#Midweek annual banker plan

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Mid Week Lotto Special Banker - ONE BANKER LOTTO

Mid Week Lotto Special Banker – ONE BANKER LOTTO

Mid Week Lotto Special Banker – ONE BANKER LOTTO Mid week lotto special banker for today is a one banker lotto number that can not fail because it’s a banker to banker lotto number for Ghana mid week lotto. Lotto banker for today is a plan set game the has only one banker that is sure to play and we lotto players shouldn’t miss it for any reason. (more…)

[stephaniefchase]

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 editorial@nationnews.com 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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Mid Week One Banker - Mid Week For 31/07/2019

Mid Week One Banker – Mid Week For 31/07/2019

Mid Week One Banker – Mid Week For 31/07/2019 Mid week one banker today is a sure game on today’s mid week Ghana lotto draw and i have a feeling that we are going to win big today on our 1-90 number on mid weeks. (more…)

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 5/24/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday 24th May 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Mid-Week Nation Newspaper MWN).  

TOUGH BUDGET TASK – With a general election months away, a Budget in five days, economic uncertainty on the horizon and time running out for tough decisions, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is not a man to be envied, says a top World Bank official. Dr Daniel Lederman, the World Bank’s deputy chief economist with responsibility for Latin American and the Caribbean, admitted that all eyes were on Barbados and what decisions the Freundel Stuart Government would make over the next few months. “Everybody is paying attention to what is happening in Barbados,” he said. “The World Bank is a global institution and trust me, when I say there are many delicate situations around the world for a variety of reasons . . . but Barbados is certainly an economy that we have looked at historically as an economy that managed to prosper while being small by making tough policy decisions.” Lederman, who delivered the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) annual William G. Demas Memorial Lecture last night at the Sandals Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort Village, conceded there was an ongoing battle in Barbados “between fiscal policy and the monetary anchor”. (BT)

BLP: REPEAL TAX CERTIFICATE LAW – The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) continues to blast a new law requiring a tax clearance certificate in order to complete property transactions and loans involving any form of property interest. In a statement issued yesterday in reaction to claims from the Barbados Bankers’ Association about a lack of clarity over the tax certificates, the party called for a repeal of the law. “We call on the Government for the urgent repeal of this legislation and for us to determine how best we can reduce the arrears both owed to and by Government, given the protracted economic recession of the last eight years.”  The BLP said that when the amendment was introduced two months ago, its position was that it would be the death knell of business in Barbados. (MWN)

BANKS HAVE RIGHT TO REFUSE SLOT MACHINE CASH – Commercial banks here are making it clear they will not risk their relationship with corresponding banks around the world to satisfy slot machine operators. President of the Barbados Banking Association (BBA) Donna Wellington today defended the rights of the financial institutions to refuse large deposits from these operators. “Each bank currently enjoys cordial relations with their respective correspondent banks and each bank will make decisions as to who they bank with and who they don’t. Banks are private corporations and they can choose their customer base and they do so based on the levels of risk that they are comfortable,” Wellington told Barbados TODAY Tuesday afternoon. (BT)

COB OFFERS SLOT MACHINE OPERATORS WAY OUT – Credit Unions have become the port of call for thousands of Barbadians. And now it seems that slot machine operators may just have to follow the lead. A day after Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite revealed that slot machine operators were having difficulty in depositing their money in banks over money laundering fears, chief executive officer of the City of Bridgetown Cooperative Credit Union (COB), Steve Belle, has opened a door for the business owners. “We are aware of issues that are confronting the financial services sector in relation to the matter that is being raised and we at the COB are willing to open up our operations to those entities . . . to actually having a place to place their funds,” he said in a phone interview yesterday. “Matter of fact, we have actually had one or two slot machine operators who have actually come into our operations in recent times and we’ve actually taken them through our processes to make sure any deposits they make with us, we are comfortable with.”  (MWN)

FLOW NETS 16000 SUBSCRIBERS - More than 16 000 mobile subscribers are currently enjoying Flow’s superfast 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. And that number is expected to double by year end. “In less than two months, just over 16 000 mobile accounts, both prepaid and post-paid, are enjoying the benefits of our 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. This means there are now thousands of Barbadians who are better equipped to leverage mobile connectivity,” said Flow Barbados vice president of technology, Nicole Layne. Layne was speaking as part of celebrations for World Telecommunications and Information Society Day in Heroes Square. Hosted by the Telecommunications Unit, this year’s theme was Big Data For Big Impact. Flow launched its LTE network in March, a move that ushered in the fourth generation of mobile telephony across the island. The company is also currently offering free SIM card swaps at its retail stores for customers with LTE-compatible devices. Customers are also advised to install the latest software updates for their unique device. (MWN)

NEW GUIDELINES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR – The renewable energy sector here is expected to begin operating under new standards and policy guidelines by the end of this year. The Caribbean Community Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) is currently developing a set of efficiency and labelling standards for the sector across the region. The new guidelines form part of a wider renewable energy and energy efficiency project, designed to, among other things, help customers make good choices when obtaining a product or service in the sector. The minimum performance standards being developed will also apply to importers and retailers. He did not say if the revised policy would include penalties for those who did not adhere to the standards, but it would then be up to the each country in the region to implement and enforce the standards. The new guidelines will also make provisions for the testing of appliances, including air-conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers. Edwards said while standards were nothing new in the region, the renewable energy sector was quickly expanding without set national and regional sidelines. (BT)

SMART BUS CARDS COMING – The days of using cash for bus fare in Barbados may soon be a thing of the past for some commuters. Members of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Inc. and the Transport Authority of Barbados will be introducing a new smart card to workers and members of the public during a walk-through of the bus terminals and taxi stands in and around Bridgetown on Saturday. A source close to the association told the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday that the actual launch should coincide with the rollout of a pilot project for the Transport Implementation Project at the end of next month. Noting that several countries across the world had already gone the route of using a card to pay fares for public transportation, AOPT president Roy Raphael said the safety of both passengers and workers of public service vehicles played a major role in the move to go plastic. (MWN)

CHAOS EXPECTED AT GAIA AS LIAT PILOTS PLAN SIT IN - Grantley Adams International Airport is likely to become a mass of chaos and confusion beginning on Thursday as LIAT pilots have threatened to take industrial action if they did not receive their salaries by midnight Wednesday. President of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) Captain Carl Burke said in a statement the planned action, which will take the form of sit-ins at various airports and possible picketing, may run for at least four days. “All pilots are to report to work as normal. Do sign in to work, do not sign off on any flight documents, do not board any LIAT aircraft and take flight. You are to remain out of view from the travelling public until further instructed by a LIALPA executive council member,” Burke advised the pilots. He said all pilots, with the exception of those on probation, would participate in the protest. At issue is the late payment of salaries by LIAT, which has been mired in a financial mess for decades, and with which the pilots have had a volatile relationship. (BT)

FOUR SEASONS REBIRTH – The end could soon be in sight for the ‘naughty issue’ that continues to retard progress on the stalled Four Seasons project at Clearwater Bay, St Michael. Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy said the legal issues that are holding back the project are likely to be untangled by the end of this year.    As he has done in the past, Sealy said precious little about the legal hurdles that have plagued the on-again-off-again multimillion dollar project. It was in February that Sealy had said that a group that was interested in the property was at “a very advanced stage” of negotiations with Government for concessions, and with the various legal interests, although he could not say when Government was expected to divest its interest in the 32-acre property. However, he was also cautious on the issue of a resumption date, stating then that it was not clear if all sides would get out of the legal maze in time for work to commence this year. The Central Bank of Barbados in January said Government was expected to take in $40 million from the sale of its interest in the Four Seasons property, which it took over after the developers had failed to attract the necessary funding. (BT)

300 COULD GO – Close to 300 workers at Almond Beach Resort may be on the breadline come April next year when work is expected to begin on the Beaches Resorts at the property at Heywoods in St Peter. The state-owned Barbados Tourism Investment Incorporated (BTII) said it would not renew its lease with Sandals Resorts International (SRI), the operators of Sandals and Beaches, when the contract expires next year. General Manager of Almond Resort Craig Smith told Barbados TODAY the initial lease was supposed to run for 15 months only, but three years later the BTTI continued to operate the property, causing much uncertainty year after year.  (BT)

$76M NIS PROJECT - The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is pumping $76 million into the construction and/or refurbishment of five police station complexes across the island. Three of the four being built will be completed on time and on budget. Construction of the fifth, at Six Roads, St Philip, is yet to start. This has been revealed not only by the director of the National Insurance Department, Ian Carrington, but by Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, as they toured the new District “D” Police Station and Magistrates’ Court at Cane Garden, St Thomas, yesterday. They were joined by Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith and other high-ranking police officers, Supreme Court Registrar Barbara Cooke-Alleyne and some of her staff, Chief Marshal John Lovell and some of his marshals, as well as Barbados Labour Party Member of Parliament for St Thomas, Cynthia Forde. (MWN)

NO POSTERS PLEASE – Those who paste posters on the refurbished coral stone walls of the barracks of Central Police Station, beware. There will be cameras watching and those caught on camera could face prosecution. So said Tyrone Peters, one of the people behind the restoration of the 1925 building at the rear of Central Police Station on Tudor Street, The City. The commercial manager at Connoisseur Improvement Services Inc. was speaking as high-ranking lawmen toured the facility yesterday. It was part of a tour of three police complexes by Government, police and court officials. (MWN)

IN PAIN - The news that three students of The Lester Vaughan School will appear in court on Thursday to face charges for viciously attacking her daughter has evoked no response from Marcia Carrington. Not satisfaction, not anger, not revenge. The distraught mother has only one thing on her mind –– the long, painful road to recovery that her 14-year-old faces. “I am trying to cope the best way I can, I haven’t thought about who has been charged,” she told Barbados TODAY Tuesday morning. Three students will appear before the District ‘D’ Magistrate court in 48 hours, police have reported. Two girls – one 16, the other 15 – and a boy, 14,  have been charged with occasioning actual bodily harm. Wednesday will mark exactly one week since the gruesome video of students punching and kicking their colleague stirred up national outrage. (BT)

AG SUPPORTS CELL PHONE USE IN SCHOOL – A recent video –– filmed with a mobile phone – showing a mob of students at Lester Vaughan School attacking one of their peers in a brutal assault is not enough to sway Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite to reverse his support for legitimizing the use of mobile devices in schools. Brathwaite’s Cabinet colleague, Minister of Education Ronald Jones, plans to lift the nine-year-old ban of cell phones and allow students to freely take their devices to school come September, much to the dismay of the teachers’ unions. And the Attorney General seems resigned that there was little either the schools or Government could do to keep the technology out of the classroom. Earlier this month, President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union Mary Redman had appealed to Jones to reverse his decision, contending that these devices would only exacerbate the problem of gang activity and pose a major security threat to schools. However, Brathwaite was adamant that given the fact that cell phones are commonplace among youth culture, the answer did not lie in restricting phones and tablets, but in ensuring students use them constructively. (BT)

BYER-SUCKOO: STOP TAKING UNEMPLOYMENT FOR GRANTED – Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo is proposing that unemployed individuals who refuse job placement of counselling from the National Employment Bureau (NEB) should have their unemployment benefits discontinued. Under a revamped NEB, those who lose their jobs are required to visit the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to have their book stamped then taken to the NEB for a second stamp, at which time they are offered counselling and available jobs, before collecting unemployment benefits. The minister contended that Barbados was one of a few countries to have an unemployment benefit scheme, but that Barbadians were taking it for granted. This, she said, had to stop. The NEB is currently undergoing restructuring and institutional strengthening, which includes rebranding – the first in a series of initiatives to improve its image, quality and relevance. The employment agency will now be called the Barbados Employment and Career Counselling Service. (BT)

MOTHER’S COMPLAINTS LANDS TEEN ON CURFEW - The displeasure could be seen on the face of a teenager yesterday when a Bridgetown magistrate placed him on a daily curfew. Desean Henderson Phillips, of #13 Green Ham Road, Haynesville, St James, went before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant and pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis. The illicit drug, which had an estimated street value of $40, was found in his possession on May 21. When asked by the magistrate whether he had anything to say, Phillips replied: “No please, no Ma’am”. He was then referred to a probation officer who recommended that he perform 90 hours of community service. Phillips must return to court on August 25 for a progress report, and he was granted $1,500 bail with one surety in the meantime. However, it was the utterances of his mother that resulted in the curfew being imposed as a condition of that bail release. “I am not happy that he coming home at midnight,” she told the court, adding that she had spoken to the teenager about the situation numerous times. But Phillips told the magistrate: “I just outside breezing with my friends and stuff like that.” He further explained that all his friends were employed and could only “breeze” after 9 p.m., hence the reason for him returning to his mother’s home at such a late hour. “Well, you are now going to ‘breeze’ at home with mummy to avoid coming back to court on ‘stuff like that’,” the magistrate informed Phillips who was visually upset about the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. (BT)

NEWBURY FINALLY TASTE VICTORY – Newbury all stars recorded their first victory in the Barbados Netball Association’s Division 1 competition on Monday night. After losing four games on the trot, a determined Newbury held on in the few minutes before the final whistle, edging out Signia UWI Blackbirds ‘B’ 39-37 at the Netball Stadium. They were led by goal attack Charlene Jordan, who scored 30 from 46 attempts, and goal shooter Stacey Brewster, who netted nine of 14 shots. Newbury’s win sent the Blackbirds to their third loss of the season. (MWN)

YOUNG FOOTBALLERS CONTINUE TO EXCITE – Blenheim playing field, St Michael, was the scene of a number of exciting match-ups as action in the BICO-sponsored National Sports Council’s Primary Schools Football Tournament continued Friday. In Zone 7 action at Briar Hall, Christ Church, Regan Gibbons’ goal for Wills gave them a 1-0 win over St Lawrence. Azari Belle scored as Milton Lynch beat St Winifred’s 1-0. St Angela’s defeated Vauxhall 4-0. St Gabriel’s won 5-0 over St Bartholomew. In Zone 5, St Judes beat Cuthbert Moore 2-1. Ellerton defeated St John 2-0. In a Zone 8 Bayley’s and St Philip Primary drew 1-1 In Zone 1 St Lucy defeated Half Moon Fort 4-0; Boscobel and Gordon Greenidge drew 2-2; Roland Edwards beat Selah 1-0; and All Saints got over Ignatius Byer 3-1. (BT)

COMBERMERE VS FOUNDATION AGAIN – IT WILL be Combermere and Foundation again. The two schools that have clashed in many cricket finals at various levels in recent years will come face to face in another championship match tomorrow. This time it will be the final of the Barbados Cricket Association’s Everton Weekes Under-13 Competition, which will be played at Empire Club ground, Bank Hall. Both teams booked their places with convincing semi-final victories yesterday. (MWN)

BOGEY BROKEN: BAJAN GEMS FINALLY END 33-YEAR DROUGHT - Barbados stunned World number four Jamaica with a pulsating 43-41 victory last night, earning a 1-1 draw in the three-Test series and registering their first win over the Caribbean powerhouses in 33 years. Playing at the National Arena, Jamaica controlled the game for the most part and led 32-31 at the start of the final quarter but fell apart in the final quarter, as 12th ranked Barbados out-scored them 12-9 to pull off a sensational result. (BT)

CHELSEA SILVER – SILVER GILT. That’s what Barbados’ vibrant tropical blooms and the three facades of Where We Live were awarded at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show in London yesterday. Where We Live, the exhibit put on by the Barbados Horticultural Society, depicted three types of Barbadian dwellings – the chattel house, a plantation home and a luxurious seaside villa – each of which was fronted with greenery and flowers. The medal adds to the society’s impressive haul of ten silver gilt, one silver and 18 gold medals. It has been participating at the show since 1984 and last year won a gold. (MWN)

CONTROVERSY AS NIKITA RELEASES SONG ALREADY SUNG BY DEEVINE - Controversy has hit Crop Over early in the season.  Barbadian artiste Nikita released a song on Monday called Same Way with an official lyric video on YouTube for the Crop Over 2017 season. The writing credits list Trinidadian Jason "Shaft" Bishop, Scott Galt, Mike Hulsmeier and Nikita Browne. However, there is another song with the exact lyrics from start to finish called We De Same released in 2015 by DeeVine, a Bajan artiste based in Britain. Both songs from DeeVine and Nikita can be viewed on YouTube with no differences between the two except for the voices. Shaft is no stranger to Barbados music scene, having written for local artistes Lil Rick, Imani, Edwin, Peter Ram and Hypasounds, among others. The differences with the songs are just the riddim with Nikita's produced by De Red Boyz. Efforts to reach Nikita and Shaft were unsuccessful. (MWN)

1LOVE CONCERT ON AGAIN – For the first time, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons will grace the 1Love stage with Machel Montano this Crop Over season. That announcement was made earlier today as the partial line-up for the concert being held on August 6 was revealed. Since there is no Cohobblopot, the concert will, as usual, fill the void for party lovers. It will be held at the Concorde Experience again. Machel, Bunji and The Voice flew in from Trinidad this morning to help in the reveal at the Crane Resort. They left for the airport later. Organisers of 1Love, Volume Entertainment, promises a show within a show and tickets go on sale tomorrow. During the next two months they will reveal more artistes who are on the bill. (MWN)

That’s all for today folks. There are 222 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase