In a statement posted on its website, CEMEX said that its indirect subsidiary, Sierra Trading would ‘present a change and variation notice making an amended offer to the offer and take-over bid that was presented on December 5, 2016 to all shareholders of TCL, a company publicly listed in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados.

It said the new offer is being made as it seeks to acquire up to 132,616,942 ordinary shares in TCL, which together with Sierra’s existing share ownership in TCL of approximately 39.5 per cent would, if successful, result in Sierra holding up to 74.9 per cent of the equity share capital in TCL.

“Pursuant to the Amended Offer, Sierra will offer TT$5.07 (One TT dollar =US$0.16 cents) in cash per TCL share and, except for shareholders of TCL in Barbados, shareholders of TCL will have the option to be paid for their TCL shares in TT$ or in U.S.$.

“Full acceptance of the Offer, as amended by the Amended Offer, in TT$ would result in a cash payment by Sierra of approximately TT$672 million. The Revised Offer Price represents a premium of 50 per cent over the December 1, 2016 closing price of TCL’s shares in the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange,” CEMEX added.

CEMEX had in early December last year, said it was seeking to acquire the shares at a price of TT$4.50) in cash per TCL share.

In 2015, TCL shareholders voted overwhelming to lift the 20 per cent cap on shareholding in a move critics said then opened the way for CEMEX to take control of the financially struggling company.

CEMEX, which has operations extending throughout the world, with production facilities spanning 50 countries in North America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, is at present the single largest shareholder at 20 per cent, and would be able to acquire shares worth up to US$45 million in the rights issue.

Last month, TCL shareholders were urged by the company’s directors to reject the offer by CEMEX, noting that the offer price does not reflect the “full commercial value of TCL.” The board argued that the shares of the company have a greater value than the offer price of TT$4.50, which it said was “not fair, from a financial point of view, to the shareholders”.

While the board did not say what a fair price would be, it however, advised shareholders that TCL is poised to benefit from the significant operational improvements instituted in August 2014.

“The company has experienced a turnaround after multiple past efforts to do so.

The evidence of the turnaround is supported by the company’s return to sustainable profitability in 2015 and continuing to produce positive net income throughout 2016.

“The board has embarked on a number of operational and corporate restructuring initiatives that continue to generate positive value for the company.” In its latest offer bid, CEMEX said that among other conditions, the new offer “will be conditional on Sierra acquiring at least an amount of TCL shares that would allow CEMEX, for financial reporting purposes, to consolidate TCL

Saintfiet, the 43-year-old Belgian, is supposed to revive a floundering World Cup campaign but any optimism has since dissipated with TT defeats to 150th-ranked Suriname 2-1 and a first-ever defeat to Nicaragua in December.

With much tougher opposition looming in the World Cup qualifiers vs Panama (March 24) and Mexico (March 28), TT’s performances under their new coach thus far do not augur well for the immediate future.

Playing on home soil for the Gold Cup qualifiers against Suriname and Haiti, it did not seem as if the hosts had any advantage whatsoever in front their home crowd. Timid in their opening match against Suriname, a neutral observer could be forgiven for thinking the match was being held in Suriname.

After that defeat, Saintfiet told the media: “We gave ball possession on purpose to be stronger on the counter- attack.” Why TT would not attack an inexperienced Suriname team whose best player plays in the Pro League? Only Saintfiet could answer that question.

His tactics did not work. But even in that fixture, contrary to the TT coach’s assertion that the hosts had the better of the exchanges and a lot of “almost goals”, it was TT goalkeeper Adrian Foncette who had to dive full stretch to push a shot past the post just before the half. And in the second period on a counter-attack, Suriname hit the post with the TT defence all at sea.

On Sunday, after a thrilling 4-3 defeat to Haiti, Saintfiet unsurprisingly appealed for more time. His team was given 48 more hours to prepare for Sunday’s match than their opponent (TT played Suriname on Wednesday while Haiti played Suriname on Friday) but surprisingly it was the visitors who seemed the fresher team.

After a month in charge, it is difficult to see what Saintfiet’s men are trying to do in the middle and attacking third while defensively it has been a calamity with eight goals conceded from their four games so far. The zonal marking by TT against Haiti was a complete disaster with four Haitians getting their heads on the ball repeatedly while outnumbered by nine TT players in the box on set-plays. Given three goals were conceded by headers off set-plays, TT clearly needed more work on the training ground before trying to incorporate zonal marking into their play book.

Another cause for concern has been Saintfiet’s substitutions which have failed to provide the impetus off the bench in the Gold Cup qualifiers.

The national coach admitted to this after the Suriname game.

“Later in the match I think we had too little power, energy in the replacements who came in… If you bring a fresh player in you expect that they fight and battle and fly over the pitch because they are less tired than the (others), I think that was our weakness today,” he said.

Again, vs Haiti, Saintfiet brought on Alvin Jones (injury to Carlos Edwards), Cornell Glen, Hughton Hector and Trevin Caesar but the flow of the match never changed. He again resorted to centre-back Radanfah Abu Bakr being deployed in the latter stages of the match as a forward, looking to win aerial duels in the box. Earlier in the match, after Haiti withstood the opening barrage from the hosts, TT began hoofing long passes to the energetic but five footsix inches Shahdon Winchester without success. Having dropped captain Kenwyne Jones to shift to a more fluid style of play it was bemusing to see TT resort to those tactics.

Haitian midfielder Herold Charles was also made to look like Ronaldinho in his heyday, orchestrating the Haitian attacks continuously with little pressure on him. The dreadlocked #10 certainly oozes skill but in a door- die game at home, TT failed to address the obvious threat the midfielder possesses, dictating play, and leaving the TT players tired while chasing shadows all over the field.

On the positive side, 25-year-old forward Shahdon Winchester got his chance on his birthday and showed he is hungry to make a name for himself with a hat-trick in Sunday’s 4-3 defeat. Jabloteh’s Tyrone Charles also had flashes of brilliance with his dead ball skills providing a threat for the national team.

Can Saintfiet turn things around in time for the World Cup qualifiers? Maybe. But on the evidence of his four games in charge so far, the future does not look bright.

David John Williams, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), has laid out an ultimatum that TT need to get four points in their next two World Cup qualifiers for Saintfiet to keep his job. On the evidence so far, the man nicknamed “The Saint” and the “The Messiah” after a two-year stint in Namibia will need a miracle for that to happen.

The national team split their pair of friendlies with Nicaragua and were beaten in extra time by Suriname (2-1) and Haiti (4-3) in their Gold Cup qualifiers.

After losing to Haiti on Sunday which knocked TT out 2017 Gold Cup contention, Saintfeit said more time was needed with the squad.

Saintfeit said, “I had very limited time.

I came here a week before the games started and I had to select a squad so I was seeing some matches and I was counting on advice.” None of the four matches were played under FIFA dates therefore many of the top national players were not available.

“We had no FIFA dates and we invited Khaleem Hyland, Jan-Michael Williams, Levi Garcia, John Bostock, Kevin Molino, Joevin Jones, Cordell Cato and Mekeil Williams (and all of them could not show up). We invited a lot of players who were not available for several reasons, not released because of FIFA dates or personally not ready to perform for the team.” Saintfeit added, “But there are consequences if you have a lot of good players missing for such important games. On the other side I saw in these two weeks the boys growing, working very hard and I think even the local people discovered some local players that they never expected to play at this level.” The head coach acknowledged that some of the players showed that they are ready for international football, while some still have work to do.

“I have some good experiences of working with the boys and for sure some of the players proved that in the future they have to be on the squad, but in the four matches in two weeks time I learnt that some people are maybe not yet ready for it.” With all four goals conceded against Haiti coming from setplays including three headers in the six-yard box, Saintfiet described the sometimes shambolic defending on Sunday as “unacceptable”.

“If you concede four goals you can’t be satisfied. If I said I am satisfied I would need new glasses.

It’s unacceptable first of all to concede four goals…I am sure two of the four goals are unacceptable,” he said.

But the result was not the desired one as the 25-year-old Winchester explained after Trinidad and Tobago’s 4-3 defeat to Haiti in extra time in their CFU Gold Cup playoff encounter at the Ato Boldon Stadium.

The former W Connection forward, now with Mexican club Murcielagos FC, had scored one goal in 16 international matches prior to Sunday’s encounter. But he got the nod from Tom Saintfiet and delivered upon the call, putting TT ahead after just 46 seconds and then scoring further items in the first half and levelling the scores at 3-3 in extra time to complete his hat-trick.

The former Naparima College hitman spoke about his mixed emotions after the match, “to be honest it’s a tremendous feeling to score a hat-trick for the national team.

Words can’t really describe the joy I feel inside and there is no better gift a professional footballer can give to himself on his birthday,” Winchester told TT Football Association media.

“With that being said there is still a bitter feeling because once again we didn’t qualify for a major tournament that we had in the palm of our hands,” he added.

TT lost steam in extra time and Haiti pulled away with two further goals to send the hosts out of the Gold Cup qualifying race.

“Definitely we could have pushed some more in extra time.

But I really don’t know how to describe it, whether it’s lack of concentration or commitment but conceding four goals from dead balls shows we really have to sit down and question ourselves,” Winchester said.

“There is still the World Cup qualifiers ahead and we must now pick ourselves up from these two losses and focus on the matches ahead,” he said.

The university students whipped their UTT counterparts 5-3 in the Premiership Division of the Opening Day knockout at the Eastern Regional Indoor Arena, Tacarigua, on Sunday.

Goal-shoot Akeisha Rodrigues netted two of four attempts and goal-attack Tiana Dillon had three goals from her four attempts. Lillia Matthews scored two goals and Crystal George got the other for UTT .

Police handed UTT their second defeat of the afternoon when they beat the university students 9-3 to take the Championship Division title.

Veteran goal-shoot Patrice Goring slotted in five of her six shots and goal-attack Donessian Wickham scored four of her five attempts.

Aeisha Collins got two goals and Oprah Douglas one for UTT .

Goal-shoot Carmelita Leslie scored all six of her attempts and Pearl St John one for Fire to blank Defence Force 7-0 to lift the Alternative Division.

MCs, “JW and Blaze” filled the gaps with their loquacious and sometimes entertaining discourse, while various popular DJs cued the hits of yesteryear in various genres applicable to the demographic present and the generally festive mood of the audience.

It was obvious that the first fete of the 2017 Carnival season was not as well-attended as previous editions, but the thousands who ventured out into the night definitely had a blast partying with the Tribe alumni. Coolers in tow, they gathered from 10 pm and filled the venue with that restless, mischievous Carnival energy until close to 5 am.

Perhaps, as a sign of the trying economic times, the venue contained a lot less of the decorative frills and sponsored displays that usually take up a lot of space at this event. Instead, the Red Ants’ production team designed a lengthy runway extending from the main stage almost half-way up the length of the dance-floor, through the middle of the VIP section and ending near the front rim of the general section.

A source of contention among both the artistes and the patrons due to the challenges it meted to the performers and to the members of various crews hoping to assemble in the audience, this runway stage design and segregated sectioning may have to be reconsidered or reformatted for the benefit of future editions.

“It’s a lot of work to navigate such a long stage,” one artiste explained afterward, “and virtually impossible to hold the audience’s attention as a collective because there are so many more angles to consider. Plus, there are no monitors out there (at the end of the runway), so keeping track of the sound with the echoes etc. was a real challenge, but the ICE had vibes still and it’s a blessing to represent for the Tribe massive!” By the time the ice in the many coolers that littered the arena had melted, patrons were quite sated with musical moments, Instagram selfies, stories and videos of all the action, outfits, stumbles and spills of the night. As the sun rose on the trampled and abused venue, two things were made abundantly clear: the festival has begun and the Tribe is ready for action!

The way you groom your hair represents you as a person. It helps you create an identity of how you want society to perceive you. It’s so connected to your individuality that any sign hair of loss can cause a negative or emotional impact.

This week, I will continue the discussion on Cicatrical Alopecia, how it can occur in both men and women, its classic manifestations, diagnosis and treatment.

Cicatrical alopecia, also known as scarring alopecia, is a rare hair disorder that causes permanent baldness, if it is not detected and treated in its early stages. Cicatrical alopecia occurs in healthy men and women in all ages, however, there’s no study to prove that this disease is hereditary.

This condition doesn’t develop instantly. It may start from a slowly progressive hair loss without symptoms of any kind, or it can be seen when there is severe rapid hair loss within months, associated with itching and pain.The patches of the most common type of cicatrical alopecia may be red and inflamed at the base of the hair shaft.

What really happens in cicatrical alopecia? Normally, our scalp carries millions of follicles from which your natural hair grows, but with cicatrical alopecia, you may experience severe itching and pain in certain areas of your scalp. In these areas, because of the underlying issue of inflammation in this case, hair growth may be inhibited.

Inflammation is the body’s natural autoimmune response, which acts as a defence mechanism. Imagine that you got a skin injury, like a graze or cut, the areas will appear warm and inflamed, and eventually develop a scab. This is a normal body reaction to any wound to seal off the area that was injured, so nothing from the external environment can enter the body to cause any more damage, the scab (fibrous tissue) will eventually fall off as new skin regenerates. This is true for areas of the scalp that is affected by cicatricial alopecia. If inflammation constantly occurs in the affected area, after a while the follicles will become filled with fibrous tissue, closing off the follicles and disrupting the the hair cycle and new hair will no longer be produced.

So, how do you determine which type of cicatrical alopecia do you have? A trichologist or dermatologist with a keen eye may be able to identify certain types of cicatricial alopecia, but sometimes a punch biopsy becomes necessary to confirm the type of cicatricial alopecia that may be affecting you. This biopsy will also assist in determining the teatment that should be tailored for you. Another classic test is called the hair pull test. This is where a small fraction of your hair is tugged in order to identify loose hair that can be easily pulled out.

I have mentioned in previous articles, that treatment is based on the specific type of alopecia, but in a generic sense of cicatricial alopecia, treatments include natural anti-inflammatories and antibacterials or medication.

As for the usage of hair products, you have to make sure that these are recommended by your trichologist or dermatologist. Your hair and scalp are already sensitive and applying the wrong kinds of products can exacerbate the issue, worsen your condition.

So again, if you are experiencing significant hair thinning or hair loss, do not wait until you loose 50 percent of your hair before you seeking advice from a trichologist or dermatologist. Always be mindful of the manifestations of this dreaded type of hair loss. Seek Advice! Germaine Williams-Beckles is a Doctor of Trichology (DT) & Nutrition Consultant (NC) http://www.germainewilliamsbeckles.

com

Delivering the feature address on Saturday at the National Association of Athletics Administrations Awards (NAAA) 2016 ceremony at the Radisson Hotel in Port-of- Spain, Carmona did not hesitate to give his advice on how to improve track and field in this country.

Carmona spoke about more investment in sport and proper planning. “We need major capital investment from both the public and private sector, locally and nationally and therefore your organisation must be equipped and made ready at the strategic, management and operational levels. In this regard, if we clinically examine what has happened, we can evaluate and analyse where we are currently and project where we ought to be in the future. Our sporting philosophy must therefore create a way forward, a veritable road map to sporting success and excellence.” Carmona suggested that TT can follow some of the steps taken by popular track and field facilitator Dr Vern Gambetta.

“Dr Vern Gambetta, a world renowned strength training and conditioning specialist and coach guru in several sporting disciplines including track and field espoused that the success of athletes are predicated on organisations applying the following and I quote, ‘A philosophy of being coach driven, athlete centred and administratively supportive.’” Carmona called on local sporting officials to ensure their athletes well-being is a priority. “As administrator officials of sport, athlete-centred leadership must always be at the core of your dispensation.

As the movers and shakers of sport and policy development, we must ensure that legislation and policies coincide with the needs of the athlete and the sport.

“Governing bodies in sport have a duty and a responsibility to ensure the holistic well-being of the athlete and do so fairly, justly and without compromise. We must ensure therefore that the best, the most skilled, the most deserving athletes are afforded the opportunity to compete and represent TT through a system of genuine meritocracy.

As sporting administrators, remember at the core of your dispensation is stewardship, not dominance, you are a facilitator, not a dictator.”

HONOUR ROLL

Athletes of the Year Awards
Youth Female – Janae Spinks
Youth Male – Tyriq Horsford
Junior Female – Khalifa St Fort
Junior Male – Akanni Hislop
Senior Female – Michelle-Lee Ahye
Senior Male – Keshorn Walcott
In recognition of Global Excellence
(Para-Athletics) – Nyoshia Cain, Akeem Stewart

Most Outstanding Athletes

Distance Women Open Road – Tonya Nero
Distance Men Open Road – Curtis Cox
Cross Country Women Open – Samantha Shukla
Cross Country Men Open – Matthew Hagley
Women Open Track – Michelle-Lee Ahye
Women Open Field – Cleopatra Borel
Men Open Track – Machel Cedenio
Men Open Field – Keshorn Walcott

Outstanding Performance Awards

President’s Rising Star Award – Rae-Anne Serville
For Academic Achievement – Che Richards (National Scholarship Winner)
For Outstanding Performances in2016
Javelin Gold (Carifta Games Record) –Tyriq Horsford
100m National Junior Record at National
Open Champs – Khalifa St Fort
200m National Record at National
Open Champs and Olympics – MichelleLee Ahye
400m National Record at Olympics –Machel Cedenio
88.68-metres Qualifying Round Men’s
Javelin at Olympics – Keshorn Walcott

Most Outstanding Athletes

Girls U-10: Lesanne Hodge
Boys U-10: Isiah Clarke
Girls U-12: Janae De Gannes
Boys U-12: Keone John
Girls U-14: Shaniqua Bascombe, DestinyWilliams
Boys U-14: Shakeem McKay
Girls U-16 (track): Rae-Anne Serville
Girls U-16 (field): Safiya John
Boys U-16 (track): Avindale Smith
Boys U-16 (field): Christopher Crawford
Girls U-18 (track): Janae Spinks
Girls U-18 (field): Ianna Roach
Boys U-18 (track): Onal Mitchell
Boys U-18 (field): Tyriq Horsford
Girls U-20 (track): Khalifa St Fort
Girls U-20 (field): Chelsea James
Boys U-20 (track): Akanni Hislop
Boys U-20 (field): Che Richards

Champion Clubs

Junior – Memphis Pioneers
Senior – Memphis Pioneers, Rebirth Athletics Club
Juvenile – Memphis Pioneers.

Roget and other OWTU members and Petrotrin representatives met at the court after a meeting with Petrotrin’s management at the Labour Ministry earlier in the day. The court hearing was presided over by Industrial Court judge Albert Aberdeen.

Roget said the union would call off the strike only if they got a favourable response from Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

“The judge has strongly advised parties, particularly the company (Petrotrin), that it makes good sense to settle the first period, have the strike called off and then we can enter into conciliation and discussions on the current matter before the court, that is for 2011- 2014. He said the company should get that out of the way completely and, on the basis of that, the union should call the strike off and then we can continue discussions with respect to the period 2014-2017.

“We felt we could accept such an advice and bring full settlement to this issue, but we are also observing the posturing of the Minister of Finance who is refusing an offer that says the Government does not have to put out one cent in respect of a back pay that would incur as a result of a wage settlement and also refusing the attempt by the union to bring about greater levels of efficiency and productivity which would pay over time that increase.

Until we get some resolution on these issues the strike is on,” he said.

Roget said the strike that they were forced to enter in to would cost the Government and the company much more than what the settlement would be.

“When tomorrow comes and we did not have a settlement and we enter into strike arrangement, it is the Government that would be to blame because we have crunched our proposal, a most reasonable one, for which we are not getting a response. It seems that they are going down pell mell, without brakes and steering, that the last government went down,” he said..

According to reports, at around 5:30 pm on Saturday, officers of the Northern Division and the St Joseph Police Station were observing a vehicle on Sellier Street, St Augustine, which matched the description of a motorcar that was reported stolen in the area.

A single occupant was observed lying in the backseat of the vehicle.

As officers approached, the man alighted from the vehicle and drew a .45 Magnum pistol, firing several shots at the policemen.

One of the officers, reportedly fired four shots at the man, who fled north along one of the adjacent streets before jumping a fence to a private property. Officers entered the premises where the man again fired on them. Officers returned fire, hitting the suspect about the body. The man was later identified as 28-year-old Clint ‘Pappy’ Ellis of St. John Road, St. Augustine, and was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Centre (EW MSC) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Ellis who was described by authorities as a suspect in several crimes including car theft, had been shot and wounded while washing his Black Nissan B14 in front of his at Augustine home last November.