NEWS
Mom among three killed in south Trinidad
Gasparillo mother of two, Sue Ann Titus, 50, was killed early yesterday inside her home where her 82 year-old step-father discovered her semi-nude body with the throat slit. Titus, an administrative assistant employed with the Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL), was one of three persons killed in separate incidents within hours in south Trinidad. The two other victims are electrician Marvin Ravello, 41, of Samuel Cooper Road, Moruga and fisherman David Hinkson, 37, of Sunset Beach, Point Fortin. Ravello was killed in a driveby shooting while Hinkson was shot and killed outside his home, both on Wednesday night. In the latest killing in south, police believe that Titus knew her killer. Reports are that about 6.30 am step-father Horace Charles discovered Titus’s body in a pool of blood in the laundry area near the kitchen of the home located at San Fabian Road, Springland, Gasparillo. Her throat was slit and she was semi-nude. Read more…
Man slain hours after proposing to girlfriend
Hours after he proposed to marry his new girlfriend, fisherman David Hinkson was shot dead in front of his house at Sunset Beach, Point Fortin, on Wednesday night. The murder occurred a day before Hinkson, aka “Fatman”, was scheduled to appear at the Point Fortin Magistrates’ Court for maintenance of his three children from a previous relationship. He was a father of six. Hinkson, 37, suffered three gunshot wounds to his head, chest and abdomen and died on the spot. Read more…
PM on sons: I had a life long before public life
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday he has four children, two sons before he was married and two daughters after marriage. The question was raised by a reporter yesterday at the post-Cabinet news conference, at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. Following an Emancipation dinner at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, this year, a photograph was released by the PM's office, featuring Rowley; his wife, Sharon; his two daughters, Tonya and Sonel; and a young man who Rowley confirmed to be his son—Christopher Berthol. The Prime Minister, when questioned about Berthol yesterday, said he (Berthol) was with his mother. Rowley also has an older son, Garth Alleyne. Read more…
POLITICS
Rowley: All at risk from illegal weapons
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has warned that every citizen is potentially at risk from illegal weapons including some 1,600 bullets for military-grade rifles recently seized by the security services. His warning came at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, Port-of-Spain. “I wasn’t surprised but I was a little put out by it that even with the efforts we are making, both here and in Venezuela, that the criminal element is still probing and looking for weak spots to bring into our country what they consider to be marketable items. Arms and ammunition are very marketable in TT,” the Prime Minister said. He said the seizure showed that the security services are on the job. Read more…
Workers’ group seeks to oust PM
A new group, involving an Opposition Senator and a United National Congress political activist, and close to 100 workers marched around the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) yesterday demanding the removal of the Prime Minister. The group, the Stakeholders Movement, had to be cautioned by police for using loudspeakers and road blocking. They were steadfast, braving midday rain and walked single file outside the St Clair office as Prime Minister Keith Rowley chaired his weekly Cabinet meeting. On Wednesday, the organisation was granted permission to protest but it was not clear as to who the organisers were, but the participants were clear as to their purpose, demanding Rowley’s removal from public office. Read more…
Rowley: A hard year for T&T
This year has been very difficult so far for Trinidad and Tobago, says Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. Speaking at the post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, Rowley said the year was difficult for the Government because of the “changes of circumstances”. Read more…
BUSINESS
NEL records $80.4M profit
National Enterprises Ltd (NEL) has recorded a profit of $80.4 million for the quarter ended June 30. In the group’s consolidated interim financial statements for this period, chairman Jerry Hospedales indicated that NEL’s investee companies are all managing the risks and challenges posed by a global low growth economy which is becoming interconnected. Hospedales also said these companies are exploring investment opportunities to grow their businesses. Read more…
T&T getting first CNG maxi taxi
T&T’s first CNG maxi taxi is expected to make its debut by August 31. It is one of several developments expected over the next few weeks as NGC CNG, a subsidiary of the National Gas Company of T&T Limited, continues efforts to promote use of CNG as a fuel across the country. NGC CNG president Curtis Mohammed, who recently gave an update on the company’s programme during a CNG Kit Conversion Consultation said “the CNG business was creating approximately $850 million in economic activity, with a significant portion of that sum coming from conversion activity.” With 35 PTSC buses already using CNG and with growing support from the Association of Maxi Taxis of T&T (AMTTT), both significant users of diesel fuel, Mohammed said the public transportation industry is becoming a green industry, committed to reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality and the environment. Read more…
High garlic prices repelling consumers
Garlic, a non-negotiable part of most local dishes, is now topping the scales at $25 per pound in some supermarkets and up to $14 at some fresh markets. The pungent seasoning's prices are repelling some consumers but since the herb is regarded as necessary to a tasty meal, many customers said they are opting for a single or two cloves at a time and at a lesser cost. Cheaper garlic can be found at the fresh markets where the cloves are sold “loose” and are around $10 per pound, while bagged produce at the supermarkets tends to be costlier. Head of the Supermarkets Association of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Yunus Ibrahim, said yesterday while he was not aware that the prices of garlic, in particular, had seen such an increase, there were two factors that typically caused sharp rises in food prices. Read more…
REGIONAL
St Kitts-Nevis government hopeful that US FinCen advisory will be lifted soon
The St Kitts and Nevis government has been working to lift the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) advisory issued in 2014 on the grounds that the country’s citizenship by investment (CBI) programme was not properly regulated. The advisory further claimed that illicit persons gained access to the federation’s passports, which were used to bypass certain sanctions put in place by the United States and other countries against the Iranian regime. Mark Brantley, minister of foreign affairs, said that, although many of the sanctions have been lifted, St Kitts and Nevis has also made drastic changes to the programme. Read more…
Good As GOLD - Two Down, One To Go
There, will never be another like him, and as the Jamaican sprinter closed another chapter of a book coated in gold, he became the first in what, for him, was also a last. In his final individual Olympic appearance, Bolt crowned his legacy with a 19.78 win in the men's 200m final inside a packed Olympic Stadium. It was his sixth straight gold and 23rd straight win in the 200m at a major championship, lifting his overall gold-medal tally to eight - one behind Carl Lewis. That's sure to annoy him, but he will get his chance to change that today in the 4x100m final. Bolt was certainly in a good mood at the start - a samba here and a clear message to the TV cameras. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Lochte, Brazil police differ on robbery story
A decorated American Olympian says he and three of his teammates were robbed at gunpoint. Brazilian police say that's not true. Who's right? After days of confusion about what happened to Ryan Lochte, James Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz, there's now closed-circuit TV footage of much of the incident early Sunday at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro. Bentz and Conger gave statements Thursday denying having been victims of a robbery and said the version of events presented by Lochte was not true, Rio's civil police said. Read more…
Photos show IS militants fleeing Manbij with 'human shields'
19th August 2016