NEWS
JMH MD: Back in business soon
After losing close to $150million in a fire which destroyed four warehouses on Monday, managing director of JMH Enterprises, Christopher James, said that his company which supplies several of the nations groceries with goods, will be back in operation within a matter of weeks. In a conversation with Newsday yesterday, James who was at the time surveying damages with an insurance agent, said while the majority of his equipment and goods were destroyed, he was in contact with several people who are trying their best to help. Read more here
Police kill man while taking him for gas
A reformed thief turned security guard was killed by police early yesterday, in circumstances that left his brother questioning whether the police followed proper protocol. According to police, Gary Rogers, 29, was being taken by Constables Hosein and Hercules to get gas for his vehicle, after it stalled along the Caroni Savannah Road around 1.30 am yesterday. While in the vehicle, police said they smelled alcohol and told him about it, noting he was about to drive. It was then Rogers is said to have attacked the driver, PC Hercules, and was shot dead by PC Hosein. The attack caused Hercules to lose control of the vehicle, which swerved off the road and crashed. The officers escaped with minor injuries. Read more here
2 cops injured as gun goes off
Two police officers are nursing gunshot injuries following an incident yesterday at San Juan Police Station. The two officers have been identified as WPC Roxanne Sealy and SRP Bernard. According to reports, officers at the police station heard loud explosions at about 8.30 a.m. yesterday and, upon investigating, they observed two officers bleeding from what appeared to be gunshot injuries. Read more here
POLITICS
Rowley willing to make Budget changes
Although the preparation of the 2017/2018 budget has already been completed, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the Government will still be open to making changes following today’s planned consultation on the budget to be held at the Hyatt Regency, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. Rowley will host the forum, “Spotlight on Trinidad and Tobago’s Financial Circumstances: The Road Ahead” from 9 am to 3 pm, according to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister. Read more here
Shut your mouth
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday reacted angrily to the negative criticism which his suggestion T&T should open its doors to Dominicans ravaged by Hurricane Maria has brought on social media. Rowley had last week suggested that citizens who could accommodate Dominican family or friends left homeless after Maria, should open their doors to their Caribbean brethren for a six-month period. Read more here
Speed Up
The speed limit is set to change. This according to Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan. He told the Express yesterday Cabinet had approved increasing the speed limit from 80 kilometres per hour to 100 kph. Cabinet approved the recommendation last week.
It is expected to be taken to Parliament on Friday to be debated, Sinanan said. Read more here
BUSINESS
Scotiabank teaches teens entrepreneurial skills
Rachel Dieffenthaller is one of 19 secondary school students who is now much closer to realising her dream of becoming an entrepreneur after graduating from the Scotiabank Vision Achiever Youth programme. The students, ranging in age from 15 to 19, learned the skills necessary for running a successful business during the inaugural edition of the programme, which ran from August 4 to 18 at Scotia Centre, corner Park and Richmond Streets, Port of Spain. Read more here
Ambassador urges creatives to develop business skills
Lilly Edgerton, Costa Rica’s Ambassador to T&T is advising those involved in the creative industry in T&T to be business savvy. “Usually creative people are not good with numbers. So a business plan is like speaking Martian. Having them speak to a businessman is even worse. To keep track of the money and the invoices it is just very different. What is really sad is that they do not know how much their art is worth. It is very expensive as they do not consider the price in the international market and how much people are willing to pay for it,” she said. Read more here
What grade should Mr Imbert get for 2017
As the nation, gets ready for Monday’s reading of the 2018 budget by Finance Minister Colm Imbert, one of the issues that many of the people viewing, listening or reading the presentation would be thinking is: how successful was Mr Imbert in implementing measures in the 2017 budget. In terms of major measures, the minister had some success in the implementation of a number of fiscal measures, such as the further reduction in the subsidy on diesel, which led to a 15 per cent increase in the price of the commodity, immediately after the budget was read. Read more here
REGIONAL
Skerrit links climate change to Dominica devastation
Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit on Friday laid bare the devastation caused to his country by Hurricane Maria, telling world leaders, “Eden is broken.” “The nation of Dominica has come here to declare an international humanitarian emergency, one that is centred in Dominica but also encompasses many of our neighbours including our sister isle of Antigua which had to evacuate its citizens from Barbuda,” Skerrit told delegates at the United Nations General Assembly, New York. Read more here
Lawless Force - INDECOM Says JCF Failed To Take Action Against 138 Senior Officers Reported For Breaches
The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is reporting that no action has been taken against 138 senior officers of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), despite reports being submitted to its leadership and the Police Service Commission (PSC) for disciplinary proceedings to be instituted against them for periods spanning seven years. In its April to June quarterly report, which was tabled in Parliament yesterday, INDECOM said that since its inception in 2010, the commission has submitted 97 cases involving 138 officers of the police force. "Attempts were made by the commission to ascertain the status of these cases wherein recommendations were made. To date, disciplinary hearings have not commenced in any of these cases. Indeed, in a number of the cases, there has been no response to the recommendation," the report states. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
At a potential reckoning point, Trump fumbles for success
You know a president is in trouble when he has to insist he's up to the job. But stung by a worsening post hurricane crisis in Puerto Rico, an escalating North Korea nuclear showdown, the humiliating failure to repeal Obamacare and the stunning defeat of his favored candidate in Alabama's Republican primary, that moment has arrived for Donald Trump. The President is being forced to deny that his Twitter blasts and culture war shots at NFL players protesting racial grievances show that he's too distracted to lead amid creating political storms. Read more here
Saudi Arabia women hail end of driving ban
27th September 2017