Daily Brief - Thursday 9th February, 2017

NEWS

Fatal Dose

An 11 month old baby girl was fed sleep medication in her tea to assist her in falling asleep. The child slipped into a coma and after scans revealed she was brain dead, the plugs to the machines keeping her alive at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope, were pulled and she died on Monday - six days after the incident. The baby who loved with her young parents in Egypt Village, spent six days at the Children’s Hospital, before being declared brain dead on Monday. On January 31, the baby’s young parents went to a pharmacy in Chaguanas and purchased a sleeping drug identified as melatonin with the intention of using the drop in the baby’s formula to assist her in sleeping. Newsday understands that at 7.30 pm on January 31, the father added the melatonin to the baby’s milk and fed his daughter. At 8 pm, the child fell asleep, much to her parents’ relief as she was experiencing trouble sleeping. Half an hour later, when the mother went to check on her baby, the child was not on the bed. Read more here

Judge to decide if NCC collects

A release dated February 7, but issued yesterday, said the matter will be heard today before Justice Vasheist Kokaram in the Port-of-Spain High Court at 12.30 pm. The Panorama semifinals for small, medium and large bands categories are scheduled to take place at Queen's Park Savannah on Sunday from 9 am. The move by Gadsby-Dolly was seen as unprecedented, since the competition is organised and produced by Pan Trinbago. However, it came in the wake of several questions about the organisation's financial accountability. Read more here

KFC shooting: teen in court today

A 19-year-old male is expected to appear before a Port of Spain magistrate today following a shooting on Tuesday night outside the Independence Square, Port of Spain, branch of KFC. According to police reports, around 8.10 p.m., the victim, only identified as Joseph from Trou Macaque, Laventille, was standing on the road when he observed a man known to him. There was a confrontation between the two, during which a loud explosion was heard. Joseph then felt a burning sensation to his abdomen and observed the assailant, from upper Nelson Street, Port of Spain, attempting to flee the scene on foot. Read more here

 

POLITICS

Senate passes Procurement Bill

Government succeeded in passing the long awaited Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property (Amendment) Bill 2016 in the Senate around 9.30 pm on Tuesday. In concluding debate on the Bill prior to its passage, Finance Minister Colm Imbert dismissed claims from Opposition Senator Wade Mark that the amendments in the legislation were not the position of the United National Congress (UNC). Imbert, who was the chairman of the joint select committee (JSC) which dealt with the Procurement Bill, said the minutes of the fifth meeting of the committee clearly showed that Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie (one of two Opposition parliamentarians on the JSC) was in total support of the decision to change the terms of office for the procurement regulator and people working under the regulator. He said Mark would have seen this had he spent “two minutes” to read the minutes of that meeting instead of the minutes of the fourth meeting of the JSC. Imbert said Tewarie’s only objection was to the proposal of a review board to assess any issues arising with the regulator in the conduct of his duties. Read more here

T&T almost a Barbaric Society

In terms of crime, T&T is almost a barbaric society due to technology and domestic violence crimes, says Police Service Commission chairman Dr Maria-Therese Gomes. Gomes made the comment while appearing before Parliament's Joint Select Committee yesterday. She said the opportunity for the JSC examination was very timely, since the PSC was acutely aware of existing crime and increasing fear and insecurity in the public domain. Gomes said T&T has technology that "has galloped" but added that the authorities didn't have "what people see on TV to solve crime easily." She said many things are needed, from benchmarking and forensic analysis to police training and the Police Academy. But she said the PSC has limited staff. Read more here

PNM women: 30-second sound bite doesn’t warrant apology

Prime Minister Dr Keith ­Rowley offered advice that he would have given to his own daughters, says the People’s National Movement (PNM) Women’s League. In defence of their political ­leader, the PNM Women’s League, which is chaired by Government Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, issued a release yesterday, stating the Prime Minister’s “30-second sound bite” does not warrant an apology. And while the PNM Women’s League defended and ­supported its leader, the Opposition’s ­United National Congress (UNC) ­Women’s Arm insisted Rowley must ­apologise. “The Prime Minister and Attorney General, as elected representatives, are responsible for public safety. Domestic violence is a crime, a public matter, a social problem. The State’s primary responsibility is to protect all citizens, not pick and choose, not profit from crime. UNC Women’s Arm supports the call for a retraction of the statement and an apology from the Prime Minister,” stated the UNC Women’s Arm in a release. Read more here

 

BUSINESS

Phoenix Gas hosts Cuban delegates

Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited recently hosted a delegation of executives from Union Cuba Petroleo (CUPET). In a statement, the company said a delegation, accompanied by Guillermo Vasquez Moreno, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Trinidad and Tobago, met with senior officials of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) on January 25. The statement said that one of the main topics of discussion at the meeting was the strengthening of energy relations between the two countries. The CUPET executives accepted an invitation from Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited for a reciprocal visit to Trinidad following the attendance of a delegation led by Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee- Scoon, of Trade and Industry from Trinidad and Tobago to the Havana International Fair 2016. Among the delegation were various local energy sector interests. Read more here

RBC: New card feeto help forex shortage

RBC Royal Bank (T&T) has told its customers that it is imposing a 0.25 per cent transaction fee on international payments made by RBC-issued credit cards "to assist in managing limited foreign exchange supplies." The bank notified its customers on Monday that it intends to introduce new fees on some accounts and increase fees on others by March 27. Responding to a complaint from a bank customer on Tuesday, RBC Royal Bank explained: "Due to the challenges the Trinidad and Tobago market has been experiencing with the supply of USD foreign currency a fee will be instituted for cross-border spending which will assist with managing limited foreign exchange supplies. "As a responsible bank, we are obligated to put measures in place that are aligned to the Central Bank of T&T," RBC said, in apparent reference to the increasing tightness in the supply of foreign exchange to local customers. That tightness has been caused by the sharp decline in the price and production of T&T's main petrochemical exports in the last two years. Read more here

Gas dealers want quick warning

President of the Petroleum Dealers Association Robin Naraynsingh is calling on the Ministry of Energy to be proactive in advising the public when incidents of fuel contamination occur. Naraynsingh said yesterday the association was disappointed as the ministry did not advise the public on the situation. On Tuesday, eight service station from several areas around the country received fuel contaminated with water. The water was removed by National Petroleum (NP) later that evening. The affected areas were Maraval, Piarco, Couva, Chaguanas, St Helena, Curepe and D’Abadie. Contamination on large scale. Read more here

 

REGIONAL

'Talk Time Over!' ... Domestic Violence Crackdown

Amid a slew of deadly attacks against women and young girls, the Andrew Holness administration has unveiled a number of measures that are to form part of a get-tough campaign against domestic violence. Declaring that the time for talk is over, Holness, the prime minister, and his attorney general, Marlene Malahoo Forte, yesterday announced that as part of the measures, the police have been directed to start detaining "aggressors" in "live and imminent" domestic violence flare-ups as part of their attempts to de-escalate the situation. Holness also directed that starting Monday, tints must be removed from all registered taxis and other public passenger vehicles and signalled that the police would begin to crack down on 'robot', or illegal, taxis. Read more here

Riot police use teargas to disperse protestors in Dominica

A peaceful protest rally against Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit during the day on Tuesday in Dominica began to deteriorate as night fell and businesses were vandalized, prompting a vigorous response by security forces in full riot gear. The police used teargas in an attempt to disperse the thousands of protestors and reportedly deployed snipers on key rooftops. The street protests began last Thursday in the capital Roseau and then escalated on Tuesday with gunshots heard and fires burning. The protests against the Skerrit government have increased rapidly, following disclosure of a series of interrelated scandals involving the issue of Dominican diplomatic passports to a number of questionable individuals, including an Iranian national wanted on sanctions evasion charges. Skerrit has denied selling diplomatic passports to foreign nationals. Read more here

 

INTERNATIONAL

Why Trump seeks to scare where other presidents soothed

President Donald Trump, concerned his travel ban could be stopped cold in the judicial branch after a less-than-stellar rollout, is leaning into fear, attempting to ratchet up terror concerns by telling audiences that he has learned considerably more about terror since taking office last month. Trump and his top aides are well aware that his travel ban would benefit from public approval, so Trump made the case Wednesday that he knows more about terrorism than most. He suggested that Americans -- at least those who don't get classified briefings -- don't understand the terror threat against the United States. "Terrorism is a tremendous threat, far greater than people in our country understand," Trump told a gathering of sheriffs in a Washington hotel. Read more here

Kenyan closure of Dadaab refugee camp blocked by high court

The High Court in Kenya has blocked the government's bid to close the largest refugee camp in the world. A directive to shut the Dadaab camp and forcibly repatriate about 260,000 Somali refugees living there was issued last year. The deadline for its closure had been extended until May, but a high court judge ruled the decision was tantamount to an act of group persecution. The government had argued it was an issue of security. It said that attacks on its soil by the Somalia-based al-Shabab group had been planned in the camp. Read more here

 

9th February 2017

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