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The Reggae Boyz regained control of Group B by routing Bermuda, but Trinidad and Tobago (T and T) were forced to share the spoils with Curacao when the final round of World Cup Qualifiers continued on Tuesday.

Jamaica hammered Bermuda 4-0 to move to first place in the group on nine points and put themselves in a strong position to earn an automatic spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

However, the news was not as good for T and T, who drew 1-1 with Curacao and will almost certainly have to win their final two matches if they are to secure a place in their second-ever World Cup.

The result left Curacao in second position in the group on eight points, with T and T third on five points. Bermuda, who are winless after four matches, have already been eliminated.

Playing at the National Stadium in Kingston, the home side was fortunate to take the lead in the 24th minute when Dante Leverock headed the ball into the back of his own net from a free kick.

However, two minutes later Bobby De Cordova-Reid doubled his team’s lead when he got on the end of a pinpoint cross from Renaldo Cephas.

Shamar Nicholson then made it 3-0 in the 35th minute, tapping in from close range following another accurate pass from Cephas.

Dujuan Richards then put the exclamation point on the win in the 76th minute, when he blasted the ball into the back of the net despite being surrounded by defenders.

Meanwhile, at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Curaçao, Kenji Gorré sent the home fans in a frenzy when he opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a right-footed finish to the upper right corner.

T and T were fortunate not to find themselves down 2-0 seven minutes later, however, Livano Comenencia’s shot from outside the box bounced off the left post.

The visitors came close to drawing level moments before the end of the first half, but Jerrin Jackie’s close-range effort hit the right post, while attempts from both Josiah Trimmingham and Andre Rampersad from a corner were blocked.

T and T finally got on the scoresheet in the second half when Tyrese Spicer unleashed a powerful shot in the 58th minute from inside the box that sped past Curacao’s keeper Eloy Room and into the back of the net.

However, T and T could not find the winning goal, which would have left them tied with Curacao for second in the group on seven points.

T and T will face Jamaica in their next match on November 13, in a contest they must win, with Curacao expected to defeat Bermuda in their match on the same date.

The Trinidad and Tobago government says it is clamping down on illegal gambling here that has so far resulted in the state-owned National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) losing billions of dollars (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) annually.

Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo, said that while the NLCB is a major contributor of revenue to the government with annual gross revenues close to three billion dollars, illegal lotteries comprising bets and pay-outs facilitated by third parties on the NLCB’s legal lottery games continue to impair the NLCB’s profit margins.

‘It is estimated that revenues generated from illegal lotteries are upwards of nine billion dollars per year,’ Tancoo said as he delivered the TT$59.2 billion (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) budget earlier this week. Debate on the fiscal package will begin on Friday.

He said additionally, these illicit activities also rob the government of income tax, corporation tax, windfall tax and direct revenues from NLCB’s available surpluses.

‘Furthermore, these illegal operators are reportedly also involved in other forms of illicit activities, including money-laundering, black market activities and human trafficking,’ Tancoo said, adding that to combat illegal lotteries, he is proposing an increase in existing penalties under the Gambling and Betting Act.

He said that the penalty will be increased to a fine of TT$250,000 and to imprisonment for three years, or conviction on indictment to a fine of three million dollars and to imprisonment for seven years.

He said that this is consistent with the new penalties that will be implemented as soon as the Gambling (Gaming Betting and Control) Act is proclaimed.

But Tancoo said that notwithstanding the illegality of lotteries under the Gambling and Betting Act, it is essential to highlight that current illegal lotteries may not be captured under those offences.

He said modern illegal lotteries are not conducted independently but instead use the results of the NLCB’s Online lottery draws and that tickets are issued to players, usually resembling a receipt from a grocery store.

He said to combat this new mode of illegal lottery, he is proposing the introduction of a new criminal offence under the National Lotteries Act, which mirrors Section 19 of the Gambling and Betting Act but which criminalizes the receipt of a bet, issuance of a ticket or pay-out of any monies.

Tancoo said that the offence should be heavily criminalised and carry a fine of TT$250,000 and imprisonment for three years or conviction on indictment to a fine of three million dollars and imprisonment for seven years.

‘The NLCB’s evidence of the results and who are authorised agents would be prima facie evidence for these matters, therefore allowing the NLCB to give evidence to the police that can support criminal prosecutions,’ Tancoo said, adding ‘this would enable more NLCB input in fighting against illegal lotteries’.

Meanwhile, Tancoo said that owing to a lack of audits and the broad interpretation of the NLCB Act, the NLCB has been able to retain tens of millions of dollars accumulated over the years.

He said to combat this phenomenon and allow the government better access to NLCB’s revenues, it is proposed that NLCB make quarterly payments to the Consolidated Fund, as opposed to annual.

He said the NLCB would be subject to financial limits expressed by the Minister of Finance in relation to various items of expenditure.

‘This would ensure that a hard and fast budget by the NLCB would be in place, resulting in better control of revenue retention by the NLCB,’ Tancoo told legislators.

The St. Lucia government says it will next week sign a multi-million dollar loan agreement with the OPEC Fund for International Development to partially finance the cost of planned construction work along the Julian Hunte Highway, north of here.

Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre said that the agreement will be signed on the margins of the ongoing the World Bank meetings in New York, adding ‘so the funding arrangements needed for the Gros Islet Highway have been completed.

‘The money for the reconstruction is coming from OPEC and the Kuwaiti Fund. We got $33 million in funding,’ he said.

Pierre said that the work is now taking place to widen the Vieux Sucrieux Road, so to help help alleviate vehicular traffic during construction along the JHH.

‘We are working on the Vieux Sucrieux road in the meantime, in order to alleviate traffic when work starts on the highway, and next year, all things being equal, we will get work done on the Vieux Sucrieux bridge.

The World Food Programme (WFP) Wednesday said that for the first time in nearly a decade there are no contingency stocks for the hurricane season in Haiti, as it warned that nearly 14 million people worldwide could face severe hunger by the end of the year.

The WFP said that the slashing of humanitarian funding is also threatening six of its most critical operations.

It said programmes in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan are already facing major disruptions, which will only get worse.

‘Every ration cut means a child goes to bed hungry, a mother skips a meal, or a family loses the support they need to survive,’ said WFP executive director, Cindy McCain.

The WFP said the crisis is happening as global hunger reaches record highs, with 319 million people facing acute food insecurity, including 44 million at emergency level. Famine has also taken hold in Sudan and the Gaza Strip.

WFP said it expects to receive 40 per cent less funding this year, resulting in a projected budget of US$6.4 billion, down from US$10 billion last year.

‘We are at risk of losing decades of progress in the fight against hunger,’ said McCain, with the WFP said that even hard-won gains in the Sahel region, where 500,000 people have been lifted out of aid dependence with integrated food assistance and resilience programmes, could soon be wiped out without continued support.’

The cuts could push 13.7 million people who receive WFP food assistance from crisis to emergency levels of hunger , a one-third increase, the WFP said in a new report.

‘In Haiti, hot meal programmes have already stopped, and families are receiving half WFP’s standard monthly rations,’ the agency said, while ‘support in Somalia has been downsized repeatedly’, from 2.2 million people last year to just 350,000 in November.

WFP said that its preparation efforts also have suffered. For the first time in nearly a decade there are no contingency stocks for the hurricane season in Haiti, and no pre-positioning of food in Afghanistan as winter approaches.

Although the cuts have different impacts across its operations, the agency remains committed to delivering food assistance in the world’s hungriest places.

‘The devastating harm inflicted by cuts to food assistance not only threatens lives, but also risks undermining stability, fuelling displacement, and stoking wider social and economic upheaval,’ said McCain.

‘Swift and effective food assistance is a vital bulwark against chaos in nations already struggling to cope.’

Bahamas has become the second Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to indicate that it will not be voting in support of a Net-Zero Shipping Framework (NZF) aimed at reducing reducing emissions in the maritime sector.

Earlier, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said St. John’s was not in favour of voting in support of the measure being pushed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) hat was approved in April this year.

The matter is set for adoption during the Marine Environmental Protection Committee meeting that is taking place until October 17.

‘The Bahamas had some time ago written to the IMO to ask for the vote to be postponed, and if the vote is not postponed, we expect to abstain,’ said Foreign Affairs Minister, Fred Mitchell.

IMO Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, said while the IMO Net-Zero Framework ‘is not perfect,’ it ‘provides a balanced basis for our further work ahead of its entry into force in 2027.

‘This process has been inclusive and thorough,’ Dominguez added, urging delegates to approach the talks ‘with diplomacy and respect’.