NEWS
Hands Chopped Off
A south Trinidad woman remains warded in critical condition, teetering on the brink of death, at the San Fernando General Hospital after she was chopped so brutally, that both her hands were severed at the wrist and an arm almost chopped off during a cutlass attack by a man whom she knew. The woman was chopped repeatedly as she slept on a bed in her home on Saturday. The vicious attack on accounts clerk Jennifer Rampersad is the latest in a series of domestic violence acts perpetrated against the nation’s women by men whom they knew and had a close relationship with. Rampersad’s attack comes hours after Amina Mohammed’s body was found in bushes with her throat slit. A third woman, Rachael Chadee, remains in hospital after she was forced to drink acid, doused with the corrosive liquid and slashed across her face. Doctors told police investigators that if Rampersad survives, she will never be able to drive her car again as both of her hands were chopped off during the incident at her her New Grant home. The hands, Newsday was told, could not be reattached. One of her fingers was found on the bloodstained mattress, after the assault. It is believe that a sharpened cutlass, which Rampersad kept in the house for her protection, was used on her as it is now missing. Read more…
3 injured as bullets fly outside bar
A woman and two men who were liming at a Marabella bar on Saturday morning were injured as two suspects engaged in a gunfight nearby, police said. The incident took place around 4.28 am at the Belle Bagai bar along the Southern Main Road. Jacklyne Cedeno-Samuel, 21, of New Grant, Clement Phillip, 29, and Christopher Perrot, of Vistabella, said they heard loud explosions and felt a burning sensation on their bodies. Cedeno-Samuel was shot in her abdomen, Phillip was shot on the buttocks while Perrot was shot on the left side of his face. All three were treated at the San Fernando General Hospital where Cedeno-Samuel and Perrot remains warded in a stable condition. Police received information that two men had an altercation and were shooting at each other close to the bar. In an unrelated matter, almost a year after footballer and expectant father Anderson Cornwall was shot and robbed, a 25-year-old man has been charged with his murder. Read more…
Report: A quarter of child abuse cases involve kids under six
A report released by the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago on Friday reveals startling statistics, including the fact that a quarter of all child abuse cases involved children under the age of six. The reports highlights that 45 per cent of child sexual abusers were known to their victims, 22 per cent of all alleged perpetrators of sexual abuse were fathers and step-fathers, while five per cent were mothers.
In its preliminary statistical bulletin, which covers the period May 18, 2015, to February 17 2016, the Children’s Authority again raised concern about the high incidence of child abuse. Read more…
POLITICS
Send letter to the PM
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has called on former Caroni (1975) Limited cane farmers to hand deliver a pre-action protocol letter to the Office of the Prime Minister next Wednesday. Addressing the workers at a meeting on Saturday at Four Roads Junction in Barrackpore, Persad- Bissessar urged cane farmers to gather in St Clair, at 2 pm, to deliver the letter at the Office of the Prime Minister. Disgruntled farmers are demanding that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his People’s National Movement (PNM) government pay them $103 million in outstanding compensation following the closure of Caroni 1975 Ltd, 13 years ago. Attorney Gerald Ramdeen, together with Opposition Members of Parliament, are also expected to join with the farmers in solidarity on Wednesday. Persad-Bissessar told the cane farmers that under her tenure as prime minister, a number of farmers in July last year, had received a total $27 million in compensation as part of the first of three tranches. Read more…
Prakash wants new coalition to oust PNM
Just six months into the reign of the People’s National Movement, outgoing Congress of the People (COP) leader Prakash Ramadhar is calling for a fresh realignment of all political forces in the country to oust the party in the 2020 general elections. Implying there may be sinister motives behind the Government’s introduction of a series of financial measures that would cripple businesses, Ramadhar yesterday questioned whether this was to redound to the benefit of PNM supporters who would have a “fire sale” on properties as a result. Asked if the COP planned to join another coalition party, Ramadhar deftly avoided the use of the word, saying instead, “The COP is independent and stands alone at this point. But to defeat the PNM at the next general election we need all political forces to come together. Read more…
Ready To Rumble
Ex-cane farmers are expected to gather at St Clair, Port of Spain, on Wednesday to deliver a pre-action protocol letter to the Government demanding payments owed to them since the closure of Caroni (1975) Ltd. The farmers said all they wanted to know was if the $103 million already allocated and promised to them by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley during an election campaign would be paid. Read more…
BUSINESS
Enill warns of recession woes
Former Finance Minister Conrad Enill says because of recessionary conditions, Trinidad and Tobago will have foreign exchange issues and problems with its ability to maintain current levels of expenditure. He said the country’s policy-makers have three options one of which is to increase revenue through increases in taxes which would involve a more aggressive compliance regime and higher scrutiny on all companies. He said another option was to reduce expenditure in which scenario all contract employment will not be renewed and non-fixed contractual and new projects requiring funding will be reviewed. He said this process will mean that the decision making will not happen in the expected time frames and planning in the private sector will be challenging. He said the third option was to pursue both of the options he mentioned. Enill made the comments as he delivered opening remarks at a one-day 2016 Technical Anti-Money Laundering Seminar conducted by NEM Leadership Consultants at the Radisson Trinidad hotel, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. Read more…
Strong signal sent to investors
Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon says this country’s credible reputation in the global energy sector is an ideal platform for local energy services companies seeking opportunities aboard to generate much needed foreign exchange for the economy. Speaking at the recent Republic Bank sponsored CEOs Forum hosted by the Caribbean Business Leadership Forum (CBLF) at La Boucan, Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, Port-of-Spain, she said the operations of Methonal Holdings Ltd, Yara and PCS Nitrogen Trinidad in the petro-chemical sector helped solidify this country’s position among the largest exporter of products of this class in the world. Gopee-Scoon said in the wider energy sector, stalwarts such as bpTT, Shell, BHP Billiton, Repsol and majority state-owned National Gas Corporation (NGC) are adding value to the T&T brand. Read more…
Commodity prices and currency: A double-edged sword
This week, we at Bourse consider the impact of fluctuating commodity prices and currency volatility, how both factors can affect your investment returnsand how investors can position their portfolios going forward. Read more…
REGIONAL
Cabinet Chosen - Appointments To Be Officially Announced At Swearing-In Today
Robert Montague, chairman of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), is expected to be tasked by Prime Minister Andrew Holness to take on the challenging national-security portfolio. Holness spent the bulk of yesterday nailing down a Cabinet to be showcased later today when the appointees assemble at King's House, the official residence of the governor general. Another JLP candidate who bounced back to winning ways after his shock defeat in 2011, Dr Christopher Tufton, is slated to manage the health portfolio, though an official list of ministers is yet to be released. The surprises do not end in national security and health, as Holness continued to keep his ministerial list close to his chest. Read more…
Guyana government to address concerns of prisoners after fatal fire
Following a fatal fire on Thursday, the situation at the Georgetown Prison in Guyana is returning to normalcy. This follows a meeting between an 18-man delegation representing the prisoners and vice president and minister of public security, Khemraj Ramjattan and minister of state, Joseph Harmon.
During the meeting, Ramjattan expressed condolences to the families and the inmates for the loss of lives. He described the situation as, “most unfortunate.” Briefing the media following the meeting, Ramjattan explained that several concerns were raised by the inmates and those that can be addressed at the ministerial level will be resolved almost immediately. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
North Korea threatens US and S Korea with nuclear strikes
EU leaders to press Turkey to reduce flow of migrants into Europe
EU leaders are meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday for an emergency summit aimed at staunching the flow of migrants into the continent, as a desperate bottleneck of about 10,000 people continues to swell at the Greece-Macedonia border. About 134,900 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe so far this year, the International Organization for Migration says, with more than 400 having died making the dangerous journey. The vast majority of the migrants -- whose arrival has brought Europe to the brink of a humanitarian crisis, according to the U.N.'s refugee agency -- have come via Turkey. EU heads of government are expected to push Turkey to do more to prevent migrants from leaving its shores, by targeting human trafficking networks and repatriating so-called economic migrants -- people who have left their homelands in hopes of a better life, rather than out of fear for their lives. Read more…
7th March 2016