Daily Brief - Monday 19th December, 2016

NEWS

Granny Gang Raped

The search continued yesterday for two men who left an elderly Central Trinidad woman bleeding and in tears after they forced their way into her home, robbed and then took turns raping her on a bed during the early morning hours of Friday last. Police said the weeping woman later begged nurses at a medical institution - where she was being treated - to keep her as she was too terrified to return to her own home following the brutal assault. According to a police report, the 67-yearold woman was awakened from sleep at two o’clock Friday morning by two men dressed in dark clothing who shook her shoulders and said, “get up old lady!’ The men then demanded the woman’s pension money before ransacking the house and taking possession of several items. It did not end there. The men then took the woman back to a bedroom where they ordered her to strip. The two then took turns raping the woman even as she wept and begged them to stop. After the assault, the men left the house and escaped by running away. The weeping woman crawled on the ground towards an open window on the southern end of the house. Pushing her head through the window and nearly falling out, the woman screamed for help. Police Constables Quashie and Ramoutar of Central Division, who were on mobile patrol, immediately responded to the screams and found the sobbing, hysterical woman sitting on the ground. Read more here

Economy declines, deficit expands

A new report from the Economic Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) estimates that the T&T economy declined by 4.5 per cent this year. This follows contractions of 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Eclac said: "Continued natural gas supply shortages, maintenance shutdowns and weak energy prices contributed to the energy sector’s deterioration, while linkages with that sector pulled down the non-energy sector. The current account deficit widened as a result of reduced goods exports, while foreign direct investment saw a modest recovery. According to the report, Government’s fiscal deficit expanded to 4.2 per cent of GDP. In response, several adjustments were made to compensate for lost energy revenues, including several new tax initiatives. It continued: "In monetary policy, the central bank repo rate was left unchanged in 2016 and the exchange rate against the United States dollar was allowed to weaken. Read more here

Two die in Tobago pre-dawn crash

Tobagonians Keylon Chapman, of Belmont Road, Mason Hall, and Trevaughn Noray, of Moriah, died in an early-morning road accident in Tobago yesterday. The double tragedy comes only a week after Republic Bank employee Gilicia Jules died in a vehicular accident along Shirvan Road in Tobago last week Sunday. According to police reports, around 4.15 a.m. yesterday, a burgundy Nissan Almera was travelling east along Claude Noel Highway, when the driver, Chapman, lost control of the car and struck an electricity pole on the northern side of the roadway. Read more here

 

POLITICS

Kamla not being truthful about FATCA

Finance Minister Colm Imbert recently said that Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar was “not being truthful” to the public about ownership of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislation currently before the House of Representatives. And Leader of Government Business in the House, Camille Robinson-Regis also disputed Persad-Bissessar’s claim that all of the deliberations of a joint select committee (JSC) would be debated when the JSC submits its report to the House. She said only the final decision of the committee is discussed by the House when its report is laid in the House. Responding to Persad-Bissessar’s reiteration that the Tax Information Exchange Agreement 2016 Bill was not the legislation drafted by her former People’s Partnership government, Imbert said, “I have spoken about this before when I first introduced the FATCA Bill in September. I made the point that the Bill was identical to the Bill drafted by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel under the previous Attorney General and Minister of Finance under the PP government.” He added, “This is one of the reasons why we (Government) are so taken aback at their behaviour. Read more here

Opposition meets BATT with ‘open mind’

The Opposition is entering this morning’s meeting with the Bankers’ Association (BATT) on the FATCA legislation with an open mind, says Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen. However, he added, they now have concerns about amendments Government made to the legislation last week. Ramdeen spoke on the eve of the meeting which BATT sought with the Opposition following non passage of the legislation last week. The legislation seeks to effect an inter-governmental agreement approved in 2014 by the former People’s Partnership (PP) administration with the United States regarding tax information exchange. This is to avoid US tax evasion. Read more here

40 Schools in a Fix

Repair works on more than 40 government schools throughout Trinidad are expected to cost the Ministry of Education more than $34 million. The cash-strapped ministry, however, has been unable to approve necessary repair works requested since July. Read more here

 

BUSINESS

Chamber expresses concern about Forex shortage

The Penal Debe Chamber of Industry and Commerce has added its voice to the growing chorus of concern about the continuing unavailability of foreign exchange to commercial customers in the local banking sector. In a media release, Chamber president Shiva Roopnarine, wondered whether the equitable distribution of foreign exchange was taking place or whether certain sectors were being favoured above other sectors. “As a responsible chamber, understanding the economic constraints facing the Central Bank and their US demands, we would like to know if all sectors would have seen a cut in allocation of US dollars or just some sectors. We are just asking for our membership to be treated in an equitable manner, with the same rights and privileges as other business sectors,” Roopnarine stated. “The silence is deafening and the Governor of the Central Bank, the Minister of Finance and the Bankers Association need to tell us what is really happening. Read more here

Ministry of Planning and Development hosts two day training session

The Ministry of Planning and Development believes its Global Services Promotion Programme is a key area for economic diversification and has just concluded a two day training session for close to 80 participants from UWI, UTT and COSTAAT, as well as 50 local entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the Information Technology enabled Services (ITeS) and IT sectors. The participants gained insight into technology to enhance their trade and businesses using cutting edge web and mobile application technology. In a release the ministry said training was facilitated by Antonio Guzman, Google Development Expert and Francisco Solsona, Regional and Accelerator Lead for Spanish and Latin America. Read more here

2016 a year of surprises

As we come to the close of 2016, this week we at Bourse review the performance of the major international markets throughout the year. This year can quite aptly be described as the year of surprises, as investors and markets alike witnessed the most unlikely of outcomes in terms of global events. Read more here

 

REGIONAL

Paid For Pain - Woman Awarded $4.5 Million In Lawsuit Against UHWI Over Wrong Blood Transfusion

A woman who was twice given the wrong blood transfusion by medical personnel at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) 10 years ago has been awarded close to $4.5 million in damages. Barbara Wright complained, in a lawsuit filed against the UHWI, that she endured days of pain, suffering, and depersonalisation before hospital officials informed her of the error. Wright also complained that she experienced blindness for two days and is still suffering from flashbacks and the uncertainties of any lasting effects from the error. Court documents reveal that the UHWI acknowledged the error and admitted liability but challenged the compensation sought by Wright. Read more here

Several CARICOM countries failing to honour skills certificates

For those who had thought that any Guyanese citizen with an officially issued Caribbean Community (CARICOM) skills certificate can just roll into any CARICOM country and seek employment after showing the document to authorities will certainly have to think again. This is because several CARICOM countries are technically refusing to honour the intent of the certificate by demanding that, notwithstanding the document, an application for a work permit must be made and the supporting qualifying evidence must be presented, regardless of the presumably verified particulars of a certificate holder’s credentials that are already established on that document. Read more here

 

INTERNATIONAL

Syria evacuations pick up in Aleppo and rebel-held villages

Evacuations of areas under siege in northern Syria are picking up pace, with people in some rebel-held zones now being allowed to leave. Evacuation of the last rebel enclaves in eastern Aleppo surrounded by Syrian forces restarted late on Sunday. Among those to have left is seven-year-old Bana Alabed, who had tweeted about conditions in the city. A linked evacuation of government-held parts of Idlib province being besieged by rebels started early on Monday. While civilians are being moved to safety in Syria, the UN Security Council is to discuss sending monitors to oversee the mass evacuations. There are hopes that countries divided on Syria's fate will come to a rare agreement on the crisis. Read more here

Electoral College set to make Trump's win official

The 538 members of the Electoral College are set on Monday to make President-elect Donald Trump's victory official. In all 50 state capitals and the District of Columbia, electors -- chosen by the state parties of the candidate who carried their state, Trump or Hillary Clinton -- will meet to cast their ballots. The gatherings will remove the last bit of drama from 2016's unprecedented election season -- and post-election efforts to persuade Republican electors to vote against Trump, in some cases in violation of state laws requiring electors to support the victor. Read more here

19th December 2016

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