Daily Brief - Monday 14th August, 2017

NEWS

Golden Run

Trinidad and Tobago men’s 4x400-metre relay team saved the best for last yesterday as they captured gold in the final event, at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, England. The quartet of Jarrin Solomon, Jereem Richards, Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon brought joy to the hearts of the twin-island republic as they emerged victorious, over the highly-fancied United States and hosts Great Britain/Northern Ireland, in a time of two minutes 58.12 seconds – the fastest time in the world this year and a new TT record. The 31-year-old American- born Solomon replaced Renny Quow – who was involved in the preliminary round on Saturday – for the first leg, and the member of the 2012 Olympic Games bronze medal 4x400m relay team had a steady run before handing off to Richards. Read more here

Cops recover stolen loot, nab 1

Officers from the Port-of-Spain CID have recovered some $28,000 in cell phones and other items which were stolen from Buzz Tech in Port-of-Spain on Friday. A 27-year-old San Juan man was also arrested the day after the robbery. The robber was captured smashing a glass case with a hammer and taking away the items while dressed in a white coverall and with a mask over his face in CCTV footage. The items were recovered after officers launched an investigation and executed a search warrant and discovered the phones at an apartment on Don Miguel Road, San Juan. Read more here

Joint final rites for fire victims

Eight-Year-Old Alliyah Primus and her aunt Nolene Niesha Gopaul died together in a fire at their home in Moruga on Friday. Their bodies will return near the scene of the blaze tomorrow for their joint final rites. Relative Nikiesha Mitchell told the Express yesterday that the rites will begin at Fifth Company, Moruga, at 12.30 p.m. in an area near the home that was destroyed by the fire. Read more here

 

POLITICS

Govt On Vacation

The Opposition United National Congress (UNC) has accused the government of being in vacation mode since assuming office, ably led by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley who left last week on a private trip to Barbados and who is expected to return home today. UNC public relations officer Anita Haynes noted that since the September 2015 General Elections, the nation has experienced escalating crime, an economy in shambles, significant job losses, cuts to education and a health care in crisis. “In the face of this abject failure, the Prime Minister has chosen to go on his seventh vacation,” Haynes claimed in a press release. “The Prime Minister has left at a time when there are serious questions about Government’s handling of the procurement of vessels to service the sea bridge. Read more here

Hadad to those responsible for ferry fiasco: Please do the right thing

President of the Inter-island Transport Committee’s Tobago Division Dianne Hadad says she is “absolutely disappointed” in Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, amid Government’s failure to secure a suitable passenger ferry to service the inter-island sea bridge. Asked whether she agreed with growing calls for Sinanan and the Port Authority of T&T board to step down over the fiasco yesterday, Hadad said, “People need to let their conscience guide them...if they have one and I am supposing they do, do the right thing and if they don’t then leadership needs to do what leadership is put there to do. If people don’t perform it needs to be acted upon.” Read more here

Legal action not stopping COP elections

Leadership elections for the Congress of the People (COP) will go ahead on August 20, even as the party faces a legal challenge over the running for office of former deputy chair Nicole Dyer-Griffith. In a statement at the weekend, interim leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir said the action via the court appeared to be a “concerted effort to prevent the COP from holding elections and continuing to build itself as a real alternative to the established political parties”. Read more here

 

BUSINESS

Rambharat works on farmers’ needs

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat is getting ready to take between 200 and 300 farmers’ applications for new leases to Cabinet for approval in the coming weeks. This, he said, was out of the thousands of applications he had received from people in the agricultural sector. Commenting briefly following a sod-turning ceremony and tour of the Norris Deonarine Wholesale Market, Macoya, on Friday, Rambharat assured they were making progress and a criteria had been established using parameters which gave priority to certain “conditions.” “We are making some headway,” Rambharat assured about their attempt to accommodate the farmers. Read more here

GHL spurs NCBFG growth

This week, we at Bourse examine the six-month performance of Guardian Holdings Ltd (GHL) and the nine-month results of NCB Financial Group Ltd (NCBFG). We look at factors contributing to the strong performance of both entities and provide a recommendation. Read more here

 

REGIONAL

Russian nuclear energy official visits Cuba

Ivan Dybov, president of ROSATOM America Latina (Russia's State Nuclear Energy Corporation), met with his Cuban counterparts at the Agency for Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies (AENTA).
His visit was aimed at strengthening collaboration between the two institutions and identifying the potential of carrying out joint projects in the countries of the region and the Caribbean. Speaking to AENTA's newsletter, Dybov said that his organization has been cooperating with Cuba for the development of nuclear technologies for two years. Read more here

A Worrying Sight - Experts At KPH Concerned By Glaucoma Figures

At least 15 per cent of the roughly 500 patients tested monthly at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) are diagnosed with glaucoma, a rate that experts at the hospital believe is worrying. Dr Angela Mattis, head of the Ophthalmology Department at the KPH, said that the number was revealed by an ongoing study being undertaken by the department. Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to the eye's optic nerve and gets worse over time. Without treatment, glaucoma can lead to permanent blindness. The study, which started at the end of last year, is being done with the aim of having researched and official data regarding the number of persons in Jamaica with the disease. Read more here

 

INTERNATIONAL

North Korea crisis: South's leader in plea to avoid war

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called on his US allies to help prevent a war, amid worsening tension over the North's nuclear threat. Mr Moon told the visiting top US military official that there must be a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Gen Joseph Dunford said the US priority was diplomacy but added that military options were being prepared should sanctions against the North fail. The North on Monday said any war could "only be turned into a nuclear war". Also on Monday, China's commerce ministry issued an order banning a slew of imports from North Korea, in line with additional UN sanctions that were announced earlier this month. The sanctions were introduced in response to a wave of missile tests and increased military rhetoric from North Korea. Read more here

Former spy chief: Denuclearized North Korea not in the cards

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, now a CNN contributor, said Sunday that he does not foresee a scenario where North Korea relinquishes its nuclear weapons. "I'd love to see it, but I don't think that's in the cards," Clapper said on CNN's "State of the Union." The former top intelligence official in the Obama administration said denuclearization was a "nonstarter" for the North Korean government, which he said viewed its nuclear weapons program as its "ticket to survival." Read more here

14th August 2017

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