作者： admin

Alyssa, mom on 3 charges each

Trinidad and Tobago’s acting Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro has defended the recent arrest and charging of well-known local social activist Alyssa Phillip and her mother Camille Caresquero, after the pair joined the country’s annual permitted Labour Day procession in Fyzabad on Friday without formal authorisation for their separate group.

Both women now face three criminal offenses each in connection with the incident. For Phillip, the charges include leading an unauthorised public procession, refusing an official order to disperse the group, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest by law enforcement officers. Caresquero is charged with participating in an unlawful procession, obstructing a police officer in the course of their duties, and resisting arrest.

This arrest marks the second time the mother-daughter activist pair has been taken into custody for protest-related activity in recent weeks. They are currently out on bail pending trial for separate charges stemming from an unsanctioned demonstration outside the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Port of Spain last month. Earlier in May, both women pleaded not guilty to all charges connected to that earlier protest before Magistrate Indira Rmarine Misir-Gosine.

Phillip and Caresquero have become prominent figures in Trinidad and Tobago’s local activist space, leading a series of public demonstrations and community vigils calling for greater accountability and transparency in the criminal justice system. Their protests stem from the controversial charging of Kaia Sealy with manslaughter and firearms-related offenses in connection with the January 20 police-involved shooting death of her husband Joshua Samaroo in St Augustine.

In a formal public statement released on Sunday, titled *TTPS Reaffirms the Rule of Law During Labour Day Procession*, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) addressed widespread public discussion and debate surrounding the arrests, emphasizing that all enforcement action was carried out in full compliance with existing national legislation.

Commissioner Guevarro noted that the TTPS fully recognizes and upholds all constitutionally protected rights of citizens to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. However, he stressed that these fundamental rights are not absolute and must be exercised within the boundaries set out by national law.

Guevarro added that law enforcement officers acted with full professionalism and clear adherence to procedural guidelines throughout the incident. “It is regrettable that enforcement became necessary, but the sanctity of the Labour Day procession should never be compromised by persons seeking to attach unrelated agendas to a permitted national event,” Guevarro said in the statement.

Under Trinidad and Tobago’s Summary Offences Act, all public marches require a formal permit issued directly by the Commissioner of Police, with written applications submitted within a statutorily defined timeframe. The commissioner has the authority to approve or deny permit applications based on assessments of public safety and public order risk. The national trade union movement, which organizes the annual Labour Day procession, completed all required legal steps and received full official approval for this year’s event, the TTPS confirmed.

According to the TTPS’s account of Friday’s incident, Phillip and a small group of her supporters, none of whom were affiliated with the organizing trade union movement, attempted to join the back of the authorised procession. Officers confirmed with event organizers that the activist group was not a formal part of the permitted event, then notified Phillip that her group’s participation would constitute a separate, unauthorised public march that required its own permit. Police also warned the group that their unauthorised presence risked jeopardizing the entire permitted Labour Day event.

Despite multiple formal warnings, the activist group moved forward and joined the procession as an unauthorised tail contingent. In line with Section 116 of the Summary Offences Act, a senior police officer of the required rank formally ordered Phillip, as the group’s leader, to direct the assembly to disperse. When Phillip refused to comply with the lawful order, officers moved in to arrest both her and Caresquero.

The TTPS further grounded its enforcement action in a recent High Court ruling delivered by Justice Ricky Rahim in the case *Walker v Attorney General (CV2023-00302)*. That ruling explicitly clarified the legal distinction between static public meetings and moving public marches, and reaffirmed that all public marches require prior written permission from the Commissioner of Police, regardless of whether they intend to attach themselves to an already permitted event.

“The judgment confirms that any group wishing to participate in a public march must have a permit, and that attaching an unauthorised procession to a lawful one is a breach of the act,” the TTPS statement noted. “The activist group in question did not give notice of a meeting, nor did they apply for or receive a permit for a march. Their actions, therefore, fell squarely within the statutory definition of an unlawful public march.”

Police officials added that enforcement action was necessary to prevent potential escalation of unrest, protect all attendees of the authorised Labour Day event, uphold the rule of law, and preserve the integrity of the national legislative framework governing public assemblies. “Allowing an unpermitted procession to merge with a lawful one would have undermined the event, created security risks, and violated the legal framework governing public marches,” the statement said.

The TTPS concluded by reaffirming its ongoing commitment to upholding all constitutional rights of Trinidad and Tobago citizens, enforcing the law equally and without bias, ensuring that national public events proceed safely and without disruption, and engaging with the public in a transparent and respectful manner. The service also issued a reminder to all activist and community groups seeking to hold public marches that completion of the formal permit process is required to avoid similar enforcement action in the future.

21 6 月, 2026
Former MP hails blind student’s historic CPEA success, urges corporate support

An 11-year-old blind student from St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has captured national attention for her extraordinary performance in the 2024 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA), earning a spot at one of the country’s most prestigious secondary institutions. Former East St. George Member of Parliament and ex-finance minister Camillo Gonsalves, who left office after November 2023’s general election, shared the inspiring news in a public Facebook video posted Saturday, highlighting what he calls a defining milestone for inclusive education in the nation.

Faith Grant, who was born without sight, completed her primary education at Fair Hall Government School, an institution that has pioneered a mainstream inclusive education programme for students with physical and learning disabilities. Out of 1,760 CPEA test-takers across SVG, Grant ranked 43rd overall and 19th among all female students — a result that secured her admission to the elite Girls’ High School (GHS).

Gonsalves emphasized that Grant took the exact same standardized examination as every other student, with only targeted accommodations made to help her access test content. A trained invigilator read all questions aloud to her, and for visual components such as geometric diagrams, test staff described shapes by tracing their outlines on her hand or back to help her conceptualize the information. Despite these additional barriers, Grant not only passed the high-stakes exam but outperformed the vast majority of her sighted peers.

The former MP, who has followed Grant’s academic journey closely for years, shared that the young student has long dreamed of attending GHS, a goal that has now become a reality. He described Grant as a multilingual, high-energy learner with an insatiable love of literature and a natural aptitude for mathematics and science. At Fair Hall Government School’s graduation ceremony held June 12, Grant already received multiple academic awards, and she now stands as the school’s highest-ranking CPEA graduate in this year’s cohort.

Gonsalves credited much of Grant’s success to the intentional inclusive education model implemented at Fair Hall Government School, led by principal Angella Kydd Roberts. Several years ago, school leadership made a deliberate decision to integrate students with physical and learning challenges into the general student body, providing them with the same core curriculum as their peers while offering specialized support. The school counts a number of faculty with formal special education training, and even uncertified staff have embraced the institution’s mission, adapting their teaching methods to meet diverse student needs with creativity and care. Grant is not the first student with special needs from Fair Hall to advance to secondary education, but Gonsalves confirmed she is the highest-achieving in the school’s history based on CPEA outcomes.

Placing Grant’s achievement in historical context, Gonsalves noted that when he was a child, blind students in SVG were excluded from mainstream primary education entirely, let alone offered access to elite secondary schools. Grant’s admission to GHS marks a historic first for the nation, and Gonsalves framed her success as both a personal victory and a national milestone for SVG’s evolving education system. While he acknowledged that additional accommodations will be needed to support Grant during her secondary studies, he expressed full confidence in her ability to overcome any future obstacles.

To support Grant’s transition to GHS, Gonsalves has issued a public appeal to corporate entities and good corporate citizens across SVG to provide financial support for specialized assistive technology. Grant is currently learning braille, but many advanced secondary school textbooks and learning materials — particularly those with complex diagrams and illustrations — are not available in braille format. Modern adaptive tools can convert these materials into accessible formats for Grant, but the equipment carries a high price tag that is out of reach for most families. Gonsalves urged local businesses to connect with Grant’s mother to offer support that will remove barriers to her continued academic success.

Closing his message, Gonsalves emphasized that Grant’s achievement was a collective effort, thanking her family, the school’s principal, and all of her teachers for the support that brought her to this point. “It really has been a village that has taken Faith to this point,” he said. He ended with a hopeful pun on Grant’s first name, echoing the SVG national anthem: “I know she’ll go further, and I know that our faith will see us through. Big up.”

21 6 月, 2026
‘Not another quarry’ – officials, residents contrast Roseau, Richmond operations

A proposed sand and aggregate harvesting project along St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Roseau River has emerged as a flashpoint of conflict, pitting government officials against North Leeward residents still grappling with the fallout of the divisive 2022 Richmond quarry project. During a recent public forum hosted in Golden Grove as part of North Leeward MP Kishore Shallow’s “North Leeward Matters” community outreach series, senior government and technical leaders went to great lengths to emphasize that the Roseau initiative differs sharply from the foreign-owned Richmond operation that divided local communities years ago.

Shallow, a representative of the New Democratic Party government that took office in November 2025, framed the Roseau project as a deliberate corrective to the mistakes of the previous Unity Labour Party administration’s Richmond quarry deal. That 2022 agreement leased 59 acres of prime state-owned agricultural land to St. Lucian private businessman Rayneau Gajadhar for a 30-year full-scale stone quarry operation, a move local residents decried as an unlawful “land grab” and catastrophic environmental harm. Shallow told attendees the Richmond project has already blocked critical national development, revealing that the World Bank rejected funding for a planned recreational site in the area specifically due to unregulated pollution from the quarry. He added that the new government plans to review the existing Richmond quarry contract and order a full independent environmental assessment to address longstanding community grievances.

By contrast, Shallow and other officials characterize Roseau as a low-impact, state-controlled sand harvesting operation that leverages naturally deposited volcanic river aggregate rather than large-scale excavation. Health, Wellness, Environmental Health, and Energy Minister Daniel Cummings, a trained water engineer, outlined core technical differences between the two projects: the Roseau operation will not require blasting, will not remove topsoil or overburden, and will produce far less dust and water pollution than Richmond. Unlike the Windward Coast’s Rabacca site, where rough seas make aggregate export dangerous and inefficient, Cummings noted that Roseau’s calm Leeward coast waters allow for safe barge loading, creating a steady state revenue stream that can be reinvested in domestic public infrastructure.

Transport, Infrastructure, and Physical Planning Minister Nigel “Nature” Stephenson acknowledged that the Richmond project has left deep “pain” and “environmental scars” that have eroded community trust in new resource development projects in North Leeward. He stressed that unlike Richmond, which cleared large swathes of forest and agricultural land for full-scale quarrying, Roseau will only collect loose aggregate already deposited by natural river and volcanic activity, causing minimal disruption to local ecosystems. Critically, Stephenson added that all revenue from the Roseau project will go to the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for public benefit, in contrast to Richmond, where most profits left the country for foreign investors. “North Leeward will benefit like you have not seen over the past five or even 20 years,” he told attendees.

Kem Bartholomew, CEO of the state-owned Barbados Regional Aggregates and Stone Authority (BRAGSA) which will lead the Roseau operation, reinforced that state control is the key distinction from Richmond’s private foreign ownership. He noted that BRAGSA has already completed a required environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for Roseau, a step activists say the Richmond project skipped when it moved ahead ahead of regulatory approval. Bartholomew added that the 3-kilometer Roseau project site holds an estimated 4.2 million cubic meters of aggregate with a gross value in the tens of millions of dollars, arguing that allowing the material to simply wash out to sea would be a wasted national opportunity.

Reynald Murray, the environmental consultant who prepared Roseau’s ESIA, backed up officials’ technical claims, confirming that the project will not involve topsoil removal, blasting, or sediment-causing washing that would pollute rivers and nearshore waters. Even so, Murray cautioned that the project carries a concrete, underdiscussed risk to local fisheries that must be managed proactively. He proposed that Roseau be run as a multi-use bay with shared governance between BRAGSA, local fishers, and tourism operators, rather than the closed single-use industrial site that Richmond became.

Despite officials’ repeated assurances, local community leaders, indigenous rights advocates, and residents say the Roseau project already mirrors the Richmond project’s most problematic patterns. Adonis Charles, chair of the North Leeward Preservation Front, said the project mirrors Richmond’s history of rushed, limited consultation with affected communities before operations begin. Charles noted that the Richmond lease cost the developer just EC$12,000 in annual rent and saw nearly every local environmental and land use law broken, warning the new government against repeating that pattern. “Don’t get us wrong, we are all for development, but development must be balanced,” Charles said, adding that he hopes the Golden Grove meeting is not the final opportunity for community input.

Activist Adrian “Tari” Codougan argued that rebranding large-scale extraction as “sand harvesting” does not fix the core problem of exclusion: the project was already underway before officials began engaging local communities whose livelihoods would be affected. Codougan proposed a national legal requirement that 25% of net profits from all community-based resource extraction be returned directly to the host community, noting that Richmond residents have never seen fair, proportional benefits from the quarry. Local fisherfolk added that the Roseau River mouth extraction poses direct risks to fishing livelihoods, already strained by the 2021 volcanic eruption and ongoing pollution from Richmond.

In closing, Shallow pushed back on community concerns, framing the Roseau project as a once-in-a-generation “golden opportunity” for both North Leeward and the entire country. He acknowledged that ongoing consultation and tangible community benefits are required to move the project forward, maintaining that the new government has learned critical lessons from the Richmond quarry controversy.

21 6 月, 2026
Derde helft WK 2026: Japan walst over Tunesië en zet grote stap richting achtste finales

The 2026 FIFA World Cup delivered a dominant display from Japan on Sunday morning, as the Asian side cruised to a convincing 4-0 victory over Tunisia at Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA in Mexico. The lopsided result, which marked the historic 1000th match in FIFA World Cup history dating back to the inaugural 1930 tournament in Uruguay, puts Japan on the cusp of advancing to the knockout stage, while leaving Tunisia on the brink of early elimination.

Japan came out of the gate with relentless energy, pressing Tunisia high and disrupting the North African side’s build-up play from the first whistle. It took just four minutes for the Samurai Blue to open the scoring, as Daichi Kamada coolly finished off a fluid attacking sequence after a precise setup from Keito Nakamura, setting the tone for the entire match.

Tunisia struggled desperately to gain a foothold in the game after falling behind. The African side turned the ball over repeatedly in midfield, unable to cope with Japan’s high-intensity pressing and rapid positional rotations, and barely registered a dangerous chance on goal for the entire first half. The quality gap between the two sides became undeniable in the 31st minute, when striker Ayase Ueda doubled Japan’s lead, tapping home a clinical finish from a Ko Itakura pass to send Japan into halftime with a comfortable 2-0 advantage.

Japan maintained full control of the match after the break, even as Tunisia was forced to push forward in search of goals, leaving gaps at the back that the Asian side exploited expertly. The match was put beyond all doubt in the 69th minute, when defender Junya Ito made an unexpected run into Tunisia’s penalty area and slotted home after a beautiful assist from Ueda, extending the lead to 3-0. Ueda completed his brace 14 minutes later, converting a cross from Kota Sano to lock in the final 4-0 scoreline.

The lopsided win comes on the heels of Japan’s 2-2 draw with Netherlands in their opening group match, confirming the side’s status as one of the tournament’s most dangerous dark horses. Japan’s cohesive blend of structured positional play, high defensive intensity, strict tactical discipline, and blistering counterattacking pace has made them a formidable opponent for any side in the competition, with Ueda emerging as the standout performer of the match thanks to his two-goal haul.

For Tunisia, the situation has become extremely precarious following the result. The North African side already suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening fixture, and with two back-to-back losses and a poor goal difference of just one scored and nine conceded, early group stage elimination looks almost unavoidable.

This tournament marks Japan’s eighth appearance at the World Cup finals. Since making their debut in 1998, Japan have developed into consistent competitors on the global stage, qualifying for the knockout round four times, and this current squad looks well-positioned to extend that record. Tunisia, by contrast, is competing in their seventh World Cup. Long ranked among the top football nations in Africa, the side has never managed to advance past the group stage in their previous appearances.

To mark the historic occasion of the 1000th World Cup match, the officiating team wore a special gold edition of the FIFA emblem on their kits. With three points from two matches, Japan sit in a strong position in Group F heading into their final group fixture against Sweden, and can approach the game with plenty of confidence. For Tunisia, the task of turning their tournament around has become almost insurmountable.

21 6 月, 2026
ABYETS Equips Young Entrepreneurs for Success at Upcoming Barbuda Trade Show

Barbuda’s River Run recently played host to a transformative strategic retreat organized by the Antigua and Barbuda Young Entrepreneurs Trade Show (ABYETS), designed to equip emerging and established young business leaders with critical skills ahead of the nation’s leading youth-focused business exhibition. Centered around the core theme “Restore, Connect, Empower,” the three-day immersive program brought together 29 participants drawn from both existing young entrepreneur networks and first-time registrants for the 2026 event.

The retreat was intentionally structured to address key gaps in youth entrepreneurial development, with a curriculum tailored to turn abstract business ideas into tangible, executable strategies. The program kicked off with an interactive vision board workshop, a hands-on activity that guided participants to map out long-term professional goals, refine their brand messaging, and solidify their unique market positioning. Following the workshop, attendees took part in a fast-paced “speed-dating” pitch exercise, a dynamic format that forced participants to distill their business value propositions into tight, engaging presentations delivered to their fellow entrepreneurs.

This peer-to-peer pitching session created a low-pressure environment for iterative feedback, allowing participants to refine their messaging and communication skills long before they face audiences and potential customers at the main trade show. Scheduled for July 4, 2026, the exhibition will be held at the Holy Trinity School grounds in Barbuda, where participants will showcase their one-of-a-kind products and services to local and regional attendees.

In opening remarks to the cohort, ABYETS’ founder highlighted the critical roles of adaptability and clear vision for young entrepreneurs navigating today’s volatile global marketplace. “Think big,” the founder urged participants. “Never be afraid to grow an idea from a concept into a full-fledged business. The world is waiting for the unique solutions that only you can bring to the table, and the confidence you build here today is the bedrock of the success you will achieve tomorrow.”

By the close of the retreat, participants departed River Run with a sharpened sense of purpose, walking away with actionable business tools, increased self-assurance, and a expanded network of like-minded young professional collaborators. Organizers have already extended an open invitation to members of the public across Antigua and Barbuda and beyond to attend and support the upcoming 2026 trade show, where the next generation of Caribbean business leaders will step into the spotlight. ABYETS operates as a mission-driven initiative focused on advancing youth empowerment through entrepreneurship, with more information available via communitycharitableministry.org.

21 6 月, 2026
Bolivia roept noodtoestand uit te midden van blokkades

Five weeks of mass anti-government protests have pushed Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz to declare a national 90-day state of emergency, granting the military expanded authority to clear crippling road blockades that have cut off critical supply lines to the capital La Paz and other major urban centers.

The unrest, which has rocked Paz’s centrist administration just seven months after he took office, stems from public anger over sweeping austerity measures, most notably the elimination of long-standing fuel subsidies. What began as peaceful demonstrations has escalated into violent clashes between protesters armed with explosives and riot police, leaving at least 37 people injured and prompting more than 365 arrests, according to official government data.

The human cost of the crisis has grown far steeper, however. Bolivia’s ombudsman’s office and independent human rights groups confirm at least 17 deaths have been linked to the unrest, most caused by lack of access to urgent medical care after blockades isolated entire communities. The Bolivian government alone has recorded seven deaths directly tied to delayed or unavailable medical treatment, as critical routes into La Paz remain barricaded, triggering acute shortages of fuel, food, and even medical oxygen in hospitals. Vehicles have been left stranded across the country, and patients requiring routine and emergency care have been unable to reach care facilities.

In a nationally televised address defending the executive order, Paz emphasized that the state of emergency is not intended to restrict civil liberties, but to restore the freedoms ordinary Bolivians have been denied by the ongoing blockades. As stores shuttered and supermarket shelves emptied amid the supply collapse, public pressure for a forceful response to restore order has mounted rapidly.

Progress toward de-escalation remains fragmented. On Friday evening, Paz secured an agreement with one major labor union, whose leadership has since called for protesters to lift their roadblocks. But hardline factions of the movement, who are demanding Paz’s immediate resignation, have rejected negotiations and refused to stand down.

Under the terms of the emergency decree, blocking public roads that disrupt transport and supply chains is formally prohibited, and the military is authorized to temporarily support police operations to clear routes, reestablish public order, and protect civilian populations. Paz’s administration has stressed that constitutional protections and due process remain in effect, and that ordinary citizens will still be able to carry out their daily activities without widespread restrictions. The 90-day state of emergency can be ended early if violence and threats against civilians cease, the government added.

Paz, who took office last November after ending nearly 20 consecutive years of rule by the left-wing Movement for Socialism (MAS), campaigned as a centrist reformer. He ran on promises to resolve pre-existing fuel shortages, shore up the struggling national treasury, and preserve critical social safety net programs for vulnerable populations. But his austerity pivot, particularly the cuts to fuel subsidies, has sparked rampant inflation and deepened public discontent across the country.

The protest movement is led by highland Indigenous communities and rural workers, many of whom are former MAS supporters who accuse Paz of disregarding their core economic and social interests. Politically, the president faces mounting pressure from all sides: the conservative parliamentary majority and the left-wing opposition, led by ex-president Evo Morales who is backing the protests from exile and calling for snap new elections.

On the international stage, Paz has secured formal backing from the United States, which has pledged additional emergency aid and logistical support to alleviate shortages caused by the blockades. U.S. officials have condemned the unrest as an attempted coup against Bolivia’s democratically elected legitimate government, and warned that bad actors are seeking to exploit the chaos to destabilize the broader Andean region.

21 6 月, 2026
SVG agri-projects go to ‘deal room’ after minister’s pitch in Barbados

Against a regional backdrop of rising food import dependency, climate-driven agricultural shocks and supply chain disruptions, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has positioned eight targeted agriculture and food system projects in the Caribbean’s regional investment marketplace, Agriculture Minister Israel Bruce has announced. Two of these proposals have already advanced to the advanced negotiation stage known as the “deal room” following the high-level Food Systems Investment Forum held in Barbados, which centered on mobilizing equity capital to strengthen Caribbean food security.

Bruce, who accompanied the SVG delegation to the forum that brought together governments, development partners and private financial stakeholders under the theme “Mobilising Equity Capital for Resilient Food Systems in the Caribbean”, detailed the projects and early investor feedback during a post-forum press conference in Kingstown.

Across a range of agricultural subsectors, SVG brought eight distinct investment proposals to the table, covering agro-processing expansion, youth agricultural entrepreneurship, irrigation infrastructure upgrades, national livestock processing and local poultry production scaling. The full slate of projects includes: a $5.5 million national abattoir development; a $4 million recapitalization plan for local agricultural marketing brand VincyFresh; a $12.8 million arrowroot crop revitalization program; a $6 million initiative to support youth entering agribusiness; a $5.3 million expansion of upgraded market depots in Lauders, La Croix and Langley Park; a $5 million national poultry production facility; the $8.28 million Rabacca irrigation infrastructure project; and the $2.58 million Richmond Valley irrigation project.

Bruce highlighted that the youth-focused project directly responds to a pressing demographic challenge facing SVG’s agricultural sector: a rapidly ageing farming base that requires intentional policy intervention to drive generational renewal. The market depot expansion, meanwhile, is designed to elevate the three windward-side upgraded facilities beyond basic storage and processing functions, turning them into robust regional hubs that can connect local producers to new domestic and export buyer networks.

After the forum’s pitching process, which allowed participating nations to showcase their priority projects to potential financers, two SVG proposals – the VincyFresh recapitalization and the arrowroot revitalization program – earned shortlisting for deeper due diligence and negotiation in the forum’s dedicated deal room. Bruce confirmed that active negotiations with interested financiers are already underway, noting that premature public disclosure of specific investor identities would be inappropriate while talks remain ongoing. “We hope that there’ll be fruit borne out of these two deal rooms. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” he told reporters. Even without finalized agreements, Bruce framed the shortlisting as an encouraging early signal that international financiers see strong potential for value addition and export growth in SVG’s agro-processing sector.

Beyond the two shortlisted projects, all eight of SVG’s proposals have been added to a regional investment “deal book” – a centralized catalogue that will be used to market Caribbean agricultural projects to potential funders across the region and globally. Bruce explained that this centralized, regional packaging represents a shift from the outdated model of ad-hoc bilateral investment pitches, allowing Caribbean nations to present a coordinated, professional portfolio of opportunities to the global investment community.

One of the most strategically significant projects on the slate, the $5 million national poultry facility, ties directly to SVG’s domestic policy goals of cutting food import costs and boosting national food sovereignty. Bruce noted that SVG currently spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on imported poultry, and the government is laser-focused on expanding local production to reduce this import burden while strengthening domestic food security. The Barbados forum, he said, offers a critical pathway to secure equity partners or concessionary financing to move the poultry facility from planning to implementation.

Outlining his administration’s approach to agricultural financing, Bruce established a clear priority hierarchy designed to protect public finances and avoid unnecessary debt burdens for taxpayers: grant funding is the preferred first option, followed by public-private partnerships, then concessionary loans, with standard commercial loans ranked as the last resort. He framed this strategy as a core commitment to fiscal prudence, focused on creating economic breathing room rather than adding unsustainable fiscal pressures.

Placing SVG’s participation in the broader context, Bruce noted the forum addressed shared regional challenges: climate-fueled agricultural shocks, global supply chain disruptions, and skyrocketing food import bills across the Caribbean. The overarching goal of the gathering is to support a regional transition away from the current model of heavy reliance on food imports and concessional lending, toward climate-resilient food systems supported by targeted equity and blended finance.

Bruce also connected the high-level regional investment push to longstanding concerns raised by local SVG farmers, noting that when his New Democratic Party was in opposition, farmers consistently identified three top priorities: access to expanded market opportunities, solutions to praedial larceny, and improved farm access roads. “You can see that this mission was focused on market opportunities and access roads,” he explained, adding that all eight projects pitched in Barbados – from the abattoir and poultry facility to the irrigation schemes and youth investment plan – build on campaign commitments and ongoing domestic agricultural upgrades.

While Bruce stressed that no firm financing commitments have been secured for any of the projects to date, he emphasized that securing spots in the deal room and regional deal book are critical foundational steps to attract investment. He committed to sharing further public updates as negotiations progress, framing the Barbados trip as part of a broader, long-term strategy to secure grants, equity and blended finance to transform SVG’s agriculture sector. Ultimately, he said, these investments will help shift SVG from an ageing, under-capitalized farming sector to a dynamic, youth-driven, export-focused industry that is more resilient to global and climate shocks.

21 6 月, 2026
Ali woos Jamaican business executive to build a Sandals eco-hotel in Guyana

During a public appearance Saturday marking the launch of a new automotive joint venture, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali made a direct public appeal to Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman of Jamaica-headquartered hospitality giant Sandals Resorts International, to develop a luxury all-inclusive eco-tourism resort in Guyana. In his remarks, the president emphasized that local private sector stakeholders are already prepared to commit an initial $15 million in joint investment to back the project.

Ali framed the potential Guyanese venture as a historic opportunity for the Sandals brand, arguing that locating the resort in Guyana would create the brand’s top-tier eco-tourism destination that no competing property could match. “You will be doing your brand a great disservice if you don’t draw on the bold capacity I know your brand carries to make the best possible investment decision Sandals has ever made,” Ali said during the event. “That decision is to work with our private sector as partners in creating Sandals’ number one eco destination, all-inclusive resort here in Guyana. I can assure you that none will come close to you.”

The meeting came ahead of the official opening of CAMS Motors, a new automotive dealership that operates as a joint venture involving Stewart’s ATL Group, the parent company of ATL Automotive. Stewart confirmed during the event that Ali has actively lobbied for Sandals to enter Guyana’s fast-growing hospitality sector, and while the discussions remain in early stages, he has not ruled out moving forward with the project.

“As I arrived here, we were here to sell cars, but the president reminded me that one of these days we need to build a hotel down here, and I want to follow suit,” Stewart explained. “That’s not a public service announcement just yet. It’s a ‘we love the idea of it’.”

Ali noted that the pitch to Sandals is the continuation of conversations that began roughly one year ago, when he first floated the concept of Sandals entering Guyana’s tourism market. He added that Guyana’s private sector has already demonstrated robust confidence in the country’s tourism growth trajectory, having completed construction on more than 14 new hotels across the country in recent years to accommodate rising visitor demand tied to Guyana’s expanding oil sector and growing global profile as a biodiversity and eco-tourism hotspot.

21 6 月, 2026
‘Prepare to target the Cuban market’- President Ali tells Guyanese, Jamaican business executives

On Saturday, June 20, 2026, just 48 hours after Cuba unveiled a landmark package of market-oriented economic reforms that open the door to expanded private sector activity and increased foreign investment, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali has called on the country’s domestic private sector to seize the emerging regional opportunity by building local vehicle assembly lines. Speaking at the Georgetown launch event for Chinese vehicle brands Foton and Jetour, hosted by local automotive firm CAM Motors, Ali urged the newly formed joint venture between CAM Motors, Jamaica’s ATL Automotive, the Continental Group of Companies, and Guyana-based MMKJ Inc to move forward with establishing a regional assembly hub on Guyanese soil.

Ali told attendees that he has already tasked MMKJ Inc director Vishok Persaud and his team with conducting a feasibility study to turn Guyana into a central assembly base for the growing range of new vehicle brands entering the Caribbean market. “We have the capacity to support full-scale assembly lines, and we can hit the critical market mass we need if we collaborate to scale up our regional footprint,” Ali said. “We have to look ahead – Cuba is opening its economy, and Haiti is also moving toward reopening its markets, which creates massive new demand we can meet from here.”

Beyond the newly opening Caribbean markets, Ali noted that the hub could also tap into underutilized demand in neighboring northern Brazil and the Dominican Republic, a large Spanish-speaking Caribbean economy that offers additional growth opportunities. To set the stage for these investments, he emphasized that the Guyanese government has already put in place a supportive ecosystem for manufacturing and assembly, including investor-friendly regulatory policies, competitive tax structures, low energy costs, accessible digital infrastructure, and direct government backing for new industrial projects.

Ali framed the assembly hub initiative as a core part of Guyana’s long-term economic strategy to diversify beyond its booming oil and gas sector, building a more resilient and sustainable economy that generates broad-based growth beyond the energy industry. “This is the kind of transformative project that will carry our economy past reliance on oil and gas, and move us solidly into long-term, inclusive sustainability,” he said.

Cuba’s reform package, announced by President Miguel Diaz-Canel on June 18, 2026, represents the most sweeping opening of the Cuban economy in decades, rolled out in response to years of economic pressure and mounting external challenges. As reported by Al Jazeera, the plan expands permitted private enterprise activity across multiple sectors, introduces new measures to attract foreign direct investment – including investment from Cuban nationals living abroad – paves the way for private real estate development, allows for the conversion of state-owned enterprises into privately held shareholding companies, and permits private banks to enter a financial sector that has long been exclusively state-controlled.

Persaud, the MMKJ director, confirmed that the joint venture is committed to supporting Guyana’s local content goals, beyond just building out vehicle assembly infrastructure. The partnership will not only deliver after-sales support and service for vehicle owners across the country, but also act as a domestic partner to embed local participation across the automotive supply chain. “This project lets us fully deliver on our local content legislation, expand domestic private sector participation, and ensure that Guyanese businesses get to take part in every layer of this growing industry,” Persaud said.

Ali added that shifting domestic consumer demand in Guyana already creates a strong foundation for a new vehicle assembly sector. Rising incomes have left more Guyanese with greater disposable income, driving a steady shift away from imported used Japanese vehicles toward brand-new cars and commercial vehicles. “We are already seeing a rapidly expanding market for new vehicles among both private consumers and domestic businesses, that demand is only going to grow as our economy expands,” he noted. To support this market shift, the Guyanese government already eliminated the 14 percent Value Added Tax on vehicles with engine sizes of 1500 CC and larger earlier this year, cutting purchase costs for consumers and stimulating new vehicle sales.

21 6 月, 2026
Derde helft WK 2026: Achter de schermen van het WK

When match cameras cut out and stadium crowds fade away, a whole other rigorous schedule begins for World Cup-starred footballers. The 90 minutes of on-pitch action only makes up a small fraction of their daily lives during the tournament. Behind the closed doors of opulent team hotels and heavily secured training complexes, every moment revolves around physical recovery, tailored nutrition, tactical strategy and mental preparation.

From custom-built meal plans and ice baths to tactical video breakdowns, on-staff sports psychologists and carefully scheduled rest periods, no detail is left to chance. But how much personal freedom do these elite athletes actually get during their stay? Can their partners come to visit? Are they allowed to leave the compound to explore the host city? Do national team managers even dictate when players must put away their phones?

For fans who assume a scheduled day off at the World Cup equals sleeping in and lazy relaxation, that assumption could not be further from the truth. In most squads, the daily routine kicks off early in the morning, even on supposed rest days. After a light breakfast, players go through routine medical checks, where physiotherapists and team doctors evaluate each athlete’s physical condition. Readouts of muscle tension, resting heart rate and post-match recovery metrics are then used to map out the rest of the day.

For players who logged heavy minutes in the previous fixture, the entire day will center almost entirely on active recovery. Reserve players, by contrast, complete more intense training sessions to maintain their match fitness and rhythm ready for when they are called on. An on-field training session rarely lasts longer than 90 minutes, but every activity surrounding that block of work is tied directly to match preparation.

Team nutritionists build individual eating plans for every player, tailored to their on-pitch position, body composition and the physical load they endure on match week. Carbohydrate, protein, vitamin and hydration intake are all tracked and adjusted with extreme precision. Even the exact time a player eats each meal is part of the carefully constructed tournament plan.

After training wraps up, what is arguably the most critical part of the day begins: recovery. Ice baths, deep tissue massages, guided stretching, physiotherapy, and even whole-body cryotherapy help the body repair damaged muscle tissue as quickly as possible. Some players wear compression garments to reduce soreness, or sleep with wearable sensors that track the quality of their nightly rest. Even one extra percent of full recovery can be the difference between winning and losing a tight knockout match.

Mental fitness gets equal attention from top national squads. Nearly all elite competing teams now bring a dedicated sports psychologist to the tournament, whose job is to help players cope with the enormous pressure of a World Cup, the weight of expectation from millions of fans back home, and the tension of high-stakes moments like a decisive penalty or a sudden-death knockout clash.

At the same time, coaching staff spend hours on video analysis. Players and coaches watch footage of both their own recent performances and their upcoming opponent’s matches together to spot exploitable weaknesses. Tiny details, such as a striker’s preferred running channels or how a defender approaches one-on-one duels, can prove decisive on match day.

That said, there is still intentional space carved out for relaxation and downtime inside team hotels. Players unwind with table tennis, billiards, video games or group movie nights. Some prefer quieter activities like listening to music, reading a book, or calling family back home for an extended chat. While social media is a central part of most modern footballers’ personal lives and brands, many national managers restrict usage during the tournament to cut down on unnecessary distractions.

One of the most common questions fans have about World Cup camp life is whether partners and family members are allowed to stay or visit with players. Rules vary widely from nation to nation. Some national federations only allow visits during pre-scheduled windows, while others give players more flexibility to see family after the group stage of the tournament finishes. Almost all teams aim to strike a careful balance between giving players relaxed downtime and keeping the squad fully focused on the competition.

What many fans also do not see is that far more people work behind a World Cup squad than just the 26 players named to the official tournament roster. Doctors, physiotherapists, sports scientists, nutritionists, video analysts, kit managers, psychologists, security staff and press officers all make up a support team that often numbers more than 60 people. Their work stays largely out of the public eye, but it is irreplaceable to a national team’s chances of success.

To outside observers, a non-match day might look like a quiet period of rest for the squad. But behind the scenes, it is a meticulously orchestrated process where every single detail matters. Because at the highest level of the sport, a World Cup is not won only during the 90 minutes on the match pitch—it is won in every hour of preparation and recovery before and after kickoff.

21 6 月, 2026