NEWS
Drained of Blood
An autopsy done yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre on the body of a woman who was fished out of the Mitan River in Manzanilla last week, could not show how she was murdered. What the pathologist who performed the autopsy did note however, was that the woman’s body was drained of blood. Relatives of the victim, Felicia Persad, told Newsday that forensic pathologist Eslyn McDonald Burris confided in them this was this was most bizarre autopsy she had performed in her career. Relatives said that the pathologist told them she could not find any blood in Persad’s body. Cause of death could not be ascertained because of the advanced state of decomposition and further analysis of body tissue would now be done in an effort to have a conclusive finding on how Persad’s killer ended her life. Relatives told Newsday that Persad’s hands and feet were bound and there was a black piece of rope tied around her neck. She was also gagged with a piece of cloth. It is believed Persad was killed on April 2 - the day she was abducted. Read more...
Imam’s family not returning to T&T
Five family members of Imam Nazim Mohammed who travelled last year to war-torn Syria, where the Isis terror group operates, would not be returning to Trinidad. Confirmation came yesterday from 74-year-old Mohammed whose daughter, son-in-law and three teenage grandchildren who journeyed to Syria in 2015 have now settled there. Mohammed, the Imam of the Masjid Umar Ibn Khattab Jamaat, Rio Claro, was responding to Government’s move to “red flag” as potential threats to national security the families of local men and women who went to Syria to fight for Isis. The T&T Guardian exclusively obtained documents with more than 105 names of men, woman and children who journeyed to Syria between 2013 and 2015. Five of the 105 are Mohammed’s relatives. Several others on the “terrorist” list also lived in Rio Claro. Read more...
This Is Madness
“This is madness!” This was the reaction of residents of East Dry River in Port of Spain yesterday where a man was shot and burnt to death. In what was also described as a “disturbing crime scene”, officers of the Port of Spain Division were called out yesterday morning to Parker Street, East Dry River, where the burnt body of the man was discovered.
According to police reports, about 4 a.m. residents of Parker Street heard several loud explosions. Read more...
POLITICS
Minister: Govt to consider specific programme to help prevent Isis recruitment
Government will consider implementing a specific programme to prevent possible recruitment of students by the terrorist group Islamic State in Syria (Isis). So said Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis. Speaking to reporters, yesterday, after attending a function at Naparima College, San Fernando, Francis said the recruitment of nationals by Isis was under the scrutiny of the Ministry of National Security. Asked whether the Ministry of Education had a plan in place to stem recruitment at schools, Francis said, “At schools we are also going to be asking our principals to take note about the kinds of people who come into the compound and what influence they could have on students.” He added, “The Ministry of National Security will be monitoring anyone who comes back, who we assume has been with Isis and we will be ensuring that they don’t have influence with our young people.” Read more...
More fired SSA employees: Let Dillon explain
More ex-officers have come forward calling on National Security Minister Edmund Dillon to explain why they were fired from the Strategic Security Agency (SSA). Pre-action protocol letters to the Attorney General were issued yesterday by attorneys from Freedom Law Chambers led by Anand Ramlogan for Nyron Dookeran and Doolam Rekha, former senior field officers who were fired on February 12,2016. A total of 75 persons have been fired from the SSA. The others are former director of the agency, Bisnath Maharaj; former deputy director of the agency, Keron Ganpat; former assistant director of administration, Seukeran Singh; former director of intelligence, Carlton Dennie; and former assistant director of information and communication, Alanzo Flemming. Read more...
BUSINESS
Hosein to Imbert: Be honest and clear about downgrade
Economist Dr Roger Hosein is calling on Finance Minister Colm Imbert to be honest and clear about the real reason why international rating agency Moody’s Investor Services downgraded T&T last week. Noting that it was T&T’s second downgrade in a row by Moody’s the University of the West Indies senior lecturer said: “The downgrade is more than a reflection in the decrease in oil prices, it is also a reflection of the decrease in gas prices and the fall in the volume of production in these commodities. “However, the Minister of Finance needs to be honest and clear that it is also part of the high level of Government expenditure built up after 2002. The high level of Government expenditure built up after 2002 led to a unsustainable momentum in the economy.” Read more...
Rice from the lagoon
Two months after the locally-produced Island Grain White Rice hit grocery shelves comes another home-grown brand, this time from the Navet wetlands. The Navet Lagoon Rice is now being sold in two sizes—one pound and two pound packages. It was first sold at a puja store in Rio Claro last week. Read more...
REGIONAL
Power Probe - JPS Responds To Demands For Info On Blackout From Energy Minister And Regulator
The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) yesterday indicated that it would submit a preliminary report, demanded by Energy Minister Dr Andrew Wheatley and the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), on the widespread outage that affected all parishes on Sunday. Audrey Williams, corporate communications officer at JPS, confirmed that the preliminary report would have been submitted last evening. Wheatley, in a release to the media yesterday, called for the JPS to provide him with a full report on the outage. The minister said he would be meeting with the company by midweek. "Widespread failure in the electricity supply to consumers is unacceptable and inconsistent with Jamaica's moves towards attaining developed-country status," the minister said. Read more...
US$30.9 million sea and river defence project launched in Guyana
On Wednesday April 13, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the government of Guyana launched a US$30.9 million sea and river defense project. The project is expected to provide for the reconstruction and improvement of approximately 5.4 km of sea and river defences in eight critical areas, and will benefit over 45,000 Guyanese residents – about 9,000 households in Regions Two, Three, Four and Six. In Guyana, over 90% of the country’s population lives along the coastal area, much of which lies below sea level. As such, the country faces significant risk of flooding, and the construction and rehabilitation of drainage, irrigation and sea defense systems is a priority for the government. Speaking at the launch, William Ashby, portfolio manager at the CDB said that the project will improve resilience to coastal and riverine hazards, as well as the effects of climate change through strengthened sea and river defense systems. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
Afghanistan violence: Deadly suicide bomb hits Kabul
Donald Trump mixes up '9/11' with '7/11'
Donald Trump, who has made his advocacy for New York City after the 9/11 attacks central to his candidacy, accidentally referred to it on Monday as 7/11 -- the ubiquitous convenience store. "I wrote this out, and it's very close to my heart," he said at the outset of his remarks on Buffalo on Monday evening. "Because I was down there and I watched our police and our firemen down at 7/11, down at the World Trade Center right after it came down. And I saw the greatest people I've ever seen in action." The businessman did not correct himself. Read more...
19th April 2016