NEWS
Cop on $400,000 bail for assault charge
Special Reserve Police Naren Beharry, 30, yesterday appeared before a Chaguanas magistrate for allegedly having a gun and ammunition with intent to endanger lives. Beharry appeared before Joanne Connor in the First Court also charged with two counts of common assault. Insp Jugmohan of the Chaguanas police station laid the charges. Beharry is alleged to have brandished a gun at two people in Chaguanas earlier this month. He has seven years’ service and is posted at the Chaguanas station. Defence attorney Taradath Singh represented him. Read more here
Timber licensees protest pace of processing documents
Some 60 Rio Claro and Mayaro woodworkers (licensees) who purchase trees through the Forestry Division are begging Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to help them. The licensees are claiming that they have been unable to purchase or sell the trees to earn an income to support themselves and their families for almost two months. During a placard demonstration in front the Rio Claro office yesterday, Imtiaz Mohammed said on June 20 during a meeting with Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambarat and the Conservator of Forests, a directive was given to a senior officer attached to the Rio Claro office to start processing the paper work to allow the licensees to buy the trees and remove the trees which they have already purchased. Read more here
Galleons Passage now has a T&T arrival date
A date has finally been given. The Galleons Passage is expected to arrive in Trinidad waters by July 16. Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan on Monday provided the date in response to a question from Oropouche West MP Vidia Gayadeen-Gopeesingh at the Parliament sitting. She noted there were reports that the Galleons Passage will once again remain in Cuba for upgrades and therefore what was the estimated time of arrival to Trinidad. Read more here
POLITICS
Dinosaur Petrotrin
State-owned Petrotrin has to change its leadership and improve on its technology as it cannot continue to operate on technology it adopted since 1962. Energy Minister Franklin Khan, speaking yesterday at the 2018 Energy Resources Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Professional Engineers (TT Section) at the Hyatt Regency, said unless Petrotrin stepped up its game, it would get nowhere with technology and trade. The oil company has been strapped for cash and was heavily in debt. Read more here
NIF will bring better returns
Having earned annual interest of just $7 from one of his bank accounts, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday called on the business sector, NGOs and customers of commercial banks to invest in Government’s National Investment Fund (NIF), which he assured will generate higher returns on their investment. As Rowley made the call during his contribution to the Corporation Tax Bill in Parliament, he also slammed commercial banks in T&T for their service charges passed on to customers. Read more here
Govt to sell Clico-backed bonds
Government’s highly-anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) for its National Investment Fund (NIF), through a company formed to monetise some assets recovered from the CLICO bailout, will run from July 11 to August 8. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday in Parliament. Read more here
BUSINESS
No declines on First Tier Market
Overall market activity resulted from trading in 14 securities of which six advanced, none declined and eight traded firm. Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 33,335 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $917,084.90. First Citizens Bank Ltd was the volume leader with 10,991 shares changing hands for a value of $384,657.50, followed by NCB Financial Group Ltd with a volume of 9,208 shares being traded for $50,183.60. Read more here
'Please employ our university graduates'
Energy Minister Franklin Khan on Monday made an urgent plea to local and foreign energy companies to invest in training young people coming out of university with engineering degrees. Khan said one of his pet peeves was the significant amount of unemployment and underemployment among young industry professionals. He said so dire was the situation that recently his Ministry invited applications for six vacant positions for petroleum engineers. Read more here
REGIONAL
$260m Ganja Study - Jamaica Eyeing Investment In Medicinal Marijuana Market In Canada
The Jamaica Medical Cannabis Corporation (JMMC) is investing US$2 million (J$264,000,000) into research on local ganja strains in order to ascertain with scientific accuracy their medicinal potential, over the next 10 years. Professor Errol Morrison, director general of the National Commission on Science and Technology, spoke to the enormity of the project titled ‘Identification, Isolation and Conservation of Local Strains of Cannabis for Medicinal Use’ during Monday’s signing ceremony. “What you are about to witness is the dedication of our scientific community to eventually [map] the scientific identification of our strain. Not a look, touch, smell, feel (but) DNA science to underpin what it is that we have been making claims for centuries," he said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
How Europe could fight back if Trump taxes car imports
A move by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on cars assembled in Europe would dramatically escalate trade tensions and produce a quick response from the European Union. Trump threatened to make cars his next major target in a transatlantic trade tussle on Friday, saying they were in line for a 20% tariff if the European Union did not remove its own tariffs and trade barriers. "If [EU] Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20% Tariff on all of their cars coming into the U.S. Build them here!" he said on Twitter. Read more here
US border agents halt migrant family prosecutions
A US border security chief says he has temporarily stopped launching criminal prosecutions of migrants who illegally enter the country with children. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told reporters in Texas the prosecution referrals were suspended last week. He said it followed an order last week by President Donald Trump calling for an end to migrant family separations. But Mr Trump had suggested the families would instead be detained together. The Republican president bowed to public pressure last Wednesday, signing his executive order to "keep families together" in migrant detentions. Mr McAleenan maintained that the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" tactics were still in effect, although the commissioner's guidance to his agents largely leaves the policy in limbo. Read more here
26th June 2018