NEWS
Ahye 6th In 200M
National women’s sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye had to settle for another sixth place finish at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil, yesterday. Ahye, who finished sixth in the women’s 100-metre final in 10.92 seconds on Saturday, ended sixth in the women’s 200m final last night. Ahye got off to a solid start and was in contention for a medal at the 120m mark but she could hold on to a medal position finishing sixth in 22.34 behind some familiar faces. Women’s 100m gold medal winner Elaine Thompson of Jamaica completed the sprint double winning the 200m event in 21.78. Claiming silver was Dafne Schippers of Netherlands in 21.88 and Tori Bowie won another sprint medal grabbing bronze in 22.15. Bowie snatched silver in the women’s 100m final. Also finishing ahead of Ahye was Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast who was fourth in 22.21 and Dina Asher of Great Britain who was fifth in 22.31. Read more…
Oil slick washes up in Godineau swamp
Three weeks ago, thick black oil washed into the Godineau swamp with the evening tide. The oil blanketed the mangrove roots, killing the crabs and oysters which lived between the roots. Since then, crab and oyster vendors who made a living in the swamp have found their pickings slim and are now crying out for assistance. During a tour of the swamp yesterday, president of the Crab Catchers and Oysters Association of South Oropouche, Kishore Ramsingh, said the vendors desperately needed help. “We make a living out of this swamp and the last oil spill come and damage our livelihood and we are looking to get someone in authority to see if they could help with a little compensation because this is we living here. “All the crabs dying, all the oysters dying, we don’t know what to turn to...to get a dollar to go by,” Ramsingh said. Read more…
FFOS: EMA hiding facts on pollution
Activist group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) has questioned the integrity of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) and Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (Cariri) over a report issued by the trio on several incidents of mass fish deaths in the Gulf of Paria in recent weeks. Read more…
POLITICS
Education Ministry: CSEC results consistent
The much anticipated results for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSE C) brought sighs of relief, outright jubilation and, yes, some disappointment. The results were announced yesterday with the Education Ministry stating that the performance of CAPE this year remained consistent with that of the past five years. However, the results were released online on Tuesday evening. A statement from the ministry said about 90 percent of the entries achieved Grades one to five, which were the acceptable grades at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE). The ministry stated that 13 percent of the entries achieved Grade I, just under 20 percent achieved Grade II, 23 percent achieved Grade III, 20 percent Grade IV and 14 percent achieved Grade V. Read more…
Duke cautions Agri minister
Public servants said yesterday they feld disrespected by the bouff from the Minister of Agriculture Clarence Rambharat. Even the president of the Public Service Association, Watson Duke, thought the minister’s statement to be one that would affect the morale of the public servants but in the words of Christ said: “He is forgiven because he does not know what he says.” Duke said he would chalk up the minister’s statement to “ignorance and lack of experience.” “He should desist from making that statement again. Read more…
PNM screening sessions begin
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has returned from undergoing medical tests abroad and has started marathon screening sessions for People’s National Movement (PNM) candidates to contest the upcoming local government elections. Rowley is expected to address today’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, where he may speak on his recent trip to California, USA, where he underwent medical tests and took a mini vacation. In an electronic message to the Express, Rowley had stated: “For the last 35 years I have managed my health issues through diligent and disciplined guidance from my chosen doctors at home and in California. I have been regularly, even annually, reviewed by them over the years. This occasion is hardly different except that as a result of the intensity of my activities during the last 36 months or so I have not kept my annual appointments until recently. Read more…
BUSINESS
JMMB Group revenue up
The JMMB Group grew its operating revenue by 9.9 percent for the first quarter of the 2016/17 financial year ending June 30; moving from J$3.10 billion in the corresponding prior period to J$3.42 billion. Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) has demonstrated evidence of the Group’s growth in revenue, and maximisation of brand synergies, having officially launched the rebranded JMMB Bank (T&T) in May. Operations of subsidiaries in this country have reported a 32 percent increase (or J$150 million) in revenue, and continues to build out the integrated financial services model. In speaking to the Group’s commitment to a regionally diversified strategy, Keith Duncan, JMMB Group CEO, notes, “Our focus remains on delivering long-term sustainable shareholder value, built on delivering our promise of financial partnership. Read more…
Area zoned as nature reserve
Developing a hotel at the old tracking station in Chaguaramas is illegal and the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) knows it, says director of Papa Bois Conservation Marc De Verteuil. He said the Chaguaramas Development Plan of 1974 zoned the area where the tracking station is located as a nature reserve. Read more…
REGIONAL
More than 500 passengers abandon burning ship off Puerto Rico
The US Coast Guard responded on Wednesday to a fire aboard the 561-foot passenger ferry vessel Caribbean Fantasy half a mile off of Punta Salinas, Puerto Rico. At approximately 7:42 am on Wednesday, Coast Guard Sector San Juan received a report of a fire aboard a Panamanian-flagged passenger/cargo ship carrying 511 passengers, including crew, en route from the Dominican Republic. Initial reports indicated a manifest of 512; however, the vessel had returned to port in the Dominican Republic to disembark one passenger earlier in its voyage. The fire, which began in the engine room, spread to other compartments on board, which led to the entire ship's evacuation. All passengers and crewmembers were evacuated from the ship and taken to San Juan port where emergency service personnel received them for medical evaluations. Read more…
Elaine Again!
Elaine Thompson did it again! The Olympic 100m champion returned to the scene of Saturday's triumph to become the seventh woman to win an Olympic sprint double with a determined and powerful run in the 200m final, clocking 21.78 - the third fastest winning time in an Olympic women's 200m final. It was intense. So much so that the world's fastest man himself, Usain Bolt, could hardly contain himself as he watched on a television set in the mixed zone after his 200m semi-final win a few minutes earlier. "Hold it! Come on! Hold it!" Bolt shouted in excitement. And hold it she did. "Its amazing to come out and win another gold medal. I'm speechless right now," said Thompson. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Trump's lawyer asks 'says who' when told Trump is losing
One prominent Donald Trump supporter denied Wednesday the additional campaign hires announced in the morning amounted to a "shake-up," and appeared unaware that polls showed the GOP presidential nominee trailing in the race. When CNN's Brianna Keilar asked Michael Cohen, special counsel at the Trump Organization, about the shake-up, which reportedly sidelined Paul Manafort, the campaign chairman who had been heading up campaign leadership, Cohen blasted her word choice. "I've got to stop you for one second. There's no shake-up. Look at the words that you use and you blast at the bottom in your banner," he said on CNN's "Situation Room." "There are no desperate measures. The campaign is on its way to victory, and yet you still use these ridiculous words in order to incite something. Please understand that nobody is buying into it anymore." Read more…
Syria conflict: Image of injured boy in Aleppo draws outrage
18th August 2016