News
Safeguard children’s health
PRESIDENT Paula-Mae Weekes is calling for greater awareness and investment in the health and wellbeing of young people. At the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Congress on Adolescent and Youth Health, on Monday, at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain, Weekes said, “We all play a role in improving the health and wellbeing of young people. Read more here…
Criminologist: Jail ISIS moms
WHILE TT citizens who took their families to war-torn Syria and Iraq seek government’s help to return home, a criminologist is calling for the mothers, if ever they return, to be charged with trafficking their children. Criminologist Dr Simon Cottee, in a keynote address at a recent international conference hosted by the University of the Southern Caribbean, said, “These women, along with their husbands, took their children to a war zone, and in effect, trafficked their sons and daughters into ISIS's machinery of war and sexual servitude. They should face justice for this grave dereliction of parental responsibility.” Read more here…
Business
TSTT raises over $2.7 b on US roadshow
A US$400 million 10-year bond offered by the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has been “significantly over-subscribed” the T&T Guardian has learned. This according to a Oppenheimer & Co Inc to TSTT Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Ronald Walcott dated yesterday. The bond is expected to to consolidate all TSTT’s liabilities into a single facility. “I want to congratulate you and the TSTT team for successfully completing this significant and complex transaction,” Tonelli’s letter stated. Read more here…
SunStone CEO: We are above board
SUNSTONE EQUITY head John Van Dyke flatly denied knowing anything about a US$500,000 wire transfer, as alleged by Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal in Parliament yesterday. “If it was so, it was not to us or anything to do with us. We have always been honourable and transparent,” Van Dyke told Newsday in a phone conversation. He was not sure who Vidya Deokiesingh was. “That name does not ring a bell,” he said, saying he was involved with only the OWTU. “I only remember signing a document with Mr Roget. I’ve always met the people under Mr Roget, who do all the dog work.” Read more here…
Political
Moonilal wants OWTU to answer: Is A&V trying to own refinery?
During his budget contribution one year ago, Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal claimed he had evidence in the form of e-mails and bank documents showing that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had received funds from the A&V Drilling fake oil scandal.
During the budget debate yesterday, Moonilal said despite the Prime Minister ordering a probe, to date those claims he made were never proven false and spoke of another “scandal” related to A&V Drilling seeking to own the Petrotrin refinery through back-door deals. Read more here…
Planning minister: Full Styrofoam ban by June
PLANNING Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, in a statement yesterday, said TT is ready for the Styrofoam ban, and lambasted the businesses which oppose this plan. She repeated Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s announcement in his budget speech of a ban on the import of Styrofoam by January 1, 2020, and added a later ban on locally-made Styrofoam. Read more here…
McDonald gets picong from Gayadeen-Gopeesingh
EMBATTLED Port of Spain South MP Marlene McDonald received some picong in Parliament on Monday from the usually reserved Oropouche West MP Vidia Gayadeen-Gopeesingh. Gayadeen-Gopeesingh was contributing to budget debate in the House yesterday. Read more here…
Regional
No SOE Grinch - Business Hours To Be Extended For Christmas Shopping
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says parishes currently under a state of emergency (SOE) will see more relaxed business hours in a few weeks to facilitate increased commercial activity associated with the Christmas season. “The end of November – or even before that – we will put in place the special provision to ensure that the SOEs operate throughout December without affecting what people have grown accustomed to in the enjoyment of the season,” Holness said. Read more here…
Get A Move On JPS Share Divestment
Not for the first time, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has promised to divest the Government’s 19 per cent stake in the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPS), the light and power provider, via a listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). “Ordinary Jamaicans will be able to participate and buy those shares, and I am certain it is going to increase the value of the company,” Mr Holness recently told Jamaican residents of South Korea at a function in Seoul, that country’s capital. He urged them to acquire the stocks when they become available. Read more here…
International
Democratic debate: Elizabeth Warren under attack for spending plans
They accused the senator of refusing to say whether she would raise taxes. Two other front-runners were also feeling the heat. Joe Biden denied any wrongdoing in Ukraine, while Bernie Sanders sought to allay health doubts after a heart attack this month. Read more here…
Brexit: 'Many issues' still unresolved, warns Leo Varadkar
He said differences remained over proposed customs and tax arrangements and how to secure the widest political support for them in Northern Ireland. The Democratic Unionists, whose support is vital for Boris Johnson, had further talks with the PM earlier. Read more here…
16th October 2019