NEWS
Oil spill at Catshill field
State-owned oil company Petrotrin has once again activated its oil spill response system after a spill was found at its controversial Catshill oilfield in Moruga yesterday. In a media release, Petrotrin said its operations, health, safety and environment (HSE) as well as its security personnel were sent to the field. The company did not say why security was sent to the site. Read more here
Sexual harassment in workplace a widespread issue—Minister
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a real and widespread issue, however, it is also a very broad and ambiguous subject. Many employers and employees do not completely understand what constitutes sexual harassment or who can be charged with a violation. So said Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus who spoke yesterday’s launch of the Equal Opportunity Commission’s Guidelines on Sexual Harassment in the workplace. It was held at the Government Plaza, Port-of-Spain. Read more here
Jail for grabbing stranger’s breast
A construction worker who touched a woman’s breast as she walked along High Street, San Fernando, was yesterday sentenced to three months in prison. Fayad Ali, 31, confessed to indecently assaulting the 42-year-old woman. San Fernando Magistrate Alicia Chankar heard that at 6.30 p.m. on Monday, the victim was walking along High Street, San Fernando, when she was approached. Read more here
POLITICS
Indarsingh tells Garcia:Apologise for sewer sabotage claim
Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh is calling on Education Minister Anthony Garcia to apologise for claiming sabotage had led to the closure of several schools, including Balmain Presbyterian, accusing him of being reckless. At a news conference on Monday, Garcia suggested that the damage to sewer systems at several schools was deliberate. He produced photographs, taken by the contractor who repaired the system at Balmain, which showed strange items removed from the sewer, including rocks, bottles, books, clothes and feminine hygiene products. Read more here
PM meets with Muslim leaders today
Muslim Leaders anticipate that the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will come with “convincing information” that will influence them in supporting the Anti-Terrorism Bill. Rowley is expected to meet with the leaders in a closed door meeting that will take place later this evening at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s. Read more here
Six days in Florida - Carmona leaves T&T
President Anthony Carmona is ending his presidency with a trip to the United States. He left on Tuesday morning for Miami, Florida. He will return on Sunday. During his absence, President of the Senate, the Honourable Christine Kangaloo will act as President of the Republic. Read more here
BUSINESS
RBC opens new Financial Solutions Centre in Pt Lisas
RBC Royal Bank has opened a new Financial Solutions Centre in Point Lisas. According to a release yesterday, the formal launch of its Point Lisas Financial Solutions Centre was held on February 27 and RBC Royal Bank Managing Director Darryl White, speaking at the launch, said the company is “willing to imagine what the future of banking will look like – and we are taking steps to define it.” Read more here
Scotiabank profits down by $23m
Scotiabank T&T’s profit after tax of $148 million for the quarter ended January 31, is a decrease of $23 million or 13 per cent over the same period last year. This reduction in profitability was driven by higher levels of loan loss provisioning combined with increased corporation tax rates levied on commercial banks at 35 per cent. Managing director Stephen Bagnarol said: “The bank’s performance for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 is indicative of the challenging economic environment in which we operate. In light of these conditions, we continue to adopt robust expense management initiatives and credit risk management policies. Read more here
Can we end our muscovado bias?
On November 4, 2010, in a BG View column headlined “Do we have a muscovado bias?” there was a commentary on contemporaneous statements attributed to two former ministers of agriculture, Vasant Bharath and Arnold Piggott on the issue of fertiliser. Read more here
REGIONAL
Good Choice - Former Army Man Appointed Top Cop; Stakeholders Approve
Though faced with the tough task of leading the charge to reduce crime and stamp out corruption in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), stakeholders have formed the strong opinion that Major Antony Anderson is a solid pick for police commissioner. Word came yesterday that the Police Service Commission had chosen the former chief of defence staff of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), and current national security adviser to the Prime Minister Andrew Holness, for the top post. Anderson will, on March 19, assume the position left vacant by the departure of George Quallo from the JCF earlier this year. He will be the third military man to be elevated to the post of police commissioner, following the footsteps of Colonel Trevor MacMillan, appointed in 1993, and Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin in 2007. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Stormy Daniels sues Trump over alleged affair and 'hush' agreement
A new lawsuit filed by the porn star known as Stormy Daniels claims President Donald Trump never signed a hush agreement regarding an alleged sexual encounter between the two and therefore the agreement is void. According to the legal complaint filed in California state court and tweeted out by her lawyer on Tuesday, Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, signed the document on behalf of the President instead. Read more here
Brexit: EU to set out guidelines for trade talks
7th March 2018