NEWS
Killer Finishes Job
Job completed. A month after Raul Joseph and his wife Andrea Edwards were stabbed by a man so brutally that Edwards died and Joseph was left paralysed, the killer returned yesterday morning and finished the job - stabbing Joseph as he lay helplessly on a bed inside his Carenage home. Once he ensured that his victim had stabbed breathing, the killer ran out of the house. Up to last night, he remained at large. Relatives of the 42-year-old man were too distraught to speak to members of the media yesterday as they gathered outside the Forensic Science Centre in St James to await the autopsy report and death certificate. Police sources said that at about three o’clock yesterday morning, a man dressed all in black and with a hood over his head, forced his way into Joseph’s Moya Trace, Carenage home. Read more here
No bail for man accused of texting girl, 11
The 29-year-old “PH” taxi driver charged with sexual grooming of an 11-year-old girl was greeted by jeers from curious onlookers as he entered the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court yesterday. When Neil Bissessar, of Sankar Drive, Longdenville, was taken out of a marked police van just outside the court’s premises, the people who were gathered in the hot sun on the roadway noticed his right hand in a hard cast. One man shouted: “You lucky. More of you should have been broken.” A woman chimed in: “You need more licks.” Read more here
Workplace safety saves money
Industrial Court president Deborah Thomas-Felix stated yesterday that although some employers felt that providing a safer working environment would negatively affect their profits, the reality was that it actually saved money and provided the business with a better reputation. Thomas-Felix was delivering the feature address during a special sitting of the Industrial Court, Port of Spain, to mark the opening of the 2016-2017 law term. The sitting was attended by fellow judges, lawyers, trade unionists, and Police and Social Welfare Association president Insp Michael Seales. Read more here
POLITICS
Govt, Opposition cooperate to preserve tax bill
For the first time, Parliament has invoked its powers to preserve legislation between sessions. Despite the tit-for-tat over a Bill to entrench a bilateral agreement on taxation matters between TT and the US, both the Government and the Opposition on Wednesday cooperated to approve a motion to carry over the Tax Information Exchange Agreement Bill 2016. Government Whip Camille Robinson- Regis had called on the House to exercise its powers under new Standing Order 79 (3) which states, “The House may...on motion moved without amendment or debate, agree to the resumption of proceedings on a Bill in the following session.” This motion was approved. Minister of Finance Colm Imbert yesterday confirmed the impact of the Parliament’s invocation of its powers will be to prevent the legislation from lapsing, meaning time will be saved in the new session which begins on Friday. Read more here
BUSINESS
Cocoa stakeholders meet
The Cocoa Development Company (CDCTTL) continued its Road Show last week with a meeting in Point Fortin, at which Chairman Winston Rudder called on cocoa farmers and other stakeholders to cooperate and collaborate with entities such as the Ministry of Agriculture, the Cocoa Research Centre and other institutions of Government. Highlighting the advantages of Cooperatives, Rudder said “we should work in teams to achieve our objectives’, sharing that a ‘team is not a group of people working together, rather a team is a group of people who trust each other.” To the 100 farmers and stakeholders present the main message was, all beans offered for sale for this upcoming crop, by cocoa farmers will be purchased. This assurance came from chairman Rudder who said it came arising out of ongoing discussions with key stakeholders including buying agents, fermentary operators and Cocoa and Coffee Cooperatives. Read more here
First CNG maxis arrive in T&T
New 18-seater maxi taxies powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) are expected to be on the roads this week.Eon Hewitt, president of the Association of Maxi Taxis of Trinidad and Tobago (AMTTT) told the T&T Guardian making the switch from diesel to CNG is a win-win situation since it not only reduces their fuel bills by 50 per cent, but the vehicles cost half of what they currently pay for a 25-seater vehicle. “Right now a 15-seater maxi costs between $335,000 and $340,000, a 25-seater costs between $610,000 and $620,000 but we getting a vehicle that costing us between $300,000 and $322,000 and it transports 18 passengers,” he said. “When you work the maths, if you buy a 25-seater you really paying “an additional $300,000 to carry seven more passengers.” Read more here
Pre-budget analysis: economic recap
This week, we at Bourse present the first of a two-part series focused on key economic factors to be considered in anticipation of the FY 2016/2017 National Budget, to be delivered on September 30th 2016. We take a closer look today at trends in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, energy sector activity, currency movement and borrowing activity. Read more here
REGIONAL
St Lucia prime minister under siege
Following speculation that an early cabinet reshuffle in Saint Lucia will be necessary following the appointment of all United Workers Party (UWP) elected members of parliament as ministers, leaving no scope for the election of a new deputy speaker, it now appears that a new prime minister is also under discussion. According to local sources, a meeting of six UWP parliamentarians and members of cabinet and some party stalwarts took place on Friday night in Cap Estate, Gros Islet, to discuss party interests and what is widely perceived to be a crisis of governance in the country. The hastily called meeting was reportedly to strategize in relation to a possible motion of no confidence in the current prime minister, Allen Chastanet. Read more here
'I Feel Betrayed' - Al Miller Opens Up, Promises Tell-All At Press Conference Today; Former Commish Dismisses Claims
The Reverend Merrick 'Al' Miller yesterday revealed that he trusted former Police Commissioner Owen Ellington, but now feels he was betrayed by the former top cop. Miller's revelation came as he opened up about his decision to act as an intermediary between drug kingpin Christopher 'Dudus' Coke and Ellington, and the feverish, last-minute attempts he made to encourage the reputed Shower Posse leader to surrender peacefully to Jamaican authorities before the looming police-military incursion into his west Kingston stronghold in May 2010. The founding pastor of Fellowship Tabernacle church in St Andrew was convicted in July for attempting to pervert the course of justice after Coke was captured in a vehicle Miller was driving along Mandela Highway in St Catherine. He has maintained that he was taking Coke to surrender to the authorities. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Syria conflict: UN suspends all aid after convoy hit
Trump Jr. likens Syrian refugees to Skittles
Donald Trump Jr., the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's son, tweeted a graphic on Tuesday that likened Syrian refugees to Skittles, which was swiftly met with criticism. "This image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first. #trump2016," he tweeted, with a graphic that said: "If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem." The graphic had an official Trump logo that the Republican nominee shares with his running mate, Mike Pence. Read more here
20th September 2016