NEWS
Americans warned of Trini crime hotspots
The US State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security “has assessed Port of Spain as being a critical-threat location for crime directed at or affecting US Government interests”. It however identified the capital city as “a low-threat location for terrorist activity directed at or affecting official US government interests”. This is stated in the bureau's 2017 Crime and Safety Report issued three days ago. Read more here
My workload was too much
Former Port Authority chairman Christine Sahadeo says she resigned because she could not dedicate the time needed to do the job properly. “My workload had substantially increased, and the amount of work at the port also increased,” Sahadeo told the T&T Guardian. Read more here
Reward
A $25,000 reward is being offered by Crime Stoppers for information on the whereabouts of missing 22-year-old police constable Nyasha Joseph who has not been seen since Thursday last. The decision was taken yesterday when the Crime Stoppers board held a meeting at the request of the Police Social and Welfare Association (PSWA). Read more here
POLITICS
PM appoints Petrotrin committee
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has appointed a seven-member committee to review the operations of State oil company Petrotrin. According to a statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister, Rowley presented the members of the committee with their instruments of appointment at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s yesterday. The appointment honours a Cabinet decision made on February 23, to review Petrotrin’s operations in light of falling revenues, allegations of mismanagement and decreasing oil prices worldwide. Read more here
Roget to Govt: Rescind this ‘cavalier’ decision
Trade unionist Ancel Roget has said the Government's decision to dissolve the Tourism Development Company (TDC) “is yet another example of the Government doing what they want in the most cavalier manner”. The Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) president said at the end of the day, it is impacting the relationship with the recognised majority union. Read more here
BUSINESS
TTNGL reports after tax earnings of $344.8 million
TTNGL chairman Gerry Brooks announced that Trinidad and Tobago NGL Limited (TTNGL) recorded after tax earnings of $344.8 million for 2016. Earnings per share, according to the chairman, was $1.16. The share of profit from TTNGL’s investment in Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited (PPGPL), which is the underlying asset of TTNGL, improved by 20.3 percent to $164 million in 2016, compared to $136.3 million in 2015. Read more here
REGIONAL
Colonial mindset blamed for slow accession to CCJ
Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) judge, Vincentian Adrian Saunders, says there is good reason for the remaining Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states that have not yet done so, to accede to the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ. Saunders addressed the matter while delivering a lecture on the Rule of Law in the Caribbean, as part of a Good Governance lecture series organized by the St Kitts and Nevis government. Read more here
Cuba extends preferential tariffs to CARICOM member states
Cuba’s foreign trade and investment minister Rodrigo Malmierca has given Collin Granderson, assistant to the secretary general of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), an agreement that extends the number of products with preferential tariffs. In an exclusive interview with Cuban News Agency, José Chaple, director of commercial policy for Latin America and the Caribbean at the ministry of trade and foreign investment (MINCEX), said Cuba included 340 new products to those approved in 2000, while CARICOM granted the same to 80 Cuban products. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
EU workplace headscarf ban is legal, says ECJ
Employers are entitled to ban workers from the "visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign" including headscarves, Europe's top court has ruled. But the ban must be based on internal company rules requiring all employees to "dress neutrally", said the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It cannot be based on the wishes of a customer, it said. It is the court's first decision on the issue of Islamic headscarves at work. Read more here
British Parliament backs Brexit
The British Parliament has passed a bill that will allow Prime Minister Theresa May to start talks to leave the European Union. The Queen will now sign it into law, clearing the way for May to trigger Article 50, beginning the process by which Britain will give up its EU membership. Read more here
14th March 2017