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German tourist wins payout after losing sun lounger race

Nationnews Desk
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German tourist wins payout after losing sun lounger race

A German tourist has won a payout of more than €900 (£850) after he was unable to secure a sun lounger due to other guests reserving them with towels.

The man, who has not been identified, was on holiday in Greece with his family in 2024, and said he spent 20 minutes a day trying to find a sun lounger, despite waking up at 06:00.

He then sued his tour operator for allowing the reservation system, arguing the sunbeds were reserved so often, they were unusable.

Judges at a district court in Hanover ruled in his favour, and said the family of four were entitled to a larger refund on their package holiday as it had been “defective”.

The man had initially paid €7,186 (£6,211) to take his wife and their two children on the package holiday to Kos, an island in Greece.

In his arguments to court, he said that his tour operator had failed to enforce the resort’s ban on towel reserving, and did not confront guests who were engaging in the practice.

He added that even when his family rose at 06:00, loungers were unavailable, and his children were forced to lie on the floor.

Though the tour operator had initially paid out a refund of €350 (£302), judges in Hanover ruled the family was entitled to a refund of €986.70 (£852.89).

They said that although the travel company did not run the hotel and could not ensure every customer could access a sunbed at any given time, the operator did have an obligation to make sure there was an organisational structure that would guarantee a “reasonable” ratio of sunbeds to guests.

Many tourists will have encountered “sunbed wars” or “dawn dash” on holiday, which is the practice of reserving loungers with towels.

Last year, videos circulating on social media suggested holiday-goers in Tenerife were sleeping on sun loungers in order to secure a poolside spot.

Some tour companies are trying to combat the practice, with operator Thomas Cook offering tourists the option to pre-book a spot beside the pool for an additional fee.

In Spain, tourists in certain regions have been threatened with a €250 fine for reserving a sun lounger and then disappearing for hours. (BBC News)

US reaffirms commitment to humanitarian aid for natural disasters in the Caribbean

Nationnews Desk
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US reaffirms commitment to humanitarian aid for natural disasters in the Caribbean

 The Trump administration on Wednesday reaffirmed what it describes as its commitment to “increasing preparedness and leading the Western Hemisphere” in response to hurricanes and other natural disasters in the Caribbean and other places.

“Building on the United States’ rapid response to Hurricane Melissa in 2025, the department will engage in greater coordination with the United States Southern Command through the new Bureau for Disaster and Humanitarian Response (DHR),” said the US Department of State in a statement.

“The United States stands ready to respond to the impact of storms in our hemisphere during the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season with the launch of DHR’s first US humanitarian assistance hub in South Florida,” it added.

The State Department said this initiative formalizes a “State-led coordination hub, better integrating pre-positioned emergency relief supplies strategically located across our region and embedding DHR disaster and humanitarian advisors at Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to expand technical expertise civil-military coordination.”

With the Department of State leading US government responses to sudden-onset disasters and high-priority, complex humanitarian emergencies overseas, the department said the “Trump administration continues to refocus our humanitarian assistance in our region.”

Through the Administration’s America First Foreign Assistance, the State Department said the US is “dedicating 20 percent of our total assistance resources to our hemisphere, advancing US priorities and further demonstrating American leadership in our region.” (CMC)

Council backs move to deal with truancy

Maria Bradshaw
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Council backs move to deal with truancy

The Barbados National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (BNCPTA) is supporting the Ministry of Education Transformation in its attempt to deal with truancy.

President Nicole Brathwaite told the DAILY NATION that the BNCPTA shared the minister’s concern about a lack of attendance by some students.

Last Monday during the launch of a parent education programme, Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman expressed concern about student delinquency, pointing out that he was observing too many students on the street long after the start of school.

In response Brathwaite said: “No parent wants their child on the street instead of in class. When students miss school, they lose learning, social development, and the safety schools provide,” she added, as she responded to the concerns made by Blackman on Monday.

Stressing that parents hold the primary role in getting children to school, Brathwaite said most do so daily “despite real barriers: transport costs, work schedules, caregiving demands, and personal challenges children face”.

She noted that truancy had many causes. “We expect the ministry’s approach to be firm and supportive. Monitoring teams help most when paired with school social workers for early intervention with at-risk students and families. These professionals are already stretched – resourcing matters. This demands partnership.”

Community could assist

Brathwaite outlined areas where parents and themcommunity could assist in controlling this behaviour.

She pointed to staying connected by knowing the attendance policies and keeping contact information updated for quick alerts.

Brathwaite also recommended acting early by flagging transport, uniform, meal, or personal issues with schools before absences become patterns.

In addition, parents should keep a community watch, reminding that a respectful “Should you be in school?” still made a difference.

She stated: “The BNCPTA is ready to work with the ministry and PTAs on practical solutions: stronger home-school communication, attendance incentives, neighbourhood carpools, and sharing best practices. Truancy isn’t solved by one group alone. If we – parents, schools, ministry, and community – commit to tackling root causes together, consistently, we protect our children’s future. Let’s do this together.”

Blackman had said officials from the ministry would be soon observing the practice of the latecomers or those who skip school.

“One of the things that I will be doing very shortly around this time of the morning is getting into a vehicle with some of the members of our ministry and go around the country to make sure that our children are where they are supposed to be at the right time,” he said. (MB)

Backs turned on the elderly

Maria Bradshaw
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Backs turned on the elderly

Barbadians are not only abandoning their elderly relatives at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) but are also resorting to “dumping” them at the Psychiatric Hospital.

This shocking revelation was disclosed yesterday by Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Lisa Cummins, as she led off debate on the Older Persons (Care and Protection) Bill, 2026, in the Senate.

Speaking during the session, Cummins revealed that elderly patients were being discarded at medical facilities with absolutely no follow-up interest in their welfare by relatives. She recounted a tour of the Black Rock, St Michael facility following her appointment as minister, where she discovered the disturbing trend.

“The exact scenario that I described at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital exists at the Psychiatric Hospital. You have persons who have equally been abandoned,” Cummins said.

She expressed particular distress regarding the lack of visitation, noting that when she queried whether family members visited the elderly – even those who could not return home due to medical reasons – the answer was a resounding no.

Neglected

“I asked the nurses and the doctors: ‘Do the family members come and visit them? The builders of our nation, the person sometimes in whose house you live? The person who may have sent you to school? Do they at least come and visit these persons?’ And the nurses and the doctors said to me: ‘No’,” the minister reported.

“Save and except for one or two persons here or there, families aren’t going to visit them. So I’m going to start my comments today by making an appeal to families,” she urged.

The abandoning of the elderly has been a recurring national discussion.

The Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) have long been advocating for legislation to deal with elder abuse and abandonment with president Marilyn Rice-Bowen previously indicating that BARP had met with Government concerning the drafting of the legislation.

“We need the elder abuse legislation to protect our elders. It will protect them from financial abuse, from physical abuse, from abandonment. The legislation will give the authorities the teeth they need to make sure that our seniors can live their lives in indigence and dignity,” Rice-Bowen said last year.

Yesterday Cummins noted that the neglect was blatant, recalling instances where social workers contacted family members only to be told, “We’re not coming to get them”.

While acknowledging that some families might lack the resources or capacity to provide adequate care, the Minister took issue with the justification that abandoning relatives at a hospital was being “cruel to be kind.”

“Some of them have said to us they feel as though the safest place for their relative is not at home alone, but it is in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. However, from our policy perspective, that’s not the best place for them,” Cummins asserted.

She issued a heartfelt plea to Barbadians, reminding them that medical staff should not have to substitute for family.

“The nurses and the doctors in the institution have become their family because you are not. It is the emotional and the mental knowledge that your family is not checking for you,” she said.

“They’re not coming to bring some snacks, and even if they don’t have to buy anything, they’re not even coming with time—30 minutes, this could cost you nothing.”

The Minister highlighted that the lack of engagement was evident across the board, affecting not only the QEH and the Psychiatric Hospital but also district hospitals such as the St Lucy and St Philip facilities.

“Family members not only are leaving them there, but they’re not coming back even to visit them. There’s something fundamentally wrong with that,” she declared.

While the new legislation seeks to legally protect elderly persons from abuse, Cummins emphasised that laws alone are insufficient, calling for a “change of hearts, a change of minds, and a culture shift” in how the nation treats its senior citizens. ( MB)

Update: Missing teen traced

Nationnews Desk
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Update: Missing teen traced

Fourteen-year-old Keimone Donica Speede of Upper Carters Gap, Enterprise B, Christ Church, who was reported missing on Tuesday, May 5, has been traced and is safe.

The Barbados Police Service thanked the public and the media for their assistance in the matter and expressed appreciation for their continued cooperation.

‘Be smarter about children’s academics’

Carlos Atwell
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‘Be smarter about children’s academics’

Parents must exhibit a level of intelligence when it comes to their children’s academic futures, says Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw.

Speaking at Deighton Griffith Secondary School in Kingsland, Christ Church, yesterday morning after the start of the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination, she responded to those complaining that some teachers were laid back when it came to their jobs, forcing parents to pay for after-school lessons.

“Teachers in Barbados generally give 110 per cent. What I do know is that because some parents place much premium on certain schools in Barbados, they go all out to make sure that their children can have access to services. That is the reason why some of our parents will seek lessons for their children.

Lessons culture

“The culture of lessons is not unique to Barbados. If you look at spaces such as Trinidad, Singapore and other places [with] colonial ties, you realise that parents will go all out to make sure that their children attend certain schools, and that is the reason why lessons culture is prevailing as it is in society,” Archer-Bradshaw said.

“We often speak about artificial intelligence (AI), but I have a colleague who speaks about another kind of intelligence called PI, which is parent intelligence. We know that sometimes children will take home assignments and the parents will help them quite a lot so that they can get an A. However, we want to see what children can do in the classroom and what they know so that we can truly help them to develop,” she said.

Required knowledge

Archer-Bradshaw said most teachers had the children of Barbados at heart and went above and beyond to ensure they received the required knowledge.

“They go beyond to make sure that they try to cultivate [the correct] attitudes and that they (the children) have certain skills that will take them through life. Even in preparation for this 11-Plus, several teachers from Classes 1, 2, 3, and even 4 spend extra time, weekends and Easter vacations trying to make sure that concepts are consolidated.

“However, I will also say that we do know that there are some teachers who may not be performing at his or her optimum. Where that is the case, we have a complement of education officers who go in to provide the requisite support because it may not be because the teachers are . . . not performing, but it may be that they need some additional resources and support.”

She said they will soon be introducing a quality assurance framework to define standards for good teaching, good leadership and good schools, all part of the ministry’s efforts to create the No. 1 education system in the world.

Archer-Bradshaw also addressed the issue of mandatory licences for teachers, which the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) has opposed, citing it as unnecessary bureaucracy which would not improve student outcomes or teacher quality. The union argued that a focus on development and improved, consistent opportunities for teacher training and professional retooling were better options.

The Chief Education Officer said it was about ensuring teachers were on the cutting edge, but they will meet with the union to iron out any concerns.

“We will have a robust discussion as to the benefits of licensing and the disadvantages, and see where we can meet each other halfway or whole way. When you look at licensing across the world, not only for teachers, it ensures that in a particular profession, the individuals within that profession are operating to certain standards.” (CA)

Shanae’s on a high with career choice

Nationnews Desk
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Shanae’s on a high with career choice

She is one of Barbados’ youngest commercial pilots, but her “flight path” was initially projected to take her into the world of medicine.

Shanae Daniel had pursued the sciences while at Harrison College because her heart was set on being a doctor.

However, during a simulation exercise when a cadaver was brought into the room while she was at the University of the West Indies, Shanae’s career “diagnosis” became a nightmare.

“From the time I saw the body, I wanted to pass out. I knew [then] that it was not what I wanted to do,” she told the MIDWEEK NATION.

Panicked

Shanae was a bit panicked because when choosing their CXC subjects, she said students were led to believe that their careers hinged exclusively on those choices.

She was steeped in the sciences, and feared that in becoming a doctor she would not be able to cope with handling corpses and it would have a devastating impact on her career.

Perplexed, she shared her concerns with her parents who advised her to take some time off to put her thoughts in perspective.

During this time, she weighed the option of being a flight attendant, but that did not meet the approval of her dad, who suggested that she “reach for the stars”.

With that, the idea of being a pilot took flight, and from there her plans soared.

“I cannot say that it is something I have always been interested in, but the minute that I attended flight school here, it was just everything for me.”

She had a hectic schedule while training, but vividly recalled her thrilling maiden flight at the controls of the light aircraft with the instructor and two students in the back.

The 22-year-old harboured no fears as she lifted off and said the overall experience unfolded like “second nature”.

With her private pilot’s licence in hand, Shanae was effusive in her praise for flight instructor Mr Gardier, who told her it seemed to be her calling.

As she soars, her dad and granddad have gotten on board, proudly taking trips with her, but the pilot admits that she is yet to convince her mum to follow suit.

Their first trip was “tumultuous” because it was a cloudy day and the aircraft “trembled a bit”, but Shanae had things under control in the cockpit and it impressed her dad.

“They loved it. They absolutely loved it. My dad said I was very steadfast and stayed very calm and he felt really good in the hands of his daughter.”

She has now received her commercial pilot’s licence and is to undertake further tests in another two months which would enable her to fly multiengine planes. Due to the limitations of the flight school here, the pilot said she had to relocate to Florida to get the commercial licence.

It’s an expensive process going through training school and Shanae noted that for some, it’s their life’s savings, or the securing of a major loan, to facilitate the journey.

“There are people who relocate to Florida and don’t even pass the private, some drop out, [others] run out of money. The failure rate is extremely high. Not everybody is built for it, so I try to be very careful and I am thankful that I have been given the skills to do it.”

Dismissing the notion of planes flying themselves when placed on auto pilot while pilots rest, she said: “100 per cent no. It’s a common misconception and I feel people use it to kind of degrade pilots and the hard work they put in.”

She stressed that even with the auto pilot on, pilots cannot take their eyes off anything at any time and must keep their hands on the yoke because the auto pilot can be unpredictable.

Home for Crop Over

As she looks forward to the completion of her studies in July, an excited Shanae expects to be back home to take in the Sweetest Summer Festival and hopes to jump in a band.

“I intend to go to parties and cruises with my friends . . . I love Barbados.”

Expressing concern about a worrying trajectory of lawlessness in Barbados, Shanae, a strong believer in Christ, said her path is guided by God.

“It’s sad to see this because a lot of people tell me that I have inspired them and it makes me feel that I am genuinely making a meaningful contribution.”

She noted the impact gun violence is having on the youth and society and hoped that her mission and that of other positive youth, like her friend and pilot Kayla Weeks, also 22, would serve to counter the negativity and bring hope back to all young people. (John Boyce)

DPP’s advice to murder accused

Heather-Lynn Evanson
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DPP’s advice to murder accused

Take that plea.

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ICBL core business ‘still profitable’

Shawn Cumberbatch
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ICBL core business ‘still profitable’

Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) is reporting another profitable period, as management targets an improvement in investment returns, keeping costs down and strengthening the asset base to sustain the company’s growth.

These objectives were outlined by ICBL chief executive officer Goulbourne Alleyne, who reported on the insurer’s latest quarterly performance for the three-month period ended March 31.

He also said that increased risk linked to the conflict in the Middle East caused net investment income to decline.

“The core insurance business of ICBL’s 2026 first quarter remained profitable, generating an insurance service result of $5.4 million versus $5 million in 2025, an improvement of 8.4 per cent,” Alleyne said in the CEO’s review, which accompanied ICBL’s published consolidated financial statements for the first quarter of the 2026 financal year.

“This was achieved through improved quarter one insurance premiums, and better reinsurance outcomes, demonstrating continued underwriting discipline and effective risk management across all business lines, particularly property and motor, which accounted for a $1.2 million improvement year on year.”

The CEO also reported that ICBL’s net investment income “declined to break even in quarter one 2026 [compared with 2025’s $2.2 million], reflecting risk aversion caused by the conflict in the Middle East”.

He noted that this “caused global equities to fall in the quarter as a result of connected weakness in financial markets, and higher oil prices led commodities to outperform government bonds”.

“Net insurance finance expenses increased to $900 000, driven by movements in discount rates impacting insurance liability valuations,” Alleyne said.

Focused on cost discipline

He explained that consequently, the overall net insurance and investment result decreased to $4.4 million versus $7.1 million in 2025.

In his statement, the CEO also shared that other operating expenses increased in the first quarter to $4.9 million compared to the prior year’s $4 million, which “largely reflecting a number of one-off costs”.

The company remains focused on cost discipline and is on track to deliver a reduction in full-year operating expenses compared to the prior year,” he said.

ICBL had what Alleyne called a resilient underwriting performance for the first quarter. Despite this, income before tax fell from first quarter 2025’s $3.8 million to $300 000 at the end of March.

His overall assessment was that ICBL’s “financial position remains strong, with total assets of $341.5 million and a well-managed liability profile”.

“The company improved its liquidity position, signalling strengthened financial independence and discipline,” Alleyne reported.

“Total shareholders’ equity increased to $120.4 million, driven by growth in retained earnings and favourable movements in reserves, reinforcing the company’s strong, resilient capital base.”

As to the future, he said that ICBL remained “focused on enhancing investment performance, maintaining cost discipline and leveraging its strong asset base to support sustainable growth”.

“Overall, the company remains financially sound, operationally disciplined and well-positioned to deliver improved performance and long-term shareholder value as market conditions normalise,” Alleyne said. (SC)

Powell, Russell and Allen selected by Kingsmen in CPL draft

Nationnews Desk
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Powell, Russell and Allen selected by Kingsmen in CPL draft

The Jamaica Kingsmen have selected Rovman Powell, Andre Russell and Fabian Allen to represent them in this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

According to a report from The Observer, while an official announcement has not yet been made, Russell and Powell, who are currently with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, were the first two picks by new owners Kingsmen Sports Enterprise in the draft.

Powell departs the Barbados Royals to rejoin the Jamaican franchise as captain after leaving in 2023, having won two titles, while Russell, who won titles with the Jamaica Tallawahs in 2013 and 2016 during an eight-year stint, joins from defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders.

As the CPL’s newest franchise, the Kingsmen were given special privileges that allowed them to draft Jamaican players as the first three picks. However, it was limited to one player per franchise and free from the right-to-match option, paving the way for the selections of Russell and Powell.

According to the Observer, all-rounder Allen was the third pick, with the Kingsmen unable to select opening batsman Brandon King among their three unrestricted picks. King’s stint with the Royals last season meant the franchise could only choose either Powell or King.

The Kingsmen’s full 17-member squad will have nine senior West Indian players, five overseas players and three players from the West Indies Breakout League last year.

The Jamaica Kingsmen, who open the CPL season on August 7 against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in St Vincent, will play four games at Sabina Park in Kingston from August 11 to 18. (CMC)

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