NEWS
Backlog at Integrity Commission
Every year, the Integrity Commission receives between 1,200 and 1,400 declarations of income, assets and liabilities from persons in public life, but it currently has a team of 11 persons to analyse and certify these declarations, the Commission said yesterday. In a media release issued in the wake of reports of the issuing of a query letter to PNM political leader Dr Keith Rowley, in relation to a 2004 filing, the Commission said for the period July 1 to August 24 alone, it has issued 190 pieces of correspondence. “The Integrity Commission in any given year, will usually receive 1,200 to 1,400 declarations of income, assets and liabilities,” the Commission said in an unsigned media statement which made no mention of Rowley. It noted persons in public life include members of the House of Representatives, Government Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Members of the Tobago House of Assembly, members of Municipalities and Local Government Authorities, Senators, Members of Statutory Boards, Permanent Secretaries, and Chief Technical Officers. Read more…
Spinal damage for Caura tree victim
One of the victims from Saturday’s freak accident in Caura, Mary Bhaggan, 42, may never be able to walk again as she may suffer permanent paralysis from the waist down. T&T Guardian understands that Bhaggan, of Spring Village, Valsayn, who was pinned under the tree, has severe injuries to her spinal cord. Bhaggan is still warded at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, and is being treated and monitored closely by doctors. It is possible that she may have to undergo surgery. Eight-year-old Dimitri Rampersad, of Five Rivers, Arouca, who is also still warded at the same institution will undergo surgery on one of his legs on September 7. Doctors will attempt to insert metal plates and screws in the leg. Rampersad is also expected to be seen by eye specialists. Read more…
T&T to assist Dominica in recovery efforts
Trinidad and Tobago has offered to help Dominica in recovery efforts following severe flooding and damage caused by Tropical Storm Erika. The T&T Government said it would assist Dominica by deploying two helicopters from the Air Guard to transport Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit back home from St Lucia. Trinidad and Tobago will also assist with aerial reconnaissance, medical operations for persons in distress and to assist persons stranded as a result of the floods. The National Operations Centre (NOC), Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), Defence Force and other State agencies have been placed on alert should it become necessary to render further assistance to Dominica or any other country impacted by the storm. Read more…
POLITICS
Prakash untroubled by brother’s PNM antics
Congress of the People (COP) political leader Prakash Ramadhar yesterday said the presence of his brother Kishore Ramadhar and a small group of former COP members at a PNM meeting on Tuesday in San Juan was, “in no way troubling to me or troubling to the COP.” This handful, Ramadhar said, made statements in the past that they intended to destroy the COP but all he is asking of them now is for “peace.” He advised, “do not try to do things on the outside to create disruption. ” In an earlier interview, Kishore Ramadhar said that while he is not joining the Opposition party, he is urging COP members to vote for the PNM in the September 7 general election since the COP and the People’s Partnership had moved away from the COP’s original core values. Read more…
Rowley using them as part of strategy
The apparent “defection” of three Congress of the People (COP) members was a staged, made-for-TV event and was part of Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley’s latest manoeuvre to present himself as the new messiah of T&T. Drawing to him a bunch of “defectors” from other political parties, particularly from the COP and UNC, was all part of Rowley’s strategy to present himself as a national leader. This was the strong charge from COP general secretary Clyde Weatherhead yesterday who said two of the so-called COP trio were not even members of his party. Kishore Ramadhar, Satu-Ann Ramcharan and Rudolph Hanamji, wearing white COP shirts, stood out in a crowd of red at a PNM public meeting in Charlieville on Tuesday night. Media reports said Rowley embraced and welcomed the small group of COP dissidents into the PNM. Read more…
Rowley and Roget sign labour agreement on eve of elections
Five years after signing the Fyzabad accord with the People's Partnership for the 2010 general election, the labour movement has signed a labour agreement with the People's National Movement (PNM) on the eve of the 2015 general election. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour was yesterday a done deal between the PNM and the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), copies of which have not yet been made available to the media. Read more…
BUSINESS
Marubeni executives visit Ramnarine
Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine on Wednesday received executives from the Japanese conglomerate Marubeni at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs in Port- of- Spain. Marubeni is the 39 percent owner of Powergen. The other owners of PowerGen include Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (51 percent) and NEL (National Enterprises Limited), ten percent. In the meeting Marubeni discussed future plans for PowerGen and future plans for investment in Trinidad and Tobago. The Marubeni executives also briefed Ramnarine on the power generation situation in Japan. Read more…
Food safety game-changer for regional fisheries
Meeting the stringent requirements of international food safety standards can make the difference between success and failure in the regional fisheries sector both as a generator of foreign exchange and as a provider of safe food for domestic consumption. According to leading regional experts and industry players meeting in Barbados earlier this week, such issues are fast becoming matters related to the very survival of a food sub-sector already besieged by a variety of environmental and regulatory factors. According to figures from the Seafood Industry Development Company (SIDC), made available to the meeting organised by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), in T&T the industry represents ten per cent of total output in the agriculture sector amounting to .09 per cent of national GDP and rising. Read more…
Howai: Cash inflows to provide cushion
Government will be receiving one-off cash inflows which will provide a significant cushion and enable it to make any fiscal adjustments in the context of anticipated lower oil prices over the next year and perhaps over the medium term. This is the assurance given by Finance Minister Larry Howai at yesterday's post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. Read more…
REGIONAL
Four dead in Dominica as Tropical Storm Erika brings rain and floods
Tropical Storm Erika dumped almost nine inches of torrential rainfall on Dominica, causing widespread flooding and mudslides that killed at least four people on the island, as the system crossed the Eastern Caribbean and headed towards Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Thursday. Police Superintendent Daniel Carbon said three of the deaths occurred in a mudslide in the southeast of the island. Authorities recovered the bodies of an elderly blind man and two children from their home. A fourth death occurred in the capital of Roseau, where a man was found near his home following a mudslide. Read more…
Region commits to 75 per cent reduction in new HIV infections in adults and young people by 2020
Latin America and the Caribbean countries have set new regional targets for 2020, aiming to reduce new HIV infections, guarantee a coordinated and comprehensive approach to HIV prevention, and achieve an environment of zero stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and the populations most affected by the epidemic. These targets include a 75 per cent reduction in new HIV infections in adults and young people in the next five years, as well as access to combination HIV prevention packages for 90 per cent of transsexuals, gay men and other men who have sex with men, and sex workers by 2020. Another goal is to remove legislation that can be used to discriminate against people living with or affected by HIV. The most vulnerable populations in the region include gay men and other men who have sex with men, transsexual women, sex workers and their clients, drug users, young adults and adolescents, women and children, incarcerated people, transient populations, indigenous and Afro-descendant populations, homeless people, and female victims of violence. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Migrant crisis: 71 bodies found in Austria lorry
5 things to know about the next iPhone
It's that time of year again. The kids are back in school, the nights are getting cooler, footballs are flying through the air and Apple is readying new iPhones. The company just announced it will hold an event September 9 in San Francisco. And while Apple is tighter with its secrets than the CIA, a new generation of iPhones -- which have been birthed every September or October since 2011 -- are a safe bet. Here's what to expect from the ninth generation of Apple's flagship device. Read more…
28th August 2015