NEWS

Fireworks legislation consultation ongoing

The Ministry of Planning and Development says that consultation on fireworks and their use in TT has begun among several key government ministries the fire services and the police. In a statement sent to Newsday on Saturday, the ministry said the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Social Services and Public Administration has made a number of recommendations to manage the use of fireworks to minimise the negative impacts on human and animal health. "The use of fireworks and its effects on human and animal health is a major public concern in TT." Read more here

Offer of land to relocate zoo

If the state bows to mount­ing pub­lic pres­sure to move the Em­per­or Val­ley Zoo from Port-of-Spain for the safe­ty and well-be­ing of its an­i­mals, a pri­vate com­pa­ny is of­fer­ing up 40 acres of land in cen­tral Trinidad where a new zoo and con­ser­va­tion cen­tre can be built. The de­bate be­gan on so­cial me­dia on Fri­day when the zoo an­nounced that one of its new­ly ac­quired ba­by red kan­ga­roos had died from stress and trau­ma caused by fire­works set off on In­de­pen­dence night. There were calls for the im­por­ta­tion of noise-less fire­works, a ban on reg­u­lar fire­works and re­lo­ca­tion of the zoo. Among those weigh­ing in on the is­sue was Sou Sou Lands chair­man, Lenny Sankers­ingh, who said an of­fer of land was ini­tial­ly made in 2012 and still stands. The land was of­fered as a do­na­tion, so the state will on­ly have to foot the bill for the nec­es­sary in­fra­struc­ture. Read more here

POLITICS

MSJ dismisses PM’s good approval rating

The Prime Minister’s relatively good approval rating does not mean that the ruling PNM administration will win either the local government or general elections. MSJ political leader David Abdulah said yesterday as he commented on a poll published in a daily newspaper which stated with Local Government election scheduled to take place within the next few months and the General Election next year, the majority of the population approved of his performance. According to the poll, the Prime Minister’s approval rating stands at 50 per cent. Read more here

Fui Toong On celebrates century in T&T

The con­tri­bu­tion of the Chi­nese com­mu­ni­ty to T&T “goes be­yond just cui­sine and cul­tur­al drag­on dancers”, Min­is­ter of Com­mu­ni­ty De­vel­op­ment, Cul­ture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gads­by-Dol­ly not­ed yes­ter­day when she took part in cel­e­bra­tions to mark the 100th an­niver­sary of the Fui Toong On As­so­ci­a­tion. “It al­so en­com­pass­es ad­min­is­tra­tion, sports, in­dus­try, en­ter­tain­ment, med­i­cine, and cul­ture and as you may know, over the years we have had many cul­tur­al ex­changes be­tween Chi­na and Trinidad and To­ba­go. “The Min­istry of Com­mu­ni­ty De­vel­op­ment has worked close­ly with the Em­bassy of the Peo­ple’s Re­pub­lic of Chi­na and we look for­ward to the re­la­tion­ship con­tin­u­ing. I could think of many who have in­spired gen­er­a­tions of de­sign­ers and artists, peo­ple like Carlisle Chang and many more,” she said. Read more here

BUSINESS

FCI flat, JMMB advances

This week, we at Bourse review the financial performance of FirstCaribbean International Bank Ltd (FCI) and Jamaica Money Market Brokers Group Ltd (JMMBGL). Read more here

REGIONAL

Baby Killers! - Gunmen Murder Six-Month-Old In MoBay Shooting Spree

A six-month-old baby has become the 96th murder victim in St James this year, following a shooting rampage that also left three other persons injured after gunmen struck in Norwood, St James, on Saturday night. The dead child has been identified as Tira Thompson of a Hollywood address in Norwood. The injured persons include the child’s 23-year-old mother and two teenagers, 16 and 14. Residents told The Gleaner of their concerns over the spiralling murder rate having reached their community as this incident is the latest in a string of violent attacks across St James over the past two weeks despite the ongoing state of public emergency in the parish. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

Trump's controversies show his presidency is really all about himself

Donald Trump's latest controversies make his presidency look more than ever like a vehicle for self-justification, self-preservation and self-enrichment. In the last few days alone, Trump has brandished the power of the executive branch to cover up his own discredited claims that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama. There is increasing evidence that his government is steering official business to his own properties. He is escalating his attacks on the Federal Reserve, demanding the independent central bank take steps that would bolster his best argument for reelection -- a strong economy -- but that could tie its hands in the event of a financial crisis. Read more here

Johnson tells Varadkar no-deal Brexit 'would be a failure'

A no-deal Brexit would be a failure that both the British and Irish governments would be responsible for, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister is in Dublin for his first meeting with the taoiseach (Irish PM) since he entered Downing Street. Downing Street confirmed Parliament would be suspended later after a vote on holding an early general election. Opposition parties said they will not back the vote, meaning no election in mid October as Mr Johnson had hoped. Read more here

9th September 2019

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