Fire at the National Insurance and Social Security building at Culloden Road, St Michael causes staff to evacuate.
More details as they come.
Bar: Don’t pass bills without regulations
The Barbados Bar Association (BBA) is urging Parliament not to pass new citizenship and immigration legislation without accompanying regulations.
Addressing the Joint Select Committee (Standing) on Governance and Policy Matters, which is reviewing the draft Immigration Bill, 2025, and Barbados Citizenship Bill, 2025, BBA president Kaye Williams also said there was a need to ensure the proposed laws were grounded on constitutional rights and based on a guiding policy document.
She and convenor of the law reform and legislation committee of the Bar, Lynne-Marie Simmons, appeared before the Joint Select Committee yesterday in the Senate Chamber to make an oral presentation on the BBA’s written submission.
Williams told the body, chaired by Marsha Caddle, Member of Parliament for St Michael South Central, that “unlike any other piece of legislation, citizenship and immigration lives and breathes in the regulations”.
“So to comment on bills without the advantage of seeing the regulations means that we’re not having a complete discussion,” the attorney asserted.
“We do wish to be afforded an opportunity for further comment should the regulations become available anytime soon, but we would caution that we ought not [to] pass a bill without the regulations in place.
“Don’t give us attorneys more work, please, because what will happen is that clients will come and say, ‘We want to apply, we want access to these provisions’, and we would say, ‘Well, the regulations haven’t come yet’, we will have to wait until the regulations come in order to access these [provisions],” she added. In response, Caddle gave the assurance that “when this committee first met, we also made the point that it would be beneficial to us to have the regulations, so you are pushing a door that is wide, wide open in this room”.
Another concern the BBA had was the absence of a policy document to guide the immigration and citizenship bills and how the laws related to the Constitution.
“When we look at immigration and citizenship reform, normally you need that policy paper . . . that
guiding force to show what informs the provisions of the bill,” she noted.
However, Caddle, making it clear she was not speaking for the minister responsible for immigration, said that “it is not in every case that legislation is brought on the heels of a specific policy document. Legislation often flows from overall development policies, in this case, population policies. The population policy is really the overall policy framework from which this legislation flows.
“So while . . . the committee will certainly pass on the specific question, I do not think that legislation must flow from a specific policy document that bears the same name as the legislation.
“Governments around across the world often use development frameworks, development strategies and broader policy documents to guide legislation. As a matter of fact, the population policy has an implementation plan that lists enhanced immigration policy and citizenship legislation as one of the things that is flowing from that piece of work,” Caddle added.
Williams reiterated the BBA’s position.
“We believe that citizenship, immigration, that level of reform needs to be looked at holistically, in the context of what is the new . . . republican constitution supposed to be.
“We want to be able to move from the supreme law of the land, which is the Constitution, allow that to be utilised together with a guiding policy paper. Then . . . we can frame the constitutional reform and the immigration reform policies. We also would want to harmonise that with the enhanced protocol from CARICOM on the freedom of movement,” she said. (SC)
Body not found, ex-cop tells court
A former lawman has testified that he was present when accused Winfield Nurse spoke to then Inspector David Griffith about pushing his granddaughter’s body over a cliff at Jackson, St Michael.
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Retired police officer Charles Layne was on the stand when the trial of Nurse, 80, of Accommodation Road, Bank Hall, St Michael, continued on Monday in Supreme Court No. 4A, where Justice Donna Babb-Agard presides.
He is accused of disposing of the body of 12-year-old Rasheeda Bascombe sometime between January 2, 2002 and May 30, 2013. He has denied the charge.
Under cross-examination, Layne said no body was found in the Jackson area the day he was there in 2013, although that could have been influenced by weather conditions, the time the search was done and the excavation taking place there at the time.
Kerri Headley, who lived next door to Nurse and his family at the time the girl went missing, recalled that on January 2, 2002, he and another person were in Nurse’s kitchen playing cards that evening. Rasheeda Bascombe was in the dining room on the phone when she told her sister Raquel: “I coming back.” That was the last time he heard or saw the girl, whom he considered “a little sister” because his mother helped to raise her.
In response to prosecutor Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis, Headley described Rasheeda as a “quiet, young girl whom you could ask to do anything”. Sometimes she said “no”, but would think about it and then do it, he added.
He remembered seeing accused Nurse in his yard that evening, but he left home later that night to go for a walk, which he did sometimes.
Station Sergeant Amito Pollard told the court he was attached to the Major Crimes Unit and was one of the officers who interviewed the accused electronically on July 28 and 29, 2020, before charging him with disposing of his granddaughter’s body on the latter date.
During cross-examination, Pollard was asked by defence attorney Lennox Miller whether he could produce a death certificate for Rasheeda Bascombe, or could say – as at today’s date – whether she was alive or dead. The witness said he could not, but based on Nurse’s confession to former Inspector Griffith, “I would assume she’s deceased at today’s date”.
“Do you have any concrete evidence to bring to substantiate that?” counsel asked.
“Yes,” Pollard replied. “The accused confessed to disposing of the body and she’s been missing since 2002, and it is now 2025.”
Asked whether as lead investigator he ever searched for Rasheeda’s body, Pollard said he had not.
He agreed that Nurse subsequently denied everything he said to him in his statement, but the lawman said it had no bearing on him, because an accused person had the right to deny anything.
Pollard said he did not come across any information suggesting the girl was seen by members of the public for months after she was supposedly missing. He agreed that no one ever told him they saw her with the accused either, since that date.
Questioned about whether Nurse had ever been charged with anything else and the outcome of it, the station sergeant said “yes” and that matter had been discontinued.
State Counsel Tito Holder is also appearing for the prosecution, while Marlon Miller is the second defence attorney.
The case continues today. (SD)
Trump says he has ‘obligation’ to sue BBC over speech edit
US President Donald Trump has said he has an “obligation” to sue the BBC over the way a section of his speech was edited in a Panorama documentary.
Speaking to Fox News, he said his 6 January 2021 speech had been “butchered” and the way it was presented had “defrauded” viewers.
It is the first time Trump has spoken publicly about the matter since his lawyers wrote to the BBC and said he would sue for $1bn (£759m) in damages unless the corporation issues a retraction, apologises and compensates him.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “We are reviewing the letter and will respond directly in due course.”
BBC chair Samir Shah has previously apologised for an “error of judgement” over the edit.
Appearing on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle, the president was asked if he would go ahead with the lawsuit, responding “well I guess I have to, you know, why not, because they defrauded the public, and they’ve admitted it”.
Trump continued: “They actually changed my January 6 speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and they made it sound radical.
“And they actually changed it. What they did was rather incredible.”
Asked again if he would proceed with the legal action, he said: “Well I think I have an obligation to do it, because you can’t get people, you can’t allow people to do that.”
The Fox News interview was recorded on Monday, though the section concerning the BBC was not published by Fox News until late on Tuesday evening in the US.
The BBC received the letter from Trump’s lawyers on Sunday. It demands a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary, an apology, and that the BBC “appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused”.
It sets a deadline of 22:00 GMT (17:00 EST) on Friday for the corporation to respond.
The BBC has said it will respond in due course.
BBC News has contacted the BBC for comment on the president’s latest remarks.
If Trump sues in Florida, he would also need to establish the BBC Panorama documentary was available there. There is no evidence so far to suggest that it has been shown in the US.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has made legal threats against other media outlets over their coverage of him. He settled with both CBS News and ABC News after receiving large payouts, and has sought to take legal action against the New York Times.
The BBC edit appeared in a Panorama documentary which aired days before the US presidential election in November 2024, but only generated significant public scrutiny after a leaked internal BBC memo was published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper last week.
In the memo, a former independent external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee raised concerns that a section of the speech had been edited in a way which suggested the president explicitly encouraged the Capitol riot of January 2021.
Trump actually said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
However, in the Panorama edit two sections of the speech more than 50 minutes apart were spliced together.
He was shown saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The fallout has led to the BBC’s director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness resigning.
Both outgoing senior leaders have pushed back against critics who have said the episode raises wider questions about impartiality at the BBC.
Speaking during an internal all-staff meeting on Tuesday, Davie said: “We have made some mistakes that have cost us, but we need to fight”, adding that “this narrative will not just be given by our enemies, it’s our narrative”.
He said the BBC went through “difficult times… but it just does good work, and that speaks louder than any newspaper, any weaponisation”.
Neither Davie nor the BBC chair mentioned Trump’s legal threat during their address to staff on Tuesday.
Downing Street has said this was a “matter for the BBC”.
“It is clearly not for the government to comment on any ongoing legal matters,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.
The row comes at a sensitive time for the BBC, with its royal charter – the agreement which underpins its governance and funding arrangements – due to expire at the end of 2027.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will oversee talks on the terms of its renewal. She told the Commons on Tuesday those negotiations would “renew its mission for the modern age” and ensure a “genuinely accountable” organisation.
Nandy continued: “There is a fundamental difference between raising serious concerns over editorial failings and members of this House launching a sustained attack on the institution itself, because the BBC is not just a broadcaster, it is a national institution that belongs to us all.”
The culture select committee is expected to hear evidence from senior BBC figures in the coming weeks, including Shah and board members Sir Robbie Gibb and Caroline Thomson.
Former editorial standards adviser Michael Prescott, who authored the leaked memo which appeared in the Telegraph, will also be invited to give evidence.
Elsewhere, an internal Reform UK email seen by BBC News confirmed the party is ending its co-operation with a documentary commissioned by the broadcaster about its rise.
The email says the production team had been given “unprecedented access” to senior figures in the party, but that they should now withdraw consent for any footage to be used over the Trump row. (BBC News)
Concern over two-year citizenship
Questions are being raised about Government’s plan to reduce to two years the period in which Barbadian citizenship can be attained.
The Barbados Bar Association (BBA) queried this yesterday, saying that the international “gold standard” was at least five years.
The issue was raised by BBA president Kaye Williams and convenor of its law reform and legislation committee, Lynne-Marie Simmons, during an oral submission to the Joint Select Committee (Standing) on Governance and Policy Matters.
As the committee reconvened in the Senate Chamber to review the draft Immigration Bill, 2025, and Barbados Citizenship Bill, 2025,
Williams asked what was the guiding principle for the proposal to reduce the number of years to acquire citizenship to two years.
“Internationally and in practice, those . . . practitioners would tell us that the gold standard is between five to seven years minimum. In Barbados, it is seven to ten years. What is the guiding thought? What is the reason why we would wish to reduce it to two years?
“When we looked around for Commonwealth nations, island nation states, we could not draw very many similarities. We only found Argentina – their threshold for citizenship is two years – but typically for those in practice, the gold standard is at least five to seven years,” Williams said.
Chair of the Joint Select Committee, Member of Parliament for St Michael South Central Marsha Caddle, asked the BBA representatives: “What is the harm that you imagine from the period that is proposed in the legislation?”
Simmons submitted that “persons must demonstrate . . . a deep and abiding connection with a country that they want to become a citizen of”.
She also stated that comments in the report of the Constitutional Reform Commission showed that citizenship was something that Barbadians at home and in the diaspora “held very sacred”. “When you’re dealing with expanding the categories of citizenship, it has to be done in such a way that it doesn’t create any social disharmony within society. That’s something that was touched on in that report,” the attorney said. “So the general thinking is for somebody to show a real and genuine connection with a country, they need to live there, they need to be integrated
in society, they need to contribute and they need to demonstrate this, which is the current focus of the existing legislation.” Simmons noted that “when you’re going to submit an application for citizenship, you also have to submit . . . basically a story that explains how you’ve integrated into Barbadian society.
“So you write a statement. You tell them what you do, where you work, where you live, if you are involved in any activities within society, so they know that you really want to have a close connection with the country,” she said.
“That is not something that you can say can happen in just two or three years. You get to know all of the differences that we have, how we behave as Barbadians.
“So the thinking was five years is enough time . . . , that’s if you’re married to a Barbadian citizen. The Constitution makes mention of two other periods – seven years if you are a Commonwealth citizen and ten years if you are going to be a naturalised citizen. There is an argument for truncating that period, but I would respectfully submit that two or three years is a little bit too short,” Simmons said. (SC)
St. Philip man charged with firearm and ammunition offences
A 20-year-old St. Philip man has been charged in connection with firearm-related offences.
Jahquar Shacorey-Najah Lewis of Carrington Land, St. Philip, was arrested and formally charged for endangering life, possession of a firearm, and possession of ammunition.
The charges relate to separate incidents, one involving the endangerment of Alexander McClean on March 9, 2025, and another in which Lewis was allegedly found with a firearm and ammunition on November 7, 2025.
Lewis appeared before Magistrate Angela Knight in the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court this morning and was not required to plead to the indictable offences and was remanded to Dodds Prison.
He is scheduled to reappear in court on Monday, December 9, 2025.
Four potential obstacles in House vote to end US shutdown
A day after the US Senate passed a spending bill to end the longest-ever government shutdown, the budget fight now moves to the House of Representatives.
The lower chamber of Congress is expected to vote this week on the funding measure.
Unlike in the Senate, if House Republicans stay united, they don’t need any Democrats to pass the budget. But the margin for error is razor thin.
Here are four potential hold-ups for the budget, before it can clear Congress and land on the president’s desk for signing into law.
A key sticking point throughout the shutdown has been a desire on the part of Democrats to attach to the spending bill a renewal of tax credits that make health insurance less expensive for 24 million Americans.
Senate Republicans instead only agreed to grant Democrats a vote in December on whether to extend the subsidies – something they had already offered weeks ago.
And House Speaker Mike Johnson would not commit on Monday to allowing a vote in his chamber on the tax credits.
This entails a fair degree of political risk for Republicans, however. If they torpedo the subsidies, health coverage premiums could rocket, handing Democrats a ready-made campaign issue for next year’s midterm elections.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conservative Republican congresswoman from Georgia, has broken ranks with President Donald Trump to warn that her party must ensure health insurance premiums do not spike.
As the clock ticks down to the subsidies expiring by the end of December, Republicans are working out their plan.
They want income caps on who can receive the tax credits, and are proposing the tax dollars bypass insurance companies and go straight to individuals – although the details are unclear.
Out of power in Washington, where Trump’s Republicans control the House and Senate, Democrats appeared finally to have some political wind in their sails after a handful of election wins last week in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City.
But those victories, like the shutdown fight, have accentuated strategic tensions between the pragmatic and progressive, or left-wing, factions of the party.
The Democratic left is furious at defectors who voted with Senate Republicans to pass the budget on Monday, seeing this as a capitulation to Trump.
From that wing of the party, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake”. California Governor Gavin Newsom called it “surrender”.
Congressman Greg Casar of Texas, the chairman of the House Progressive Caucus, warned: “A deal that doesn’t reduce healthcare costs is a betrayal of millions of Americans counting on Democrats to fight for them.”
However, centrist lawmakers like Jared Golden of Maine, who represents one of the most conservative districts in the nation held by any Democrat, may cross the aisle.
Golden, who recently announced he won’t run for re-election, is likely to vote for the package, his office indicated to Axios, a political outlet, on Monday.
Another moderate Democrat, Henry Cuellar of Texas, could help get the Republicans’ spending plan over the line.
“It’s past time to put country over party and get our government working again for the American people,” he posted on social media on Sunday. (BBC News)
Sagicor gets Fitch upgrade
Sagicor has received a credit rating upgrade from Fitch Ratings.
On October 21, the global credit rating agency announced that it “upgraded Sagicor Financial Company Limited’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-’”.
“Fitch has also “upgraded [Sagicor’s] senior unsecured debt to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’”.
It stated: “The rating outlook is stable. Fitch has also affirmed the insurer financial strength rating of ivari at ‘A-’ with a stable outlook.”
Fitch said that the upgrade “reflects strengthening core profitability and two years of consolidated contributions from ivari, complemented by lower debt financing costs and a strong capitalisation profile”.
It added, however, that Sagicor’s continued exposure to below-investmentgrade sovereign holdings, including Barbados, “partly offset” these positives.
In a press release from the company, Sagicor president and chief executive officer Andre Mousseau welcomed the investment grade ratings and said: “We are pleased with this upgrade, which provides a unanimous view from our credit rating agencies that Sagicor’s senior unsecured debt is investment grade.
“This is further validation of Sagicor’s strong capitalisation as we pursue stable and profitable growth. This upgrade will provide Sagicor with enhanced access to capital as we execute our strategy.”
In its separate announcement, Fitch said that Sagicor, which operates in the Caribbean, Canada and
the United States (US), was “well diversified across business lines and geographies, with a business risk profile in line with its life insurance peers”.
Other positives noted by the credit rating agency included that Sagicor’s profitability was strengthening, and it had a “solid capital position”. Fitch also observed that while Sagicor’s investment risk improved post-ivari acquisition, “exposure to risky and belowinvestment- grade assets relative to shareholders’ equity remains above peers, amplified by sovereign holdings tied to local requirements”.
In this regard, it said, “Concentration is driven by Jamaica, with Jamaican sovereigns equal to 48 per cent of equity. Barbados and Jamaica carry positive outlooks, which could ease the sovereign cap over time.”
Fitch said factors that could lead to a downgrade of Sagicor’s rating included “significant deterioration in the operating environments and sovereigns of Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados, which could lead to a material decline in operating performance and/or credit profile of [Sagicor] investment portfolio.
Factors leading to an upgrade included “no material deterioration in the operating environments and sovereigns of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados”.
(SC)
Car rental levy ‘here to stay’
While the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) remains open to hearing from stakeholders, there will be no rolling back of the Car Rental Levy.
A media release from the BRA said after a series of sensitisation sessions with car rental operators which guided them through the process for collecting, filing and paying the levy over the past week, a number of concerns and suggestions were raised.
Revenue Commissioner Jason King said they welcomed the feedback and were committed to a transparent process.
“We recognise that any new measure brings adjustments and we value the constructive feedback shared by our stakeholders. Our team has documented the concerns raised and we will submit those outside of our remit for further consideration and refine the aspects within our control to address some of the technical challenges noted,” he stated in the release.
In spite of this, the levy, which was announced as a budgetary measure in 2025, remained in place.
“The Car Rental Levy represents an important reform and the Authority will continue to work with operators on this transition. We are firm in our mandate but open in our approach,” King continued.
“The insights shared by operators will help us strengthen the system and enhance communication. Nevertheless, we encourage rental operators to prepare the documentation and file the levy return when due.”
The Car Rental Levy came into effect on October 15 and applies to all vehicle rentals for both residents and non-resident visitors. It is $5 per day, up to a maximum of $35 per rental, and is included in the daily rental fee.
Car dealers spoke out against the measure which was originally assessed at $10 per day, intending to replace the visitor registration permits which cost $10 for stays under two months and $100 for two months. Those on the Welcome Stamp and others with long-term rentals like university students would feel it most, they said.
The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association also sounded the alarm, pointing out in seeking to replace about $350 000 in lost revenue from the permits, the levy could earn as much as $13 million annually, raising car rental costs by 12.5 per cent.
The General Insurance Association of Barbados also warned it would raise the cost of claims insurance.
BRA reminded operators they are required to file and pay the levy monthly in TAMIS, with the first filing period covering October 15 to 31, 2025, and the first submission due by November 17. (PR/SAT)
West Indies to face Afghanistan in three-match T20 series in UAE
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has confirmed that the regional team will take on Afghanistan in a three-match T20 International series in January 2026, as part of preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The series is set to begin on January 19 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, with the remaining two matches scheduled for January 21 and 22 at the same venue.
CWI Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe said the series would play an important role in the team’s buildup to the World Cup, which begins in February.
“This series provides an ideal platform for our preparation,” Bascombe said. “Facing strong opposition in subcontinental conditions will help us sharpen our combinations and approach, and it also gives our players a chance to build confidence on surfaces similar to those we’ll encounter in India and Sri Lanka.”
Afghanistan Cricket Board Chief Executive Officer Naseeb Khan said the matches would also benefit his side as they finalise preparations ahead of the global tournament.
“Competing against the West Indies on the brink of a global event presents an excellent opportunity for our team to finalise their lineup and enhance their preparations for the upcoming mega event in India and Sri Lanka,” Khan said.
Both teams are expected to use the series to fine-tune strategies and assess player form before heading into the World Cup.
Match Schedule:
1st T20I – January 19, Sharjah
2nd T20I – January 21, Sharjah
3rd T20I – January 22, Sharjah
(PR)