NEWS
Don’t Pardon Prisoners
There is growing support for the public stance taken by learned jurist and former Chief Justice (CJ) Michael de la Bastide who is against a call by head of the Roman Catholic church in TT, Archbishop Joseph Harris, who is calling for prisoners on remand to be pardoned once their incarceration pending the start of their trial, exceeds the maximum sentence they can get if convicted. Adding their voices in support of de la Bastide, are Inspector of Prisons and attorney Daniel Khan and former President of the Trinidad and Tobago Law Association Seenath Jairam SC (Senior Counsel), who have both endorsed the ex-CJ’s call for the State to consider granting bail to these prisoners instead of full pardons. In an interview with Newsday, which was published last Thursday, de la Bastide warned that a proposal by Fr Harris calling on such prisoners to be pardoned, would have “unwanted and undesirable” effects. These would include possible effects on victims, including the erasure of their rights to forms of compensation. Read more…
MATT blames cops for attack on journalist
The T&T Police Service (TTPS) is being blamed for last Thursday’s attack on Guardian photographer Rishi Ragoonath and ought to take responsibility, the Media Association of T&T (MATT) says. Ragoonath was physically assaulted while on duty by a prisoner who escaped police custody outside the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court. He sustained injuries to the head, eyes and chest. His camera and spectacles were also damaged. The prisoner, a murder accused, also verbally threatened his life. In a release yesterday, MATT said the TTPS has to take full responsibility for the attack, as the police was responsible for securing the prisoner at the time of the assault. MATT also condemned the TTPS’ inaction on issuing a public statement on this matter and its failure in reaching out to Ragoonath. Read more…
43 more motorists get tickets for speeding
Police have to date issued a total of 50 tickets to motorists caught exceeding the 80 kilometres-per-hour speed limit. Seven of them received tickets last week. Police conducted an exercise along the Solomon Hochoy Highway on Friday night near Seereeram Brothers compound around 10 p.m. during which 11 other motorists were ticketed after the newly introduced speed gun devices showed they were exceeding the speed limit. Police told the Express other exercises in the South Western Division resulted in 32 more tickets being issued.
Police said the drivers were charged with exceeding the speed limit contrary to section 62:1 of the Motor Vehicle Road Traffic Act Chap 48:50 and the speed limit on the nation’s highways remains at 80 km/h. Read more…
POLITICS
UNC MP Govt dishonest on SSA
United National Congress (UNC) Naparima MP Rodney Charles yesterday charged that Government is being dishonest about its defence of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Amendment Bill 2016. In a statement in which he reiterated the UNC’s concerns about the bill infringing on citizens’ constitutional rights and privileges, Charles rejected statements made by Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young and Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds about the bill. “These newly minted Government ministers are either totally uninformed about global best practices regarding intelligence gathering, or appear to be deliberately not providing us with the whole picture when it comes to proportionate safeguards to protect us against their intended significant interference with our democratic rights and freedoms,” said Charles, who served as this country’s ambassador to the United Nations under the former People’s Partnership (PP) government. Read more…
Deyalsingh to launch education drive soon: Breast milk’s better option
Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh says women should not be ashamed about breastfeeding their children in public. “It is a natural human response and I support breastfeeding totally because it is better for the baby. “Babies who are breastfed up to six months to a year show that their immune systems are stronger because they get all antibodies via breast milk,” Deyalsingh told members of the media yesterday, as he paid a special visit to mothers who gave birth on Mother’s Day at the Mount Hope Women’s Hospital. The issue of whether breastfeeding in public is acceptable or not has been a continuous debate in T&T. Read more…
Opposition calls for curbs on agency
THE Opposition has recommended the establishment of an Intelligence Review Committee (IRC) to provide civilian oversight of the operations of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA). It has also suggested that the President, and not the politicians, select the director, and deputy director of the SSA as well as the members of the IRC. These form part of the checklist of amendments which the United National Congress (UNC) has proposed to provide checks against the possible abuse of power and the violation of privacy rights which it contends the Strategic Services Agency (Amendment) Bill would facilitate. Read more…
BUSINESS
TDC looks to business tourism
Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe has told the Tourism Development Company’s (TDC) Conventions Bureau to ensure T&T takes advantage of the billion-dollar convention market. Citing a World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report which shows that business travel spending is expected to grow by 1.2 per cent to US$3 billion this year, the minister urged the agency to take advantage of this lucrative market. “T&T Convention Bureau acts as a one-stop shop for meeting planners seeking independent information and assistance on hosting events in T&T,” she said in her address at Meeting Planners Cocktail Reception and Cultural Night at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre held to welcome nine US planners who are in T&T on a study tour and assured they would find that the destination was a viable alternative. Read more…
Bank stocks improve
This week, we at Bourse review the recently released results of two of the banking sector stocks on the local exchange, namely First Citizens Bank Ltd (FIRST) and National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ). While both companies delivered positive growth in earnings per Share (EPS) for the half year (HY) ended March 31 2016, FIRST's share price has dipped 5.6 per cent for the year thus far, while NCBJ's has appreciated 14.3 per cent. Read more…
REGIONAL
ZIKV Haven - Health Ministry Study Reveals Most Jamaicans Allowing Vectors To Breed
Many Jamaicans are unwittingly putting themselves at serious risk of becoming infected with the Zika virus (ZIKV), spread primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, due in large measure to the improper storage of water used for household chores. Health minister Dr Christopher Tufton told The Gleaner yesterday that the concerns were confirmed by the results of a study conducted by the Government, which clearly shows the need for much greater public awareness and concerted action to stem the spread of the vector-borne disease. Public health inspectors who visited 239,046 premises in 1,473 communities across the island reported that more than 75 per cent of the 488,370 containers inspected were found to contain larvae of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a worrying statistic for health officials. People infected with the Zika virus can have symptoms such as mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, or headaches. Read more…
CARICOM Human Resource Development Commission launches Thursday in Barbados
A commission charged with creating a human resource development strategy for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be launched on Thursday in Barbados. The ceremony will be hosted at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). CARICOM heads of government took the decision to establish the commission at their twenty-fifth intersessional meeting in 2014. The commission has 17 specialists and other stakeholders in education and human resource development, and its work is supported by the CARICOM Secretariat, as coordinator, and CDB, which is financing the establishment of a gender-responsive and socially inclusive CARICOM strategy for harmonised education reform. The Regional Education and Human Resource Development 2030 Strategy and Action Plan (the Regional HRD Strategy), which the commission will shape, is intended to form the basis for converged action by member states. It is expected that the commission will also develop policy recommendations for education reform in CARICOM member states. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Philippines election: Outspoken mayor tipped to win as polls close
Fault lines: GOP civil war deepens
Donald Trump is poised to breeze through another round of primary contests this week -- while the Republican Party splinters around him. Trump's ascent to the top of the GOP, which was capped last week with Ted Cruz's devastating loss in the Indiana primary, happened so fast that even the billionaire himself was surprised. And the whipsawed party establishment now faces immediate choices -- none of which particularly appeal to them. Read more…
9th May 2016