NEWS
‘He fell in way of cutlass’
Biche farmer Steven Samaroo on Tuesday denied chopping his fellow villager in 2005, but instead suggested that the man was chopped by another villager who was attacking him. “He fall in the way of the cutlass,” Samaroo said as he took the witness stand to give evidence at his trial, He is accused of chopping Visham Ramoutar in the early hours of August 7, 2005. Read more here
Mayaro man charged with trafficking Venezuelan minor
The Police Service is appealing to members of the public to be aware of predators who lure foreign nationals to T&T under the guise of assisting with employment, work permits and the offer of other forms of support. The police gave the advice in a statement in which it reported that a Mayaro man appeared in court charged with human trafficking of a female minor. Read more here
Two shot dead
Two people were shot dead around 9 o’clock tonight and two others injured at Boys Lane, D'Abadie. The identities of the two dead men were unavailable. Residents of the area heard rapid gunfire followed by a crashing sound . Upon investigating, they observed that a white Nissan Tiida had crashed into a wall along the roadway. Read more here
POLITICS
Deyalsingh: 250 health care specialists for TT from Cuba
A team from the Health Ministry will be going to Cuba later this month to recruit 250 health care specialists in 11 different fields. Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, during a news conference yesterday at the ministry’s head office, Park Street, Port of Spain, said specialists critically needed at the nation’s health institutions could not be sourced locally. “Either the skill does not reside locally or people do not want to work in the public sector under the terms and conditions. We are making every effort to recruit local medical professionals, but the positions cannot be filled,” he said. Read more here
National Security still negotiating terms with Gary
The National Security Ministry is still negotiating terms and conditions with incoming Police Commissioner Gary Griffith. However, in a release yesterday the ministry said such negotiations will be settled before the new CoP assumes office. The ministry, which is tasked with the responsibility of negotiating the contractual terms and conditions with Griffith, said the process was being treated as a priority. Read more here
Cabinet goes on retreat Friday
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s Cabinet will go into retreat tomorrow, mere days after his midnight announcement of a shake-up that saw the national security minister being shown the door. Read more here
BUSINESS
Six principles of persuasion for first time negotiators
My name is Michael and I just got promoted to vice president of sales at work. This position requires me to meet and negotiate with a lot of senior executives in many large firms throughout the region. I am very excited about the road ahead, but I have my concerns about getting people more senior than me to buy-in to my company and to me. Read more here
T&T drops five spots in Innovation Index
This country has dropped five spots on the 2018 Global Innovation Index Rankings (GII) and now ranks at 96 out of 126 countries. Last year, T&T ranked 91 on the GII which is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a specialised agency of the United Nations. In the current ratings, out of 100 this country scored 26.75, down from a score of 29.7 last year. The fact that the efficient ratio came down from .60 to .43, means T&T is underperforming given its level of development, said Dr Balraj Kistow, lecturer and programme director at the Arthur Lol Jack Global School of Business, when he announced the rankings yesterday. Read more here
It could cost up to US$214m
The board of Cayman National bank has determined that it is in the interests of the bank’s shareholders to engage with Republic Bank in connection with the possible offer. Read more here
REGIONAL
'Politics Choking Waste-To-Energy Industry'
Canadian investor Michael Mosgrove has directed blame at the Government for the slow pace at which it has moved to create profitability out of the recycling and waste-to-energy industry. Mosgrove believes that foreign investors waiting in line to receive the nod of approval may soon lose interest in setting up such businesses locally as certain members of Government continue to drag their feet. He said that a proper industry could be the answer to preventing the unhealthy practice of burning garbage. He said that two years ago, he attended a meeting with Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie, and National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Chairman Dennis Chung. "We all agreed to privatise a pilot project in the western end of the island, but nothing happened," claimed Mosgrove. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Yemen war: Children killed in air strike on bus
US sanctions 'categorically unacceptable,' says Putin spokesman
The Trump administration's decision to impose further sanctions against Russia following the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK earlier this year is "categorically unacceptable" and "illegal," according to President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The US State Department announced Wednesday that sanctions would be imposed under a chemical and biological warfare law and would go into effect around August 22. The statement also accused Russia of violating international law. During a regular press call on Thursday, Peskov said that it was "too early" at the moment for possible retaliatory sanctions to be discussed and reiterated the claim that Russia was not involved in the poisoning of the former spy in Salisbury, England. Read more here
9th August 2018