In a recent public statement delivered through a prominent Dominican journalist, retired National Police Major General Valentín Rosado Vicioso has issued a sharp call for comprehensive, authentic overhaul of the Caribbean nation’s primary law enforcement agency, while sounding the alarm over critical flaws he says are undermining the current ongoing transformation initiative.
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Vendors on Isabel de Torres Mountain report losses exceeding RD$500 million due to the cable car closure
In the northern Dominican coastal tourist hub of Puerto Plata, a years-long shutdown of the iconic Puerto Plata Cable Car has triggered a devastating economic crisis for local businesses tied to the Isabel de Torres Mountain tourist attraction. According to Vladimir Santana, official spokesperson for the Isabel de Torres Mountain Vendors Association, connected merchants, service workers and adjacent sectors have collectively suffered losses exceeding 500 million Dominican pesos over the 26-month period that the cable car has remained non-operational.
Isabel de Torres Mountain is one of Puerto Plata’s most visited landmarks, drawing thousands of domestic and international travelers annually who rely on the cable car to access the mountain’s panoramic coastal views, botanical gardens and historic monuments. The prolonged suspension of cable car operations has choked off the steady stream of tourist foot traffic that sustained the area’s local economy. Santana explained that every segment of the regional tourism ecosystem, from street vendors selling handcrafted souvenirs and local snacks to tour guides, transportation providers and hospitality workers, has felt the severe impact of the shutdown.
Many of the affected merchants have built their businesses around the attraction over decades, with their household incomes and livelihoods entirely dependent on tourist visits to the mountain. The sustained loss of revenue has left hundreds of families in precarious financial situations, sparking growing anxiety across the local business community. Santana has issued a public call for urgent intervention from local authorities and tourism regulators, emphasizing that immediate action is required to restart cable car operations and rebuild the area’s collapsed commercial and tourist activity before the damage becomes irreversible.
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Historic bronze for Saint Lucia’s Sparks in CAC netball
The closing day of the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games will forever be etched in Saint Lucian sporting history, as the small island nation secured two medals in a single elite international multi-sport event for the first time ever, highlighted by a landmark bronze medal in netball — the nation’s first ever podium finish for a team sport at this level of competition. This historic bronze was sealed by a groundbreaking 41-34 victory over regional rival Barbados, a result that ends a 16-year losing streak against their opponents.
The historic day got off to a strong start early Friday, when sailor Luc Chevrier claimed a silver medal in sailing competition, setting the stage for the netball team’s momentous achievement later that day. Competing at the Ciudad Juan Bosch Sports Complex, Saint Lucia’s national netball side, the Piton Sparks, faced off against Barbados’ Bajan Gems, and delivered a performance that defied ranking odds and reversed decades of unfavorable results.
Entering the competition ranked 31st in the latest World Netball rankings, the Piton Sparks had already pulled off an upset earlier in the week with a win over 21st-ranked Bermuda. But their triumph over 19th-ranked Barbados carried far greater historical weight: this marked the first time Saint Lucia had beaten the Bajan Gems since 2010, breaking an eight-game losing streak that stretched across the Commonwealth Games, 2022 AFNA Qualifiers, ECCB International Netball Series and CNA Caribbean Championships over 16 years.
The match got off to a worrying start for Saint Lucia, as Barbados jumped out to a 12-10 lead in the opening quarter, powered by sharp, high-percentage shooting from their frontline. But the Piton Sparks adjusted rapidly to Barbados’ attacking rhythm, ramping up their defensive pressure and outscoring their opponents 8-6 in the second quarter to lock the scores at 18-18 by halftime.
Carrying that momentum into the third quarter, Saint Lucia seized full control of the match, adding another 12 goals to Barbados’ nine to carry a three-point 30-27 lead into the final 15 minutes of play. The Piton Sparks closed out the match with a commanding fourth-quarter performance to hold off any late Barbados push, securing the seven-point win that would guarantee them third place on the podium.
Team captain and goal attack Melika Destang led the Saint Lucia frontcourt with an impressive 15 goals from just 18 shooting attempts, while starting goal shooter Dasha Eugene chipped in an additional 14 goals, pushing her total tournament goal tally to 95 from 131 attempts. Even the team’s 15-year-old reserve substitute Neriah Charlery delivered a standout performance, sinking 12 goals from 14 attempts to finish the tournament with an 86% conversion rate, one of the highest across all competing sides. On the defensive end, wing defender Jermia Martial notched five key interceptions, while goalkeeper Kiana Nelson anchored the backline, finishing the entire competition with five interceptions and eight deflections to disrupt opposing attacks.
For the defeated Bajan Gems, starting goal attacker Faye Agard led all scoring with 18 goals from 24 attempts, while Brianna Holder added 13 goals of her own. 44-year-old veteran defensive player Shonette Azore also put in a gritty performance, matching Martial’s five interceptions for the match.
Saint Lucia finished the netball tournament with an overall record of three wins and two losses, scoring 184 total goals while conceding 177 across five matches. Jamaica claimed the silver medal with a 4-1 record, while Trinidad & Tobago dominated the competition to take gold, finishing the tournament undefeated with five straight wins.
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Voter ID card distribution begins Monday in Roseau North
The Caribbean nation of Dominica is moving forward with a critical update to its electoral infrastructure, as the country’s Electoral Office prepares to launch the distribution of newly designed national Voter Identification Cards starting Monday, August 10, 2026. The rollout will follow a structured, constituency-by-constituency schedule, aligned with the organization’s existing confirmed voter registration framework that organizes eligible electors at the constituency level.
The first phase of distribution will exclusively serve approved voters registered in the Roseau North Constituency, focusing on three key polling districts within the area: N04 Upper Goodwill, N05 Bellevue Rawle, and N06 Fond Cole. To streamline the collection process for local residents, the Electoral Office has established two dedicated confirmation and pickup centers. These facilities are located at the Fond Cole Emergency Shelter in Fond Cole and the Red Cross Building in Goodwill, and will operate on a consistent weekday schedule from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Electoral officials have issued clear guidance to help voters prepare for the pickup process. All electors collecting their own cards must bring a valid, government-issued form of photo identification to verify their identity. For individuals arranging to collect a card on behalf of another eligible elector, additional documentation is required: they must present an official signed letter of authorization from the registered voter, accompanied by a 25-cent stamp to validate the document.
This staged constituency-based rollout forms a core part of the Electoral Office’s broader ongoing electoral reform initiative, which includes both a full national voter confirmation process and the transition to the updated Voter Identification Cards. Officials note that this phased approach is designed to reduce wait times, minimize administrative confusion, and ensure accurate verification of all eligible voters ahead of upcoming electoral activities.
Voters with questions about their registration status, card distribution, or required documentation can reach the Electoral Office directly through dedicated confirmation hotlines at 767-275-8164 or 617-9595. As the first phase gets underway, the office has announced that it will release detailed schedules and location information for card distribution in all remaining constituencies in subsequent phases as the rollout progresses across the country.
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Falcons Edge Kingsmen by Two Wickets in Final-Ball CPL Thriller
The 2024 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) kicked off with a heart-stopping opener that had cricket fans on the edge of their seats, as the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons pulled off a dramatic two-wicket victory over competition debutants Jamaica Kingsmen, clinching the win on the very final delivery of the match while chasing a 168-run target.
The day’s story began when Falcons captain won the toss and opted to field first, a strategic call that would pay dividends by the end of the contest. From the first over, Jamaica got off to a blistering start: opener Reeza Hendricks hammered 42 runs off just 25 deliveries, and incoming captain Rovman Powell carried the momentum forward to finish as the innings’ top scorer with 47. The Falcons’ bowling attack, however, flipped the script in the middle overs, tightening their lines and lengths to choke Jamaica’s run flow and break critical partnerships.
Antiguan pace spearhead Alzarri Joseph was the standout performer with the ball, claiming three key wickets that devastated Jamaica’s middle order and derailed their batting momentum. Fast bowler Jayden Seales and spinner Usama Mir backed him up with tight, economical spells that kept the Kingsmen’s run rate in check. Late-order contributions from Hassan Khan and Keemo Paul pushed Jamaica to a competitive final total of 167 for 7, setting a challenging target that would test the Falcons’ batting depth.
In the chase, first-time CPL batsman Tajinder Singh anchored the Falcons’ innings with a sensational composed half-century, scoring 62 runs off just 37 deliveries. He built a match-defining third-wicket partnership with Tim Robinson, who chipped in with 40 runs to put the Falcons firmly in control of the contest. With fewer than 20 runs still needed in the closing overs and multiple wickets in hand, Antigua and Barbuda looked set to cruise to a straightforward victory.
But the debutant Kingsmen refused to fold. Bowlers Keemo Paul, Andre Russell and Hunain Shah turned the tide with a stunning late fightback, picking up key wickets and applying relentless pressure that dragged the contest all the way to the final delivery of the match. Entering the last ball, the Falcons still needed two runs to secure the win. All-rounder Shamar Springer stepped up to the pressure, squeezing the ball into the outfield and allowing his side to scramble the winning runs, finishing the innings on 168 for 8.
For his match-winning three-wicket haul, Alzarri Joseph was named Player of the Match. The result hands the Falcons their first three points of the 2024 CPL season and gives them a momentum-boosting winning start to their campaign, while the Jamaica Kingsmen are left to reflect on a near-perfect debut that fell just one run short of a fairy tale opening win.
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Paul wants modern, climate-resilient health centre for Salisbury
During this week’s parliamentary debate on the 2026/2027 National Budget, opposition leader and Salisbury Member of Parliament Jesma Paul-Victor has delivered a forceful call for the national government to advance a full modernization and expansion project for the Salisbury Health Centre, arguing that local residents have long waited for access to healthcare infrastructure that meets contemporary service standards.
Paul-Victor opened her remarks by extending public praise to the entire team of healthcare professionals at the existing facility, including attending physicians, nursing staff, community health aides and all supporting administrative workers, noting that their on-the-ground commitment has kept critical services running for the Salisbury community despite the building’s growing limitations. However, she emphasized that the physical infrastructure of the current health centre has failed to evolve alongside rising public health needs and modern care standards, leaving residents underserved.
In outlining her vision for the upgraded facility, Paul-Victor proposed the construction of a new, fully accessible, climate-resilient campus that expands the scope of primary healthcare services available locally to Salisbury residents. She argued that the redeveloped centre should be reoriented as a comprehensive community wellness hub, shifting focus beyond acute treatment to prioritize proactive public health outcomes: preventive care, early disease detection, community-focused health education, and long-term management of chronic conditions, which are growing burdens across the country.
Specific improvements laid out by the opposition leader include the addition of upgraded consultation and examination rooms, expanded maternal and child health service wings, climate-controlled pharmaceutical storage facilities, and built-in accessibility features designed to accommodate senior citizens and residents living with disabilities. Paul-Victor also pushed to integrate confidential counselling programming and permanent community mental health services into the centre’s core offerings, closing a critical gap in local mental health support.
Pointing to the growing systemic and household strain caused by widespread chronic illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obesity, Paul-Victor further called for expanded routine disease screening services, personalized nutritional counselling, and community-wide wellness programs to be hosted at the upgraded centre. To address the growing risk of extreme weather events linked to climate change, she added that the redeveloped facility must include critical resilience infrastructure: backup power generation, expanded clean water storage, emergency communication systems, and sufficient stockpiles of medical supplies to ensure the centre can remain fully operational in the aftermath of natural disasters.
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“Mr Bertie” Dies at 109
On the morning of August 8, 2026, Belize marked the passing of one of its most enduring and beloved residents: Gilbert Winston Ellis, universally known to the community as “Mr Bertie”, who died at the age of 109, just over one month shy of his 110th birthday. His death came after several weeks of ongoing health complications, closing out a life that spanned more than a century of change across the Central American nation.\n\nIn his final days, Mr Bertie received care at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, Belize’s main public medical facility. Before his passing, clinical teams discharged him so he could spend his last hours surrounded by loved ones at home, a wish granted by both medical staff and his family.\n\nJust 11 months prior, on September 24, 2025, the entire nation joined Mr Bertie to celebrate his 109th birthday, a milestone that drew widespread attention across Belize for his remarkable longevity and gentle wisdom. When asked to share his life advice for fellow Belizeans during the celebrations, he offered a simple but profound message: “Be good… very good.”\n\nMr Bertie’s legacy extends far beyond his record-breaking lifespan. His family grew across five generations, with 19 biological children and hundreds of descendants that make up a sprawling, close-knit Belizean family. He drew strength from this large network in his later years, and was surrounded by members of his family when he passed.\n\nAs the longest-living person in Belize’s recorded history, Mr Bertie’s life represented a living link to generations of Belizean history that have shaped the modern nation. His passing brings an extraordinary chapter of Belizean life to a close, leaving behind a legacy of quiet wisdom and intergenerational connection that will be remembered across the country.
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Who Would Want to Hack BCCAR? Investigation Underway
In a developing cybersecurity incident affecting Belize’s corporate registration infrastructure, the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry (BCCAR) has pulled its public-facing Online Business Registry System (OBRS) offline after security teams uncovered unauthorized access to stored documents during a scheduled routine maintenance check.
The breach was first detected on Tuesday, August 4, as maintenance teams were conducting standard system updates and security scans. According to an official public statement released by BCCAR this Friday, the unauthorized access was restricted solely to application documents made available through the system’s public information services, with no deeper incursion detected as of the latest update. BCCAR confirmed that while a subset of the accessed documents may hold sensitive, non-public information that could have been viewed or downloaded by unknown actors, the agency acted swiftly to take the full system offline to block any further unauthorized access to the platform.
Preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation have yielded reassuring updates on the overall integrity of BCCAR’s core infrastructure. Investigators have not found any evidence that the underlying OBRS platform, the agency’s central core registry database, core hosting servers, or privileged administrative access accounts were compromised in the incident. Furthermore, there is no indication that any official corporate registry records stored in the system have been amended, deleted, or altered by the unauthorized actors. A key point of relief for users is that no credit card information was put at risk, as the OBRS is not designed to store payment card data on its servers.
In immediate response to the breach, all accounts flagged as suspicious have been permanently disabled to prevent further malicious activity. BCCAR has also brought on external independent cybersecurity specialists to lead the formal investigation, and to conduct a full independent security validation of the entire system before it is brought back online for public use. The agency has announced a tentative timeline for restoring OBRS service, with full access expected to resume as early as Monday.
While the investigation continues, BCCAR has issued an official advisory to all businesses and regular OBRS users urging heightened vigilance against potential follow-up phishing and scam attempts. Users have been warned to monitor all incoming communications closely for suspicious emails, phone calls, or text messages that reference BCCAR, OBRS, or any information previously submitted through the online registry. The agency specifically reminded users to never share passwords, sensitive financial details, or official identity documents in response to unsolicited contact, even if the communication appears to originate from the registry itself.
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PMC extends women’s registration
Organizers of Barbados’ Prime Minister’s Cup have announced an extension to the registration deadline for the tournament’s brand-new women’s division, as they work to reach their goal of fielding 12 competitive teams for the historic first edition of the competition. Omari Eastmond, chair of the Prime Minister’s Cup Organising Committee, confirmed the new cutoff for registration is August 9, giving interested teams and athletes additional time to sign up for the groundbreaking event.
The introduction of a women’s division marks a major milestone for the Prime Minister’s Cup, which has run for three years without an official women’s bracket. A core part of the initiative’s mission is advancing gender equity in sports, starting with equal prize purses for male and female competitors: the women’s champions will take home the same $100,000 top prize that has long been awarded to the men’s winning team. This equal pay commitment came directly from Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who rejected the original proposal of a reduced $50,000 purse for women when the new division was first announced last month.
“When they came to me and said that the Prime Minister’s Cup for men would get $100 000 and the women would receive $50 000 because they are less teams, I told them this Prime Minister will not practise gender discrimination,” Mottley stated during the tournament’s launch event. She also issued a public call to female athletes across the country, urging them to rise to the occasion and help the tournament hit its 12-team participation goal.
Eastmond echoed that call, emphasizing the far-reaching benefits of expanding opportunities for women in football beyond the pitch. “Women’s football empowers female athletes, both on and off the field. Young female players consistently report greater confidence and motivation compared to non-players,” he explained. “However, I think the biggest advantage of women’s football is breaking the stereotype that it is a male-oriented and male-dominated sport.”
Athletes interested in joining the new division can complete their registration via the official Prime Minister’s Cup Instagram page, where a direct registration link is posted in the account’s bio.
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Brittons Hill teen reported missing
Law enforcement authorities in Barbados are turning to the general public for help in their search for a missing teenage girl from St Michael. 14-year-old Aaliyah Patricia Phillips, who resides on Villa Road in Brittons Hill, was last reported leaving her family home between midnight and 7 a.m. local time on August 5, 2026.
Investigators have released a detailed physical description of Phillips to help community members identify her. She stands around five feet tall, has a medium body frame, and a dark brown skin tone. At the time she disappeared, Phillips was wearing long, straight braided hair extensions pulled into a single ponytail. She also wears eyeglasses with brown frames; notably, one of the frame’s arms is broken and currently held together with adhesive tape. Phillips speaks with a distinct, soft Bajan accent.
Police have stressed that any piece of information, no matter how small it may seem, could prove critical to locating the teen safely. Community members who have any knowledge of Phillips’ current whereabouts are urged to reach out to law enforcement through multiple dedicated contact channels. These include the Hastings/Worthings Police Station at the phone numbers 430-7608 or 430-7614, the national police emergency hotline at 211, Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 1-800-TIPS (8477), or any local police station across the country.