NEWS
Third body fished out Usine Ste Madeleine pond
The Usine Ste Madeleine pond once nourished the now-defunct sugarcane plantation but is now being used as a pool of death for murderers. Within the last four months, Southern Division police were burdened with the murders of three people. Police yesterday found the latest victim, a decomposing body of a man dumped inside the pond. The unidentified man was wrapped in plastic and linoleum and placed inside garbage bags. Both the hands and feet were bound with wire and a piece of cloth wrapped around his neck. Read more here
Cedros fishermen back home today from Venezuela
After three days of worry and fear, Cedros housewife Heermatie Sankar yesterday breathe a sigh of relief after receiving news that her husband, son and another fisherman were released and are on their way home from Venezuela. “I feel happy that they come out, but I just waiting to see them,” said Sankar in a telephone interview. She said she has not spoken to either her husband or son, but someone called her from Venezuela with the good news. “They out and they okay. Thank God for that. So, I think they suppose to be coming home tomorrow, thank God.” Read more here
LGBTQ+ community rises up against hate today
There will be a stand against hate outside the Parliament today when a large show of force is expected in support of the gay community. The Alliance for Justice and Diversity (AJD) has invited all who believe that diverse groups need to share the nation of Trinidad and Tobago to stand with them outside Parliament at the International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain, today at 12.30 p.m. Read more here
POLITICS
Smith sex allegations damning
Princes Town MP Barry Padarath says details revealed over the allegations of sexual harassment by Sport Minister Minister Darryl Smith in a recent newspaper story were both “damning and damaging” and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi is allegedly part of a cover up of the incident. Padarath in a release commented on a newspaper front page story of April 8 with the headline “Darryl Exposed” about a witness statement reported from Smith’s former personal secretary alleging sexual harassment against the sports minister. Read more here
Ramadhar on CA scandal: COP was never involved in data harvesting
Although former leader of the Congress of the People (COP), Prakash Ramadhar has categorically denied any involvement with the data mining company Cambridge Analytica (CA), he has admitted to having interactions with its parent company SCL. Confirming this during a press conference at his constituency office in St. Augustine on Saturday Ramadhar declared the COP had not been involved in any data harvesting/procurement of personal information of electors in the run-up to the 2015 general election. Read more here
PM launches charity golf classic
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley launched the 2018 edition of the Prime Minister’s Charity Golf Classic on Saturday at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s. The tournament, which was first held in 1997, generated close to $400,000 at last year’s event. Throughout 2017 the charity disbursed a total of $489,153 which the organisation distributed to many deserving causes and individuals throughout Trinidad and Tobago and the region. Read more here
BUSINESS
CCCR meets with FCC on regional resilience
Members of the Commission on Caribbean Communications Resilience (CCCR) has met with United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) representatives to discuss new ways to increase the resilience of regional communications infrastructure to extreme natural events. The CCCR was formed after the devastation of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season in the Caribbean, to investigate the factors that led to connectivity outages, communications infrastructure failures and restoration delays in the Caribbean. It is made up of subject matter experts from internet, technical and academic bodies, as well as representatives from the Internet and telecommunications industry representatives. Read more here
Stocks flat despite lower earnings
This week, we at Bourse review the performance of the local equity market for the first quarter (Q1) of 2018. Results revealed broad-based declines in earnings across most stocks and sectors. Q1 2018 brought with it continued declines in the value of Trinidad and Tobago stocks, while cross-listed stocks advanced. Overall, the Trinidad and Tobago Composite Index (TTCI) remained relatively flat. Local Market Review Read more here
REGIONAL
Deadly Momster - Clarendon Woman Awaits Sentencing After Pleading Guilty To Beating 2-Y-O Daughter To Death
A Clarendon mother who used a piece of board to beat her two-year-old daughter to death because the child defecated on herself will have to wait another five weeks to know her punishment. Delreta Smith and her common-law husband, Dingwall Green, were arrested and charged with murder in connection with the gruesome killing of toddler Sherene Smith in Gordon Wood, Clarendon, in February 2006. A post-mortem report, which is among the evidence in the case, revealed that the two-year-old had blood in both kidneys and laceration to the posterior wall of the small intestine. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Crises, confrontations envelop Trump at home and abroad
Donald Trump always strives to command center stage, but the pugilistic American President is now embroiled in so many escalating global and domestic tests of will, it's becoming impossible to keep count. Unrestrained and lashing out at enemies at home and abroad, Trump is increasingly exporting the turbulence that has exhausted Washington. Yet another pivotal week for the Trump presidency opens on Monday with top officials gathering under the direction of new national security adviser John Bolton to discuss how to respond to a chemical weapons attack in Syria with the world on edge over a potential strike. Read more here
Syria conflict: Russia says no evidence of Douma chemical attack
9th April 2018