NEWS
Scam School
Foreigners , mainly from South America, are in this country coaching local criminals on how to steal money from banks’ automatic teller machines (ATM), ATM expert Derek Carrington said yesterday. Carrington, of Massy Technologies, spoke at a seminar on cyber security held at the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business in Mount Hope. Speaking on the theme, ‘Fraud and security in the ATM channel”, the expert said that each year globally, $12 billion in ATM card fraud occurs. This includes $2.4 billion lost to ‘card skimming’, $21 million lost to ‘ram-raiding’, $3.2 million lost to ‘card trapping’ and $12 million lost to ‘logic attacks’ on the ATM software. Card skimming occurs when thieves steal a victim’s card and personal identification number (PIN) and then transfer it to a dummy card which they then use to withdraw funds from the victim’s account. A skimming device, which mirrors the shape of the ATM’s card slot is placed over the legitimate slot of the ATM and when unsuspecting customers push their cards into the slot, the device ‘skims’ the PIN entered. Read more...
Prisons boss: Time for playing is finished
“All of us have to stop playing, the time for playing is finished!” So said Prisons Commissioner Sterling Stewart who has warned prisoners under his care that despite the threats being advanced towards his officers, they will continue to perform their duty fairly and fearlessly, even at the risk of losing their lives. Speaking to reporters as he emerged from a three-and-a-half- hour meeting at the Ministry of National Security, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Stewart urged everyone, including the media, to unite “in the fight against the crime and wickedness that is going on through the land.” Unwilling to reveal what was discussed during the meeting which also included the heads of the Police and Fire Services, as well as the heads of the respective associations, Stewart said Minister Edmund Dillon had promised to work on “short-term goals.” Read more...
Have A Heart
There were cries of oppression outside the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) yesterday as scores of people protested against what they claim was a heartless Government. Under the blazing afternoon sun, two protests were staged outside the Prime Minister's St Clair office — first, the foreign-used car dealers and second, former Caroni workers. They all came armed with placards and chanted for the Government to heed the cries of the poor. The foreign-used car dealers started their protest just after 1 p.m. calling on the Government to revisit its policy barring the importation of gasoline-powered vehicles more than four years old, which they want reverted to six years. Read more...
POLITICS
Dillon calls in security heads — vague answers to union leaders
President of the Prison Officers Association (POA), Ceron Richards, yesterday said he left a meeting with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon “dissatisfied and displeased” as the almost four-hour long talks paid little or no attention to the issue of protection of prison officers. The prevailing tenor of the meetings, some attendees said, was one of vague responses by Ministry officials to pressing questions put to them. But Prison Commissioner Sterling Stewart gave a public assurance to prison officers that the Ministry was, “working assiduously”, toward treating with prison officers’ safety as he encouraged officers to continue to work in a professional manner. This comes after prison officer Fitzalbert Victor Jr was gunned down several days ago outside his Laventille home. “It was a lengthy meeting, but by and large I am not pleased. I am not pleased at all,” said Richards as he stood outside the office of the Ministry of National Security in Portof- Spain. “I really thought I was going to hear whether time frames were allotted to the demands we made and whether or not these demands will be in fact in effect. I don’t know what to tell my officers who reside in high risk areas as to when they would be treated with. Read more...
Armour on Abox issue: No conflict of interest
No conflict of interest exists. That’s the view of Law Association president Reginald Armour to whom Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi passed the Petrotrin report on the Malcolm Jones matter. This followed revelations yesterday in Companies’ Registrar records showing that three directors of a company, known as Abox Investments Ltd, in 2004 were attorney Armour (listed at 90 Maraval Road), attorney Vanessa Gopaul (same address) and attorney Al-Rawi (at 45a St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain). The record was stamped November 9, 2004. Al-Rawi recently said he had passed the Jones’ report to the association. That body wrote him recently seeking a copy since members wanted to examine it, the T&T Guardian learned. On the Abox company where he and Al-Rawi once served, Armour said he and Gopaul sold their shares in the company years ago and have no financial interest in it. “There’s no conflict of interest,” he added. Read more...
Former Partnership ministers join marchers
The Government has been given a 14-day deadline to pay the monies owed to former Caroni workers or face a battle in the courts. A pre-action protocol letter was served on the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) yesterday by attorney Gerald Ramdeen, who has taken up the case on behalf of 2,334 cane farmers. Scores of elderly former cane farmers accompanied Ramdeen, former planning minister Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie, former agriculture minister Devant Maharaj, Princes Town MP Barry Padarath and Naparima MP Rodney Charles to the OPM, St Clair, where the letter was handed to an OPM employee. Read more...
BUSINESS
Concern over low VAT collections
Economist Dr Ronald Ramkissoon is urging business owners to pay their taxes and assist the state in the running of the country and paying its bills. “We do not have a perfectly free market economy in T&T but we have come a long way from where we were in the 1960s and 1970s,” he said. “While businesses and consumers should do what they have to do, they should pay the VAT man the money. They should not cheat the taxman because that is cheating the ability to pay teachers and nurses. The reality is that we need a strong VAT office,” he said yesterday in the keynote address to a breakfast meeting hosted by the Greater Tunapuna Chamber of Commerce at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya. His comments followed a statement by Tunapuna MP Esmond Forde who also spoke at the seminar. Forde, quoting Minister of Finance Colm Imbert, said the VAT office only collects 40 per cent of what it should be collecting. Read more...
World navigator names Trinidad chocolate
Alvaro de Marichalar is a descendant of Francisco Javier de Ripalda and Beaumont Aoiz III, Count of Ripalda and past governor of the island of Trinidad. On his epic expedition to achieve yet another world record in circumnavigating the Caribbean area from Puerto Rico and touching some 28 countries en route, he's stopped for a few days in Trinidad and has expressed his delight in discovering links with his home country, Spain. He described the journey that led him to our shores. "This is the first time that such a journey is being done on such a small boat. It is an 11-foot boat the size of a dolphin. People fondly call it a water scooter or jet ski. Its name is Numancia. The name is of great significance to me. Numancia is the name of the only indigenous Iberian town that resisted the Roman Empire 22 centuries ago. This is why I carry this name. Read more...
REGIONAL
Amed robbers assault visiting cruisers in St Lucia
On the evening of March 3, 2016, returning from dinner, on the Hummingbird Resort/Still dock at Soufriere, St Lucia, a party of six cruisers, accompanied by the Hummingbird security guard, was robbed by multiple masked attackers at gunpoint and machete. According to Caribbean Safety and Security Net, the security guard was knocked down. The robbers demanded money and were given wallets. One woman’s purse was cut off her shoulder with the machete. Her husband was struck on the head with the blunt side of the machete. A gun was aimed at them. Read more...
Clean And Criss: Last-Minute Preparations, As Parliament Was Made Ready For The ‘Big Day’
The swearing-in of a new Parliament is a momentous occasion for any country, and Jamaica is no different as it prepares for members of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to take their seats on the government benches in Gordon House today. Yesterday, the Parliament building on Duke Street in downtown Kingston was a hive of activity as last-minute preparations were carried out for today's first sitting of both Houses, following the February 25 general election. From ensuring that there are enough benches on either side of the chamber to ensuring that the desks are clean and the carpet vacuumed, it was work and more work yesterday. When The Gleaner arrived at Gordon House early yesterday morning, Marshall of the House Kevin Williams was checking to make sure that all the seats were in place and the microphones properly attached and working. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
Migrant crisis: Merkel condemns closure of Balkan route
Pro-gun activist is accidentally shot by 4-year-old son
A Florida woman known for a strong pro-gun stance was shot, accidentally, by her 4-year-old son, authorities said. Jamie Gilt, 31, was taken to a hospital after the Tuesday shooting, and is believed to be in stable condition. A Putnam County Sheriff's deputy was on patrol when he noticed a truck stopped partially in the travel lanes and a woman in the driver's seat motioning for help. The only other occupant in the vehicle was the boy, who was not harmed. Read more...
10th March 2016