NEWS
Met Office warns of high concentration of Sahara Dust
There is a high concentration of Sahara dust present over the region and the TT Met Office has advised to take necessary precautions. Since the beginning of the dry season, the country has experienced several waves of the dust. Nearly all islands across the Lesser Antilles are experiencing reduced air qualities as dense Sahara dust continues to move across the Atlantic and Caribbean, stretching as far as Florida in the US. Across TT, air quality is at moderate levels. Read more here
Drive-by shooting in Cocorite
26-year-old Cocorite man was shot several times while driving his car along the Western Main Road in Cocorite. Investigators told Guardian Media that the man was driving west along the Western Main Road in his Nissan Note vehicle around 10:45 am when a car pulled alongside him and a gunman opened fire. Read more here
POLITICS
Duke: Govt to employ V'zuelans through agencies
President of the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) Watson Duke Wednesday claimed the Government is seeking to amend the Recruiting of Workers Act to allow Venezuelan migrants to access jobs through recruitment agencies in TT. "There is a law they are going to amend just now called Recruiting of Workers Act. It is an important act. The act will see our Venezuelan brothers and sisters choreographed and placed into groups under recruitment agencies," Duke said at a Labour Day rally, hosted by NATUC, on the Scarborough Esplanade. Read more here
New type of labour leaders needed, says PM
The 21st century demands a new type of labour leader, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has said. Rowley made the statement in his Labour Day message to the nation as he outlined some of the challenges faced by workers in the 21st century, while also paying homage to the labour leaders of the 20th century. Read more here
BUSINESS
The green age
Agriculture is an industry that is being explored as a way to diversify our economy here in TT and the list of companies that supply innovative goods and services for this sector is certainly growing. One such firm is Green Age Farms, based in Freeport, which provides everything needed to start a farm, regardless of size, while using the latest agri-technology. Green Age Farms’ main expertise falls within the area of vertical hydroponic farming, which is highly space and water efficient. The combination of hydroponics, which is the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil, and vertical farming, which is growing produce in vertically stacked layers, results in an innovative solution for the home gardener all the way to the large commercial farmer. Read more here
Atlantic an option to monetise Russian gas in Venezuela waters
International business news website, Bloomberg, yesterday speculated that Russian energy giant, Rosneft, may explore the possibility of using the Atlantic LNG facility in Point Fortin to monetise natural gas resources in two fields located to the north of the Dragon field, which is the subject of continued negotiations between Venezuela and T&T. Read more here
REGIONAL
Child Abuse Alarm - 11-Year-Old Manchester Girl Latest Victim Of Sex Assault
Child welfare officials in Jamaica are expressing increasing concern over skyrocketing reports of sexual and other forms of abuse of minors, with approximately 15,000 cases referred to the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) in 2018 alone. This represents an 8.5 per cent rise on the 13,820 reports made in 2017. Using the 2011 census, this means that there are 1,730 reports per 100,000 minors aged 0-17. The latest case is that of an 11-year-old girl in south Manchester, who was found traumatised in bushes after being sexually assaulted on her way from school midday on Tuesday. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
US-Iran: Trump 'pulls back after approving strikes' after drone downing
UK politician filmed grabbing Greenpeace protester
A senior British politician is under investigation after video emerged of him grabbing and manhandling a protester at an event in London Thursday. According to CNN affiliate ITV News, Foreign Office minister Mark Field has apologized for grabbing a protester by the neck, saying he "instinctively reacted" after guests felt threatened by the woman, who was acting peacefully at the time and was not armed. Read more here
21st June 2019