NEWS
Nation First hopes to 'rebuild TT'
For the love of country, a former San Fernando mayor and other "independent-minded citizens" have created an online forum titled Nation First to help make Trinidad and Tobago a better place. Dr Navi Muradali said, "As we (citizens) rebuild TT, we want to renew a sense of patriotism. That way, we can look past superficial issues and work together to make TT a better place." "Nation First is an idea created by independent-minded citizens to create a space for people interested in nation-building to share their ideas and concerns. We can advocate for those ideas to become a reality." Read more here
Four more die of COVID-19
Four more people have died of complications related to COVID-19, as confirmed by the Ministry of Health yesterday. The number of deaths in Trinidad and Tobago now stands at 43, with 35 of those occurring in the last four weeks—21 since the month of September began. The recent fatalities were described by the Health Ministry as two elderly males and two adult males. Three of them had co-morbidities. Read more here
POLITICS
Deyalsingh unhappy over lag in updates for covid19 patients' families
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said he was unhappy with health officials' communication with relatives of covid19 patients. He was responding on Wednesday during the Health Ministry covid19 media conference to a question about complaints by relatives that they had been waiting for days for updates on the status of patients at Couva Hospital. "It is is concerning me," Deyalsingh said. "The level of communication needs to be improved. I admit that freely." Read more here
Panday: Public Health Ordinance favours privileged
Former Member of Parliament and national security minister Subhas Panday says the amendment of the Public Health Ordinance Act favours the privileged in society. Panday was speaking during a news conference at his San Fernando law chambers where he addressed the controversial issue of the pool party at Bayside Towers in Cocorite. Since videos of the party began circulating on social media, many people questioned why the police were lenient with those party-goers when compared to the treatment meted out residents caught partying in other areas, including Sea Lots and St James. Read more here
BUSINESS
The fatality of breaching your own IR procedure
In 2012, Her Honour Bindimattie Mahabir delivered judgement regarding Trade Dispute No 25 of 2008 between the Amalgamated Workers’ Union and the Chief Personnel Officer, in November 2012. The origins of this dispute arose from an incident which occurred 13 years before, in 1999. It was alleged that on May 7, 1999 the worker stole property belonging to the corporation. On May 8, he was orally informed that he was suspended without pay. On May 13, the superintendent of the corporation wrote to the city clerk confirming the worker’s oral suspension. The worker was arrested, charged and the matter heard before a magistrate who eventually dismissed the case in 2002. Read more here
Minister dismisses as ‘unfounded’ WASA retrenchment talk
Talk of a massive retrenchment threat at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) was yesterday dismissed as “unfounded” by Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales. Read more here
REGIONAL
Using the makeup artistry to speak out about injustices
Using the creative arts to express oneself or even speak on social issues has become the new norm. Many artists have been using their talents beyond the limits of their paintbrushes and canvases. For one makeup artist, Natalia Lekha, she has been using her platform to protest of the recent murders of three Guyanese teens in the West Coast Berbice region. The young woman noted that the deaths of the young men which are believed to be hate crimes have sparked a much needed conversation to be held among young people in Guyana, however not being very good with words, Lekha joined the conversation and protest with her own language which is makeup. Read more here
Buchanan Alleges Two Men Voted Under One Name In Westmoreland Eastern
Westmoreland Eastern Member of Parliament-elect Luther Buchanan is alleging that two persons voted under the same name at a polling station in the constituency on election day. After the preliminary count last Thursday, the Jamaica Labour Party’s Daniel Lawrence was declared the winner by eight votes. However, at the end of the official count on the weekend, there was a tie which was broken by the returning officer who cast the deciding vote in favour of Buchanan, the People’s National Party incumbent. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Trump twists history of Churchill and FDR to cover up pandemic denialism
President Donald Trump is now not just downplaying the coronavirus -- he's resorting to absurd historical allusions about great World War II leaders to try to disguise his culpability in 190,000 American deaths. Trump ridiculously invoked the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a Thursday night rally, claiming that like them, he had tried hard to calm public panic in a dark hour. It was a historically illiterate gambit, since unlike Trump in the pandemic, both statesmen leveled with their people about grave national crises. Read more here
Moria migrants: European countries agree to take minors after fire
Germany says 10 European countries have agreed to take 400 unaccompanied minors who fled Greece's largest migrant camp when it was gutted by fire. In a press conference on Friday, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said most would go to Germany and France. Close to 13,000 people had been living in squalor in the Moria camp on Lesbos. Families have been sleeping in fields and on roads after fleeing the blaze on Wednesday, as authorities struggle to find them accommodation. Near the ruins of Moria local residents blocked roads to stop charities from delivering aid and said they were against the construction of new tents. Read more here
11th September 2020