Category: CANA News

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has set a firm target for Jamaica’s tourism industry to return to full operation by December 15 – the official start of the winter tourism season.

According to Bartlett, in order to deliver on that goal, the ministry has activated a high-level Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force and a companion Tourism Resilience Coordination Committee to synchronise public and private sector action.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has set a firm target for Jamaica’s tourism industry to return to full operation by December 15 – the official start of the winter tourism season.

According to Bartlett, in order to deliver on that goal, the ministry has activated a high-level Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force and a companion Tourism Resilience Coordination Committee to synchronise public and private sector action.

‘Recovery cannot be left to chance. We are aligning marketing, communications, infrastructure repairs, aid, logistics, and every enabling support behind a single objective – full industry operation by December 15,’ said Minister Bartlett. ‘Progress will be tracked through the Ministry of Tourism with regular public updates, so workers, visitors and partners can plan with confidence,’ he added.

The recovery task force is chaired by John Byles, the executive deputy chairman of Chukka Caribbean Adventures, with Bartlett serving as chairman emeritus.

The Task Force comprises a cross-section of public and private sector leaders, including Tova Hamilton, minister of state in the Ministry of Tourism; Professor Lloyd Waller, executive director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC); and Jennifer Griffith, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism.

Also serving on the task force are Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International (SRI).

Supporting the work of the recovery task force is the Tourism Resilience Coordination Committee, Tourism Cares, chaired by Jessica Shannon, Chief Experience Officer at SRI.

The Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force will drive the operational restart of the sector, prioritising rapid assessments, product rehabilitation and service readiness across resorts, attractions, airports/ports, and key corridors.

Working through agency and private-sector leads, it will assist with the clearing of bottlenecks, sequencing repairs and coordinate go-to-market readiness to restore safety, service quality and visitor confidence by December 15, 2025.

The Tourism Resilience Coordination Committee will organise the giving and goodwill that accelerates recovery. It will identify, coordinate and mobilise assistance in cash, in-kind goods, skilled volunteers, and technical expertise from across the tourism community and, in alignment with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), route it efficiently via supportjamaica.gov.jm.

Bartlett noted that both task forces will coordinate closely with the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) to integrate lessons from previous recovery efforts, including Jamaica’s record-breaking post-COVID-19 recovery, and ensure a comprehensive approach to rebuilding the sector.

‘Tourism’s strength lies not just in its product offerings, but in its people and partnerships. The speed and synergy of our response show the industry’s resilience and our unwavering commitment to recovery with empathy, compassion and innovation,’ the minister added.

In the wake of destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, Caribbean immigration advocates in New York are urging United States President Donald Trump to protect Jamaicans in New York by granting them Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, on Wednesday noted that Hurricane Melissa caused catastrophic destruction in Jamaica, leaving residents across the island reeling from its impact.

‘Everything from homes to local businesses has been destroyed, widespread power outages have occurred, and families are struggling to recover,’ NYIC President and CEO Murad Awawdeh told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

‘Currently, Jamaica is not designated for TPS,’ he added. ‘Given the scale of this natural disaster and humanitarian crisis that is unfolding, the Trump administration must act with urgency to grant TPS to Jamaica, ensuring that all 230,000 Jamaicans in New York state can stay without the fear of being deported as the island faces a long road to recovery.

‘Hurricane Melissa’s aftermath reveals the devastating reality of natural disasters,’ Awawdeh continued. ‘Across Jamaica, many are left with destroyed homes and businesses, and the painful task of rebuilding their lives. As the island faces a long road to recovery, the Trump administration must meet this moment and designate TPS for Jamaica.’

In New York, he said TPS has ‘enabled our immigrant neighbors to work legally, support their families, and contribute to the local economy.

‘In contrast, deporting Jamaicans back to a country in the middle of a humanitarian crisis would be reckless and inhumane,’ he said. ‘We urge the administration to immediately designate TPS for Jamaica, ensuring they have legal protections, stability, and dignity to continue to rebuild their lives without the fear of being ripped away from their loved ones.’

Meanwhile, as Hurricane Melissa moved north of Jamaica on Wednesday, the head of the United Nations team there said that preliminary damage assessments from the category 5 storm showed a level of devastation ‘never seen before’ on the Caribbean island.

UN Resident Coordinator Dennis Zulu emphasized the UN remains closely engaged with governments across the region, on-the-ground UN agencies, and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), noting the ‘tremendous and unprecedented destruction of infrastructure,’ across Jamaica, where Melissa made landfall on Tuesday.

Looking to the months-long reconstruction and recovery effort ahead, he told reporters in New York via video conference that it would take ‘a lot of resources’ to rebuild and put the thriving economy back on its feet.

‘I don’t think there’s any single soul on this island that was not affected by Hurricane Melissa’, Zulu said.

UN World Food Program (WFP) Director for the Caribbean Multi-Country Office, Brian Bogart, said: ‘This is a terrible tragedy, and there is a real sense of urgency here on the ground.

‘What we’re really focused on now is trying to get food and logistics support to enable the entire humanitarian community to respond in coordination with the government’, he said, speaking from Kingston, the Jamaican capital.

Bogart said the agency’s primary focus is to deliver 2,000 emergency food boxes, which are ready to be airlifted from Barbados as soon as the airport reopens, which would be enough to support 6,000 people for a week.

As the leading logistical agency, the UN said WFP is also loading a vessel in Barbados from the Logistics Hub run alongside the CDEMA, with essentials – such as hygiene kits, shelter, generators – and other items from UN agencies and partners to support the humanitarian effort in Jamaica.

The UN noted that, early Wednesday morning, Hurricane Melissa crossed into Cuba, bringing 120 mph winds, heavy rain, and a warning of ‘life-threatening’ storm surges.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the slow-moving storm was ‘yet another demonstration of climate science and why we must fight for a world at 1.5 degrees Celsius.’

The UN said data from its aid coordination office, OCHA, shows Melissa ranks among the most intense storms to strike Cuba in recent decades, with maximum sustained winds near 138 mph (222 km/h) and two-day rainfall totals approaching 145 millimeters.

On Wednesday, the UN said it allocated US$4 million each to Haiti and Cuba from its Central Emergency Fund to help communities prepare for the storm and reduce its impact.

According to news reports, at least 20 Haitians – including 10 children – died due to river flooding as Melissa barreled across the region.

Conveying his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his solidarity with the governments and communities affected by the hurricane.

‘Guided by Resident Coordinators on the ground, the UN is working hand in hand with authorities and humanitarian partners to assess needs, assist those impacted, and prepare in areas that may yet face the storm’s impact,’ he said.

UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock tweeted that, for small island developing States, ‘the climate crisis is a lived reality, and the cost of inaction is measured in lives and livelihoods.

‘Adaptation isn’t optional, it’s survival,’ she said. ‘Solidarity must become sustained, scaled-up climate action.’

The median fraternity across Jamaica is mourning the death of legendary broadcaster Barrington ‘Barry G’ Gordon.

Barry G, died at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital in the western parish of Westmoreland on Wednesday . He was 70.

He started his career in the late 1970s at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) in the late 1970s, and hosted shows such as the Boogie Down Show on Saturday nights .

Through the 1980s he hosted the two to six Supermix which made him the number one disc jockey in Jamaica for most of the 1980s.

After leaving JBC 1987, Barry moved to Radio Jamaica and also had stints at Power 106, KLAS FM and Hot 102. He later enjoyed a career revival at Mello FM in Montego Bay .

Barrington ‘Barry G’ Gordon was awarded the Order of Distinction – Jamaica’s sixth-highest honor – for services to broadcasting in 2010.

Former West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite has been named in a 14-man Barbados Pride squad for next month’s CG United Super50 Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.

However, no room has been found for teenaged leg spinner Zishan Motara or exciting top order batsman Shaqkere Parris, who have both been named as reserves.

The Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) announced the squad on Wednesday, with Kyle Mayers once again named as captain for the tournament that will run from November 19 to 29.

Kraigg Brathwaite

The 32-year-old Brathwaite, who stepped down as Test captain back in March, will most likely open the batting with Zachary McCaskie.

Despite selecting four spinners in the squad, the 19-year-old Motara, who represented the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) in the last tournament and recently made his senior debut for the West Indies on the recently concluded tour of Nepal, has been omitted.

Instead, the selectors have opted for leg spinner Javed Leacock, off spinner Kemar Smith and the left-arm spinning duo of Joshua Bishop and Matthew Jones.

All-rounder Shamar Springer returns to the team after spending the last few seasons with the Windward Islands Volcanoes and will form part of the Pride’s pace attack along with Akeem Jordan and Dominic Drakes.

Barbados, who made it to the final in last year’s competition, will come up against the home side, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in their opening match on November 19 at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Ground.

SQUAD

BARBADOS: Kyle Mayers (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Zachary McCaskie, Leniko Boucher, Jonathan Drakes, Dominic Drakes, Kevin Wickham, Demetrius Richards, Shamar Springer, Kemar Smith, Joshua Bishop, Matthew Jones, Javed Leacock, Akeem Jordan.

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) on Thursday announced that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board unanimously approved the Dominica Climate Resilience and Enhancement Project (DOMCREP – SAP062), valued at US$ 26 – million.

The project will boost Dominica’s food security, strengthen critical disaster management infrastructure and build capacity with small-scale farmers on climate impacts and adaptation. The project comprises US$24.5 million in GCF grant resources and US$1.5 million in co-financing from the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

DOMCREP represents a historic milestone as Dominica’s first single-country project funded by the GCF, underscoring the island’s leadership and commitment to building resilience against climate change impacts.

‘This investment will help to rebuild key capabilities and strengthen key agricultural elements that were significantly impacted by Hurricane Maria, which destroyed over226% of Dominica’s GDP in 2017. The CCCCC, as a Regional Direct Access Entity (DAE) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), is proud to support the Government and people of the Commonwealth of Dominica to access its first, single-country project from the GCF. The DOMCREP represents a catalytic and transformative investment for small-scale farmers to the adverse impacts of climate change. By employing Climate- smart Agriculture technologies, this initiative will provide matching grants directly to vulnerable farmers to cultivate climate resilient crops that will improve food security,’ said CCCCC’s Executive Director Colin Young.

He added that GCF’s investment will also retrofit hurricane shelters, while also bolstering national and community early warning systems.

Dominica’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Irving McIntyre described the approval of the DOMCREP project by the Green Climate Fund as a proud and defining moment for the island.

‘This US$26 million investment stands as a strong endorsement of our country’s national resilience agenda and will deliver tangible, long-term benefits to eight of Dominica’s most vulnerable communities. This milestone reflects years of dedicated effort by the national team and its partners, symbolizing stronger livelihoods, safer infrastructure, and renewed global confidence in Dominica’s leadership on climate resilience,’ he said.

The practice has an ugly name and an uglier intent: arbitrary detention in State-to-State relations means this: tyrannical regimes seize innocents to make other governments submit to their wishes. As I said on October 28, 2025, at the United Nations, this is ‘not diplomacy; it is coercion in daylight.’ The principle at stake concerns every nation, large or small.

For large powers, such acts of arbitrary arrest and detention are an affront. For small states, they are a tough trial of their capacity to defend their citizens. Small countries have neither vast consular networks nor military leverage. When their citizens cross borders – to study, to trade, to seek medical care – they travel in the belief that law will protect them. But if the law can be manipulated to turn a student, a journalist, or a businessperson into a hostage with whom to bargain, then traveling citizens of every small state are at risk.

That is why I considered it important to accept the invitation to launch the Report of the Independent International Panel on Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations at the United Nations in New York on October 28, 2025. The report is a firm step on the path to giving citizens of small countries a vital layer of protection in a world where tyranny and organized crime thrive in many places.

Six eminent jurists formed the Panel. In their report, they expose a hybrid crime – part hostage-taking, part torture, part prohibited intervention – and always, in the words of the Panel, ‘a grave abuse of State authority and an affront to human rights and the peaceful conduct of international relations.’

The Panel’s findings are unflinching. They show that such detentions breach multiple pillars of international law: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and the 1979 Hostages Convention. Yet because the existing instruments scatter responsibility across different processes, enforcement remains weak. The result is impunity, especially when the perpetrator is powerful.

To close this gap, the Panel proposes that nations should consider requesting an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This is Recommendation 26 of the Report, and it deserves the same courage that small states showed in securing the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change. In both cases, the logic is identical: when global norms are endangered by the actions of the strong, the weak must act together to restore the law’s clarity and conscience.

Why the ICJ is an effective route

As climate catastrophe threatens humanity’s survival, it was not the major emitters that carried the case to The Hague – it was small islands. Vanuatu, Antigua and Barbuda, and others forged a coalition that asked the Court to pronounce what should have been obvious: that States have legal duties to prevent environmental harm to present and future generations.

The Court’s July 2025 opinion confirmed those duties and transformed the terrain of climate justice.

The same strategic imagination is now required to confront arbitrary detention. Small states have a collective interest in codifying what conscience already tells us: that a person’s liberty must never be collateral in interstate bargaining. The ICJ is the only global body capable of authoritatively declaring that this practice constitutes an internationally wrongful act, violating both human rights and the sovereign equality of States.

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda, led by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, recognized this early. Antigua and Barbuda was the first small state to sign the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations launched by Canada in 2021, because we understood that protecting our people abroad requires international reinforcement of the law. For small nations, a rules-based order is not a philosophical preference; it is a survival mechanism.

A Constitutional Compass

This cause also resonates deeply within the domestic legal heritage of Canada as well as Commonwealth Caribbean countries. For instance, on November 1, 2025, Antigua and Barbuda’s Independence Constitution will mark its 44th anniversary, and central to it-enshrined in Section 5: Protection of the Right to Personal Liberty-is the guarantee against arbitrary arrest and detention.

Several Central American and South American countries have similar constitutional provisions, but some governments fail to respect them, particularly in relation to political dissidents.

Where this constitutional architecture is upheld by the governments, it mirrors the very norms that the international community must now entrench. The principle is simple: no one’s freedom should depend on power; it should depend on law.

From Declaration to Law

The guiding principles of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations are rooted in Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -‘No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile’-and Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, guaranteeing consular access. But declarations alone do not deter abusers. The Panel warns that the ‘fragmented’ legal response has emboldened offenders and left victims without remedy. It calls for a coherent body of law-one that unites human-rights obligations, State responsibility, and individual criminal accountability.

An ICJ Advisory Opinion would crystallize these dispersed norms into a single judicial pronouncement, defining the practice as an internationally wrongful act that triggers obligations of cessation, reparation, and non-repetition. The Court’s reasoning would guide States, regional bodies, and domestic courts. It would empower the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and give moral and legal weight to sanctions and listing mechanisms. Most importantly, it would tell victims and their families that international law has not abandoned them.

Small states have long been the moral conscience of the international system. They defend the UN Charter because they know that without law, they have no defence at all. As I said at the launch of the Panel’s report at the UN, ‘the law must not be the privilege of the powerful but the protection of the powerless.’

The death toll from Hurricane Melissa continues to climb and has now risen to 33 after the record setting storm tore through Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and The Bahamas.

Now downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 1 storm, Melissa on Thursday, gathered speed as it swept through the Bahamas on Thursday and is expected to make landfall in Bermuda later.

In Jamaica, nine people have been confirmed dead – with five of the deaths recorded in the southern parish of St. Elizabeth.

While in the French speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state , Haiti, at least 23 deaths have been recorded – 10 of them children – largely due to flooding after days of relentless rain, despite the country avoiding a direct hit.

The storm also claimed one life in the Dominican Republic.

Melissa, the strongest storm to strike Jamaica in modern history, slammed into the island on Tuesday with sustained winds of 185 mph at its peak – stronger than Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in the United States in 2005, killing 1,392 people.

On leaving Jamaica, the storm, that was then downgraded to a Category 3, targeted Cuba’s second-largest city of Santiago de Cuba.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the hurricane caused ‘considerable damage’ but did not provide a casualty figure.

In The Bahamas – nearly 1,500 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas in what officials described as one of the largest operations in the country’s history.

While flooding has disrupted parts of the archipelago, the ministry of tourism said the majority of the country – including Nassau, Freeport, Eleuthera and the Abacos – remained largely unaffected and open to visitors.

Authorities in the Bahamas have since lifted hurricane warnings for the central and southern islands, as well as for the Turks and Caicos.

On Thursday morning, the Miami based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said Melissa is moving toward the north-northeast near 21 mph (33 km/h), and the hurricane is expected to continue accelerating northeastward during the next couple of days.

On the forecast track, the center of Melissa is expected to pass to the northwest of Bermuda later on Thursday or early Friday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 105 miles per hour – as a Category 2 storm.

President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali and FIFA president, Gianni Infantino recently held discussions centred around the installation of mini arenas in Guyana, particularly targeting hinterland communities.

Talks surrounding the government/FIFA partnership, took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Dr Ali is attending the ninth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII9).

The meeting included His Royal Highness, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Bin Faizal Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sport, underscoring the high-level engagement on the initiative.

His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Bin Faizal Al Saud (right), Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sport; FIFA President Gianni Infantino (left) and President of Guyana Dr. Irfaan Ali in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The push for mini-pitches is directly linked to the FIFA Arena Programme, a flagship global initiative aimed at establishing at least 1,000 new mini-pitches worldwide by the time of the FIFA Congress in 2031.

Its core mission prioritises underserved communities and schools, especially in disadvantaged urban and rural areas, by providing safe, accessible spaces for children to play, learn, and grow. Football is intended to catalyse inclusion, education, and positive change.

Earlier this month, Dr Ali confirmed his government’s support for developing and installing several mini pitches in Guyana next year as part of the FIFA Arena programme.

President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde has already announced a ‘transformational project’ to install the first two state-of-the-art all-weather mini-pitches under the FIFA Arena Project.

The two pitches are to be laid at Haslington, earmarked for the East Demerara Football Association (EDFA), and at Retrieve, designated for Linden’s Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA).

According to Forde, the pitches, which are manufactured by Edel Grass BV of the Netherlands, have already been shipped and are scheduled to arrive in Guyana on December 3, 2025.

Each pitch costs US$98,000 (G$21 million).

A FIFA team and the manufacturer will handle the installation, testing, and commissioning of these initial facilities.

Subsequently, management, maintenance, and operations will fall under the respective regional associations, guided by clear GFF policies and regulations.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has appointed marketing, business development and communications specialist Taraneh Azimi as its new Business Development and Marketing Manager.

Taraneh Azimi

With more than a decade of experience spanning the travel, aviation, spirits, luxury lifestyle and hospitality industries, Azimi has earned recognition for delivering impactful international campaigns, driving business growth through strategic collaborations, and elevating brand visibility across global markets.

CTO Secretary-General Dona Regis-Prosper said the new team member brings ‘a proven track record of innovation, leadership and results,’ having led global marketing and communications strategies for world-renowned brands such as British Airways and Mount Gay Rum Distilleries. ‘Her expertise and creative vision will be instrumental as we strengthen the CTO brand and deepen engagement with partners across the region and worldwide,’ Regis-Prosper added.

Azimi will spearhead initiatives to enhance the CTO’s brand presence, expand revenue opportunities, and forge meaningful partnerships that advance the Caribbean’s position as a premier global tourism destination.

‘I’m excited to bring my passion and experience to this new chapter-working alongside the inspiring tourism leaders I’ve long admired to elevate the Caribbean’s presence on the global stage and drive meaningful impact for our members and stakeholders,’ said Azimi, who added that she looks forward to collaborating with the entire CTO team and its valued partners.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), headquartered in Barbados, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency, comprising membership of the region’s finest countries and territories, including Dutch-, English- and French-speaking, as well as a range of private sector allied members.