NEWS
Heartbreak
In life, Dinnse Jaikaran was very, very close to her brother Junior “Gang-gay” Jaikaran. So much so, that when Dinnse was awakened on Sunday night, to be told her brother had just collapsed and died of a heart attack, she screamed, ran out of the house and collapsed a short distance away, dying also of a heart attack. The double tragedy rocked the sleepy village in Penal Rock Road and put a damper on New Year’s celebrations for the Jaikaran family. Junior, 49, and his sister Dinnse, 51, lived in the same house at Aquart Village, and their deaths occurred within minutes of each other. Read more…
Mother to critics of murdered six-year-old: Don’t judge my son
The mother of a six-year-old boy who was shot dead during New Year’s Day celebrations in Beetham Gardens, Port-of-Spain, yesterday lashed out social media critics after photos with her son wearing gold jewelery began circulating. His mother, Kedesha Ramnath, spoke to the media yesterday outside the Forensic Science Centre, St James, where an autopsy was done on the body of her son Jodal Ramnath. Read more…
'Once you used affected machines you are at risk'
Thousands of commercial bank customers across the country may have had their account information compromised as a result of the skimming activity that took place at the RBC automated teller machines (ATM) last week. It does not matter if you are not a RBC customer. Once you used an affected ATM you are at risk. Among those who may have been affected are hundreds of Republic Bank Limited customers, the bank's managing director David Dulal-Whiteway said yesterday. Read more…
POLITICS
Garcia: All schools reopened
Primary and secondary schools reopened countrywide yesterday for the start of the new school term, though protest action in the Point Fortin/La Brea area affected attendance in some schools in the St Patrick education district, according to Education Minister Anthony Garcia. In other education districts, where it was necessary, Garcia told Newsday that classes were re-located to ensure that teaching and learning took place.
The schools at which attendance were affected in the Point Fortin/La Brea area were Guapo Government Primary, Vance River RC Primary, Brighton AC Primary, La Brea RC Primary, Point Fortin AC Primary, Point Fortin RC Primary, Point Fortin ASJA Primary, Holy Name Convent, Point Fortin East, Vessigny Secondary, and Point Fortin West Secondary. Vistabella Presbyterian Primary reopened for the first time after it remained closed last term due to electrical problems. Read more…
Fire Them
Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge has alleged that Noel Garcia corruptly received monies to fund his son's university education and has called on police to launch a criminal investigation. Sturge, an attorney, also wants Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to fire him. Garcia is the current chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) and former executive director of the National Housing Authority (NHA) (2003-2005) and former managing director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) (2005-2008). Read more…
BUSINESS
CIBC FirstCaribbean gets new CEO
CIBC FirstCaribbean yesterday welcomed its new CEO, Gary Brown, for his first official day in office, following his appointment with effect from January 1, 2016. Prior to this role, he was Global Head of Corporate Banking with the bank’s parent company, CIBC. In that capacity, Mr Brown had responsibility for corporate and institutional banking activities at CIBC, including lending to large corporates, real estate finance, global banking, international lending and certain non-core portfolio activities. Read more…
T&T gas exports to Spain down 42.4%
Trinidad and Tobago gas exports to Spain, one of the country's major markets in Europe, declined 42.4 per cent for the year as at October 2015. This is revealed by Spain's Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism agency, Cores, in its December 27 release of Hydrocarbon Bulletin No. 215. Read more…
REGIONAL
Ten thousand counterfeit toys seized in Puerto Rico
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) field operations officers completed the seizure of 10,000 counterfeit toy dolls arriving in Puerto Rico in a shipment from China. The estimated domestic value of the shipment is $41,250. CBP officers inspected a container whose contents appeared to be non-compliant with US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requirements. CBP import specialists examined samples of the items that were determined to be counterfeit. Fake toys take unfair advantage of recognized brands sought out by consumers. Read more…
Peter Still Wants To Be Prime Minister ... But Focused On Getting PNP Reelected, Fixing Economy
Dr Peter Phillips, the man who has led Jamaica to 10 successive quarterly International Monetary Fund (IMF) reviews, has admitted that he has not taken his eyes off the position of prime minister of Jamaica. "It would be a great honour should there be a vacancy and at that point where I am able to contemplate it. It would be a great honour to lead the country, but, day by day, I try to focus on the tasks immediately in front of me," Phillips, 66, told The Gleaner. But for now, as the minister of finance and the public service, Phillips says his immediate focus is on securing a sound economic footing for the country. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Barack Obama's emotional evolution on gun control
The Mr. Cool in the Oval Office rarely shows emotion. But on one issue -- guns -- President Barack Obama lets the public mask slip, revealing the ire boiling within. "We've become numb to this," Obama complained in October, his voice dripping with disbelief and frustration after yet another mass killing. Before the cameras, moved by the massacres of innocents that have punctuated his presidency, Obama has wept, his voice has cracked, he's visibly shaken with frustration, he's lashed out at lawmakers he sees as cowards and even led a congregation in "Amazing Grace." Read more…
Iran-Saudi Arabia row: Kuwait recalls ambassador from Tehran
5th January 2016