tuesday.

Matthews hit 33 off 22 balls with four fours and one six in her side’s below par score of 107 for eight after they were sent in to bat at Kennington Oval.

Matthews and fellow opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who scored 29 off 20 balls, shared an opening stand of 56 off 37 balls, but once Deepti Sharma got the breakthrough by holding on to a return catch to dismiss Matthews, MI London’s batting faltered, with Melie Kerr, who scored 13, the only other batter to get into double digits.

Fellow West Indian, Chinelle Henry made just six off 11 balls.

Hannah Baker (2-16), Dani Gibson (2-17), and Sharma (2-20), all took two wickets.

Phoebe Litchfield then scored a quickfire 43 off 26 balls, while Annabel Sutherland hit an unbeaten 30 off 23 balls to lead Leeds Women to 109 for three with 31 balls to spare.

The two added 57 runs for the third wicket off 36 balls, following the early losses of Bryony Smith and Jess Jonassen, that reduced them to 24 for two.

Both Henry and Matthews went wicketless in their 15-ball spells.

Barbados is considering the introduction of a national colorectal cancer screening programme as part of efforts to improve early detection and reduce cancer-related deaths, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has announced.

Speaking at the St. Philip Ideas Forum earlier this week, Mottley said the Ministry of Health is assessing the cost and logistics of implementing the programme but has not yet given final approval.

‘I know that the Ministry of Health is looking at it,’ she said. ‘They are trying to settle the numbers both in terms of the cost, the individual unit costs, and the overall scope of the programme.’

The announcement came after gastroenterologist Dr. Marek Stobinski urged the government to prioritize colorectal cancer screening, warning that the disease is increasingly affecting younger adults. He cited the recent diagnosis of colorectal cancer in an otherwise healthy 40-year-old patient, stressing that early detection can prevent the disease from spreading.

‘In the early stage, we can remove polyps in about 15 minutes and prevent them from developing into cancer,’ Stobinski said.

Mottley underscored the importance of screening, recalling the 1999 death of Barbados and West Indies cricket legend Malcolm Marshall from colon cancer at age 41. She said routine colonoscopies and the removal of precancerous polyps can dramatically reduce the risk of developing the disease.

St. Philip North Member of Parliament and physician Dr. Sonia Browne said follow-up care for patients identified as high risk remains a challenge but argued that screening and early intervention are far more cost-effective than treating advanced cancer.

Mottley also said the government is examining the potential introduction of GLP-1 anti-obesity medications, including drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, as part of a broader strategy to reduce chronic diseases.

While acknowledging the high upfront cost of the medications, she said they could lower long-term healthcare spending by reducing obesity-related complications such as diabetes, amputations and kidney disease.

‘We’re not going to end up being penny wise and pound foolish, but we will be strategic in our deployment of resources to help people help themselves and to save lives,’ Mottley said.

Cuba was slapped with additional sanctions from the United States on Thursday, targeting the island’s decades-old international medical missions programme, which sends doctors to dozens of countries and earns the island billions in revenue. The sanctions targeted government enterprises associated with the program as well as Cuban Health Minister Jose Angel Portal Miranda.

The move is the latest by the Trump administration government to tighten a stranglehold on the communist-run island in recent months.

Washington has also imposed a blockade on vital fuel and other supplies, with Trump threatening to ‘take over’ the island after he ousted Venezuela’s leader in January.

In a statement on Thursday, the State Department said Cuba’s overseas medical missions Programmes amounted to ‘forced labour’ and ‘human trafficking.’

‘Cuban officials exploit inherently coercive laws and economic conditions to manipulate or compel workers to join and remain in labor export programs, while confiscating between 50 and 95 percent of the wages paid by receiving countries,’ the statement said.

According to official figures, around 24,000 Cuban doctors and other healthcare professionals were deployed in 56 countries in 2025.

Most are sent to remote areas, with Havana touting the programming as offering aid to less developed countries in the Global South.

Half were deployed to Venezuela, Cuba’s top ally for a quarter of a century before the violent January ouster of socialist president Nicolas Maduro by US forces.

The programme was projected to generate US$7 billion in earnings for the cash-strapped island last year.

According to official Cuban statistics cited in an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report, doctors enrolled in Cuba’s program receive between 2.5 percent and 25 percent of what countries pay Havana for their services.

The Trump administration had already exerted pressure on the programme earlier this year, with Cuba’s foreign minister accusing Washington of ‘extorting’ several Latin American countries that canceled their medical assistance deals with Havana.

The Guyana government says it will continue to cover funeral and burial expenses and provide immediate assistance to families affected by the M.V. Barima tragedy, with any decision on compensation to be made only after an independent Commission of Inquiry (COI) completes its work.

Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said the government’s immediate priority is supporting grieving families and completing the rescue and recovery operation.

‘The focus now is not on compensation. The focus is on recovering bodies, financing the burial and funeral rites, and providing whatever assistance the families need now,’ Phillips told a news conference on Wednesday.

The Indian High Commission here has postponed its ‘Indian Diaspora Day’ after the event clashed with the national observance of Emancipation Day on August 1 and had generated much criticism from the general public.

‘The Open House has been rescheduled to August 8 in view of August 1 being a public holiday,’ the Indian High Commission said in a post on its official Facebook page in which it had urged members of the ‘Indian community and diaspora’ to attend.

Former tourism minister Randall Mitchell in a letter sent to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called for ‘an immediate review of the conduct’ of the High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit, as Trinidad and Tobago citizens took to the airwaves and social media to vent their ‘outrage’ at the original staging of the event coinciding with the universal day set aside for the emancipation of African slaves.

‘That invitation is disrespectful to the African community and that date is totally inappropriate…also the open house is closed to other races,’ one person wrote on the Facebook page of a popular radio station here, while another wrote ‘We are now in the 21st century and the Indian High Commission has existed in T and T since the 20th century; why is it only now that they choose to celebrate that so-called important event on the 1st August of all days. Why not the 15th August which is India’s Independence Day?’

Another suggested that the Indian High Commissioner should ‘check out’ the Emancipation Village wth another reminding the Indian diplomat that ‘May 30 is Indian Arrival Day’ in Trinidad and Tobago.

In his letter to the Indian Prime Minister, Mitchell said that the Indian High Commissioner has been here ‘long enough’ to know that August 1 is ‘African Emancipation Day’ even as he thanked the diplomat ‘for rescheduling and deleting your offensive post’.

Mitchell said he was writing Prime Minister Modi as a citizen of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and as a former government minister to ‘express my profound disappointment ‘ regarding the Open House that had been scheduled for August 1.

‘This is not an ordinary national public holiday,’ Mitchell wrote, noting that African Emancipation Day marks the abolition of slavery and the liberation of hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans whose forced labour helped build this nation.

He said the day ‘commemorates one of the darkest chapters in human history and honours the struggle, sacrifice and resilience of generations of people who were denied their freedom.

‘Diplomatic missions are expected to understand and respect the history, traditions and national commemorations of the countries to which they are accredited. That expectation is fundamental to diplomacy.’

He said that the issue was not the High Commission’s wish to engage members of the Indian diaspora, since ‘every diplomatic mission has that right and responsibility’ but ‘the concern is that the event was scheduled on the one national holiday that carries unique historical and emotional significance for a large segment of the Trinidad and Tobago population.

‘There were 364 other days on which such an event could have been held without creating the appearance that the significance of African Emancipation Day was being overlooked or diminished.

‘Whether intentional or not, the decision demonstrates a serious lack of cultural awareness and sensitivity toward the host nation,’ Michell wrote, adding ‘more troubling is the wider consequence that decisions such as this can have in a multicultural society like Trinidad and Tobago.

‘Our nation has worked for generations to build mutual respect and understanding among people of African, Indian, Indigenous, Chinese, European, Syrian-Lebanese and other backgrounds. That harmony cannot be taken for granted. It must be protected through sensitivity, respect and good judgment-particularly by foreign diplomatic missions.’

Mitchell said ‘African Emancipation Day is one of the few national observances that calls upon all citizens to reflect on the enduring legacy of slavery and the importance of unity, dignity and justice.

‘ By choosing to host an official diaspora event on this solemn national day, the High Commission has unnecessarily introduced a source of division where there should have been national reflection,’ Michell said, adding that diplomats have a duty not only to represent their own country but also to exercise sound judgment and respect for the history and sensitivities of the nation in which they serve.

‘This decision falls well below that standard and risks undermining social cohesion in a multicultural society where racial harmony must never be taken for granted. It is precisely because of the seriousness of that risk that I believe this matter warrants immediate intervention by the Government of India,’ Mitchell wrote.