Carib Scope

标签： Barbados

巴巴多斯

  • Another Caribbean newspaper to cease publication after 31 years

    Another Caribbean newspaper to cease publication after 31 years

    After 31 years of continuous, award-winning coverage of politics, culture and community life in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the country’s long-running newspaper Searchlight will join a growing list of shuttered Caribbean news outlets when it ceases all operations next month. Parent company Interactive Media Limited announced this week that the title will run its final print edition on September 25, and will pause all digital operations pending a full review of the brand’s future, marking the end of an era for one of the Caribbean’s most recognizable local news institutions.

    Searchlight’s impending closure is not an isolated event, but the latest symptom of a cascading crisis that has swept through the Caribbean’s independent media sector in 2025. Earlier this year, two of the region’s most historic print titles shut their doors permanently: after 32 years of publication, Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday wound down operations in January, and just two months later, Guyana’s 39-year-old independent stalwart Stabroek News ceased print and digital publication amid voluntary liquidation of its parent company. Even digital-native outlets have not escaped the pressure: in July 2025, regional digital news platform Loop News, which operated across 11 Caribbean markets for more than a decade, shut down after its parent company Digicel Group made the strategic decision to exit consumer-facing content and refocus on its core enterprise telecommunications business.

    The leaders of the shuttered outlets have pointed to a consistent set of interconnected challenges that have made independent, professional news production unviable across the region. Grant Taylor, managing director of Newsday, described the industry’s struggles as a “perfect storm of challenges” that has pushed once-stable titles into unresolvable debt. For print titles in particular, the pressures have been acute: decades of declining circulation have been paired with a collapse in print advertising revenue, while rising costs for materials, distribution and labor have eaten further into already thin margins. Even outlets that have pivoted to digital operations have failed to offset these losses, as both audiences and advertising spending have shifted overwhelmingly to global social media and big tech platforms that siphon off revenue that once sustained local news organizations.

    The loss of Loop News, which was built from the ground up as a regional digital operation, dealt a particularly sharp blow to hopes that an online-only model would solve the industry’s survival crisis. The platform’s closure proved that simply moving operations online is not enough to secure long-term sustainability for Caribbean news organizations, leaving industry leaders searching for new solutions to the sector’s deep structural problems.

    Wesley Gibbings, vice president of the Media Institute of the Caribbean, warned earlier this year that the region is currently in a “watershed period” for independent journalism. As more advertising dollars flow to global tech giants rather than local news outlets, the survival of professional, local reporting that holds power to account and serves community information needs is increasingly uncertain. Searchlight’s shutdown has amplified these concerns, with media practitioners warning that the growing wave of closures risks eroding media diversity and leaving communities across the Caribbean without access to independent, trusted local news.

    Unlike the other outlets that have permanently closed this year, Searchlight has left the door open to a potential future reboot. While the print edition will end for good on September 25, the title’s digital operations are only being paused, not permanently canceled, as Interactive Media Limited conducts a full review of the operation’s long-term strategic direction. For now, though, the end of Searchlight’s 31-year run marks another major blow to the Caribbean’s struggling independent media landscape.

  • BGIS urged to build on CBU Media Awards success

    BGIS urged to build on CBU Media Awards success

    Barbados has made history at the 37th annual Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Media Awards held in Guyana, turning in a dominant performance that secured the island nation 15 total awards and eight special mentions — with the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) leading the charge by claiming seven awards and one special honor. The landmark results marked a clear improvement from the BGIS’s 2023 showing, where the agency took home five awards and three special mentions, a progress highlighted by top government officials during a celebratory awards presentation this week.

    At the Wednesday ceremony honoring winning teams from BGIS, the National Transformation Initiative (NTI), and Barbados Community College (BCC), Minister of Information Gregory Nicholls pushed the BGIS to build on its recent momentum, setting an ambitious target for future competitions. “This time we converted the special mentions into actual awards along with one special mention,” Nicholls noted. “So I expect by next year we will double in this because you’ve done a little bit of an improvement this year, so next year I’m expecting us to work together. Notice I said for us to leave the gap between you and the competition so far behind that they don’t worry about these awards in 2028.”

    Nicholls emphasized that the cross-category wins — spanning digital content, public service announcements, television, radio, and cultural reporting — debunk any skepticism around the quality of state-run media, proving that public media institutions can not only meet but exceed the highest industry standards for creative excellence and factual accuracy. Beyond journalistic quality, the minister framed BGIS as a cornerstone of Barbados’s national identity, positioning the agency as a critical player in the country’s cultural defense against external misinformation and inauthentic storytelling.

    “GIS has aided in bridging the gap between the state and citizens,” Nicholls said. “We all grew up hearing a lot of the programmes of GIS almost naturally on the radio and on television, seeing them a lifetime. I’ve been emphasising that the GIS like a number of other institutions in Barbados, the National Cultural Foundation, the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, are all important institutions in our cultural defence as a people. While other institutions overseas and abroad may offer skill and size and resources that are able to do things more efficiently, they’re not going to tell the authentic Barbadian story. They’re not going to be able to secure any legacy and what we as Barbadian people have achieved. They’re not going to be able to tell us objectively what is fact and what is fiction, what is news and information from disinformation and misinformation.”

    CBU President Anthony Greene echoed Nicholls’ praise, noting that Barbados’s top-to-bottom victory is unprecedented in the modern history of the regional awards, and crediting both veteran media teams and first-time entrants for the island’s success. “This is not a statement to overlook,” Greene said. “This is testimony that government information services do good media work, that is to be applauded, that is to be recognised and acknowledged and of course, it, like I said, led the charge of Barbados for the first time in the modern era, the CBU Awards Barbados dominated the regional competition in a number of trophies and certificates won, and it was ably supported by first-time entrants as well.”

    Greene specifically highlighted the performance of BCC, a first-time participant that earned recognition in the CBU’s brand-new student reporting category, noting that academic-media partnerships are key to sustaining a strong, independent media sector across Caribbean democracies. “[It] gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the work of the Barbados Community College because academia and media plays a critical part to the continuity of a sector that is critical to our democracies,” he added.

    Stein Hansen, acting United Nations Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, also extended congratulations to all winning teams, noting that the range of recognized work reflects the consistently high quality of Barbadian media across beats. This year marked the launch of the UN’s new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Champion award, created to elevate Caribbean media coverage of pressing global and regional issues including climate action, gender equality, public health, and equitable economic opportunity.

    “This speaks to the quality of the work being produced in newsrooms and studios across the island,” Hansen said. “I’m especially proud that for the first time, the United Nations presented the [SDG] Champion award. We launched this award to recognise the stories being told across the Caribbean media on climate action, gender equality, health, and economic opportunity- essential work in service of our shared future.”

    A full breakdown of BGIS’s awards saw Paula Harper-Grant and Rommel Cumberbatch take home Best Public Service Advertisement – Digital for *Bees in Agriculture* and Best Public Service Advertisement – Television for *Christmas Praedial Larceny*, while Harper-Grant and Andre Olton won Best Public Service Advertisement – Radio for *Encouraging Good Hand Hygiene*. A team of eight journalists including Mikul Elcock, Aisha Reid, and Andre Olton claimed Financial Literacy Journalism – Television for *Money Matters: Navigating Your Financial Future*. Sheena Forde-Craigg and Tyson Henry won Excellence in Media Coverage of Caribbean Arts and Culture – Print for *Beyond Buns and Flying Fish*, and also earned a special mention for Best News Story – Print for *Tourism, Airlift, Accolades and Arrivals*. Elcock additionally won Best Director – Television, and Olton took home Best Sound Engineer – Radio.

    Outside of BGIS, the NTI received a special mention in the SDG Champion category for its digital feature *Interview with STARR Bajan – Janelle Skinner*, and BCC student Victoria Boyce earned a special mention in the new Best Student Item – Digital category for her reporting project *Female Students Stepping Into Male Spaces*. The landmark wins have set a new bar for regional media competition, with leaders across government and the CBU already looking ahead to next year’s event.

  • King Charles to visit three regional countries

    King Charles to visit three regional countries

    This autumn, the United Kingdom’s King Charles III will embark on a multi-stop Caribbean tour alongside Queen Camilla, with the journey centered around his attendance at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The official visit is scheduled to kick off on October 27 in the Bahamas, a Caribbean nation that counts Charles as its ceremonial head of state – one of 14 such countries outside the UK that retain this constitutional link.

    Following their time in the Bahamas, the royal pair will travel to Guyana for a special state visit that commemorates six decades of formal diplomatic and bilateral ties between the UK and the South American Commonwealth nation. The final leg of the tour will bring King Charles and Queen Camilla to Antigua and Barbuda, the host nation of this year’s CHOGM, where leaders from across the bloc will gather in St John’s starting November 1.

    As the symbolic head of the Commonwealth, a 56-nation association of independent states mostly sharing historical ties to the British Empire, King Charles holds a central, ceremonial role at the organization’s flagship gathering. Held once every two years, CHOGM brings together heads of government from across the global bloc to address transnational shared challenges, deepen cross-regional cooperative ties, and advance collective sustainable development goals across member states.

  • Coalition welcomes debt-for-social swap, calls for inclusive NCD strategy

    Coalition welcomes debt-for-social swap, calls for inclusive NCD strategy

    Barbados’ landmark $1.2 billion debt-for-development swap, the largest such transaction in the nation’s history, has earned broad backing from public health groups even as civil society organizations push for transparent, cross-sector input on how the resulting savings will be deployed to tackle the country’s growing non-communicable disease (NCD) and childhood obesity crisis.

    The initiative, which is backed by four major regional and global development banks – the Caribbean Development Bank, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank – is projected to unlock approximately $300 million in savings earmarked specifically for public health programs. According to Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn, these funds will be directed toward initiatives that promote healthier lifestyles, improve national nutrition access, and cut the country’s long-term public healthcare expenditure, which has been strained by the rising prevalence of NCDs.

    The Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition has publicly welcomed the government’s move to dedicate new resources to what coalition leadership describes as one of the country’s most pressing public health challenges. Nicole Foster, who chairs the coalition and also leads the Law and Health Research Unit at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, told local outlet Barbados TODAY that the group supports the government’s effort to unlock new funding for a crisis that demands urgent attention.

    “NCDs and linked childhood obesity are a serious, critical problem for our country that needs to be tackled head on, so we absolutely welcome this step to secure additional resources,” Foster said. “But for this initiative to deliver meaningful, long-lasting change, transparency and broad consultation with on-the-ground civil society organizations working in NCD prevention and control is non-negotiable.”

    Foster emphasized that NCDs are a complex, multifaceted issue that cannot be addressed through top-down planning alone. “We want to ensure that all perspectives are centered, especially those of groups that work directly with communities every day on prevention and control,” she explained. “The coalition looks forward to meaningful engagement, opportunities to provide input, and having our priorities reflected in the final plan, and we stand ready to support rollout once initiatives are finalized.”

    Beyond pushing for inclusive governance of the new funds, Foster also challenged the common approach of relying solely on public education to drive healthier population behavior. She argued that structural changes to the food environment are just as critical as individual outreach: “While public education is absolutely critical to helping people make informed choices, the environment in which people make those choices is equally critical. This is not a situation where you can just educate people and expect change to happen.”

    To drive real improvement, Foster said the funds must be used to make nutritious foods more affordable and accessible for all Barbadians, rather than just promoting awareness. She also called for investments in public programming that teaches practical skills like healthy cooking, and noted that expanding support for domestic agricultural production should be a core part of the strategy, as boosting local output of fresh produce can help drive down the cost of nutritious food across the country.

    The coalition’s stance is echoed by the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP), which also issued a statement in support of the government’s focus on the NCD crisis. BAMP noted that it has long been aware of the severity of the crisis and its serious long-term implications for national public health and well-being, and recommended a coordinated, integrated national response that addresses the issue across multiple fronts.

    That integrated approach, BAMP said, should combine public education, individual and community counselling, expanded access to recreational space for exercise, policies to make healthy food more affordable, timely access to high-quality preventive and curative healthcare, and support for lifestyle change at both the community and individual levels. The association reaffirmed its commitment to partnering with the government and other stakeholders, saying “BAMP remains willing and able to engage in all efforts to improve the well-being of the people of our nation.”

  • SJPI students urged to make most of opportunity

    SJPI students urged to make most of opportunity

    As 600 new students embarked on their technical and vocational training journeys at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) this academic year, institute principal Ian Drakes used the annual orientation ceremony to lay out clear expectations, drawing a firm line against criminal and anti-social activity on campus.

    Opening the orientation event, Drakes framed access to technical and vocational education at SJPI as a privilege that comes with corresponding personal and civic responsibilities. He acknowledged the growing independence of young adult learners, noting that the institute’s role is not to micromanage every aspect of student life but to provide thoughtful, experienced guidance that meets students where they are.

    “We recognize that as young adults, you will navigate personal matters that don’t require institutional involvement,” Drakes told the assembled incoming cohort. “We’re here to offer adult guidance — we’ve all been in your shoes, so we understand what this transitional period feels like. But we also share a common understanding that every right to an education is paired with accountability. Respecting your peers and instructors, and actively engaging with the knowledge our faculty offers, that’s core to your responsibility as a student here.”

    Drakes left no room for ambiguity when addressing the issue of harmful behavior, announcing the institute’s uncompromising zero-tolerance policy for bringing criminal activity, disruptive anti-social conduct, weapons, or illicit substances onto campus. “You did not come here to waste time,” he emphasized. “If you want to idle, smoke or carry weapons, you can do that anywhere else across Barbados’ 166 square miles — not here. You enrolled to gain career-focused technical training, so leave those harmful activities off campus. We will not tolerate them.”

    Beyond setting boundaries, Drakes encouraged new students to recognize the unique value of the opportunity they’ve earned. He pointed out that countless aspiring learners across the country would jump at the chance to study at SJPI, a respected institution that has long shaped Barbados’ skilled workforce and national development. Drakes urged students to approach their studies with a purpose-driven, positive mindset, reminding them that the skills they gain here will empower them to build stable, fulfilling lives for themselves and their families.

    “This is a pristine institution that has contributed enormously to our country’s progress,” he said. “When you leave here with your training, we want you to grab hold of your future with both hands. Build a life that can sustain your family — that’s how you’ll one day be the one standing here, guiding the next generation of students.”

    Closing his address, Drakes warned incoming students against falling prey to peer pressure and negative social influences, urging them to cultivate independent critical thinking. “Don’t go astray. Don’t fall into the herd mentality that ignores red flags just to fit in,” he cautioned. “Stop and ask yourself if a choice makes sense for your future. You’ve earned an incredible opportunity, and lost chances never come back. Make the most of every day you have here.”

  • CPL eyes expansion

    CPL eyes expansion

    The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), one of the most prominent annual franchise T20 cricket tournaments in the Caribbean region, has left the door open to expanding its current lineup of teams to include an eighth franchise, according to the tournament’s head of Public Relations and Communications, Peter Miller. Speaking in an exclusive interview with veteran cricket commentator Joseph Reds Pereira on the sidelines of this year’s ongoing competition at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia, Miller outlined that while expansion is a long-term goal for the league, any decision to add a new team will not be rushed, given the complex operational hurdles the tournament already faces hosting matches across multiple Caribbean nations.

    This 2024 edition of the CPL marks the first year to feature seven franchises, following the successful addition of the Jamaica-based Jamaica Kingsham earlier this year. Miller emphasized that bringing a franchise back to Jamaica had been a key strategic priority for the league for years, noting that Jamaica’s status as the most populous nation in the English-speaking Caribbean makes it an irreplaceable and high-value market for the tournament’s growth and fan engagement.

    Despite the success of adding the seventh team, Miller stressed that the CPL leadership has no interest in overextending the league through rushed expansion that would ultimately force future contraction of the competition. “What we don’t want to do with CPL is expand to the point where we then have to contract, so it’s all about moving at a pace that makes the most sense,” Miller explained. A core requirement for any future expansion, he added, is securing committed long-term franchise owners who have both the resources and dedication to sustain a team over decades, rather than pursuing short-term growth at the expense of league stability.

    A unique challenge sets the CPL apart from other major global T20 franchise tournaments, Miller noted: the massive logistical complexity of staging matches across multiple sovereign nation states in the Caribbean. Unlike most leagues that host all matches in a single country, the CPL must coordinate the cross-border movement of hundreds of people, including broadcast television crews, central league administrative staff, and 30 to 35 personnel per franchise. This requires meticulous planning around international luggage transport, specialized cricket equipment shipping, visa processing, border control clearance, and customs inspections – layers of coordination that most other T20 competitions never have to navigate.

    When pressed specifically on the timeline and feasibility of adding an eighth franchise, Miller reaffirmed that long-term league sustainability would be the non-negotiable guiding factor for any final decision. He outlined one potential structural adjustment that could accommodate an eighth team, drawing a parallel to England’s popular The Hundred tournament: reducing the total number of group stage matches to keep the tournament schedule compact. Under this model, the CPL would cut from 10 group games per team to eight, while still ensuring every team plays each other at least once throughout the group stage. Miller acknowledged that adjusting the tournament structure to add an eighth team would bring new complications, but added that there are clear pathways to make the expansion work successfully if all the preconditions are met.

    Miller also touched on the CPL’s current position in the global cricket calendar, noting that while the tournament has secured a permanent spot on the international cricket schedule, it has not yet reached the scale where it can command an exclusive window that pauses all other global cricket competitions, a status that would allow the CPL to attract every top men’s T20 player in the world. He pointed out that only the Indian Premier League (IPL) currently holds that unique status, thanks to its unmatched commercial scale that dwarfs every other T20 tournament on the planet. “I think you need to realize where you sit, there’s always going to be other international cricket tournament going on,” Miller concluded.

  • Barbados team treats 2 700 Venezuelans after earthquakes

    Barbados team treats 2 700 Venezuelans after earthquakes

    In the aftermath of two devastating back-to-back earthquakes that claimed more than 6,500 lives in Venezuela, Barbados’ deployed emergency medical contingent has delivered critical care to over 2,700 affected people and completed 74 surgical procedures since launching operations in July, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley has confirmed. Speaking to reporters immediately after concluding an official visit to the disaster-hit South American nation, Mottley shared first-hand observations of the widespread destruction and the profound toll the catastrophe has inflicted on local communities. Mottley emphasized that the scale of human tragedy left by the earthquakes is almost impossible to fully grasp, as thousands of families were robbed of their homes, livelihoods, and sense of safety in a matter of moments. “It is tragic to see the scope of loss,” Mottley stated. “I do not think any of us can truly understand what it means to live with this uncertainty: not knowing exactly how many lives were lost, how many families have been impacted either by death or by losing everything — their shelter, all their possessions, and being forced to relocate to temporary camps.”

    This humanitarian deployment marks the latest in a series of regional disaster relief efforts led by Barbados, which previously sent emergency aid to Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. The current mission integrates the logistical and operational capabilities of the Barbados Defence Force with clinical expertise from Queen Elizabeth Hospital staff and independent medical volunteers. To overcome on-the-ground challenges — most notably language barriers between the visiting medical team and local patients — the Barbadian contingent integrated Venezuelan local volunteers into their operations, who supported patient care and communication across affected zones.

    “I am proud that Barbados has been able to step up and contribute meaningfully to this relief effort,” Mottley said, as she broke down the structure of the deployment. “It is a collaborative effort between our defense force, our main public hospital, and medical volunteers from both the public and private sectors. In Venezuela’s case, given the context of the disaster, many local Venezuelan nationals also stepped forward to volunteer, largely to help bridge language gaps, and because they could see the tangible difference our team was making on the ground.”

    Operating out of a purpose-built field hospital starting from the third week of July, the medical team has managed a heavy caseload while working under challenging post-disaster conditions. Of the 74 completed surgeries, five were specialized oral procedures, with the remainder ranging from minor to major general surgeries. “Our team on the ground has seen more than 2,700 patients since becoming operational in July, and completed those 74 procedures,” Mottley noted. “It is incredible to see the tangible difference we have been able to make in the lives of people who have lost so much.”

    Mottley pushed back against common assumptions that large nations do not need outside support, noting that even the largest countries can see local response capacity overwhelmed when catastrophic disasters strike. “When we look at Venezuela, we see a large country, but we do not always see that even large countries face localized challenges and gaps after a disaster,” she explained. Beyond the immediate emergency work, Barbados’ field hospital will remain operational in Venezuela until early October, adding sustained capacity alongside broader recovery efforts led by the Regional Security System and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

    The prime minister also recognized key leaders and specialists who contributed to the mission, including Barbados Defence Force command, and a team of medical professionals led by Senior Minister Dr. William Duguid — a dentist who spent one week on the ground providing specialized dental care to local residents.

    Beyond emergency humanitarian relief, Mottley’s visit also marked a key milestone in strengthening bilateral relations between Bridgetown and Caracas. Building on preliminary discussions held in Barbados during late April with Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, Mottley confirmed that in-person talks during her visit led to the signing of a new joint declaration outlining areas of future cooperation. A Venezuelan official delegation is scheduled to travel to Barbados by mid-September to formalize a series of regional cooperation agreements. The upcoming negotiations will focus on four core areas of mutual benefit: food security, tourism development, expanded international transport links, and joint energy initiatives designed to strengthen the economies of both nations.

    Closing out her briefing, Mottley reflected on the inherent fragility of human life when faced with extreme natural events, and issued a call for Barbadians to maintain ongoing empathy and support for Venezuelan communities still navigating the long aftermath of the earthquakes. “I feel truly proud of what our team has accomplished, but at the same time, I cannot help but reflect on just how fragile life is,” Mottley said. “No one could have predicted two massive back-to-back earthquakes that would take thousands of lives in an instant, and displace tens of thousands more, robbing them of their livelihoods, their homes, and all their possessions.”

  • Police intercept vessel carrying Opposition Leader

    Police intercept vessel carrying Opposition Leader

    A high-speed maritime incident involving Guyana’s top opposition figure has ignited public debate, after law enforcement intercepted a vessel carrying Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed late Tuesday amid conflicting narratives about what transpired. The confrontation unfolded just before 10 p.m. during a routine joint coastal patrol conducted by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the country’s Coast Guard. According to official police statements, patrol units spotted Mohamed’s unregistered “go-fast” craft entering the mouth of the Demerara River at an excessive speed. Law enforcement activated sirens to signal the vessel to halt, but the craft failed to respond, triggering a high-speed chase upriver that ended at a public wharf in Friendship, a small community located on the East Bank of the Demerara.

    Upon intercepting the vessel at the dock, police confirmed that three people, including Opposition Leader Mohamed, were still aboard the craft. Five additional people who had been traveling with the group were already on the wharf when officers arrived. During the chase, responding officers reported witnessing an unidentified person throw an unknown bag overboard into the murky waters of the Demerara River. To date, investigators have not been able to confirm the contents of the discarded bag, and joint teams from the GPF and Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard are currently conducting search operations to recover the item as part of an ongoing formal investigation into the incident.

    However, the opposition has pushed back aggressively against the official police narrative, offering a sharply different account of the stop. Odessa Primus, General Secretary of the Working People’s Alliance (WIN) and a member of the traveling party who was on the vessel during the incident, disputed key details of police’s version of events. Primus explained that officers initially approached the group only to request boat documentation from Mohamed, who informed responding units that the craft was already docked and he did not have the paperwork on his person at the time. She added that officers subsequently launched a full search of the vessel and all passengers on suspicion of trafficking illegal narcotics, but no contraband or unlawful items were uncovered during the search.

    Opposition representatives further confirmed that one opposition legislator, Natasha Singh, was taken into police custody after a bag holding a legally licensed firearm owned by another sitting legislator, Dawn Hastings, was discovered during the search. Hastings had already disembarked the vessel before the interception and accidentally left the bag aboard, the opposition said.

    Context around the incident adds political weight to the confrontation: Mohamed and his delegation were en route back to the capital city of Georgetown from Guyana’s Region One, where the group had traveled to meet with survivors and family members of victims of the devastating July 18 MV Barima ferry disaster. That maritime accident, one of the worst in Guyana’s recent history, claimed the lives of more than 100 people when the passenger ferry sank off the country’s northwest coast.

  • Tridents suffer first CPL defeat of season

    Tridents suffer first CPL defeat of season

    The 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) delivered a thrilling upset on Tuesday night at North Sound, Antigua, as the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons handed the previously unbeaten Barbados Tridents their first loss of the season by a 30-run margin. The dominant all-round performance from the Falcons pushed them back to the top of the tournament’s points table, with pace bowler Joshua James earning Player of the Match honors for his stellar spell of three wickets for just 18 runs, while all-rounder Moeen Ali anchored the Falcons’ batting innings with an unbeaten half-century.

    Barbados Tridents skipper Chris Green won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that put the Falcons under immediate pressure from the opening ball. Tridents fast bowler Daniel Sams clean-bowled star opener Rahkeem Cornwall with the very first delivery of the match, leaving the Falcons reeling early. By the end of the mandatory powerplay, the Falcons had only managed 40 runs for the loss of two wickets, putting their campaign on the back foot early.

    However, Moeen Ali stepped in to steady the innings with a clinical, power-packed knock. Playing 37 deliveries, Ali struck three boundaries and four towering sixes to finish not out on 56, dragging the Falcons to a competitive total of 155 runs for five wickets from their full 20-over allocation. Supporting contributions from opener Amir Jangoo (26 runs) and Karima Gore (27 runs) proved crucial in building the match-winning total after the rocky start. For the Tridents, Afghanistan spin star Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the most effective bowler, picking up two wickets for 32 runs, while Sams, Ramon Simmonds and Gudakesh Motie each claimed one wicket apiece.

    Chasing a target of 156, the Tridents got off to a promising start, reaching 45 runs for two wickets by the end of the powerplay. Replacement batter Shian Brathwaite, called into the squad to cover injured star Kadeem Alleyne, fell for seven runs, while top-order batter Zachary Carter contributed 17 runs to the early stand. The Tridents looked set at 54 for two in the eighth over, but a collapse changed the trajectory of the match. Wickets fell at consistent intervals, and the Tridents slumped to 95 for seven by the middle of the 14th over.

    The Falcons’ bowling attack delivered a clinical finish to wrap up the victory. The Tridents were bowled out for 125 runs in 18 overs, with Rivaldo Clarke top-scoring for the side with 27 runs off 26 balls, and Kevlon Anderson adding 22 runs to the total. Beyond James’ match-winning three-wicket haul, Alzarri Joseph took two wickets for just 12 runs, Shadab Khan claimed two for 23, and Sufiyan Muqeem picked up two for 36, capping a dominant all-round bowling performance from the Falcons.

    In his post-match remarks, Tridents captain Chris Green reflected that his side had played solid cricket for much of the contest before losing momentum. He highlighted the promising partnership between young batters Clarke and Anderson, which he said had given the Tridents a strong platform to chase the target. According to Green, a controversial caught dismissal proved to be the turning point that shifted momentum entirely to the Falcons. “For us it just felt like we panicked a little bit and that gave the game away,” Green said.

    The result ended the Tridents’ perfect start to the season, which had seen them claim back-to-back wins in their opening two matches. Green emphasized that the side would take the loss as a learning experience rather than letting the defeat derail their campaign. “In T20 cricket you’re going to play good games, you’re gonna play bad games. Sometimes you win those bad games, sometimes you lose those good games. It’s a matter of fine margins,” he noted.

    With three matches completed and seven remaining in the group stage, Green maintains his side remains in a strong position to advance. “We’re still in a really good position, but I think your key word there is learning, and we are a young side and we’ve got to keep learning,” he added.

  • CXC invigilators await fees as ministry targets mid-September clearance

    CXC invigilators await fees as ministry targets mid-September clearance

    Across Barbados, more than 900 temporary workers who served as invigilators, supervisors and examiners for this year’s May-June CXC examinations – including the CSEC and CAPE assessments – are still waiting for their earned compensation. The country’s Ministry of Education Transformation has confirmed that while initial payments have already been disbursed, a full verification and auditing process is required before all funds can be released, setting a mid-September deadline for settling all confirmed, error-free claims.

    Permanent Secretary Kim Belle, in an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY, outlined the complexities behind the delayed payments. She explained that the 900-plus claims do not translate to one claim per worker, as many individual invigilators submitted multiple claims for different exam sessions they oversaw. Claims begin flowing into the ministry in July immediately after the conclusion of the exam period, but automatic payment is not possible: every submission must be cross-checked and audited to ensure the amount requested matches the actual hours worked and services rendered.

    “Processing doesn’t stop when a claim is submitted,” Belle noted. “We have to review every line to make sure we’re paying the correct amount for the work that was actually done. Only after that verification is complete can we move forward with disbursement.”

    While all verified, “clean” claims are on track to be settled by mid-September, a share of submissions contain discrepancies that will extend processing times, potentially into November in the most complex cases. The most common discrepancy involves mismatches between the work hours invigilators reported on their claim forms and the hours logged by senior exam supervisors. Resolving these issues requires reaching out to individual workers for additional confirmation, a process that can involve multiple rounds of back-and-forth communication.

    New invigilators face additional delays for a separate reason: the ministry must first create a new profile for them in its central accounting system before any payment can be processed, adding an extra step that established workers already in the system do not require.

    For many of the unpaid workers, most of whom are unemployed people relying on this seasonal exam work to cover basic living costs, the delay has created significant financial strain ahead of the new academic year. One unpaid invigilator, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed deep frustration with the ongoing holdup and lack of clear communication from authorities.

    “We unemployed people worked all through May and June for these exams, and we still haven’t seen a cent,” the worker said. “Every time we call the ministry or the CXC council, we just get another excuse. We have school supplies and new uniforms to buy for our kids, household bills to cover – what are we supposed to do? The people who process these payments get their full salaries every month, but we check our bank accounts over and over for money that never comes.”

    Belle pushed back on the timeline for the most extreme cases, emphasizing that November only represents a worst-case scenario for disputed claims, and she remains confident that the vast majority of payments will be finalized far earlier. “For the most part, these payments should be completed very soon,” Belle said. “I really don’t want us to have to go all the way to November. Right now, we’re on track to wrap up all confirmed claims by mid-September as planned.”