NEWS
TPRC working to resolve garbage collection issue
The Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation (TPRC) over the past two weeks has been in receipt of several complaints of uncollected garbage and is currently implementing measures to resolve the situation. A statement from the Corporation said the executive has noted with concern that some of the scavenging contractors have been underperforming. “This has become apparent at a time when the Corporation has decided to revisit its days for collection by reducing the contractual days from four (4) days to three (3) days per week. Read more here
Divali flooding hits South, Central hard
Yesterday’s Divali Day celebrations were washed out for several families who were left marooned in their homes after flood waters inundated their houses and communities in several areas in South, North East and Central Trinidad. Due to persistent rainfall across the country overnight into yesterday, several major water courses overflowed and there were also reports of landslides. Several families who lost appliances and farmers whose crops were destroyed could do very little to help themselves as the raging waters came. Read more here
Four nabbed in Nisha B burglary
Four people have been arrested in connection with the burglary at the Cunupia business place of entertainer Nisha Bissambhar. The theft at the clothing boutique, located on Southern Main Road and known as The Dollhouse by Nisha B, occurred on Monday. Read more here
POLITICS
Colm: CEPEP is under review
Pressed about a $75 million cut in the Budget allocation for CEPEP from $433 million last year to $358 million this year, Finance Minister Colm Imbert on Tuesday said the entire CEPEP programme is under review. As the House of Representatives sat in its first day of Standing Finance Committee, Tabaquite MP Dr Suruj Rambachan, a former Chaguanas Mayor, asked Minister of Local Government Kazim Hosein about the CEPEP cut. Read more here
Kamla urges citizens not to sit back
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has urged citizens not to sit back and be a spectator to our plight, saying a willingness to take action is fundamental to change and eventual success. “If we do nothing we will continue to be willing victims of evil men and women. At this time, our nation requires us to take action and to be inspired by the story of the emergence of Mother Lakshmi, which highlights that with cooperation and unity we will succeed,” Persad-Bissessar said in a Divali message on Tuesday evening ahead of yesterday’s celebration of the religious festival. Read more here
FFOS: Govt must intensify clean-up efforts
Yesterday marked four days since the Chaguaramas oil spill occurred and Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) is calling on the State to intensify its clean-up efforts. In a release yesterday, by FFOS corporate secretary Gary Aboud, it said the clean-up efforts needed to be intensified before there was long-term damage to the ecosystem. Read more here
BUSINESS
Let them cash Govt cheques
President Anthony Carmona has renewed his call for the Government to allow pension cheques to be cashed at credit unions and has encouraged the credit union institutions to consider providing currency exchange services strictly for the Caribbean. Carmona was addressing members of the 69-year-old Palo Seco Credit Union Co-operative Society (PALSECCU) at their Palo Seco headquarters on Tuesday, where he also opened an account in recognition of International Credit Union Day today. Recalling that he made the suggestion two years ago, Carmona again said: “Moves should be afoot to ensure that pensioners, for example, are able to cash their cheques at credit unions and not only at certain institutions.” Read more here
CLICO records a sixth profitable year
Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) declared an after-tax profit of $447.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, which is a 50-per cent decline from the $894.3 million the company declared in 2015, according to the insurer’s financial statement on its website. Read more here
REGIONAL
Crisis In Courts - DPP Slaps Legislators For Failing To Understand Justice System Concerns
The nation's chief prosecutor, Paula Llewellyn, yesterday confronted lawmakers with a grim description of how justice is being dispensed in some criminal courts, particularly in rural areas, and told them bluntly that it was the result of a lack of vision by successive political administrations. "Part of Jamaica's problem is the fact, and I say it, that the justice system has never been as sexy for you legislators as building a highway. Therefore, the resources have not been put in place over the last 30, 40 years," said Llewellyn, the director of public prosecutions. "It is just unfortunate that over the last 30 years, there has not been a unified holistic vision by both political dispensations in respect of the justice system," she continued. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Catalonia crisis: Spain moves to suspend autonomy
What we know and don't know about the deadly Niger attack
Defense Secretary James Mattis wants answers regarding the ambush by 50 ISIS-affiliated fighters that left four US soldiers dead and two wounded in Niger two weeks ago, three senior US defense officials told CNN Wednesday. Mattis is dismayed at the lack of detailed information he has received about about the attack, but there is no indication he is trying to unduly hurry the investigation being carried out by US Africa Command, according to all three officials -- all of whom are in a position to have knowledge of how Mattis views the situation. Read more here
19th October 2017