NEWS
Marked For Death
Prisons Officer David Millette, 50, was marked for death. Millette, a Superintendent of Prisons, was shot dead yesterday morning near his Cipriani Avenue, Second Caledonia, Morvant home, with his mother Phyllis Millette later telling Newsday that her son had confided in her that his name was on a hit-list of prisons officers marked for execution.
That list, was found inside the Maximum Security Prison at Golden Grove in Arouca in 2013. Newsday was told the list had the names and addresses of 100 prisons officers. Read more…
Suspected swine flu case in Point
Doctors at the San Fernando General Hospital are probing a suspected case of H1N1 Influenza (swine flu) after a Point Fortin security officer was admitted after exhibiting symptoms of the deadly virus. The latest incident comes two weeks after Siparia mother Cherrie Ryce died from the illness at the hospital. While doctors have not yet confirmed whether the 42-year-old officer has the virus, he remains warded in a critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit. Read more…
Officers under attack, says chief
It is time to step up and for the Government to take the issues of prison officers seriously. This was the message sent yesterday by Commissioner of Prisons Sterling Stewart following the murder of his Superintendent of Prisons, David Millette , yesterday morning in Morvant. Read more…
POLITICS
MP Charles defends PP overseas spending
UNC Naparima MP Rodney Charles has hit back at accusations of spurious spending on overseas trips by the previous People’s Partnership (PP) administration and pointed out that the Patrick Manning Administration had spent over $1 billion on two summits in 2009. Addressing at post-budget political rally at Piggott’s Corner, Belmont last Friday night Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley stated that the People’s Partnership government spent $250 million on foreign travel during its five years in office with $30 million being spent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, in a post on the UNC’s website yesterday, Charles described that figure as “an exceedingly small figure compared to the $340 million and the over $1 billion expended by the PNM on only two expenditure items in 2009 alone – The commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) and summit of the commonwealth of the American.” Read more…
Dillon promises swift justice for killers
National Security Minister Edmund Dillon yesterday condemned the recent killing of a soldier and a prison officer in separate incidents. In a statement yesterday Dillon said there will be swift justice for those who committed the offences. On Saturday, 39-year-old off duty Special Forces Regiment officer Cpl Shervaun Charleau died after being shot in the head in a suspected robbery attempt in St James. And yesterday senior prisons officer David Millette, 50, was killed in Morvant. Dillon said he “strongly condemns the recent increase in homicides, especially the spate of attacks on the lives of national security officers.” He expressed his concern that “officers who dedicate their lives to protect and serve the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago are apparently being targeted by criminal elements.” Read more…
Children’s hospital will be used
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has assured that the Couva Children's Hospital will be put to use. He was responding to fears that his Government would allow the billion-dollar facility, which was a special project of the last Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, to languish. In an interview with the Express yesterday, Rowley said the Cabinet has established a review team to examine the Regional Health Authorities and their current operations, future plans and the whole delivery of health care services to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. He stressed that the Children's Hospital and its proposed use would be looked at by this committee in the context of the comprehensive review of the health sector. Rowley said the Children's Hospital was constructed without proper provision been made for its operation, particularly its staffing and manpower requirements. Read more…
BUSINESS
Republic pushes learning in schools
Republic Bank continues with its thrust to play a major role in shaping the minds of the youths by being involved in several school-based initiatives. One such linkage is the National Primary Schools Agricultural Science competition which saw the Bank distribute over $100,000 in cash prizes to winning schools on Saturday at a prize-giving ceremony at the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) headquarters in St A gustine. The competition, held in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, had three categories — a written quiz, the garden competition and a poster competition. In total, 44 schools participated with 15 competing in all three categories and therefore, were eligible for the overall prize. Read more…
Pennywise launches into pharmaceuticals
Pennywise Cosmetics Limited has expanded its product offering to include a wide range of pharmaceuticals. With the opening of its second in-store pharmacy yesterday, the company is now promising competitively priced pharmaceuticals to its customers at Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain. The first in-store Pennywise Pharmacy opened at the retailer’s Trincity Mall branch two weeks ago. Nari Nagassar, manager of the Port-of-Spain store, said sourcing pharmaceuticals from local suppliers helps to keep costs down. He said Pennywise is a strong brand with equally strong recognition and he is anticipating a very busy Christmas shopping season. Read more…
PowerGen confirms closure
The Power Generation Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (PowerGen) has confirmed that its Port of Spain Power Plant will no longer be functional after December 31. In a news release issued yesterday, PowerGen also confirmed that all its employees received Voluntary Separation of Employment Programmes (VSEP). PowerGen has three plants in Port of Spain, Pt Lisas and Penal. Its head office is in Port of Spain. Read more…
REGIONAL
Barbados and Guyana sign third joint commission
Barbados and Guyana have signed a third joint commission, which is intended to foster cooperation in tourism and other sectors. The agreed minutes of the third joint commission; a memorandum of understanding between the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and the Guyana Tourism Authority; and a memorandum of understanding between the Barbados Port Inc. and the Guyana Port Authority, were all signed recently in Barbados. Speaking during the signing ceremony, which took place after a day of deliberations between Barbadian and Guyanese officials, Barbados minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, Senator Maxine McClean, explained that the talks gave both countries the opportunity to exchange ideas and assess the level of cooperation within the Joint Commission. Read more…
Private Sector Calls For Accountability Over Dead Babies
Two of the country's leading private-sector organisations are demand-ing greater accountability for the tragic deaths of 19 premature babies, after they were infected during a bacterial outbreak at two of Jamaica's major public hospitals. Both the Jamaica Manu-facturers' Association (JMA) and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) issued calls yesterday for the Office of the Prime Minister to make the responsible parties pay for the egregious circumstances that resulted in four outbreaks of the klebsiella and serratia bacteria at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) and Cornwall Regional Hospital over a five-month period. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Sinai plane crash: IS claims 'propaganda', says Egypt president
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has described claims that militants linked to Islamic State brought down a Russian airliner as "propaganda". He told the BBC that it was too early to say what had caused the crash. The Airbus 321 is thought to have broken up in mid-air over the Sinai peninsula on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board. On Monday, the airline Kogalymavia blamed "external influence" for the crash. But the head of Russia's Federal Aviation Agency, Aleksandr Neradko, told Russian TV that such talk was premature and "not based on any proper facts". Read more…
David Cameron mocked after poppy Photoshop fail
Photoshop can be a useful tool for anyone to alter reality in their favor. But, as British Prime Minister David Cameron found out, when the editing is so bad that it is obvious, the results can be hugely embarrassing. Especially when the editing involves sticking on a badge meant to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. Yes, someone from the Prime Minister's office crudely added an oversized Remembrance Day Poppy to Cameron's Facebook profile picture. Read more…
3rd November 2015