NEWS
NO MORE GATE FREE-FOR-ALL
STUDENTS from homes with monthly incomes of or above $10,000 will from next year be called upon to fund a percentage of their tertiary education while the Government will continue to fund 100 per cent of students from homes with an average income below $10,000 to be determined by means testing.These measures were among several changes to the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme announced yesterday by Education Minister Anthony Garcia at the post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister following a special Cabinet sitting. Read more here
Ageing citizens cry foul over Gate cut
The T&T Association of Retired/Responsible Persons is very disappointed that Government didn’t consult with it before closing the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (Gate)) programme on new over-50 applicants. TTARP president, Peter Pena, said so yesterday after Education Minister Anthony Garcia announced from this month, new applicants over age 50 would no longer be able to access Gate assistance. However, those over-50s continuing studies in undergraduate programmes would obtain funding to complete studies. Pena noted that TTARP’s position on the Gate matter, issued last week, was that it didn’t agree with the proposal that people over 50 doing new applications for study would not be able to access Gate. Read more here
POLITICS
Mother of Trini terror fighter: Don’t fear my son, he’s not coming back
The mother of Isis fighter, Abu Sa’d al Trinidadi (Shane Crawford), says there is nothing to fear as her son was never coming back to T&T. he mother, who was not named, was speaking during an exclusive interview with CNC3’s anchor Golda Lee Bruce. The interview aired during last night’s 7 pm newscast. She expressed disappointment that her son’s was identified by local media as Crawford and thought the article should have referred to him as al Trinidadi. Read more here
BUSINESS
NEL profit plummets 81%
IN its fiscal year ended March 31, National Enterprises Ltd (NEL)—Government’s investment holding company in eight concerns—has seen its share price drop to a seven-year low of $10, its dividends paid to investors stagnate at 50 cents per share, its earnings per share nosedive to 15 cents from 80 cents a year earlier, and its profit attributable to shareholders plummet 81 per cent to $90.4 million from $479.2 million a year earlier. According to the company’s annual report released by the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange yesterday, NEL’s total assets also fell to its lowest in three years to $3.6 billion. Read more here
REGIONAL
Belize bank hit by withdrawals and correspondent bank de-risking
BELIZE CITY, Belize -- An offshore bank owned by Britain’s Lord Ashcroft has closed a large number of customer accounts and faced a wave of withdrawal requests after becoming increasingly caught up in a US tax-evasion crackdown and the withdrawal of foreign correspondent banking services. The value of deposits at Belize Bank International (BBI) shrank by almost three-quarters in the space of just six months, and confidential emails suggest some BBI customers have struggled to recover their cash, the London Guardian newspaper reported. So stretched is the position that BBI in April told a court in Belize that it could not pay a $3.3 million judgment against it without liquid assets falling below the minimum amount required by law. BBI has denied it was in crisis and said it faced a short-term problem. Read more here
UNWTO head to make first ever appearance at CTO state of the tourism industry conference
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- The head of the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable tourism will make his first ever appearance at a Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) event when he presents at the state of the tourism industry conference (SOTIC) next month. Secretary general of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Taleb Rifai will be joined by the president of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) David Scowsill and CTO secretary general Hugh Riley on a panel to discuss how to pilot an industry through a perpetual state of flux. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
UK interest rates cut to 0.25%
UK interest rates have been cut from 0.5% to 0.25% and the Bank of England has signalled that they could go lower if the economy worsens.The Bank announced a range of measures to stimulate the UK economy, including a £100bn scheme to force banks to pass on the low interest rate to households and businesses. It will also buy £60bn of UK government bonds and £10bn of corporate bonds. Governor Mark Carney said there was scope to cut the interest rate further. Read more here
American woman killed in London knife attack, 5 others hurt
Police said Thursday the victim of a fatal knife attack in central London overnight was an American woman in her 60s and ruled out terrorism as the likely motive. London Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said authorities' main line of inquiry was around mental health issues. Officials briefed on the investigation had earlier told CNN they believed the stabbing at Russell Square was a terror attack based on initial evidence. Read more here
4th August 2016