NEWS

Tobago sees opportunity from Carifesta

Tobago co-ordinator of Carifesta 2019, Elvis Radgman, has said the biennial event must be viewed as an opportunity to “solidify Tobago’s position on the map.” He was delivering remarks on Wednesday at the launch of an art exhibition, hosted by the Tobago Visual Arts Association, to celebrate Tobago’s involvement in Carifesta XIV. The exhibition featured pieces by 19 artists. “With Tobago’s increased involvement in this year’s Carifesta, the island and those who occupy a position of influence over and contribute to the arts will be better able to take full advantage of every available opportunity to solidify Tobago’s position on the map,” he said. Read more here

Four shots fired at prison officer’s home

The at­tacks against prison of­fi­cers con­tin­ued on Sun­day morn­ing af­ter a prison of­fi­cer’s house was shot at in Pleas­antville. No one was in­jured. This comes on the heels of a Prison Com­mis­sion­er’s Ger­ald Wil­son ad­vi­so­ry to of­fi­cers to be vig­i­lant af­ter sev­er­al threats be­gan cir­cu­lat­ing on What­sApp, of a plot to “kill any two of­fi­cers.” The at­tack came on the same day that Guardian Me­dia pub­lished a front-page in­ves­tiga­tive ar­ti­cle about the dan­ger­ous job of prison of­fi­cers, 19 of whom were killed in the last two decades due to hits from in­side the prison. The shoot­ing oc­curred around 12.30 am at the home of Prison Of­fi­cer II, Olang Har­ris. Har­ris was not at home at the time but his wife, three daugh­ters and son—ages 23, 22, 12 and 10—were in­side. Read more here

POLITICS

PNM screening continues

The PNM continues its screening of local government nominees today. A release from the party said the exercise continues from 5 pm at the PNM’s South Regional Office on Navet Road in San Fernando. The screening involves nominees for all districts in the Princes Town and Penal/Debe Regional Corporations. Both corporations are controlled by the UNC. Nominees for outstanding districts in the Point Fortin Borough, Siparia Regional and Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional corporations will also be screened. Read more here

Kamla questions contracts to Govt Senator

Unit­ed Na­tion­al Con­gress (UNC) Po­lit­i­cal Leader Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar has raised ques­tions about re­cent­ly re­in­stat­ed Gov­ern­ment Sen­a­tor Fos­ter Cum­mings’ con­nec­tion to re­cent­ly award­ed state con­tracts. The Siparia MP, while ad­dress­ing the UNC’s Na­tion­al Con­gress at the Cou­va South Mul­ti­pur­pose Com­plex, Cou­va, ques­tioned the award of state con­tracts to three com­pa­nies: Cum­mings and As­so­ciates Com­pa­ny Lim­it­ed; PI­CAL Ser­vices Com­pa­ny Lim­it­ed; and Kly­don En­ter­pris­es Com­pa­ny Lim­it­ed. Two of the com­pa­nies, Cum­mings and As­so­ciates and PI­CAL, list the sen­a­tor and his wife as di­rec­tors. Read more here

BUSINESS

SFC, GHL advance

This week, we at Bourse take a look at the financial performance of two major players in the Non-Banking Finance sector: Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited (SFC) and Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL), for the six-month period ended June 30th, 2019. While SFC experienced meaningful growth from insurance operations, GHL’s performance driver was investment income, mainly from the US and Jamaican markets. Read more here

REGIONAL

FLA PULLS TRIGGER - Dalling Fires Warning Shot At Domestic Abusers, Negligent Firearm Holders

The Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) says it has been cracking down on rogue holders of permits who have not been paying due regard to the conditions of their licences and is urging all persons to follow all prescribed guidelines. Among those in its cross hairs are persons who have used their weapons to threaten spouses, those who engage in illegal gun salutes at parties and funerals, and others who leave firearms lying around carelessly for children to shoot themselves or others. According to FLA CEO Shane Dalling, the agency has punished several persons for acting contrary to the conditions of their firearm permit or licence. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

Trump tests a materialistic message to voters

President Donald Trump is not waiting for the economy to go south amid growing fears of a recession to wage what could be the defining fight of the 2020 election. Trump is becoming increasingly nervous that the end of an 11-year expansion could scupper his hopes of a second term and is going on the attack as ill omens and recent stock market slumps haunt the global economy. "Most economists actually say we are not going to have a recession," Trump told reporters in New Jersey on Sunday. "Most of them are saying we will not have a recession but the rest of the world is not doing well like we are doing." Read more here

Omar al-Bashir trial: Sudan's ex-president 'got millions from Saudis'

A detective has told a court in Sudan that former President Omar al-Bashir admitted to receiving millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia. Mr Bashir appeared in court on Monday to face corruption charges, which his lawyers say are baseless. He was ousted in April after months of protests, bringing an end to his nearly 30 years in power. In June, prosecutors said a large hoard of foreign currency had been found in grain sacks at his home. On Sunday, pro-democracy activists and the country's military leaders, who had removed Mr Bashir, signed a deal paving the way for elections. Read more here

19th August 2019

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