NACAC President urges CARICOM to establish wider sports committee

by Michael Bascombe

NASSAU, Bahamas, Aug. 29, 2026 - President of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC), Mike Sands, is calling for CARICOM to consider establishing a high-level sports commission or subcommittee, arguing that Caribbean political leaders need more structured and continuous engagement with sport beyond the regional grouping’s existing focus on cricket.

Speaking on Saturday’s TalkSports programme, Sands suggested that CARICOM could identify one of its political leaders to chair such a body and help ensure that sport receives greater attention as part of the region’s development agenda.

“Maybe it’s time for CARICOM to select one of those leaders to be the chair of a sports commission, if they don’t already have one,” Sands said.

During the discussion, it was noted that CARICOM has a prime ministerial subcommittee dealing with cricket. Sands said the concept should be widened.

“There should be a subcommittee probably for sports. That’s the point I make - not just cricket, sport,” he said.

Sands believes there is an opportunity to build on the recent engagement between CARICOM and regional athletics, particularly as preparations begin for Guyana to host the 2027 CARIFTA Games.

He disclosed that discussions surrounding the Games included the prospect of inviting, at minimum, CARICOM ministers responsible for sport.

“If we really want to sensitise our heads to the importance of sport, I think they need to be gathered in one place on a more regular basis,” Sands said.

He argued that such engagement should continue irrespective of changes in political administrations.

“Politics change the individual, but it should not change some principle things about nation-building,” he said, adding that political leaders and ministers responsible for sport and education have important roles in preparing the next generation.

Sands also stressed that any regional initiative should recognise the wider CARIFTA family and not be confined solely to CARICOM membership.

He noted that while all CARIFTA members may not belong to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), OECS members form part of the CARIFTA structure. The wider athletics family also includes territories outside CARICOM, which Sands said must be considered in any regional approach.

Beyond political cooperation, Sands said the 2027 Games should leave Guyana with tangible benefits.

“First of all, I think you have improved facilities. Let’s start with that. And you’ve got your full inventory of equipment,” he said.

Sands also expects knowledge gained from hosting the Games to remain with local officials, coaches, and athletes.

He said one of the longer-term outcomes should be a stronger relationship between CARICOM and the wider CARIFTA sporting community, creating more regular dialogue on the contribution sport can make to national and regional development.

Regulatory disparities delaying end of CARICOM roaming charges - CTU

Governments urged to harmonise taxes and telecommunications rules across the region

by Michael Bascombe

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, Aug. 27, 2026 - Differences in taxes and telecommunications regulations across CARICOM Member States remain a major obstacle to the full elimination of mobile roaming charges, according to Secretary-General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), Rodney Taylor.

Taylor said regional telecommunications providers have argued that they cannot introduce a single domestic-style arrangement while operating under different regulatory and tax requirements in each country.

“The operators have said we’re not able to do this because there’s disparity in regulatory regimes within the CARICOM Member States,” Taylor told reporters on Tuesday.

He was speaking during a media conference on the sidelines of the 22nd Caribbean Internet Governance Forum at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort.

Taylor said some telecommunications taxes and charges imposed in countries such as Jamaica and Barbados do not apply in Grenada or Saint Lucia. He said governments and regulators must therefore work towards harmonising their rules before the region can achieve the complete removal of roaming charges.

“We have some work to do on our side as governments and regulators to ensure that there’s also harmonisation on the regulatory side,” he said.

CARICOM took an initial step in February 2022 with the signing of the Declaration of St George’s Towards the Reduction of Intra-CARICOM Roaming Charges.

The agreement, reached with Digicel Group and Cable & Wireless Communications, introduced lower and more predictable rates for regional voice calls, text messages and mobile data. However, it stopped short of eliminating roaming charges.

Taylor stressed that the 2022 agreement was intended as a step towards the wider objective of allowing CARICOM residents to use their domestic mobile packages while travelling within the region.

He recalled Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley describing the desired arrangement as one in which Caribbean people could “roam like you’re at home, because you are at home within the region.”

Taylor pointed to the European Union, where customers can generally use their domestic mobile plans while travelling between participating countries without paying additional roaming charges.

He said the same principle should eventually apply to people travelling between Grenada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia and other CARICOM countries.

The CTU Secretary-General noted that the main telecommunications providers already manage their networks on a regional basis. Once governments address the differences in taxes and regulations, he said, the operators should have little justification for maintaining high roaming fees.

Taylor said customers travelling within the region should already be able to purchase roaming packages introduced under the St George’s Declaration.

“Coming out of the Declaration of St George’s, you should be able to buy a roaming passport for any destination that you go to within the Caribbean,” he said. “If you get a high bill, call me.”

He also pointed to the growing availability of electronic SIM cards, or eSIMs, which allow travellers to purchase data plans without changing a physical SIM card. Taylor said he has used inexpensive eSIM packages during his international travels for services such as Google Maps, video streaming and ride-hailing applications.

“The era of high and ridiculous roaming charges should be over right now,” he said. “Certainly, within the CARICOM Single ICT Space, it should not exist.”

Taylor said the CTU would continue working with national regulators, including National Telecommunications Regulatory Commissions, and emerging regional regulatory bodies to address the remaining disparities.

He did not provide a timetable for the complete elimination of roaming charges.

Peters and James earn podium finishes on record-breaking night in Zurich

by Michael Bascombe

ZURICH, Switzerland, Aug. 27, 2026 - Anderson Peters and Kirani James produced season-best performances to secure podium finishes for Grenada at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, on a night when two world records were broken at the Letzigrund Stadium.

Peters finished second in the men’s javelin throw with 86.93 metres, while James placed third in the men’s 400 metres in 44.83 seconds.

Peters recorded his season's best in the opening round and held the early lead before Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage moved ahead with 88.23m in the second round.

Pathirage strengthened his position with 89.90m in the third round before producing a winning throw of 92.07m with his final attempt.

Peters followed his opening effort with throws of 82.17m, 83.52m, 84.22m and 82.08m before fouling in the last round. Poland’s Dawid Wegner took third with a season best of 85.16m.

“The energy here is always nice, and we had some really good throws today,” Peters said. “I am grateful for the season best, but I started to miss the javelin a little bit. We are heading in the right direction, and the aim is to peak at the Ultimate Championships.”

The two-time world champion said finding the right balance in his approach remains important as he prepares for his remaining competitions.

“Today, maybe I was a little bit too relaxed,” he said. “At the previous competition, I was a bit faster and a little more tense. It’s always about finding the balance of how we should approach the competition.”

Peters, whose personal best is 93.07m, remains confident that another throw beyond 90 metres is within reach.

“My PB is 93m. I am capable of throwing 90m,” he said. “The plan was to throw it even today, but I was a bit too comfortable. I am ready for the next one.”

James also recorded his fastest time of the season in the additional men’s 400m, which was not part of the Diamond League points programme.

Running from lane six, the Grenadian finished strongly to take third in 44.83 seconds.

Japan’s Yuki Joseph Nakajima won the race in a season best of 44.62, with Italy’s Edoardo Scotti second in 44.70. American Vernon Norwood placed fourth in 44.92.

The evening’s biggest performances came in the hurdles.

Brazil’s Alison dos Santos stormed to a world record of 45.80 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles, lowering the previous mark of 45.94 set by Norway’s Karsten Warholm at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.

Warholm finished second in 46.69, while Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel was third in 47.50.

Less than half an hour later, Masai Russell of the United States established a world record in the women’s 100m hurdles, clocking 12.09 seconds in still conditions.

Russell erased the previous record of 12.12 set by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan in 2022. Amusan finished second on Thursday with a season best of 12.23, while Nadine Visser of the Netherlands was third in 12.34.

Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred led the other notable Caribbean performances, winning the women’s 100m in a national record of 10.70 seconds despite a 0.7 metres-per-second headwind.

American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden was also credited with 10.70, but Alfred was awarded the victory following a photo finish. Sha’Carri Richardson of the United States placed third in 10.97.

“Staying at the top is definitely a harder job than making it up there,” Alfred said. “We have a long way to go in Saint Lucia, but we are getting there. A national record puts Saint Lucia on the map.”

Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell finished second in the men’s shot put with 22.22m. American Jordan Geist won with a personal best of 22.53m, while Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri was third with 22.16m.

Rushell Clayton added another podium finish for Jamaica, placing third in the women’s 400m hurdles in 53.17 seconds. She missed second place by one-hundredth of a second, with American Dalilah Muhammad clocking a season best of 53.16.

Anna Cockrell of the United States won the race in a world-leading and meeting-record time of 52.13.

Zurich was the final regular-season meeting before the two-day Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 4 and 5. Peters has qualified to represent Grenada in the men’s javelin final, while James’ race in Zurich was outside the championship points series.

Grenada approves licence for new 5G mobile operator

AI-assisted passenger processing system also planned for 2027

by Michael Bascombe 

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, Aug. 27, 2026 - Grenada has approved a licence for a new mobile telecommunications operator that is expected to introduce 5G service to the country, according to Chairman of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), Vincent Roberts.

Roberts made the disclosure during a media conference on Tuesday but did not identify the company or provide a date for the start of its operations.

“I wouldn’t be saying anything out of form if I say that Grenada has just approved a licence for a new mobile operator,” he told reporters. “It is not in the public domain as yet, but we will be having a 5G operator in Grenada very soon.”

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the 22nd Caribbean Internet Governance Forum, held from August 24–26 at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort.

Roberts also outlined plans for the introduction of an Advance Passenger Information System and AI-assisted processing of arriving travellers.

Under the system, Grenadian authorities would receive passenger information before a traveller arrives in the country. Roberts said facial-recognition technology could then be used to match an arriving passenger with the information already received, allowing those cleared by the system to move through immigration more quickly.

He said the technology could also provide a personalised greeting to returning travellers as they pass through the arrival area.

Roberts indicated that work on the system could begin before the end of 2026, with implementation expected during 2027.

“When you book a flight, and you’re coming to Grenada, we will receive the information beforehand,” he explained. “As you’re walking through the corridor to go to immigration, they will use a photograph to match it with the advance information.”

The Advance Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record Bill, which went before Parliament earlier this year, provides a legal framework for the collection, processing, sharing, and protection of information relating to people travelling to, from, or through Grenada.

It also provides for the establishment of a Passenger Information Unit and the appointment of a Data Protection Officer.

Roberts said the passenger system forms part of a wider digital transformation programme that includes digitised civil, land, birth, and death registries.

He said greater information-sharing among government departments should eventually remove the need for citizens to obtain documents from one agency to present to another.

Using a passport application as an example, Roberts said applicants should not have to produce a birth certificate when that information is already held by the government.

He also pointed to the recently approved Digital Transformation Agency legislation, which is intended to coordinate digital projects across government and reduce separate ministries developing incompatible systems.

Roberts said considerable technical and legal work had been required before implementation could begin.

“Grenada is on the cusp of big things happening,” he said. “It took a lot of foundational work, making sure that the technical and legal framework is in place so that implementation can start.”

No further information was provided about the new mobile operator’s coverage plans or commercial launch. Details on the cost, procurement, and final operation of the proposed AI-assisted passenger processing system were also not disclosed.

James and Peters set for Zurich Diamond League action

by Michael Bascombe

ZURICH, Switzerland, Aug. 26, 2026 - Kirani James and Anderson Peters will carry Grenada’s colours at the Weltklasse Zürich meeting on Thursday, the final stop before next month’s Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels.

James will compete in the men’s 400 metres, while Peters will line up in the men’s javelin throw at the Letzigrund Stadium.

Drawn in lane six, James will face Switzerland’s Manuel Gerber, Haydn Brotschi, Lionel Spitz and Ricky Petrucciani, along with Japan’s Yuki Joseph Nakajima, American Vernon Norwood and Italy’s Edoardo Scotti.

Although the race does not carry Diamond League points, it offers James a competitive field. Norwood has the fastest season’s best among the starters at 44.58 seconds, followed by Scotti at 44.96. James enters the race with a season’s best of 45.04.

James has enjoyed success in Zurich before. He won the Diamond League 400m title at the same venue in 2022, clocking 44.26 seconds.

The 2012 Olympic champion has not competed on the Diamond League championship circuit this season, however, and will not be part of the 400m final in Brussels.

Peters, meanwhile, has already secured his place in the javelin final and will use Thursday’s competition as another test against some of the leading throwers in the world.

The two-time world champion will face Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, who leads the 2026 world list with 92.62m, as well as Curtis Thompson of the United States, Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and Germany’s Thomas Röhler.

The field also includes Julius Yego of Kenya, Patriks Gailums of Latvia, Marc Anthony Minichello of the United States, Dawid Wegner of Poland and Switzerland’s Simon Wieland.

Peters has a season’s best of 86.69m and will be seeking a strong performance before turning his attention to the Diamond League title.

Zurich is the penultimate stop on the overall Diamond League calendar and the final qualifying meeting of the season.

The Allianz Memorial Van Damme will host the two-day Diamond League Final at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on September 4 and 5. The leading athletes from the 2026 series will compete across 32 events for the Diamond League titles and trophies.

Peters will represent Grenada in the men’s javelin final, while Thursday’s race in Zurich will be James’ final appearance on the Diamond League calendar this season.