NEWS
Red Eye Killer
Displaying severe wounds to her hands and ear, a 13-yearold girl relived the horror yesterday of witnessing the brutal and fatal chopping of a Piparo woman by an enraged assailant, the girl herself barely escaping the marauding, cutlass-wielding killer. The man, now being sought by the police, unleashed multiple chops as he cornered the woman, 31-year-old Terisha Heeralal, under her Piparo home where he continued his vicious attack ending her life. An autopsy performed at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday revealed that Heeralal died as a result of nine chop wounds behind the head. “His eyes were red,” the girl recalled as she recounted how the 42-year-old man turned on her as she tried to stop him from further chopping the hapless Heeralal. “When I was running, he was still pelting shots. Read more here
Mom of two dies after 40-foot fall: Family cites postpartum
Family and friends of a young mother were thrown into mourning yesterday after she died at hospital from injuries she sustained in a 40-foot fall at her home three days ago. Abigail Ragobar never regained consciousness after she was admitted to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and died just after 2 pm yesterday. However, in their time of grief, Ragobar’s family also reached out to society to highlight the effects of postpartum syndrome on mothers, since they believe this ultimately led to her tragic end. In a public post on Facebook yesterday, Ragobar’s sister, Charlotte Young Sing, gave details of the events which led up to Ragobar’s death. At the time of the post, however, Ragobar was still alive and the post also paid tribute to her life and asked family and loved ones to pray for her. It was shared 2,000 times by Young Sing’s Facebook friends. Read more here
Drowned boy's father charged
The father of five-year-old Josiah Henry, who drowned in a large drain outside his Belmont home following heavy rainfall last week, appeared before a Port of Spain magistrate yesterday accused of wilfully neglecting the boy and his seven-year-old sister. Jerome Henry appeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John, in the Eighth Court, charged with the offences which were alleged to have taken place last Friday morning at their Serraneau Road, Belmont, home. Read more here
POLITICS
Rowley: No pay hike for MPs, ministers
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley dashed prospects of any pay hike for MPs and ministers by saying this will not occur “until we get past this point” in the country’s economic lull, speaking yesterday in a TV6 Morning Edition interview with Fazeer Mohammed. Although the Salaries Review Commission is now doing its evaluation of these wages, this will not be implemented yet, he said. Otherwise he welcomed the population’s verdict that his Government is honest, as it marked its first anniversary in office yesterday. Read more here
Enill on Mc Donald’s return to Cabinet: No need to wait on Integrity body
Former energy minister Conrad Enill says Marlene Mc Donald can be reappointed to the Cabinet now even before the Integrity Commission completes its investigation. The commission is investigating a complaint against her filed by Fixin’ T&T which alleged she breached parliamentary rules when she hired her common-law spouse and his brother to work in her constituency office during the tenth parliamentary term at salaries above $10,000 each. Parliament pays the expenses of constituency offices and its rules forbid the hiring of relatives. However, Enill said yesterday there was a basic principle that someone was considered innocent until proven guilty and Mc Donald was not found guilty of anything as the probe was incomplete. Read more here
Analysts: Govt failing on crime, economy
The People's National Movement (PNM) went into office without a proper hand-over, and now they sitting down with the Opposition to talk about crime? This question was thrown out by Powerful Ladies of Trinidad and Tobago (PLOTT) co-founder Gillian Wall and also on the issue of crime, economist Indera Sagewan-Alli said despite getting the largest share of the 2016 budget, “the Ministry of National Security is recording the worst performance ever”. Read more here
BUSINESS
Costa Rica Embassy hosts photo exhibition
The Embassy of Costa Rica in Trinidad and Tobago is celebrating Costa Rica’s 195th anniversary of Independence (September 15) with a photo exhibition and the screening of three films which reflect the Central American nation’s best scenery, culture and idiosyncrasy. The exhibition, “We Are All Costa Rica” the movies will be shown over a roughly two-week period, starting in Trinidad at the Port-of-Spain head office of the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) from last Tuesday to September 19. The photo exhibit and movie screenings will then be held in Tobago from September 22 to October 6 at the Scarborough Library Facility, Scarborough. The public is invited to attend the exhibitions and to watch the three movies; A ojos cerrados, Dos Aguas and The Return, to get a better understanding and appreciation of Costa Rica’s history and culture. Read more here
83 students graduate from JumpStart
Newly appointed CEO of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce Gabriel Faria was warmly welcomed on board yesterday when he attended the graduation ceremony for the organsation’s JumpStart Programme. Faria will take over from Catherine Kumar who retires on September 30. In an address at the ceremony, Jacqueline Francois, a director of the Chamber, thanked Kumar for her many years of service and dedication. She then went on to address the JumpStart graduates, telling them they are critical asset to the future success of T&T. “Every choice you make and every action you take will determine the progress, growth and development of our beloved country,” she said. The JumpStart programme is an initiative of the Chamber’s Nova Committee. Yesterday, 83 students graduated from the programme after completing apprenticeships with 48 participating companies and organisations across the country. Read more here
CSO data shows an increase in food prices
Food prices are on the rise. That’s according to the latest Index of Retail Prices released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO). The CSO information, which is based on data collected in the survey of retail prices during the month of July, noted that the Index for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased from 110.4 in June 2016 to 110.7 in July 2016, reflecting an increase of 0.3 per cent. Read more here
REGIONAL
Big ZIKV $Pend - Virus Fight Costs $1b So Far
It has cost the Government more than $1 billion so far to respond to the Zika virus threat, and plans are being made now to seek approval for a budget of at least $300 million more to continue the fight. Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton disclosed the figures during a Gleaner Editors' Forum held yesterday at the newspaper's North Street offices in Kingston. "It's very difficult to put a firm handle on it (cost) if one were to include the cost of the personnel (and) additional personnel time in the hospital. There's a cost associated with just doing the testings, the medication for GBS [patients], the vector-control activity, some of the promotional material. I would hazard a guess to say we are well, well above $1 billion, and counting," he said. GBS stands for Guillain BarrÈ Syndrome (GBS), a condition that results in paralysis and which has been linked to ZIKV. Read more here
Curacao court hearing to consider motives for political assassination
Who gave the order to murder the popular Curacao politician Helmin Wiels on May 5, 2013? The actual assassin was previously convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2014. But identifying and prosecuting the sponsors of the assassination has run less smoothly. On Wednesday, a pre-trial was scheduled in the criminal proceedings against Burney ‘Nini’ Fonseca. The prosecution sees him as the link between the clients and the assassins. In this session there will be perhaps more clarity about the circumstances of the murder and who, according to the justice department, were involved. The murder of Wiels in broad daylight on the beach of Marie Pampoen is, more than three years later, still an open wound. Such a thing had never happened before on the island, which has been an autonomous country within the Dutch Kingdom since October 10, 2010. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Barack Obama chides 'wacky' Trump after Putin jibe
Passenger plane crashes into van at Hong Kong airport
A van driver had a lucky escape after a passenger plane crashed into his vehicle at Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday. The Dragonair A330 passenger plane, which was due to fly to Penang in Malaysia, hit the maintenance van while taxiing on the tarmac, a spokesman for Hong Kong International airport told CNN. Dramatic footage shows the plane's engine crushing the van's roof, just inches from the driver's head. He was later taken to hospital, the airport spokesman said. Read more here
8th September 2016