NEWS
Girl, 2, shot in neck, leg
It is a miracle that two-year-old Candy Loubon survived a gunshot wound to the neck. She also could have been left paralysed. The two-year-old, of Santa Maria Village, Penal Rock Road, in Moruga, was shot in the neck and left leg on Saturday while she was outside the family’s home. Pellets from a shotgun cartridge remain lodged inside the little girl’s body. She remains warded at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital while the shooter, age 63, cannot be found. Read More here
Clifton Towers tenants want 24/7 security
Tenants at the Housing Development Corporation’s Clifton Towers in Port-of-Spain are calling for permanent security in and around the compound, saying they are now living in constant fear of bullying and reprisal attacks by gang members after the HDC evicted illegal tenants from the site. The issue was addressed on Friday in the Parliament by Housing Minister Randall Mitchell, who told the House police and Defence Force members had evicted illegal tenants twice from the four-tower development, following complaints of unlawful activity and illegal apartment occupation. Read more here
Chaguanas maxi fares rise today
Green-band maxi-taxi fares have increased. From today, commuters travelling the Curepe-Chaguanas and Chaguanas-San Fernando routes will have to pay one dollar more to get to their destinations. Read more here
POLITICS
AG to probe US$10m spend
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has ordered a probe after a reported surfaced in the United Kingdom yesterday that a UK pollster received US$10 million from the former Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration for work conducted in T&T between 2013 and 2015. A report in the UK’s Sunday Observer, titled “The opinion poll guru, the Caribbean islands and the $10m consultancy deal,” claimed the then government entered into an agreement with the founder of Mori, Sir Robert Worcester, for a consultancy agreement over a two-year period. Read more here
More water for Tobago soon, says Le Hunte
An admission that more needs to be done in the public utilities sector, not only for Trinidad, but Tobago as well. Read more here
BUSINESS
Loud objections
Did Laventille West MP Fitzgerald Hinds accuse the Opposition of being involved in money-laundering, during debate yesterday on a bill to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act and Financial Intelligence Unit Act? Saying Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie had just said any serious MP will support the bill, Hinds told him to talk for himself only. Tewarie said, “But the records in this House show that his colleagues on the other side have demonstrated consistently in this Parliament that they are not in that sense serious. “But I just want to tell him they are serious money-launderers,” Hinds then said. Read more here
T&T Chamber to meet with Govt to discuss VAT refunds
The T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce is standing by its statement that there is an issue regarding the Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds. However, the Chamber's CEO Gabriel Faria said they were ready and willing to meet to discuss the issue with Finance Minister Colm Imbert. Read more here
Securing your financial future
This week, we at Bourse discuss one of the most important investment topics individuals confront: securing your financial future. Advances in medicine, more health-conscious lifestyles and the evolving terms/structures of sovereign pension and retirement necessitate a more proactive approach to how individuals position themselves — and their families — for life. Read more here
REGIONAL
Monumental - Bolt Statue Unveiled
Sprint legend Usain St Leo Bolt has been immortalised in bronze with the unveiling of an eight-foot statue in his likeness at Jamaica's National Stadium yesterday, depicting his trademark 'To the World' stance. Bolt, who opted to "freestyle" in his acceptance speech, admitted to being at a loss for words after listening to tributes from Warren Blake, president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association; Victor Lopez, president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Association of Athletics; Sebastian Coe, president of the International Association of Athletics Federation (via video); Sports Minister Olivia Grange; and Dr Peter Phillips, leader of the parliamentary Opposition. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Trump is having the best and worst days of his presidency right now
No wonder the President is lashing out. Donald Trump waited 10 long months for the vindication of his first legacy-boosting win on Capitol Hill -- the Senate vote on tax reform. But his triumph, when it came, was tainted by his worst moment as President -- the plea deal ensnaring fired national security adviser Michael Flynn that epitomizes Special Counsel Robert Mueller's relentless march closer to the Oval Office. In recent days, the strands that define this political era of incredulity and turmoil, including the tax bill, the Russia investigation and the escalating threat of war with North Korea, have come together at a frenetic moment that will shape the environment ahead of the midterm elections next November, but also the 45th President's place in history. Read more here
UK and EU 'appear close to Brexit breakthrough'
4th December 2017