NEWS
Spare My Friend
Hours before teenaged students Daniel Hall and his close friend Stephan Singh were murdered on Tuesday, Hall had a frank discussion with one of his associates from a gang, pleading with him not to implicate Singh in the fire-bombing of a vehicle. Hall’s discussion with the gang member was recorded in a voice message on WhatsApp and a copy of that recording was passed on by a civilian, to police investigating the murders of Hall and Singh. Police sources confirmed that a car was fire-bombed in Tunapuna last Saturday but added that the owner of the car is not linked to any gang activities. The search continued last night for suspects who have been identified in the murders of the schoolboys. A party of officers led by Acting Inspector Vetus Hernandez and including Sgt Rennie Katwaroo were following certain leads last evening. Read more...
New phone system for prison inmates
Inmates at the nation’s prisons can now make outgoing calls to relatives and friends locally and abroad. Prison officers at the Golden Grove Prison received training in the Inmate Calling Solutions (ICS) to monitor the inmates’ calls and manage the system. So far some 300 inmates at the Remand Yard in Golden Grove Prison and at the Maximum Security Prison have registered with the programme. Phones have been placed in both prisons in the hallways where the inmates have access to spend their air-time. There is none at the Port-of-Spain State Prison as yet. Read more...
Have You Seen Him?
Police believe that Ronald Bissoo, the man pictured on today's front page, can help them with information that can solve the case involving mother of three Rachael Chadee who was beaten and doused with acid in an attack at her home in La Romaine on Monday. A photograph was provided by the police, who asked that anyone knowing Bissoo's whereabouts should contact them. Read more...
POLITICS
End the blame game
Education Minister Anthony Garcia yesterday called on parents and teachers to stop playing the blame game when it comes to student delinquency and lawlessness in schools and work together to give much needed guidance to the nation’s children. He made the call in reaction the murders of schoolboys Daniel Hall and Stephan Singh, who were shot dead on Tuesday in a track off St John’s Road, St Augustine. Hall was a student at Aranjuez North Secondary School while Singh attended Trinity East College. The latter was buried yesterday following a funeral service at his Cunupia home. Their murders come just weeks after the deaths of two Success Laventille Secondary students, Mark Richards and Denilson Smith, who were shot dead in Laventille after being pulled out of a PH (private hire) taxi. “It is a tragedy to all of us and we must be very concerned about it. When I heard about it I was troubled because I feel that a lot of our children need guidance, and we have to do everything in our power to ensure that they get that guidance because if they don’t get the nurturing... Read more...
‘VAT violators can face legal action’
Businesses which fail to adjust their prices to Government’s new 12.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) are running afoul of the VAT Act and according to Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) can institute legal action against them. Since the new VAT regime kicked in on February 1, the Consumer Affairs Division has received many reports of supermarkets, stores and hardwares’ negligence in adjusting their prices, especially decreasing the cost of items from 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent. Gopee-Scoon told reporters on Wednesday, the Consumer Affairs Division was liaising directly with businesses to assist with price adjustments as they were in a transitional period. Read more...
Fuad to take legal action against police
Fuad Abu Bakr, leader of the New National Vision (NNV) political party and son of 1990 coup leader Yasin Abu Bakr, said he plans to take legal action against the police following his detention on Wednesday night over reports that his pick-up, TCK 1990, was stolen. When the police realised the vehicle was not stolen, Bakr was released without charge amidst a few apologies that the Police Service information database was not very reliant as it turned out the number plates on Bakr's pick-up had been duplicated. Speaking with reporters yesterday shortly after he filed an official complaint at Besson Street Police Station, Bakr said: “I feel that as a citizen my rights were violated...and as a taxpayer, and to be abused in a most ridiculous manner was like...” Read more...
BUSINESS
Honda cars being recalled
All owners of Honda vehicles are being told to have their cars checked for defective inflators which deploy the air bags. For the last six months, Honda has been placing advertisements in the daily newspapers to highlight the recall on vehicles for immediate attention, at no cost to the owner. In a brief interview yesterday at one the Honda showroom on Richmond Street in Port-of- Spain, Customer Care and Service Manager Joel Penco stated that one of their main suppliers, ‘Takata’ for Honda, has accepted that there were some possible defects in some of the inflators in the air bags, they manufactured. Penco explained that the inflators in the vehicle deploy air bags in over pressured, humid and tropical climates like Trinidad and Tobago. He said some of the affected models include the Honda Accord 2001-2007, Honda Civic 2012, Honda CR-V 2013- 2014, Honda City 2009-2013, Honda Fit 2002-2013 to name a few. “We feel obligated to seek the safety and security of our customers so we have decided to allow Honda to undertake this exercise to check all vehicles’ we picked may have been exposed to this manufacture concern,” he said. Read more...
Deep Recession
T&T is going in a deep recession from which it is not likely to recover until 2018. That was the economic forecast made by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne when he addressed a breakfast seminar hosted by the Human Resource Management Association of T&T (HRMATT) and the Trinidad Hilton and Conference Centre. Browne urged participants at the seminar, which had as its theme, Finding Solutions to T&T’s Chronic Poor Work Ethic Culture, not to waste the opportunities presented by a recessionary period. “Whether it has been defined or not, we are in a recession. It is going to be a deep one,” he said. Read more...
WIN Communications in trouble
Less than a year after the death of media mogul Mohan Jaikaran, the company that he built is on the verge of shutting down. Jaikaran's daughter, Shantel, and her mother, Indra, made the announcement on its television station WINTV. However, they gave no details regarding problems at the media company. The mother and daughter held hands as they appealed to the public to support them as they fight to save the company, WIN Communication Limited. Read more...
REGIONAL
Caribbean economies experience 'mixed fortunes' in 'topsy-turvy' external environment
St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and the Turks and Caicos Islands showed 4 percent growth, due to improved tourism arrivals and increased tourism related construction, while the region's economic powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago grew by just 0.2 percent due to weaker oil and gas prices. That's according to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)'s Economic Review for 2015 and Outlook for 2016, delivered on Wednesday at its headquarters in Barbados. The report struck familiar themes and again pressed for urgent, meaningful policy reform in the region that includes labour market reform, private sector led-growth, deeper regional integration and governments to act primarily as efficient regulators. Read more...
Ja Goes Green - JLP Prosperity Message Trumps Ruling Party
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has rebounded from a turbulent four years to defy great political odds and seize the win in the nation's 17th general election. When the dust settled after an incident-filled day, the JLP secured more than 12 marginal seats to move past the much-needed 32 seats to form the next Government. At last night's count, the party secured 33 seats to the People's National Party's (PNP) 30, making it the second one-term Government, after the JLP's 2007-2011 stint at last night's count. Despite the cheers, JLP Leader Andrew Holness soberly took the stage at the party's Belmont Road, New Kingston, headquarters after the party he leads secured victory in the polls. "I want to thank God for this victory and the people of Jamaica for investing in me the opportunity," he declared. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
Republican debate: Marco Rubio finds his fire
Marco Rubio was on fire Thursday night. For months, the Florida senator resisted taking on Republican front-runner and expert attack dog Donald Trump, much to the chagrin of the GOP establishment. That reluctance evaporated during the final GOP presidential debate before Super Tuesday. Standing to the right of Trump, Rubio delivered one blow after another at the billionaire businessman, attacking him on everything from immigration to foreign policy and health care to the businessman's hiring practices. And to Trump's left, Ted Cruz delighted in joining in the pile-on. Read more...
Iran votes in first key elections since nuclear deal
26th February 2016