NEWS
GO AHEAD AND SWEAR
OTHING stands in the way of President Anthony Carmona swearing in two new judges to the High Court.In a unanimous decision yesterday, Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca, Nolan Bereaux and Peter Rajkumar said they were satisfied the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) was properly constituted. They also threw out a substantive claim of former United National Congress Senator Devant Maharaj who challenged the constitutionality of the JLSC’s composition, on the basis that the Constitution does not permit more than one retired judge to sit in the commission. Read more…
Court to rule on property tax today
AT 10 a.m. today, the Court of Appeal will deliver its ruling on an appeal filed by the State on the contentious property tax issue.Justices of Appeal Peter Jamadar, Gregory Smith and Judith Jones yesterday informed attorneys at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain that they needed time to deliberate on submissions made during yesterday’s hearing and will be delivering their ruling today. Read more…
Aspiring cop shot dead
An aspiring police officer who thought he was being targeted by robbers for his flashy jewellery, was murdered on Monday night.At around 9.45 pm, Reon Francis, 28, of John Elie Road, Chase Village, Chaguanas, was leaving the Maestro Bar when a gunman approached him and opened fire. After shooting the father of one in the chest, the gunman rummaged through the dying man’s pocket before escaping in a silver Nissan Tiida. Read more…
Radisson blanks live stream at fraud conference
GUESTS at the Caribbean Fraud Conference at the Radisson Hotel in Port-of-Spain yesterday, did not hear the keynote address from senator and retired Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Dr Vernon White. This is being blamed on a hiccup in communication on the part of the hotel’s staff. White, who was scheduled to speak about counter-terrorism initiatives in the Western Hemisphere could not be present but was available for a live stream from his office in Toronto courtesy TSTT. Newsday was told, however, TSTT officials were refused access to the hotel’s communications room over the weekend and when the conference opened on Monday. Read more…
POLITICS
Let whistle blowing start
PROCEDURES are in place to secure and make public, reports such as the one involving the children of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi posing with military weapons at Camp Cumuto.“Once they are followed, my understanding is that the report can very well be made public,” said Minister in the Ministry of National Security Dennis Moses. The report commissioned by the TT Defence Force was done by a Board of Inquiry. Asked further by Opposition Senator Wade Mark during yesterday’s sitting of the Senate as to whether, in the interest of saving the reputation and image of the TTDF, would Government reconsider its position on tabling the report in the Parliament, Moses said, “I am not sure whether the procedures that attend releasing such a report” can allow for it being brought to the Parliament. Read more…
BUSINESS
Prestige falls $0.09
Overall market activity resulted from trading in 14 securities of which two advanced, four declined and eight traded firm.Trading activity on the first tier market registered a volume of 201,086 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $943,058.39. JMMB Group was the volume leader with 90,416 shares changing hands for a value of $115,061.86, followed by GraceKennedy with a volume of 53,947 shares being traded for $153,748.95. First- Caribbean International Bank contributed 24,500 shares with a value of $189,875.00, while Scotia Investments Jamaica Ltd added 15,000 shares valued at $37,500. Read more…
BP recommits to TT
BP Chief Executive (Upstream) Bernard Looney expressed BP’s commitment to Trinidad and Tobago during a visit May 30 - June 1. Looney, BP Chief Operating Officer, Strategy and Regions Andy Hopwood and Regional President BPTT Norman Christie met with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Minister of Energy Franklin Khan and other Government officials during their visit. Read more…
REGIONAL
Norwegian Air returns to Guadeloupe with Increased Airlift
European low-cost carrier Norwegian Air will resume its seasonal winter service to the Guadeloupe Islands for a third consecutive season this year.Nonstop flights from New York, Fort Lauderdale and Providence to Guadeloupe will begin on October 29. Read more…
Puerto Rico health officials declare 2016 zika epidemic over
Zika transmission has substantially decreased in Puerto Rico below epidemic levels, and the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) has declared that the 2016 zika epidemic is over. Zika levels have substantially decreased since the same reporting period in 2016, with approximately ten cases reported in each four-week period since April 2017, which is down from >8,000 cases reported in a four-week period at the peak of the epidemic in August 2016. These updated cases, as well as the reporting and testing methodologies by laboratories run by the PRDH have been confirmed and reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and CDC and PRDH will also continue to collaborate on consistent case definitions and reporting of zika virus cases in 2017 and beyond, according to Dr Carmen Deseda, MD, state epidemiologist. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Theresa May: UK will change human rights laws if needed for terror fight
British Prime Minister Theresa May says human rights laws will be changed "if they get in the way" of the country's fight against terror.Speaking in the wake of a terrorist attack in London that left seven dead, May said she would seek to introduce longer prison terms for those convicted of terrorist offenses and make it easier to "deport foreign terrorist suspects." Read more…
South Korea halts Thaad anti-missile system rollout
7th June 2017