NEWS
More 400 Trinis benefited from India's ITEC programme
Indian High Commissioner to TT Arun Kumar Sahu says India is the world's fastest growing economy, even surpassing China. He says his country’s annual average growth in Gross Domestic Product has been six to seven per cent from 2014 to 2019. Sahu was speaking on Saturday at the 55th annual Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day celebration at the Passage to Asia restaurant in Chaguanas. "As a young nation, India started at zero and is now leading in information technology." India is a young nation at just 71 years old, he said, as compared to the United States being 400 years old. Read more here
Prison hunger strike ends
The five-day hunger strike at the Golden Grove Prison was called off yesterday after prison officials met with the inmates to discuss deplorable prison conditions, lengthy delays in court cases and limited rehabilitative programmes. In a recording sent to Guardian Media, inmates were heard venting about the conditions. One asked why they continued to be housed in a prison and not a correctional facility. “This is slavery in full effect. The people locked up are people with children. We fed up, mothers cannot see about their children. They depending on the gang to grow up their children. We are saying give us a speedy trial. Convict them, let them plead and make their time,” the female inmate said. She added that scores of people on Remand are waiting for years for their trials to start. Read more here
Wild meat warning
Wild meat consumers are being warned by Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat to exercise caution when purchasing their meats as they could be possibly buying decaying carcasses from Venezuela that, when consumed, could result in illness or even death. Read more here
POLITICS
What’s in Colm’s bag?
All eyes will be on Finance Minister Colm Imbert today as he presents the budget at 1.30 pm in the House of Representatives, amid speculation of pre-election sweeteners. Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar will reply on Friday, after which the House Standing Finance Committee debates it line by line. It then goes to the Senate. The last budget was titled Turnaround, yet Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar had accused Finance Minister Colm Imbert of “statistical conmanship.” Since then, the Government has had successes and failures in effecting those measures, with the Central Bank economic bulletin in July saying, “The spillovers from the positive developments in the domestic energy sector coupled with the acceleration of government capital expenditure projects are expected to provide the impetus for a modest revival of the non-energy sector.” Read more here
No chance for Partap, Gypsy in UNC areas
Former UNC MPs Collin Partap and Winston “Gypsy” Peters don’t stand a chance if they go up for the PNM in UNC held seats. That’s the view of UNC deputy leader David Lee. He was commenting on a Sunday Guardian report that Partap is now officially with the PNM and is working with ruling party’s Local Government campaign in the Sangre Grande area. PNM and UNC tied for that area in 2016. There has also been speculation that Partap will be the PNM’s general election candidate for the Cumuto/Manzanilla seat he held with the UNC. However, he has not confirmed or denied those reports, only saying that he will see “what happens.” Partap was fired from the People’s Partnership government by Kamla Persad-Bissessar in 2012 after he refused police attempts to take a breathalyser test and was later found guilty of driving under the influence. Read more here
BUSINESS
Q3 2019 review: Stock market climb continues
This week, we at Bourse recap the performance of local and international equity markets for the first nine months of 2019. Despite signs of decelerating global growth, escalating trade tension between the US and China and major market events, international stocks continue to rally. At home, market performance has been significantly supported by cross-listed stocks. Will these trends continue into the final stages of 2019? We consider below. Read more here
REGIONAL
Jamaica Blazes New Trail In Field Events In Doha
With sprint legend Usain Bolt now retired and many of his contemporaries at the back end of their careers, there have been concerns that Jamaica’s track and field could be sinking into a dark phase again. Fears were heightened in 2017 after the country registered its lowest medal tally at the World Championships since 1987 when it won only four medals at the London World Championships – one gold and three bronze. But the 2019 championships have proven otherwise, as not only has the black, green and gold maintained a presence on the track, but the island’s athletes have also ventured into uncharted waters in the field events, securing 12 medals – 3 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Disturbing video shows hundreds of blindfolded prisoners in Xinjiang
A drone video appearing to show hundreds of blindfolded men being led from a train in China has raised new concerns over the ongoing crackdown on Muslim Uyghurs in the far western region of Xinjiang. The video -- which was posted online anonymously last week -- shows hundreds of men, most of whom are dressed in purple and orange vests with the words "Kashgar Detention Center" printed on them, seated in rows on the ground of what appears to be a large courtyard outside a train station. Their heads are shaved and their hands bound behind their backs. All of the men are wearing black blindfolds over their eyes and they are being watched over by dozens of police officers in SWAT uniforms. Read more here
Trump makes way for Turkey operation against Kurds in Syria
7th October 2019