NEWS
‘Jolly’ husband kills wife, then commits suicide
Residents of the quiet neighbourhood in Beaulieu Gardens, Trincity were yesterday horrified to learn that a murder was committed in their area. According to reports, 57-yearold Edric Blackburn shot and killed his wife, Rosemary, 55, in a bathroom at their home at 3rd Street West, Beaulieu, Trincity, just before 10 am yesterday. A few minutes later, Blackburn left and drove a short distance from their home to Millenium Park, Trincity where he killed himself. Police said the couple’s two children were in the home when the incident occurred. They believe Blackburn, a former TSTT employee used his licensed firearm to kill himself and his wife. When Newsday visited the area yesterday, many neighbours expressed shock over the incident. Read more…
Life changing potential of organ donations
If there’s a small upside to the runaway violence in Trinidad and Tobago in which murders have topped 300 in only 242 days this year, (read latest murder/suicide on page 5) it is that one such fatal shooting ended up saving two other lives. A man had been fatally shot once to the head but there was no damage to his internal organs. His kidneys were eventually donated to patients in dire need of the organs. The dead donor effectively saved two lives and his family in the midst of their own grief found solace in the fact that their relative was able to live on in others. This was a firsthand example that pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov yesterday gave to the T&T Guardian to bolster his view that there must be “absolutely” more organ donors in this country. Read more…
‘Crime Watch’ suspended after Alleyne’s on-air comments
Ian Alleyne’s Crime Watch programme has been suspended pending an Internal discussion between management at CNC3 TV and host Alleyne later today. The Express learned that Alleyne was called before CNC3 boss Nicholas Sabga on Thursday and taken to task for remarks considered to be politically inflammatory made on air. While Alleyne asked questions about whether the wives of two Government ministers benefited from multi-million-dollar contracts at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, which is being refurbished, it was a single question about whether “Andrew’s wife” got a $17 million contract that proved to be the last straw. Though Alleyne never used a surname or clarified who was Andrew or Andrew’s wife, he was called on by Sabga to explain and provide documentary evidence of that claim. Read more…
POLITICS
Robinson-Regis calls Orisha to guide errant youths
Minister of Planning and Development, Camille Robinson- Regis yesterday urged followers of the Orisa faith to use their influence to correct those who they see are going astray. Speaking at an Ifa Orisa Thanksgiving Service at the headquarters of the People’s National Movement (PNM) she said “when we see those of our brothers and sisters of the African group going along a challenging or the wrong direction, I ask those of you who are devotees of this religion and who understand the struggles of the African man and woman to do your part to pull them back to the right path.” She said, “It cannot be for the government alone to do that. It cannot be for the PNM alone or any other political party alone to do that. Those of us who have a strong faith in our religion and our belief must put our shoulders to the wheel and help where we see our brothers and our sisters going along a path that can bring no good for Trinidad and Tobago.” She said the colours held sacred by the Orisa are ths same as the national colours: Red, White and Black. Read more…
Imam slams Dillon for ‘political’ crime walkabout
Enterprise Imam Morland Muakyil Abdullah yesterday slammed Friday’s walkabout by the Minister of National Security, Edmund Dillon saying that he strongly believes that it was political and not a genuine attempt to assist the community and bring relief with regards to crime and criminal activities. Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Abdullah also knocked the way in which the walkabout was “poorly organised.” “Imagine very early Friday morning while I was in my bathroom bathing I received a message that Dillon and his team was going to have a walkabout. I took no note of it because to me it sounded like something last minute. No previous announcements were made and no formal invitations and flyers distributed,” Abdullah said. Abdullah in many times before called for closed door meetings with the Minister of National Security and to date none has been called. Read more…
BUSINESS
Loquan is new NGC president
Mark Loquan has been appointed as the new president of the National Gas Company Limited (NGC). His appointment takes effect from September 1. The NGC made this announcement in a statement yesterday. The company said its chairman Gerry Brooks is pleased to announce the appointment of Loquan who has over 30 years’ experience in the petrochemical industry. Brooks said. Loquan’s extensive international experience and knowledge of the global energy sector, will bring a wealth of technical and leadership capability to the company and position NGC to achieve its strategic objectives. Loquan has held numerous leadership roles in countries including the USA, Europe, Africa and TT. His most recent role was that of CEO, Yara Pilbara in Australia, where he was responsible for restructuring of an existing ammonia facility and integrating the site with a recently-constructed world-scale technical ammonium nitrate plant. Read more…
IMF questions Barbados borrowing from central bank
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund has noted the inconsistency of Barbados maintaining a stable exchange rate and financing its fiscal deficit by borrowing from the island’s central bank. In a statement last week at the conclusion of the institution’s Article IV consultation with the Barbados authorities, the IMF said: “Directors emphasised that the continued financing of the fiscal deficit by the Central Bank of Barbados is inconsistent with maintenance of the exchange rate anchor. They encouraged the Central Bank of Barbados to allow domestic interest rates to rise in line with increases in US interest rates and ensure adequate international reserve buffers.” The IMF said that monetary policy in Barbados “has been driven by fiscal considerations, as the Central Bank of Barbados continued to fund the government through money creation and with commercial banks’ excess reserves. Interest rates have begun to rise, with reduced direct intervention by the central bank in the Treasury Bill auctions.” Read more…
AHL lower on legal costs
This week, we at Bourse review the most recent financial results of AHL, listed under the Manufacturing I sector on the local stock exchange. AHL recorded a slight dip in earnings on account of some one-off costs. We give our perspective on the company’s financial performance and outlook going forward. Read more…
REGIONAL
Nothing To Hide - JPS Boss Promises Transparency In Islandwide Blackout Investigations
As investigations continue into the power outage that blanketed the entire island on Saturday evening, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) Kelly Tomblin has promised to be open and transparent with the public about the findings of the probe. "The only thing I know for sure is that the process was not followed one hundred per cent. I don't know completely why that resulted in a system-wide outage. That is what my team is working on today, and that is what we are going to continue to talk to the press about. We have nothing to hide," she said in an interview with The Gleaneryesterday. Jamaica's sole power distribution company said the outage was caused by a "procedural error, which resulted in a number of generating units going off-line simultaneously". Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Brazil's Dilma Rousseff to testify at impeachment trial
The impeachment trial of Brazil's Dilma Rousseff will reach a dramatic point on Monday, with the suspended president set to defend herself in the Senate. Ms Rousseff is accused of illegally manipulating the budget to hide a growing deficit. She denies the allegations and says the impeachment proceedings amount to a coup d'etat. Senators are due to vote this week on whether to remove her from office for good or whether to reinstate her. Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo says it has spoken to all the senators ahead of the vote and that 52 have so far declared themselves in favour of the impeachment. Eighteen told the newspaper they were opposed to the impeachment and 11 either did not say which way they would vote or were undecided. Read more…
Duterte's crackdown: 6 stories from the front lines
Lifeless bodies lying on the streets of the Philippines are a visceral sign of new President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs. So far more than 1,900 people have died. Of those more than 700 have been killed in police operations since Duterte took office in late June, according to police statistics. Many of the unsolved deaths are attributed to vigilantes. Duterte's tough talk on the country's drug and crime problems won him the election and, 60 days on from his inauguration, he remains extremely popular. "Double your efforts. Triple them, if need be. We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or put behind bars -- or below the ground, if they so wish," he said in his July 25 State of the Nation speech. Read more…
29th August 2016