NEWS
Jereem qualifies for Pan Am 200m final
TT's Jereem Richards has qualified for the men's 200m final at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. The sprinter placed third in his semi-final heat a while ago with a time of 20.48 seconds, the third fastest time of the three heats. Read more here
Marlene, husband held for misuse of State funds
The resurrection of a six-year-old investigation into the alleged siphoning of over $1 million from a government ministry to three organisations linked to family and friends culminated in the arrest of Public Administration Minister Marlene McDonald and her husband on Thursday. Officers of the Fraud Squad swooped down on McDonald’s home at Valley View, Maracas, St Joseph, where they executed a search warrant and took away several items. Read more here
POLITICS
MSJ: Remove sycophants from politics
Political sycophants are part of the reason why the state of the country has regressed, and they must be annihilated from the political arena. Putting forward this perspective on a Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) platform in Marabella on Wednesday night was political newbie Christopher Jackman. Addressing the assertion of naysayers that TT has a two-party political system and a third force has no place in the politics, the former Petrotrin engineer called on citizens to put aside parochial interest and vote according to conscience and heart. He spoke at the launch of the MSJ’s local government campaign. Read more here
PM awaits info from police before acting
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said on Thursday he was awaiting further information from the police regarding Public Administration Minister Marlene McDonald, adding he was sure in the “not too distant future” he would be told by police what action they will take. “And at that time, there’ll be no need for any speculation,” Rowley said in a telephone interview with Guardian Media. Rowley, who is on vacation in Tobago, said he did not know anything other than what was published in the public domain. Read more here
BUSINESS
Hundreds of terminated workers helped
Petrotrin Employee Assistance Programme Services Ltd (PEAPSL) has provided counselling to hundreds of terminated employees and their dependants since the closure of the State-owned oil company in November last year, says chief executive officer Neil Parsanlal. Read more here
REGIONAL
‘We’ll Publish When We’re Finished’ - No Timeline For Release Of PM’s Statutory Declarations, Says Integrity Commission
The Integrity Commission has indicated that it has set no timeline by which the summary of the statutory declarations for Prime Minister Andrew Holness will be gazetted despite his publicly expressed desire to see a resolution before the end of this week. Yesterday, Colonel Daniel Pryce, executive director of the Integrity Commission, stressed that a summary of the prime minister’s declarations would not be released until all legal requirements were met. “It is the intention of the Integrity Commission, so as soon as it is finished doing what is required of it in law ... we will publish, as required by law, the summary of the statutory declarations of the prime minister. When we are finished, we will do it,” Pryce told The Gleaner. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Hong Kong protests: China and US feud amid fresh demonstrations
State Department foreign service officer resigns in blistering criticism of Trump
A foreign service officer resigned from the State Department effective Thursday, writing in a blistering op-ed in The Washington Post that he could no longer serve in "The Complacent State," particularly in the wake of the El Paso mass shooting. Chuck Park wrote in the op-ed that during his almost 10 years in the foreign service he "worked to spread what (he) believed were American values: freedom, fairness and tolerance." "But more and more I found myself in a defensive stance, struggling to explain to foreign peoples the blatant contradictions at home," he wrote. Read more here
9th August 2019