BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jan 26, CMC – West Indies crushed hapless England by 381 runs inside four days here Saturday, to win the opening Test at Kensington Oval and take a shock 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.

Off-spinner Roston Chase snatched a career-best eight for 60 as England, chasing an improbable 628 for victory, crumbled meekly for 246, three quarters of an hour after tea.

Left-handed opener Rory Burns top-scored with 84, all-rounder Ben Stokes chipped in with 34 and Jonny Bairstow got 30, but England never came to grips with Chase, especially after lunch when they lost four critical wickets.

The day had started brightly when Burns and Keaton Jennings (14) put on 85 for the opening stand before Burns added another 49 for the second wicket with Bairstow.

But Burns perished to the penultimate ball before lunch to change the momentum of the morning, giving West Indies the opening they wanted.

Shannon Gabriel claimed Bairstow in the third over following the interval and the key wickets of captain Joe Root (22) and Stokes followed as England slid to 217 for six at tea.

Chase then took all four wickets in the final session to hands West Indies their second largest win ever against England.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jan 26, CMC – West Indies crushed hapless England by 381 runs inside four days here Saturday, to win the opening Test at Kensington Oval and take a shock 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.

Off-spinner Roston Chase snatched a career-best eight for 60 as England, chasing an improbable 628 for victory, crumbled meekly for 246, three quarters of an hour after tea.

Left-handed opener Rory Burns top-scored with 84, all-rounder Ben Stokes chipped in with 34 and Jonny Bairstow got 30, but England never came to grips with Chase, especially after lunch when they lost four critical wickets.

The day had started brightly when Burns and Keaton Jennings (14) put on 85 for the opening stand before Burns added another 49 for the second wicket with Bairstow.

But Burns perished to the penultimate ball before lunch to change the momentum of the morning, giving West Indies the opening they wanted.

Shannon Gabriel claimed Bairstow in the third over following the interval and the key wickets of captain Joe Root (22) and Stokes followed as England slid to 217 for six at tea.

Chase then took all four wickets in the final session to hands West Indies their second largest win ever against England.

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Barbados has recorded its second road fatality for 2019.

Police reported on Saturday that 30-year-old Hamal Amal Lamar Phillips of Jackson Terrace, Stage 2, St Michael, was injured in an accident which occurred along Black Rock Main Road on Monday January 21 around 12:12 p.m.

Phillips was the owner of motorcycle ME9157, while the other person involved was Robert Leslie Burrowes, 52, of #1 Glebe Land, St George.

Phillips succumbed to his injuries around 11:00 p.m. that night at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

On January 20, motorcyclist Mario Peters succumbed to injuries from an accident which occurred on Bay Street on January 3.

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jan 26, CMC – BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jan 26, CMC – Off-spinner Roston Chase’s career-best eight-wicket haul propelled a dominant West Indies to their second largest win ever over England, as they crushed the hapless visitors by 381 runs inside four days of the opening Test to take a shock 1-0 lead in the three-match series here Saturday.

The 26-year-old bowled brilliantly to take eight for 60 – the second-best performance ever by a West Indies bowler against England – as the tourists, chasing an improbable 628 for victory, crumbled meekly for 246, three quarters of an hour after tea at Kensington Oval.

Resuming the day on 56 with survival as the only realistic option, left-handed opener Rory Burns led the initial resistance with a top score of 84 while all-rounder Ben Stokes chipped in with 34 and Jonny Bairstow got 30.

Jos Buttler (26) and captain Joe Root (22) got starts but England never came to grips with Chase on a wearing track especially after lunch when they lost four critical wickets in a damaging slide.

They had looked in good stead at lunch on 134 for two but the decline in the second session saw them lose their last eight wickets for 112 runs handing the hosts their third largest Test victory in terms of runs.

The day had started brightly when Burns and Keaton Jennings (14) extended their opening stand to 85, to keep the Windies without any immediate success in the morning session.

Burns scored quickly, punching 15 fours off 133 balls in just under 3-¼ hours at the crease while Jennings opted for defense as his approach, in his boundary-less nearly 2-¼ hour stay at the crease.

Approaching the first hour, West Indies got the breakthrough when fast bowler Alzarri Joseph got Jennings to drive at a full length delivery and edge a catch high to Jason Holder’s left at second slip.

Burns then put on another 49 for the second wicket with the fluent Bairstow, in a stand which appeared to be taking England safely to lunch. But Chase breached Burns’s loose forward defensive stroke and bowled him between bat and pad with the penultimate delivery before the interval.

The real drama, however, started almost immediately following the resumption. Off the third ball, captain Joe Root fended off a lifter from speedster Shannon Gabriel to second slip where Holder took the gentle lob but television replays showed the bowler had overstepped.

Undaunted, Gabriel struck in his next over when he got Bairstow to glove one through to wicketkeeper Shai Hope, deputising for the injured Shane Dowrich.

Root made little of his reprieve when he departed on the stroke of the first hour after lunch, steering Chase to Darren Bravo at slip at 167 for four.

England then resisted through a 48-run fifth wicket stand between Stokes and Buttler, the former playing positively in an attempt to transfer England’s pressure.

Stokes went after Chase with a boundary to long on before clearing the ropes at long off in the same over.

But Chase struck two key blows in the last 13 minutes before tea when he first trapped Stokes lbw and then had Moeen Ali caught at second slip by Holder, driving at the penultimate ball before the break.

Tottering on 217 for six at the break, England were staring down the barrel and Chase duly performed the final rites as he took the last four wickets for the addition of only 29 runs.

With his first ball of the second over following the resumption, he claimed Buttler to an excellent catch by debutant John Campbell at short mid-wicket, to complete his second five-wicket haul in Tests.

And in his next over, Chase got his sixth wicket when Ben Foakes’s (5) attempted sweep found Shimron Hetmyer’s lap at short leg, and Adil Rashid (1) holed out to Kraigg Brathwaite at deep mid-wicket in the bowler’s next over, to put England on the brink.

The next Test starts at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua next Thursday.

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St Michael resident Kismar OBrian Bynoe is due back in court in May to answer to charges of handling stolen property.

Thirty-three-year-old Bynoe of #3 Brown’s Avenue, Bayland, St Michael, was charged with dishonestly assisting in the disposal of two Silver Toyota Axio motor cars valued at $47,000 and $56,000.

Police say the incidents occurred between October and December 2018 and between November 21 and 22 2018.

Bynoe appeared in the District A Criminal Court Number 2 on January 23, and was granted bail in the sum of $50,000 with two sureties. 

He was ordered to report to the District A Police Station, every Monday and Wednesday before 11:00 a.m.

He is scheduled to reappear at the District A Court on May 16.

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Scores of people gathered at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex on Saturday evening to witness the ordination of Reverend Michael Bruce St John Maxwell as the 14^th Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Barbados.

Maxwell, the rector of the Holy Trinity Church, was appointed last November by the regional House of Bishops after elections between with the Dean of the Cathedral of St Michael and All Angels, the Very Rev. Jeffrey Gibson and the rector of St George Parish Church, the Rev. John Rogers ended in a deadlock several times.

His ordination and consecration comes 11 months after former Bishop and Archbishop of the West Indies The Most Reverend Dr John Holder retired on February 28, 2018.

Hundreds of the Anglican faith were present to watch as the rector of Holy Trinity Church in St Philip received the pectoral cross, ring and staff from Senior Bishop Reverend Errol Brooks, Bishop of North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba.

Governor General Dame Sandra Mason, Chief Justice Sir Martson Gibson, and other dignitaries including Minister of Labour, Social Security and Human Resources, Colin Jordan; Minister of People’s Empowerment and Elder Affairs Cynthia Forde, and former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, attended the ceremony.

Reverend Dr Anthony Holder, rector of Holy Sacrament Episcopal Church and president of the standing committee in the Diocese of Southern Florida delivered the sermon.

Reverend Holder who has been Maxwell’s friend for three decades described him as “approachable and thoughtful, honest, humble, compassionate and down to earth”.

He reminded the newly ordained bishop that he was not alone as he took assumed this public role as the head of the Barbadian Diocese.

“Michael, you may be tempted to do this work alone, you might be so enthusiastic you think you can do it all by yourself you might think that by doing so you will receive the least resistance from others. You may think that by involving others they will only complicate matters or they might do it not the way you like it but let me tell you, you cannot do it on your own,” said Reverend Dr Holder.

“Let me encourage all of you to walk together as a Diocese, in this ministry of Jesus you will need to walk together to carry out the work of Christ.  Michael, you will need to walk together with the people you are called to serve the sheep of your flock, the ones you will shepherd. You will need to get to know the parishes of your people and their history. You will need to know the shops and the stores and even the rum shops,” he further advised.

Reverend Dr Holder went on to encourage the newly appointed bishop to “be a bishop of the people”, and urged the members of the Anglican Church to welcome all persons unconditionally regardless of their class, political affiliation or backgrounds.

“There are divisions and prejudices, favouritism and partiality in our country, in our world and even in our churches and at a time when more people are turning away from church but still calling themselves spiritual  . . . as a clergy and people we need to welcome all persons unconditionally. . . .

“The church must not intentionally exclude or make anyone feel uncomfortable from being a part of it no matter who they are. We need to treat people irrespective of who they are, as being created in the image of God.”

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Captain Jason Holder has become the first Windies player in 45 years to top the list of all-rounders in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after slamming an unbeaten double-century that helped script a memorable 381-run win over England in the first Test in Bridgetown.

Sir Garfield Sobers was at the top in March 1974 and Holder has now emulated him following his 202 not out off 229 balls in the second innings in Bridgetown, which is the third highest score by a number eight batsman in Test history after the Pakistan pair of Wasim Akram (257 not out) and Imtiaz Ahmed (209).

Holder, who was associated in an unbeaten seventh-wicket partnership of 295 with Shane Dowrich (116 not out), leapfrogged Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and India’s Ravindra Jadeja to grab the number one spot for the first time in his career.

Holder has also moved up the batting rankings to take a career-best 33^rd position, after gaining 25 places.

[caption id="attachment_288352" align="alignnone" width="650"] Captain Jason Holder (left) and Shane Dowrich at Kensington Oval.[/caption]

Dowrich has moved up to a career-best 47^th position among batsmen, having also scored 81 in the first innings of the match. Others to benefit in the update, that also took into account performances in the first Test in Brisbane which Australia won against Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs, included Shimron Hetmyer (up 11 places to 40^th) among batsmen and Kemar Roach (up five places to 20^th) and Roston Chase (up 14 places to 41^st) among bowlers. For England, Ben Stokes has moved up one place to 29^th among bowlers.

For Australia, Travis Head has moved up 17 places to 43^rd after scoring 84 runs in the Test while fast bowler Pat Cummins’s player of the match effort of a 10-wicket match haul has helped him move up one slot to grab a career-best third position among bowlers. His rating points are the highest for an Australia bowler since Ryan Harris tallied 870 in March 2014.

Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella has gained nine slots to take 37^th position among batsmen after scores of 64 and 24 while Suranga Lakmal (up two places to 31^st) and Lahiru Kumara (up one place to 39^th) have made upward movement among bowlers. (PR)

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Prime Minister Mia Mottley will join two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) colleagues in New York on Monday for talks with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss the crisis in Venezuela.

According to a statement from the CARICOM Secretariat, issued on Sunday evening, the regional delegation will be led by CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris of St Kitts and Nevis, and will also include Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

Grenada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter David, and CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque will also attend the talks at UN Headquarters.

The meeting is a follow up to the decision of CARICOM Heads of Government at their Special Emergency Meeting on Thursday which discussed the ongoing conflict in Venezuela.

The CARICOM Leaders agreed to request a meeting with the UN Secretary-General which he accepted.

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West Indies interim head coach Richard Pybus believes Saturday’s stunning 381-run victory over England in the opening Test was an indication of  the team's true potential.

The hosts handed England a crushing defeat at Kensington Oval to end the first Test with a full day and a half remaining.

“I’m delighted. The guys played extremely well – prepared well, executed well do I’m just very happy for the boys,” Pybus told reporters after the match.

“I think when you turn up and you deliver your game plans and you execute it really well with precision, it gives you an understanding of possibilities and what you can do down the line.

“They really turned up, they kept their focus, what we looked to do strategically, they did. I think that’s all credit to Jason and how he led the team and the boys.”

England resumed the final day on 56 without loss in search of an improbable 628 for victory, and reached lunch on 134 for two. However, four wickets tumbled in the second session as they lost their last eight wickets for 112 runs to be dismissed for 246 in their second innings.

Part-time off-spinner Roston Chase spearheaded the Windies’ attack, taking eight for 60 in a brilliant 21-over spell, in a performance Pybus described as “wonderful”.

“I just think the pressure created by the bowling unit was great,” Pybus said.

“You have four good quick bowlers. Roston bowled exceptionally well, his control was good, [there were] good fields, [he] built up a huge amount of pressure throughout the day and just his control and consistency. That will give him a huge amount of confidence going forward.

He added that the team complemented each other and “managed to put together good waves of pressure”.

“Interestingly on the fourth day we thought it would go up and down a little more than it did.

“But the quicks were good and I just think that the amount of pressure that was built up – I don’t want to say Roston didn’t bowl well; he bowled exceptionally well – but when you’ve got pressure from both ends it’s pretty tough for the batters.”

The two teams now travel to Antigua for the second Test which will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

Play starts on Thursday, January 31 and first ball daily is 10 a.m. (9 a.m. Jamaica Time).

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CRICINFO - Trevor Bayliss has questioned the "guts and determination" of his England side after their chastening defeat in the first Test in Barbados.

Bayliss, the England coach, described himself as "speechless" after the team's second batting collapse of the game and suggested some frank words would be exchanged within the squad after a performance that lacked "mental discipline".

While he defended England's preparations and selection, arguing that several players had simply not performed and that the batting errors gave the spinners little chance to bowl on a worn surface, he did acknowledge that Sam Curran had endured the "first bad game" of his career and that Keaton Jennings' struggles had him worried.

"I think it gets down to a bit of guts and determination to get through those tough periods," Bayliss said. "It's not the first time that we've succumbed in a short space of time. The boys are in the dressing room hurting and I'd be worried if they weren't.

"Do they lack mental discipline? Personally I think so. You don't have to have perfect technique to be able to score runs or take wickets: it's how you go about using it. On this occasion we've certainly been lacking in that department. I'm not sure I can repeat what has been said [in the dressing room]."

Bayliss did acknowledge West Indies' fine bowling - especially in the first innings when Kemar Roach claimed a five-wicket haul - but felt England should have coped better throughout, especially when Roston Chase was on his way to an eight-wicket haul in the second innings.

[caption id="attachment_288493" align="alignnone" width="650"] Moeen Ali fell for a pair just before tea (Associated Press)[/caption]

"They did bowl well, but every time a team does that we shouldn't be expecting to get knocked over for 77," he said. "In the second innings, the guys looked like they were trying, we made good starts but at this level you have to be able to bat longer than that.

"Chase bowled a good line and a good length. He didn't give us any easy runs to get off strike. He built that pressure up, broke down our techniques on a couple of occasions and there were some poor shots on some occasions. That adds up to eight wickets.

"It's not the first time this has happened. Every time we lose a wicket it's the beginning of a collapse. And to be honest, I don't know how to explain it. There's nothing that stands out in your preparation or the lead up to the game that is any different to when we win. We have to work out what's the difference between when we put on a partnership after losing a wicket and losing eight or nine quick ones."

The decision to omit Stuart Broad and play two spinners has been widely criticised in recent days, but Bayliss believes it was not so much the decisions that were wrong as the performances. He did suggest, however, that Broad had been missed and that his inclusion would be considered ahead of the second Test.

"We made a decision in the belief that the five guys we picked would go out and bowl as well as they can do," he said. "Unfortunately, on this occasion, they didn't.

"When we saw the wicket we were going to go with two spinners. Unfortunately, we didn't bat well enough in the first innings to get through to the fourth or fifth day, where the two spinners could take advantage. And I think they would be disappointed [with their performance]. Chase bowled very few short balls, but we let them off with easy singles so you can't put pressure on the batsmen.

"It was down to Curran and Broad [for the final seamer]. Our gut feel was Curran as he has done well for us over the last six or seven games. It didn't work out like that, the young bloke has had his first bad Test in his career. It won't be his last but he's a good young player who will learn from it.

[caption id="attachment_288492" align="alignnone" width="570"] Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes were on hand for 12th man duty (Associated Press)[/caption]

"One of his advantages of playing someone like Stuart is that he doesn't go for too many runs, hopefully picks up some wickets, but gives us control. That stood out in this match, with only [James] Anderson and [Ben] Stokes being able to provide that line-and-length bowling and a bit of pressure on the opposition. We'll have to revisit that in the next match."

While Bayliss celebrated the performance of Rory Burns, who made a career-best 84 in the second innings, he accepted Jennings' struggles against seam bowling were a worry and also suggested that, in a perfect world, he would prefer to see at least one four-day, first-class games ahead of a Test series.

"Burns has shown enough," he said. "He looks like he's been here for 20 or 30 Tests, not four. He's still learning and will still get better.

"Keaton is struggling a little bit. I'd be lying if I said we're not worried about it and I'd be lying if I said he hadn't been thinking about it. He's one of the hardest workers we've got and he's going to leave no stone unturned in making it better.

"We prepared the same way as we did in Sri Lanka. Two two-day games. But we knew what we were going to get in Sri Lanka. Here we were a bit unsure. We were expecting it to be not as dry and go in with four seamers and one spinner.

"Personally I would like to play some first-class games before the series, but you've only got four days scheduled, and if you want to give everyone a go, it is difficult. It's the way of the world these days."

England fly to Antigua on Monday with the second Test starting there on Thursday.

(Cricinfo)

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Miss Lilian Carmen Batson, celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by family and friends at her Montrose, Christ Church residence today.

The island’s latest centenarian also enjoyed the company of Governor General Dame Sandra Mason.(kk)

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The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training has advised that the Coleridge and Parry School, at Ashton Hall, St Peter, will be closed from tomorrow, Tuesday, January 29.

It will remain closed for the rest of the week to allow authorities to address an environmental problem there.

The Ministry regrets any inconvenience this closure may cause. (BGIS)

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Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s recent appointment of former Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin as a crime consultant to the current Commissioner Tyrone Griffith has raised a red flag from ex-Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite.

Last Friday Mottley told a press conference at Parliament Buildings that Dottin was being brought back to the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) to lend “his skills” to the crime fight.

While the Prime Minister did not elaborate, her Attorney General Dale Marshall later explained that Dottin, who was sent on administrative leave during the previous Democratic Labour Party administration’s tenure amid allegations of illegal wiretapping being carried out by the Force, would be advising Griffith on crime matters. Dottin had denied the wiretapping allegations. Two members of the Special Branch had given sworn affidavits to the Police Service Commission that they had carried out the wiretappings under instructions. Those officers have recently been transferred from the Special Branch.

“I believe that this will be an opportunity, first to welcome the former commissioner back in the area of lending his skills in helping us deal with the issue. The current commissioner has welcomed him and has welcomed the advice of the former commissioner because he recognizes that many of these issues have presented themselves in Barbados society in the past,” Marshall said on Friday.

However, former Attorney General Brathwaite is not buying that.

[caption id="attachment_288516" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Darwin Dottin and Former Attorney-General Adriel Brathwaite[/caption]

“I find it difficult to support such an appointment. What does it say about the deputy and other Gazetted officers,” Brathwaite told Barbados TODAY this afternoon.

He also saw the return of Dottin as having an adverse impact on the morale of the constabulary.

“I can only see such an appointment undermining the confidence that the rank and file and the ordinary man in the street have in the [present] commissioner who in my opinion has been doing an excellent job in tackling crime in this country, [while] repairing a fractured police force which he inherited,” Brathwaite warned.

This development comes on the heels of a frightening spike in gun violence which is responsible for five of the eight murders so far and a decision by the Prime Minister to relieve Home Affairs Minister Edmund Hinkson of those duties related to law and order and reassign them to AG Marshall.

Meanwhile, the former Attorney General has hit back at Government accusations that the police force was starved of resources under his watch, resulting in the present crime situation.

“It is not true. Yes, we had certain measures in place that all ministries were impacted. But over the last three years, if my memory serves me correctly, the [then] Minister of Finance made it quite clear, that when it comes to law and order that we would not be compromising this society by [being] forced to cut back within the ministries [the AG’s Office and Barbados Defence Force (BDF)],” he added.

He recalled that the former Minister of Finance had told the commissioner during the time of the last Democratic Labour Party Estimates he would get what he requested.

“The police were given the resources that they required. They didn’t get everything that they would have liked. No ministry gets everything that they would like. But it is untrue to say that they were starved of resources and that impacted on their ability to solve crime because they were solving crimes all along,” the ex-Attorney General told Barbados TODAY.

 Brathwaite also conceded that he would have liked to see more police officers on the streets and an increase in community policing.

In further defending his stewardship as Minister in charge of the police, he said he had discussed with the commissioner removing officers from doing clerical duties to undertaking actual crime-fighting.

“Certainly as Attorney General and certainly as an administration, we didn’t put our hands up in the air and said we could not do anything to arrest the issue of gun violence in this country. We identified what was required,” contended the former legal advisor to the DLP Government.  He insisted that his administration did more training for officers during the tenure of the present commissioner than was done in the three years previous.

Barbados TODAY reached out to former commissioner Dottin for comment, but he declined to speak at this time.

Another former commissioner Grantley Watson said he was not in a position to comment as yet, while his predecessor Orville Durant said he was not touching the issue of Dottin’s appointment.

“You are dragging me into the political thing and all of that . . . I don’t want that. I have had enough of that in my life,” declared the ex-top cop.

Barbados TODAY also sought to hear from Sir Elliott Belgrave, who, as then Governor General, was called upon by the Police Service Commission (PSC) to sanction its recommendation that Dottin be sent on administrative leave.

However, Sir Elliott refused to be drawn into any discussion on the Dottin issue, insisting that he was retired.

When contacted, president of the Barbados Police Association (BPA) Mervin Grace made it clear that Dottin’s appointment was not an issue for its members.

“He is there to consult to the commissioner of police on the matters in relation to the crime situation, not the other internal running of the force,” Grace said.

This would mark the first occasion in modern Barbados’ history that a retired police commissioner has been brought back to serve as a consultant/advisor to a sitting commissioner of police and/or Government. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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The United Progressive Party is demanding Government provides greater details on the consultative function to be performed by former Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin.

As a matter of fact, head of the UPP Lynette Eastmond says she is puzzled as to what unique services the retired lawman could bring to the table, suggesting that the move could be construed as questioning the competence of current Police Commissioner Tyrone Griffith. She also called on the Prime Minister to state how much, if any, was Dottin’s consultancy going to cost the taxpayers.

“I don’t have any idea what former Police Commissioner Dottin’s role is meant to be. I don’t think that was outlined. I have had no reason to believe our current Commissioner of Police [Tyrone Griffith] isn’t up to the task,” said Eastmond

During Mottley’s press conference on Friday, Attorney General Dale Marshall provided rationalization for leaning on the expertise of Dottin, noting that the current Commissioner of Police has welcomed the input.

“I believe that this will be an opportunity for us to welcome former Commissioner back into the area of lending his skills to helping us to deal with this issue. The current Commissioner has welcomed him and has welcomed the advice of the former Commissioner because we recognize that many of these issues have presented themselves to the Barbadian society in the past,” he explained. Griffith also spoke at the media briefing on Friday but he did not address Dottin’s return

Marshall further pointed out that “these kinds of spikes are not unknown to Barbados, but perhaps more importantly [the move to bring in Dottin] is a demonstration of the fact that every single Barbadian, former police officers, have an opportunity and a role to play in dealing with these issues.”

However, this morning Eastmond revealed that she was far from satisfied with the Attorney General’s explanation. She pointed out that based on her knowledge as an officer of the court, the police are in desperate need of forensic resources and suggested that area should receive first priority.

[caption id="attachment_288519" align="aligncenter" width="600"] UPP leader Lynette Eastmond and public relations officer Wayne Griffith at today’s media briefing.[/caption]

“The police force itself needs additional resources in terms of their crime detection, gathering of evidence and maintenance of evidence. I don’t know if the former Commissioner is going to bring any of those services. Maybe he is going to do research to see how we could improve the current force, but we need to know what his role is,” said Eastmond, who called on either the Prime Minister or Attorney General to spare the country the guessing game.

Eastmond made it clear that she was not impressed with the rest of the Prime Minister’s plan to combat the worrying issue of gun violence.

Describing it as a public relations exercise, Eastmond charged that Mottley’s remedy for the gun violence scourge, which has claimed five lives and injured 13 persons, was essentially a mop-up exercise rather than an actual fix.

“We do not believe that the measures go far enough to get to the root of the issue, especially as it relates to guns. As a friend once told me, you don’t get a mop and bucket to fix a leak. So, to have additional soldiers to deal with a situation that currently exists does not stop the rot at the core. Having soldiers and police officers walk through communities is just optics, it is PR, we really want to get to the root of the problem,” said Eastmond, who was speaking at a press conference this morning held at the Courtyard Marriot Hotel.

The UPP leader contended that the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) was in power for almost a year and therefore had no excuse for coming with a strategy that only scratched the surface of the issue.

“We should have received something that was better structured. Any structure that is put in place to deal with this issue has to take into account, not just police officers whose mandate it is to deal with crime when it occurs, but it must also involve personnel who deal with prevention of crime and community issues and early intervention,” she stressed. colvillemounsey@barbadostoday.bb

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Forty per cent of products is escaping the ten per cent tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB), prompting a researcher at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies to recommend adjustments to close the loophole.

Miriam Alvarado is suggesting that the definition of taxable goods be amended to include a broader range of products such as powdered juices and other types of drinks like mauby.

The Gates Scholar and PhD candidate has been conducting research into SSBs since 2015, the year Barbados became one of the few countries to implement the measure.

Utilizing research from The Health of the Nation Study, she found that about 75 per cent of the people surveyed consumed an equal amount of taxed and untaxed SSBs. Men were consuming significantly more of the taxed drinks, which, she said, was likely due to their preference for energy drinks.

“What we found was that sugary drink levels are extremely high in Barbados. Nine out of ten adults report drinking SSBs on any given day. Of those, they are drinking quite a lot of them, two and a half servings, which is four or five times higher than the global average,” Alvarado noted.

She reminded that SSB’s were linked to increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, obesity and dental cavities.

The ten per cent tax is paid by manufacturers and distributors and has reportedly resulted in an approximate six per cent increase in the retail prices of affected products. The PhD candidate said upcoming research will show this has been linked to a decrease in the sale of SSBs.

The Cave Hill researcher told Barbados TODAY the decision by the government to implement the tax was sensible but added that accompanying intervention was necessary to achieve the maximum benefit.

“There’s also scope to, perhaps, have more awareness and education around the fact that this free sugars (any sugars added to a food or drink) tend to be quite a health risk for many persons and those aren’t only sugars found in carbonated drinks like sodas but also in things like juices. Even the 100 per cent fruit juices have so much sugar that from that perspective they may not be the healthiest choice,” she added.

Alvarado was among several researchers who presented their work at the recently-held 7th Annual Faculty of Medical Sciences Graduate Symposium of UWI, Cave Hill.

Her presentation was titled, Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean population.

Just last year, Director of the George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre Professor Alafia Samuels recommended a doubling of the SSB tax as a more effective deterrent. She said research has shown that in 2010, 33 per cent of nine and ten-year-olds were overweight or obese, an increase from 8.5 per cent in 1981.

The director also agreed that additional intervention was needed.

The post SSB loophole appeared first on Barbados Today.

The final episode in the extended process of appointing a new Bishop was finally concluded with the enthronement of the Right Reverend Michael Bruce St John Maxwell this evening.

The 14th Bishop to hold the position, Reverend Maxwell’s enthronement service at the St Michael’s Cathedral, symbolically started with the Bishop standing outside of the door with his Chaplain and knocking three times.

“Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord,” he said to Dean of St Michael Cathedral, the Reverend Jeffrey Gibson, who, standing on the inside, unlocked the door after the third knock.

[caption id="attachment_288567" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Bishop of Barbados Michael Bruce St John Maxwell (right) and other members of the clergy during this evening’s ceremony.[/caption]

The symbolic gesture introduced the large congregation at St Michael’s row to their new Bishop who was welcomed into the fanfare of trumpets.

“I, Michael Bruce St John Maxwell, by divine permission Bishop of Barbados, having been duly appointed and confirmed, make my request to you, Very Reverend brother, that I be conducted to the Bishop’s Seat in the Cathedral Church of Barbados, there to be inducted, installed and enthroned according to ancient usage and prescriptive right,” said Maxwell as he offered himself for service.

To which Reverend Gibson replied: “Michael, our Right Reverend Father in God, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we, the chapter of your cathedral church, together with the people of this diocese, bid you welcome to your cathedral church of St Michael and All Angels.”

The symbolic Anglican service continued with a number of prayers, the Reading of the mandate, the examination conducted by the Canons, the Archdeacon and the Dean and finally the oath. During the final step, the new Bishop swore to observe and defend the rights of the church and the diocese. He also promised to lead, “with truth, justice and charity, not lording it over God’s heritage, but in all things endeavoring to show myself a servant and an example to the flock.”

The new bishop was then introduced to his ‘flock.’

On Saturday evening, scores of people gathered at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex to witness the ordination of Reverend Michael Bruce St John Maxwell following his appointment last November by the regional House of Bishops. It occurred after elections between with the Dean of the Cathedral of St Michael and All Angels, the Very Rev. Jeffrey Gibson and the rector of St George Parish Church, the Rev. John Rogers ended in a deadlock several times.

The post Bishop Maxwell enthroned appeared first on Barbados Today.

For the third consecutive year, Barbadian soca artiste Marzville will be vying for the 2019 Fantastic Friday International Soca Monarch.

The Give It To You singer has made it to the semifinals of the extremely competitive soca competition. Known locally for his versatility and sweet and bashment soca hits, Marzville whose real name is Omar McQuilkin, is the only Barbadian contending for the competition. With 2019 marking the return of the power and groovy soca categories, he will be vying for the groovy soca title with his 2018 single Wuk produced by Dj Spider and Sir Fingaz. The song has been well received on the Trinidadian airwaves.

He will be going up against 22 semifinalists. Speaking to Barbados TODAY, Marzville said he was excited to make it to the semifinals and wave the Barbadian flag high.

“It feels really good because this is another year making it. . . I’m the only Bajan to be in the semifinals out of all the contestants in both competitions.

“It means now I have to show that no matter how much numbers are in the competition from Barbados that we are still powerful . . . I have to show the strength of Barbados,” the Gas It Up singer said.

“I’m going to put on a good show,” he added

He will be departing for the twin-island republic on February 2 for the semi-finals which will be held February 10 at the Arima Velodrome, Arima, Trinidad and Tobago.

Fifteen contestants from the semi-finals will compete in the finals on Fantastic Friday, March 1.

The post Marzville only Bajan in semis appeared first on Barbados Today.

Lilian Carmen Batson, affectionately known as Ma Carmen, celebrated her 100th birthday today with family, friends and the Governor General of Barbados Dame Sandra Mason.

The retired labourer, mother to six children - two boys and four girls - is also grandmother to 21, great-grandmother to 17 and great-great-grandmother to four. A former employee of Kendal Plantation in St. John, Ma Carmen was born and bred in that same neighborhood until she moved to Montrose, Christ Church.

The matriarch of the Batson family told the media she “worked hard, hard” in her heyday and even at 100 years old she maintains an active lifestyle.

[caption id="attachment_288564" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Centenarian Lilian Batson receives a birthday card from Governor General Dame Sandra Mason.[/caption]

There wasn’t a job Ma Carmen wasn’t willing to do. During the day she worked the cane fields and in the late evenings she grew produce to sell on weekends at the Cheapside Market.

Her daughter Mavis Batson was overcome with emotion as she recalled how her mother singlehandedly raised and sent all of her children to school. Two of them received vocational training and four proceeded to secondary school and later tertiary-level educational institutions.

“My mother was so little and the baskets [for the cane] were so big - she was so strong. Even though she would work seven to seven she would leave and come out, plant canes and in the hard times when there was little field work, she would come out at night and plant cabbage and lettuce so she could take it to the market whenever,” her daughter recalled.

Batson, who is her mother’s fifth child, described her mother as “a loving, gentle, caring and giving person”.

Overwhelmed as she talked about the sacrifices her mother made for her family, Batson shared that she always prayed that her mother would make it to a century. She revealed that they often cruised and vacationed together.

Despite suffering a heart attack, the centenarian continues to be very independent and lively. Batson revealed that her mother remained a devoted member of the Christ Church Parish Church where she was active in the Mothers’ Union and the church army.

She instilled in all her children and their offspring the value of pray and belief in God. Her steadfast faith was evident as she erupted in a chorus of Ketch A Fire with the Governor General.

“She made sure that we had a good education and we went to church. We didn’t ask if we could go to church, we had to go to church,” Batson emphasized.

“On Old Year’s night, she prays from 12 o clock to 6 o clock in the morning . . . all night long.”

The centenarian’s eldest grandchild Waveney Rouse said that Ma Carmen was “a praying grandmother”. Rouse pointed out that her grandmother’s teachings and unyielding faith were embedded in her family.

“I would always pray to God that she would make 100. I wanted that and I asked God for it,” Rouse stated.

The post Ma Carmen reaches 100 appeared first on Barbados Today.

The controversial structure which once served as the entrance to the Villages in Coverley, Christ Church, is gone.

And while the African Heritage Foundation (AHF), which had lobbied for its removal is pleased it is no longer there, they now want the charges against a mother who was hauled before the courts after her son was killed when her vehicle collided with the structure, dropped.

President of the AHF Paul Simba Rock told Barbados TODAY he was glad motorists traversing the Adams section of the ABC Highway no longer had to worry about the dangers of the protrusion, however, he said the organization was still very peeved that Felisha Osula Holder continued to face a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, following the death of her son on June 26, 2015. Almost three years after the accident in which 11-year-old Abijah Holder Phillips lost his life, Felisha Osula Holder was charged with the offence.

[caption id="attachment_288576" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The structure which used to exist at the entrance to the Villages at Coverley has finally been removed. Inset, Felisha Osula Holder. [/caption]

He said the organization had sent a petition to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution calling for the matter which has now been moved to the High Court to be dismissed.

“I am glad it has been removed and that a safer structure has been built so that it is no more a danger to others. But I don’t want people to forget that a young man’s life was lost,” Rock said.

“We are still very peeved and bewildered that the only person brought into account for the accident is the mother and not the developer.”

Rock said what was especially worrying was that then Opposition Leader Mia Mottley had joined in the call for action to be taken against developer Mark Maloney but since her election as Prime Minister he had not heard her voice on the matter.

“Before this accident occurred, based on what the Town and Country Planning Department had said, that structure was illegal and it remained there and a young man lost his life. A mother is now paying for something she should not be,” Rock said.

“This is unfair and since winning the election Mark Maloney has not been called into account for what happened.”

Meanwhile, president of the Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA) Charmaine Roland-Bowen is over the moon that Maloney has finally come good on his promise to remove the contentious protrusion.

While that area has now been completely blocked off, a roundabout has been constructed to ensure a safe exit and entrance to persons entering the residential area, as well as those traversing that stretch of the highway.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Bowen said she was happy to see alternative arrangements had been made.

“That posed a serious threat as there were a number of collisions, including a death which would have happened there. By moving it, it increases the measure of safety for persons using that area of the road. The roundabout is a good move. We believe it is a lot safer and you’re at less risk because it is a safety measure which will allow persons to slow down and it is a good improvement for what has happened there,” Roland-Bowen said.

She said the improvements were particularly timely, following the relocation of hundreds of students from the Ross University School of Medicine to Coverley, which meant there would be increased traffic in the area.

However, Roland-Bowen said there were still some areas which needed to be upgraded for the safety of motorists.

She pointed to stretch of road leading from the Henry Forde roundabout at Newton, Christ Church, that she said needed “some remedial work done”.

The BRSA president also called for the government to replace a number of streetlights on the highway which were not functional and posed a serious threat to drivers.

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb

The post Danger gone appeared first on Barbados Today.

The National Organization of Women (NOW) is calling on authorities to take a closer look at the circumstances surrounding the bizarre string of violent events which last week claimed the lives of three women in less than 48 hours.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Marsha Hinds, the outspoken public relations officer of the National Organization of Women (NOW), drew a comparison between the country’s onslaught of violence, the economic situation and dysfunctional families. She argued that with the triad of problems all present in Barbados, an increase in violence against women was likely to follow.

“It’s not really strange when you understand the trajectory of Barbados’ crime situation and the relationship that I at least think there is between the crime situation and things like unaddressed family situations and of course the economic situation overall.

“When you get those three things together, the crime trajectory, the economic situation and the family dysfunction that is still very closely linked, it is not very surprising that women are caught up in the statistics with the respect to death,” she said.

Last Monday the body of a woman suspected to be that of Dr Sarah Sutrina, a University of the West Indies lecturer was found near River Bay, St Lucy, and another woman identified only as “Joanne” was discovered within hours at Northumberland, also in St Lucy. Following that incident, 69-year-old Martha Agatha Doyle was killed while at the Vauxhall Senior Citizens home. The deaths make up three of Barbados’ eight murders, which occurred within the first three weeks of 2019.

However Hinds, in her analysis said she believed many of the brazen killers are “problematic” individuals, whose inclination to violence was not only directed toward those regarded as their enemies.

“So really you’re talking about unaddressed issues that people have and take account for softer crimes. Intimate partner crimes, violence toward children and animals, so in that context I am not at all surprised that women would make up some of the victims because all types of crime are related and those are the kinds of discussions I think that we have to have and the linkages that we have to understand if we are serious about addressing the situation,” she said, adding that, “violence doesn’t only start with a man going out there and murdering another man. The individuals who perpetrate crime are not just problematic when they go out and shoot somebody. They are problematic full stop.”

Hinds argued that interventions are needed from a young age before the ‘problematic’ individuals develop into more menacing societal figures.

“We see them, for instance, coming through the school system and causing disruption there. Many of them are known to the court before they before they get into these serious crimes,” she said.

While acknowledging that she respected the ongoing police investigations and did not wish to cast definite judgments on the cases, Hinds added that “generally the cases point to some of the overarching concerns that we continue to try to educate people about with respect to culture, value of women and the way that we interact with each other in the society. I think that we have to pay attention to that . . . we have to understand the very deep-rooted challenges that really drive the crime situation in Barbados,” she stressed.

The issue of violence against women was also raised repeatedly over the weekend at the Miss Big and Beautiful Barbados Pageant. Tonia Husbands, Director of the pageant said in addition to the many challenges facing plus-sized women, the issue of violence is one which women of all backgrounds needed to have addressed.

“Violence against women is unacceptable, regardless of whatever the situation. I am so glad that at least one of my contestants highlighted it tonight,” said Husbands.

The post ‘Violent attacks deep-rooted’ appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police might have a suspected serial killer on their hands.

Barbados TODAY understands that a man is presently in police custody in connection with the brutal killings of at least two females and one male.

He is expected to be charged for these murders soon.

The man is being held in relation to the deaths of two women whose battered bodies were found in St Lucy within the space of 24 hours last week.

One body was discovered at River Bay with significant injuries to her head on January 22, while the body of the other woman was found lying on her back next to an abandoned car in a bushy area at Northumberland on January 21.

The suspect is also being questioned in connection with the 2018 murder of 68-year-old Tyrone Austin of Free Hill, St Michael, whose body was discovered in a track near the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, Cave Hill, St Michael on December 18.

Austin’s head was also said to have been bashed in. 

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