NEWS
Moruga rice time now
Now is the time for Moruga Hill rice to make its mark. Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon and Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat expressed this view at a grant-funding ceremony in Moruga on Tuesday. At the ceremony, Gopee-Scoon presented Caribbean Sea and Air Marketing (producers of Moruga Hill Rice) with $317,500 in grant funding from the Trade and Industry Ministry’s Research and Development Facility (RDF). Read more here
Nishal’s mental state worries lawyer
One week after his arrest, Nishal Sankat’s attorney is urging authorities to move his client from prison to another facility under a private physician’s care amid fears over his mental state. The 22-year-old Sankat, who is the son of former UWI St Augustine principal Prof Clement Sankat, is reportedly under suicide watch at the Brevard County Jail, according to his attorney Greg Eisenmenger. The lawyer has told US authorities that conditions at the prison are taking a further toll on Sankat’s mental health. Read more here
POLITICS
Youth convention chair: Imbert must invest in young people
As Budget Day approaches, the founder and executive chairperson of the TT Youth Convention (TTYC), Nikoli Edwards, has called for Finance Minister Colm Imbert to invest in youth development. Speaking at the TTYC at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) on Wednesday, Edwards said such an investment would essentially help young people to capture and make full use of the educational, recreational and entrepreneurial activities already afforded to youths. Read more here
Parliament opens today
Today’s opening of the Fourth Session of Parliament will feature the appointment of a new Independent Senator replacing Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir whose March resignation letter from the Independent bench became effective last night when the Third Session ended. Mahabir, the former Independent Bench co-ordinator told the T&T Guardian yesterday his resignation was accepted by President Paula- Mae Weekes a few days ago. After Weekes took office in February, Mahabir, by letter in March offered his resignation—effective this month’s end of the Third Session of Parliament—to allow Weekes to exercise her constitutional power to choose Independent Senators. Read more here
BUSINESS
Good news on the natural gas front
When Minister of Finance Colm Imbert delivers his fourth budget on Monday, he will be in a position to announce that the energy sector has turned the corner and its growth is driving economic expansion, according to the Central Bank’s latest economic bulletin. Last year, Imbert predicated his budget on an oil price of US$52 and a gas price of $2.75 per mmbtu. At the time he told Parliament: “It should be noted that our assumed oil price is below the International Monetary Fund forecast of $56.20 per barrel for 2018 and lower than the current oil price forecasts made by the World Bank, United States Energy Information Administration (USEIA) and International Energy Agency (IEA).” Read more here
REGIONAL
Lift Sanctions Against Cuba - Holness Renews Calls For US To Remove Embargoes Against The 'Friend Of Jamaica'
Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday reiterated the call by Jamaica and the rest of CARICOM for the United States to lift the embargoes imposed against Cuba almost six decades ago, arguing that societies function best within an inclusive global environment, where no one feels left behind. "Implementation of the SDGs (sustainable development goals) must be people-centred. Embargoes and other financial and economic barriers must not become tools to prevent people such as our neighbours, the citizens of the Republic of Cuba, from attaining their right to development. Jamaica continues to call for a lifting of the embargoes against that country," he told the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
A wrenching day, and now a decision
The Senate Judiciary Committee will once again be the scene of a national drama Friday as its members prepare to vote on President Donald Trump's embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Friday's scheduled vote at 9:30 a.m. ET is an effort by Republicans to bring a swift end to a confirmation process roiled by sexual assault allegations, even as Democrats demand more answers. Read more here
Air Niugini plane comes down in Micronesia lagoon
A passenger aircraft has come down in a lagoon off Chuuk International Airport in Micronesia after it missed the runway, airport officials say. The Air Niugini plane from Papua New Guinea was seen sitting in shallow water just off the coast. Locals responded by approaching the plane in small vessels to help rescue the 36 passengers and 11 crew. A hospital official told Reuters that four passengers were in a serious condition after the crash. Read more here
28th September 2018