TTMA IN THE NEWS
TTMA celebrates 60th anniversary
In addressing a gathering which included current and past presidents and CEOs of the TTMA’s membership at the anniversary luncheon, the minister commended the business organisation for its “unstinting service to local manufacturers over the last six decades.” Gopee-Scoon also noted the T&T vision to be the voice of manufacturers in T&T, “creating value and providing world-class service to its membership.” “The official policy framework of the Government highlights Trinidad and Tobago’s strong manufacturing base as an intrinsic area of strength,” she said. “ Just last Friday in the House of Representatives, the Honourable Prime Minister underscored that the manufacturing sector will remain among the Government’s top priorities as diversification initiatives are expanded.” Read more here
NEWS
Boy, 17, shot dead in Couva
A mother attempting to escape a gathering of people who were viewing the body of a shooting victim while on her way to a prayer service in Couva, received the shock of her life when she learnt that the body was that of her son. Dead is 17-year-old Servol student, Elijah ‘Samo’ Lewis. He was shot and killed on Saturday at about 6.30 pm while along Cemetery Street Extension, off Carli Bay Road, Perseverance Village in Couva. Lewis, originally from Freeport, was in the Couva district to attend a prayer service at the home of one of his friends. Relatives recalled that Lewis’s mother, Judy Cuffie, was walking on her way to the said prayer service when she observed a group of people surrounding the body of a shooting victim. Not wanting to see the graphic display of the deceased, she opted to walk on the other side of the road. “Mommy passed around the road because she did not want to see whose body it was,” Cuffie’s daughter Elesha told Newsday. Read more here
Babies with abnormalities now exceed 20
As doctors remain focused on providing the best treatment and care for pregnant patients who have contracted the Zika virus, no thought has been spared as to the impact it is having on those in charge. In a rare but candid and soul-baring interview, one of this country’s foremost public health authorities on obstetrics and gynaecology, Dr Karen Sohan, has provided an insight into the psychological and emotional effect the virus has wrought among those charged with the responsibility of ensuring the best treatment options are available to affected mothers and their unborn babies. Dedicating the simply titled piece, The Psychological Impact of Zika, to the women she has been serving since March 31 when she was placed in charge of the Ministry of Health’s antenatal screening programme at the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital, Sohan shared another tidbit of exclusive information as she confirmed that the number of babies in which abnormalities believed to be caused as a result of the zika virus now exceeds 20. Read more here
The Vote Is On
Voting has begun in the Local Government election. The polls opened at 6a.m. and more than a million citizens have the option of casting ballots. There are 137 electoral districts in the fourteen corporations in Trinidad, and the outcome of the vote will likely influence the political future of several political parties. The Peoples National Movement (UNC), which goes into the election controlling eight of the 14 corporations, is seeking to expand its power ahead of planned local government reforms which will place more responsibility in the councillors. Read more here
POLITICS
Labour Minister hails Govt Printery Credit Union
“The Government Printery Credit Union (GPCU) can positively impact the national community and in turn impact the world in which we live in,” said Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus at the GPCU 60th anniversary thanksgiving service at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Port-of- Spain on Saturday. The philosophy of the GPCU is financial stability, service to members, cooperative corporation, ongoing education, and distribution to members through non-discrimination, the minister observed. She noted GPCU is ideally positioned to assist in the development of the “people’s sector”, and can also have a social impact on youths who are the future generation. Baptiste-Primus said the social intervention can have a positive influence on youths, keeping them away from criminal activities. She urged union executives to provide continuous education and exposure to developments in the local, regional and international movement. Read more here
Court gives UNC candidate the all-clear
The United National Congress’ (UNC) candidate for the electoral district of Munroe Road/Caroni Savannah in the Chaguanas Borough Corporation has been given the all-clear by a High Court judge to contest the seat in today’s election. This came after the judge dismissed a judicial review application which was filed by the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) challenging the eligibility of the candidate Adrian Shazad Ali, which alleged that he was not properly registered in accordance with the registration rules. It was struck out by Justice Ricky Rahim during a special sitting at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain yesterday, who stated in a 21-page judgment that the ILP’s claim had no reasonable prospect for success if the application were to be granted. The application was filed by ILP executive member Sunil Ramjitsingh on behalf of Simeon Mahabir, the party’s candidate for the same electoral district. Read more here
BUSINESS
New weapon against cyber attacks
As our personal and work worlds become more and more reliant on connected devices, the risks to businesses and government agencies have grown in line with the size of their computer networks. Successful or attempted cyber attacks have become common place and Juniper Networks—a business specialised in secure networks operational in T&T—has just announced a breakthrough in their routers. Juniper says it is on a mission to tackle the increasing scale and sophistication of software defined threats. The company can do this with their physical and virtual firewalls, open threat intelligence platforms, network switches and MX routers. The company partnered with Ansa McAl Trading to provide these solutions in T&T. “Juniper Networks MX Routers are present in the world’s largest service providers and it is proven that these service providers have been able to decrease Total Cost of Ownership on average of over 49 per cent,” said Onil J Ledo, regional sales manager, Juniper Networks Caribbean. Read more here
Energy stocks in focus
This week, we at Bourse review the performance of Trinidad and Tobago NGL Ltd (TTNGL) and National Enterprises Limited (NEL). NGL’s share price has appreciated 4.7 per cent year-to-date while NEL’s share pricehas descended 35.4 per cent to $10.59. We take a look closer look at each of the stocks and some of the drivers of their respective performance. Read more here
REGIONAL
'History will absolve me': Fidel Castro dies at 90
The founder of the Cuban Revolution and president of Cuba for almost 50 years, Fidel Castro, died on the night of Friday, November 25, in Havana. He was 90 years old. He ruled Cuba under a one-party system until he stepped away from power in 2008 allowing his brother Raul Castro to succeed him as president of the Republic. In Latin America and beyond, Fidel has held an almost mythical status for leftist revolutionary movements for over half a century. He has become a figure of legend, arguably as much for those who revere him as for those who reject his legitimacy as a leader, Global Voices contributors Firuzeh Shokooh Valle and Ellery Roberts Biddle noted. Read more here
Portia On 'Trial' - Political Analysts Say Election Results Will Point Opposition Leader To The Door
Today's local government elections is not just about electing municipal councillors across Jamaica, but also serves as a 'referendum' on Portia Simpson Miller's leadership of the People's National Party (PNP), according to political commentators. Kevin O'Brien Chang and Troy Caine, also a political historian, believe that Simpson Miller has more to lose than the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) if her party does not end this evening with control of most of the 13 municipal corporations. "A defeat for the JLP would have less effect on the party than it would on the PNP considering that they have just gone into power," Caine said. "The way the pointers are now is that they seem to be the party in the ascendancy not so much because the party has settled down, but the fact is that the last election in February, the party, had it been parish council elections, would have won a very, very handsome victory. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Syria war: Key Aleppo rebel area captured by forces
Syrian government forces have captured a key part of eastern Aleppo, splitting rebel-held territory in two. State TV said government troops were dismantling mines and explosives and continuing their advance. A monitoring group says the rebels have now lost more than a third of the previously rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Thousands of civilians have fled the besieged districts after a weekend of heavy fighting. Hundreds of families have been displaced within the area. Read more here
Clinton to join recount that Trump calls 'scam'
Hillary Clinton's campaign said Saturday it will take part in efforts to push for recounts in several key states, joining with Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who has raised millions of dollars to have votes counted again in Wisconsin. But, in a post on Medium, Marc Elias, the campaign's counsel, said the campaign's own investigation has not uncovered any evidence of hacking of voting systems. In the campaign's most detailed comments to date on the recount, Elias wrote that while the campaign was not going to contest the results itself, it has decided now to take part in the effort to "ensure that it is fair to all sides." Read more here
28th November 2016