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sageglobalresponse · 4 years ago

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For most people, the coronavirus pandemic has meant fewer travel options. Not so for super-rich families who are increasingly using their money to cross borders that would otherwise be closed to them.

This is the elite world of investment migration, where passport applications are based not on nationality or citizenship, but on wealth and the willingness to move it around the planet.

These so-called citizen-by-investment programs, or CIPs, are currently a growth industry, as are residence-by-investment arrangements, also known as "golden visas."

They're a way for ultra-rich individuals to not only diversify their portfolio by moving their money into a country, but also receive the benefits of citizenship, including a new passport.

Over the past five to 10 years, the primary motivations amongst CIP participants -- who tend to have a net worth of anywhere from $2 million to over $50 million -- have been freedom of movement, tax benefits and lifestyle factors, such as better education or civil liberties.

But with Covid-19 dramatically transforming our 2020, some elite families are also considering healthcare, pandemic responses and potential safe havens to ensure they have a backup plan for the future.

Plan B

"People really want the insurance policy of an alternative citizenship, which gives them a Plan B," Dominic Volek, Head of Asia for global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, tells CNN Travel.

"They are also concerned about healthcare and pandemic preparedness because, of course, this may not be the only pandemic in our lifetime.

"Wealthy people don't plan for five to 10 years -- they plan more than 100 years in advance, in terms of wealth and well being."

While largely anecdotal, Henley & Partners suspects that a recent uptick in interest in CIP can be linked to the coronavirus, health concerns, and general "doomsday predictions."

The company recorded a 49% year-on-year increase in inquiries between January and June of 2020.

And the number of people who filed an application following a consultation increased by 42% when comparing the last quarter of 2019 with the first quarter of 2020.

Mighty Montenegro

When it comes to specific citizenship programs, Montenegro and Cyprus have been the most popular, with new applications up 142% and 75%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2020, compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. Malta meanwhile has retained significant and constant interest.

"Many people in this ultra-high net worth bracket are interested in Cyprus and Malta, because it grants the applicant and their family unlimited access and settlement freedom throughout the European Union," says Volek.

"They not only have greater freedom of movement but also better education and healthcare (than in their home countries)."

Residency programs in Australia and New Zealand are also in high demand, but for another reason: crisis management.

"New Zealand has come out on top in terms of how it handled the pandemic, compared with some of the other usually more favored destinations like the UK or the US," says Volek.

"So we've definitely seen a big increase in inquiries in the Australia and New Zealand investment visas. That's probably also spurred by articles about these Silicon Valley guys, who had participated in various investor visas programs pre-pandemic and put doomsday plans in place."

$6.5 million investment

Only ultra-high net worth families can participate in these residency programs: Australia's program costs $1-3.5 million, while New Zealand will set investors back $1.9-$6.5 million.

"New Zealand's program is pretty flexible in terms of what you invest in -- as long as it's not for your personal use," explains Volek.

"A lot of these people have put that NZ$10 million into creating a completely self-sustainable, off-grid commercial farm. So then they've also got a place to go and just wait things out in times like these."

The CIP clientele is changing too: Americans, Indians, Nigerians and Lebanese applicants have shown the biggest spikes in applications over the past nine months.

American applications, in particular, jumped 700% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with the last quarter of 2019.

These ultra-elite individuals join a steady flow of investors from China and the Middle East

Covid-free havens

Some ultra-rich travelers are simply seeking a safe, remote place where they can hole up with their family should another outbreak occur.

Even if they don't have immediate access, they want to be prepared for the next pandemic.

"The talk so far is that the smaller countries are able to handle and manage the pandemic easier," Nuri Katz, founder of international financial advisory firm Apex Capital Partners, tells CNN Travel.

"So like the United States, it's just totally out of control. But smaller countries haven't been hit as hard. For example, in Caribbean countries like Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, or St Kitts, there are very few Covid cases."

"These small countries seem to be opening up and there's a feeling that they'll be able to manage this problem a lot better than big countries," adds Katz. "So there's a lot of interest in that in terms of health care and lifestyle."

In addition, small island nations in the Caribbean nations provide relatively inexpensive CIP and greater travel freedom.

"If you have a net worth of roughly $1 million to, say, $5 or $10 million, the Caribbean is a great choice. For example, a wealthy Bangladeshi holds one of the worst passports in the world in terms of travel freedom -- you need a visa to go anywhere," adds Volek.

"If you donate $100,000 to the government of Antigua and Barbuda, plus fees, your family of four can get a second passport in about four to six months."

Beat the ban

Katz has also noticed the beginnings of another trend: investing in passports in order to increase your chances of beating travel bans in the future.

As some countries open up, they will only let in certain passports -- for example, Europeans are largely unable to visit the US, and vice-versa.

However, a Cyprus passport holder would be able to travel within the EU when borders are open.

"People are thinking, okay, this thing is going to be around for a while," says Katz. "How do we adjust our assets, including our citizenships, to be able to have the kind of lifestyle that we want?

"People who want to travel freely around Europe, they're starting to think about getting some kind of (citizenship or resident) status."

Investment Migration 101

Investment migration programs offer residence or citizenship in exchange for substantial investment in a country's economy, usually in the form of real estate, job creation, infrastructure development or government bonds.

The first CIP was introduced in 1984 by St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. Since then, dozens of countries have established programs, including Austria, Cyprus, Malta, Moldova, St Lucia, Turkey, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Greece, Montenegro and many more.

Some require applicants to set up nonprofits, establish companies that create local jobs or live in the country for a specified amount of time. Others enable applicants to invest in government bonds, real estate and development projects remotely.

Depending on the country, these programs can cost anywhere from $100,000 in Antigua and Barbuda to $250,000 in St Kitts and Nevis, $280,000 in Greece, $380,000 in Portugal, $1.1 million in Malta, and $2.4 million in Cyprus.

"I think a country like Portugal is one of the most attractive because the price point at €350-500,000 is achievable for high-net worth individuals," says Volek.

"You then get visa-free access to the European Schengen area and there's a clear legal path to citizenship after five years of residence as long as you can also speak elementary level Portuguese."

"But if the client has the financial capacity, then it's direct to Malta or Cyprus because you'd get EU citizenship immediately."

Doing due diligence

In 2017, Katz estimated that around 5,000 people per year acquired citizenship abroad through CIPs. In 2020, he puts that number closer to 25,000, though no official numbers exist.

Even as more super-wealthy individuals turn to CIPs as a backup plan, the reality is that these programs take time.

"There's just no way just any Russian oligarch can walk in, hand a million dollars to a politician, and walk away with a passport," says Volek. "That's obviously not the case."

Depending on the country, the due diligence process requires anywhere from several months to several years.

Typically, applicants will undergo thorough financial and criminal evaluations to ensure the money has been earned legally, prior to the approval of their residency or citizenship.

Taking Malta as an example, Volek says the country requires a strict, four-tier due diligence process starting with initial vetting by Henley & Partners.

'The applicant has to disclose their net worth and the source of funds, as well as provide police clearance certificates in their country of birth, country of citizenship and wherever they've lived for more than six months in the last 10 years..."

"Malta has a rejection rate of anywhere between 20 to 25% of applications -- they will reject the applicant if they're not comfortable with this person acquiring citizenship," he explains.

CIP proponents argue that such programs are a win-win situation: applicants pour investment into developing countries to offset the costs of natural disasters, industry collapses, pandemics or simply jump-start certain sectors of the economy.

At the same time, the individual can diversify their own assets while enjoying greater freedom of movement, a better lifestyle and reassurance in times of crisis.

But some experts suggest it's not quite so clear-cut.

In 2018, for instance, Transparency International, a global coalition against corruption, criticized citizenship- and residence-by-investment schemes in Malta, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain, arguing that these programs are "selling access to the Schengen visa-free travel area, and even EU citizenship, to foreign investors with little scrutiny, transparency or due diligence."

Kate Hooper, an associate policy analyst at the Washington DC-based think tank Migration Policy Institute's International Program, told CNN Travel that CIPs often arouse suspicion since some governments do not disclose their due-diligence processes.

"Numerous reports have raised concerns about how effective these processes actually are at screening people and rooting out dirty money," Hooper told CNN Travel in 2017.

"Over the years, there have been a handful of cases where citizenship has been granted to people without proper screening."

George DeMartino, a professor of international economics and ethics at the University of Denver, says CIPs can also exacerbate inequality.

"Programs such as these threaten to diminish political fraternity by affording special privileges to the already privileged," DeMartino

"They permit those with the least need to migrate and achieve citizenship in a new country the greatest opportunity to do so, while those far more desperate to migrate, such as those facing dire economic circumstances at home, are fully excluded from the benefits of these programs.

The programs are not the cause of this inequality, but they amplify it.

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mellifluousblrr-blog · 7 years ago

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“Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, hit the eastern Caribbean on Wednesday with winds of up to 185 miles an hour.” - The New York Times.

Barbuda is in shreds. The President of Barbuda says that 95% of all buildings has suffered at least some damage and that the island is “barely habitable”, up to 60% of the TOTAL population are now homeless because of the hurricane, and that the estimated damage is valued at no less than $200 million dollars. Guys, right now there have been a total of five deaths. Two confirmed deaths in the French Caribbean, one death in Anguilla, one in Antigua and Barbuda, and one in Puerto Rico. As of now it has left nearly 900,000 without power in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, The Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands are all at risk!! Not just Florida.

Also, keep in mind that before getting to Florida this storm is going to go through all of those places I just mentioned and Hurricane Jose is right behind Irma. I just Pray for all of those families and friends and hope that they ALL make it out alive. If any of you are in the path of this storm please lock yourself and your family in a room with little to no windows, have bottled water, canned food (including powdered milk), diapers, wet wipes, batteries and flashlights, as well as pads and tampons for women. Keep a small Radio with you and a few blankets to keep warm if by chance there is a power outage.

Let’s all of us help the islands and be there for them just like we were there for Huston. They don’t have a lot of money and aid from the government. They’ll rely entirely on donations. Find local charities or global trustworthy charities (NOT the Red Cross) and make a donation asking them to aid the Caribbean. They’re going to need help.

#hurricane irma #caribbean #puerto rico

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stephaniefchase · 7 years ago

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Bajan Newscap 10/18/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday, 18th October, 2017. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing MidWeek Nation Newspaper (MWN).

TAX SQUEEZE – Charging that some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens, pensioners, are now simply “existing” thanks to the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL), the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) is pleading with Government to give its members an ease from the dreaded tax. BARP President Edward Bushell told Barbados TODAY that three-and-a-half months after its implementation, pensioners were finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the rising cost of living forced upon them by the levy. Bushell said with prices already high even before the NSRL climbed from two per cent to ten per cent of the customs value of imported and locally produced goods, and with the economy “going downhill”, BARP had been doing all it could to help its 40,000 members cope. However, he said the levy, along with other tax measures announced in the Budget in May, made it “tougher and tougher” for pensioners to survive. (BT)

GOVERNMENT SEEKING TO RE-NEGOTIATE WORLD BANK MULTI-MILLION LOAN – The Antigua and Barbuda government says it wants to re-negotiate a US$40 million loan which the World Bank had approved for re-building Barbuda that was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma last month. Prime Minister Gaston Browne, speaking on Observer Radio here, said the terms and condition of the loan from the Washington-based financial institution are not in the best interest of the island. Browne, a former banker, said that his government is also seeking the World Bank to reduce the interest rate from the 3.5 to four per cent to one per cent. He said the funds would also be going into non-revenue earning projects. Browne had said soon after the passage of the hurricane that more than US$100 million dollars would be required to rebuild Barbuda, home to an estimated 1 600 people. (MWN)

BIBA SUPPORTS REVOCATION OF FOUR OFFSHORE LICENCES – Barbados’ decision to shut down four international business companies over allegations of money laundering and corruption is a credit to the island’s monitoring systems. This was the view of president of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) Marlon Waldron as the sector began another year of celebrating its contribution to the island. Waldron said the action by Government was a tangible indication the country operated a clean jurisdiction for international companies. He told Barbados TODAY that while he did not have details on the firms’ activities, he suspected that “some information came to the attention of some service providers” who were doing their own due diligence. The top BIBA official rejected any suggestion that the discovery would be a blot on the country’s image. Last Friday, Minister of International Business Donville Inniss revealed that the licences of four international business firms were revoked after their beneficial owners were found guilty of engaging in money laundering and corrupt practices in other jurisdictions. In this connection, Waldron was satisfied the announcement by Government was the right move and should not have come from an agency outside Barbados. (BT)

GOVT WANTS $1.8M MORE – Government has sought a further $1.881 million for the David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex, which was opened two years ago. Leader of Government Business John Boyce told the House of Assembly yesterday the money was needed to pay off suppliers and represented the remainder of a sum that was previously sought but was reduced due to Ministry of Finance constraints. “The last time we came here it was clearly pointed out when I spoke that the submission to the Ministry of Finance was in the order of $4.4 million, but that the Ministry of Finance could then only guarantee $2.5 million for payment of the project. So obviously we would have had to come back to the chamber for the remainder and that is exactly what we are doing today,” he said. In his report on the operation of the polyclinic at Glebe Land, St John, Boyce, the Minister of Health, said it had been fully integrated into the health care delivery system and saw about 1 100 patients in September. (MWN)

THROW THEM OUT! – An old boys’ club of consultants is controlling things at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), contends a Government minister. Member of Parliament for St James South Donville Inniss made the charge today in the House of Assembly, as he criticized the island’s doctors, calling for their contracts to be ripped up. Inniss, a former Minister of Health, was speaking during debate on a resolution for an additional $1.8 million to pay contractors for the David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex in St John. The Minister of Commerce called for an overhaul of the way some consultants operated at the island’s main health care facility. However, Inniss said what concerned him was the failure to examine the current arrangement with some senior physicians at the hospital. “My view . . . is that the contracts between the consultants and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital need to be thrown through the window. [They are] not relevant to 2017. The contracts that exist today may have been fine when you had a few with the skills available as they did 30 years ago. “But today, you have an old boys’ network that is continuing to run things in that institution and denying opportunities to others and some of them are running a thriving private practice out there that is creating a lot of pressure on . . . the QEH,” Inniss told the House. The St James South representative called for a serious examination of health care financing in Barbados, revealing that it costs the state $4, 000 each month to treat a single dialysis patient. (BT)

FIX IT MR MINISTER MAP – Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley recently announced that Government will be conducting a road improvement exercise expected to cost around $30 million. To that end, the NATION has started our new series 'Fix It Mr Minister' which gives readers the opportunity to highlight roads which they know of and travel each day which may be in need of repair. The reaction has been overwhelming and we are still sorting through the responses and visiting many of the problem areas. To aid in the process, we have created a Fix It Mr Minister map (below), which shows the areas that have been brought to our attention. Areas with blue icons indicate those which our news teams have visited while those with yellow icons are reader submitted which we have not been able to independently verify as yet. This map is a work in progress and is still being updated as information comes in. Please continue to email us at [email protected] to tell us which roads need fixing urgently. We thank those who have already sent in their responses, and we will act on them accordingly. (MWN)

‘AVI STAYS’ – He has been warned by former prime minister Owen Arthur not to do so, but Dominica’s prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit has rejected the former leader’s advice on the appointment of Barbadian economist Avinash Persaud as his special economic advisor on economic recovery post-Hurricane Maria. In an interview with Barbados TODAY last month, Arthur had cautioned Skerrit to think twice about putting his country’s future in the hands of the ex-Paradise executive chairman, given his role in the “mangled” Four Seasons project (otherwise referred to as the Paradise development) in Barbados between 2010 and 2012, while Arthur was at the helm of Government. Arthur had not minced his words, stating that while the wreckage caused to Dominica so far could largely be blamed on category five hurricane winds and rains, “you cannot explain it [wreckage] in the case of Paradise” where Persaud was part of a team trying, but failing, to raise money to pay creditors. However, in a national address last night, Skerrit was full of praise for Persaud, listing the economist’s many accomplishments and the many positions he has held internationally. At the same time, while not mentioning Arthur by name, the Dominican leader took a dig at those who he said “would rather pontificate from a safe distance”. He hailed Persaud as “the principal architect of our external funding and economic strategy” and as the ideal man for the new economic advisory post. During last night’s address, Skerrit also acknowledged “the ongoing and invaluable support” of Irish businessman and Digicel founder Denis O’Brien to Dominica in its “denuded” state. He explained that “after rushing to check on us soon after Maria struck, he [O’Brien] has assisted us greatly by asking his network of influential connections to identify experts who could help us; also, he got them to us or us to them. O’Brien was listed among the world’s top 200 billionaires in 2015, three years after then Haitian president Michel Martelly awarded him with the National Order of Honour and Merit for his investments, contributions and promotion of Haiti. (BT)

LASHLEY: REGION MUST UNITE TO DO MORE – When Caribbean governments and entrepreneurs work together, their collective efforts will make a significant contribution to the region’s development. Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Stephen Lashley, made this suggestion last evening as he addressed the launch of the Annual General and Strategic Planning Meeting of the Caribbean Alliance of Youth Entrepreneurs, Caribbean and Canada (CAYE-C&C), at The Hospitality Institute, under the theme: Fostering a Sustainable Future for our Young Entrepreneurs. Explaining that entrepreneurship was an effective developmental tool, Lashley noted that for it to be most impactful and sustainable, a regional approach to “advancing and showcasing its legitimacy” must be taken. To that end, he assured the CAYE – C&C of Government’s support of that organisation’s development and sustainability. The Minister referenced Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which speaks to promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Lashley further stated that it was important for young Caribbean entrepreneurs to create both a strategic and an action plan, so as to collectively utilise their skills and resources to build businesses that were globally competitive and which contributed to regional development in meaningful ways. Speaking on the importance of closing the gaps in insular thinking, the Youth Minister was of the view that for the region’s future to be sustainable, persons must be willing “to set aside borders and forge regional partnerships”. He noted that with great diversity present throughout the region, such differences could be used to the advantage of Caribbean nationals. The CAYE-C&C is a coalition of 13 organisations from nine Commonwealth countries, including Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and St Lucia. (MWN)

MY DAD RAPED ME! – It was as chilling a story as anyone could ever tell. It was the harrowing story of a 34-year-old woman describing in disturbing detail to a hushed audience of leading jurists, including the country’s chief judge and a member of the region’s appellate court, the nightmare she endured over virtually her entire lifetime as she was raped over and over, and the flippant reaction of law enforcers towards her. Alicia Bailey sent chills down the spines of some and brought tears to the eyes of others as she told this morning’s launch of the Model Guidelines for Sexual Offence Cases in the Caribbean how those close to her, including her own father, had raped her by the time she was four years old. “At the age of four to six years old I was sexually abused by persons who were known as friends of the family. Onwards from that age, I was sexually assaulted into my adult years by my father, family members . . . I was raped on more than one occasion. Those experiences have left a stain on my life,” Bailey said somberly, causing some audience members to bite their lips. Among those who heard her story were Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson and other High Court judges, Madame Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee of the Trinidad and Tobago-based Caribbean Court of Justice and Canadian High Commissioner to Barbados Marie Legault. They listened intently as Bailey, in control of her emotions, lamented that to this day none of her attackers had been made to pay for their crimes. She explained that this was because she was forced to drop the cases against her family members and refused to report a rape by a man years later after being told by a law enforcement officer it would not succeed because of her history of withdrawing charges. What made her story even more unnerving is the fact that Bailey is the child of a rape victim, her mother also having been sexually assaulted by Bailey’s dad, with whom the mother never had a relationship. And despite having to recall the horror, the mother-of-three tried to force a smile as she shared her experience with the justice system. (BT)

‘RAPE VICTIMS WILL NOT BE RELEGATED TO THE BACKDROP’ – Barbados has become the first Caribbean Community country to be presented with new international guidelines for sexual offence cases. The Model Guidelines for Sexual Offence Cases in the Caribbean, launched today at the Courtyard by Marriott in Hastings, Christ Church, form part of the multi-million-dollar Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST) project, a five year regional Caribbean judicial reform initiative funded by the Canadian Government. They are intended to provide internationally-accepted best practices for the management of sexual offence cases in the region and offer a rights-based approach to the treatment of complaints and vulnerable witnesses, including children involved in sexual assault cases. Director of the JURIST project Dr Penny Reedie told the launch these guidelines would first be implemented and tested here before being shared with the rest of the Caribbean. She added that several other initiatives were in the pipeline, including a special court for sexual offences. (BT)

TWO-CAR CRASH AT PORTERS – Reports reaching Nation News indicate that there was a two-vehicle accident along Porters, St James. The lone male occupant of one of the cars complained of pains to his chest. The other vehicle, driven by a male, contained passengers that were all children. Three of the four children received minor cuts to their hands and legs, while one of them complained of pains to the neck. (MWN)

BUGGERY-ACCUSED MAINTAINS HE’S IN HIS RIGHT MIND – A 37-year-old man, accused of committing buggery against another, was granted $3,000 bail when he appeared in court today. It is alleged that Orville O’Neil Rawlins of Inch Marlow, Christ Church committed the act on October 16. He was not required to plead to the indictable offence when he went before Magistrate Douglas Frederick. And while there was no objection to his bail, Station Sergeant Neville Reid requested that the accused be made to report to a police station twice a week and stay away from his alleged victim. However, Rawlins objected to the prosecutor’s application, claiming that the allegations against him were “completely erroneous and false”. His objection was denied and he was ordered to report to Central Police Station every Wednesday with valid identification. It was then that Rawlins made another application; this time for the reporting time to be changed to Friday “because that is when I come to town . . . . That’s when the weekend starts [and] I usually party on Fridays”. The magistrate responded saying, “that’s ignorance!” However, Rawlins did not stop there. He went on to ask the magistrate whether the “accuser” and someone else could be tested for drugs because “both of them are literally paros”. It was at that point that Frederick questioned Rawlins’ state of mind. “I don’t have a mental condition . . . . I have multiple degrees,” Rawlins said in response. His case continues on February 26 next year. (BT)

BAIL APPROVED BUT GEORGE STAYS ON REMAND – A “potentially fatal” medical condition suffered by Marlon Omar George today persuaded a magistrate to grant bail to the accused, who had been on remand for multiple burglaries. However, George, of no known address, was forced to return to prison because his surety was deemed unsuitable. The 31-year-old, who is accused of committing three “serious” burglaries – one in December 2016 and two in January this year – will get another opportunity on Friday when he is scheduled to return before Magistrate Douglas Frederick in the No.1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. He was advised to present a proper surety as his bail will be “hefty”. George’s attorney Angella Mitchell-Gittens today told the magistrate her client would be better served at home due to his medical condition, a point she sought to prove by questioning registered nurse Selwyn Alleyne, who is currently in charge of the medical unit at HMP Dodds. Alleyne revealed that George suffers from myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune illness which affects the immune system’s normal functions such as swallowing and the lifting of limbs. He explained that George can experience “a crisis” without warning, and if left untreated the condition could be fatal, as there is no known cure, although it can be treated via injection. Alleyne also explained that George had been to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital several times for the condition, and while the personnel at Dodds medical unit could treat the accused man, they did not function on a 24-hour basis. Mitchell-Gittens then submitted that being at home under the circumstances was in her client’s best interest. However, the magistrate said while he was not convinced that George could not get the necessary treatment at Dodds he would err on the side of caution. (BT)

THIEF GETS 18 MONTHS – A well-known thief, of no fixed place of abode, will have somewhere to call home for the next 18 months. Magistrate Douglas Frederick today sentenced 52-year-old Andrew DeLisle Carmichael to a year and a half in Dodds prison after he pleaded guilty to stealing a bag and a screwdriver belonging to Rodney Lynch, as well as a stack of bus tickets, two badges and a ticket punch totalling $1,588.49 Carmichael also confessed to stealing a purse, a bottle of cream, a bracelet, a cellular phone, a pair of headphones and a phone case totalling $520 from Keishanna Phillips. Lynch, a bus driver, ventured into the Pine, St Michael area in his private vehicle last Sunday and left the items unattended for about 15 minutes. On reaching home sometime later, he realized the items were missing. That same day, Carmichael grabbed Phillips’ handbag from the front seat of a vehicle, while she was at the rear end plying her trade. Carmichael, who was subsequently arrested for both crimes, was today sentenced to two consecutive nine-month terms in prison. (BT)

THIEFING SPREE – A 49-year-old man, who admitted to robbing four people, will spend the next 36 months at HMP Dodds. Dennis Anderson Holder, of no fixed place of abode, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Douglas Frederick to entering the home of Karen Arthur as a trespasser on May 30 and stealing $1,500 cash, an $800 bracelet, a $5 pair of earrings, a $1,000 chain and pendant and a $1,000 watch. On June 4, he burglarized Natasha Maylan’s home and stole US$550 and £140. He then took a break from his criminal enterprise for almost two months before allegedly robbing Gina Chieffo-Mazzarelli at knife-point on August 18 of a $500 wristlet, a $400 pair of sunglasses, a $20 key card, US $43 and BDS $1,005.14. A day later he robbed Kerry Thorne of a $135 cellular phone, an $810 digital camera and $20 in cash. The visitor, who is in the country on a student visa, was walking near the junction of Rendezvous with Amity Lodge with another foreign student on August 19 when Holder suddenly grabbed her handbag and escaped with her belongings. Today, Holder apologized for his actions after Station Sergeant Neville Reid outlined the offences. “I apologize for what I did. I am sorry for what happened as a result of using drugs I have no control,” he said. In response, Frederick told Holder: “I have to put you out of commission . . . because you are becoming violent.” However, Holder denied that was the case. “I admit that I snatched the woman’s [Gina Chieffo-Mazzarelli] bag but I did not have no knife,” he maintained. (BT)

BFA GOAL – The Barbados Football Association’s (BFA) Wildey AstroTurf will have a new look come next year. With work set to begin on the facility this week, footballers will be in new conditions, with their own lights and brand-new bleachers at the opening of the 2018 season, scheduled to kick off on January 7. BFA’s general secretary Edwyn Wood made the confirmation in an interview with MIDWEEK NATION yesterday. “We received the necessary funding from FIFA [world governing body], and payment has been made to the contractor for the start of the project,” he explained. (MWN)

HOCKEY HAMMER – Barbados faced the might of Canada and were hammered 6-1 on day two of the 2017 Indoor Hockey Pan Am Cup in Georgetown, Guyana yesterday. The Canadians dominated the match and scored six goals in the first half hour before the Hockey Tridents got a consolation goal from the stick of Akeem Rudder in the last minute. Canada, the highest ranked men’s team in the tournament, started the match with a very high tempo and pressed Barbados early, forcing quick unscripted decisions from the Barbados defence and centre players. The quick start and experienced pressing yielded early results for Canada, as Canadian captain and indoor veteran Ken Pereira converted an early chance against fresh Barbados custodian Keenan Knight in the seventh minute. It was a somewhat uneven match in terms of experience, as Pereira celebrated his 400th indoor cap for Canada while Knight was on debut. (MWN)

‘BESSY’ DIES AT AGE 83 – Journalism in Barbados has lost a stalwart of the profession. It was around 6:45 a.m. today that respected journalist Robert Bessy Best passed away at his Derriston Road, Spooner’s Hill, St Michael home at the age of 83. His wife Margaret told Barbados TODAY that for the past three years he had been battling with diabetes. During his illustrious career, he was managing editor of the Barbados Advocate newspaper and lectured in mass communications at the Barbados Community College. For a brief period, he served as editorial consultant and proofreader at the Nation newspaper. Best was also president of the Men’s Fellowship of the St Leonard’s Anglican Church on Westbury Road, St Michael. In immediate reaction to his death, the Nation’s first editor Carl Moore said Best’s passing signalled the end of an era. He pointed out that although he held a law degree, Best’s language was never pedantic or pretentious. According to Moore, Best supported the American professor of English William Strunk’s edict that “a sentence should contain no unnecessary words for the same reason that a machine should have no unnecessary parts”. Moore pointed out that in his time as editor, readers were seldom sent scurrying for a dictionary or thesaurus in search of meanings of rear and unusual words. He said Best was the master of irony and could find it in almost any situation. In his tribute Editor Emeritus of the Nation Harold Hoyte said: “All of us who became immersed in journalism in the late 50s and early 60s looked up to Robert for training and guidance. (BT)

That’s all for today folks there are 75 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

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thechasefiles · 6 years ago

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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 5/20/2019

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Monday 20th May 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) OR by purchasing by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

BLP MARKS ONE YEAR IN OFFICE – Hundreds have packed the pews at the James Street Methodist Church to worship and celebrate with the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) which is celebrating its first year in office. During a short address, Prime Minister Mia Mottley thanked God, her Cabinet ministers, their families and the people of Barbados. She said support was needed in the past year but reminded them all hands still needed to be on deck going forward. In May 2018, the BLP won all 30 seats in the General Election. (DN)

DOOR OPEN FOR DONVILLE – If the embattled Donville Inniss is interested in representing the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in St James South again, he will be welcomed back with open arms – once he is proven innocent. But he will have to be interviewed by an executive board before being presented to the party for consideration. Inniss, the former representative for the constituency, lost his seat to the Barbados Labour Party’s Sandra Husbands in the General Election last May 24. Shortly after, the former minister of commerce and international business was arrested in the United States on money-laundering charges. He is accused of accepting bribes from a Barbadian insurance company and then attempting to launder US$36 000 in illegal payment using the “US financial system”. (DN)

BARBADOS AND ANTIGUA TO DISCUSS LIAT SHARES - Barbados will not be negotiating LIAT’s future direction in the public domain, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has reiterated, in response to reports out of Antigua and Barbuda that her Government has agreed to sell its shares to St John’s. Speaking on his radio station on Saturday, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Mottley has said yes to selling “a significant portion” of Barbados’ shares in LIAT to his government. Earlier this month, the Browne administration issued a statement from a Cabinet meeting which said, “Prime Minister Gaston Browne indicated to the Cabinet members that he has written to Prime Minister Mia Mottley on the LIAT restructuring plan.“An offer was made for Antigua and Barbuda to acquire the LIAT shares owned by Barbados, through a take-over of the liability of Barbados to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)”.This afternoon, Prime Minister Mottley’s Press Secretary Roy Morris confirmed that Barbados had received the letter but made it clear that Mottley would not be drawn into making public comments on the matter. “PM Mottley’s position is that Antigua has made an offer to Barbados regarding its shares in LIAT, and Barbados has responded by inviting [Prime Minister Gaston Browne] to send a team to Barbados to talk,” Morris told Barbados TODAY. “In the meanwhile, Barbados will not prejudice those talks by making any further statement on the matter, ” he added. Antigua Newsroom, an online news outlet, reported that Browne did not give an exact number of shares Barbados intended to sell, but said Mottley indicated that Bridgetown wanted to retain “at least ten per cent of its shares”. “The intent is not to exclude any country from participating in LIAT. In fact, as far as practicable we would want to broaden the shareholding in LIAT,” prime minister Browne said. He added that he was “quite happy that they [Barbados] will maintain a shareholding position”. Browne further disclosed that a negotiating team has been established, including MPs Lennox Weston and Sir Robin Yearwood as well as a representative from the Ministry of Finance. He said the decision was in the best interest of the Antigua and Barbuda economy. Last Wednesday, at the annual luncheon of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC), Prime Minister Mottley said she was primarily focused on ensuring reliable and affordable regional transport, as she confirmed receiving Antigua and Barbuda’s expression of interest in purchasing her country’s shares in LIAT. “Let’s just say we agree on the mission, and the mission is that there must always be reliable affordable access for travel in the region as there must be nationally. And I can assure you and the country that we are working on this every day. “But you also have to take the reality of an existence as you find it and then determine whether the modality that you have is the best mechanism by which to deliver on that objective,” she said. (BT)

BCC TUTOR QUITS – Reverend Reginald Knight has called it quits. The part-time tutor at the Barbados Community College (BCC) has decided to withdraw his services as a tutor in ethics and citizenship, six days after being embroiled in a controversy over leaked exam results at the Howells Cross Road, St Michael institution. Answers for the ethics and citizenship exam were leaked to scores of students last Tuesday, forcing the BCC to reschedule the test two days later. “It was a mistake. I have apologised to the principal and the registrar,” a contrite Knight told the NATION in an exclusive interview last night. “While they understand how the matter happened, I personally did not wish to be seen, or to have done anything that would have brought the college into disrepute. I have tendered my resignation, and it should reach the college tomorrow (today). (DN)

DE-VERNE KEVIN SCANTLEBURY SLAPPED WITH CRIMINAL CHARGES – Detectives of the Major Crimes Unit have arrested and charged De-verne Kevin Scantlebury in connection with a serious matter which occurred on May 17. Police say Scantlebury, 25, of Clement Rock, Airy Hill, St Joseph, has been charged for offences including: possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of 11 rounds of ammunition, possession of cannabis, and intent to supply cannabis He is scheduled to appear at the District B Magistrates’ court on Monday, May 20. (BT)

THREE CHARGED IN MILLION DOLLAR DRUG HAUL – Three St Michael men are scheduled to appear in court today, charged in connection with the seizure of more than $1 million worth of cannabis. They are Christopher Dave Johnson, 36 years, of Martindale’s Road; 35-year-old Malo Anthony Edwards of Taylor's Gap, Martindale's Road and Colvin Ishmael Brathwaite, 47, of Brandons Main Road. The trio is jointly charged with possession of cannabis, intent to supply and trafficking. Police were acting on a tip when members of the Marine Section and the Barbados Coast Guard intercepted a fishing vessel 27 miles off Needhams Point, within the island’s territorial waters. They discovered 16 polyethylene bags all containing vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis. The bags weighed about 300 kilogrammes and the contents have an estimated street value of $1 210 400. Johnson, Edwards and Brathwaite are all scheduled to appear at the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ court. (DN)

VINCENT KOMPANY LEAVES MANCHESTER CITY TO BECOME ANDERLECHT PLAYER-MANAGER – Vincent Kompany says joining Anderlecht as player-manager is the "most passionate yet rational" decision he has made after announcing he has left Manchester City. The 33-year-old has signed a three-year deal with the Belgian club after 11 years at Etihad Stadium, eight of which he spent as club captain. Saturday's 6-0 FA Cup final win over Watford was Kompany's final game for City, after winning four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups. In an open letter on Facebook, Belgium defender Kompany said leaving City "doesn't feel real". He defines the essence of the club. For a decade he has been the lifeblood, the soul, and beating heart "Man City has given me everything. I've tried to give back as much as I possibly could." In a second letter released hours later, Kompany announced his move to Anderlecht, who said his arrival marked the "return of the prince". "I want to share my knowledge with the next purple generations," said Kompany, who first joined Anderlecht at the age of six. "With that, I will also put a bit of Manchester in the heart of Belgium. Centre-back Kompany joined City from Hamburg as a defensive midfielder in 2008 and was named club captain three years later. He scored his final goal against Leicester on 6 May, a brilliant strike from 25 yards that was voted goal of the season on BBC Match of the Day. That victory took City to within one win of the Premier League title, which they sealed on the final day of the season with victory at Brighton. (DN)

ADVENTISTS SPRUCE UP ISLAND’S BUS TERMINALS – The East Caribbean Conference of Seventh Day Adventists has teamed up with the Barbados Transport Board to paint the terminals at Fair Child Street, Princess Alice Highway and Speightstown. Last evening, church members got down to work at the Fair Child Street Bus Terminal. Director of Community Services and Personal Ministries Departments Pastor Dayle Haynes told Barbados TODAY it’s all part of the church’s GLOW (Generosity, Love, Outreach and Wholesomeness) project. “We want to embark on reaching out to our community and helping,” Haynes said. “Last year we painted 50 homes for the elderly and the needy in Barbados.” (BT)

CROP OVER LAG –Some bandleaders are contending that Crop Over is losing its appeal, and fear that in a couple of years there will be a seriously scaled down version of the sweetest summer festival. Veteran leader of Kontact Kadooment Band, Anthony Layne, told the NATION he was seeing Barbados, already “lagging behind” Trinidad, being overtaken by Jamaica Carnival. “Right now I am not seeing many local people opting to jump in the bands. They are leaving here to go to Trinidad, Jamaica and other Caribbean island carnivals,” he lamented. In fact, Layne said his numbers now comprised more overseas revellers than locals. (DN)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 225 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

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jojosasassignment · 6 years ago

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REGRESSION MODELING IN PRACTICE - WEEK 1 | Introduction to Regression Analysis

STEP 1: I describe my sample. I provide enough detail so that the reader can clearly understand the population that the study sample came from. I use meaningful labels and do not use abbreviations (“PPM100”) or variable names.

a) Description of the study population (who or what was studied).

I study the incidence of different types of cancer by sex (colon & rectum, liver, lung, stomach, and prostate in men; colon & rectum, liver, lung, stomach, cervical, and breast cancer in women) in 2016 in 187 populations from the following countries:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia FYR, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania,, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia Fed. Sts., Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

b) I report the level of analysis studied (individual, group, or aggregate).

The analysis is run on the national level.

c) I report the number of observations in the data set.

There are 187 observations in the dataset for each type of cancer for each sex.

d) I describe my data analytic sample (the sample I am using for my analyses).

My sample includes 13 variables:

the number of the new cases of different cancer types per sex per year (6 cancer types for women and 5 cancer types for men), income per person, and human development index.

The cancer types are: colon & rectum, liver, lung, and prostate cancer in men in 2016 for each of the 187 countries (human populations on the national level) and colon & rectum, liver, lung, stomach, cervical, and breast cancer in women in 2016 for each of the 187 countries (human populations on the national level).

All 187 populations have been divided into groups based on the income level and/or human development index. Cancer incidence is “the number of new cancer cases arising in a specified population over a given period of time (typically 1 year). It can be expressed as an absolute number of cases within the entire population per year or as a rate per 100 000 persons per year. The cancer incidence rate provides an approximation of the average risk of developing a cancer” (source: http://gco.iarc.fr/resources.php). Here, I use the first aforementioned measure called ‘absolute number of cases within the entire population per year’, as I am focused purely on commercialising molecular cancer diagnostics tests and finding potential customers for such products.

STEP 2: I describe the procedures that were used to collect the data.

a) I report the study design that generated that data (for example: data reporting, surveys, observation, experiment).

Data I used is routinely collected through data reporting by national or subnational population-based cancer registries. Detailed procedures (including disease classification) are very complex and described elsewhere: http://gco.iarc.fr/resources.php.

b) I describe the original purpose of the data collection.

The sample is from the Global Cancer Observatory (GCO), which is an online platform (http://gco.iarc.fr) providing global cancer statistics for cancer control and cancer research. The platform uses data from several key projects of IARC’s Section of Cancer Surveillance (CSU), including GLOBOCAN; Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (CI5); International Incidence of Childhood Cancer (IICC); and Cancer Survival in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Central America (SurvCan). The data presented in the Global Cancer Observatory aims to be the best available for each country worldwide.

c) I describe how the data were collected.

Data is routinely collected by national or subnational population-based cancer registries. Detailed procedures (including disease classification) are very complex and described elsewhere: http://gco.iarc.fr/resources.php.

d) I report when the data were collected.

Data sample I use for this specific project was collected in 2016.

e) I report where the data were collected.

The information was captured in 187 countries listed in the step 1a above.

STEP 3: I describe my variables.

a) I describe what my explanatory and response variables measured.

My explanatory variables are income per person (not inflation adjusted in US dollars) and human development index. My response variables are the incidences of various cancer types (colon & rectum, liver, lung, stomach, prostate, cervical, and breast cancer). More specifically these are the number of new cancer cases recorded in 2016 by cancer type by sex.

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paxiomgroup-blog · 6 years ago

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bbqconcepts-blog · 7 years ago

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The Ultimate In Outdoor Kitchens & Outdoor Living - BBQ Concepts

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elegantoutdoorkitchens · 7 years ago

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Are Outdoor Kitchens Worth the Investment?

New Post has been published on http://elegantoutdoorkitchens.com/outdoor-kitchens-worth-investment/

Are Outdoor Kitchens Worth the Investment?

Close-up of Bull BBQ Grill and Custom Stainless Steel Doors and Refrigerator

One of the most popular areas of the home that is frequently upgraded by homeowners is the backyard or outdoor living area. On average, most can fetch a return on investment (ROI) of as much as 70–80%. I don’t know about you about you, but I like those odds. The outdoor kitchen upgrade and build serve a dualistic purpose to the homeowner. First, it can serve as a place where you’re able to entertain both family and friends, creating moments that truly make a home, a home. Second, and one of the most exciting aspects to the financially savvy homeowner is the return on investment or ROI.

MSN real estate experts suggest that building an outdoor kitchen can get you about the same if not more return on investment when reselling your home. Other experts suggest you can get more for your money; Zing adds that CNN Money suggested that some outdoor kitchens can fetch a 100–200% ROI. Further, it’s also an excellent way to add buyer appeal to your home investment.

Custom Outdoor Kitchen w/ Bull Grill

It’s safe to say that building that outdoor kitchen you’ve been considering is a sure fire way to bring both financial and entertaining value to any residential home. If you’ve been thinking about an outdoor kitchen build and would like to start by getting some valuable information, we invite you to schedule a no-risk outdoor kitchen design consultation. The pros from Elegant Outdoor Kitchens are here to answer any and all questions you might have about both the design, and the construction of your potential BBQ island addition.

Want to see what we’re capable of building? Excellent, we love showcasing the work we do. Below you’ll find a link to some of the existing projects we’ve developed. Check out our beautiful portfolio, then give us a call to schedule an in-home visit.

View EOK Project Portfolio

Give Elegant Outdoor Kitchens a call today to schedule an on-site design consultation. From concept to completion, we’ll ensure you get the maximum ROI through our quality outdoor living area design and manufacturing.

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#Barbecue Grill #Barbecue Grills #Barbecue Island #Barbecue Islands #BBQ Island #Construction #Custom Outdoor Kitchen #Custom Outdoor Kitchen Design #Custom Outdoor Kitchens #Elegant Outdoor Kitchens #Estero #Florida #Fort Myers #Naples #Outdoor Kitchen Investment #Southwest Florida #SWFL

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thechasefiles · 6 years ago

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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 5/23/2019

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Thursday 23rdMay 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) OR by purchasing by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

DEBT TALKS –Government may sweeten the “formal” debt restructuring terms it is preparing to offer foreign commercial creditors who have not been paid for almost a year. But the Ministry of Finance stressed while the Mia Mottley administration would “work to improve the terms of the anticipated offer”, this would be predicated on the deal not compromising Barbados’ debt sustainability requirements.The debt negotiations update, issued on Tuesday, came as a representative of the foreign investors warned that Barbados being in debt default since last June “does not benefit anyone”.Noting that Prime Minister Mottley attended the last two meetings between Barbados’ representatives and members of the external bondholder committee, the Ministry of Finance said “good faith discussions with the Barbados bondholder committee have intensified since the start of 2019 in the context of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between [Government] and the advisors to the committee that was first put in place in September 2018. “[Government] will continue to consult with the affected creditors in the coming weeks, with the view to collating as much feedback as possible – including feedback from the bondholder committee – before moving to finalise the terms of a formal offer to be put to holders of its US dollar denominated commercial debt,” the ministry stated.(DN)

AIRPORT TAKE OFF – Barbados has agreed to a long-term business partnership in the region of 25 to 30 years to completely renovate and refurbish Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA), to make it the best small airport in the Western Hemisphere. But in the end, the National Insurance Scheme and workers at the airport will be shareholders in the facility, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has revealed. Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds yesterday signed the agreement with the International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank, to roll out the Private/Public Sector Partnership Agreement that will lead to a 27 000 square-metre improvement to the airport, and the establishment of numerous amenities there. “We were in discussions with IFC to see what we could do about the urgent injection of capital and opportunities for joint ventures with the airport,” the Prime Minister said at yesterday’s signing at Government Headquarters. (DN)

MOTTLEY STAYS MUM ON LIAT NEGOTIATIONS– Mum’s the word on negotiations between the Government of Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda over regional airline LIAT. Prime Minister Mia Mottley said yesterday Barbados remained committed to regional air travel, and to LIAT, but refused to provide any details about what would be this country’s next move regarding the financially-challenged airline. “I give you the assurance and the people of Barbados, that when the Cabinet has reviewed, and in a position to do so, I will speak in the place to which we have become accustomed, which is the Parliament of Barbados. I’m not in the habit of sharing correspondence with anyone I’ve written to the press,” Mottley told reporters at Government Headquarters minutes after Government signed a partnership agreement with the International Finance Corporation to refurbish and repair Grantley Adams International Airport. “I don’t think there is anything to alter those basics I hold dearly,” she added. What Mottley did infer was that Barbados would not be interested in a LIAT model close to the one established when the airline came into being 45 years ago.(DN)

CURRENCY DROP MAY HURT TOURISM – Sharp falloffs in the value of the British pound due to uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the European Union could spell trouble for Barbados’ largest tourist market. In an interview, Virgin Atlantic’s Director of External Affairs and Sustainability Nathan Stower described this year’s high season as “decent”, but revealed there has been some concern about the future. Recent Brexit reports indicate that the pound sterling has suffered its longest losing streak against the euro since the latter’s creation two decades ago. According to a May 22 report from The Guardian newspaper, news that British Prime Minister Theresa May’s replacement may be willing to go for a no-deal Brexit, led to currency traders shunning the pound. The pound then slid to $1.2625 against the US dollar- its lowest level since early January. “There’s no doubt that some of the uncertainty in the U.K – the political uncertainty and the economic uncertainty – is starting to have a little bit of an impact, not just in Barbados but to many of our destinations,” Stower admitted. He spoke to the press after the certificate ceremony for Heartfelt Guest Care to Welcome the World training series. “So we’re are kind of hoping for some certainty or some clarity on that situation to give consumers confidence to book ahead and look forward to their holidays to Barbados and the region.” While admitting that Britain’s political and economic issues would not directly affect the region, Stower acknowledged that the pound’s decreasing value could make Barbados’ already expensive attractions even pricier. “The exchange rate has an impact and we have seen the pound slightly weaker against the [United States’] dollar than it has been two to three years ago, so that has an impact on tourists’ ability to come here and spend their hard-earned cash in restaurants and all of the attractions. “We had a very good start to the season, but obviously these bookings were taken 12-18 months ago, so we’re pretty pleased with the high season and actually the next few months are looking pretty decent. He added: “We will be keeping a close eye on the exchange rate and we hope that when we get some certainty on this process, which we are confident we will still get later in the year, the exchange rate will improve so that people who come here can enjoy all that the island has to offer,” he said. Given the level of uncertainty surrounding the critical British market, President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Patricia Affonso-Dass has called on stakeholders to improve their service. “Those destinations that really deliver meaningful experiences are the ones that will stand out when everything goes back to normal. It’s those experiences that people will remember and the destinations that they will come to,” she added. (BT)

BARBADOS ‘OPEN FOR BUSINESS’ – Now is the perfect time to start a business, a University of the West Indies academic said today as an entrepreneur boot camp was launched at the Cave Hill campus.Acting chief executive officer of the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management, Dr Justin Robinson said Barbados’ low level of taxation should serve as impetus for aspiring business owners.“I want the message to go out there that this is an excellent time to be looking at going into business in Barbados. “Barbados has one of the lowest corporation tax rates in the world at this time, you don’t pay any taxes on capital gains.“So as an investor and entrepreneur Barbados has to be one of the most tax-friendly places to incorporate your business in the world at this particular point of time.”Dr Robinson, who is also the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, said Barbados needed more entrepreneurs as well as new businesses.“We need new Caribbean companies, we need new businesses, we need new sources of economic growth. There is a lot of anxiety and frustration in Caribbean society and I think part of it is we are all fighting over the same pie.“Everyone is trying to get a bigger slice of the same pie and in some way a shrinking pie. What we want to focus on really is growing that pie so that there is more for everybody and everyone can get without anybody else getting less, but to do that you need new ideas, new products, new services and new businesses.”Entrepreneur Christopher Harper, one of the facilitators, explained that there was a need for would-be businesspeople to think differently.He said while he had organised similar programmes with adults with much success, he was excited at the opportunity to educate younger people.Manager of the Government’s Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme Selma Green revealed that YES is offering scholarships to 12 people who had successfully completed an element of the recently launched Building Blocks programme.The five-week long boot camp at the School of Business is to be held from July 9 to August 15, catering to a maximum of 40 young people between the ages of 16 and 21. It is being held in conjunction with the University of the West Indies, Goddard Enterprises and the Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation.With a course fee of $300, the foundation is offering financial assistance to a limited number of entrants, said Marjorie Wharton, the director of Strategic Business Services at the School of Business.(BT)

WHITE OAK PREFERENCE ‘POOR EXCUSE’ –Government’s defence of UK-based White Oak consultancy to restructure the country’s foreign debt, citing inadequate local expertise, was slammed today as “irrelevant” by the Opposition politicians.The team of senators and party spokespersons who are to be formalized into a political party in two weeks, declared that Government’s lack of local alternatives, shed no light on the rationale behind the $54 million price tag for the two-man advisory team.Speaking at a press conference at the Opposition wing of Parliament on Tuesday, spokesman Scott Weatherhead suggested that Government took a cavalier approach to a matter, which could have dire consequences later down the road.“The sum should have been negotiated better…. [Government] did a poor job of negotiation. Maybe they didn’t negotiate at all, maybe there are reasons for not negotiating.”He pointed out that White Oak’s bill was equivalent to ten per cent of the country’s loan from the International Monetary Fund.The entrepreneur also accused Government of being less than transparent with the process.Weatherhead told reporters: “Whether it could have been handled locally is irrelevant. Whether there was no experience locally to tender on the debt negotiation, may be so, but we never saw a tender. “So perhaps the right way of doing things in the interest of transparency was to put the contract out to tender, receive some responses and then advertise that a suitable person was not found locally and that they were going to seek international expertise. “They [Government] should have announced their choice and negotiate the best possible price for the job.”The criticism stems from Chief Economic Counsellor, Ambassador Dr Clyde Mascoll’s dismissal as “ridiculous” the notion that a local economist or firm could have done the job. He also addressed White Oak’s failure thus far to negotiate a settlement for the approximately $3 billion in debt owed to external creditors.“The notion that there is a Barbadian who is qualified and has been restructuring debt is not known to me and if there is one, then that person can step forward.”Adding his voice to a chorus of Government officials defending the White Oak deal, he stressed that 80 per cent of the gigantic debt owed to local creditors was successfully restructured late last year but admitted that negotiations for restructuring the external debt could continue to be challenging.“On the external side, those people don’t have that kind of affinity for the Government of Barbados. They are purely capitalists and they invested to get a greater return… so yes, there may be some fallout from not being able to negotiate the external debt as fast, but it is not even a year yet and normally it takes longer to do external negotiations,” he said.But Weatherhead argued that Mascoll’s defense of the time that the negotiations were taking, raised more questions than it answered.The Opposition spokesman, who ran on Solutions Barbados ticket in the May 24 General Elections, said: “I think that when you are talking about the kind of debt that Government is trying to negotiate, it is not a small sum and there are a lot of creditors. “So, if a debt negotiator was tendering on that, they would have needed time to understand what is involved in that negotiation. A lot of due diligence should have been done before someone could say this is what we are going to charge.“So, it’s either possible that process happened prior to election that this company knew that they were going to be appointed after the election last May or they had no idea what they were getting into and quoted a high amount. We can’t speculate at this time, but we can say that the process was not transparent.”(BT)

‘UP SECURITY GAME’, BUSINESSES TOLD – The days of physical intruders being the main threat to business security are fast coming to an end, a leading security firm’s executive has declared, and he has suggested that businesses here must seriously consider global realities of cybercrime and corporate espionage coming here. The warning came from the executive vice president of G4S Corporate Risk Services, Robert Dodge, as he spoke at G4S’s Ideation Seminar at Hilton Hotel this morning. He told the audience that given the value of information, Barbadian businesses can no longer see themselves as outside the radar of the growing threat. “Intellectual property in all of its forms, if lost, puts your companies at risk. If that key information leaks, it can put your enterprise out of business. This is what a lot of corporations are facing and while it may not be all here today in Barbados, I can guarantee that it is coming.” The security executive explained that quite often business people are misguided into thinking that the security threats exist on the outside and correct firewalls are all that is need to prevent hacking. But Dodge pointed out firewall protection was insufficient to meet cybersecurity threats, which he said quite often can come from an insider, sometimes unwittingly, and that guarding against this is not a simple task. He identified hotels as quite vulnerable, as they are treasure troves of credit card information and guests’ personal data. The G4S executive said: “I have seen a lot of stuff at hotels around the world and physical security does a great job of keeping out problems such as the prostitution rings and so on. “But we have found things like electronic USB devices that have been uploading ghost key logger software. “Luckily, we found them in time because this could have taken everyone’s credit card information and absconded with them.” In some cases, employees had no idea that the threat was even present, he said. Dodge told the seminar that often physical threats are localised and may affect very few people, while on the other hand, cyber threats can have potentially devastating consequences for many people at a time. He said: “These are the types of things we are seeing where the virtual world meets the physical world. The younger generation that is fluent with this technology is having a serious impact on corporations.“In one’s risk assessment, one must factor in the impact that these threats could have on your business. “In setting your security programme, one’s systems, software, and people must be all aligned towards mitigating that threat.” (BT)

CLO SHOULD GO SAYS FRANKLYN – A local trade union leader is demanding the resignation of Chief Labour Officer Victor Felix over an industrial relations dispute involving a Cabinet minister. Head of the Unity Trade Union Senator Caswell Franklyn is accusing Felix of failing to refer to the Employment Rights Tribunal, a complaint of unfair dismissal he made to him since last year on behalf of a client. Franklyn, an Opposition Senator, told Barbados TODAY this morning that he had filed the complaint sometime in June last year claiming that his client, who had been employed by the Minister when he was in private practice, was fired without receiving pay owed to her, after her former boss was sworn into office following the May 24 General Elections. “Felix has failed to do his job. He should go,” insisted the outspoken legislator. He disclosed that he will also be making a complaint to Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Colin Jordan, regarding the conduct of the Chief Labour Officer. Not only that, Franklyn told Barbados TODAY his client was planning to take Felix to court, but that the only thing standing in her way was a lack of funds to hire a lawyer. However, in his defence, the Chief Labour Officer was adamant he had done nothing wrong in the handling of the complaint by Franklyn and his client. “I am doing the work of the Labour Department in the best manner that I know how, and that I will continue to do,” Felix told Barbados TODAY this morning. Pressed to specify if he had refused to refer the matter to the Employment Rights Tribunal, he replied:”Needless to say, there are matters before the Chief Labour Officer; and we continue to deal with them, using the process we have been using within the labour department to deal with matters.” Asked to state categorically whether or not he had refused to refer the complaint, Felix stuck to his story. “I would say that we are following the process.” When reminded that the case was filed since last year, his response was: “Well, we are following the process. We have a procedure for dealing with issues and we follow that procedure,” Felix emphasized. But Senator Franklyn is not buying Felix’s argument and has told Barbados TODAY that the same procedure to which the Chief Labour Officer refers has been contravened by him. He referred to Section 44 (1) of the Employment Rights Act which states: “Where the Chief Labour Officer is unable, within 42 days of the making of a complaint, except in extenuating circumstances, to effect settlement of the complaint under Section 43, he shall make a report to that effect to the Tribunal.” Barbados TODAY checked the Act and also found that Section 42 (1) said that where an employee believes there is a dispute concerning infringement of any right conferred on him by the Act, he may present a complaint to the Chief Labour Officer. And according to Section 43 (1) where the Chief Labour Officer receives a complaint under Section 42, he shall as soon as practicable enquire into the matter and process the complaint for conciliation and referral to the Tribunal. Senator Franklyn noted that nearly a year has gone since the complaint was filed and “there are no extenuating circumstances. The Minister is not in hospital or anything like that…and still the matter has not been referred to the Tribunal. I have written him (the Minister) and he has refused to respond. There can’t be one law for a minister and another for ordinary citizens.” When contacted, neither the Cabinet Minister implicated in the dispute nor Minister Jordan was available for comment.(BT)

MORE WATER WOES FOR FOUR PARISHES – Water woes continue to affect Barbadians, this time in some parts of St Michael, Christ Church, St George and St Thomas. The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) today announced low reservoir levels at its Fort George Reservoir were causing outages or low pressure in surrounding areas. In St Michael, these include Kent, Upton, Fort George Heights, Wildey, Clapham, Highgate Gardens, Upper Collymore Rock, Flagstaff, Pine and in Christ Church St David’s, Vauxhall, Warners Park, Sargeant’s Village and surrounding districts. There are also low levels at the Shop Hill facility which may affect customers in some St Thomas areas. Pumping has temporarily ceased at the Applewhaites Station which has caused customers in some St George districts to suffer low pressure or outages. These may include Cottage Grove, Market Hill, Bridge Cot, St Helen’s Jericho, Bournes Village, Flat Rock, Locust Hall and surrounding areas. The BWA apologised for the inconvenience and water tankers have been dispatched to assist customers in all of the affected areas, but there may be delays due to heavy demand. (DN)

AT LAST BASE – An increase in bus fare, coupled with ongoing economic hardship, has put a huge dent in the operations of a charity that helps develop disabled young people’s skills to boost their job-seeking chances.The situation is so dire for the First Barbados Association for Supported Employment (First BASE) that the charity may soon close, said its supervisor, Joy-Ann Grazette-Corbin.“We do have financial challenges because our subvention doesn’t cover the cost of everything that we do and we do not have enough persons buying our products in order to support us or keep us going. “So we are looking forward to our fundraiser to keep us at least for a certain amount of time that we are able to give these young people their stipend and keep the place functioning,” She told Barbados TODAY. First BASE has been hosting an annual 5K Walk/Run in an effort to raise the much-needed funds. This year, the event, which attracts a $25 donation, will take place on June 8, starting at 4 p.m. at the Queens Park.The event will afford participants an opportunity to see the work of the students and support them, Grazette-Corbin said.But the registration has been very slow, though she expressed hope things would pick up in the coming weeks.Since bus fare went up by 75 per cent to $3.50 from mid-April, she noted that disabled students were finding it increasingly difficult to get to the Greenwich Village, St James charity each day.In a plea for help from Government and corporate Barbados, Grazette-Corbin said that while the organisation did not make contact with Member of Parliament for the area, Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson, letters were submitted to Government explaining the situation and seeking help. The organisation currently receives a small subvention from the Government’s Disabilities Unit. She said: “[The increase in bus fare] has put a great strain on us and what we are trying to do. Even up to the fact that right now we are not sure how we are getting paid this month. “They are still able to come, but like I said, right now our stipends are less than bus fare. So we are trying to figure out [to whom] do we speak. “We sent out some letters to Government to see what can be done, if they can travel free or what can happen for them to be able to get here.” With some of the young adults coming from St Philip and Christ Church and needing to take two buses each way, even as they try often to take the cross-country ABC Highway bus, a new challenge of security for her students was being presented, she said.Grazette-Corbin told Barbados TODAY: “We had an incident…. This road is very lonely and two of our young ladies were walking and a gentleman in a truck started to harass them and he wouldn’t leave them alone. “When I contacted the police, the number of the truck was not registered to the person that was driving. It was actually registered to another car. So even in those circumstances we are really concerned. “We would love more government support, more government funding. But I also know that places that deal with people with disabilities would like an opportunity also because most of us have limited space.” First BASE currently has Grazette-Corbin as the lone supervisor along with an acting supervisor catering to ten people. There is a waiting list of more than 200 trainees. “To be able to pay the persons that we need to take care of these young people is more than we can handle on our own. That is one thing we would like the Government to get involved in. If not being able to pay them, being able to provide a facility where I can have more than just ten people. We have a long waiting list,” she said.At least twice a week, the organisation sells a range of natural juices, baked products and crafts at the St James Parish Church.While most of their support comes from taxi operators and tourists, Grazette-Corbin said sales have been down.“Persons support children with disabilities, but then they seem to forget that these children become adults and they can’t just sit at home and do nothing,” she said. “They need to be productive and they can do stuff. When they are doing things, their parents are free to also be productive citizens in society.” The charity provides training and social support for people with developmental disabilities, ages 18 and older, who are expected to leave with skills and get at least part-time work after a year, but they are forced to stay “as long as they like” because job opportunities have dwindled, she added.(BT)

CRACKDOWN ON EARLY SALE OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS – Some food stores and health shops in Barbados are said to have started selling products containing cannabis extracts, despite no changes to the law prohibiting cannabis use. And Minister of Health Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic has revealed that the Bridgetown stores that are guilty would be warned and made to feel the full weight of the law if they continued. Bostic made the revelation during the opening of a training session for health care providers on Therapeutic Prescribing of Medicinal Marijuana Products at the Cave Hill School of Business and Management on Tuesday, where he announced that five medical cannabis products would be added to the drug formulary. “We have been made aware that there are some stores in Bridgetown that are already selling these products, but let me say that we will issue a warning during this week, a reminder of the law,” said Bostic. “After that we will enforce the law in its fullest to ensure that such persons come to a Christian understanding of right and wrong,” he added. The Health Minister did not give details, but one source told Barbados TODAY that it was food stores and health shops that have been selling some of the cannabis-based products including CDB oil, and they have been doing so for some time. There is also speculation that pharmacies have also been selling the product, which is made from cannabis. However, when Barbados TODAY reached out to some health shops and pharmacies they denied having such products for sale while others opted not to comment. “I can tell you that there were food stores and individuals in health shops, who were in possession of CBD oils. Not pharmacies, but people with food stores,” said the source. “The Barbados Drug Service and the inspectors at the Barbados Drug Service are aware and are putting the necessary things in place to correct that because it is still a violation of the laws of Barbados and pharmacists would never engage in that type of thing. We would like the police and various persons to address it because the laws have not yet been changed,” the source added. During the start of the two-day workshop, Bostic told the participants there had to be training and certification before anyone could prescribe or dispense medical cannabis products. “Another question too, is what happens in a year or two, will there be continuous training as the industry develops and more information is made available through research and other things? “So we need to be able to keep this going as part of a continuous medical education and I also believe that the University of the West Indies (UWI) needs to look at this workshop and make it bigger and better and make it not only available to Barbados but to other parts of the Caribbean, and to continue with the training so that we can be assured that we have all the bases covered as the industry develops,” Bostic recommended. Government will also be required to make amendments to existing legislation. Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of the UWI, Cave Hill Campus Professor Eudine Barriteau promised that the learning institution would continue to carry out research and help to educate the public on the issue. “While we await the necessary legislative changes that this campus has been calling for since 2016 . . . that will create an enabling environment to facilitate this critical research, we are however, pressing ahead with our objective through collaborative international partnerships,” she said. She said the university officials have also been using their expertise to envision what an “efficient and sustainable regional policy framework for medical cannabis” should look like.(BT)

HE SLAPPED MY BEHIND – The woman at the centre of the dispute with the British national who was reprimanded and released after an alleged bottom-slapping incident, is outraged at how the matter has been handled. Fifty-three-year-old Charmaine Alleyne has suggested that the move by the judicial system is making her look like she was telling lies because she wanted the visitor’s money.James Patrick O’Rouke, 44, pleaded guilty on Monday, to unlawfully assaulting Alleyne in the Sol Top Rock Service Station, and resisting police constable Shaquille McClean in the execution of his duty on May 19.The businessman who spent Monday night at HMP Dodds, was reprimanded and discharged and no conviction registered when he reappeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant yesterday. However, Alleyne made it clear she was not happy with the outcome. Alleyne said she was at an area close to the ATM making tea when O’Rouke walked in and started using the machine. She said he told her he thought it was possible to get US from the ATM machine and she informed him that was not the case. “Then he turned and he said something else to me and he shoved the $50 in my bosom. I told him I don’t need his money. “He went over to the cashier to purchase cigarettes. I then went over to the cashier too because I didn’t get my receipt for the tea so I went to look for the receipt. “After he paid for the cigarettes, and on going through the door he slapped me on my behind. So the same time, as I was going through the door behind him a police vehicle came into the gas station. “I went over to them, reported the matter and they went over to the taxi that [O’Rouke and his wife] was in. The police told them what happened and then his wife asked me what happened, so I told her. So then she start to quarrel with him. The police asked him to step out the car and he refused and started to put up a fight. “I never asked him for money. I work every day for my own money,” Alleyne said. She said she was outraged that she had not seen the CCTV footage which O’Rouke claimed cleared his name. However, she said she did see footage “from the gas station that the police showed me”. “Now everybody is looking at me as somebody who is after somebody else’s money. That is violating my character,” she said. Meanwhile, O’Rouke told Barbados TODAY, that the ordeal had left him feeling humiliated, embarrassed and disappointed. Sitting next to his wife, he said he believes he should not have been treated the way he was by police and the judicial system because he did not touch his accuser Charmaine Alleyne inappropriately. “I am very upset. Part of me wants justice; the other part of me just wants to put it behind me. Personally, I will probably just put it behind me and put it down as a bad personal experience,” O’Rouke who is from Willehall, West Midlands, England, said. Today he walked out of the District “A” Magistrates’ Court thanking God that he was saved by the closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of the incident, which did not support the allegation of criminal assault. Explaining why he pleaded guilty to assaulting Alleyne if he had claimed innocence, the businessman said while at the court he sought advice from a “representative”, who told him to plead guilty because the charges were misdemeanours and the punishment would be a slap on the wrist. He said he was told if he pleaded not guilty there was the possibility that he could be remanded for a lengthy time until his case was heard. “I wasn’t sure what to do. I had no representation there. I was in the court and I was about to go onto the stand and I then thought I needed some advice and I asked a representative who was there generally. My statement was not guilty because I had seen the CCTV, the police officers had seen the CCTV and the reason I was kept in custody in Worthings Station for so long was because the lady’s statement did not correlate with the CCTV. There were a lot of discrepancies,” he said. Asked to explain his resisting arrest by the police, he responded: “Of course I am going to resist arrest because I haven’t done anything wrong.” Relating his side of the incident, O’Rouke said he went to the service station around 11 p.m. to get some money from the ATM and to make a purchase. He explained that he got out of the car asked some ladies the location of the ATM and they pointed him in the direction. “I put my card in, I pulled out $500. I assumed I was pulling out US dollars because that is what everyone charges at the resort [Sandals] and we were due to go and swim with the turtles on the glass bottom boat. So I was like, what is this?” he said. O’Rouke said Alleyne then started “chasing him” asking him to give her some money. He said he told her his wife was in the car and asked her to leave him alone. “She was like, ‘give me some money, come on, let’s go’. I was like, ‘take $50, leave me alone. If my wife sees me and you talking she is going to go crazy’. . . I then went to the counter and I bought some cigarettes and I walked off. “So by the time I got literally out of the petrol station, got into the taxi, two police officers literally within 60 seconds, the door was opened, I was dragged out and I was being accused of what I don’t know,” he said. O’Rouke claimed he was physically and verbally abused by the police officers because he resisted the arrest. He said he was hit “severely in the face” leaving his eardrum bruised and hurting. He also claimed that his wife, who was hysterical, was hit in the mouth by one of the officers. He said he was eventually taken to the police station and kept there for hours without knowing what his charges were.(BT)

ARTHUR CONVICTED ON AMMO CHARGES – Former Barbados Labour Party candidate Richard DeLisle Arthur has been convicted of illegal ammunition possession. The 57-year-old brother of former Prime Minister Owen Arthur, of Maynard’s, St Peter, is now at HMP Dodds awaiting sentencing. Arthur was convicted in the No 2 Supreme Court this afternoon, by a nine member jury, for illegally possessing 102 bullets at his home on January 31, 2012.(DN)

WRONG MAN –“I was wrongfully convicted.” That’s the declaration from Corey McDonald Noel, of Joe’s River Tenantry, St Joseph as he continues to maintain his innocence despite being found guilty of aggravated burglary by a jury earlier this year. “ I don’t think I was granted a fair trial cause I don’t understand how I get convicted of something that I ain’t do,” Noel told Madam Justice Jacqueline Cornelius yesterday as the sentencing phase of his case continued in the No. 5 Supreme Court. Back in February a nine-member jury found Noel guilty of burglarising the St George home of Virginia Challenor as a trespasser and stealing $157 in cash, a pair of earrings worth $100, a chain worth $150, a pendant worth $500, two rings worth $10,150 as well as two shotguns worth $12,000 and 100 rounds of ammunition belonging to George Challenor on December 8, 2011 while brandishing a sword. However, the convicted man says he remains perplexed by the verdict. “Although I was not involved in the crime the evidence still was not strong enough . . . . So I believe I was wrongfully convicted,” he stated moments before Challenor addressed the court. She explained that the almost eight-year-old incident occurred very suddenly and she believed she was “more worried”about other things than herself at the time. “Yes I went to the FMH to have stitches in the back of my head. I didn’t have any depression after treatment . . . I do not have residual effects. I can only feel a dent to the back of my head,” she said. Challenor also told the judge that she had moved on. “I don’t think about things like that, what has happened, has happened in the past and I am thankful to be alive, happy to be alive and just getting on with my work,” she added. A probation officer then read a report on Noel saying among other things that he was assessed as being at a medium to high risk of re-offending. “He was reportedly involved in an accident at the age of 9 which affected his cognitive and developmental functioning. [This] has been attributed to [Noel’s] display of maladaptive behaviours during his adolescence and adulthood,” the probation officer read. Following that revelation Justice Cornelius ordered a psychological report on Noel in preparation for sentencing. He returns to court on June 14 in the matter in which Senior Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney and Crown Counsel Neville Watson are the prosecutors.(BT)

BAIL GRANTED ON INDECENT ACT CHARGE – A 56-year-old man was granted $1,000 bail yesterday when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. Jeffery Adolphus Odle, of Grazettes New Road, St Michael was charged with willfully engaging in an indecent act along Grazettes New Road on March 20, with intent to insult or offend Lazine Juman. He denied the charge and was granted bail to reappear before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant on June 11.(BT)

LAND LOSS- Anstey King says all he wants is the balance of his money from accused attorney Vonda Minerva Pile. “I feel stupid now for paying . . . all that money upfront,” King told a nine-member jury this morning as the theft and money laundering case against Pile continued in the No. 5 Supreme Court. Pile has pleaded not guilty to stealing US$96,008.22 belonging to King between April 29, 2009 and October 26, 2010 and engaging in the disposal of the amount during the same time, being the proceeds of crime. Today, King, who is Pile’s former client in a land deal, gave the court presided over by Madam Justice Pamela Beckles his account of the business between the two. Responding to questions by Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Blackman, King who resides in Brooklyn, New York, revealed that he engaged Pile some years back in connection with purchasing a house at Strathclyde, St Michael. That process he said was “smooth with no problems”. He explained that he was considering moving back here “full time” and needed a property for his business and since he was “confident” after his initial experience working with her he “acquired her services again” for the second time. He said he spoke to Pile sometime in 2009 on whether she knew about potential plots for sale. Pile, he said, took him to a property in Maxwell, Christ Church which was “butting” the main road and she informed him that the price was “$290,000 – $295,000 Bajan. I said fine. I could afford that”. He then returned to New York and the attorney sent the contract stating the price and description of the land. “I sent it back with a deposit of $20,000 US and it was notorised and that was the first transaction,” he told the court. King said he subsequently received a call from the attorney telling him that the person who owned the property was sick and was anxious for the balance of the money. “I don’t normally send all the money but I worked with Vonda before . . . so I got her . . . bank information so I could wire the money to her. My wife wired her $100, 000 US. I was planning on stalling and then come down. . . and close and pay the balance but Vonda called again. She kept calling saying the lady was very anxious, she was sick and needed the balance of the money and so I proceeded then and sent her an additional wire for $25,000 US,” he disclosed. He said he then returned to Barbados to close the deal and went to Pile who sent him to one of her agents. They then ventured to the site. “I said to him this is not what Vonda showed me . . . I said this cannot work I need to get a refund. I went back to her office and told her ‘what your agent showed me is not what you showed me and that I needed my money back’, because this doesn’t make any sense,” King said in his testimony. He said he pinned the attorney down to a date when the money would be returned and she told me April 14 she will give me back my money “in full” but that did not happen at that time.” The witness said Pile subsequently refunded him $48,000. “I was expecting a whole lot more. So I called her back and asked where is the balance. She said she going to send it, she going to send it, she going to send the balance and this went on for a while. But I had known her and we had a transaction before . . . and I was confident . . . I mean I feel stupid now paying somebody all that money upfront . . . but we had a working relationship and I felt [relatively] comfortable,” he explained. King said he subsequently went to the police but that was the “last step”. “. . . I went to the Bar first. I really tried to negotiate with her,” said King who added that he had no other pending transactions with outstanding balances, neither did he owe Pile any money or borrowed money from her. In cross examination by Pile who is representing herself, King was shown the agreement but said that while the signatures were correct, this document did not have a date, and the amount was not the same as the amount he penned his signature to and notorised. He also denied being told by the attorney that the vendor’s property was probated. Pile challenged him saying that the only reason he wanted back his money was because there was no approval by the Chief Town Planner to which he said that was not the case. He also said the conveyance before the court was not the one he received although the signatures to the back were his and that of his notary. When questioned further he admitted that he had not paid Pile her fees for the work she had done. “We did not close the transaction. I normally pay when you close. When you close is when you get paid,” King said even as he also admitted that he went to the police and reported that Pile had stolen his money before the estate was probated. The case continues in the No. 5 Supreme Court tomorrow.(BT)

HALES IN, SMITH SNUBBED -DAYS AFTER England fined and axed Alex Hales from their World Cup squad because of recreational drug use, the Barbados Tridents have embraced the dashing top-order batsman for this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). While Hales was a lucrative first pick for the Tridents, earning US$160 000 when the CPL draft was held at the Gfinity eSports Arena in London, yesterday, the dynamic Dwayne Smith wasn’t retained and went unsold.Astonishingly, England’s Barbadian fast bowling sensation Jofra Archer also went unsold in the auction.Hales later said he was thrilled to be heading back to an island he described as one of his favourite places to play cricket for his maiden CPL outing.The Tridents, who will be led by West Indies’ Test and one-day international (ODI) captain Jason Holder as their marquee player, also secured Pakistan left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz and his compatriots Asif Ali and Imad Wasim.Hard-hitting all-rounder Asif was a round-three pick while wily left-arm spinner Imad was selected in round nine of the draft. West Indies off-spinner Ashley Nurse, attractive wicket-keeper/batsman Shai Hope and all-rounder Raymon Reifer were also retained, while exciting Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was also chosen by the Barbados franchise.(DN)

FOSTER TAKES BRONZE – National artistic swimmer Gracie Foster has captured gold at the recently concluded Copa International Synchro Panama 2019. Foster beat a slew of athletes from Barbados, Panama, Jamaica and Mexico to finish in third position behind Panama’s Daniela Castillo and Jamaica’s Laila Bailey.

The agile 13-year-old swimmer was part of the historic team that represented Barbados in Martinique at the 2016 CARIFTA Swimming Games. She and seven of her teammates shocked regional synchronised swimmers by convincingly winning bronze in the Under-12 group routine on their first outing to a competition. Artistic swimming, previously known as synchronised swimming, is a challengingsport that combines athleticism, endurance, performance abilities and dance skills. Foster was unable to compete in last month’s CARIFTA Games Artistic Swimming at the Aquatic Centre due to a clash of meets.However, she continued training in Canada where she placed second in her solo routine at the Waterloo International. She now has high hopes for CCCAN in Barbados, which is scheduled for June 24-27. (DN)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 223 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

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Bajan Newscap 11/2/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Thurday 2nd November, 2017. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing Daily Newspaper (DN.

STUART: BARBADOS IS A CLEAN, LOW TAX JURISDICTION – Barbados is a clean, well regulated, low tax jurisdiction and not a tax haven! This was Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s firm message when a delegation from the United States of America, including chief aides and policy advisors to Congressional Members Elliot Engel and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Eddy Acevedo and Eric Jacobstein, paid him a courtesy call recently at Government Headquarters. Those present included US Ambassador to Barbados, Linda Taglialatela; chief of staff of the Barbados Defence Force Colonel Glyne Grannum and acting Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mark Franklin. Stuart said from time to time, this country has had to defend its reputation in that area and he called on the US to lend its voice in helping to clear up any misconceptions. “Because companies pay low taxes here, they repatriate large profits to their jurisdictions and that money is invested there, so there is a win-win situation,” he explained. According to him, the international business sector accounts for a significant amount of Barbados’ corporate tax revenue, brings in the second largest amount of foreign exchange and offers good quality jobs. The Prime Minister said another area of concern was Barbados being classified as a high middle income country and therefore did not qualify for necessary concessional financing. He stressed, however, that all countries in the Caribbean were vulnerable and identified hurricanes as being able to wipe out their GDP within a few hours. (DN)

SLIPPERY SLOPE: BUSINESSES WORRIED THAT NO ECONOMIC TURNAROUND IS IN SIGHT - The President of the Small Business Association (SBA), Dean Straker, says his members are currently walking on “thin ice” after hearing the grim economic news delivered by Acting Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes yesterday. Of grave concern to the SBA is the state of the country’s foreign reserves, which have plummeted well below the 12 weeks benchmark to reach just 8.6 weeks of imports or $549.7 million at the end of September, putting more pressure on the stability of the Barbados dollar. “I think this is even more concerning when you realize that this position reflects the situation as at the end of September. So, there is nothing that has happened in October that would have improved the foreign reserves, but a lot has happened that would have further depleted our reserves . . . because importers would have been making their orders for Christmas,” Straker told Barbados TODAY, adding that he expects the reserves to be even less at the end of October. “Of course this is of great concern to us small business members, as the Government has not been able to bring the fiscal situation under control. We continue to spiral downwards, and quite frankly, I think everybody should be concerned,” he said. The SBA spokesman is equally worried that the sector, which has traditionally found it difficult to access finance, could find it even more difficult to secure loans in light of the Central Bank’s announcement of a further tightening of its monetary policy that will require commercial banks to hold 20 per cent of their domestic deposits in stipulated Government securities. (BT)

NSRL COSTS BARBADOS IN DOING BUSINESS REPORT – Government’s controversial National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) has been identified as one of the main reasons for Barbados’ steep drop in the World Bank Doing Business 2018 Report, in which the island is ranked 132nd, down from 119th in the 2016 report. Barbados was not ranked in the 2017 report. “Barbados made paying taxes more difficult by introducing a new National Social Responsibility Levy of two per cent on the value of products before Value Added Tax,” it said in its summaries of doing business reform in 2016/2017. That tax was drastically increased as at July 1 this year to ten per cent. The 2018 report, entitled Reforming to Create Jobs, compared business regulation for domestic firms in 190 economies and the data is “current” as of June 1, 2017. The report was published on Tuesday. In its current position, Barbados now ranks well below Jamaica, which was ranked 70th overall, and trails other Caribbean countries such as St Lucia at 91, Dominica (98), Trinidad and Tobago (102), Antigua and Barbuda (107), the Bahama (119), Guyana (126) and St Vincent and the Grenadines in 129th position. Only St Kitts and Nevis at 134, Grenada at 142, and Haiti at 181 performed worse than Barbados. The decline began in the 2015 report when Barbados was ranked 106th, down from 91st the previous year, when Jamaica was in 94th place. A breakdown of the information revealed that Barbados ranked 89th when it came to paying taxes, with the report stating that it took an average of 245 hours per year to make an average of 29 payments, with a total tax and contribution rate of 35.3 per cent of profit. The country ranked 99th in starting a business, which takes an average of 15 days, while securing construction permits can take up to 442 days, placing Barbados at 155 in that category. Registering a property took 105 days, ranking the country at 133 in this category and getting electricity took 88 days on average with a ranking of 160. According to the World Bank report, Barbados was ranked 133rd when it came to businesses getting credit; 167th for protecting minority investors; 129th for trading across borders and 167th for enforcing contracts. However, the island ranked an impressive 34th for resolving insolvency. New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark were the top three ranked economies in the Doing Business 2018 report. (BT)

NOT FAIR – BARBADOS LIGHT POWER COMPANY’s (BL&P) latest public hearing has sparked a controversy involving intervenors and the Fair Trading Commission (FTC). The electricity company recently applied to the utility regulator for approval to recover the costs associated with its commissioning of a five megawatt energy storage device via the Fuel Clause Adjustment. The DAILY NATION learnt the FTC notified individuals and organisations granted intervenor status that the application would be considered via a “written hearing” and that they would have to meet their own costs of participation. This has reignited a controversy that dates back nearly 20 years, with several intervenors voicing anger at the decision. (DN)

UPP NOT SURPRISED BY ‘RATHER DISMAL’ ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE –The eight-month-old United Progressive Party (UPP) says it is not at all surprised by the “rather dismal” economic report presented by Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes on Tuesday. In a statement today, UPP leader Lynnette Eastmond, who will be carrying her party’s banner in The City of Bridgetown in the next elections, also took issue with a number of statements made by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler back in May when he presented the national Budget. In fact, Eastmond suggested that much of what the Governor had to say in his nine-month review was “preordained” by Sinckler’s presentation, which she said gave no indication that the Government was serious about achieving an economic turnaround. On the contrary she said, the Freundel Stuart administration has been behaving as if it had the luxury of time on its side, even with the island suffering downgrade after downgrade, which she warned would ultimately limit Barbados’ capacity for commercial foreign borrowing and affect investor confidence both locally and internationally. While seriously questioning whether the island was getting bang for its tourism buck, Eastmond pointed out that though Sinckler’s seemed buoyed by the tourism sector which he said reflected growth comparable to the “pre crisis” days, the performance of the economy during the first nine months of the year was anything but robust. (BT)

ELECTION UPSET – Don’t count the United Progressive Party (UPP) out of the next elections. With both the incumbent Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and the main Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) expressing strong confidence of victory, the UPP has sounded the warning that neither party is likely to walk away with a clear mandate at the polls, which are constitutionally due by the middle of next year. “It will be a coalition Government,” declared the UPP’s David Gill, in predicting the outcome of the next election. The former Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) stalwart who quit the party earlier this year and joined the UPP after losing his bid to represent the BLP for the fifth time at the polls, said this position was borne out in a recent public opinion poll conducted by political scientist Peter Wickham which showed that several young people neither favoured the DLP nor the BLP. “Gone are those days where you say, ‘if you are going to eat in at me you’ve got to vote B or D’ . . . .Those days are long gone. You cannot tell a young person how to think,” he said. However, Gill is not ruling out the possibility of the UPP scoring an upset victory. In fact, the veteran politician reminded that “in 1961, in this Barbados, when Errol Barrow won he didn’t have a full slate of candidates, but he won the Government. “It was new way thinking, revolutionary, just like the UPP. There were the older head, there were the younger heads, independents, Bees and they all shared the Parliament. “So, if 56 years after, we have gone full circle and Barbados is ready for what was seen back then,” Gill said, while insisting that “it will be three horses in this race. “This is a ‘win and place parlay’ and only with a win and place can you get a coalition Government,” Gill told the small UPP gathering at Edgecliff last weekend in support of area representative Hudson Griffith, who is also a former BLP candidate. (BT)

102 ROADS PATCHED – THE MINISTRY OF Transport and Works (MTW) says it is well on the way to fixing the hundreds of potholes across the island as it embarks on a $30 million road rehabilitation exercise. Permanent secretary Simone Rudder yesterday revealed that last week, MTW had patched 102 roads stretching across each parish. She was speaking during the launch of a pedestrian safety partnership programme between the ministry and the private sector. One of the companies on board was the General Insurance Association of Barbados (GIAB) and the event was held outside the GIAB’s building at the corner of Country Road, St Michael. Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley recently announced that Government would be embarking on the road improvement exercise, and had so far contracted C.O. Williams Construction to assist the MTW in this drive. Rudder said crews were working earnestly to adequately cover each parish. She promised weekly updates for the public on the progress of the patchwork. She also said motorists whose vehicles were damaged as a result of potholes could submit a case to the ministry, addressing it to the permanent secretary. She said proof of driver’s licence, valid insurance and information on where the incident occurred were needed, as well as an invoice number if they took action to get tyre(s) repaired. “(Afterwards), persons will be contacted by the ministry’s legal investigators, the matter will be processed and once it is confirmed that the road conditions which caused the damage falls within the remit of the Ministry of Transport and Works, as opposed to work which might have been undertaken by one of the utility companies, then compensation will be given as quickly as possible,” Rudder said. (DN)

GOVERNMENT TO END HOUSING SETTLEMENT IN WHITE HILL – The troubled rural community of White Hill, St Andrew could soon be no more and residents will have little say on the matter. The Ministry of Housing and Lands announced in a statement this evening that the relocation of 22 houses to Farmers, St Thomas, which began in 1999, is set to resume in earnest and there will be no resettlement in the community located in the Scotland District, which is prone to land slippage. The announcement comes on the heels of a visit by Minister of Housing, Lands and Rural Development Dennis Kellman to the affected district, which has been virtually cut off after a major landslide destroyed the main access road in 2014. Just last month, residents who have been pleading to the Government to address their plight took matters into their own hands and started to build a new road. However, according to the ministry’s statement, after observing the extent of the land slippage and its negative impact on the houses, Government officials, including Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins have strongly discouraged any resettlement in the area. The Ministry of Housing has also warned that tough enforcement measures will be imposed to guard against this. Government is proposing to compulsorily acquire the land from White Hill residents once the construction of the new houses are completed at Farmers, St Thomas and is cautioning that those who resist this could be penalized. “Any person who willfully chooses to erect structures in White Hill, St Andrew, are doing so at their own risk, and they will not be eligible for relocation by Government,” the ministry said. Furthermore, once the new houses are allocated to White Hill residents, “the Ministry of Transport and Works and the National Housing Corporation will dismantle and remove the original houses from their locations in White Hill to prevent resettlement,” the statement added. The ministry also disclosed that it had started “periodic monitoring” of the priority areas adding that any new construction will be reported to the Town & Country Development Planning Office, which has the jurisdiction for development control. Five new houses will be constructed this financial year and another seven in 2018 at Farmers. While assuring White Hill residents that they would not be disadvantaged, the ministry said: “The new houses are timber, masonry or mixed material construction and range in size from 412 square feet to 1,300 square feet with an average lot size of 3,000 square feet. “These replacement units are being provided free of cost, while the land on which they are sited is being sold to non-land owners at $2.50 per square foot,” the ministry said. (BT)

ALARM RAISED AT BCC – Classes were disrupted today after the fire alarm was triggered at the Barbados Community College’s Hospitality Institute at PomMarine. The development coincided with protest action by students over the alleged ill treatment of one of their colleagues. At the centre of the controversy is the Acting President of the Guild of Students Kobie Broomes, who is accusing a teacher at the institute of “shouting at him and disrespecting him” after the guild was given permission in writing earlier this week to meet with students at the Hastings, Christ Church campus to discuss matters of concern to them, ahead of next week’s Guild elections. Based on accounts from several students, Broomes had gone over to the teacher to apologize after the 12 p.m. guild meeting ran over into her 1 p.m. class time. However, her response was said to be nothing short of “obnoxious and impertinent”. This led to formal complaints being made to the Director of the Institute Deborah Trotman and to the BCC Registrar Roger Worrell. Barbados TODAY also obtained a copy of a letter sent to the Acting BCC Principal Dr Cheryl Weekes in which the guild condemned in the strongest possible terms what it described as “the gross disrespect” meted out to the acting president. “We expect that the office of the guild [be] treated with utmost respect by the administration of the college. To this extent, we first demand a written apology from the Director of the Hospitality Institute for questioning the rectitude of the President,” the letter said in response to suggestions that the guild was engaging in a “power play” and that students had deliberately set off the fire alarm, forcing the disruption which lasted for about half an hour before classes were able to resume. The guild also described the attitude of the tutor at the centre of the incident as “obnoxious and impertinent”, while suggesting that she had also tried to bar students from attending her class following today’s guild meeting. “Her attempt to grandstand before an audience of students to diminish the mandate of the [acting] president and his council will not be tolerated. To this extent, we also demand a written apology to both the [acting] president and to the students present for the uncouth behaviour exhibited,” the letter adds. The two-page document also outlines the concerns of students at the PomMarine institute, including inadequate ventilation in the student’s lounge, unkempt bathroom facilities, inadequate transportation and matters relating to teacher-student relations. The Guild is demanding a meeting no later than next Monday with the Acting Principal, Registrar and Director of the Hospitality Institute to discuss the concerns, otherwise it says there could be escalated protest action at the BCC early next week. When contacted, Broomes would only confirm that the guild had met today with students of the Hospitality Institute, while its director said she was unaware of any disruption of classes. “We had a fire alarm go off and the school was evacuated. Students were spoken to and they are all back in class,” she told Barbados TODAY. (BT)

NOT POLITICAL - Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidate for St Philip North Dr Sonia Browne has poured cold water on claims made by Minister of Education Roland Jones that last week’s protest march at St Mark’s Primary School was political. On Friday, a number of frustrated, placard-bearing parents and guardians picketed outside of the compound, complaining of deplorable conditions at the Government-run, St Philip learning institution. Three days later, Jones publicly accused the Opposition BLP of playing politics with the lives of the students, while suggesting there was no real reason for protests at this time. In fact, while insisting that those involved in last week’s demonstration were agents of the Opposition BLP, he reported that a number of improvements were made to the school in the 2015/2016 academic year, including changing the roof, refurbishing the main building and changes to the toilets. “What I’m condemning is the propagandistic approach taken by some to feather their own nest, ignorant of what has gone before. So in the presence of deliberate ignorance, one gets this deliberate propagandistic approach,” Jones told Barbados TODAY on Monday. However in response, Browne, who has a four year-old daughter enrolled at the school, said Friday’s march was not politically motivated. “There is a history behind that march. We had our first PTA [Parent-Teachers Association] meeting in either late September or early October, nothing to do with politics at all, and it was noted that several of the parents were disgusted by the state of the school. “I made sure that I did not open my mouth so no one could say it’s politically motivated. They came up with the idea to step up action to get the school fixed after letters were sent to the ministry and nothing was done,” Browne said, while insisting that the action had “nothing to do with the Barbados Labour Party”. The BLP hopeful also dismissed Jones’ suggestion that a number of improvements were made to the learning environment. “The toilets are in a mess, the girls bathroom is not tiled, there was not a single seat on the toilet the week before school began. I, along with some of the parents, put together some money and I personally went to Carters [general store] and purchased the seats. “No tiling is on the floor. In the boys’ bathroom, the urinals were spilling over because the water could not be locked off. The doors stayed open, [so] I am a little unclear as to where the work is,” the concerned parent said, adding that “if anything was done, it was a very slight paint job, but putting icing on a disgusting cake does not make it better”. She also complained that the walkways were “horrible”. “My child fell at least on three occasions through a fence that isn’t fixed properly, [so] I am yet to see these improvements [and] we also have a lot of loose wires that the boys could eventually fiddle with.” Browne, who is also a past student of St Mark’s Primary, suggested that a new school should be built posthaste to accommodate the St Philip students, who she said were unable to accommodate a visit by the then Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave last year, owing to the school’s unkempt state. “I left that school when I was about eight years old and it looks the exact same way [now],” she said, while dismissing the latest promise by Jones that a new school was coming. “This is election time so I expect to hear things like that,” she said. While not disclosing the next stage of action, Browne, a member of the school’s PTA, said parents would continue to keep pressure on the authorities to restore the century-old school building. “We are giving them sometime to see what can happen. It is only fair. The PTA meets again in a couple of weeks and then we will decide where to go from here, but we will not be letting it rest. St Mark’s pupils deserve the same as any other school on the island in terms of renovations and new play grounds,” Browne insisted. (BT)

CHEF ADMITS TO UNKNOWINGLY IMPORTING COCAINE – A St Lucian chef today admitted to importing $100,000 worth of cocaine into Barbados, but said it was done unknowingly. In fact, 23-year-old Johnelle Leeanne Pierre of Ti-Rocher, Micoud told Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch she did not have a clue what “cocaine looked like” until the day of her arrest at Grantley Adams International Airport. The mother-of-two explained that “I am in this situation”, having borrowed the suitcase from a cousin. She said it was dropped off by a man mere hours before she was scheduled to leave for the airport, and since it still was in the casing she simply packed her items and left. “I honestly did not have any idea it was there,” Pierre stated adding: “I didn’t even know what cocaine looked like. I don’t even drink alcohol.” After Pierre arrived here on September 25, a dog from the canine unit led border control officers to the drugs, which were hidden in false sides of the suitcase. The St Lucian chef said she had no hesitation when the immigration officer asked to search her luggage, emphasizing the point that she was unaware that she had been transporting cocaine. She further explained that at one point law enforcement officials allowed her to turn on her cellular phone and the same cousin contacted her saying she was worried. She said she informed the relative that her bag had been kept back and “the first thing she ask was to send a picture of the bag. “I was only off work for two weeks and I have my children and she going to drag me into this,” Pierre lamented. Pierre’s attorney George Bennett, who appeared in association with Sian Lange, urged the chief magistrate to be as lenient as possible as the young woman had thrown herself at the mercy of the court and was not known in either jurisdiction. After relaying her story the chief magistrate again remanded her until November 28. (BT)

JAMAICAN DRUG TRAFFICKER TO BE DEPORTED – Self-confessed Jamaican drug trafficker Patricia Stephanie Rose’s stay in Barbados is about to come to an inglorious end. Rose, who admitted to importing two kilogrammes of cannabis into Barbados, has been handed over to immigration officials for deportation, after a $5,000 fine was paid to the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court. “Your time in Barbados is at an end and I can’t say it’s been a pleasure,” Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch told the 21-year-old hairdresser. Rose, of No. 2 Springfield Road, Morant Bay, St Thomas, Jamaica, had been on remand at Dodds Prison since September 29. She pleaded guilty in early October to possession, possession with intent to supply, trafficking and importation of marijuana. She was arrested on September 27 at Grantley Adams International Airport, where customs officials discovered three taped packages containing the illegal substance in her bag after arriving on a flight from Kingston. Rose allegedly told police at the time of her arrest she was doing a friend a favour. (BT)

TWO FINED $30,000 EACH FOR GANJA – Two Barbadian men who pleaded guilty to separate cannabis charges have nine months to pay the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court $30,000 each if they want to avoid prison time. One of the men, 51-year-old businessman Winfield St Auban Lowe, lives in the United States, while the other is 31-year-old Tito Mardonna O’Neil Barrow of Block 1G, Bottom Close, Wildely, St Michael. They both pleaded guilty to possession, possession with intent to supply, trafficking and importation of cannabis. Border control officers found 25 pounds of the drug in Lowe’s luggage when he arrived here last Monday from New York. His attorney Lesley Cargill Straker admitted to Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch her client decided “to take this risk” because his business here, which he maintains along with a home, had been in trouble. “At his age he has never been before the court [but] based on circumstances he decided to take this risk,” Cargill Straker said. She urged the Chief Magistrate to be lenient and impose a fine on her client instead of a custodial sentence. “To say I am disappointed is to drop short because as a businessman you should know not what to do,” Chief Magistrate Birch told Lowe. Cargill Straker also represented Barrow, who was found with 26.5 pounds of the drug in 38 packages wrapped in white t-shirts in his luggage. The attorney said Barrow also “felt like he had no choice”. She explained that Barrow had been selling clothes since he was laid off from his substantive job and “that is how the opportunity arose”. The lawyer further explained that due to several circumstances “he felt like he had no choice and made the decision out of desperation”. However, Birch told Barrow: “You know this is wrong yet you did it . . . . Had it not been intercepted you would have been responsible for an influx of illegal narcotics on our streets.” He imposed $15,000 fines on each man for the possession charge, to be paid in nine months or an alternative of two years in prison. They were convicted, reprimand and discharged on the possession with intent to supply charge and reprimanded and discharged on the trafficking charge. For importing the illicit substance Barrow and Lowe were each slapped with an additional $15,000 fine also to be paid in nine months, or two years in prison to run concurrently. They are to return to court by the end of August next year to show receipts. Lowe’s travel documents have been seized. (BT)

MAN HELD WITH FOUR GUNS AND 99 ROUNDS OF AMMO – A St Michael man is due to appear in the District ‘A’ Court here on Thursday charged with a number of gun and drug related offences. He is 34-year-old Ryan Jason Greene, of Pile Bay, Spring Garden, who was arrested and charged after members of the Anti-Gun Unit executed a search warrant at his residence. During the search three firearms and 32 rounds of the ammunition were discovered. A subsequent search of his motorcar revealed a fourth firearm and 67 rounds of ammunition. As a result, Greene now faces four counts of unlawful possession of four firearms and two counts of unlawful possession of ammunition. He has also been charged with possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of cannabis. (BT)

CONDUCTOR SLASHED IN FARE DISPUTE – THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE of the afternoon commute turned bloody and violent yesterday afternoon when three students, one armed with a cutlass, attacked a conductor in front of horrified minibus passengers. While out on assignment in Paynes Bay, St James, a DAILY NATION team came upon the immediate aftermath of the incident after noticing crying onlookers and what seemed to be a commotion centred on a South-bound Speightstown minibus. An injured man staggered out of the vehicle with blood dripping from his hands and his shirt spattered with blood. He was heard exclaiming: “All I want to do is get home.” Shortly afterwards, he got back into the minibus, which drove directly to the Black Rock Police Station. He entered the station and informed officers that three students of the Frederick Smith Secondary School had assaulted him. (DN)

EX-HUSBAND MUST SPEND MORE TIME - For three hours, McDonald Ricardo Whitehall followed the woman he loved through the streets of Bridgetown. The problem was that woman – his ex-wife – did not take kindly to the attention and called lawmen. That was in February, this year, and Whitehall has been unable to see her since then as he has been on remand at HMP Dodds. And that stay continues for another three weeks after he reappeared in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Whitehall, 47, of Vaucluse Tenantry, Shop Hill, St Thomas, was back in court where changed his plea and admitted he harassed 63-year-old Marguerite Bellamy on February 25, this year. The court had heard from prosecutor Sergeant Theodore McClean that Whitehall and Bellamy were divorced and Whitehall has been constantly harassing her since their marriage ended. He has been begging her to rebuild their relationship, but she has refused. In February, this year, the woman was in Tudor Street, when Whitehall approached her and asked her, once again, about sex and about getting back together. He also professed his love for her. The woman refused his advances, again, and demanded that he leave her alone. She left the area and walked to Trevor’s Way. Whitehall followed her there on bicycle and did so for about three hours. The woman then walked to Cheapside, and Whitehall followed her there too. Eventually, he rode off and the woman called the police. His attorney, Mohia Ma’at, put down Whitehall’s action’s to his love for his ex-wife. The attorney later begged the court to release him on bail pending sentencing. But Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant refused. She pointed to Whitehall’s previous convictions for the same woman. “Most of his convictions are for offences against the person. He has a history and a pattern dating back to 1989,” the magistrate said. “The court is not minded to release Mr Whitehall. He has a history not just dating back to yesterday, but to yesteryear,” the magistrate declared as she remanded Whitehall back to HMP Dodds until November 22. (DN)

DYNAMIC DUO – Opener Kieran Powell agonisingly missed out on a century, but wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich chose the ideal time to break out of a protracted slump as he and captain Jason Holder carved out polished, unbeaten half-centuries to put West Indies in control of the second and final Test yesterday. At the close of the pivotal third day at Queens Sports Club, the Windies were 374 for seven in their first innings, in reply to Zimbabwe’s 326 all out – a lead of 48 heading into today’s penultimate day. The left-handed Powell top-scored with 90 to fall short of his fourth Test hundred while Dowrich stroked 75 and Holder, 71, as West Indies fought back gallantly against a spirited Zimbabwe side on an attritional day. Shai Hope extended his excellent form with 40 while Roston Chase scored 32 and nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo, 23. West Indies were tested by off-spinner Sikandar Raza, who ended with five for 82 and managed to rock the visitors with key strikes in the second session that left the innings tottering at 230 for seven at one stage. (DN)

CHARLES F. BROOME WINS MENTAL MATHS COMPETITION – Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary has emerged as the winner of the inaugural Primary Mental Maths Competition, after defeating Cuthbert Moore Primary at the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, Pine Hill, St Michael and gaining the Mental Maths Challenge Shield. Impressed by the high quality of the Finals and the mental acuity of the students, Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones, said afterwards: “It showed the immense mathematical aptitude that lies in our primary schools.” The Minister was, however, quick to point out that there was still a long way to go in encouraging all students to respond to Math “in a sensible way” and move the Math scores in the 11 Plus from 54 per cent to higher. “We need to get those scores up; we need to get children truly appreciating Math, not only the Mathematical high flyer’s in our schools but all children being able to work Mathematically and to pull that area up. (DN)

MISS UNIVERSE T&T STRIPPED – This country’s Miss Universe T&T pageant first runner-up Martrecia Alleyne is now being considered to replace stripped delegate Yvonne Clarke. The local franchise holder for the pageant, Jenny Douglas, was weighing this option yesterday after she stripped Clarke of her title over an alleged breach of contract nine days before she was due to leave for the international event in Las Vegas. Less than two weeks after winning the title, Clarke was told via email from Douglas that she would no longer be able to represent the country. But during a press conference at the St James studio of soca artiste Fay Ann Lyons yesterday, Clarke demanded an apology from Douglas, saying she did nothing wrong in seeking sponsorship on her own, including from Lyons. She claimed she was left with no choice after all she received from Douglas was an “old black dress” and an admittance they did not have “all the resources” to get her to the competition. “I asked her if there was anything else the franchise could give me beside a dress and she (Douglas) said no. I did not do anything without the authorisation of the franchise holder. She even sent me letterhead from the Miss Universe TT which to this day I did not use,” Clarke maintained at the press conference. She said Douglas told her she could seek sponsorship from anyone locally “except from the Government.” She said from day one of the local pageant she felt something was wrong, as there were several “hiccups” along the way. This, she said, prompted her to document all her conversations with Douglas, including taping telephone conversations. Saying she was forced to dip into her personal finances to prepare herself, Clarke said through a friend she was told to approach Lyons for help. Lyons, Clarke said, had been instrumental in getting her a plane ticket, professional hair and make-up artists and even organising several professional photo shoots. As she went through hardship getting sponsorship, Clarke, who broke down in tears at some points, said she also offered advice to Douglas regarding how to deal with issues on social media. “I said to Jenny digital media management is important because she was getting into feuds with citizens on social media about the way in which the franchise was being run. I told her to avoid social media conflict because it not only brings the Miss Universe pageant into disrepute but it also brings me, as a delegate, into disrepute,” Clarke said. “The reason why I am so hurt by this was because when T&T was bashing her and saying she was unprofessional I was the one who supported her.” She also accused Douglas of deliberately withholding her contract after she signed it some months ago. Douglas also hinted that Clarke may not have had a US visa but yesterday Clarke said she did. Lyons, who also spoke, said she too wanted an apology from Douglas, as all she did was help a “beautiful and talented young lady” realise her dream. She described the incident as unfortunate, saying too many times “we as a people” refuse to support each other. In a statement yesterday, Douglas said, “The Miss Universe T&T committee has voted unanimously to disqualify Miss Yvonne Clarke from representing Trinidad and Tobago in this year’s Miss Universe 2017 Pageant competition.” In an interview with Guardian Media, Douglas accused Clarke of making statements which “misrepresented” the franchise and of “being on television and begging for money.” (BT)

RIRI’S BEAUTY LINE RAKING IN THE DOUGH – RIHANNA’S FENTY BEAUTY LINE has been an instant success, with products selling out in mere moments online and in stores. And a new report shows that the Barbadian singer/fashionista’s line has raked in millions in free advertising since its September launch. The 29-year-old star’s line of cosmetics earned her a whopping “US$72 million in media value in one month”, according to Women’s Wear Daily. The brand’s “media value” included the amount of money it earned from free advertising from social media exposure and press, according to a description from Newsweek last Friday. Fenty Beauty debuted September 9 and became instantly beloved for its broad range of 40 foundation shades, collection of cosmic lipglosses, first class brushes and more. On October 13, the brand revealed even more beauty as it debuted its holiday galaxy collection with retailer Sephora. Around the time of the line’s launch, the Wild Thoughts songstress caught up with Teen Vogue to talk about the collection. Though she was happy to talk about how she used the current line, the pop star was tight-lipped about future Fenty developments. “There are endless possibilities coming,” she told the Conde Nast offspring. “You just have to wait and see.” Before the launch of her hit beauty line, Rihanna debuted her second apparel collection with Adidas during New York’s Fall Fashion Week, which was received with rave reviews from fans and fashionistas alike. The Throw It Up singer’s love life is also hitting a high note, according to media reports. RiRi has been getting to know Saudi Toyota heir Hassan Jameel as of late. The pair have been linked since seen kissing in London back in June. This past weekend, the two were seen enjoying a romantic dinner in Boston, where sources said the pair were “super chill” and “relatively quiet”, according to People. (DN)

That’s all for today folks there are 62 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

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