NEWS
Money woes lead to suicide pact
Frustration over money problems and mounting debt is believed to be the reason behind a Couva couple’s decision to make a suicide pact on the weekend and both drink a deadly herbicide. Police said Ralph Boochoon, 41, died on Sunday at the San Fernando General Hospital while his common-law wife Yvonne Arjoon, a 42-year-old mother of two, remains warded in critical condition at the same hospital. A police report stated that at about 5 pm on Sunday, the woman’s mother Leela Arjoon, 65, discovered the couple in the living room of their Perth Avenue, Perseverance Village, Couva home. Both were sitting in chairs, frothing from the mouth while nearby on the ground was an open bottle of the deadly herbicide gramoxone (Paraquat). Read more...
Mother loses only son in bar shooting
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” was the Bible quote Darlene Gordon used in describing her son Ronaldo Gordon’s tragic death. However, it was hard for the Moruga mother of five to accept the way her son’s life ended: Gunned down outside a Princes Town bar on Sunday night. Holding her own yesterday as she reminisced on the humble life Gordon lived, she said it was only now that she realised that innocent people were also murdered. Read more...
9 leap year babies in Sando
Nine “leaplings” were born at the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday on a date that exists only once every four years. This year is a leap year, meaning an additional day is tacked on to February, making the year 366 days long. The birth date of the newborns has left families in a peculiar position but they all agreed in the end that the birth will be celebrated on February 28 or March 1 for three years, with a grand celebration every fourth year. The seven boys and two girls, are all in good health. Two babies were born via Caesarian section. Read more...
POLITICS
Marlene assures vendors
Housing Minister Marlene McDonald yesterday assured the Salvatori site vendors that a building to permanently house them will be available in the “shortest possible time”. The minister, along with, Port-of-Spain mayor Keron Valentine and Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (Udecott), chairman Noel Garcia met with vendors at the ministry’s office, South Quay, Port-of-Spain yesterday afternoon. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mc- Donald said they have identified a building along Independence Square which is owned by the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government. “As minister I will approach Minister (Franklin) Khan with respect to getting that building prepared for the vendors, I think they all agree it is indeed a good site but it has to be refurbished. Read more...
I am not a pauper
Describing this as “highly improper”, the Minister said today she will withdraw “every single cent” and “close all accounts” she has with the bank, where she has been a customer since she was 18 years old. “I am really, really very disturbed that First Citizens bank, which as far as I understand it, has other information on non-PNM politicians depositing large sums of money in their accounts, has taken it upon themselves to reveal a simple transaction that I made on a personal level and I am very disappointed in the State-owned bank,” she said at an “urgent press conference” yesterday at her Ministry at the Central Bank Towers. Read more...
BUSINESS
Job loss should be last resort
While acknowledging that each business is different, economist Indera Sagewan-Alli has advised employers first ensure they look at all other available options for operating cost reduction before cutting its labour force. Sagewan-Alli made this call in light of the retrenchment of over 200 Central Trinidad Steel Limited (CENTRIN) workers last week and news from the Labour Minister of over 1,000 job losses since last September. In response to whether or not businesses can resort to the economic principle of “normal profit” where a business’ total revenue equals its total cost, an approach that could allow them to weather the economic recession, for some time and stave off retrenchment, Sagewan-Alli said there was no simple answer. Read more...
Chamber president: Use PPP model for Couva hospital
President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce Richie Sookhai has recommended that the public private partnership (PPP) business development model be used to fully activate the Couva Children’s Hospital. Sookhai said delays in bringing the facility into full operations could end up costing the nation dearly. He said while the cost of a fully operational hospital could add to already high demands on Government’s cash resources, the PPP model could ease that burden and should be adopted to ensure there are no further delays. Sookhai noted that there are “a number of well-respected children’s facilities in other countries that have an interest in expanding services into the Caribbean region.” Read more...
We all need IT, says CXC head
Information technology should be just as important as Mathematics and English and every Caribbean citizen should know how to use a computer, says head of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC), Prof Sir Hilary Beckles. Beckles was speaking at the Final Awards Committee meeting recently to review the performance of candidates in the January 2016 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination. The meeting was held at CXC's headquarters in Barbados. He made the comments after observing that both Mathematics and English A had over 11,000 candidate entries, but only 1,048 candidates entered for information technology. Read more...
REGIONAL
Cuban situation a growing embarrassment to Bahamas, says former minister
If the Bahamas government decides to pursue further the matter involving the controversial release from prison of two Cuban men, it would make an already embarrassing situation much worse, former deputy prime minister Brent Symonette warned on Sunday. But minister of foreign affairs and immigration Fred Mitchell said the search is continuing for Carlos Pupo and Lazaro Seara Marin, who were released from prison on February 18 after being detained for nearly three years without being charged with a crime. “We indicated to our own people to go find them,” Mitchell said. Mitchell said the men have no status in The Bahamas and must be re-arrested. He said the director of immigration advised that the men were last seen in Bimini and officials believe they are trying to smuggle their way into the United States. Read more...
Magisterial Recount For St Mary South Eastern Tomorrow
The magisterial recount of the ballots in St Mary South Eastern has been scheduled for tomorrow. In addition to St Mary South East, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) yesterday signalled that it will also be requesting a magisterial recount for St James South, in which the People's National Party (PNP) Derrick Keller prevailed over Homer Davis by 72 votes. Following the preliminary count on Thursday night, the JLP's Dr Norman Dunn was named the winner over the PNP's Dr Winston Green by 127 votes. However, following the final count on Saturday, the results were reversed and Dr Green was declared the winner by a nine-vote majority. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
Trump, Clinton dominant as Super Tuesday looms
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are poised to lead the nation's two major parties in this fall's presidential election, with a new nationwide CNN/ORC poll finding each well ahead of their closest competitors just as the race expands to a national stage. Trump has expanded his lead over the diminished field to capture the support of nearly half of Republican voters, while Clinton tops Sanders by nearly 20 points. On the Republican side, the new survey finds Trump's lead is dominant, and his support tops that of his four remaining opponents combined. The businessman tops his nearest competitor by more than 30 points: 49% back Trump, 16% Marco Rubio, 15% Ted Cruz, 10% Ben Carson and 6% John Kasich. Read more...
EU migrant crisis: Calais 'Jungle' clearance work resumes
Demolition teams have moved in to the French port of Calais to dismantle more makeshift shelters in the migrant camp known as the "Jungle". French police have warned that they will use force if the migrants refuse to move to nearby shipping containers. But many migrants fear they will be required to claim asylum in France and give up hope of travelling to Britain. Overnight, riot police fired tear gas at migrants who were hurling stones at the demolition squads. French authorities believe about 1,000 migrants will be affected by the eviction plan while aid agencies say the number of people living there is much higher. The BBC's Anna Holligan in Calais says that migrants, under cover of darkness, tried to access lorries on the motorway heading towards the port. Riot police fired tear gas, forcing them back, she said. Read more...
1st March 2016