The Barbados Meteorological Services has issued an information statement on Tropical Depression #10 which has formed in the Atlantic.

 The forecasters however point out that Barbados is not likely to receive any direct impact from the system on its present track.

 At 11 a.m. today, Tropical Depression # 10 was located near 12.9 degrees north, 44.5 degrees west or about 1165 miles east of Barbados.

It is moving towards the west-northwest near 12 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds near 35 miles per hour with higher gusts.

 The Depression is expected to become a tropical storm later today and further strengthening is expected in the coming days.

 It is expected to pass to the north of the Leeward Islands by Thursday night into early Friday.

 The forecasters, however, urge residents in Barbados and the Lesser Antilles to continue to closely monitor the progress of this system. 

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The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training informs all parents and guardians that Class 4 students of the Belmont Primary School are asked to report to school tomorrow, Wednesday, September 18.

All other students are to await instructions from the Ministry of Education regarding their return to school.

Parents of the school are asked to note that exercise books, games clothes, school crests, and other materials will be on sale at the school on Thursday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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Caribbean Community leaders are expected to speak with one voice “loud and clear” on the deadly implications of the climate crisis for the region when they begin to appear at the United Nations from Tuesday, CARICOM Ambassador David Comissiong has revealed.

Presidents and prime ministers are gathering this week for the UN General Assembly’s 74th session, fresh with images of the devastating impact of Category Five Hurricane Dorian on the Bahamas and the increasing ferocity of tropical cyclones affecting the region, said the envoy.

Comissiong told Barbados TODAY the emergence of ‘climate refugees’ was now a reality for hundreds of people native to the affected Bahamian islands and criticised US President Donald Trump’s “disturbing” denial of the phenomenon.   

He said: “When the new United Nations General Assembly Session begins in New York this month, you are going to hear the voice of the Caribbean Community very loud and clear on this issue [climate change].

“We know that the increasing ferocity of these hurricanes that are impacting on the Caribbean is a direct consequence of global warming and climate change.

“So our political leaders have determined that we cannot sit back and allow the global temperature to increase above a maximum of 1.5 degrees, and if the world does not take action to keep the increase in global temperature to a maximum of 1.5 degrees, it is going to have catastrophic consequences for the island nations of the Caribbean.

“This is an issue that is being taken very seriously by the CARICOM leadership.”

Addressing the Trump administration’s stance on climate change issues, he frowned on its treatment of some Bahamians. US immigration authorities had refused to grant them entry into the US without a visa.

The Ambassador told Barbados TODAY: “We are living in a world in which a major country like the United States of America, which is the world’s number one economy that no doubt has contributed to global warming and punching holes in the ozone layer… would pull out of the Paris Agreement and that is very disturbing,”

“This is a very unsatisfactory state of affairs. We are very conscious in the Caribbean that we do not have industrial economies so we have not contributed in any significant way to global warming, yet we are the ones facing the direst consequences in the form of monster hurricanes and rising sea levels that are affecting our island states.”

Pointing to Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s continued climate change appeals at UN fora since taking office last year, he said the key topic has emerged as a major plank of CARICOM’s foreign policy.

When questioned about the ability of small states to force meaningful change in the global fight against climate change, he argued the region was not helpless but would continue to face an uphill battle.

Ambassador Comissiong said: “Small states have power as well. Small states can speak truth to power and can stand on principle and demonstrate moral courage. We have to believe in our cause, which is a just cause, a righteous cause.”

“It is a cause that goes to the core of whether humanity will survive on this earth in the decades and centuries to come. So we must believe in that cause and must advocate it with commitment, passion, and commitment regardless of our size.” kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb

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Barbados’ allure as a tourist destination could come under siege if the threat of the illicit goods trade isn’t taken seriously.

The caution has come from Director of Crime Stoppers International Michael Ellis who has contended that the issue of illicit trading is now a major concern for law enforcement agencies across the world.

He made the comments while speaking at a seminar entitled Measuring the Impact of Illicit Trade at the Hilton Barbados this morning.

Ellis said the island’s reputation and tourism sector could be negatively impacted if it was seen as a hub for these illegal activities.

He said once the trade was allowed to fester it would also attract other elements of a crime.

“Then there are shootings and murders and there are criminal gangs fighting because you have lost control of your supply chain and you’ve allowed this crisis to grow, and that’s my message to you. Sit back and do nothing and you will have a big problem.

“…If left unchecked this unlawful exploitation remains a risk, hampering not only your ingenuity but your opportunities for economic growth and jobs market. We cannot afford to view this as a ‘soft crime’ affecting only the narrow private interests of a few industries... and we certainly should not allow decision-makers and consumers to think of this as a ‘victimless crime’,” Ellis said.

“This crime touches so many industries - the food industry, automobile, pharmaceuticals, creative arts, software, tobacco industries, clothing, luxury goods, the list is endless...” added the former Assistant Director of Interpol who also maintained that the illicit trade of goods had the potential to wreck economies.

“It is a crime that damages societies, it threatens citizens’ safety, it feeds transnational organized crime and it provides finances for subversive groups driven by their own political demands. It is a crime that robs countries of their dignity and destiny, it undermines the rule of law, and is a growing blight that feeds ‘individuals’ working in the ‘shadows’ of normal business,” he said.

Ellis said a report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime indicated that international organised crime networks draw profits as high as $870 billion from illicit trade, which is equivalent to 1.5 per cent of global GDP.

He revealed that an increasing volume and a wider range of products were being transmitted in small parcels directly to consumers and businesses across the world causing excessive problems for law enforcement in dealing with the high volumes, but also in deciding when and where action can or should be taken against the organised crime gangs.

As it relates to the Caribbean, Ellis said the trade of illicit goods through the islands was also worrying.

“Like many other parts of the world, illicit trade affects all the islands across the Caribbean. It’s particularly damaging to all societies. It is a crime that has no order and does not respect the normal rule of law and a region like the Caribbean where there is the movement of goods, people, especially informal movements, it obviously creates opportunities for smuggling all types of illicit goods,” he said.

Ellis said among some of those illicit products found in the Caribbean were tobacco, alcohol, car parts, pharmaceutical products, clothing, and sportswear, along with consumer goods such as detergents, shampoos, and toothpaste.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb

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The Ministry of Trade and Commerce has been quick to address any issues which have arisen relating to the entry of illicit goods into the country or illegal practices by companies that place consumers at risk.

Deputy Director of Commerce in that ministry Margaret Campbell-Leslie gave that assurance today while speaking at a Crime Stoppers’ symposium entitled Measuring the Impact of Illicit Trade.

While Campbell-Leslie admitted that there had been instances where persons had tried to ‘smuggle’ illicit products into the country, they had been quickly identified and prevented from doing so.

She said this included one person who attempted to bring meat into the country that had been sprayed with embalming fluid to prevent it from rotting.

“There are persons who do not want to declare when their food or their goods come from a particular country and therefore they will state some other country and will not state the country of origin.

“That is important for us because as a consumer we want to be able to decide if we want to buy food coming from a particular country,” Campbell-Leslie said.

She recalled the 2017 incident where tins of corned beef were hastily pulled from the shelves when news broke that a batch had been tainted.

Campbell-Leslie also spoke of an incident in Barbados where workers at a local company were seen on video changing the expiration dates on a particular product.

She said once it was brought to the attention of the ministry they swiftly moved in and took action.

“There was a situation where workers were erasing the dates from the products and then putting on new dates. If it is an expired date where the manufacturer is saying that they are not going to guarantee that the product is going to be good if used after a particular date, then that person was putting consumer’s health at risk,” the senior official said.

“We went into that little company and we had them take everything to the dump under supervision. We didn’t find anything in the legislation at the time that we could have taken it any further, but at least we went in and we dealt with that.”

Campbell-Leslie said the ministry was keeping a keen eye on those organic foods being sold.

She said it was imperative that the relevant inspections were done to ensure that those locally made products were genuine.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb

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