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Bajan Newscap 11/21/217

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Tueday 21st 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 (WN).

RATE THIS! – Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has again stood defiant in the wake of a series of downgrades, telling party supporters Barbados could not be downgraded by any rating agency. “No rating agency in the world can downgrade Barbados. Rating agencies can downgrade your credit rating, your ability to borrow money, but they cannot downgrade you as a people,” Stuart said at a meeting last night of the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) at The Alexandra School in St Peter. It was a repeat of the position he adopted in March of this year at the DLP’s mid-year conference, one day after international rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) had downgraded the island from ‘B- to ‘CCC+’ – the island’s 18th under his administration at the time – and a week before Moody’s downgraded Government bond and issuer ratings to Caa3, placing Barbados on the same level as Greece, the Ukraine and Venezuela. “Rating agencies can only downgrade Barbados’ credit worthiness, its ability to borrow. They cannot downgrade Barbados itself,” he said then. Stuart was even more dismissive last night of the international rating agencies, as well as economists and political opponents who see the downgrades as evidence that his administration’s economic policies were not working. “What they will say and what they have been saying is that rating agencies downgraded Barbados 18 or 19 or 20 times, whatever it is . . . what credit rating? “You can’t talk about the country’s credit rating without at the same time trying to link that to the credit rating of the average man and woman in the communities of Barbados. “There are so many other aspects to a person rather than whether they can borrow money or not, and as it is true of an individual, so also of a country,” he said. The Prime Minister said that in the history of this island the average man or woman had been unable go to a bank and borrow money as he or she wished because they did not have the collateral. However, he insisted that poor credit ratings did not affect Barbados’ ability to produce excellence. (BT)

GAG ORDER – Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur said today there was only one gift he would love to purchase outspoken Government minister Donville Inniss for Christmas, and that is a political ‘gag’. At the same time the Member of Parliament for St Peter has taken umbrage at what he said was nothing short of “a crude onslaught” delivered by his former Cabinet minister Elizabeth Liz Thompson against his wife and daughters. “It really was crude and there really has been no reaction of decency from the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) from people who ought to be telling Liz Thompson that that is not the way,” Arthur told Barbados TODAY, in response to statements made by Thompson in an address to the party’s 79th annual conference last month, which he said were simply unforgiveable. In fact, in light of that speech, which he said should have been roundly condemned by the BLP’s hierarchy, Arthur said “it will be very difficult for me to ever again support the Barbados Labour Party”. However, he also made it clear that this was not an indication that he was now “a Dem”, following Inniss’ declaration at the ruling Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) political meeting in St Peter on Sunday night that the former BLP leader and current independent Member of Parliament for the northern constituency, has had a recent change of heart and had switched his allegiance to the ruling DLP, turning his back on the BLP’s Colin Jordan, who he previously described as his political protégé. Addressing party supporters gathered at The Alexandra School in the heart of Arthur’s constituency, which the former BLP leader has been representing for the past three decades, Inniss went further to suggest that Arthur was rooting for the DLP candidate Dave Cumberbatch. “Let me tell you something Dave, you are being fully endorsed by Owen Seymour Arthur,” Inniss assured Cumberbatch after he had delivered his maiden speech as the ruling party’s St Peter candidate. And while referring to Jordan disparagingly as ‘Colin Arthur’, the Member of Parliament for St James South said: “Owen Arthur [and] Colin Arthur [were] all good Dems today.” Inniss also assured that there was no repairing the damage done to the relationship between Arthur and the Mia Mottley-led BLP following Arthur’s resignation from the Opposition party back in 2014. “It has been a hard and long journey for him to have walked away from a political party that he so ably led for such a long time, because he realized the riff-raff and scallywags and hooligans that occupy the halls of the Barbados Labour Party, and have nothing to do with them. And that is why he cannot, and will not, support Colin Arthur, Colin Jordan,” Inniss said, feigning an error. However, when contacted this afternoon, Arthur was simply taken aback by Inniss’ comments, suggesting it was high time for him to be muzzled. “In 34 years in public life I have never had any difficulty speaking in my own name, on my own behalf, and I can’t imagine how at the end of my political career, I could now want somebody to be speaking for me and on my behalf,” he told Barbados TODAY, making it clear he did not need Inniss to deliver any message on his behalf. Arthur suggested that “perhaps it is a St James South thing . . . because . . . he seems to be as erratic as the former Member of Parliament for St James South Elizabeth Thompson. “They are just spouting foolishness all over the place. I have sent Donville Inniss with no message and I’m a little disappointed that a man who would want to get my support and my vote in the next election could be playing so fast and loose with things concerning me,” said Arthur, who resides in Inniss’ constituency. “Surely, if he intends to court me that would be the wrong way to do it,” he said, stressing he had “nothing to do with erratic people”. Calling it “froth and folly”, he said, “It is obviously a St James South thing to just shout off at the mouth and just talk a lot of foolishness. Liz exemplified it and now Donville appears to have caught the same [political virus],” he told Barbados TODAY, adding that “for me to have to respond to folly like this when there are so many other important things that ought to be centre, it just disgusts me”. While stressing that “Donville has to act way better than this”, and that it was not ordinary for constituents to give members of parliament gifts, Arthur said: “I think that for Christmas I might have to consider finding a suitable present for Donville, and it would be a gag . . . and I think it will make him a better politician. “I am an independent person and I am not involved in any political party,” the St Peter representative maintained. The former prime minister, who was recently sidelined with a foot injury, also reported that it was his first day back at the office. “I’m anxious to get back to my work. I don’t want to be drawn into the froth and folly,” he told Barbados TODAY. At a time when Barbados was “going down rapidly with some very serious economic issues to confront”, he complained that the island’s politics had descended to the level of “people living in houses that they do not have and who is qualified in what . . . and you would think that the country doesn’t have a serious crisis that is facing it and . . . I don’t want to be drawn into that foolishness at my age.” (BT)

IT WASN’T US – The Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) today fiercely denied it was behind allegations on social media that Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler owns a $2.5 million house at Rolling Hills, St George. The BLP issued a press release today denying involvement, less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Freundel Stuart gave prominence to the rumour by raising it at a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) meeting at The Alexandra School last night, and accusing the Opposition party of being behind it. However, BLP spokesman Dale Marshall said his party had nothing to do with the post, and complained that the BLP had also been a victim of similar rumours, although he did not say what they were or when such rumours were spread. “[The] Barbados Labour Party distances itself from accusations being made on social media in relation to Mr Sinckler being the owner of a particular house in St George,” Marshall, the Member of Parliament for St Joseph, said in the release. “That post has nothing whatsoever to do with the BLP. The circulation of such stories on social media is not, and has never been, a BLP strategy. “The Prime Minister seems to forget that members of the BLP are also victims of such attacks and allegations. These anonymous posts which are intended to damage are in bad taste and a blight on public discourse. The BLP would never be a part of that.” In becoming the latest member of the DLP to accuse the BLP of engaging in a smear campaign, Stuart last night challenged the Opposition party to prove that Sinckler owns the home by taking the media to the site of the house. (BT)

BOTH BLP AND DLP NEGLECTED ST PETER, CANDIDATE SUGGESTS – Former Barbados and West Indies Under-19 cricket captain Dave Cumberbatch came out swiping last night as he delivered his maiden speech as the ruling Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) candidate for St Peter. Cumberbatch, 53, made his name as a cricketer in the early 1980s. Now he is seeking to deny the Opposition Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) Colin Jordan a chance of ever representing the northern constituency, currently held by former BLP leader and independent Member of Parliament Owen Arthur. With Arthur’s political future still uncertain, Cumberbatch told DLP faithful gathered at The Alexandra School last night that both the current and the former administration were guilty of neglecting the rural constituency, particularly Maynards, his place of birth. Cumberbatch, an attorney-at-law and former policemen, recalled that in 1999 “when elections were hot in the air” the National Housing Corporation, under a BLP government, had sent letters in the St Peter community offering residents the opportunity to purchase their lands. “2009 came and nothing was done [by the time the BLP was voted out of office],” he said, while also complaining that the situation still had not been remedied with the DLP in office over past ten years. “The point I am making is that, up to this day, 2017, after receiving letters in 1999, nothing has been done to sell the people of Maynards the land on which they live,” Cumberbatch said, adding that “I had a quiet whisper with Minister [Denis] Kellman about this already . . . [and] if he remains the minister of housing in the next administration . . . I will be turning up my voice . . . even if it is the prime minister that takes over the Ministry of Housing, I will be turning up my voice, so that those people in Maynards who were asked in 1999 if they wanted to purchase land, . . . [can] be successful in owning a piece of the rock”. In response, Kellman informed the meeting that though some people had gone ahead and paid the BLP for their lots, currently residents in 28 of the 55 Government units at Maynards were qualified to be granted property conveyances under the 20-year occupancy programme. However, he did not say if or when they would the conveyances. (BT)

INNISS BLASTS UNIONS – The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government is taking the trade union movement to task for blurring its efforts to protect the rights of workers. Minister of Industry Donville Inniss argued Government was so invested in the rights of all workers in Barbados that annually it injects “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of subvention to the Barbados Workers’ Union and the National Union of Public Workers, preserving the proverbial voice of workers. “It is not a BLP [Barbados Labour Party] or DLP thing, historically the union has been given a subvention by Government. My point about it is here is a union that is saying the country is so broke, doing nothing, putting all sort of demands on Government but don’t remind their members or the public about the hefty subvention they get from Government on an annual basis to keep them running. As far as I am concerned they should be getting more of their revenue from their own members and their own activities,” Inniss said. During a fiery contribution at the DLP’s joint northern meeting on Sunday night, Inniss, who is also Minister of International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, cried shame on the state of the present movement. Speaking to a large crowd at Alexandra School, Queen Street, St Peter, including Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and former St Peter candidate Sybil Leacock, he voiced concern that for many union leaders their first priority was now self-motivated. Inniss said some had been promised diplomatic posts abroad and could not wait to see the back of the DLP. He accused some in the movement of practising political partisanship, and this was shown in the lack of support for the Employment Rights Act, the Sexual Harassment Act and the Employment Rights Tribunal, which were put in place to protect workers. “Rather than say let us recognise that you have a Government that is bringing enlightened policies and programmes to uplift the masses in society, you have these folks finding every reason to go after the Government in a very aggressive and partisan manner and hiding behind the guise of the union,” Inniss said. (DN)

ENERGY DRIVE – Barbadians can look forward to paying less for electricity as Government is set to save big, thanks to a new energy policy. Members of the Division of Energy, including Minister of Energy, Senator Darcy Boyce, announced the ambitious energy policy for 2017 to 2037 yesterday at the division’s offices in Country Road, St Michael. Acting chief project analyst Bryan Haynes told the media the policy’s focus was transitioning the island from fossil fuel dependency to one that was energy efficient and renewable energy based. Barbados could save almost a quarter of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in energy costs within the next two decades and Haynes laid out what this meant for the average person. The project analyst explained that by 2037 Barbados would have to reduce its fossil fuel usage by a whopping 75 per cent. Haynes said this equated to moving from the current 11 000 barrels of fuel a day to 5 400. In order to do this, Haynes said the island would generate 15 per cent of its power from solar, 20 per cent from the wind, 30 per cent from bio-mass and waste energy, 15 per cent from bio-fuels and 20 per cent from natural gas. In 2015, Barbados got 74 per cent of its energy from heavy fuel oils, 17.4 per cent from kerosene, 5.6 per cent from bagasse, 2.2 per cent from diesel, 0.2 per cent from natural gas and a paltry 0.6 per cent from solar. Boyce said he was aware of the high usage of such energy inputs. The importation of petroleum products in 2016 was almost $350 million, thanks to the decline in oil prices, down from almost $900 million in 2014. And with the price of oil fluctuating, Boyce noted Barbados had to safeguard itself by moving towards renewable energy sources. (DN)

HUSBANDS: MAKE USE OF EDUCATION – Taking advantage of the right to an education can help the youth safeguard themselves against unemployment. Senator Harcourt Husbands hammered home this point yesterday as he spoke to hundreds of schoolchildren at the annual World Children’s Day celebrations at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. In brief remarks, Husbands told the children the Convention On The Rights Of The Child gave them several advantages which, in his time, were not extended to children. However, the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education warned the children that with these rights came responsibilities. Husbands explained that education did not just mean the formal aspect, but other areas like sports. As the morning’s concert was children-focused, the programme featured presentations and performances by youngsters. From the skilfully acrobatic performance of the Michael Taitt Tumblers, to the graceful moves of the Praise Academy of Dance and renditions by the Charles F. Broomes Choir, there was lots of talent on display. Also performing were the Coleridge & Parry Secondary School Choir, the Ace Dance Centre, a quintet from Queen’s College and a duet from the Gordon Greenidge Primary School. (DN)

GARBAGE DISPUTE TAKES A NEW TURN – The messy dispute surrounding the dump at Lower Estate, St George has taken a new turn. Owner of the quarry and Chief Executive Officer of Project Recycle Anderson Fat Child Cherry has called in the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) after number of people were apparently caught on camera “trespassing” on the compound after business hours. Cherry also reported today that a fire had occurred at the quarry on Sunday while the facility was closed for business. “Management of the quarry was notified by a resident of the area who also called the fire department, but by that time our team had already extinguished the fire in just five to ten mins,” Cherry said, adding that was footage of people” entering the facility in the early morning between the hours of five and seven o’clock before [it was] opened and late in the evening after the facility [was] closed”. With the matter now under police investigation, Cherry said he did not want to comment any further at this stage. However, the development comes on the heels of last month’s second town hall meeting between the residents and the waste hauler at the Salters Church of God in St George. During that meeting Cherry had promised residents that the “toxic” fumes emanating from the landfill would be gone in two weeks; that no more garbage would be dumped there and that the facility would be shut down within six months. However, he has since gone back on that agreement with a spokesman for the residents, Roger Craigg, informing Barbados TODAY this afternoon that they now had solid “evidence” to prove that Cherry had breached the accord and was in fact still allowing garbage to be dumped on the compound. The residents, who had earlier threatened to take Cherry to court over the matter, are due to meet in emergency session to determine their next move with Craigg also reporting that as recent as today, the landfill was still burning. However, Cherry today insisted that contrary to the reports from the residents “there has been no garbage waste coming into the facility”. In fact, he told Barbados TODAY management had gone as far as to issue a memo “asking employees not to eat anymore chicken thighs on the job” as this may be the garbage the residents were seeing. (BT)

CHILD CARE BOARD REPORTS PROGRESS IN RESOLVING ABUSE CASES – The Child Care Board (CCB) is reporting breakthroughs in a number of cases being investigated by the state agency. However, Chairman Kenneth Knight would not disclose which cases had been fully resolved or how close the CCB was to concluding others. Knight said like other statutory boards, the child protection agency, which was established to investigate reports of child abuse and neglect, was being asked to function with diminishing financial resources. However, he said this would not stop CCB from adequately carrying out its duties, and it had found “other innovative ways to compensate for the reduction of financial resources”. Barbadians have been thrown into consternation from time to time as news surfaced of cases of alleged child abuse and the deaths of minors under questionable circumstances. The most recent one was the death of one-month-old Kaiden Dacosta Greenidge in September. The infant was pronounced dead on arrival at the state-run Queen Elizabeth Hospital after the parents were summoned by Divine Day Nursery & Pre-School, where they had left the child. Some of the most prominent cases in the last two years included the alleged suicide of 12-year-old Shemar Weekes, of Fryers Well, Checker Hall, St Lucy, and the death of six-year-old Jahan King of Belfield, Jackson, St Michael, which occurred weeks apart. Jahan’s mother and her boyfriend were subsequently charged with manslaughter. The most recent available statistics from the CCB showed that between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, there were 864 reported cases of abuse involving 1,173 children, figures officials said were only a fraction of the true number of child abuse cases since many went unreported. Knight today did not have up-to-date numbers, but told Barbados TODAY there continued to be a range of child abuse cases being reported to the CCB, with the most common being sexual abuse. (BT)

MOTHER IN CHILD BEATING VIDEO REPORTS TO POLICE - The police and representatives of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFS) are to meet this afternoon with the woman who was seen in a video violently beating and threatening to cut off the neck of her young child. Superintendent in charge of the Westmoreland Police, Lansford Salmon, says the meeting was arranged after the woman reported to the Whithorn police station on Saturday, when the video began circulating on social media. Salmon says the woman is not in custody at this time. He says the meeting this afternoon will determine the next course of action to be taken as the investigation progresses. The CPFSA yesterday confirmed that it had begun probing the circumstances that led to the woman using what appears to be a belt to beat a young child while she hurled threats of cutting off the child’s neck. The child protection agency said its investigation revealed that the incident took place in September. The agency says the woman is currently receiving counselling. It is not certain at this time what has been done in relation to the child who received the beating. (BT)

HOUSE SPEAKER IN NEW LEGAL DISPUTE WITH CLIENT – For the second time in three years, Queen’s Counsel Michael Carrington, who is also Speaker of the House of Assembly, has found himself before the law courts over a money dispute with one of his clients. In the latest legal standoff, Ajax Construction Inc has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court, challenging the level of fees charged by Carrington for legal work done with respect to the purchase and resale of a portion of land at Warrens, St Michael. Ajax Construction is also claiming that Carrington wrongfully withheld some $45,000 from the company, and has asked the court to reward it certain sums of money, costs and other relief. However, Carrington has filed his defence and counterclaim, arguing that he was entitled to all the monies, including his legal fees and costs for representing the company in the purchase of the parcel of land from the National Housing Corporation and negotiating the sale of the same property to the City of Bridgetown Cooperative Credit Union. According to court documents, Carrington has submitted that if the claimant had a dispute about his fees, it should properly check with the Registrar of the Supreme Court. “In breach of the agreement between the parties, the claimant by letter dated September 22, 2016, wrongfully sought to terminate the agreement between the parties, questioning the fees payable and refusing to honour any agreement between the parties. At the time of the purported termination of the agreement by the claimant, the defendant had completed all tasks necessary for the completion of the work for which he was retained to do,” Carrington said in his defence. Carrington is also denying that the principals of Ajax Construction suffered the alleged loss and damage being pleaded, or any loss at all. Back in December 2014, the High Court ordered Carrington to pay one of his clients, John Griffiths, over $208, 900, the balance from the sale of a property which included a banker’s cheque with cash value of over $84, 194, the remaining proceeds of an estate which was inherited by Griffiths. Justice Jacqueline Cornelius also ruled at the time that Carrington must render an account of all sums belonging to the particular estate within 28 days. He was also ordered to pay interest and legal costs of over $7,700. A settlement was eventually reached, where a banker’s cheque of $200,000 was reportedly paid on behalf of Carrington to the law firm George Walton Payne and Co, which represented 78-year-old Griffiths. When contacted this afternoon, attorney-at-law for Ajax Construction Arthur Holder said that he first had to discuss the issue with his client before sharing any information. Efforts to reach Carrington and his attorney Cecil McCarthy, QC, for comment have been unsuccessful. (BT)

UPP ALLEGES POSTAL FRAUD – The United Progressive Party (UPP) is alleging that something fishy is going on at the post office which rises to the level of postal fraud. UPP candidate for St Michael East Paul Forte is charging that he mailed just over a thousand letters to constituents, but somehow, not a single one was delivered. “I sent out hundreds of letters to first-time voters in September, only to find out on canvassing that not one letter was received, and so I decided to send out another set of letters, this time to constituents in my area, introducing myself and sharing my plans for this constituency, and of the 500 letters sent on November 3rd, not one constituent of St Michael East has received a letter, not one,” Forte complained at a constituency meeting in Cutting Road, St Michael. In fact, UPP Leader Lynette Eastmond went as far as to suggest that a crime had been committed, “There is something called postal fraud and you can get lock up for postal fraud. The Government guarantees us that when we put something in an envelope, seal the envelope, put a 65 cents stamp on it and take it to the post office or place it any postal box across the island, that it is supposed to get where it is supposed to go. It must get to the recipient,” Eastmond stated. “Postal fraud is not any kind of summary offence, it is a serious offence. Those are the offences that you go to the High Court for.” Eastmond added that it was shameful that this was happening at a time when political parties were talking about integrity and integrity legislation. It was an apparent reference to the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which on Saturday presented the first draft of its Integrity Commission Bill which it said would help to curb rampant corruption in Barbados. The bill, which was drafted with counsel from Sir David Simmons; Leslie Haynes, QC; Gregory Nicholls and Stewart Mottley, will see the establishment of a six-member commission which will be allotted investigative powers to inspect reports of corruption. It also has provisions to ensure the protection of whistle blowers. Under the bill, which the BLP said would be introduced if it forms the next Government, people guilty of corruption will face jail sentences and fines as high as $500, 000. However, UPP candidate for St James South Christal Austin told constituents of St Michael East the gesture was nothing more than smokes and mirrors. “If you had 14 years and you didn’t do it then why are you going to do it now?” Austin questioned, while making reference to the BLP’s tenure in office before it was voted out in 2008. “Do not let the wolf pull wool over your eyes. They will say and do anything to get into power because they are self-interested and they only want to be in power,” she said. (BT)

MUGABE FACES IMPEACHMENT . . . PRESIDENT COULD BE REMOVED BY WEDNESDAY – Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party is set to begin impeachment proceedings against president Robert Mugabe on charges that include allowing his wife “to usurp constitutional power”. The motion is now due to be presented to parliament on Tuesday. Senior party member Paul Mangwana said the process could take as little as two days to complete, and president Mugabe could be removed by Wednesday. A deadline set by Zanu-PF for his resignation passed on Monday. Separately, military leaders said they had planned a “roadmap” for Mugabe’s future, and that the ousted former vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, would return to the country soon. Grace Mugabe and Mnangagwa had both been seen as potential successors to the ageing president. But earlier this month, Mugabe fired his deputy – widely seen as an endorsement of his wife – prompting a military intervention. The country’s top general said Mugabe and his former deputy had been in contact, and would hold in-person talks soon. Zimbabwe’s constitution allows for impeachment on grounds of “serious misconduct”, “violation” of the constitution or “failure to obey, uphold or defend” it, or “incapacity”. The opposition MDC-T party has tried unsuccessfully to impeach Mugabe in the past. But with the support of Mugabe’s own Zanu-PF party, which has an overwhelming majority in both houses, the vote is now likely to go against him. If the impeachment goes ahead, the military can claim that he was removed legally, and not by armed force. If that happens, current vice-president Phelekezela Mphoko should assume the role. But Mphoko is a known supporter of Grace Mugabe, and the generals would prefer to install Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former vice-president who was named the new Zanu-PF party chief on Sunday. The crisis began two weeks ago when the 93-year-old leader sacked Mnangagwa, angering army commanders who saw it as an attempt to position his wife as the next president. With Zimbabwe embroiled in a deep economic crisis, the president had already seen some of his support wane. Last week, soldiers seized control of the state broadcaster and placed the president under house arrest – but denied their actions amounted to a military coup. Since then, he has been held at his “blue roof” mansion near the capital. On Sunday, Mugabe gave a televised address which surprised many Zimbabweans because it made no mention of the pressure from his party and the public to quit. Surrounded by generals, he declared that the military had done nothing wrong by seizing power and placing him under house arrest. He then vowed to preside over the Zanu-PF party congress, due in a few weeks. (BT)

GLENDAIRY BREAK IN – The burglar bars are still in place, but the sash windows are gone, along with several appliances and furniture from the main entrance building of the former Glendairy Prison. The brazen theft of two refrigerators, a television, 40 metal chairs, a table top stove, two coolers, a coffee table and two of the three chairs from a living room suite at the Station Hill, St Michael facility, has left former prison officers bewildered. President of the Barbados Association of Retired Prison Officers (BARPO), Mark Phillips, yesterday pointed to a hole in the fence inside of the property which he suspected was an access point. He also highlighted at least two cars in the bushy courtyard which he said were exhibits in court matters and had been in good condition when placed there, but had now been stripped. Phillips and several members of the association had to wait on an officer from the National Housing Corporation (NHC) yesterday to open the main doors so they could remove the rest of the items they left at the prison in March. It was the last time they visited after the iconic property was decommissioned. (DN)

BUSY BURGLAR COMES CLEAN - For a first-time burglar, Romel Rico Cheltenham was fearless and relentless. So bold was he that he stole a tablet from right under its sleeping owner’s nose. When Cheltenham, 33, of Stadium Road, Bush Hall, St Michael, appeared in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court yesterday, he admitted to committing three acts of burglary. He pleaded guilty to entering the home of Otis Bovell on November 9 and stealing a television worth $2 800, a $500 cellphone, a Playstation valued at $600 and $2 400 in cash. The labourer also pleaded guilty to entering the home of Gracie Newsam-Cadogan on November 15 and stealing a $350 tablet and $600 cellphone. On that occasion, Cheltenham broke into the complainant’s house while she was asleep in her bedroom. Even after he realised she was at home, he still proceeded to steal the tablet, which Newsam-Cadogan had left to charge before going to sleep. Cheltenham also admitted entering the building known as Best, Skeete & Company Chartered Accountants and stealing two laptop computers worth $2 980, and two bottles of wine. He also pleaded guilty to damaging a drink machine belonging to Vending Plus Inc on November 16. He was, however, not required to plead to the indictable charge of escaping from the District “A” Police Station on November 16. Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant remanded Cheltenham until December 18 for sentencing, when he will also return to court for the indictable charge. (DN)

SILVER HILL MURDER ACCUSED REMANDED – Juneil Shaquel Holder has been remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds in connection with the murder of Andrew Prescod, who was shot in the head while liming at Silver Hill, Christ Church on October 20. Prescod succumbed to his injuries two days later at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Holder, 22, of Hinds Gap, Halls Road, St Michael, was not required to plead to any of the five indictable charges when he appeared before Magistrate Elwood Watts in the District “B” Court at Oistins, Christ Church this afternoon. He has been charged with murdering Prescod sometime between October 20 and 22. Holder is also charged with intent to maim, disfigure, disable and causing serious bodily harm to 21-year-old Daniesha Williams; intent to maim, disfigure, disable and wounding Elvis Farrell; discharging a firearm along Silver Hill in a public place and in a manner which placed Sahiya Amin, 29, in danger of death and serious bodily harm and using a firearm without a valid licence. All those offences were committed on October 20 at Silver Hill. He is to re-appear at Oistins on January 17. (DN)

NINJAMAN FOUND GUILTY – Dancehall artiste Ninjaman was found guilty of murder a short while ago in the Supreme Court. Ninjaman, whose given name is Desmond Ballentine, was charged along with his son Jahneil with the March 2009 murder of Ricardo Johnson, also known as Trooper, on Marl Road in Kingston. The dancehall deejay, who was granted bail in 2012, was taken into custody four weeks ago after his bail was revoked by High Court judge Justice Martin Gayle, who ordered that the murder trial should begin immediately. The case had seen 17 trial dates and 23 mentions. The case was recently transferred to a special court that handles cases on the books for more than five years. Hailing from the parish of St Mary, Ninjaman came to prominence in the 1980s. He is known for songs including Artical Don, Border Clash, and Cover Me featuring Tinga Stewart. The deejay also had a major role in the local action movie Third World Cop in 1999. (DN)

PRIDE COACH PROUD – Never mind they’ve won one, lost one and drawn two. Barbados Pride coach Emmerson Trotman has expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance in the first phase of the Digicel Professional Cricket League 4-Day Championship. Victory over the Windward Islands Volcanoes on Sunday at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex in St Vincent lifted Barbados Pride to third place in the standings, and the coach was upbeat over the effort of his men as the tournament takes its first break after four rounds of matches. “I’m quite happy with the performance of the boys. We had some new players come into the side and they have adapted well. The seniors players have carried them nicely,” Trotman told NATIONSPORT yesterday. (DN)

HUSBANDS LANDS DOUBLE – Veteran Barbadian jockey Patrick Husbands continued to make his presence felt at Woodbine, riding a double on Saturday’s 10-race card at western Canada’s premier racetrack. The 44-year-old won race four with favourite Souper Fly Over before returning to take race six with 3-1 chance Thora Barber, to move to 114 wins for the season. However, Husbands lies fourth in the standings, out of contention for the jockeys title which Brazilian Eurico Rosa da Silva remains on course to take yet another championship. He has 184 victories, 31 clear of nearest challenger Luis Contreras, with Rafael Hernandez third on 140. Husbands, a seven-time Woodbine champion, kicked off his success over seven furlongs, steering three-year-old colt Souper Fly Over to a narrow victory by a head over the three-year-olds and upward. Husbands was tucked away in mid-pack as Leo From Heaven produced the early splits, with Magical Man stalking and Love in the Forest just off the pace. (DN)

BAJANS ON A HIGH – They started as No. 1 and ended as No. 1. Barbadians Tamisha Williams and Monyata Riviera justified their top seeding to emerge doubles champions at the Suriname International Badminton Championships last week. Coming up against the Suriname pair of Crystal Leefmans and Priscila Tjitodipo in the final, Williams and Riviera came away with a 21-17, 21-17 win. The Bajans breezed through each round but they were pushed to the limit in the semi-finals when they took on Carolyne Jameson and Sherifa James, of Suriname. Williams and Riviera won the first game 21-19 but let the second game slip away and went down 19-21. The pair upped their game in the third and deciding set to win 21-15 and advance to the final for the first time. The newly-crowned champions said they used the same game plan that was used in the Barbados Independence Invitational Games and it paid off for them. Williams also came third in the mixed doubles with Dakeil Thorpe. Meanwhile, top junior player Shae Martin said he was very happy with his showing at the tournament and the training he received at the Young Talents Camp, which was held a week before the start of the tournament. (DN)

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL ACTRESS DELLA REESE DEAD AT 86 – Actress and gospel singer Della Reese, best known for her role in the Touched By An Angel television series, has died at the age of 86 at her home in California, her family said on Monday. The actress “passed away peacefully at her California home surrounded by love” on Sunday, her husband, Franklin Lett, and her family said in a statement. The statement was posted on the family’s behalf by Reese’s co-star Roma Downey on her Instagram page. “Through her life and work she touched and inspired the lives of millions of people,” the statement added. No cause of death was given, but Reese suffered from diabetes which was diagnosed some 17 years ago. Detroit-born Reese was trained as a gospel singer, and first found fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s with pop and jazz hits like Don’t You Know. By 1969, she had her own talk show Della - the first to be hosted by an African-American woman. She then landed roles in shows like It Takes Two and Crazy Like a Fox. Her biggest part however was her role as the sarcastic supervisor angel Tess on the supernatural CBS TV series Touched By An Angel, which ran for nine years until 2003. Reese also sang the title song Walk With You. In the late 1980s, Reese started a church from her Los Angeles living room. The church, called Understanding Principles for Better Living, known as UP, later moved to its own facilities and Reese became known as The Reverend Dr. Della Reese Lett. Reese’s other TV and movie roles included Harlem Nights, Promised Land and The Royal Family. (DN)

BEYONCE IS 2017'S HIGHEST-PAID WOMAN IN MUSIC WITH $105 MILLION - Beyonce’s hit album Lemonade and world tour made her the highest-paid woman in music in 2017, according to an annual Forbes list on Monday, edging out Britain’s Adele and pop star Taylor Swift. The R&B singer earned some $105 million from record sales and from her Formation concert tour, according to Forbes. She also has her own Ivy Park fashion line and other business interests. Adele, whose 25 album broke first-week US sales records in 2015 and who completed her first major tour since 2011, made second place with an estimated $69 million, despite having no major endorsements for other products. Swift, who topped the last year’s list with $170 million in estimated earnings, raked in $44 million this time despite having finished her 1989 world tour. The singer is expected to see her earnings rise significantly in the next 12 months courtesy of her new album Reputation - the best-selling album of 2017 - and an upcoming tour. Canadian superstar Celine Dion took the No.4 spot, earning some $42 million after taking a break from her Las Vegas residency following the death of her husband Rene Angelil in January 2016. Forbes compiled the list after estimating pre-tax income for the 12 months from June 2016 to 2017, based on interviews with managers, agents, lawyers and some of the stars. It also looked at data from the Pollstar, the Recording Industry Association of America and tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan. (DN)

That’s all for today folks there are 44 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

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