NEWS
Recession can’t stop the Carnival Destra to host ‘Queen of Bacchanal’
The recession cannot. stop the “Queen. of Bacchanal”, so said. Destra Garcia as she. announced she will. be hosting her second. Queen of Bacchanal. (QOB) Concert,. “Queen” at O2 Park. Chaguramas on February. 03. Garcia was. speaking yesterday at. a press conference at. Digicel Box, Queen’s. Park Oval, St James. When asked if the. economic downturn. this year will affect the. show, she said, “I think. it is a question for everybody. who is having. an event, primarily I. think the people and. fans who want to see. Destra will come out. especially since we. made a decision not. to be everywhere this. Carnival,” she continued,. “Carnival is also a. staple in terms of our. economy and Tourism. Read more…
Mystery fire in St James
Sixth Form student Jerlon Anderson, who spent most of her Tuesday night at her home studying and writing notes in preparation for her Cape examinations left home for school yesterday as usual only to receive tragic news that her house was on fire. However, by the time Jerlon got there at Fort George Road, St James, her home was completely destroyed by the fire, along with her study notes, textbooks and uniforms. Read more…
‘10,000 used-car workers may face breadline’
The foreign-used car industry may have to retrench more than 10,000 workers since no packages for quotas of vehicles have been issued. This according to head of the Trinidad and Tobago Automotive Dealers Association (TTADA) Visham Babwah. Members of TTADA met on Tuesday at the P&V Automotive headquarters of TTADA in Chaguanas. Read more…
POLITICS
Alfonso confirms alcohol stock
Carl Alfonso, former executive director of the Prime Minister’s Official Residence and Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s, yesterday confirmed there was a stock of alcohol at the Diplomatic Centre during the tenure of former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Alfonso, who was appointed national security minister in Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s Cabinet on February 3, 2015, said he assumed the post of executive director in 2012 and served for about a year. Alfonso said as director, one of the first things he did was to take an inspection tour of the compound. Read more…
Fixin’ TT on Mc Donald issue: Rowley disrespectful
Fixin’ T&T leader and activist Kirk Waithe is describing Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s position on allegations against Housing Minister Marlene Mc Donald as disrespectful and contemptuous to the people of T&T. On Tuesday, Waithe called for the removal of Mc Donald amid allegations of abuse of public office. Mc Donald has been referred to the police and the Integrity Commission over questions of whether she used her position in 2008 as a minister to influence the allocation of a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) unit to her romantic partner. Read more…
Kamla: Pure distraction
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has dismissed as “pure distraction” talk by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley of a huge cache of alcohol found at the Prime Minister’s residence in St Ann’s. Persad-Bissessar said yesterday that Rowley’s claim that alcohol valued at $400,000 was found at the official residence was nothing but an “unadulterated distraction”, when he should have been addressing more important matters in the country, such as crime. Read more…
BUSINESS
ECU directors taken to task over squabbles
Members of Eastern Credit Union (ECU) on Monday chastised the financial institution’s board of directors, led by Wayne Estrada, claiming their public squabbles are embarrassing the organisation and threatening its stability. At a special meeting at the credit union’s La Joya Complex headquarters, St Joseph, shareholders voiced frustration at the manner in which ECU’s affairs are being managed and told the directors to deal with the issues now tarnishing the image of the institution. Read more…
VAT ‘a tough pill to swallow’
The reintroduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) on certain food items is not an easy pill for the country to swallow, given increasing levels of unemployment in the country. This according to president of the Penal/Debe Chamber of Commerce Shiva Roopnarine. Roopnarine believes that the “poor and vulnerable” will have to bear the burden of the 12.5 per cent VAT. Read more…
REGIONAL
Bahamas boosts policing of Jet Ski operations following attack on tourist
A week after the United States issued an alert advising its citizens not to patronize Jet Ski operators in the Bahamas on the heels of multiple sexual attacks, new measures have been announced in the Caribbean nation to beef up security in the sector. Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin said that, among other measures, there would be sea-based patrol by Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) officers on Jet Skis, who will provide surveillance of beach areas during the hours of Jet Ski operation; and Jet Ski operators would have to monitor themselves, through “beach marshals” selected from among them – a new component of industry-based self-supervision. Read more…
Jamaica moves ahead with oil and gas exploration
An offshore two-dimensional seismic survey is to be conducted by Tullow Jamaica Limited over the next 30 days to determine Jamaica’s potential for commercial oil and gas. Tullow, a leader in independent gas and oil exploration and production, is undertaking the 3,000 sq km survey as part of the work programme outlined in the production sharing agreement (PSA) the company signed with the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) in November 2014. Exploratory work is to be carried out on the south coast of the island, which has been identified in the past as having good frontier for exploration. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Second aid convoy heads toward besieged Syrian city of Madaya
A second aid convoy is on the way to the besieged Syrian city of Madaya, where numerous people are reportedly starving, according to a U.N. source in the convoy. The new convoy is made up of about 50 trucks carrying wheat flour, medicine, blankets and winter clothes, the source said early Thursday. The source said the convoy hopes to reach Madaya shortly. Read more…
Jakarta attacks: Bombs and gunfire rock Indonesian capital
14th January 2016