Daily Brief - Tuesday 19th January, 2021

NEWS

Tourism blow for Asa Wright

The ASA Wright Nature Centre’s closure of its eco-lodge was “a very difficult decision” to make, but was mandated by the covid19 pandemic curtailing visits by tourists, immediate past president Prof Judith Gobin told Newsday on Monday. The news came from the centre in a statement on Monday which said, “With the closure of the borders and limited physical movement as a result of the covid19 pandemic, the Board of Management of the Asa Wright Nature Centre has taken a decision to terminate its eco-lodge business.” Read more here

ECA concerned over increase in homeless

Could the recent upsurge in unemployment potentially lead to an increase in the socially displaced? This was the question, and the warning posed by chief executive officer of the Employers Consultative Association CEO Stephanie Fingal during the ministry’s meeting with the business community concerning its ongoing effort to address the issue of street dwelling in the country. Fingal said there had already been signs depicting the impact of cutbacks and closures of businesses across the country through the visible increase of people turning up to beg at shopping centres and malls. Read more here

 

POLITICS

PDP asks TTPS to probe zipline project

Deputy Political Leader of the PDP Farley Augustine said he now has official THA Executive Council notes and receipts, which he believes proves that the PNM mismanaged the now controversial zip line project. But although Augustine intends to submit the information to the auditor general, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Police Commissioner Gary Griffith, THA Chief secretary Ancil Dennis said he, (Augustine) is misleading the public. Augustine threw his supporters into a frenzy while speaking at a Charlotteville community meeting on Sunday night by brandishing an envelope he said contained official THA documents and receipts in his possession. Read more here

 

BUSINESS

TSTT makes call for new CEO

If you’re “charismatic, results-driven” and have experience in competitive business environments, then this call may be for you. The Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (TSTT) has officially started its search for a new Chief Executive Officer. And the aforementioned attributes are what the telecommunications giant says it is looking for in a prospective candidate. The vacancy at TSTT arises from the resignation of Dr Ronald Walcott on October 1. Read more here

Fed-up lifeguards take action

Lifeguards have finally been promised to have an audience with Minister of National Security, Stuart Young, after taking industrial action yesterday at the Las Cuevas beach facility. So said president, the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW), James Lambert, who yesterday told the Express the lifeguards’ facilities maintenance unit were fed up of working under poor conditions. Read more here

 

REGIONAL

Preposterous, unmeritorious, contrived

Citing what she described as “unmeritorious submissions” from the lawyers representing petitioners, Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George, has ruled that the elections petition, 99 of 2020, is invalid on the basis that the second named respondent, David Granger, was served the petition after the prescribed time for service would have expired. Through this petition, Petitioners, Monica Thomas and Brennan Nurse, had argued that the elections were unlawfully conducted and/or that the results, were affected or might have been affected by unlawful acts or omissions. Read more here

Busted! - Guns Smuggled In Fridge Found At MoBay Wharf

Contraband and customs officers unveiled an elaborate ruse to smuggle guns and ammunition in a refrigerator through a Montego Bay wharf as a police campaign to crack down on illegal weapons reaped rewards on Monday. Three high-powered rifles, two 9mm handguns, and more than 100 rounds of ammo were discovered within the panels of the refrigerator by the Area One Contraband Enforcement Team, The Gleaner understands. Read more here

 

INTERNATIONAL

Trump is handing Biden a more dangerous world. There's only so much the new president can undo

The recent attack on the US Capitol served as a sobering wake-up call: Not only have the Trump years left America deeply divided, they've also transformed it into a theater of political violence. President Donald Trump's impact on the world at large has been much the same. As he hands power to Joe Biden on Wednesday -- however reluctantly -- he also hands his successor a far more dangerous world than it was four years ago. Read more here

Japan: One dead as snowstorm causes 130-car pile-up

A huge snowstorm has struck a highway in north Japan, causing a 130-car pile-up, killing one person and injuring 10. The storm blanketed a stretch of the Tohoku Expressway in Miyagi prefecture at around noon (03:00 GMT) on Tuesday. Some 200 people have been caught up in the pile-up and rescuers are currently at the scene, officials said. Japan has been hit by severe snow storms in recent weeks with some parts of the country seeing double the average expected snowfall. Images from the expressway show the sheer scale of the pile-up. Read more here

19th January 2021

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