NEWS
Habitat for Humanity celebrates international award
Habitat for Humanity TT is celebrating the Halo Award 2020 won by its partner Habitat for Humanity International. The Halo Award is the North American organisation Engage for Good highest honour for corporate social initiatives and cause marketing. Engage for Good president David Hessekiel said the Golden Halo Awards were reserved for companies and non-profit organisations that managed their affairs in a manner that meaningfully and measurably yielded social and financial dividends. Read more here
West: PCA ready to do more investigations
The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is concerned about the number of fatal police shootings that have already taken place for the year. With Police Commissioner Gary Griffith promising to go even harder against criminals, the agency is preparing to ramp up its investigations. Following a shootout in Port-of-Spain on December 31 which left one woman dead and ten others injured, Griffith had said: “So Mr David West (head of the PCA), if he could claim overtime, he will make a lot of money next year because we are going hard and fast on these criminals.” West gave the assurance yesterday that the PCA is ready. “If it is that the Commissioner of Police is giving me extra work, I hope he has extra men because if the police officers are charged they should be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation,” he said. Read more here
POLITICS
Garcia: Violence has cast shadow over Arima
Education Minister and MP for Arima Anthony Garcia said the recent spate of violence has cast a shadow over the Royal Borough. Garcia urged constituents to work together with him to eradicate the crime scourge that rocked the community over the past few days. On Monday morning the community of Arima awoke to a brutal triple murder in which a brother and sister, Damian and Polly-Ann Chuniesingh and their uncle Randy who was visiting from Canada were murdered in their home at Getwell Avenue, Pinto Road. During a wake for the trio on Monday night, David “Scratchie” Richardson, 43, was liming in his gallery at Getwell Avenue Extension along with Jerlene Richardson, 22, and Kelly Andrews, 40, when they too came under attack from gunmen. Read more here
Port dredged first time in 20 years, but Warner says it’s not so
There is conflicting information about the last time the Port of Port-of-Spain was dredged. According to Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, the port was last cleared in 2000, which is approximately 20 years ago. “This dredging was long overdue,” Sinanan said “This was due since 2013, unfortunately, three tenders were aborted,” Sinanan continued. But former Minister of Works and Transport Jack Warner said when he was in office (2010-2012) the port was dredged in 2011 by a local company. He said before that dredging was done in 2005. “It was dredged by a company called Kardway Contractors,” Warner said. “I don’t want to get in any banter with the minister but that is the fact,” he continued. Read more here
BUSINESS
TT faces soft energy prices despite Iran/US tensions
The price of crude oil, natural gas, ammonia and methanol are critical to the health of the TT economy. These are the main earners of our much-needed US dollars. In the last year the prices of all four have been soft, and that trend seems set to continue into 2020. It is no secret that the world is oversupplied with crude oil. As recent as October 2019, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that markets would be oversupplied in 2020. In 2020, global supply is expected to average 102 million barrels per day and global consumption is about the same thing. Read more here
Trinidad, see what allyuh could do
When 20-year-old farmer Jarad Mohammed of Tortuga in Gran Couva decided to plant pawpaw trees he may not have imagined he would end up with 60,000 pounds of the fruit on his hands. His trees thrived and are so laden they are falling over with the weight. Read more here
REGIONAL
No tampering at GECOM
GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, has blasted an article from online news outlet, Inews, titled “tampering of NRR at GECOM” as sensational, noting that such media reports are poor. The article noted that the PPP received information that there is currently ongoing at GECOM’s Secretariat, an exercise whereby “adjustments” are being made to data on the National Register of Registrants (NRR) using unverified information generated from the truncated house-to-house registration exercise. The article stated that this exercise is being conducted by Melanie Marshall, the controversial Returning Officer of Region Four, who deliberately made herself unavailable to receive the PPP’s request for a recount of votes in Region Four at the 2015 National and Regional Elections. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Prince Harry and Meghan: Royal Family 'hurt' as couple begin 'next chapter'
The Royal Family are said to be "hurt" at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's announcement they will step back as senior royals. Prince Harry and Meghan did not consult any senior royal before making the statement, it is understood. Buckingham Palace was "blindsided", said BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond, as talks about their future had begun but were in very early stages. The Palace said there were "complicated issues" to work through. In their statement on Wednesday, Harry and Meghan said they made the decision "after many months of reflection and internal discussions". They said they intend "to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family, and work to become financially independent". They plan to split their time between the UK and North America, while "continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages". "This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter," the couple said. Read more here
Emotional scenes as friends pay tribute to victims at Ukraine's international airport
A steady stream of mourners have been leaving flowers and tea lights at the arrivals hall at Boryspil International Airport, in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, a day after 176 people died in the plane crash in Iran. Eleven Ukrainians were killed, many of whom were crew members on the Ukraine International Airlines flight. Olena, who declined to give her surname, told CNN that she had come to the airport to pay tribute to her friend and former classmate, Serhii Khomenko -- one of the pilots onboard the Boeing 737 aircraft. They had attended school together in the northern Russian city of Murmansk. Read more here
9th January 2020