Category: CANA News

The Barbados Tridents Women defeated the Jamaica Empress Women by three runs in the fifth match of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League at Kensington Oval here on Saturday.

Scores

BARBADOS TRIDENTS WOMEN 140-7 in 20 overs (Suzie Bates 39 not out, Maddy Green 39, Hayley Matthews 21, Qiana Joseph 14; Stafanie Taylor 4-29).

JAMAICA EMPRESS WOMEN 137-4 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 57, Amy Hunter 47).

The Trinbago Knight Riders Women elected to field after winning the toss against the Guyana Amazon Warriors Women in the fourth match of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League at Kensington Oval here on Saturday.

SQUADS

TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS WOMEN: Deandra Dottin (captain), Yastika Bhatia, Laura Harris, Marizanne Kapp, Madeline Penna, Jannillea Glasgow, Shikha Pandey, Jahzara Claxton, Karishma Ramharack, Samara Ramnath, Brianna Harricharan.

GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS WOMEN: Chloe Tryon (captain), Realeanna Grimmond, Tazmin Brits, Eboni Brathwaite, Shemaine Campbelle, Nadine de Klerk, Erin Burns, Shabnim Ismail, Sheneta Grimmond, Ashmini Munisar, Shamilia Connell.

Umpires: Candace la Borde, Zahid Bassarath.

TV Umpire: Jacqueline Williams.

Reserve Umpire: Carl Tuckett.

Match Referee: Michael Ragoonath.

Trinidadians in New York will get their chance to celebrate Independence Day together on Saturday, nearly two weeks after the city’s inaugural Independence Parade was cancelled over safety concerns.

The parade, which had been scheduled for August 30 in Brooklyn, was cancelled by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) citing concerns about the proposed route and traffic management.

Organiser Tiffany LaPierre told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) on Friday that the celebrations will instead take the form of a ‘Last Lap Jam’ at Resorts World New York City.

‘I feel amazing!’ exclaimed LaPierre, daughter of organiser Juju and a Brooklyn resident. ‘We were disappointed that the Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day Parade was cancelled, and Resorts World gives us the opportunity to celebrate our Independence Day in style in a safe and exclusive location.

‘It is important for us,’ she added. ‘This is the last lap. We want everyone to come out with positive energy.

‘We want all Caribbean people to come out and celebrate with us,’ LaPierre continued. ‘We’d like them to experience Trinidad and Tobago culture.’

The event, scheduled from noon to 7:00 p.m., will feature several Trinidadian soca artistes, including Denise Belfon, Anselm Douglas and Natasha Wilson.

LaPierre said Moko Jumbies, Ole Mas performers and steel orchestras from New York City will also be part of the celebrations.

DJs including Blingers, Young Chow and Mad Man Maddy will provide the soca vibes, while Wassy and Executive will serve as Masters of Ceremonies.

The event gives the Trinidadian community an opportunity to mark the country’s Independence Day despite the cancellation of the planned parade.

After the Independence Day parade was cancelled, Pastor Louis Straker, Jr., the lead pastor of Reflections Church on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, said that, as ‘a proud citizen of Trinidad and Tobago’, he found himself ‘torn’ by the decision.

Pastor Straker, the son of a Trinidadian mother and Sir Louis Straker, a former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, told CMC that he was ‘torn’ not because he believes the parade should have been permitted under the circumstances.

Three-time defending Women’s Caribbean Premier League champions Barbados Tridents Women pulled of a spectacular three-run win over the Jamaica Empress Women on Saturday to keep their playoff hopes alive.

In chase of the Tridents’ total of 140 for seven, the Empress Women looked to be cruising to victory at Kensington Oval with openers Meg Lanning and Amy Hunter at the crease during a 104-run stand in 13 overs.

However, in a stunning turn of events, the visitors lost momentum once the partnership was broken to limp to 137 for four at the end of their 20 overs.

Lanning, who scored 57 off 46 balls with eight boundaries, and Hunter, who made 47 from 45 balls, put the Empress Women in the driver’s seat in their run chase.

Spinner Afy Fletcher got the breakthrough for the Tridents by dismissing Hunter and Suzie Bates accounted for the wicket of Rashada Williams for just four to make the score 115 for two in the 16th over.

And even when Qiana Joseph claimed the prized scalp of Lanning, caught at point attempting to go over the top, the Empress Women were still in control at 118 for three.

Chinelle Henry needlessly gave her wicket away by hitting Cherry-Ann Fraser straight down the throat of long on to set up a tense finish with 10 runs required from nine balls.

Aaliyah Alleyne could only muster a run off the last ball of the over, bringing the equation down to nine runs off the last over.

Joseph then held her nerve to concede just four singles off the first five deliveries, with captain Stafanie Taylor surprisingly taking a single off the penultimate ball with six runs needed for victory.

Needing a six to win or a four to force a Super Over, Alleyne’s straight hit down the ground was stopped by the long on fielder, restricting them to a single.

It sparked wild celebrations from the Tridents’ camp, as it gave them their first win of the tournament in their second match.

Taylor had earlier given her side a good chance of pulling off a second victory in three games, with her four-wicket haul limiting the Tridents to their eventual total.

The Empress Women would have been disappointed they let the home side score as many runs as they did, as they were struggling at 56 for four in the 10th over.

But Player-of-the-Match Suzie Bates scored an unbeaten 39 off 28 balls, and together with Maddy Green, who also scored 39, shared a 78-run partnership for the fifth wicket that helped to breathe life back into the Tridents’ innings.

Taylor, who snared 4-29, ensured there would be no late flourish however, dismissing Green, Pooja Vastrakar and Cherry-Ann Fraser in quick succession.

The Barbados Tridents elected to field after winning the toss against the Jamaica Kingsmen in the 34th match of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League at Kensington Oval here on Saturday.

SQUADS

BARBADOS TRIDENTS: Chris Green (captain), Zachary Carter, Brandon King, Rivaldo Clarke, Quinton de Kock, Sherfane Rutherford, Daniel Sams, Shadrack Descarte, Gudakesh Motie, Jakeem Pollard, AM Ghazanfar.

JAMAICA KINGSMEN: Rovman Powell (captain), Maaz Sadaqat, Kirk McKenzie, Keacy Carty, Usman Khan, Andre Russell, Hassan Khan, Keemo Paul, Odean Smith, Vitel Lawes, Hunain Shah.

Umpires: Carl Tuckett, Gregory Brathwaite.

TV Umpire: Zahid Bassarath.

Reserve Umpire: Chris Wright,

Match Referee: Reon King.

Two University of the West Indies (The UWI) researchers have won the 2026 Yidan Prize for Education Development for their work on Reach Up, an early childhood programme now used in more than 21 countries.

Professor Susan P. Walker, Emeritus Professor of Nutrition at The UWI’s Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR), and Dr Susan M. Chang-Lopez, Senior Lecturer at CAIHR, share the award with Professor Sally Grantham-McGregor, Emeritus Professor of International Child Health and Development at University College London.

The three researchers were recognised for developing Reach Up, an evidence-based early childhood intervention designed to help caregivers support the development of children from birth to four years old.

The programme grew from research in Jamaica and uses low-cost, culturally adaptable activities based on everyday routines. It helps caregivers develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to talk, play and respond to children in ways that support cognitive development.

Reach Up is now implemented in more than 21 countries across the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East through existing health, social protection, education and humanitarian systems. Its curriculum and materials are provided free of charge and are continuously evaluated and adapted.

The Yidan Prize Foundation said the researchers’ work demonstrated the importance of early stimulation and quality interaction in shaping children’s development and longer-term life outcomes.

Dorothy K. Gordon, head of the Yidan Prize Judging Panel for Education Development, said Reach Up gave children ‘better chances for an equal start in learning, education, and life’.

She said the laureates had demonstrated how lasting change could be achieved through evidence, partnership and local leadership.

Walker, who served as CAIHR Director from 2012 to 2020, said the research began with the Jamaica Home Visit programme, which examined whether regular, low-cost stimulation provided through play, conversation and homemade toys could influence children’s development.

‘Our vision is to ensure children have early environments that support their development, the foundation for success at school and across the life course,’ Walker said.

She said follow-up research found that participants earned between 25 and 40 per cent more than their peers as adults, while also recording better cognitive skills and improved mental health outcomes.

Chang-Lopez described the award as recognition of more than 40 years of research conducted in Jamaica and with partners internationally.

‘The Yidan award is a public recognition of over 40 years of research conducted here in Jamaica and with partners worldwide,’ she said.

She thanked the researchers’ colleagues, as well as the parents and children who participated in their studies and the wider global Reach Up community.

The Yidan Prize Foundation describes its award as the world’s highest accolade in education. Each 2026 laureate will receive HK$30 million, approximately US$3.8 million, comprising a cash award and an unrestricted project fund to advance their work and expand its reach.

The three Education Development laureates will be honoured at the Yidan Prize Summit in Hong Kong from December 3 to 5, 2026.

Current CAIHR Director Professor Marshall Tulloch-Reid congratulated the researchers, saying the achievement demonstrated the real-world impact of the institute’s research and its mission to improve health and well-being through innovative research and partnerships.

Government is intensifying efforts to improve educational outcomes among boys, with the Ministry of Education launching a dedicated push to address the growing gender gap in the school system.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Marlon Morgan, has been tasked with leading the Ministry’s boys’ education agenda as officials develop measures to provide greater support for male students.

Permanent Secretary Dr. Kasan Troupe said the move follows concerns that boys were trailing girls at the end of the last academic year.

She said technical work is already underway to identify ways of supporting schools and teachers and enriching the educational experiences of boys during the 2026-27 academic year.

‘We have gone already into the workshop to look at how we will be supporting our schools this year under the leadership of Senator Morgan,’ Troupe said.

‘He will be leading the boys’ education machinery in the Ministry. The technical work has begun, and you will hear more about that as we support our teachers, looking at other activities that will help and enrich the experiences for our boys,’ she added.

Troupe said the Government wants boys to catch up academically while also preparing them to become responsible adults and contributors to Jamaican society.

‘We want them to catch up. We want them to be good husbands and good fathers… good partners,’ she said.

‘We have daughters and we want them to find good men tomorrow. So we have a responsibility to make sure that our boys can stand out and stand up in Jamaica,’ Troupe added.

Meanwhile, she said more than 8,000 teachers worked with the Jamaica Teaching Council during the summer to prepare for the 2026-27 academic year.

Troupe also reported that the National Parenting Support Commission reached more than 56,000 parents between April and September as part of efforts to prepare students and parents for the new school year.

The commission, an agency of the Education Ministry, provides programmes and services aimed at strengthening parenting skills and promoting greater parental involvement in education.

Troupe said partnerships between home and school remain critical to improving student outcomes.

The Jamaica Kingsmen reached 150 for nine in 20 overs after being sent in by the Barbados Tridents in the 34th match of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League at Kensington Oval here on Saturday.

JAMAICA KINGSMEN 150-9 in 20 overs (Maaz Sadaqat 47, Usman Khan 18, Hassan Khan 16, Keacy Carty 15, Kirk McKenzie 11, Andre Russell 10; Jakeem Pollard 3-38, Gudakesh Motie 2-7, Daniel Sams 2-41).

Guyana is building backup capacity into its electricity network to reduce disruptions when equipment fails or is taken offline for maintenance.

Team Leader of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) Executive Management Committee, Kesh Nandlall, said the approach will be incorporated into future infrastructure projects to allow power to continue flowing through another line or transformer when one is unavailable.

‘What we are building out, and in all our future infrastructural projects, we are building redundancy,’ he said during a tour of the Goedverwagting substation on Friday.

‘So that if we are ready to take down one of these transformers, we have another one there and we won’t have any outage.’

Nandlall explained that under the existing system, taking some transformers out of service for maintenance can result in customers losing electricity.

The upgraded network is being designed with alternative pathways so that power can continue flowing when equipment is taken out of service.

‘If one-line trips or if one transformer trips, it goes to the other one and the interruption of the customers is not there,’ he said.

The works form part of a US$422.2 million programme to strengthen Guyana’s electricity transmission and distribution network and prepare it to receive power from the 300-megawatt Gas-to-Energy project at Wales.

The Goedverwagting substation will be a key part of the upgraded system, receiving electricity generated at Wales and transmitting it across the interconnected network.

Power from the Gas-to-Energy plant will be transmitted to Goedverwagting at 230 kilovolts (kV) before being reduced to lower voltage levels for distribution.

The substation will also connect with GPL’s existing Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS), including the Sophia substation.

The new facility has been designed with additional capacity to accommodate future electricity demand.

A new 69kV transmission line will connect Goedverwagting to the Columbia substation, replacing existing infrastructure along the railway embankment. Monopoles for sections of the transmission network have already been constructed.

A 230kV transmission network will also extend east to Williamsburg, where another substation will reduce the voltage to 69kV.

That network will connect with the Onverwagt and Number 53 substations, while electricity can also be transmitted farther east to the Skeldon substation.

The expanded network will eventually connect communities along the corridor towards Moleson Creek.

Nandlall said the investment is necessary to ensure electricity generated under the Gas-to-Energy project can be efficiently transmitted to homes and businesses.

Meanwhile, commissioning is nearing for the 300-megawatt Goedverwagting substation and the US$20 million National Control Centre.

The control centre will allow GPL to monitor and manage electricity flows across the national grid in real time, improving its ability to respond to faults and manage demand.

New substations at Chateau Margot and Enmore, along with the expansion of the Columbia substation, are approximately 60 per cent complete.

The programme includes multiple transmission routes and backup infrastructure intended to limit disruptions when equipment fails or requires maintenance.

The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) has named a 44-member team to compete at the XIII South American Games.

The competition will take place in Argentina and is scheduled to run between September 12 to 26.

Athletes from Guyana will take part in athletics, archery, boxing, esports, squash, table tennis, taekwondo and tennis.

The Games will be staged across the three host cities of Rosario, Santa Fe and Rafaela, bringing together more than 4,000 athletes from 15 countries. The programme will feature 43 sports and 60 disciplines.

Importantly, the Games will provide qualification opportunities for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

GOA President Godfrey Munroe said the size and diversity of the delegation demonstrates the continued development of Guyana’s high-performance sporting system.

‘The participation of athletes across eight disciplines reflects the growing breadth of Guyanese sport and the determination of our national federations and athletes to compete successfully at the highest regional level.

‘These Games are not only about immediate results; they are an important part of our wider athlete-development and qualification pathway towards the 2027 Pan American Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games,’ Munroe said.

‘The Guyana Olympic Association remains committed to working with our national federations, athletes, coaches, Government and other partners to provide the support necessary for our athletes to compete with pride and distinction.’