NEWS
Alexander: EBC must beef up communications
Phillip Edward Alexander thanked Police Commissioner Gary Griffith and the police corporate communications unit for getting involved quickly and debunking a social media post which said he was not an election candidate. Alexander is the leader of the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) and was its candidate for Diego Martin North/East. Alexander said the matter had been resolved when he spoke with the media after voting at the Diego Martin Government Primary School. Read more here
Griffith slams UNC secretary’s delay tactic claim
General Election Day activity was not without controversy. Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith described as reckless and dangerous United National Congress (UNC) general secretary Davendranath Tancoo’s accusation that the police used roadblock exercises in Curepe as a tactic to frustrate voters from getting to a polling station in St Augustine. The top CoP’s criticism came after Tancoo sent a letter via email to the CoP in which he stated, “It is clear to us that these sudden exercises are meant to delay voters in that area, and to interfere with the free and proper exercise of the franchise (to vote).” Tancoo referred to the exercise as an abuse of police powers. Read more here
POLITICS
Jack's last campaign; other small parties soldier on
Independent Liberal Party leader Jack Warner will be retiring from politics after last night’s loss in Lopinot/Bon Air West. Warner said he “gave it his best shot” and was disappointed, but not bitter. He will now go on to focus on his businesses and all fours. “I thought I would have made a difference in their lives," he said on Monday night of the voters' decision. "All I can hope is in the next five years they don’t suffer in any serious way for the errors which they have made today, this perseverance with the PNM and UNC.” Read more here
Kamla refuses to concede defeat, seeks recounts
People’s National Movement, 22, United National Congress, 19 - but the UNC’s not conceding. It’s now over to the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to undertake a recount which the UNC has demanded in at least three marginal seats. That’s the preliminary outcome of yesterday’s historic “Pandemic Poll” in which the PNM won 22 seats. While the UNC lost, it gained Moruga among its 19 seats and has sought to call the “shot” on the official end of the election with its recount bid. Read more here
BUSINESS
Browne: Investors from as far as Africa show interest in LIAT
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says while the situation with the cash strapped regional airline, LIAT, remains “tenuous” it could resume flights to some destinations even as the administrator continues his work as part of the reorganisation of the airline. Read more here
REGIONAL
Lobbies press Gov’t to get tough with sanctions
The business community is warning that the Government’s failure to enforce the COVID-19 laws governing beach parties and other entertainment events could cost the country dearly, reversing the economic gains achieved since the easing of austerity measures over the last two months. The lobbies’ call to action early Monday added pressure to the Holness administration as Cabinet met to forge new measures to stave off a wave of coronavirus infections that, as at August 10, stood at 1,031 cases. The recent spike included a 59-case jump over 48 hours late last week. Read more here
Parliament could convene in two weeks
Convening of the 12th Parliament could take place in about two weeks, as government moves to get everything in place for a return to one of the most powerful organs of the land, said Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira. There has been no sitting of the National Assembly since May, 2019. This was due mainly to the passage of a Motion of No-Confidence against the former A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
UK employment falls by biggest amount in over a decade
Employment in the UK fell by the largest amount in over a decade between April and June, official figures show. The number of people in work decreased by 220,000 on the quarter, said the Office for National Statistics. This was the largest quarterly decrease since May to July 2009, the depths of the financial crisis. The youngest workers, oldest workers and those in manual occupations were the worst hit during the pandemic, the ONS added. The figures do not include the millions of people who are furloughed, those on zero hours contracts but not getting shifts, or people on temporary unpaid leave from a job as they still count as employed. Read more here
Interrupted by shooting, Trump continues to spin false narrative around mail-in voting and coronavirus
President Donald Trump turned his Monday news conference into a dishonesty spree, blitzing reporters with rapid-fire false claims on a variety of his favorite topics -- the coronavirus pandemic, mail-in voting, China, Democrats generally and President Barack Obama in particular. Trump made a false claim in the opening minutes of the briefing, wrongly saying it is easy for foreign countries to interfere with mail-in voting. After he was taken out of the room because of a Secret Service shooting near the White House, he returned to make a whole bunch more. Read more here
11th August 2020