NEWS
Court orders $4.5M in damages to trucking contractor
A Valencia trucking contractor has been awarded a little over $4.5 million in damages as compensation after police failed to return 15 of his vehicles which were seized and kept for almost three years. In a ruling yesterday, Justice Ricky Rahim found that businessman Danny Guerra was entitled to special damages and general damages (with an uplift for aggravated damages) in the sum of $4.5 million, inclusive of interest. Guerra who claimed the used vehicles were worth $6.4 million, had initially claimed a substantially higher sum for loss of use.
He later withdrew this claim at trial, but contended that he was entitled to special damages for the seizure of the trucks and trespass. Read more…
Beating accused to spend Christmas with ‘victim’
Ricardo Jerome, the man who was charged by police after a viral video of him allegedly beating a woman at an Arima bar, will be allowed to spend Christmas with the woman and her child. Jerome, 36, was charged last month after a video went viral on social media allegedly showing Ornella Ruth Marchan being kicked about her body and beaten with a metal object. Read more…
POLITICS
Another SOS call to PM Rowley
There must be something else that ArcelorMittal can do to treat with the drop in steel prices globally rather than lay off 600 plus workers. This from President General of the Steel Workers Union of Trinidad and Tobago (SWUTT) Christopher Henry at a press conference yesterday morning as he again issued a call to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to intervene. In fact, Henry affirmed that it was “mere wickedness” that prompted global steel giant ArcelorMittal to suddenly and without warning lay off several hundred workers recently. What Henry finds more disheartening is the additional lay off of hundreds of workers at Tube City IMS, Trinidad and Tobago. Read more…
Govt acquires Cazabon paintings
Government has acquired 12 original paintings done by the late T&T artist Michel Jean Cazabon at an auction in London. Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie, speaking at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, said arrangements were being made for the paintings to be returned to T&T and be on show at an exhibition next year. Read more…
BUSINESS
Scotia heads: Recession must be seen as a time of opportunity
The recession that Trinidad and Tobago (TT) is in should be seen as an opportunity, says two senior bankers, to evaluate your business, ensuring you’re being as efficient as possible, and focusing on your customers’ needs. Scotiabank TT’s Managing Director, Anya Schnoor and Scotiabank’s Senior Vice-President, Caribbean, Bruce Bowen gave the advice while speaking with the media at the bank’s corporate client cocktail event at Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain on Wednesday. Noting that Scotiabank has been in the Caribbean for 126 years, Schnoor said “it’s the resilience of the bank that our customers have confidence in. So this (recession) is not an unexpected circumstance, and we’ve been preparing for it.” This included opening a Shared Services Centre, or back office in TT two years ago. Read more…
Massy opens new car showroom in Chaguanas
The Massy Group will continue to invest “in this difficult time”, Massy Motors chief executive officer David Jardim and Massy Group executive director David O'Brien said yesterday at the opening of a new Massy Motors showroom at Mid Centre Mall, Chaguanas. “We are here for the long haul,” Jardim, son of former Republic banker John Jardim, said when asked by the Express about statements that the economy is in a recession. The new Massy Motors outlet is inside the shopping centre, metres away from the car park Massy has been renting from Seereram Brothers for, as Jardim put it, “many, many years”. Read more…
REGIONAL
St. Vincent PM sworn in after opposition protests cause riot police to be called out
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves was sworn in last night, five hours later than scheduled as the National Democratic Party (NDP) refused to concede a one-seat defeat to the Unity Labour Party (ULP) in Wednesday’s general elections and supporters blocked the road to Governor General Sir Frederick Ballantyne’s residence. Riot police had to be called out as the NDP demonstrators tried to prevent Gonsalves from taking the oath of office for a fourth consecutive time. Read more…
New opportunities in medical tourism for Jamaica
The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is set to stage the first in a series of lectures on medical tourism in Jamaica. Dubbed #DoBizJa Medical Tourism Lecture Series, the sessions aim to increase the number of local investors in the sector, while highlighting the opportunities available for local medical practitioners for this untapped market. Discussions will be led by Dr Jacqueline Watson, president and CEO of the Washington DC based healthcare management and strategy consulting firm, Health Concepts International LLC. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Chinese tycoon Guo Guangchang reported missing
What does ISIS really want?
How to stop ISIS -- it's the question the leaders of the free world are struggling to answer. The debate is frequently about tactics: How to gain a battlefield advantage, how to stop its propaganda machine, how to block its sources of revenue. But less frequently is there discussion of the group's aims -- what it ultimately wants to achieve and the steps for reaching that goal. Read more…
11th December 2015