NEWS
Cyon murder suspect in hiding after talk with cops... I did not kill him
Following two hits on his life, Marlon Lynch, the man wrongfully accused of killing nine-year-old Cyon Paul yesterday went into hiding after he surrendered to the San Fernando police and was subsequently released after he was questioned. But insisting he was never responsible for the child’s murder, Lynch said he was fond of Cyon and would never have pulled the trigger which ended the little boy’s life. Read more here
Zika ‘taking toll on productivity’
The spread of the Zika virus is taking a toll on productivity, one business association has reported. According to president of the Chaguanas Chamber of Commerce Richie Sookhai, businesses in the Chaguanas area are seeing a spike in absenteeism due to the virus. Sookhai, who owns Sookhai's Diesel Service Ltd, told the Express on Wednesday that even at his establishment, jobs are being delayed because several senior technicians have been affected by the virus. Read more here
POLITICS
'Divisional commanders need to answer to the country'
WHILE Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has said he is in charge of the National Security Council there are calls for him to be more involved in the crime fight and even take up the portfolio of National Security Minister. Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) president Gregory Aboud said yesterday the request was being made to Rowley to become “more involved” and to “do more” than previous prime ministers in an effort to save lives the country is being asked to disregard. Read more here
Govt to help out with $1m
It's not compensation but fisherfolk in South Trinidad whose livelihoods have suffered as a result of public fear over the safety of local fish are to be financially assisted, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday. Rowley, speaking at yesterday's post-Cabinet briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, announced that Cabinet has instructed the Ministry of Finance to “find $1 million”, with which fisherfolk whose incomes have dried up will get some ease. A back-and-forth as to the safety of fish from the south-western peninsula is ongoing between activist group, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), along with the Institute of Marine Affairs and the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (Cariri). Read more here
BUSINESS
TATT: More mobile competition coming
The Telecommunications Authority of T&T (TATT) is moving ahead with plans to issue a third mobile licence, according to the acting CEO of the local telecommunications regulator, Cynthia Reddock-Downes. Reddock-Downes, who assumed the position in early May, said on Wednesday that there was need for more competition in the mobile market and that increased competition in mobile would come when the licence for the third mobile provider is awarded later this year. Read more here
REGIONAL
Sugar Not Dead Yet - Stakeholders Say Industry Still Has Potential
Despite the myriad challenges plaguing the sugar sector, including some 120 Westmoreland-based small farmers walking away from the industry last year, stakeholders at yesterday's Gleaner Editors' forum, in Westmoreland, noted that while sugar was no longer king, it was not dead and should not be buried. Westmoreland's custos and long-standing cane farmer, the Reverend Hartley Perrin, jokingly said that as a minister of religion, he would bury sugar if it was declared dead. He said that the sugar industry had been the economic backbone of the parish for many years and had served the people well. "We can speak of the positive effect it has had in terms of education, health, sports, and in terms of the economy of Westmoreland and beyond," said Perrin. “I am sure that many people can come forward and speak glowingly of what sugar has done for them." Read more here
What Monica Puig's Olympic gold medal means for Puerto Ricans
August 13, 2016 will forever be one of those days when almost every Puerto Rican will remember where she or he was and what they were doing. And chances are they were probably breathlessly watching Puerto Rican tennis player Monica Puig win Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic gold medal. Monica Puig played spectacularly well against Angelique Kerber from Germany, who at that moment happened to be ranked number 2 in the world. Puig entered the Olympic Games ranked number 34. But that's just one of the reasons why Monica Puig's victory will be remembered as one of the highlights of the Rio 2016 Olympics. Puig's success holds a very special meaning for Puerto Ricans everywhere. Not only did she win Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport, but she is also the first woman to win an Olympic medal for Puerto Rico. (She isn't the first Puerto Rican to win gold, however. That honour belongs to another tennis player, Gigi Fernández, who won gold in the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games playing doubles for the United States.) Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Darayya siege: Residents and fighters ready to evacuate Syrian town
A deal has been reached to allow rebel fighters and civilians to leave the Syrian town of Darayya, which has been under government siege since 2012. The evacuation of the town, near the capital Damascus, is expected to begin on Friday. Syrian Red Crescent vehicles are poised to enter the town. Residents have faced near-constant bombardmentand shortages of food, water and power. Civilians received their first supplies in four years only in June. It comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry holds talks on Syria with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva. They are meeting in a bid to broker a temporary ceasefire in the city of Aleppo, where fighting between government and rebel forces has escalated in recent weeks, leaving hundreds dead. Under the terms of the Darayya deal, 700 armed men will leave for the rebel-controlled city of Idlib while 4,000 civilians will move to government shelters, Syrian state media report. Read more here
Italy earthquake: Rescuer describes joy of pulling girl alive from rubble
A firefighter who pulled an 8-year-old girl from the rubble in central Italy after this week's earthquake devastated the region said rescuers "exploded with joy" after finding her alive. Speaking to the Italian ANSA news agency, Angelo Moroni described the moment he and other firefighters rescued Giorgia, digging through the mountains of debris with their bare hands for hours. "At times like that you don't think, you go on for hours without feeling thirst or tiredness. We were sure she was safe only when we put her on a stretcher and doctors carried her away. Then we exploded with joy for this great result," he said. "The joy was huge." Read more here
26th August 2016