The use of video assistant refereeing technology in the Prime Minister’s Cup will no longer happen. The Barbados Football Association says it has been contacted by FIFA to reaffirm that every member association must follow the implementation assistance and approval programme in order to implement the use of VAR. The BFA has confirmed that it has not undertaken the official process to receive FIFA certification for the use of VAR in Barbados, and therefore at this point, the technology is not authorised to be employed at any competition on the island.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) has reported that the Jamaican economy grew by 0.2% during the second quarter of this year, compared to the second quarter of 2023. This was largely attributed to a 1.5% increase in the goods-producing industries. The performance of the economy was, however, tempered by a 0.2% decline in the services industries, the first since the first quarter of 2021. STATIN said that within the goods-producing industries, the value added for the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries grew by 3.4%, mining and quarrying grew by 4.0%, and the manufacturing industry increased by 1.8%. However, output in the construction industry fell by 1.9%. STATIN noted that the decline in the services industries was influenced by contractions in wholesale and retail trade, repairs, installation of machinery and equipment, producers of government services, and real estate, renting, and business activities, which fell by 0.5%, 1.9%, and 1.5% respectively. However, there was growth in industries such as hotels and restaurants, finance and insurance services, transport, storage and communication, electricity and water supply, and other services. STATIN added that the economy declined by 0.7% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2024, resulting from declines of 0.8% in the services industries and 0.3% in the goods-producing industries.

Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) — Two people have died after a typhoon slammed into southwestern Taiwan, deluging the major port city of Kaohsiung with heavy rain and forcing the island to shut down for a second day. With winds of up to 135 kilometres per hour (85 miles per hour), Typhoon Krathon made landfall along southern Taiwan shortly after noon on Thursday, the equivalent of a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane. Two people died and 219 injuries have been reported, according to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center, adding that one person is also missing. One was a 66-year-old driver hit by falling rocks. The other was a 70-year-old man who fell while trimming a tree during the typhoon, according to the centre. For several hours before making landfall, Krathon moved slowly along the southern coast. In previous days it had hovered between Taiwan and the Philippines as a Category 4 equivalent, with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te warning of “catastrophic damage.” While the storm has since weakened, it has battered Taiwan with a deluge, forcing the closure of schools and the stock market earlier this week. Hundreds of flights have been suspended, and as of 3 p.m. close to 100,000 households faced power outages, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. A wide swath of 250-500 mm (10-20 inches) with isolated totals over a meter (40 inches) has occurred from Krathon. A damaged wooden archway due to strong winds from Typhoon Krathon in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on October 3. (Stringer/AFP/CNA/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) Additional rainfall of 250 – 500 mm (10-20 inches) is possible from Krathon as it meanders over and near Taiwan. Schools and offices were once again closed across Taiwan on Thursday. More than 38,000 Taiwanese soldiers are on standby to help in case of emergencies. Kaohsiung officials warned of the impact of Krathon’s slow pace. “If it passes very slowly, and even stops at Kaohsiung and the Tainan areas, it could lengthen its damage on Kaohsiung,” Mayor Chen Chi-mai told reporters on Thursday. “Please avoid going out,” he added. University student Liao Shian-rong, 24, told Reuters that he travelled from Taipei to Kaohsiung to chase the storm, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “We are being hit by the eyewall now and will enter the eye soon,” he said, filming the storm from a hotel lobby. Footage posted by users on social media platform Threads showed fierce winds had toppled motorcycles and scaffolding structures, ripping off roofs. The storm, known in the Philippines as Julien, has already lashed that country’s northernmost islands, prompting evacuations and severe flooding in coastal communities. Nearly 23,000 families in three regions have been affected by the storm, the Philippines’ national disaster agency said Tuesday, according to the Philippine News Agency. A man runs amid heavy rain and powerful winds, as Typhoon Krathon makes landfall in the port city of Kaohsiung, Southern Taiwan, on October 3. (Photo: Daniel Ceng/Anadolu/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)