NEWS
4th swine flu death confirmed
This country now officially has four confirmed deaths from the H1N1 influenza virus (swine flu) as the Ministry of Health has confirmed that the cause of death for 28 year-old Stacy Ramkissoon, who died two weeks after giving birth, was from the virus. The ministry in a release yesterday reported that it “notes with sadness the passing of Anastasia (Stacy) Ramkissoon who was admitted to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EW MSC) with flu-like symptoms in pregnancy”. “The post-mortem examination has determined her cause of death to be viral-associated pneumonia. This brings to four the number of deaths attributed to the H1N1 influenza virus for the year so far,” the ministry noted. Read more…
WASA shakes up senior management
“Irregularities” at the state-run Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) have triggered a board-level call for a forensic audit into the operations at the company. Board chairman Bromley Thomas issued a simple press statement about the ongoing audit into WASA. Thomas said that “in order to properly discharge its fiduciary obligations” the board decided to order that forensic audit into the organisation. Read more…
JWALA, YOU'RE FIRED
Cabinet yesterday took the decision to recommend to the President that the employment of Jwala Rambarran as Central Bank Governor be terminated.
It is understood that the acting President has signed off on Rambarran's dismissal.
President Anthony Carmona is overseas on vacation and Senate President Christine Kangaloo is acting as President. Under the Constitution she has all the powers of the President and therefore is the competent authority to act upon the Cabinet's recommendation. Read more…
POLITICS
Prime Minister did no wrong
Communications Minister Maxi Cuffie said there was nothing wrong with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley travelling to Barbados last weekend to attend a wedding. Speaking at the last post-Cabinet news conference for this year at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on Thursday, Cuffie said, “Every single prime minister has enjoyed personal time, regardless of the crises that they would have had to face.” He added, “The Prime Minister is also entitled to have personal time, and he journeyed to Barbados over a weekend for personal time.” Rowley attended the wedding of a friend’s daughter in Barbados last weekend. While in Barbados, he played golf with former West Indies cricketers Brian Lara and Sir Garfield Sobers at the Green Monkey golf course. Read more…
Cabinet approves $290,000 for pan
Cabinet has approved an allocation of $290,000 to assist 183 steelbands participating in next year’s national Panorama competition. This is according to Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie, during yesterday’s six-minute post-cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s. Read more…
BUSINESS
US stockpiles drop, boosting oil prices
US crude stocks fell unexpectedly last week, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday. Refiners were seen reducing stockpiles for tax and accounting reasons before the end of the year, market participants said. The data surprise offered an opportunity for traders to take cover shorts that were already in the market, driving crude futures to session highs. Read more…
‘Heading back to IMF not impossible’
Economist Indera Sagewan-Alli says she is in full agreement with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that tough decisions would have to be made and spending behaviours must change to ensure that this country does not head back to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In fact, Sagewan-Alli is of the strong belief that heading back to the IMF is not impossible for this country. Read more…
REGIONAL
'A Very Dark Day' - JCF Mourns Killing Of Two Cops
Only days before hoodlums snuffed out his life, Constable Craig Palmer had been in his community in Poor Man's Corner, St Thomas, memorialising the death of his beloved sister, who passed on exactly one year ago. It was on Saturday that the young cop, known as 'Junior' in the community, sat with family, friends and loved ones, who had gathered to remember Alcia St House, who died a year ago after ailing for some time. Read more…
Meeting in Mexico looks for solution to Cubans stranded in Costa Rica
Representatives of Central American nations, plus Ecuador, Cuba, Colombia and the US, addressed at a meeting in Mexico the situation of thousands of Cuban stranded in Costa Rica in their effort to make it to US territory. In the meeting, Mexico agreed to let the Cubans keep on their way to the US once they arrived at Mexican border, said Costa Rican foreign minister Manuel Gonzalez and he also added that US authorities would accept the Cubans who make it to their borders in line with their dry-feet, wet-feet policy. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Newly released documents reveal U.S. Cold War nuclear target list
U.S. plans for nuclear war in 1959 included the "systematic destruction" of major urban centers like East Berlin, Moscow and Beijing -- with the populations of those cities among the primary military targets. The National Archives and Records Administration has released a detailed study produced in 1956 that includes a list of the United States' targets were nuclear war to break out between the superpowers in three years. Read more…
24th December 2015