NEWS

Mokos save the mas on Carnival Monday

Moko jumbie Marsha Tepte braced against the winds at Queens Park Savannah to enliven Monday’s parade of bands with her portrayal Flores Para Mi Tia Judy (Flowers For My Aunt Judy.) Her eye-catching skeletal face, reminiscent of Mexico’s Day of the Dead, with floral ruffles and plumed headdress, paid tribute to her late aunt who lost her life in a domestic violence incident. Tepte survived winds so stiff that they blew drizzle near horizontally into the media gallery under the grandstand at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain. Later, moko jumbies of the band Moko Somokow, made a splash. Read more here

Savannah shows love for Stage

Stage Gone Bad dom­i­nat­ed the Sa­van­nah stage, as the Road March race seemed to take a de­ci­sive swing to­wards the Kees Di­ef­fen­thaller and Neil “Iw­er” George’s col­lab­o­ra­tion. Iw­er’s oth­er road march con­tend­ing col­lab­o­ra­tion with Machel Mon­tano, was large­ly rel­e­gat­ed as a pre-stage hype song or an ex­it song for most bands cross­ing the stage. The Grand Stand’s mid­dling au­di­ence, as well as a sprin­kling of spec­ta­tors in the seat­ing are of the North Park, saw three ma­jor Band of the Year con­tenders with­in the space of two hours as Ron­nie and Caro’s The Serengeti took the stage at around 9.30 am, while last year’s Large Band of the Year The Lost Tribe hit the stage with their pre­sen­ta­tion of Anan­si short­ly be­fore 11 am. The Lost Tribe ac­com­mo­dat­ed Lor­rie-Anne Box­il, who opt­ed to play mas in a pros­thet­ic leg, in a wheel­chair to al­low her to cross the Sa­van­nah stage. Read more here

POLITICS

Young urges responsibility after fatal accidents

Minister of National Security Stuart Young urged revelers be responsible when returning to their homes from their mas bands and Carnival celebrations. This after six fatal road traffic accidents were recorded during Carnival. “It is an opportunity to tell people that you need to be responsible for yourself. Don’t drink and drive. If you are drinking during the course of the day don’t drive. Let someone else drive you. Take a taxi and so on. At the end of the day we can only do so much policing. It comes down to the responsibility of each individual.” The latest of the fatalities happened in Santa Cruz on Tuesday at about 3 am. Read more here

BUSINESS

T&T Chamber concerned at credit card US$ limits

CEO of the T&T Gabriel Faria says the decision by local commercial bank to reduce the foreign purchase limits of their credit cards will have “a negative impact” on small businesses and individuals. Read more here

REGIONAL

‘Coalition’ has good track record- PM Nagamootoo

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has asserted that the Coalition Government has a good track record of following up on its promises. “It has done so within its first 100 days in office, and has subsequently done so over the past four-plus years,” he wrote in his hard-hitting weekly column, My Turn, which was published in this newspaper two Sundays ago. Mr. Nagamootoo noted that the Opposition PPP had promised much, but delivered little, and that it has a credibility problem. Old people, he added, have a creole saying, “seh suh is na do suh” (say so is not do so). He shared the view of President Granger that promises must be matched by performance. “The Coalition’s performance in a single term is sufficient evidence that while the APNU+AFC manifesto plans are ambitious, with honest leadership they are attainable and achievable,” the Prime Minister declared. Read more here

Ruel Had To Go - Holness Says Former Education Minister Would Have Damaged Government

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says not accepting the resignation of Ruel Reid as education minister would have compromised the integrity of Jamaica’s “entire system of government”. Now, almost one year after Reid’s resignation, Holness believes that his decision was justified. “Once I had knowledge of the allegations that were made [against Reid], I had no choice obviously but to bring the minister before me and have a conversation about the issues that are now public knowledge,” said Holness. “And ensure that there can be integrity in the process. It would have been, I think, an erosion of the integrity of the entire system of government were that process not to be engaged,” he added. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

Coronavirus: Outbreak spreads in Europe from Italy

Several European countries have announced their first coronavirus cases, all apparently linked to the growing outbreak in Italy. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland said the cases involved people who had been to Italy, as did Algeria in Africa. The first positive virus test has been recorded in Latin America - a Brazilian resident just returned from Italy. Italy has in recent days become Europe's worst-affected country, with more than 300 cases and 11 deaths. But its neighbours have decided closing borders would be "disproportionate". Health ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the EU Commission committed to keeping frontiers open at a meeting on Tuesday as new cases of the virus emerged throughout Europe and in central and southern Italy. "We're talking about a virus that doesn't respect borders," said Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza. Read more here

21 dead, at least 188 injured in New Delhi clashes amid Trump's visit

At least 21 people, including one police officer, have been killed in violent communal clashes in the Indian capital between supporters and opponents of a new law that fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from select countries. The unrest, which erupted in parts of New Delhi on Monday, coincided with a visit to India by US President Donald Trump. Authorities deployed tear gas, as protesters hurled stones, damaged property and set numerous vehicles and a gasoline pump on fire, according to police, as the violence stretched into its second day. On Wednesday morning, Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's highest elected official, tweeted that police were "unable to control situation and instil confidence" despite ongoing efforts overnight, and requested that the military be called in and a curfew imposed in affected areas. Read more here

26th February 2020

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