NEWS
Girl Raped at Age 8
A 13-year-old Form One student of a secondary school in east Trinidad, broke down and cried last Thursday afternoon at the Rio Claro Police Station as she related the rape acts she endured at the hands of her HIV positive stepfather when she was just eight years old. Reports of the incident caused head of the Victim and Witness Support Unit, Margaret Sampson-Brown to issue a call to parents yesterday to be careful about people with whom they develop relationships and allow into their homes. “We want to implore mothers to be aware of what is happening and who you bring into your home as your significant other.,” Sampson Brown told Newsday. “You have to be careful because some of these significant others are there to focus on your child, and my experience here is that we have had reports where persons are engaging mothers and they target the girl child. Read more...
Call for more lifeguards
Faced with two drownings over the Easter weekend, the T&T Life Saving Society has renewed its call for Government to hire more lifeguards to patrol T&T’s beaches. In an interview yesterday, president Ann Singh said more than 100 people were certified annually by the society with the hope they could be employed by the Ministry of National Security. “There are many certified lifesavers who want to be employed as a lifeguard. Read more...
Fire Hero
This was the message from relatives of seven-year-old Hezekiah Hospedales who lost his life on Wednesday, to the young man who braved deadly smoke and flames to rescue Hospedales' other family members who were trapped when a bush fire engulfed their home. Relatives also thanked other residents in the neighbourhood for banding together to assist and prevent further tragedy. Read more...
POLITICS
A deadly molotov cocktail
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday charged that the Whistleblower Protection Bill 2015, Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Amendment Bill 2016, and the Interception of Communication Act together form “a deadly molotov cocktail” which the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) could use as an onslaught against the privacy of all citizens in this country. However in an immediate response, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said it was regrettable that Persad-Bissessar chose to perpetuate fear and misinformation relative to the legitimacy, proportionality and bona fide intent of the SSA legislation. Noting that debate on the SSA Bill continues in the House of Representatives today, Al-Rawi said the Government remains open to submissions both from the Opposition and the population as to how the legislation could be enhanced to allow law enforcement agencies to better deal with crime. Read more...
Not worthy of public office
Former prime minister of T&T Patrick Manning believes that politicians who are guilty of hiring relatives at their respective constituency offices are not worthy of public office. Manning made a statement via his Facebook page on Wednesday night. He disclosed that in all his 44 years as a Parliamentarian, he has never employed a family member or relative in his constituency office. Read more...
5,000 lose jobs in six months
UP to 5,000 citizens have been put on the breadline from September last year to the present, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus disclosed yesterday. Responding to media questions on the rate of retrenchment the last six months at the post-Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, Baptiste-Primus stated: “That data should be obtained from the Central Statistical Office and you know as members of the media you know that situation better than myself hence why a new system is being put in place.” She added: “I can give you what my suspicions are in terms of the unemployeds from September to now, I suspect they may be in the vicinity of 5,000 or perhaps a little beyond that.” Read more...
BUSINESS
No consultations before budget review
Joseph Remy, President of the Co-operative Credit Union League said it is unfortunate that Government did not consult with representatives of key sectors in the country ahead of next week’s mid-year budget review. “There has been no consultation and no discussion with civil society. The Co-operative League was not consulted and we are one of the sectors that contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country,” Remy said yesterday. He said in the past the co-operatives movement has served as a buffer for working class people in times of recession and it is likely to continue to play that important role during this current period of economic challenges. Read more...
Bptt investments in T&T will continue
REGIONAL president of energy giant bpTT Norman Christie says the company plans to continue spending in Trinidad and Tobago once the investment climate supports it. In a statement yesterday highlighting new developments in bpTT's Juniper project—the company's first subsea field development—Christie said: “Bptt has committed to maintaining investment in Trinidad and Tobago, and to further develop the offshore acreage once the investment climate continues to support further investments in the upstream.” Read more...
REGIONAL
Turks and Caicos DPP under fire
John Masters, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and a former senior prosecutor in the Cayman Islands, is under investigation by the territory’s Integrity Commission. According to reports from TCI media, a number of complaints have been made about Masters by his staff and other government officials over costly consultants he has hired who are believed to be his close friends. While public officials from the commission have refused to comment about the probe, Masters told local media that he was aware of an investigation but he did not know any details. Read more...
Ball In Portia's Court - Analysts Suggest Simpson Miller To Determine Own Fate As PNP President
Political commentators last night suggested that Portia Simpson Miller's departure from the leadership of the People's National Party (PNP) will depend more on the timetable she sets for herself than any other forces within the party. Communications scholar Claude Robinson told The Gleaner that Simpson Miller would have to determine her future and at what point she would step down. At the same time, Dr Paul Ashley, an attorney-at-law, is of the view that no one in the PNP is brave enough or has the support needed from delegates to challenge Simpson Miller for the leadership of the party. Yesterday, the PNP president declared that any challenge to her leadership would be a risky undertaking. "They challenge me at their own will or risk ... this is not about me, it's about the people. You can challenge me ... you can face an election and face what happens," she asserted on Radio Jamaica's Hotline. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
Japan and South Korea hit back at Trump's nuclear comments
Confused, shocked, bewildered. Just a few of the words used in recent days to describe Japan and South Korea's reaction to some of Donald Trump's latest comments about the region. The front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination stunned two of America's strongest allies with the suggestion that the U.S. military would be withdrawn from their shores, with nuclear weapons replacing them. There are currently 54,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and 28,500 in South Korea. "Japan is better if it protects itself against this maniac of North Korea," Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper Tuesday. "We are better off frankly if South Korea is going to start protecting itself ... they have to protect themselves or they have to pay us." Read more...
Turkey 'illegally returning Syrian refugees' - Amnesty
1st April 2016