DAILY BRIEF
MONDAY 15TH JUNE, 2015
NEWS
Grande man killed at christening
A baby’s christening is usually a joyous event but on Saturday night, the christening of baby Vanissa in Sangre Grande was anything but joyous. The event turned tragic when the one-month-old infant’s Godfather was shot several times about the body and died. Nigel Maloney, 37, of Horse Trace, Foster Road, Sangre Grande, was shot three times in the head and chest while at the christening at Road 3, Northeastern Settlement in Sangre Grande, at about 9.45 pm.. He died on the spot. Eyewitnesses told police, a man wearing a mask entered the tent where guests were gathered, pulled out a gun and fired several shots at Maloney. Those present scampered to safety. Maloney’s wife, Tisha, who only minutes before shared a dance with her husband, had gone into the house when she heard what sounded like pops from a “caps gun.” She was not aware that her husband had been killed. Read more...
500 for random HDC draw in July
Three months after the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) randomly selected applicants in a televised broadcast, Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said there will be another on July 15.At this second draw, 500 persons will be randomly selected to become home owners.“This time it will be for persons who have applied 15 years or more for housing. Five hundred citizens will be randomly selected through this public televised draw in accordance with the Cabinet approved policy for government housing. The auditors of KPMG will be engaged to witness and supervise this draw,” said Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal. He made the comments yesterday while delivering the feature address at HDC’s key distribution ceremony held at Corinth Close Community, located on the outskirts of San Fernando. . Read more...
The empire that Jack built
In recent days, investigative news reports have estimated Warner’s wealth to be approximately $1 billion. However, it is difficult to gauge the full extent of his fortune since assets are scattered across a very diverse range of business operations, as well as several local and overseas bank accounts. He is a former schoolteacher whose ascent to positions of power in world football and T&T politics began when he became secretary of the T&T Football Association in 1973. Austin “Jack” Warner rose from humble beginnings in Rio Claro in south Trinidad, to become president of Concacaf, vice president of Fifa, as well as a senior cabinet minister in the People’s Partnership (PP) administration of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Along the way, he also developed a large family-owned business empire, with establishments across T&T. Read more...
POLITICS
Jack: ‘Election announcement Long overdue’
Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner said Friday’s announcement by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar that general elections will be held on September 7 was “long overdue.”Warner, who is also Chaguanas West MP, made this comment to reporters as he left the House of Representatives, following its adjournment on Friday. Asked if he had any views on the remarks made by Persad-Bissessar before she announced the election date, Warner replied, “Nothing new.” When the House adjourned, Warner bid farewell to former government colleagues Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran, Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan, Public Administration Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan and Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh. Warner also spoke with People’s National Movement (PNM) MPs Patricia McIntosh and Colm Imbert. Read more...
Young professionals deliver vision plan to PNM
The Heliconia Foundation For Young Professionals has published and officially delivered to the People’s National Movement, its first recommendations for the Revision of Vision 2020 National Strategic Plan.These recommendations are the first of several recommendations the Foundation advocates and are part of a wider proposal dubbed ‘‘The Young Professional’s Agenda’’, which the Foundation is currently developing and lobbying the PNM to include in its Policy and General Election agendas, a statement from the foundation said yesterday. The handing over took place at a specially convened meeting at City Hall Port-of-Spain last week at which over 70 members of the Foundation between the ages of 25-39 attended. President of the Foundation Michael Coppin explained that document, which was handed over to PNM Elections Officer Foster Cummings, deals with employment rights, housing for young professionals, diversification, energy and macroeconomic development. Read more...
BUSINESS
TT Chamber calls for clean election campaign
Following the announcement that the General Election will be held on September 7th, 2015, the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce called on all political parties to run a clean campaign “that at all times will put the national interest over partisan concerns.The Chamber said in a statement that it expected that the vibrant campaigning which has already started will continue. It added that the period leading up to the election has the potential to affect businesses. “The Chamber therefore encourages all parties to position themselves so that the elected government can settle down quickly and ensure the country’s business continues to be conducted seamlessly.” It also reminded political parties of the need to stick to the Code of Ethical Political Conduct and also reminded those parties and political leaders who have agreed to participate in the debates being organised by the Trinidad and Tobago Debates Commission of their commitment to take part in the debates. Read more...
Tewarie: Govt pleased with economic growth
The Government has done well to improve the economy and according to Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie, while there is always room for improvement, they are satisfied with the performance. Tewarie said the areas where the Government has done well are business creation, job creation and investment, which has moved the economy from decline to recovery and growth. “The growth is modest but it is real and that gives a certain buoyancy platform to the economy that we can build on,” he said at the launch of the Monitoring and Evaluation Report and the 2014 Annual Report on performance. The report is based on the national performance framework for 2012 and 2015. Read more...
Converting fun into money
The development of a mobile gaming app is helping a team of young men from the island of Curacao convert fun into money. Within months of the introduction of Urban Chase last December the youngsters, also associated with the music group Area 51, saw the game move to the top of Caribbean downloads on Google Play. Within two weeks there had already been over 6,000 downloads. The concept was jointly conceived by young musical brothers Ryan and Xavier Navarro, moved to the stage of a functioning app by game developer, Margin Nahr, and attracted investments through the assistance of Yasser Casseres, a youthful financial manager. The idea came to fruition almost two years after Nahr, CEO of Margin Entertainment, was introduced to Area 51 and the idea of a video game, themed on the experience of the music group, was spawned. Read more...
Recycling Facility launched Big earnings expected
The Trinidad and Tobago Solid Waste Management Company (SWMCOL) stands to earn US$600 per tonne of shredded plastic it exports from its new Beverage Container Recycling Facility (BCRF) on Abattoir Road, Port-of-Spain. SWMCOL’s General Manager of Operations, Ronald Roach, spoke with reporters about the new facility’s earning potential at its formal opening last Friday. “You can take bottles and send them abroad in bales, that ranges from US $20 a tonne as a bottle to US $200 a tonne as baled product (while) shredded material can earn US $600 a tonne.” “The shredded material is used in plastic manufacturing, so there are a number of options for it. You can use it to make new bottles, in carpet fibers, toys, plastic lumber (et cetera) and it’s virtually a raw material in the plastics industry. There are a host of buyers that we can find for this product,” Roach said. Read more...
REGIONAL
Guyana seeks UN assistance as Venezuela 'annexes' further territory
Guyana's new foreign minister, Carl Greenidge, in an address during the opening of Parliament last week, said that his country will seek UN assistance in resolving once and for all the territorial dispute with Venezuela that was escalated on May 27 by a presidential decree # 1787 that virtually "annexed" all of Guyana's territorial waters and which authorized the Venezuelan navy to police the area. Greenidge denounced Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's decree as a “flagrant violation of international law” and rejected “this illegality which seeks to undermine our efforts at development through the exploitation of our natural resources offshore”. According to Greenidge, Guyana will internationalize the issue at all forums and has brought it to the attention to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
South Korea MERS death toll rises to 16; Saudi Arabia reports 5 cases
Five new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome have been confirmed in South Korea and another person has died from the virus, the country's Ministry of Health said Monday. That brings to 16 the number of deaths attributed to the virus, which is known as MERS. Out of 150 people who contracted MERS since an outbreak began in South Korea last month, 120 are undergoing treatment, the ministry said. South Korean officials said this weekend the outbreak was slowing, but additional cases were expected. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has recorded five cases of MERS in the past week, the official state-run Saudi press agency said Sunday, citing a weekly Ministry of Health statement. According to the World Health Organization, the strain of coronavirus that causes MERS was first identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia..." Read more...
15th June 2015