NEWS
Scotiabank TT cops 3rd Bank of the Year award for 2022
Scotiabank TT has received a third Bank of the Year 2022 title. The award was given by The Banker Magazine, a Financial Times publication. In a release, Scotiabank TT said the award recognised the organisation for delivering excellence in returns, strategy, innovation, technology, and product and services in the local banking industry. It said The Banker Magazine is regarded as the industry standard for banking excellence. Its Bank of the Year Awards select winning banks based on those that have made the most progress over the past 12 months. Read more here
Training the next generation of advocates
Hazel Brown, Patricia Mohammed and Gabrielle Hosein are some of the names synonymous with the fight against gender inequality. For decades, these women have dedicated their lives to gender justice. But who will continue their work? Who will become the next generation of gender advocates? Well, UNESCO and the SHEroes foundation is seeking to ensure that not only the legacy continues but grows. Important work when considering that over 60 per cent of the Caribbean’s population are people under the age of 30. “Within the framework of the Caribbean SHEroes Initiative, we have conducted a series of what we call SHEroes academies which are intensive and interactive training sessions on gender equality, advocacy and development that are targeting youth across the region,” explained Paula Isturiz Cavero, UNESCO’s Caribbean Programme Specialist for Social and Human Sciences and Gender Focal Point. Read more here
POLITICS
Government rejects TSTT's $1b bill for CCTV services
A multi-million-dollar security camera network aimed at giving police and other national security agencies the ability to monitor activities in cities, towns and highways has been found to be riddled with technical problems, producing footage that is is reportedly "blurred, dirty, obstructed, unclear and unstable." The claim was made as the government mounts a defence to a payment of almost $1 billion that state-owned Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT) is seeking for operating 1,673 cameras and ancillary supporting services, including command centre and data storage sites. Read more here
BUSINESS
Time to stamp out violence at the workplace
International Human Rights Day is now just two days away. Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10— the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document, which proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. This year’s theme is Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All. Saturday also signals the end of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence which is an annual campaign that begins on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Read more here
REGIONAL
Home ownership within reach for 700 Region Three residents
A mother of two who is medically unfit to work and receives public assistance had the fees attached to her house lot waived by Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal on Wednesday at the housing drive in Leonora, Region Three, where approximately 700 residents were allocated house lots at the Stewartville and Meten-Meer-Zorg housing schemes. Ms Diane Udit got emotional after Minister Croal waived the fees attached to her house lot. Ms. Udit had a right temporal brain mass that was surgically removed during a procedure in Trinidad three years ago. She endured hearing loss in her right ear, blurred vision, headaches, dizziness and loss of bladder control as a result of the illness and is being treated for Post-Surgical Right Temporal Cystic Mass and a C5-C6 Disc Bulge. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Mohsen Shekari: Iran carries out first execution over protests
Iran has announced the first execution of a protester convicted over the recent anti-government unrest. Mohsen Shekari was hanged on Thursday morning after being found guilty by a Revolutionary Court of "moharebeh" (enmity against God), state media said. He was accused of being a "rioter" who blocked a main road in Tehran in September and wounded a member of a paramilitary force with a machete. An activist said he was convicted after a "show trial without any due process". "The international community must immediately and strongly react to this execution," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights, said in a statement. "If Mohsen Shekari's execution is not met with serious consequences for the government, we will face mass execution of protesters," he added. Read more here
8th December 2022