NEWS
TT needs contaminated-land registry, says expert
TT needs a Contaminated Land and Hazardous Waste registry to ensure repurposed land does not pose health risks, one environmental consultant has said. “We don’t have an inventory so we don’t know what land is polluted. If you do not know the historical background of land you can be exposing yourself, your family and even your workers (to health risks),” Kelli Danglad of Green Engineering told a Joint Select Committee of Parliament on Finance and Legal Affairs on Friday. Read more here
Police still questioning shooting suspect
Police were up to late yesterday still questioning the suspect held in connection with last Tuesday’s shooting of Scotiabank employee Rostan Mahabir. They confirmed that charges have not yet been laid. Snr Supt Zamsheed Mohammed revealed during a walkabout on High Street, San Fernando, on Friday that an arrest had been after investigators conducted surveillance work. H said the suspect was arrested around 2.30 pm on Friday at a house in Fyzabad in an operation co-ordinated by South Western Division police. Read more here
Venezuelans in T&T boycott ‘sham’ election
While presidential elections ran full swing in neighbouring Venezuela with the expectation that sitting head of state, Nicolas Maduro, would run off with the polls, only a handful of those nationals resident in Trinidad yesterday visited their country’s embassy in Port of Spain as it remained open for voting. Read more here
POLITICS
Mickela gets mandate to form new party
It was billed as a “meet and greet” with former UNC MP Mickela Panday to get the views of the people. By the middle of the open-floor session, Panday took the microphone and asked the overflowing hall of people at Gaston Courts, Chaguanas, if they wanted to start a new political party. Their response was a resounding “Yes.” Read more here
Sinanan denies ethnic cleansing claims
Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan has denied claims of ethnic cleansing of T&T’s East Indian community via the property tax. He did so in response to questions from reporters when he attended the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha’s (SDMS) Indian Arrival Day dinner at the Radisson Hotel, Port-of-Spain, on Saturday night. Prof Dilip Dan, head of the Department of Clinical Sciences at The UWI, who was honoured at the event, had referred to ethnic cleansing and claims that the reintroduced property tax targeted East Indian when he spoke at the function. Read more here
Kamla urges Govt: Take action against crime
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says crime is out of control and the time has come for Government to take decisive action to protect the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Read more here
BUSINESS
The UWI signs MoU with Sussex University
In its thrust to broaden its international reach and reputation, the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. The two universities have committed to collaborate on research-based solutions for sustainable social and economic development and teaching at the graduate level. The MoU will see joint research, publications, staging of conferences and academic meetings, exchange of academic material and other aspects of teaching and learning. Read more here
AHL improves, UCL stumbles
This week, we at Bourse review the performances of two companies within the Manufacturing I Sector, Angostura Holdings Ltd (AHL) and Unilever Caribbean Ltd (UCL) for the period ended March 31, 2018. With contrasting fortunes, AHL benefitted from exports while UCL confronted slow domestic demand. We highlight some key areas of the performances and discuss possible implications for investors. Read more here
REGIONAL
B’dos PM threatens to leave CCJ
Citing disrespect from the T&T-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart says if his Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is re-elected in the upcoming general election, his administration will leave the CCJ in its appellate jurisdiction. Stuart, who was speaking late Saturday at a political meeting in the parish of St. Michael, said he also had a problem with the limited number of cases brought before the regional court. Read more here
On The Corner With EPOC | Angry Youth - Nannyville Resident Wants Gov't To Check Mental Health Of The Unattached
The Government is pumping millions of dollars into programmes to educate, equip, and empower unattached youth, but one resident of Nannyville Gardens believes that might just be flushing money down the drain. Fennela Haye is convinced that the Government should first fund programmes to assess the mental health of these unattached youth before embarking on any scheme to make them productive. Participating in the latest Gleaner On the Corner with the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) last Monday, the 27-year-old Haye argued that any intervention is doomed to fail if there is no mental intervention. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
More eruptions from Kilauea are possible, but laze and lava are the biggest hazards right now
Residents on the Big Island face several threats Monday from Kilauea: In addition to the possibility of more eruptions, lava is oozing into the ocean, sending hydrochloric acid and volcanic glass particles into the air. That's producing laze, a dangerous mix of lava and haze, which is adding to the ongoing challenges. Levels of sulfur dioxide have tripled in emissions. And Kilauea Volcano's summit had several small ash emissions Sunday, releasing plumes of gas and billowing steam. Read more here
Venezuela election: Maduro wins second term amid claims of vote rigging
21st May 2018