Andrew Trace topped the league standings with 19 points recently, winning six of their seven matches and drawing one. Former champions Goodwood Eagles settled for the runners- up position, with Green Hill/Bagatelle placing third. Nine teams competed in the division, with two not finishing the competition.

St James Youth Football Club ran away with the Under-18 girls title, winning all five of their matches. Diego Central placed second in the Under-18 girls division, with St Lucien Strikers ending in third position. Six teams participated in this division.

In the Under-15 boys division, Quarry Street Football Club emerged victorious in the league by a single point, winning three of their five matches, drawing one and losing one. St Joseph FC were runners-up with Big Valley placing third among the six teams.

The main objective of the RBC West Penn Community Youth Football League is to engage the youths of the western peninsula in positive activities.

Alvarez said Independence Day is a good starting point for the population to work aggressively to solve, “the inefficiencies that have plagued us over the years.” He said this country has, “ the ability, personnel and strength to not only face the challenges of tomorrow but overcome them with gusto.” He called for an end to ethnic voting patterns and for citizens to vote for politicians who, “promote the best vision for moving our nation forward.” In calling for solutions for many of the nation’s problems, Alvarez supported the, “opening up our country through a new network of roads and a light rail system” as a solution for TT’s traffic congestion. He called for a reduction of TT’s food import bill and a new governance structure which advocates, “a top down model to a community based system where service to our citizens is paramount. “

Head coach Dennis Lawrence and the majority of his 26- man squad checked into the residential training camp at Cara Suites Hotel in Claxton Bay yesterday prior to a late evening training session at the Ato Boldon Stadium and immediately there was sense of focus and business-like approach to the few days ahead.

According to Jacksonville Armada midfielder Kevan George, “We have to believe in our ability.. that is what can make the difference for us. I am very motivated and personally I’m ready to play this evening if the match is changed to that time,” George told TTFA Media.

“We need max points.

There’s nothing like a tie in either of these two games.

We have to get in their faces more and obstruct their rhythm.

They are a team that likes to keep possession — especially in midfield — and they build on that momentum.

If we can disrupt their play early, especially as we are home, and try to impose ourselves then that will be a key for us.

We have to stay focused and not focus on the game against Panama. We have to take care of Honduras.

“The main thing is belief and we need the fans to get behind us and keep supporting.

It will be an adjustment playing at Ato Boldon but football is football so we will just get accustomed to the surface over a couple days.

Our main thing is just to make it uncomfortable for Honduras,” George added.

“People underestimate belief. I have seen a lot of crazy things happen in my short life span.

The coaches believe in us and we believe in ourselves as players and this is something we have to maintain right through to the final whistle on Friday,” he said.

Among the players already in camp along with the home-based pros are Minnesota United midfielder Kevin Molino, Mekeil Williams, Honduras- based duo Jan Michael Williams and Daneil Cyrus, Jomal Williams, Khaleem Hyland, Cordell Cato, Joevin Jones, Aubrey David, Carlyle Mitchell, Willis Plaza, Jamille Boatswain and George. El Salvador- based midfielder Leston Paul, European- based duo Radanfah Abu Bakr and Sheldon Bateau and US-based forward Trevin Caesar are all expected to join the camp soon.

Tickets remain on sale for the encounter at all NLCB Lotto Locations priced at $350 (covered) and $200 (uncovered.) Trinidad and Tobago’s Kevan George, left, says three points is mandatory against Honduras on Friday.

Philippe Coutinho is fit for Brazil’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers, despite the midfielder not having played for Liverpool this season because of a stated back injury, a federation spokesman told ESPN Brasil.

Coutinho, 25, is attempting to force through a move to Barcelona and has been the club’s main transfer target this summer, with the Reds turning down three bids for him thus far, with the latest being worth a total of £118 million.

Though he has not appeared in any of Liverpool’s four games on the young campaign, he was called into Tite’s Brazil squad for the team’s matches against Ecuador and Colombia on August 31 and September 5, respectively.

And a CBF spokesman yesterday said the former Inter Milan man was without any injuries and will begin training with his teammates today.

Before joining the national team in Porto Alegre, Coutinho paid a quick visit on Sunday to Rio de Janeiro- based doctor Michael Simoni, who has known the former Vasco da Gama star for years.

With the transfer window closing on Thursday, there was speculation the midfielder had undergone a physical with Simoni ahead of a move.

However, Simoni denied there had been any examination when asked by ESPN Brasil.

“When he had surgery on his shoulder and stayed alone in Europe — he was very young — who helped was me. This was shortly after he moved to Europe. He called me [Sunday]. I didn’t examine him, nothing medical,” Simoni, who serves as Fluminense’s health director, explained.

“Belief in our ability and believing that we have what it takes.” That will be the sentiment echoing throughout the next few days in the Trinidad and Tobago camp ahead of Friday’s all-important 2018 World Cup Qualifying match against Honduras.

Head coach Dennis Lawrence and the majority of his 26- man squad checked into the residential training camp at Cara Suites Hotel in Claxton Bay yesterday prior to a late evening training session at the Ato Boldon Stadium and immediately there was sense of focus and business-like approach to the few days ahead.

According to Jacksonville Armada midfielder Kevan George, “We have to believe in our ability.. that is what can make the difference for us. I am very motivated and personally I’m ready to play this evening if the match is changed to that time,” George told TTFA Media.

“We need max points.

There’s nothing like a tie in either of these two games.

We have to get in their faces more and obstruct their rhythm.

They are a team that likes to keep possession — especially in midfield — and they build on that momentum.

If we can disrupt their play early, especially as we are home, and try to impose ourselves then that will be a key for us.

We have to stay focused and not focus on the game against Panama. We have to take care of Honduras.

“The main thing is belief and we need the fans to get behind us and keep supporting.

It will be an adjustment playing at Ato Boldon but football is football so we will just get accustomed to the surface over a couple days.

Our main thing is just to make it uncomfortable for Honduras,” George added.

“People underestimate belief. I have seen a lot of crazy things happen in my short life span.

The coaches believe in us and we believe in ourselves as players and this is something we have to maintain right through to the final whistle on Friday,” he said.

Among the players already in camp along with the home-based pros are Minnesota United midfielder Kevin Molino, Mekeil Williams, Honduras- based duo Jan Michael Williams and Daneil Cyrus, Jomal Williams, Khaleem Hyland, Cordell Cato, Joevin Jones, Aubrey David, Carlyle Mitchell, Willis Plaza, Jamille Boatswain and George. El Salvador- based midfielder Leston Paul, European- based duo Radanfah Abu Bakr and Sheldon Bateau and US-based forward Trevin Caesar are all expected to join the camp soon.

Tickets remain on sale for the encounter at all NLCB Lotto Locations priced at $350 (covered) and $200 (uncovered.)

He said a lot of the engineering and planning work for Trinidad and Tobago takes place in Houston and a lot of the managerial work for the industry also relies on activity taking place in Houston so the closure of the sector there will have a temporary impact on Trinidad.

He added that all of the major oil companies in Trinidad will have offices in Houston or rely on services coming out of Houston.

Driver said it was a very tragic situation for the people of Houston and as far as he has been able to find out, all TT citizens working in the energy sector there were safe.

In Trinidad, a spokesman for bpTT said the company’s operations continue as normal and it is monitoring the situation in line with its usual safety practice. Officials at other energy companies operating in TT also said their businesses were not affected.

According to news reports, the ten oil refineries in Houston and Corpus Christi, an export hub for energy deliveries to Latin America and Asia, which were forced to close because of Hurricane Harvey normally had the capacity to refine about two million barrels of oil a day. Among the facilities which were forced to close was Exxon Mobil’s Baytown refinery, the second largest in the US about 25 miles east of Houston, which employed about 7,000 people and had a processing capacity of up to 584,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Mohammed’s spell of five for 10 helped reduce Hard Drive to 56 all out in chase of 84 for victory.

Christopher Vincent took 2/15 for CSK, while Romel Rampersad and Kapil Ramcharan scored 15 and 12 respectively for Hard Drive.

Batting first, CSK posted 83/6 with Salim Hosein scoring 28, Arshad Mohammed cracking 23 and Kevon Ramdhanie contributing 17. Dinesh Ragbir was the best bowler for Hard Drive taking 2/12.

S U M M A R I S E D SCORES: CSK 83/6 (Salim Hosein 28, Arshad Mohammed 23, Kevon Ramdhanie 17; Dinesh Ragbir 2/12) vs Hard Drive 56 (Romel Rampersad 15, Kapil Ramcharan 12; Jesse Mohammed 5/10, Christopher Vincent 2/15).

CSK won by 27 runs.

Tacarigua Royals 55/8 (Ricky Ali 12; Roland Pierre 3/11, Dane George 2/8) vs Club House 56/4 (Keith Ramasray 13, Phillip Aberdeen 13, Reynold Roach 10; Mukesh Partap 2/7). Club House won by six wickets.

90.5 Bamboo Allstars 36 (Stephan Ramkissoon 3/6, Teron Jadoo 3/10, Rajin Kanhai 2/4) vs Five Rivers 39/1 (Stefan Wharwood 26, Tevon Jadoo 10). Five Rivers won by nine wickets.

Savannah 52/8 (Perry Lezama 19; Stephen Joseph 3/5, Archie Ambie 2/6) vs A&U Combined Forces 53/4 (Bertram James 19, James Jack 14) A&U. Combined Forces won by six wickets.

Drifters 77/6 (Hospedales Singh 27, Gregory Webb 25, Augustus Ali 11; Shehan De Silva 5/9) vs 4&G Xmen 54/9 (Kirk Alfred 11; Roger Millien 3/4, Augustus Ali 4/10). Drifters won by 23 runs.

El Dorado 21 (Avian Mejias 3/10, Gavin Mathura 2/5) vs S&S Web Source 24/2 (Kevin Permal 12, Rajin Kumar 10). S&S Web Source won by eight wickets.

Rowley took leadership of the ministry after Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald was appointed as minister and then fired within the space of three days.

Responding to the issue in a statement yesterday, the United National Congress (UNC) Opposition expressed amazement at, what it described as, “the sheer incompetence once again displayed by this Keith Rowley-led administration”.

The UNC said the latest development has brought to the forefront, once again, that the Government cannot accomplish the most basic tasks of being “in charge.” “The inability of the prime minister to fill a Cabinet vacancy, without incident, is a failure of leadership in the highest order. The action taken by the prime minister today is not a simple matter. He has acknowledged that the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago has been violated and that this breach, under his hand, has brought the Office of the President into disrepute, again. A remedy to this situation cannot simply be a reappointment of Mr. Le Hunte once his situation is “rectified”.

The UNC said President Anthony Carmona acted on the advice of the prime minister in appointing Le Hunte as a senator and minister, therefore the prime minister effectively ill-advised and mislead Carmona.

The OPM in its statement said Rowley will advise Carmona to re-appoint Le Hunte once his “situation is rectified” supposedly by Friday.

Senior government officials indicated the issue could be one of dual citizenship and it is being addressed.

They said the statement from the OPM is the Government’s official position on the matter. Several attempts to contact Le Hunte for comment were unsuccessful. Le Hunte’s retirement as executive director from HFC Bank (Ghana) Limited was announced on August 15 and 16 on the bank’s website. The announcement said he was leaving to take up a ministerial appointment in TT. After his swearing in at the Office of the President on Thursday last week, Le Hunte told reporters he had a successful four-year tenure at HFC Bank and was determined to use his business skills to serve as a government minister.

Attorney Kenneth Lalla SC said the attorney general is responsible for advising the prime minister and the Government pertaining to the law. While he said he did not know the facts of the matter, Lalla said the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs normally does checks to ensure government appointments adhere to constitutional requirements. He said the Constitution does not debar anyone who has dual citizenship from being appointed as a senator. However, he said anyone who is a citizen of another country and not a citizen of TT cannot be appointed as a senator.

Lalla said clarity must be provided in Le Hunte’s case. He did not believe Le Hunte was at fault in this matter.

UNC chairman David Lee described the situation as embarrassing and “another conundrum by the PNM government.” Lee said such a situation would never have arisen under the former Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration. “Where is the due diligence by the Office of the Attorney General?” Lee asked. He also claimed the situation reflected a lack of integrity by Le Hunte. Lee said Le Hunte was no stranger to the political arena and should have known what are the requirements to be appointed as a senator.

Playing at the Grand Chemin Recreation Ground, Moruga, Club Sando Moruga edged the league leaders by a 1-0 margin, with Jesse Edwards finding the back of the net in the 42nd minute.

Guaya remain atop the standings with 29 points, with FC Santa Rosa next on 25.

Santa Rosa registered a 2-0 win over Cunupia FC at the Arima Velodrome, with new signing Ryan Stewart opening the scoring with a 54th minute freekick while Rashad Griffith converted a penalty five minutes later.

Defence Force moved up one spot to third on the standings despite a 2-2 draw against Siparia Spurs at the Petrotrin Sports Club Ground, Fyzabad.

Chris Collins put Siparia ahead in the 25th minute before Defence Force responded with items from Dwayne Calliste (40th) and Jabari Andall (59th). However, Marcus Kelly ensured that the hosts will get a share of the points when he got Siparia’s second, in the 64th.

Queen’s Park got a double from Devon Modeste as they defeated cellar-placed Bethel United 3-1 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium Training Field, Mucurapo.

Modeste scored in the 41st and 90th minutes, after Jabari Raphael broke the deadlock for the Parkites, in the 28th. Kleon Melville got Bethel’s consolation, four minutes into added-on time in the second half.

1976 Phoenix FC earned a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Police at the Police Barracks, St Joseph. Colin Williams found the back of the net for the lawmen in the 14th but Phoenix replied through veteran Lejandro Williams (22nd) and Kaleb Douglas (62nd).

Another team who rallied from a goal down to prevail 2-1 were WASA, in their home encounter against the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT ).

The home fans at the WASA Ground in St Joseph were silenced when Ishmael Daniel put UTT in front after 53 minutes but Dillon Peterson evened the scores in the 77th. And, in stoppage time, Phillip Nelson got his name on the scoresheet to guarantee full points for the hosts.

Other Results – League One (Saturday) At Frederick Settlement Recreation Ground, Caroni: CENTRAL 500 SP ART ANS (3) – Deon Flatts 35th; Donovan Derrick 37th; Josiah Grazette 78th vs HARLEM STR IKERS (1) – Akil London 48th.

At Diego Martin North Secondary School: PETIT VALLEY/DIEGO MART IN UNITED (4) – Eric Charles 10th; Kerwin Bonnette 21st; Karamo Samuel 59th; Ishaq Abdullah 89th vs MARABELLA FCC (1) – Keron Mason 80th.

At Youth Training Centre Ground, Arouca: PERSEVERANCE BALL RUNNERS (2) – Glenwell John; Kiedel Glasgow vs PR ISONS FC (1) – Ricardo Alleyne 23rd.

CHILDREN are very precious little beings who should be cherished, nurtured and protected even whilst they are still in their mother’s womb. But over the past two years or so, I have noticed a spiralling increase in incidents of child abuse globally.

Administering a couple doses of discipline to your children as they progress through their childhood is extremely important, particularly in the current environment where they can be easily influenced through technology and other elements in their external environment.

Abuse of any kind is not be practised neither tolerated particularly towards children.

Child abuse results from different points including physical, emotional or sexual.

Through documented research coupled with research conducted by the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN), environments within which there is a presence of abuse are clouded by elements of alcoholism/ substance abuse, anger, frustration and a number of other social ills likely to affect human comfort.

However, abusing children within those very environments, is totally unacceptable as the innocence and purity of children must never be taken advantage of.

Based on the various streams of work facilitated by the IWRN, the organisation is fully cognizant of the fact that parents, in particular single and unemployed mothers usually suffer tremendously due to their inability to access basic amenities which unfortunately does not allow for adequate family comfort.

Such discomfort we are told, often leads to increased mental frustration which are sometimes transferred on to young children in that environment either knowingly or unknowingly.

Constant levels of abuse towards children, contribute to the development of a troubled pathway to adulthood as the pain endured during the periods of abuse resonate in their heads for a lifetime in the absence of a sustained programme of counselling and healing which can sometimes be costly. All parents love their children dearly and would like them to have the best lives; however, during the nurturing phases, different things happen which create some dissonance in what is right.

Mistakes are made by everyone and whilst we understand that the birth of children may not always be a planned event, once they arrive in the world, they must be cared for and protected and not be abused.

Negative complaints relating to youths continuously emanate from many quarters forgetting that some of those negative behaviours are the outcomes of the many years of abuse and neglect which some were made to endure for a larger part of their life, and on becoming adults, they are yet to experience reconciliation.

Instead of blaming the youths, adults need to rethink and remember that they are role models for children and in so doing, our society would be reconfigured positively.

Registration for January/ March 2018 semester of The Educational Combo for eight-11-year-olds run until December 20.

Sandrine Rattan is a communications/branding consultant/author and president of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) Contact: thecorporatesuitett@gmail.

com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@ gmail.com or contact 283-0318.

West Indies have had numerous specialized slip fielders in the past, but Davis believes there is too much changing of personnel in the slip region. In the current series against England, West Indies have dropped a number of catches in the slip region and the outfield.

Davis said, “The slip fielding is not up to the level it should be, and I believe it is because there is nobody specializing there. You’re seeing different people in the slips. We saw a lot of (Jermaine) Blackwood in slips and then we saw Kieran Powell and we are seeing (Kyle) Hope.” Davis, Cricket Administrator at Queen’s Park, fielded in slip in the four Test matches he played for West Indies and was also a specialized slip fielder at Glamorgan when he played county cricket in England.

Davis says it is difficult when catches are dropped in the slip region after a fast bowler is constantly working on finding the edge of a batsmen.

“It is not only frustrating, it is painful (for a fast bowler).

Bowlers work on a batsmen and you are setting him up and you are looking to get the edge. For a catch to be dropped in the slip after you work on that hour after hour it is painful.” Davis says Australian Mark Taylor, Australian brothers Ian and Greg Chappell and the West Indies trio of Robin Bynoe, Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd are some of the best slip fielders he has ever seen.

He stressed that practice is key to improving slip fielding.

“It is practice, a lot of practice and taking plenty catches that is what they ought to be doing.”

Katwaroo is pursuing a second degree in visual arts at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, focusing on fine arts which delves more into painting, sculpting and drawing.

Her experiment with fabric began quite casually.

“It was only when I did a course in fabric surface design which dealt with screen printing and fabric painting, I got interested in fabric, their prints and colours and started thinking about designing my own.

Underneath, I just had this growing interest for handbags and then I settled on clutches. I didn’t really know how to sew, so I asked my mom to show me, she helped me and eventually I got the hang of it. I learned on an old-time sewing machine and from YouTube.” She also saved the money her mother gave her, towards purchasing material. Katwaroo also approached the Santa Cruz Green Market for a space to show off her creations and the business took off from there.

“The response I have received at the Green Market is overwhelming.

Sarah Jo Designs has a growing clientele from teens to the elderly. I don’t really use any specific material but at the same time, I use cloth rather than other types of material which can pollute the environment.

This is an upside to why the Green Market allowed me to sell with them.

“I love the Green Market, especially coming from an environmental background, their work towards making people more eco-conscious about preserving and protecting nature is exceptional. In terms of competition, I am the only person who is selling bags with them, so I add variety to what they offer as well.” Although she ventured into entrepreneurship because she could not find a job after gaining her first degree, Katwaroo is focussed on building her business full-time. Her goal is to also create high-end products with leather and heavier material.

She also produces necklaces, chokers and hair accessories.

“I wanted to create a catchy name but at the same time I did not want to restrict my company to just handbags, so I gave it a neutral name so I can always expand on products, mainly accessories.

“Not everyone can afford a brand-name handbag so I wanted to create something stylish, affordable and durable that people can wear to a high-end event or on a casual day out. All the prices are under $100 for handbags.

“A tote would take an hour to cut the cloth, line and sew. While a clutch would take between 30 and 45 minutes to make,” Katwaroo said.

“Even though it is authentic to print your material, it is very time-consuming as I did the course on fabric printing so I know what it entails, but I prefer to purchase my fabric at any local cloth stores.” Katwaroo comes from a family of five and her supporters inlcude her mother Sheila, older brothers Ricardo and Rawle, cousin Hannah, boyfriend Taran Bissessar, other family members and friends. “They would always give me constructive feedback and business tips.

“What motivates me as an entrepreneur is the great response I have been getting from the public.

I love to create things for people. It feels like I am giving them a part of myself with every handbag or accessory I create because a lot of effort and emotion goes into it.” Her advice to other innovatives? “Just start with whatever little you have. Everyone begins somewhere, you can talk to anyone who is established and they will tell you that they started small but the main idea is to begin putting yourself out there.” For more info: Instagram: @ sarahjodesigns, Facebook or sarah- katwaroo@hotmail.com