NEWS
Squeeze For MP, Judges
The prospect of pay increases for MPs, judges, and civil servants will be affected by the state of the economy as the chairman of the Salaries Review Commission Kyle Rudden yesterday confirmed the Commission will consider “budgetary” factors in its review of 300-plus official posts. “You have to consider things like economic capacity to pay,” the chairman told reporters at President’s House moments after a new member of the SRC was sworn in. “Obviously it is not good. It is difficult to raise salaries in an economy that is not doing well.” Asked if the Commission takes economic factors into account when making its recommendations to Parliament, Rudden said, “Certainly, I would imagine, not having done the general review before, one of the factors you would consider would be the budgetary impact of any set of increases.” Asked if the SRC had any challenges, Rudden said, “One of the challenges is nobody is going to like what you say. It’s one of the few commissions that all Parliamentarians don’t like.” However, the chairman said there was no decision yet on any salary conditions. Rather, international consultants continue to collect feedback from a range of stakeholders. Read more here
Reviews suggest much work ahead
Former Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing yesterday gave the Government a failing grade on their performance after a year in office. Today marks one year since the Dr Keith Rowley-led administration was voted into office. Over the weekend, the Sunday Guardian published the result of an online poll which showed that 65.66 per cent of those canvassed were “very dissatisfied” with the Government’s performance, with 12.70 per cent indicating they were “somewhat dissatisfied.” Another 6.35 per cent of the respondents said they were “very satisfied,” while 7.91 per cent were “somewhat satisfied” and 7.39 per cent were “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.” Read more here
Murder after midnight: Mom hacked to death
A mom was chopped to death at her Rio Claro home during a domestic dispute on Wednesday. Khadijah Dipchan, 31, was killed at around 1 a.m. Her 13 year old daughter was said to have witnessed her mother's killing. Police said that Dipchan was involved in an argument at the home she shared with the suspect at Dindial Trace. Read more here
POLITICS
Carmona: EBC doing a great job
President Anthony Carmona yesterday said the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been doing great work, as he appointed anthropologist Dr Dylan Kerrigan to the electoral body. “Continue to do the great work that you are doing,” Carmona told members of the Commission gathered at yesterday’s ceremony at President’s House to swear in Kerrigan. He also said “unstinting independence” was integral, as was fairness. The EBC has been found to have breached election law last year by unilaterally extending polling hours. However, the matter is subject to appeal by the Opposition UNC on the second question of whether the election was void. Read more here
UNC’s appeal in court next month
The Court of Appeal has set aside three days next month to hear the UNC’s appeal against the dismissal of its five election petitions challenging the result of last year’s general election. Attorneys for the Opposition party, who filed the appeal last Thursday, were informed yesterday by the court’s registry that the appeal would be heard between October 17 to 19. The UNC is challenging the decision of High Court Judge Mira Dean-Armorer, who last month dismissed the UNC’s claim that the election should be invalidated because the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC) was not allowed to extend the poll by one hour due to heavy rainfall in Trinidad. Read more here
Rowley: I understand voters might be anxious
As the People’s National Movement (PNM) marks one year in Government, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has said he understood some of the anxieties of the population. He said however Government had very little flexibility in incurring new expenditure, even for critical supplies, because of the wanton expenditure incurred on the eve of the elections by the outgoing government. Read more here
BUSINESS
Ancil Antoine: TSTT a standard bearer
Public Utilities Minister Ancil Antoine has praised the Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT) for being a standard bearer in the country since its inception in 1991. Addressing TSTT’s Long Service Awards Ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Portof- Spain on Saturday, Antoine told the gathering the term standard bearer held special meaning for him as a former Chief of Staff of the TT Defence Force Explaining that a standard bearer in the military is an honourable post that carries with it the weight of everyone’s hopes for the outcome and their collective pride, Antoine said TSTT has been a standard bearer over the last 25 years of its existence. He said the company has developed a suite of services that places it in a unique position. “No other service provider in TT offers fixed line and mobile communications, broadband access, subscription-based IPTV and business and home alarm monitoring systems,” Antoine said. Read more here
Trading in 12 securities on TTSE
Overall market activity resulted from trading in 12 securities of which six advanced, none declined and six traded firm. Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 179,289 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $2,014,522.84. Trinidad Cement Ltd was the volume leader with 107,740 shares changing hands for a value of $328,607.25, followed by Angostura Holdings Ltd with a volume of 18,685 shares being traded for $261,963.70. FirstCaribbean International Bank Ltd contributed 13,165 shares with a value of $91,496.75, while T&T NGL Ltd added 12,056 shares valued at $283,316. Read more here
The fish is safe to eat
The fish is safe to eat, assures Minister of Agriculture Clarence Rambharat. Rambharat told the Express yesterday: “I have said on many occasions that none of the lab results so far indicate that fish caught in Trinidad and Tobago’s waters is unfit for human consumption.” The minister was responding to calls by fishermen for him to publicly state whether seafood being caught in the Gulf of Paria was safe. Read more here
REGIONAL
Cuban News Agency refutes accusation of spreading internet virus
Edda Diz Garces, director of the Cuban News Agency, described as slander a report published by Caribbean News Now stating the agency’s website was, allegedly, “dispensing a dangerous virus” to steal information. Diz Garces said that, upon the release of the report, Cuban IT experts carried out a throughout research to determine the presence of such virus within the ACN website, and came out with negative results. Further search in the archives confirmed no virus of any kind were to be found, and people that access acn.cu should not fear the information could be stolen. Read more here
Brazilian business mission coming to St Lucia in November
The Embassy of Brazil in Saint Lucia is preparing to host a major investment mission with numerous opportunities for business that will also strengthen ties between the giant South American nation and its tiny Caribbean neighbour. According to Ambassador Sergio Couri, the mission will comprise investors and parliamentarians bent on doing business with Saint Lucian entrepreneurs and other business persons, in a wide range of sectors. The Brazilian Business Mission to Saint Lucia is scheduled for November 11-17, 2016 and it will comprise 15 members anxious to grab new and open opportunities to invest in Saint Lucia. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Paris terror arrest after gas tanks found in Notre Dame car
Paris police have arrested a man on the terrorism watch list after his car was found near the Notre Dame Cathedral with seven gas cylinders inside. The Peugeot 607 was found with its hazard warning lights flashing and without number plates, police said. One of the canisters, on the front passenger seat, was empty, and there were no detonating devices inside. In November, 130 people died in Paris in a series of terror attacks carried out by so-called Islamic State (IS). Read more here
Retired general calls Trump's 30-day ISIS order 'sophomoric'
A retired army general is slamming Donald Trump's remarks that as President he will ask the US military to come up with a plan within one month to defeat ISIS. "I had to ask myself, what the hell does he think we've been trying to do for the last 14 years in terms of al Qaeda?" Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told Anderson Cooper on AC360 on Tuesday. At a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, Trump said that on day one of his presidency, he would convene his top generals and give what he called a "simple instruction" to in 30 days submit to the Oval Office "a plan for soundly and quickly defeating ISIS." Read more here
7th September 2016