NEWS
Cops seek to forfeit over $2.5 million in seized currencies
Forfeiture proceedings have started against three people from Debe after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard SC concluded that there was sufficient evidence to proceed under the Proceeds of Crime Act provisions. A police statement on Thursday recalled that on June 9 and 11, 2021, Financial Investigations Branch (FIB) and the Customs and Excise Division members, in a joint operation, searched the premises of Varune Arjoon, Shelly Ann Ramlochan and Vedesh Maharaj at Gandhi Village. The officers allegedly found TT $2,146,103, US $58,194, Can $1,265, and EC $245, along with a large quantity of uncustomed alcohol and 47 cans of pepper spray at various locations within the house. The officers also allegedly found a taser and two guns with 28 rounds of 9 mm ammunition in a vehicle with a quantity of cash. Read more here
Judge recuses herself from TTRA case... rejects PSA claims of bias due to marriage
High Court Judge Betsy-Ann Lambert-Peterson has agreed to recuse herself from a lawsuit over the Government’s plan to introduce the long-touted T&T Revenue Authority (TTRA). Having twice rejected calls from Public Services Association (PSA) member and customs officer Terrisa Dhoray to recuse herself from the case, Justice Lambert-Peterson conceded after hearing submissions during a hearing yesterday morning. While Justice Lambert-Peterson rejected Dhoray’s allegations over her potential bias due to her marriage, she noted that her decision was based on the need to preserve public trust and confidence in the Judiciary. “I am not prepared to have the administration of justice trampled on. I am not going to be a party to it to persuade anyone that the court will be impartial or unbiased,” she said. Read more here
POLITICS
OUT OF ORDER – court slams PM, MP over comments on EMBD case
Purile and vulgar were the descriptions given by three judges of the Court of Appeal of recent statements made by Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal on a political platform on Labour Day. Moonilal was responding to statements made by the Prime Minister at a press conference days before when he questioned if Dr Rowley was “in cahoots” with the judges and was “putting pressure” on them in the appeal involving the Estate Management Business Development Company Ltd’s (EMBD) multi-million-dollar cartel claim against him and a group of contractors. Read more here
Transportation minister says Jamaica can be “cash free”
Jamaica’s Transportation Minister says the country can become a “crash free” society, as the power lies in all road users to ensure safety on the roadways. Transport Minister Daryl Vaz made the statement as he delivered the keynote address at a defensive driving workshop in the Corporate Area on Wednesday. “Let us advocate for responsible driving from both private and public motorists, that persons obey the Road Traffic Act and Regulations, embrace technology, and demand safer vehicles,” he said. The event, held as part of Road Safety Awareness Month activities in June, was designed to train and equip drivers with the requisite knowledge and skills to avoid crashes. Vaz also welcomed the staging of the Defensive Driving Workshop noting that it not only facilitated theoretical discussions but provided practical solutions to ensure safer and more responsible road use. “It serves as a powerful platform to raise awareness and reaffirm the collective commitment to reduce crashes and save lives,” he noted. Read more here
BUSINESS
Food insecurity decreases by 10% in English-speaking Caribbean
In the English-speaking Caribbean, there are 3.7 million people – or 52 per cent of the population – who remain food-insecure. But this is a ten per cent decrease compared to a survey done last August. The food security and livelihoods survey was done by the World Food Programme and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) (WFP Caribbean). Last year's survey underscored growing financial hardship and challenges because of rising cost of living in the aftermath of the covid19 pandemic, a release from WFP Caribbean said on Monday. The survey also showed 98 per cent of respondents reported high food prices in the three months before the survey – the highest level reported since the first survey in 2020. Read more here
Bacchus: T&T to house all critical data on island
Digital Transformation Minister Hassel Bacchus says given this country’s current pivot toward the provision of e-services, any interruption of services constitutes a significant risk to service delivery, public confidence and the credibility of the public sector. Therefore, Bacchus said a strategic decision has been made that all of this country’s critical data must be housed on island. “Firstly, we intend to design and build a Tier 4 data centre that will house sensitive Government data in a dedicated Government cloud,” he said. Read more here
REGIONAL
Massive support imminent for 5,000 existing, prospective entrepreneurs
Approximately 5,000 individuals across the country are expected to benefit this year from the Sustainable Livelihood Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) programme under the current administration, after it was re-designed to give out smaller grants through a better accountability system. The grants under the SLED programme will be part of over $1.8 billion in grants that are being injected back into small businesses across the country. This was according to Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, during an interview, on Wednesday, when he addressed issues regarding backlogs of grants for small businesses. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Thailand: Rescuers amputate leg of woman stuck in travellator
A woman who got stuck in an travelator in Bangkok's Don Mueang airport had to have her leg amputated by rescuers. Her son said the family was "shocked" and worried about her mental health after the surgery was carried out on Thursday evening. The 57-year-old's leg got stuck on Thursday morning after she tripped over her suitcase while on her way to board a flight, local media said. "My mother's morale is quite concerning," her son wrote on Facebook. "We got to speak to her a bit before and after the operation... Even though she showed her strength through facial expression and tone of voice, we knew that deep down she was broken because she suddenly lost a leg," Kit Kittirattana added. "Our family knows very well that we can neither make her leg work like before, nor can we bring back the same life she had lived," he wrote. Pictures online showed the woman - who has not been named - in a sitting position with her left leg wedged underneath the travelator. Read more here
30th June 2023