NEWS
Gone In A Blink
A Cedros mother of four wept hysterically yesterday as she recalled the horror of losing her only daughter who, in the blink of an eye, was gone, drowned during a family outing at Columbus Bay in Cedros on Sunday. Natalia Samuel is the third child to drown within the past month in separate circumstances. Through her sobs, mother of four Basdaye Lall-Ragoo yesterday said she could not believe that despite the quick work of three doctors, who happened to be at the beach at the time Natalia’s limp body was pulled out of the water, she still did not survive. The girl, one half of a twin, was pronounced dead at the Pt Fortin Area Hospital. “It was the police who came to the beach and carried us in a jeep to the Cedros Health Centre. There were no doctors there or anyone else who could have helped my child. We had to wait 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive to take us to Point Fortin Hospital. By that time, ‘mama’ was gone,” Lall-Ragoo said. Read more here
Drivers warned to take it easy
On Friday Yvonne Alleyne will celebrate her 77th birthday. However, there may be little to no celebrations as she now has to plan the funeral for her son, Terrence “Breezy” Alleyne, who was killed along with wrecker driver Shazard Khan in an accident on Sunday. Yesterday, Alleyne said her son, a 53-year-old Customs and Excise officer with nine children ranging in ages from five to 31, was a quiet man who loved smiling. Speaking with the media at the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James, Alleyne, flanked by her granddaughters Afi and Nakita Alleyne, said she saw her son two days before he died, as he regularly visited her at her Trnicity home. Read more here
Man shot dead, relative wounded after beach lime
A Gasparillo mason was shot dead and his brother-in-law critically injured as they were returning home from a beach lime on Sunday night. Kervin Williams, 26, was found dead on the roadway at Caratal Road. His brother-in-law, Quacy Straker, was lying inside the vehicle they were in at Lightbourne Trace, a short distance away. Read more here
POLITICS
Minister orders probe into lewd SRP
Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon yesterday ordered an investigation into the conduct of a Special Reserve Police (SRP) constable whose lewd photos were uploaded and went viral on social media over the weekend. The officer who is assigned to the Transit Police is seen in three photos, wearing her uniform and posing in compromising positions. Dillon told Newsday that he has asked for a full report which will guide the Ministry on whatever decision is taken on the future of the officer. Pressed to comment further, Dillon said he could not pre-judge the outcome of the probe. The officer, Newsday was told, could be sent on leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Read more here
Duke urges Govt to act on cyber laws
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is being urged to introduce legislation to protect citizens from the backlash of personal information and compromising photos being leaked on social media platforms. The call comes from Public Services Association president and Tobago House of Assembly Minority leader Watson Duke, who said it was grossly unfair what members of the public had to endure after such incidents. “I am hereby calling upon the executive of the Government of T&T, led by Dr. Keith Christopher Rowley, to do the honourable thing and enact law to protect citizens against abuse on social media. Read more here
Dillon: We are working on changes
National Security Minister Edmund Dillon has said it costs the State $350 to $400 a day to keep a detainee at the Aripo Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) and the ministry is working to clear the number of foreigners currently kept there. However, Dillon said there are many challenges in dealing with cases as some of the detainees do not have travel documents and authorities have no idea of their record. Asked about African national Elhadj Abass Gassama, who has been detained at the IDC for four years, Dillon said, “There must be a reason for that, if they are there for four years, one it could be they don't have any travel document because most them either they destroy their travel document because they come in here illegally,” he said. Read more here
BUSINESS
UTC partners with Heroes Foundation
Nine students from Woodbrook Secondary School recently celebrated their graduation from the Heroes Foundation Big Brothers, Big Sisters Programme in partnership with the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC). The ceremony for the mentors known as “Bigs” and the mentees called “Littles”, took place recently at the UTC’s head office in Port-of-Spain and marked the culmination of the Corpora- tion’s second year of participation in the Heroes’ Corporate Workplace Mentoring Programme. Heroes Foundation is a non-profit organization that was established in Trinidad and Tobago in 2002 with the aim of creating an avenue to meet the developmental needs of the youths by encouraging them to foster positive behaviors that would improve and build relationships in their homes and communities. Read more here
More business groups condemn Roget
Several labour and private sector associations have expressed their disappointment about calls made by president of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) Ancel Roget for citizens to boycott businesses owned by the “one per cent” in T&T. This comes on the heels of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s call for labour leaders to acknowledge the reality and outcomes of T&T’s “straitened circumstances” and return to the tripartite approach rather than pursue “threats, finger pointing and insults.” Speaking to the media following a march through Port-of-Spain on Friday, Roget said it was time that the public understand the power they have and choose not to support the “one per cent.” Read more here
Chicken shortage blamed on bad weather
Tropical Storm Bret has passed, but seven weeks later locals are still feeling the impact. Imam Rasheed Karim, president of the Pluck Shop Association, is blaming the bad weather for the latest increase in chicken prices. Read more here
REGIONAL
St Lucia PM discusses the problem of increased crime
On Friday, the prime minister of Saint Lucia, Allen Chastanet, discussed the crime situation in the island and the Leahy Law sanctions, as well as his approach to tourism generally, in an exclusive interview with Caribbean News Now. When asked, in the context of his push for increased tourism, how he reconciled the need to bring in more tourists with the obvious deterrent to coming, namely, the crime situation, which has escalated this year, and how he plans to deal with that, Chastanet dealt first of all with the underlying economic factors. Read more here
McLeod's Spark - Hurdler Lifts Jamaican Spirits With World Champs Gold
Moments after adding the World 110m hurdles title to the Olympic crown he won in Rio last year, Omar McLeod not only dedicated his win to Usain Bolt's legacy, but also noted that he is already thinking about next season's challenges - the 100m and 200m. McLeod, flag draped across his torso, underlined that he was determined to lift the gloomy mood in the Jamaican team camp following Usain Bolt's third-place finish in the final individual race of his career and Elaine Thompson's surprising fifth-place finish - both in the 100m event. "The mood was very daunting; everybody's face was down and I felt it, I took it upon myself to really change that. I wanted to bring the spark back because there is still hope," McLeod stated, talking almost as fast as his hurdling. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Kenya election 2017: President Kenyatta urges peaceful vote
Police hunt man who knocked woman in front of London bus
British police released dramatic video footage Tuesday appearing to show a jogger pushing a woman into the path of an oncoming London bus. The footage of the incident, which took place on the morning of Friday May 5, shows the 33-year-old victim walking across Putney Bridge in southwest London when a male jogger appears to knock her into the road, forcing a bus to swerve to avoid her. Police said the victim received minor injuries and that passengers on the bus came to her aid. The jogger returned 15 minutes later as he made his way back across the bridge but did not acknowledge the victim when she attempted to speak with him, according to police. Read more here
8th August 2017