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West Indies stand in T20I captain, Akeal Hosein has urged fans not to lose hope in the regional team following their shocking 2-1 loss to Nepal in their just concluded T20I series.

His plea came after the sixth-ranked West Indies demolished Nepal by 10 wickets in the third and final T20I on Tuesday to earn a consolation win after they were thoroughly outplayed by their 18th-ranked opponents in the first two matches.

Hosein, who captained the side in the absence of regular skipper Shai Hope, acknowledged that while their supporters had all rights to be discouraged after the loss, he said the team would get its act together leading up to the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, slated to bowl off in early February’I mean we owe everything to them. We’ve been disappointing them for a while now and hopefully we can sort of give them a positive message with such a clinical performance.

‘But as I’ve said in the past, we’ve really disappointed them and hopefully we can make that turn leading up to the World Cup,’ Hosein said.

Despite the embarrassing series loss, Hosein said he was very impressed with the way in which the Windies outplayed Nepal in the final T20I.

He also gave Nepal credit for preparing pitches which suited their strengths in the opening two matches of the series.

‘I’m happy to see them come out and give that sort of performance, the last game in the end of the series, losing two games up front, I think it was an excellent effort and clinical as well.

‘But I thought Nepal ticked all the boxes in this series. They batted well, they bowled well, and they fielded well and if I can go one step further, in winning a series I believe you have to do everything possible in your power, especially when it’s your home series,’ Hosein said.

‘And if you can look over the past three games, the first two games were definitely their home conditions, a surface that they are accustomed to, it was slow and low. And if you can see, once they secured that series, they came and they played on a green top, probably for experience or to get accustomed and it was a totally different match.

‘So, kudos to them, they used their home advantage pretty well and that’s why they are the winners here today,’ he added.

The United Nations Wednesday urged the international community to fund a new UN Support Office in Haiti, less than 24 hours after the Security Council adopted a resolution authorising the transition of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to a Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

It said that the new office in Port au Prince, to be known by its UNSOH, is meant to provide logistical and operational support to the GSF.

‘Establishing a UN Support Office funded by peacekeeping-assessed contributions was initially recommended by the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres back in February, as you will recall,’ said Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

‘We urge member states to support the Gang Suppression Force, including through scaled-up voluntary contributions and the provision of uniformed personnel. All of this to help overcome the challenges that have constrained the Multinational Security Support mission,’ Dujarric told the daily UN briefing.

‘In this regard, we welcome the establishment of a Standing Group of Partners for the Gang Suppression Force by member states to provide high-level strategic direction, oversight, and relevant political decision-making for the new force. This was also among the Secretary-General’s recommendations back in February.’

Dujarric said that the UN is calling on Haitian stakeholders to build on this momentum by accelerating efforts to complete the political transition, adding that the head of the political office in Haiti, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, continues to support Haitian actors on that path.

‘The UN Political Mission in Haiti’s prevention and good offices work remains now more relevant than ever,’ Dujarric said, updating reporters also on what he described as ‘the horrific situation regarding gender-based violence’.

He said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that these atrocities continue at alarming levels in Haiti.

According to the UN spokesman, between January and August of this year, ‘our humanitarian partners reported more than 6,450 incidents, nearly half of those cases being rape. One in seven of these survivors is a girl under 18.

‘According to our partners armed groups were reportedly responsible for 75 per cent of the cases. Displaced people account for 70 per cent of the survivors,’ Dujarric said, noting that only a quarter of rape survivors were able to access medical care within the critical 72-hour window, while another quarter received treatment only after more than one month.

‘These delays are driven by insecurity, stigma, weak referral systems and the absence of health services in so many communities in Haiti,’ he said, adding that the vast majority of incidents were concentrated in the West Department, with the capital, Port-au-Prince, alone accounting for more than 30 per cent of cases.

‘We and our partners have been providing life-saving services, including medical and psychosocial support, legal assistance and temporary shelter. However, OCHA reports that access to services remains uneven, with most of these problems concentrated in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding communes.

‘OCHA warns that chronic underfunding is compounding the crisis and leaving the vast majority of survivors without care. Less than 20 per cent of the US$19 million required this year for gender-based violence prevention and response in Haiti has been received so far,’ Dujarric said.

He said urgent support is needed to extend services beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, and ensure that women and girls across the country can access protection and care.

Belize has been elected Part III of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for the period 2025 – 2028.

A government statement said that the election took place during the celebration of the ICAO’s 42nd Assembly at the Chicago Convention and that the Council, during this period, shall be the body charged with carrying out the directions of the assembly and discharging the duties and obligations laid out in the Convention.

Kennedy Carrillo

The statement said that the work to be carried out by the newly elected Council over the next triennium will include improving aviation security, the development of policies and protocols for the inclusion of artificial intelligence in aviation, achieving environmental sustainability goals, and supporting the next generation of aviation professionals.

‘This is a historic victory for Belize, as it will, for the first time, join and contribute meaningfully to the highest technical body in aviation. Belize is committed to supporting both the Caribbean and Central American sub-regions.

‘Notwithstanding, the representation will be used to promote those policies and initiatives that seek to advance Belize’s aviation strategic objectives,’ the statement said, adding that ‘aviation continues to be a significant contributor to Belize’s socio-economic well-being, as it is one of the most significant pillars that support tourism’.

It said that Kennedy Carrillo, who has been appointed as Belize’s representative to the ICAO Council, will be based in Montreal, Canada, where she will participate in deliberations and initiatives that seek to make Global Aviation safer and more secure for all.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley says Barbados will ‘open our doors with order and with pride’ as Barbados joins three other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in fully implementing free movement of their nationals among themselves from today.

Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize and Dominica are implementing one of the major aspects of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the region.

The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that extensive preparations have been undertaken to ensure ‘a smooth and secure rollout’ of the full free movement among the four countries, adding that the other member states that participate in the CSME and have not signed on to full free movement ‘will continue to facilitate movement of their nationals under the existing regime for skilled workers, for the provision of services and the operation of businesses’.

In a nationwide radio and television broadcast on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mottley acknowledged that Barbados is on the cusp of a change that will touch the lives across the Caribbean region and strengthen the nation.

Financial constraints have forced Cricket West Indies (CWI) to significantly alter and in some instances cut some of their regional competitions next year.

This was revealed on Wednesday by CWI’s chief executive officer, Chris Dehring and Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, who both admitted that 2026 would be a challenging year for the region’s governing cricket body with its revenue expected to drop significantly.

Among some of the casualties is CWI’s Under-17 tournament, which has been scrapped, the women’s tournaments will be merged, while the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) and the West Indies Academy have been axed from the men’s tournaments.

Speaking during CWI’s quarterly press conference, Dehring said CWI was scheduled to host over 33 events next year, including tours of Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan.

He explained that based on the financial model of the ICC, the West Indies was not set to benefit from hosting either of the three tours.

Dehring said with the profits from co-hosting the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup already gone, tough decisions had to be made in CWI’s best interest.

‘We have to take an honest look at ourselves and understand that we’re not going to get out of where we are without a long-term vision, a long-term plan, and an execution of those plans based on the resources that we have.

‘.The year 2025-2026 is going to be a very challenging financial year for us,’ Dehring said.

From left: CWI chief executive officer Chris Dehring; CWI president Dr Kishore Shallow and Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe at CWIs quarterly press conference.

‘.When we host countries like India or England, we are able to hold our head above water because those tours tend to pay for themselves, international broadcast rights for the television products that we produce help us to fund all the development programmes, all the tournaments that we host every year

‘When we have to host Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand, as much as we enjoy playing the cricket against them, hosting those teams come with a financial price. It’s a price we have to pay to keep our seat at the head table at the ICC and retain our Full Membership, so we have to host these tours, they are a part of the Future Tours programme that we agreed to.

‘But we’re not going to be able to recoup even the television production costs of those tours, much less make a profit to pay for all the developmental tournaments. People don’t appreciate the number of events and tournaments that CWI hosts. We host over 33 events next year, tours, tournaments, overseas tours, domestic leagues, training camps and that is slightly reduced because we’ve had to make some fairly significant changes to those tournaments and tours, simply because we’re not going to have the cash,’ he further added.

Dehring said CWI has formulated a ‘four-pronged’ attack aimed at addressing those financial issues, which included continued lobbying with the ICC to restructure its financial model, reengineering its domestic tournaments, working closer with CARICOM and getting more financial support from companies in the Caribbean.

As it relates to changes in regional tournaments, Bascombe said there would be a reduction in the number of matches across competitions, with the CCC and WI Academy also being removed.

He said the women’s tournaments would see the ODI and T20 formats being merged into a singular tournament.

Bascombe said with the Under-17 tournament being withdrawn, there would be an extended Under-19 tournament, with players being exposed to both the red and white ball format.

Despite the major cutbacks, he said cricketers in the region would still have more than enough opportunities to showcase their skills and vie for places in the West Indies teams.

‘The changes to these tournaments, though forced, we have tried to ensure that there is enough cricket that we can have a good account of our player pool.

‘Players have enough time and opportunity to give a good account of themselves and make themselves eligible for selection to West Indies teams,’ Bascombe said.

The following is the CANANews and SPORTS Schedule for Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

HAMILTON – National Security Minister, Michael Weeks, warned that he could not ‘overstate the seriousness’ of the threat posed by Hurricane Imelda as it moves closer towards Bermuda on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (mph).

BRIDGETOWN – Prime Minister Mia Mottley says Barbados will ‘open our doors with order and with pride’ as Barbados joins three other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in fully implementing free movement of their nationals among themselves from today.

GEORGETOWN – The Guyana government has unveiled a new plan aimed at stemming the outflow of United States currency that has now almost quadrupled over the past year to about US$1.2 billion.

BELMOPAN – The Belize government says it has received a report into the alleged kidnapping of a Belizean and his surrender to Guatemalan authorities in August.

WASHINGTON – The United States has announced support for the Trinidad and Tobago government’s Dragon gas proposal with Venezuela saying it will take ‘steps to ensure it will not provide significant benefit to the Maduro regime’.

KINGSTON – Chairman of the 15-member regional integration grouping, CARICOM, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, has welcomed the decision of the United Nations Security Council to back a resolution authorising the transition of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission for Haiti into a new Gang Suppression Force (GSF).

SPORTS:

ADMEDABAD – West Indies Test captain Roston Chase believes that heading into their two-match Test series against India as an underdog and ‘with nothing to lose’ will make them a very dangerous outfit.

DUBAI – West Indies stand in T20I captain, Akeal Hosein has urged fans not to lose hope in the regional team following their shocking 2-1 loss to Nepal in their just concluded T20I series.

The Belize government says it has received a report into the alleged kidnapping of a Belizean and his surrender to Guatemalan authorities in August.

In addition, the government said that Police Commissioner, Dr Richard Rosado, who had been sent on 45 days’ leave ‘in the first instance’ would return ‘to active duty effective immediately’.

A government statement said that the report into the abduction of Ryan Joseph Budna had been received from the lead investigator, Assistant Commissioner of Police Suzette Anderson.

It said that based on the high level of public interest in this case, the report made two recommendations, which were accepted by the Cabinet.

‘The recommendation moving forward is that an Independent Investigation be conducted in relation to this incident,’ and ‘that none of the police officers assigned to this Inquiry be allowed to make any statement to the media or within the public domain, in order to safeguard the integrity of the said Inquiry in the event that the matter is addressed in a court of law’.

The statement said that Cabinet had also agreed to refer the recommendations to the Attorney General for legal guidance on how best to give full effect to this recommendation.

‘Considering the fact that the evidence, as disclosed in the Inquiry Report, does not in any way implicate Commissioner of Police, Dr. Richard Rosado, Cabinet has requested that his leave of absence be discontinued and that he return to active duty effective immediately,’ the statement added.

Last month, Prime Minister John Briceño said he had instructed the country’s police commissioner to proceed on 45 days’ leave ‘in the first instance’ after he had earlier asked his Home Affairs Minister, Kareem Musa, to provide an update over the controversial ‘abduction’ of Budna.

On August 24, the Belize Police Department said it had officially launched an investigation into an incident involving Budna, which occurred on August 22.

‘The Policia National Civil (PNC) of Guatemala has confirmed that Mr Ryan Joseph Budna is in their custody pursuant to an arrest warrant; however, they have not disclosed the details surrounding his apprehension,’ the police said, adding that its own investigation was initiated based on an official report filed by a witness to the event.

‘The witness reported observing a confrontation involving several individuals, one of whom matched the description of Mr Budna, who was subsequently placed into a dark-coloured SUV bearing a Belize City license plate,’ the police added.

But a government statement said that Briceño had received the police report from Musa and ‘found the report to be incomplete and, therefore, unsatisfactory’ and that Anderson, be immediately assigned the responsibility to complete the police investigation into the Budna matter, with the goal of submitting a complete report by the end of September.

Several attorneys have already indicated a willingness to fight for Budna’s constitutional rights, with attorney Arthur Saldivar telling reporters ‘we all have a right to liberty and freedom of movement’.

Meanwhile, Musa said he has always been supportive of an independent inquiry into the matter.

‘It has never been done and so we will have to look at the dynamics of that, because they will have to have access to all that the police has access to. Its is uncommon. We will have to look regionally to see what the processes are, how it is appointed, how it is that they work along with the DPP moving forward.

‘And so, these things hopefully we can sort out in a very quick time, rapid time, so that we can have a access to the police information,’ he added.

West Indies Test captain Roston Chase believes that heading into their two-match Test series against India as an underdog and ‘with nothing to lose’ will make them a very dangerous outfit.

The West Indies will look to end a 42-year Test series drought on the Asian subcontinent when the opening Test bowls off on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

India, who is ranked fourth in the ICC’s Test rankings, will go into the series as overwhelming favourites having dominated the eighth-ranked Windies both home and away over the past three decades.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference on Wednesday following his side’s final training session, Chase, who will be leading the Test team in his second series, said his side had been given very little chance of even winning a Test match.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley says Barbados will ‘open our doors with order and with pride’ as Barbados joins three other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in fully implementing free movement of their nationals among themselves from today.

Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize and Dominica are implementing one of the major aspects of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the region.

The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that extensive preparations have been undertaken to ensure ‘a smooth and secure rollout’ of the full free movement among the four countries, adding that the other member states that participate in the CSME and have not signed on to full free movement ‘will continue to facilitate movement of their nationals under the existing regime for skilled workers, for the provision of services and the operation of businesses’.

In a nationwide radio and television broadcast on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mottley acknowledged that Barbados is on the cusp of a change that will touch the lives across the Caribbean region and strengthen the nation.

‘I know some of you feel excited. I also know that some of you do feel anxious. You have questions. You want to know exactly what will happen and how it will affect your family, your job, your children’s future,’ she said, adding thatt ‘all of your questions and feelings are valid’.

During her broadcast, Prime Minister gave a history of Barbados leadership within the regional integration movement saying ‘we have had successive governments work fervently to build a regional integration project’.

She said all the various stakeholders were aware that ‘a small country like Barbados needed the regional integration project in order to do better for our people’ and that the step being taken from October , is practically nothing new given that ‘the ties among the islands are not new, not strange, and definitely not to be feared’.

She said that the new step ‘supports jobs, supports public services, and supports our future’ and that the nationals from Barbados and the three other CARICOM countries ‘will be able to move among these states with the right to live, to work without a work permit, and to study on an indefinite basis.

‘We call ourselves pioneers because we are putting in place a regime which I have every confidence that others in our Caribbean community will join in’.

Mottley outlined the procedures that will be implemented allowing for the full free movement including immigration status even as she acknowledged that ‘any government may refuse entry to a person on the basis of public health concerns.

‘As we learned recently, all of us in the COVID- 19 pandemic. These principles remain in place. They are the guardrails of responsible regional integration. And believe me when I tell you that they will be applied should the need arise.

‘Secondly, we operate within a regional security architecture that works every day and works professionally and has done so since 2007 for almost two decades,’ she said, noting that the Caribbean became the first region to vet the names of all passengers against INTERPOL’s databases in 2007.

‘We also vet against the United States databases at Homeland Security, and indeed the CARICOM Regional Watch lists as a means of double and triple checking Barbadians. We are not closing our eyes and swiping.

We do not welcome criminality. We welcome contribution. We do not welcome abuse of our systems. That is the balance and that is the commitment I make to yo,’ Mottley said, adding that while cabinet has approved the policy framework, the bill should be laid at the next sitting of Parliament on October 7 for debate.

Mottley also spoke of the economic advantages of the new initiative, saying the fastest developing countries grow when people bring talent and energy and enterprise, and those that fall equally are those that turn inwards and refuse to recognise the need for skills to come in to help build out their country.

‘We don’t only need investment and money for countries growth and development. We need people and skills. People who come to live and work here will fill that gap that exists, not force Bajans out of a job that will help our businesses to serve more customers. Create competition that benefits the consumer.

‘They will rent homes or buy homes. They will buy from our shops. They will support local businesses. They will hire our tradesmen. They will go to our places of entertainment. This economic activity will benefit billions across the board. As we have seen in the past, this step also supports our public finances. Those who work will pay income tax,’ she added.

Mottley said that at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, ‘I’ll say it again, Barbados, my friends, is urging the number of people in their working years is declining. The number of seniors is rising. The number of persons being born has declined. It is expected that one in every two Bajans will be over the age of 65 years old.

‘In less than 25 years. I ask you to think about what you were doing in the year 2000, when the center changed, for you to understand how close a horizon this is for us, because this is our reality.

‘Yes, we all want our people to live longer, but it also places pressure on pensions and health costs and our workforce, and therefore we must maintain a strong base of contributors to the Social Security scheme, to the building out of this country, to keep our promises to our elders, and indeed, for our children to have a place that they can live in and hope to grow old in.

‘Free movement among these four countries is therefore not the only answer, but it does go hand in hand with the other work that we are already doing to support our population strategy,’ she added.

She also dismissed the notion that incoming workers be exploited saying the existing minimum wage regime, ‘which we settled a few years ago, will apply equally to those workers who come to Barbados under the full free movement.

‘We are in the process also of expanding the human resource capacity of the Labor Department in order to effectively manage our current situation, as well as are expected growth, and to be able to appropriately police and enforce our labour laws.’

Mottley said that freedom of movement does not remove the need for persons moving into a country to comply with the legal requirements.

‘The professional services registrations are must still be followed. Lawyers, for example, will still need a valid practicing certificate. As with any professions that are regulated by legislation. It is not a one way arrangement that benefits others and leaves Barbadians behind.’

Mottley said that the move towards full free movement is ‘not a sudden leap into the unknown.

‘ It is measured. It is managed. It is ours. My friends, in a world where many are building walls, the Caribbean must build bridges. We must never become what we say we despise. We must not allow fear and insecurity to define us. Barbados has led with courage and conviction on climate justice, on fair access to finance, on the dignity of small states, and, my friends, on the protection of migrants.

‘In this moment, we lead again with the steady work of implementation. We are not naive. We are not careless. We are not unprepared. We are careful and compassionate. We will measure, we will review. And my friends, we will adjust where necessary. We do not expect perfection at the outset. This is how responsible nations govern. Let us look beyond rumor and beyond rhetoric,’ Mottley told the nation.