NEWS

Cops caught selling escorts to fete patrons

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith is issuing a stern warning to both police and the public not to be part of an ongoing racket where some officers are selling escorts to fete patrons to get out of heavy traffic. In an interview with Newsday yesterday, Griffith said while on duty at the Soaka Till Sunrise fete, at the O2 Park, Chaguaramas, he noticed several police officers soliciting their services for sale by offering a police escort to fete patrons to get out of traffic for a price. Read more here

Sexual predators, bandits intrude in schools

Sex­u­al preda­tors, ban­dits, and tres­passers are cre­at­ing fear among fe­male se­cu­ri­ty guards of the Na­tion­al Main­te­nance Train­ing and Se­cu­ri­ty Com­pa­ny (MTS). The se­cu­ri­ty guards af­fect­ed are those dis­patched to five pri­ma­ry schools in the Mara­cas/St Joseph area and work 12-hour shifts—from 6 am to 6 pm and 6 pm to 6 am. Re­cent­ly, there was an at­tempt­ed rape where the sus­pect on­ly man­aged to take off the woman’s un­der­gar­ment but she fought off the preda­tor and es­caped. While there have been claims that a guard was raped by an in­trud­er be­hind one of the pri­ma­ry schools in No­vem­ber last year, po­lice could not con­firm this. Of­fi­cers at the Mara­cas/St Joseph Po­lice Sta­tion con­firmed, how­ev­er, that they have re­ceived "dis­tur­bance" re­ports from "one or two" of the se­cu­ri­ty guards but could not di­vulge fur­ther de­tails. The of­fi­cer as­sured that they are ready to re­spond to any calls for help. Read more here

POLITICS

NSA leader calls for united position on Venezuela

Political Leader of the National Solidarity Assembly (NSA) Nirvan Maharaj is calling for urgent discussions between the Government and the Opposition to provide a unified position on Venezuela. In a statement, Maharaj said in the past both sides of the political divide have stood side by side on issues and presented a united view point, singling out the flying fish dispute with Barbados. “Our national Interest demands that,” he said. Read more here

RI applauds Rowley's move to improve lives of Venezuelans

Refugees In­ter­na­tion­al has wel­comed Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley’s move to grant Venezue­lans ac­cess to ed­u­ca­tion. This move by Row­ley is sig­nif­i­cant as Venezue­lans, refugees, and asy­lum seek­ers cur­rent­ly have no le­gal sta­tus. Pres­i­dent of Refugees In­ter­na­tion­al Er­ic Schwartz “ap­plaud­ed” Row­ley’s de­ci­sion. “I ap­plaud the prime min­is­ter’s ex­pressed com­mit­ment to work to­ward reg­u­lar­is­ing the sta­tus of Venezue­lans by cre­at­ing new poli­cies that will im­prove the lives of tens of thou­sands of vul­ner­a­ble peo­ple seek­ing refuge on the is­lands. We urge the Trinida­di­an Gov­ern­ment to take ac­tion not on­ly with re­spect to Venezue­lans but al­so to grant op­por­tu­ni­ties to those of oth­er na­tion­al­i­ties to reg­u­larise their sta­tus,” Schwartz said. In a me­dia re­lease, Refugees In­ter­na­tion­al said that in No­vem­ber 2018 one of its teams came to T&T to as­sess the sit­u­a­tion of Venezue­lans on the is­lands. Read more here

BUSINESS

Is there value in local ETFs?

This week, we at Bourse examine the potential value on offer to investors with local Exchange Traded Funds (ETF), with a particular emphasis on the two largest ETFs on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE). We outline the structure and associated benefits of investing in these ETFs. Read more here

REGIONAL

‘Gay Tourists Welcome’ - JTB Head Says Perception About Jamaica Being Hostile Is Wrong

Director of Tourism Donovan White was at pains to reassure a Canada-based reporter that Jamaicans harboured no open hostility towards gay visitors during a press conference at Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Montego Bay last week. Michael Pihach, who was on his first trip to Jamaica, had asked White about measures the Government was taking to “curb the perception and reputation” that Jamaica was homophobic, which has caused many gays to shy away from vacationing on the island. “It is my first time in Jamaica and it has been a very positive experience here. The people are so friendly and it is very uplifting and vibrant,” Pihach stated, adding that there was a perception that Jamaica was a violent place for gay, lesbian, and transgender people. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

Venezuela crisis: European states recognise Guaidó as president

The UK, France, Germany, Spain and other European countries have officially recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela. It comes after President Nicolás Maduro defiantly rejected the EU's Sunday deadline to call snap elections. Mr Guaidó declared himself interim leader last month and won US backing. Russia - a backer of Mr Maduro - accused EU countries of meddling in Venezuela's affairs. As pressure mounted on Mr Maduro to step down, he said he could not rule out the possibility of civil war. In a TV interview, he warned that US President Donald Trump would leave the White House "stained with blood" if he intervened militarily in the crisis, over the legitimacy of his re-election last year. His rival, Juan Guaidó said on Sunday he would build an international coalition to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuelans. Read more here

Trump ignites new immigration furor ahead of State of the Union

President Donald Trump is carving new divides on immigration ahead of his State of the Union address that likely offer a more reliable guide to the year ahead than the ritual calls for national unity he is expected to issue on Tuesday night. "With Caravans marching through Mexico and toward our Country, Republicans must be prepared to do whatever is necessary for STRONG Border Security," Trump wrote in a tweet on Sunday evening. "Dems do nothing. If there is no Wall, there is no Security. Human Trafficking, Drugs and Criminals of all dimensions - KEEP OUT!" The Twitter blast shattered the White House spin that Trump is intent on healing old wounds, reaching across divides and using showpiece annual address before a vast television audience to project optimism. Read more here

4th February 2019

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