NEWS
‘Innocent victim’ to be cremated
Eric Ganesh, 18, is expected to be cremated tomorrow after a funeral at his family’s home at St Charles Village in Princes Town. The service is scheduled to start at 9.30 am. Afterwards the body will be taken to the Shore of Peace Cremation Site (Mosquito Creek) in La Romaine. On Saturday at about 10.35 pm, a gunman shot and killed Ganesh at his friend’s graphics shop, next door to Ganesh’s home. Ganesh and his friend were putting stickers on a motorbike when the unknown man entered the yard. Police said the man pointed a gun at them and began shooting. Read more here
2 Trinis to receive Queen’s Young Leaders Award
Two T&T nationals are among a group of young people across the Commonwealth who will receive awards from Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, in London later this month. Benedict Bryan and Jean-Claude Cournand were selected to receive a Queen’s Young Leaders Award on June 26, according to a release. The awards recognise the work that young people from across the Commonwealth are doing to transform lives in their community and beyond. Read more here
WASA worker charged with murder of McDonald's manager
A WASA employee has been charged with the murder of Ashmeed Mohammed, manager of the Cipriani Boulevard, Port of Spain branch of McDonald's. Mohammed was shot and killed at his workplace on the night of May 21. Read more here
POLITICS
Khan: Govt cancer treatment plan a ‘rubbish idea’
Former health minister Dr Fuad Khan has described the decision to build a linear accelerator (LINAC) cancer treatment facility in St James as a “backward step,” saying government should have moved to complete the national oncology centre at the Mount Hope Medical Sciences Complex. Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony on Sunday, Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh said the machine would benefit the population by offering more targeted treatment for some tumours. Read more here
Probe to end soon
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi expects the probe of the Sport Ministry’s controversial $150,000 settlement to a former employee to be concluded “quite imminently.” Al-Rawi gave the update in the Senate yesterday where he also said there’s no non-disclosure agreement “per se” on the settlement. Al-Rawi was responding to UNC Senator Wade Mark’s queries on the matter. In March, then Sport Minister Darryl Smith was spotlighted after UNC MP Barry Padarath queried a $150,000 settlement to a former ministry employee. Read more here
BUSINESS
Local trade mission heads to Colombia
Colombia is open to foreign investors and trade, that country’s Ambassador to T&T Alfonso Múnera said yesterday. “Forget about violence in Colombia, there is violence everywhere. Colombia is a very peaceful country with a very, very stable economy. It has a very democratic government,” he said. “We have a rich agricultural sector and we have a very dynamic manufacturing sector. Also, we have an open economy. Everyone is welcome to do business in Colombia.” Read more here
Are NIF-backed bonds a winner?
At a public meeting in Barataria last Thursday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced a major shift in the Government’s thinking with regard to the monetisation of the assets of CL Financial, the recipient of a $23 billion bailout starting in the first quarter of 2009. Read more here
REGIONAL
New JCF Coming - Drafting Of Modern Police Service Law Advanced, Says Chang
The drafting of legislation to introduce a new police service is far advanced and the measure is slated for tabling in Parliament during the current legislative year. National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, who made the announcement in Gordon House yesterday, said that the proposed new law would be underpinned by the constitutional protection now afforded to the Police Service Commission. Chang noted that throughout the years, members of the public have lost confidence in the Jamaica Constabulary Force for several reasons. He said that the Government was taking a holistic approach to transforming the police force, this year, to an efficient and effective service. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Lingering questions from the Trump-Kim summit
The summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un undeniably deserved the overused epithet "historic." Hopes for peace were palpable as they radiated out of Singapore. Given the real fears just six months ago that the US and North Korea were heading for a horrendous war amid Trump's "fire and fury" rhetoric and Kim's nuclear tests, that is a significant achievement in itself. But the almost dreamlike encounter between the President of the United States and the supreme leader of the world's most repressive state ended with mounting questions about what actually had been achieved, who had won most, and what will happen next. Read more here
Yemen war: Saudi-backed forces begin assault on Hudaydah port
13th June 2018