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DCA’s Clement Marcelin thanks corporate partners, as Dominica celebrates Windward Islands Super 50 triumph
Dominica’s senior men’s national cricket team capped off a standout run at the 2026 Windward Islands Super 50 Championship by securing the tournament title on August 4, a victory that association leaders say would not have been possible without consistent backing from the island’s corporate and public sector partners.
In a post-tournament interview with local RF Media Services held on Monday, Clement Marcelin Jr., president of the Dominica Cricket Association, opened by extending sincere gratitude to every business and institution that has continued to invest in the island’s grassroots and elite cricket programming. Marcelin emphasized that ongoing corporate sponsorship is not just a nice-to-have for Dominican cricket — it is the foundational support that allows emerging and established players alike to hone their skills on the pitch and earn critical competitive exposure at the regional level.
The championship final itself showcased Dominica’s well-rounded competitiveness, starting with a dominant batting display that set the team up for victory. The side put up an impressive 248 runs all out from 44.3 overs, led by a standout innings from Earsinho Fontaine who remained unbeaten on 90 runs off just 91 deliveries. Stephan Pascal further bolstered the total with a solid 57 runs from 70 balls, giving Dominica a defensible target heading into the second innings.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines got off to a promising start in their chase, with opening batters Ethan Gibson and Desron Maloney pairing up to build a 94-run opening stand that put the title within reach. But Dominica’s bowling attack rallied under pressure, anchored by Jedd Joseph who claimed three key wickets to turn the tide of the match and secure the championship win for the island.
Marcelin went on to outline the specific contributions of key sponsors that made the season and tournament run possible. The National Cooperative Credit Union provided support for the association’s Premier Division, while the Central Cooperative Credit Union backed the Intermediate Division, and the Government of Dominica covered the national team’s airfare for the regional tournament.
Despite the historic title win, Marcelin stressed that the victory is a reward for the years of work invested into the program, not a signal that development work is complete. He issued a public call for additional local and regional companies to step forward and partner with the association to grow cricket across the island, noting that sustained investment will be needed to build on this latest success. Looking ahead, Marcelin confirmed that the association and national team management will continue prioritizing iterative improvement across all areas of the program, even as the team celebrates this major regional achievement.
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Cabinet to Hear From SSB, PUC, BTL, BCCI, and Unions Before Deciding Position on Speednet Deal
In response to weeks of growing public and institutional pressure over the proposed Speednet acquisition by Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), Belize’s Cabinet has announced a structured consultation process that will bring all key conflicting stakeholders to the table to present their cases directly before the government finalizes its official position on the transaction.
The multi-stage consultation kicked off on August 11, 2026, with the first round of closed-door presentations delivered to Cabinet in Belmopan, where representatives from three core institutional parties—the Belize Social Security Board (SSB), the national Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and BTL leadership—outlined their respective perspectives on the proposed deal. Local outlet News Five has on-the-ground reporting stationed in Belmopan to cover the ongoing proceedings.
A second round of presentations is scheduled for this Thursday, when two other major stakeholders will get the opportunity to share their stances: the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, the umbrella organization representing the country’s organized labor groups that have been among the most vocal critics of the acquisition.
Following the conclusion of all stakeholder inputs, Cabinet will hold a dedicated deliberation session during its scheduled meeting on August 18, after which an official public statement of the government’s position on the transaction will be released.
This formal consultation process comes after weeks of mounting controversy that has put increasing pressure on the Belizean government to take a transparent stance. Shortly after BTL’s board approved the transaction earlier this month, union organizers led repeated public protests outside BTL’s headquarters, raising concerns over the terms of the deal and potential impacts on workers. The BCCI has also publicly criticized the process, claiming the acquisition was pushed forward as a pre-decided outcome before adequate regulatory safeguards could be put in place to protect public interest. Even sitting cabinet ministers have previously declined to comment on the matter, noting that they would not share positions until they received an official, comprehensive briefing on all details of the proposed acquisition. Critics have gone as far as labeling the government’s prior silence on the high-stakes deal as a blatant act of disrespect to the people of Belize, amplifying calls for a transparent, inclusive decision-making process.
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Brandweer blijft alert bij Ornamibo na grote brand en rookontwikkeling
A large blaze that broke out earlier this week at the Ornamibo landfill in Wanica-Zuidoost, Suriname, has been fully contained, though fire crews remain on site to monitor for lingering smoldering deep beneath the 9-meter-high waste mound, local officials confirmed Friday.
District Commissioner Ernesto Muller told reporters the first report of the fire came in between 2:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. on Monday, with fire and police services dispatched immediately to the scene. What started as a small, contained ignition quickly escalated into an intense inferno that generated thick plumes of smoke by Monday evening, creating serious risks for both local residents and the surrounding ecosystem, Muller explained.
While the main fire is now under control, crews have not pulled out of the site. The white smoke still visible rising from the waste mound does not indicate active open flame, according to fire department assessments, but officials are taking no chances: embers can still smolder unseen deep in the compacted waste pile, requiring continued monitoring and suppression work to prevent a reignition.
Investigators have not ruled out arson as a potential cause of the blaze, Muller noted, though no concrete evidence of intentional ignition has been uncovered so far. National environmental authorities and the National Disaster Coordination Center have been involved in response efforts since Monday evening, working alongside local first responders to assess environmental and public health impacts.
This blaze is far from an isolated incident: the Ornamibo landfill has a repeated history of fire outbreaks, which consistently pose threats to surrounding communities through toxic smoke exposure. In response to the recurring risk, Muller is pushing for urgent preventive changes to reduce the chance of future large-scale fires. He has already presented a proposal to fire department leadership and the Ministry of Public Works and Spatial Planning (OWRO) calling for the installation of permanent water hoses fitted with sprinklers across the site. The system would keep sections of the landfill consistently moist, slowing the spread of any new small ignitions before they can grow into out-of-control infernos.
Beyond immediate fire prevention measures, Muller is also calling for a broader reassessment of Suriname’s waste management practices, pushing for a transition away from the current outdated open-air landfill model. “We need to move toward more modern, nature-friendly methods of processing our waste,” Muller said, noting that the current site creates ongoing harm to local agricultural and livestock operations, the broader regional ecosystem, and public health for nearby communities. He plans to convene talks with OWRO and other relevant stakeholders to explore long-term alternative waste solutions.
Local officials have also issued public health guidance for residents living near the landfill. In the event of continued smoke emissions, residents are advised to keep all windows and doors closed tightly. Anyone who must go outside should wear a well-fitting face mask to reduce inhalation of smoke particles. Residents who develop respiratory issues after exposure are urged to contact a medical provider or seek emergency care immediately.
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Belize River “Devastated” by Fish Kill, Researcher Says; Endangered Hicatee and Crocodiles Among the Dead
A catastrophic mass wildlife mortality event along Belize’s primary waterway, the Belize River, has left ecologists sounding alarm bells over long-term ecosystem damage, after critically endangered species were confirmed among the thousands of dead animals. As of August 11, 2026, researchers report the worst of the die-off appears to be receding, but the irreversible harm already done threatens to alter the river’s ecological balance for years to come.
Leading the on-site assessment is Dr. Donald McKnight, aquatic ecologist and research director at the Savannah Field Station near the Belize Zoo. McKnight explained that the river’s steady current has helped flush the harmful trigger of the kill through the system, meaning large-scale new deaths have become rare. “We’re still spotting a handful of fresh fish carcasses here and there, but the majority of the dead wildlife died several days ago, and the large-scale die-offs have stopped,” he noted in his on-river briefing.
But the slowdown of deaths offers little comfort to conservation teams, who have documented that losses extend far beyond common fish species. Among the dead are multiple hicatee turtles — a critically endangered reptile that conservation programs have spent decades working to recover — as well as crocodiles. McKnight described the scale of loss as “pretty devastating” for the river’s unique, already vulnerable ecosystem.
Local residents have provided key clues to the potential cause, reporting that the river’s water turned noticeably dark before clearing gradually in recent days. McKnight says this observation rules out a purely naturally occurring event, pointing instead to an external contaminant introduced into the river’s flow.
“Algal blooms, one common cause of large fish kills, almost never develop in fast-flowing water systems like the Belize River,” he explained. “A bloom could form in a stagnant side channel or lagoon and then spill into the main river, but the water discoloration residents saw suggests an outside pollutant entered the system directly.”
The leading working hypothesis points to agricultural runoff as the most likely culprit, McKnight said, such as an overflow from a pesticide or fertilizer retention pond that sent contaminated water into the river. Other potential causes, including toxic chemical pollution and algal toxin intrusion, have not been ruled out, however. Research teams are currently collecting water and tissue samples and coordinating with environmental authorities to pinpoint the exact source of the mortality event.
Conservation scientists warn the damage will not end with the already confirmed deaths. Predators and scavengers that feed on the contaminated carcasses face secondary poisoning, which could extend the die-off to terrestrial and avian species connected to the river ecosystem. The loss of large numbers of hicatee and crocodiles — both keystone species that shape the river’s food web — is also expected to create cascading ecological impacts that will persist for generations.
The Belize Department of the Environment’s formal investigation remains active as of the latest update. A precautionary public advisory first issued on August 5 remains in full effect, urging residents to avoid consuming any fish or aquatic resources harvested from the affected Belize River Valley region. The advisory also bans the use of untreated river water for drinking, cooking, food preparation, and consumption by livestock or domestic pets.
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Tropical Disturbance Could Become Threat to Caribbean Islands
As weather monitoring agencies across the Atlantic track emerging cyclonic activity, a senior meteorologist from Antigua and Barbuda is calling on Caribbean communities to stay alert to a growing tropical disturbance that could put the region’s island chain at risk in the coming days.
Dale Destin, the lead meteorologist for Antigua and Barbuda, issued a public advisory on Tuesday highlighting the active disturbance currently churning across the eastern stretch of the tropical North Atlantic. “There is a #TropicalDisturbance (red) of interest to the Caribbean over the eastern tropical North Atlantic. All are asked to monitor this system, as it could become a threat to the islands,” Destin shared in his social media alert.
Destin’s warning aligns with updated forecasts from the United States’ National Hurricane Center (NHC), which has upgraded the system’s odds of developing into a organized tropical depression to high probability by the end of this week. As of the NHC’s 2 p.m. Tropical Weather Outlook released Tuesday, the unorganized cluster of showers and thunderstorms is located roughly 550 miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, off the western coast of Africa.
Forecasters at the NHC note that atmospheric and oceanic conditions across the Atlantic are becoming steadily more supportive of cyclonic development over the next 48 to 72 hours. “A tropical depression will likely form during the latter half of this week while the system moves westward to west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic,” the agency’s official outlook stated.
Current probability forecasts put the system’s chance of organizing into a tropical cyclone within 48 hours at 40%, while the seven-day development probability holds at a high 70%. While meteorologists emphasize it remains too early to definitively project what, if any, direct impacts the system will bring to Antigua and Barbuda or the broader Caribbean region, Destin’s early advisory underscores the need for residents to track the system’s westward progression closely and prepare for potential changes in conditions.
In addition to the high-priority disturbance, forecasters have cleared a second system that was being monitored earlier this week. Destin confirmed that the previously tracked second area of interest, marked on regional weather maps with a grey X, is no longer forecast to develop into a cyclonic system.
Separately, the NHC is continuing to monitor a third weather system: a trough of low pressure located roughly 750 miles east-northeast of Bermuda. This system carries a 20% probability of development over both the 48-hour and seven-day forecast windows. Forecasters project that the low-pressure trough will move into cooler ocean waters later this week, eliminating any chance of sustained cyclonic development by Thursday.
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Landelijk onderzoek bevestigt dominante positie sociale media in Suriname
A landmark nationally representative survey has confirmed what many observers have suspected: social media has become the overwhelmingly dominant media platform in Suriname, reshaping how the country’s population accesses information and interacts with content. The 2024 Landelijk Perceptieonderzoek Suriname 3.0, carried out by the Suriname Institute for Research and Documentation (NIKOS), finds that 69% of the country’s adult population identifies social media as their most frequently used media platform — more than double the combined share of all traditional media: television, radio, and print newspapers.
What sets this research apart is its rigorous methodological design, which allows it to claim representative insight into Surinamese media habits. Between June 25 and July 21, researchers surveyed 1,786 Surinamese adults aged 18 and older, selected via random sampling from the country’s 2025 voter registry. Fieldwork was conducted across 49 administrative ressorten spread across nine of Suriname’s ten districts, with only the remote inland district of Sipaliwini excluded from data collection. Researchers note that the random sampling approach ensures the findings accurately reflect the attitudes and behavior of the broader Surinamese population.
Breaking down the data by age groups reveals a stark generational divide in media use. Among adults aged 18 to 39, dominance of social media is nearly complete: 88% name it as their most used medium, with television capturing just 7%, radio 4%, and print newspapers a mere 1% of this demographic. Even among the middle-aged cohort of 40 to 59-year-olds, social media retains a strong lead, with 72% identifying it as their primary platform, compared to 15% for television, 9% for radio, and 3% for print.
The media landscape looks far different for Suriname’s oldest adult population, those aged 60 and above. Even here, social media holds a tied first place at 34%, matching the share of television. Radio remains relevant for 23% of this age group, while 8% still name print newspapers as their most used medium. This split means Suriname effectively hosts two distinct media ecosystems within one society: a digital-first ecosystem for younger citizens that centers almost entirely on social platforms, and a more diversified landscape for older citizens that retains a large role for traditional broadcast and print media.
Among traditional media, television retains the strongest position nationwide, ranking second overall with 17% of adults naming it their primary medium. Radio, once the leading medium in Suriname, now holds just a 10% share nationwide, though it remains important for older audiences. Print newspapers have seen the steepest decline: just 4% of all adults, and only 1% of young adults, name it as their most used medium, with the share rising only to 8% among adults over 60.
Importantly, researchers emphasize that the findings do not mean 69% of Surinamese exclusively consume news via social media. The survey question specifically asked which medium respondents use most often, not which they use at all. The data therefore cannot be read as direct market share for news outlets, nor as evidence that traditional media are no longer used by most of the population.
The survey’s results carry major implications for Suriname’s news organizations and journalism industry. The shift confirms that reaching younger audiences is now overwhelmingly dependent on distribution through social platforms. While the core journalistic mission of providing verified, balanced, and reliable news remains unchanged, the pathway through which news reaches the public has fundamentally shifted. News outlets now face the critical challenge of maintaining a visible presence on the social platforms where their audience already engages, without sacrificing core journalistic standards of accuracy and verification to prioritize speed and broader reach.
At the same time, the data makes clear that traditional media cannot be written off entirely. Television and radio remain critical sources of information for older population segments, meaning a media strategy that focuses exclusively on either digital or traditional platforms will fail to serve large swathes of Surinamese society. The study lays bare a fundamental transformation of the country’s media landscape: the competition for audience attention in Suriname is increasingly fought on digital terrain. For Suriname’s journalism sector, the central question is no longer whether social media needs to be part of news provision, but how journalistic organizations can remain visible and relevant on these platforms without eroding the public trust that comes from reliable, ethical reporting.
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BMS discontinues dust haze advisory
After days of reduced air quality driven by a thick blanket of Saharan dust, Barbados has officially ended its public Significant Dust Haze Advisory, meteorological officials confirmed this week. The Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS) announced the discontinuation of the advisory at noon local time, attributing the improving air conditions to an incoming tropical wave that is pushing the bulk of the dust plume away from the island and the wider Caribbean region.
While the strongest dust concentrations are receding, BMS cautions that residual light to moderate haze will linger across Barbados and its surrounding territorial waters through the end of the current day and overnight. For residents and travelers monitoring air quality, the reprieve from heavy haze may be short-lived: latest satellite imagery tracked a separate mass of moderate Saharan dust across the central Atlantic that is on track to reach Barbados starting Thursday, August 13, with impacts expected to last through the following weekend.
Saharan dust plumes are a recurring seasonal phenomenon in the Caribbean, carried westward across the Atlantic by trade winds, and can trigger respiratory irritation, reduced visibility, and changes to local weather patterns during periods of high concentration.
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Taiwan welcomes PM Friday with military honour, state banquet
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Prime Minister Godwin Friday arrived in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday for an official visit, marking his first intercontinental overseas trip since he took office in November last year. He was extended a formal welcome with full military honours, capping off a day of diplomatic engagements designed to strengthen the 45-year bilateral relationship between the two sides.
Leading a nine-member official delegation, Friday was first greeted at Taipei’s airport by Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-Lung. Following the arrival ceremony, Lin hosted a private luncheon for Friday and his delegation, where the two sides held preliminary discussions on avenues to deepen cooperation and people-to-people ties ahead of higher-level talks.
Later that afternoon, Friday was welcomed with formal military honours at Taiwan’s Office of the President, where he met with Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te. Speaking at the ceremony, Friday reaffirmed SVG’s commitment to building on the four-and-a-half decades of diplomatic relations between Kingstown and Taipei, which were first established on August 15, 1981 — just two years after SVG gained full independence.
Reflecting on the evolution of the bilateral partnership, Friday noted that what began as a formal diplomatic recognition has grown into a deep, mutually beneficial alliance. “Over the years since, that initial act has blossomed into a deep and fruitful friendship. Indeed, I believe that St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Taiwan have become more than friends. We have become partners,” he said.
Friday framed this partnership through two key global contexts: the ongoing exclusion of Taiwan from many major international forums, and the unique vulnerabilities small island developing states (SIDS) like SVG face in the face of climate change, natural disasters, and cascading global economic shocks driven by conflicts thousands of miles from Caribbean shores. Over 45 years, he emphasized, the two nations have weathered shared challenges together, and the history of their ties provides a foundation — but not the limit — for future collaboration.
Outlining his administration’s core priorities, Friday stated that SVG’s central mandate is improving living standards for all Vincentians amid a challenging global economic climate. He added that this goal requires partnership with a nation that shares a commitment to people-centered development, a standard he said Taiwan has consistently met. “Taiwan has demonstrated exactly that. You have shown the world what is possible when innovation, enterprise and human talent are deliberately cultivated,” he noted, adding that Taiwan’s outsized global impact defies assumptions about the limitations of its size, powered by the resourcefulness of its people.
For four and a half decades, Friday said, Taiwan has invested in developing human capital in SVG, and in return, SVG has consistently advocated for Taiwan’s interests in multilateral bodies including the United Nations, its specialized agencies, and INTERPOL. He pledged that this support would continue and expand in the coming years.
Looking ahead to expanded economic cooperation, Friday identified four key priority sectors for targeted investment in SVG: agriculture, tourism, the blue economy (encompassing fisheries, marinas and other maritime resources), and the new economy, which includes sports, creative industries, entertainment and information technology. He stressed that even modest investment in SVG can deliver outsized gains, creating new opportunities and quality jobs for local workers, echoing Taiwan’s example of pursuing ambitious people-centered goals regardless of a nation’s size.
Highlighting SVG’s competitive advantages, Friday noted the Caribbean nation boasts a skilled workforce, extraordinary natural landscapes, a strategic regional position, and a government committed to building a pro-investment regulatory environment that supports business growth and shared prosperity. “What we do now will determine what this relationship means to the Vincentian and Taiwanese children who will inherit it. That is the responsibility of leadership: to honour what we inherit but never to be satisfied with simply preserving it. We must leave it stronger, more meaningful and more useful for those who come after,” he said.
Framing his visit as an opportunity to write the next chapter of the bilateral relationship, Friday concluded his remarks by thanking Lai and the Taiwanese people for their warm, distinguished welcome, expressing optimism about the shared work ahead. Following the formal honour ceremony, Lai and Friday held closed-door bilateral discussions to advance cooperation across priority areas. Lai later hosted a formal state banquet in honour of the SVG delegation, and the day concluded with a visit to Taipei’s iconic Shilin Night Market. Friday remarked that the vibrant local market offered a useful blueprint for the future development of Middle Street in Kingstown, SVG’s capital.
The nine-member delegation includes Friday’s wife Ave Friday, SVG Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Foreign Investments and Diaspora Affairs Dwight Fitzgerald Bramble, Attorney General Louise Mitchell, Ambassador for Finance, Climate and Investment Kevin Hope, Press Secretary Danielle Veira, Research Officer Addison Thomas, and Close Protection Officers Desrick Quashie and Twana Da Silva. The trip is being coordinated by SVG’s Ambassador to Taiwan Kenton X. Chance, his wife Symantha Chance, and the staff of SVG’s embassy in Taipei. Friday and his delegation are scheduled to depart Taiwan and return to SVG on August 16.
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NHC Tracking Two Systems in the Atlantic, One With High Chance of Development
As the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season continues, the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) is keeping close watch on two separate low-pressure systems moving across the basin this week, with one system holding a strong probability of maturing into a tropical depression before the end of the week.
Per the NHC’s latest official Tropical Weather Outlook, the first of the two monitored disturbances is situated in the central tropical Atlantic, centered roughly 500 miles to the southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. While shower and thunderstorm activity linked to this low-pressure system has remained limited in recent observations, meteorologists with the agency have projected that environmental conditions will become increasingly conducive to strengthening over the coming 48 to 72 hours.
Forecasters project that as the system tracks on a west to west-northwest course across the central tropical Atlantic, it will likely organize into a tropical depression during the second half of this week. Right now, the NHC assigns this system just a 30% probability of development within the next 48 hours, but that chance climbs significantly to 70% — a high likelihood rating — over the full seven-day forecast window.
The second system under monitoring is a trough of low pressure located several hundred miles northeast of Bermuda, which is currently generating scattered showers and thunderstorms across the central subtropical Atlantic. The NHC notes that limited, slow development of this system cannot be ruled out over the next 24 to 48 hours as it travels eastward at around 20 miles per hour. However, the system is on track to reach much cooler ocean waters later this week, a shift in conditions that will halt any further organization by Thursday. For this second disturbance, the NHC pegs development odds at just 10% over both the 48-hour and seven-day forecast periods.
Amid ongoing monitoring for the active hurricane season, the NHC confirmed that it will continue issuing regular updates on both systems as they progress across the Atlantic, updating forecast probabilities and development status as new observational data becomes available.