Costa Rica opened the scoring in the 14th minute through Manfred Ugalde, and doubled their lead in the 40th through captain Jose Tello with a powerful shot from a corner which gave goalkeeper Jaheim Wickham no chance. Also finding the target in the 70-minute match were Giancarlo Castro (44th) and Dereck Valentine (59th).

The United States defeated Canada 1-0 in the other Group B encounter played on the day.

TT had the first real chance of the game but Jean-Heim Mc Fee failed to make good of his opportunity in the opening minute of the game. The game was played in sweltering conditions and there was hydration breaks during both halves.

TT are one of the eight seeded teams in Division One which comprises of Groups A and B along with Mexico, Jamaica, Honduras, Panama, United States, Costa Rica and Canada.

The other 41 teams make up Division Two. The other 41 teams make up Divisions two and three. Only the top two teams from Groups A and B are eligible to go through to the championship semi-finals and final with the other group winners and runners-up competing for the remaining finishing spots.

TT coach Russell Latapy pointed out that the Costa Ricans managed the encounter better and proved to be the better team in terms of tactical awareness.

“I thought that the better team eventually won the game. We had a couple opportunities especially one in the first minute which we should have probably scored and the game would have been a different one if we were playing from the front.” Latapy continued, “The difference in the both teams wasn’t quality but instead tactical awareness. You can tell the Costa Rican players were playing at a high level and they were able to manage the game better at different stages. We are a team that is getting to that point which is where matches like these will serve us well going forward.” TT face US at 9am today with Canada meeting Costa Rica in the other encounter.

Sadly I have found that there are those in our society hidden in plain sight who seek to ruin us and make us destitute by out rightly proposing that we dismiss these words…who are they? The TRADE UNION! Yes TT , we have been led to believe that these men of so-called heart for the masses and concern for the poor man actually are men of substance…

but let me ask, when the dust has settled and the percents weighed and the oil platforms pack up and go, can these men provide jobs? Can these men give you letters to take to the bank? Can these men help you pay your mortgage or feed your families? Are they serving you without profit? Are these kind men giving you all of their courage and sense of fairness for free? Let’s face it- we have been bamboozled into thinking that the men who operate the movement house the same valour and honour as the men who started it! The unions have lost their purpose and have become like the “ Jimmy Swaggart” of our time.

They have led us down a path of economic suicide and have stunted the growth of our society because as we squabble for more the cost of living rises, the level of productivity decreases and our national debt ascends! The cult of the Trade Union Movement has tricked us into thinking that the fight is for us! I know perhaps some are thinking yes they dothey keep employers in check, they get us our benefits, they march and march to make sure we are treated fairly afterall “massa day done” but of course we must give offering, pay your dues-blindly; remember it’s for our own good.

Turbal “Buzz” Butler perhaps has rolled over countless times in after life grief appalled by what the union has become-independent politicians, no that’s too good-scavengers- who rampage about, like empty vessels with no ethics or reasoning, ravenously digging into of our crippled economy.

I wonder, where has all this new energy come from? I mean for the past five years we hardly heard a peep, and yet here they are now with new fervor attempting to squeeze blood from stone! Wake up my people, after all the back pay money has been drained where would the government get money to keep everyone gainfully employed? The hard truth is someone would have to go home! The back pay money would eventually finish and what you be left with? Nothing! Half a loaf is better than none.

We were informed on countless occasions that our economy is not as lucrative as in recent times thus we must forego some privileges in order to survive. We must look past our need to be immediately gratified and our attitude of entitlement until better can be done. I am forced to ask again-can the union provide jobs? The bottom line is that they cannot!

Kezia Reece via email

As the Director of the Black Agenda Project, David Muhammad, pointed out: “Especially since our nation is the most diverse in the Caribbean, there must be consideration and awareness for every heritage, identity, and ethnicity.

Therefore, any oversight would immediately disqualify the relevance of any such text.” And the Maha Sabha’s Sat Maharaj added: “we are being erased from the history of our nation.” Coincidentally, I was attending a conference on modernism in Amsterdam as this matter flared up on social media. In this city, the marks of Dutch colonial authority in the Caribbean remain visible, both in its multi ethnicity and in its vibrancy.

At this conference we were also debating ideas of exclusion and inclusion of Asian and African cultures, and in particular the visibility of disaporic cultures.

According to panellists, participants in a conference in Bandung in 1955 highlighted the fact that narratives of modernism and modernity centred exclusively on Europe and America. Yet, Africa and Asia deeply influenced the art of the 20th century. What is more, there has been deep transcultural exchange to the point where a new term, “planetary,” could be used to describe modernism.

One speaker noted that the Caribbean has been engaged in a transcultural process ever since the beginning of colonialism with the importation of enslaved peoples and the introduction of indentureship. Africans, Europeans and peoples of Asian descent had to make accommodations and society reflects these shifts.

According to one panellist Trinidad is a microcosm of such processes and writers at the early part of the century sought to record and examine the impact on society. Seepersad Naipaul, father of V. S. Naipaul, was used as a signal example. He reflected the interweaving of cultures originating in far different places, and the creation of new forms.

Trinidad’s culture has been described by Derek Walcott as “a babel, like heaven.” It is certainly a microcosm of the world in many senses. The interchanges and interconnections that exist within modern culture and society are everywhere evident in our society, both in terms of the arts that we call modernist and the fact that our writers and artists have sought to create something new out of this mixture.

Many of our writers have also examined how the memory of original cultures including Amerindian culture have remained imbedded in our collective psyche and become transformed into something distinctly Caribbean.

Wilson Harris the Guyanese writer and philosopher analyses limbo as an art form born of the journey from Africa to the Caribbean and the cramped conditions endured by the slaves, but also sees it as a spatial image of the Asian gods as well as of Christianity. He says we have to use these acts of performance as gateways to memory.

Caribbean history with its several ruptures demands an act of determined remembering and repossessing.

Further, at the heart of the heated debate about the exclusion of Emancipation Day and Arrival Day is the fear of devaluing ourselves.

As my friend the writer Niala Maharaj says, “The world does not take sufficient cognisance of the profound contribution of African peoples to the shape and rhythm of modern culture, notably in music, fashion and sport. Yet the icons of recent times are Obama, Bolt, Mandela and Mohammed Ali.

These men drew heavily on their sense of the dignity of their heritage and have redefined the physical and spiritual concept of homo sapiens.” Without a sense of where we came from, we c a n n o t move with assurance and value into the future.

Although this is the second year that MP Forde, in collaboration with Mohammed’s Book Store facilitated this school books and stationery distribution initiative, it is the first year that NALIS has joined in the effort to ensure that each child not only has books and stationery but also access to a lifetime of information and resources with their very own library card.

Kamella Carmino, Librarian III, North Region, in her brief address to an audience including parents, children, sponsors, and community members, highlighted the importance of libraries in building communities.

In her talk she mentioned that libraries provide people with content to enable them to be more creative and thereby make significant contributions to their communities. Carmino also had the pleasure of inducting the children into the library system by presenting them with library cards.

Police said that at about 8.30 am, a crab catcher on his way to the mangroves came across the remains and contacted police. A party of officers led by Sgt Ali and PC Duncan together with Homicide Bureau (Region III) visited the scene.

The deceased, believed to be a man, was wearing a multi-coloured trousers and a green and black T-shirt.

District Medical Officer Dr Indarjit Birjah visited the scene and ordered the remains removed to the Forensic Science Centre in St James. Anyone with information that can assist police in making a positive identification are asked to contact the nearest police station or Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS (8477).

In a statement, WASA advised that from 8 pm on Friday August 18 to 5 am on Monday August 21, “there will be traffic restrictions along the O’Meara Road, Arima between Nutones Boulevard and La Chance Trace, to facilitate installation of new sewer mains.” The restrictions will be in effect as follows: North bound traffic along the O’Meara will be diverted onto Nutones Boulevard, then to Subero Street or Malabar Road, then back out onto O’Meara Road. South bound traffic will be diverted along La Chance Trace, then to Subero Street onto Nutones Boulevard to O’Meara Road Motorists are asked to slow down and proceed with caution; observe signs and barriers and obey the instructions of the Police Officers on duty.

WASA apologised for the upcoming inconvenience and thanked the public for their cooperation and understanding.

Holder had several policies with insurance company who was paying her so she would be able to acquire her monthly prescriptions of Neurombine Forbe, Trabiline, Voltaren and Lyrica which totalled to $3,009. But in early 2016, these payments stopped.

The company, in several letters, asked for proof of the disability they had previously paid for. In November 2015, Holder was sent a letter stating she had not submitted a proper claim.

When she went to find out how this could be, officials said they were updating their system so they needed a full comprehensive report from her, which Holder told Newsday, she gave.

In January this year, Holder went to her doctor Richard Spann at the Community Hospital where he revealed she will continue to degenerate over a period, if she does not have additional surgery that she will have to pay for herself.

Holder was referred to specialist Dr Rupert Indar of the Southern Medical Complex, by Pan American Life, who re-emphasized her own neuro surgeon’s claim of injuries, after three Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) were done. Indar’s letter was witnessed by Holder which was then sent to the insurance company.

Three weeks later, Holder contacted the company who told her they would get in touch because they had not received anything.

They never did. On calling again, Holder was told the same thing and she decided to pay the company a visit.

Officials told her that a team of doctors were reviewing her doctor’s claim and they would get in touch with her. Again, the company never did.

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In front of a boisterous crowd, Akil, representing PSL Cycling Club, rode an excellent final in the Points race, lapping the bunch with a lap remaining and gathered a total of 164 points to win the category. His teammate, Varun Maharajh, finished in the second position on 154 while Adam Alexander (Team Foundation) was third with 138.

Teniel (PSL) then followed in her brother’s footsteps when she rode a controlled event, also lapping the field on her own during the Points Race, to claim the Omnium on 178 points. Alexi Costa, representing Heatwave Cycling Club, dug deep to take second with just one sprint remaining, as she finished on 139, just ahead of Alexandra Bovell’s (Unattached) 136.

While preparing for his Flying 200M event, Quincy Alexander (Team DPS) had an unfortunate incident when his tyre blew out, seeing him crashing down the steepest point of the banking. Though he got back up and re-attempted the Flying 200m, his time of 10.64 seconds was way off his best at the NCC. Consequent to that, Alexander scratched himself from the remainder of the event.

Earlier in the morning, Nicholas Paul qualified with third fastest time of 10.39 seconds, following Kwesi Browne’s (AWCC) second fastest time of 10.36 in the Flying 200M event. Njisane Phillip took the poll position with 10.30, however, he too was scratched from the remainder of activities as he seemed to be suffering from a stomach bug.

In the semi-final, Paul rounded Browne in both rides to advance to the Final against the reigning Keirin champion, Keron Bramble (Sonics). The final was similar to Paul’s semi-final race where he easily rounded Bramble in two tactical rides to take the win. The young sprinter from Gasparillo punched to the sky with passion as he crossed the line and then acknowledged his supporters in the stand.

Kollyn St George of Breakaway qualified the fastest in the Women’s Flying 200M and made easy work of her teammate, Dominique Lovell, in the Sprint Finals. The tournament concludes today at the NCC and admission cost $20.

The car park would facilitate an additional 134 cars to make the market more secure and make the traffic flow better to ease up the residences off people who were having problem,” the minister said.

The traffic in the area has been the bane of residents for years as they claimed that the vendors caused a clog of traffic with them being unable to access or leave their homes.

“It was not a simple project once we are interfacing with a major highway.

It is a series of approvals you have to get, you have to go through the design stages, get approvals, line up the funding, discussions with the farmers, go through the tenders process. These particular tender process went through a very long period because of the evaluations,” Rambharat said, adding that the process would be done in two phases.

–Asked why it took so long to have the project started, the minister said it was not a simple project since they were interfacing with a major highway. “It is a series of approvals you have to get. You have to go through the design stages, get approvals, line up the funding, consultations with the farmers, go through the tenders process which went through a long process because we have to be careful in terms of evaluations and we are ready for that,” he explained. Rambharat said the vendors were ready for the change that would improve their lives

Health and Safety Officer from the lifeguard branch of the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) Augustus Sylvester, told Newsday that nearly 60 people were trained to fill positions at nine beaches in Trinidad and of those, five have been hired.

Sylvester said that in 2004, the Life Guard Association in collaboration with the union completed a survey of the beaches in Trinidad with the aim to determine which beaches had an urgent need for lifeguards.

This was done on the basis of potential danger from the condition of the beaches as well as popularity. The report was submitted to the Ministry of Tourism, who at the time, was responsible for the Lifeguard Service.

Since the initial survey, 13 years have passed and the Lifeguard Service Division now under the purview of the Ministry of National Security, has fallen backwards, Sylvester said.

While there is a need for lifeguards, especially during the vacation months, “the ministry has not employed people,” he said.

Currently serviced beaches are Vessigny, Las Cuevas, Los Iros, Manzanilla, Maracas/ Tyrico, Mayaro, Quinam, Salybia and Toco according to the Ministry of National Security website. Columbus Bay in Cedros is one of the many beaches not attended by lifeguards.

Two Sundays ago, a girl aged four wandered into the water during a brief moment when her mother had turned her back.

She was discovered by a beach goer who pulled her out of the water.

Luckily, three doctors were present and rushed to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on the child (CPR) in the absence of lifeguards.

The girl was later pronounced dead on arrival at the Point Fortin Area Hospital.

Sylvester expressed condolences to the girl’s parents and warned against the dangers of not paying close attention to children. He said that due caution is important at beaches especially with an acute shortage of lifeguards.

“Young children should not be further than an arm’s reach away from adults,” he said.

Adults should position themselves further out in the water when monitoring children, Sylvester advised. He also warned that flotation devices should be used only by people who can swim as wearing such devices give non-swimmers a false sense of security which can lead to their detriment.

“We need to look more seriously at life guards and how people operate on beaches especially with recent calls to increase local tourism.

Since the downturn of the economy people go down the islands for fun rather than go away.

More often than not, they are no accompanied by lifeguards,” he said.