NEWS

Zika causing more abortions

Public health care officials have declined to comment on the issue except to acknowledge that procedures are being performed illegally in the majority of the cases. However, specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Sherene Kalloo has confirmed the information. “I have had patients who have gotten pregnant and are fearful if they contract the virus, what can happen, so without even having any signs or symptoms of the zika virus, they have opted to terminate the pregnancy. We do have an increase in abortions, some known and some unknown,” she said. Read more here

More speed guns and legislation coming

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan says police officers will soon have more speed guns to use as efforts continue to make T&T’s roads safer for motorists and pedestrians. He said this measure will be supported by legislation to introduce a points system as an additional penalty for delinquent drivers. Read more here

POLITICS

Jeers for PM in Charlieville

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was verbally attacked by a handful of people wearing yellow UNC T-shirts yesterday during a walkabout in central Trinidad yesterday. The incident occurred close to the Pierre Road Recreation Ground shortly before dark during a two hour walk through Charlieville, in support of the PNM candidates contesting seats on the Chaguanas Borough Corporation. Read more here

AG glad for more women in law

Most law graduates now are female, a point Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said he is happy with although they face the challenges of balancing a demanding career often with a home/family life. He made the observation on Saturday in unscripted address to the prize-giving ceremony at the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine. “The legal fraternity is now heavily female-oriented,” he said. Read more here

BUSINESS

No longer 'a job for life

Having laid out a broad platform for the inevitability of contract or part-time employment as a stable feature of the current Trinidad and Tobago labour market, the Employers Consultative Association (ECA) has nevertheless found fault with the phenomenon, as it is practised in the public service. Read more here

REGIONAL

Human rights lawyers under threat in Cuba

Members of Cubalex, a Havana-based organization of human rights lawyers, have been subjected to months of harassment and intimidation by the Cuban authorities for their work. Progressively since September, Cuban authorities have intimidated members of Cubalex (Legal Information Center), a non-government organization, not recognized by the Cuban authorities, which provides free legal and human rights advice in Havana, the capital. Read more here

Suriname economy in deep recession, says IMF

The economic outlook for Suriname remains challenging, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said at the conclusion of its regular 2016 Article IV consultation. For 2016, a GDP contraction of 9 percent is projected, following a 2.7 percent contraction in 2015. The deep recession reflects a number of factors, including spillovers from the closure of the Suralco alumina plant and the contractionary impact of the fiscal adjustment. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

Aleppo: Eyewitness describes aftermath of hospital attack

In every corridor, every corner of the Omar Hospital in Aleppo, there are scenes of horror. Decapitated bodies on the hospital's floor, children with bloodied faces, screaming mothers searching for their families under the rubble -- these were some of images that one medic described to CNN after a hospital in eastern Aleppo was attacked Saturday. "Whatever I say I will not be able to describe the horror I am seeing," Aref al-Aref, who filmed the aftermath of the shelling, said. On Sunday, Syrian regime forces pounded the rebel-held areas in and around the city of Aleppo with airstrikes and artillery shelling, according to Syria Civil Defense, killing 32 people and bringing the total death toll in a week-long bombardment campaign to over 300. Read more here

Obama says he may comment as citizen on Trump's presidency

US President Barack Obama has said he may speak out after leaving office if he feels his successor Donald Trump is threatening core American values. By convention, former presidents tend to leave the political fray and avoid commenting on their successors. Mr Obama said he would give Mr Trump time to outline his vision but added that, as a private citizen, he might speak out on certain issues. Mr Trump spent the weekend interviewing candidates for top jobs in his cabinet. "I want to be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off," Mr Obama said at a forum in Lima, Peru. Read more here

21st November 2016

Back