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PM Mottley on official visit to SurinamePolice probe shootingOral hygiene helpExtraordinary chapterGood spirits

PM Mottley on official visit to Suriname
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Police probe shooting
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King: statement misconstrued
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Pine pain
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Have a heart
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Lack of funding crashes BRSA programmes
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100 million more
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Watch out for crooks!
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Columns

Business Process Outsourcing Revolution: Is Barbados ready?

Outsourcing of various non-core services started with multinational and large enterprise corporations, and emerged as a mainstream business in the mid-1990s. Since then, the outsourcing industry, which later came to be known as business process outsourcing (BPO), has been through several transitions. Now, small and medium-sized companies are seeking to outsource to reduce cost on non-core business expenses, high taxes,…
Get back to work

As a consulting engineer, I always provide my clients with my best professional advice, which they have the option of accepting or rejecting. Unless it is an imminent safety concern, I try not to get emotionally involved in any advice that I give. There are real consequences to providing sub-standard engineering advice. For example, it can be fatal to the…
Removing language barriers

“Talk Bajan, speak English.” I have adopted and adapted that motto to the thrust by the Prime Minister to encourage all Barbadians to be versatile in their language abilities. She has brought to the fore the issue of language skills and the ability to communicate effectively. The Prime Minister rightly pointed out that while there is an important role for…
Missed opportunities by the Caribbean

Over the course of last week, I participated in the XIII Inter-American meeting of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) which was held in the Dominican Republic. Organized by the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO), this was the second such meeting to be held in the Caribbean, with Jamaica having hosted the other in September 2012. As a regular observer…
“Bajan Broughtupsy” delights in Brooklyn

According to Negus Adeyemi and Empress Poetry, the founders and organizers of the Bajan Broughtupsy – a Barbados pre-Independence cultural concert - the 4th annual affair was an evening of fun and laughter, well attended, and surpassed expectations. Held last Saturday afternoon at the Black Lady Theater in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the event - a fusion of dance, folklore,…
Cannabis - legalize or not?

Over the last 30 years, few substances have elicited such stigma and polarizing debate among political, social and medical groups as cannabis has. But could legalizing cannabis be of social, medical and economic benefit to Barbados? I believe it could. The main active components found in the cannabis plant are cannabinoids. These are a diverse group of chemical compounds that…
Identity and dignity lost with the CCJ

The referenda, held individually in Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada, on replacing the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on November 6, were lost for the same reason that Brexit succeeded in the United Kingdom. The governing political parties in Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada, like the conservative party of then British…
The sweet truth - children at risk

In addition to oxygen, glucose is another important need for our brain function. It is the primary fuel for neurons to work. It is for this reason neurons store up glucose and need to constantly receive it from our body’s blood supply. Normal brain function requires 80 - 180mg of glucose per 100ml of blood. The excess range of 180-400mg…
In decision making, leadership by expanding ownership matters

I have always believed that the best way to manage an entity is to act as if you were the owner. I believe that this attitude gets the best results. It does not mean that all decisions are the best, but I am convinced that it is the best option. I think that I have been fortunate to have gained…
Education for economic growth

The time has come for us to evaluate the extent to which we have fully optimized the benefits of free education. The question to address is how can a developing country like Barbados, which spends six to seven per cent of GDP on education, translate this into economic growth. For this to be achieved, we must consider some key factors. This…

Lifestyle

Oral hygiene help

It’s often overlooked, but a person’s oral health can sometimes be an indicator of their overall wellbeing. Therefore, inculcating good dental health practices from early can play a significant role in staving off certain diseases. This view was expressed as the Ministry of Health and Wellness, in association with the Massy Foundation, launched a Dental Health Promotion Intervention on Monday,…
Extraordinary chapter

Her remarks drew spontaneous applause and as the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute’s 2018 valedictorian Melanie Worrell stood before her classmates as a true picture of success. Worrell topped the 305 SJPI full-time students graduating class of 2018 with a grade point average between 3.8 and 4.0, and division instructor and MC Wayne Maycock said that in addition to her excellent…
Good spirits

Colony Club by Elegant Hotels launched its ultimate rum experience with the opening of The Rum Vault at the St James luxury hotel. Director of Operations at Elegant Hotels, Gayle Talma said the initiative is in celebration of the hotel’s 70th anniversary, and she explained that management thought it fitting to refurbish the library at one of the island’s oldest…
Rock reaches the top

Barbadian Theo Rock has been selected among a batch of 27 employees of Sandals Resorts International (SRI) for management training. The lead technician of Sandals Barbados and Sandals Royal Barbados, who joined the company in 2015, will be training in the Engineering stream. He and the other 26 were recruited from among 138 applicants across the region to join the…
Ahoy!

The Port of Bridgetown welcomed two cruise ships on inaugural visits to Barbados at the start of this week. The Marella Explorer sailed in on Sunday with a crew of 798 and 1,790 passengers. The following day, the Carnival Pride made its entry with 941 crew and 2,118 passengers. Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds, speaking during the traditional plaque exchange…
Holder got moves!

Family and friends of Madaline Undine Holder were amazed at the dance moves she put down at the National Union of Public Workers auditorium, as they celebrated her 100th birthday. For several minutes, the elderly woman pushed her walking stick aside and danced to the beat of the Ruk-A-Tuk band. With relatives at hand to ensure she did not fall,…
Bouncing back

Tourism in the United States Virgin Island (USVI) is set to increase in the coming months as that territory bounces back from the effects of monster storms Irma and Maria, which left a trail of destruction and despair in their paths in September 2017. Besides an approximately $8 billion of ongoing investment in the three islands – St Croix, St…
Give and give generously

The season and spirit of giving was alive at Heroes Square, Bridgetown, Friday morning for the launch of the Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Appeal hosted by Scotiabank. Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic encouraged citizens to participate in philanthropic efforts despite the turbulent times that will ensue. “I am [saying to] all Barbadians, in spite of their…
Pathway to programming

Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean now have the first Coding School, The Source Code Developer Academy. Ten Habitat has partnered with a leading coding academy, Code Fellows out of the United States of America. The demand for people with IT skills is rapidly growing every year and studies show that the gap between demand and supply of skilled IT people…
Zika crackdown

Barbados is on the verge of a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly Aedes Aegypti mosquito, in an effort to neutralize the Zika virus. It comes in the form of a donation compliments USAID’s Zika AIRS (ZAP) program of an insectary where insects will be kept and studied as part of efforts to neutralize the disease. Although it’s…

World

Stan Lee, creator of Marvel superheroes passes away

SOURCE: REUTERS: Stan Lee, who dreamed up Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Panther and a cavalcade of other Marvel Comics superheroes that became mythic figures in pop culture with soaring success at the movie box office, died at the age of 95, his daughter said on Monday. As a writer and editor, Lee was key to the ascension of…
WORLD - Sanctions resume

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran greeted the re-imposition of US sanctions on Monday with air defense drills and a statement from president Hassan Rouhani that the nation faces a “war situation”, raising Mideast tensions as America’s maximalist approach to the Islamic Republic takes hold. The sanctions end all economic benefits America had granted Tehran for its 2015 nuclear deal with world…
WORLD - Officials fear all 189 people on plane that crashed were killed

JAKARTA -- After retrieving six bodies from the sea where an Indonesian passenger plane crashed near Jakarta Monday, search and rescue officials say they fear there will be no survivors. Lion Air flight JT 610 was carrying 189 people, including three children, when it disappeared from radar just 13 minutes after takeoff, according to Basarnas, Indonesia’s national search and rescue…
UK - Thai Leicester City owner, four others, were on crashed helicopter: source

(Reuters) - Leicester City soccer club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, a Thai tycoon, was among five people who were in a helicopter which crashed in a ball of flames after a Premier League match on Saturday, a source close to the club said. Also on board were one of Vichai’s two daughters, two pilots and a fifth person whose identity was…
USA - Gunman opens fire at U.S. synagogue

A gunman has entered a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and opened fire, police report. Emergency services arrived at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue at about 10 a.m. local time, according to reports. There are multiple casualties, a spokesman for the Pittsburgh police department said. A service was taking place at the time, according to the…
USA - Police: Florida schoolgirls planned to kill students, drink their blood

BARTOW – Two girls at a middle school in central Florida were waiting in a bathroom, planning to overpower at least 15 smaller students, kill them with knives and drink their blood, authorities said Wednesday. The Bartow Middle School students were arrested Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a weapon on school property, carrying a concealed…
WORLD - Migrants pause to honour dead man

HUIXTLA, Mexico — Still more than 1,000 miles from their goal of reaching the United States, a caravan of Central American migrants briefly halted their arduous journey Tuesday to mourn a fellow traveler killed in a road accident, and to rest weary, blistered feet and try to heal illnesses and injuries suffered on the road. Thousands awakened as the sun…
WORLD - Saudi Arabia says missing journalist is dead

ISTANBUL — Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a “fistfight” in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the kingdom said early Saturday, acknowledging the writer’s death for the first time. Authorities said 18 Saudi suspects were in custody for his slaying and intelligence officials had been fired. The overnight announcements in Saudi state media came more than two weeks after…
USA - ‘Rogue killers’

WASHINGTON — In a comment that could give Saudi officials a route to climb down from outright denials, president Donald Trump suggested Monday that “rogue killers” could be responsible for the disappearance and presumed murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who hasn’t been seen since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago. Trump’s comment came after a 20-minute phone…