NEWS
Child Shocked To Death
A Laventile man who allegedly tried to revive his seemingly unresponsive twoyear- old step-daughter with powered electrical cords at his home has been detained by police for questioning in connection with the matter. The mother of the child is also assisting police in their investigations, sources confirmed last night. According to reports, the infant, Kristha Knutt, who lived with her mother at Upper Erica Street, was said by relatives to be suffering from a cold. The man, on checking on her at about five o’clock yesterday morning, found her unresponsive. The man who had a relationship with the child’s mother told police when he realised the infant was not responding he became concerned and out of sheer desperation, tried to revive her by using “live” electrical wires carrying 110 volts of electricity. Read more...
Man Murdered at Cleaver Woods
The family of 20-year-old man who was shot dead in the Cleaver Woods Recreation Park in D’Abadie on Sunday night claim he was executed by his friends. They made the claim while speaking with reporters shortly after the body of Tyhquina Jack, of Reid Lane, Mausica Lands, D’Abadie, was found slumped on a park bench yesterday. Read more...
Man Set On Fire Dies At Hospital
Almost one week after he was beaten and set on fire, a 35-year-old Guyanese national succumbed to his injuries at San Fernando General Hospital. Deokaran Seokarran, who lived in the area, had gone to a bar on Waterloo Road, Carapichaima. At about 4.30 a.m. on November 29, he went to the washroom, where he got into an altercation with two men who robbed him, before stabbing him twice about the body. Read more...
POLITICS
Senate debates borrowing today
Finance Minister Colm Imbert will open debate on three motions to raise the borrowing limits under the Development Loans Act and External Loans Act, and to increase the debt limit under the Guarantee of Loans Act in the Senate which sits from 10 am today. The House of Representatives approved all three motions last Friday. Read more...
Election chief defends UNC polls
In the face of mounting charges of rigging in the United National Congress (UNC) internal elections, the party’s chief elections officer, Dr Rampersad Parasram, is maintaining he is “fairly satisfied” with the process and dismissing claims of irregularities. At a media conference at the Rienzi Complex in Couva yesterday, Parasram dismissed charges that blank ballot papers were discovered on the banks of the Katwaroo Dam in Penal, that voters were prevented from casting their ballots and voters could have washed off the electoral ink soon after casting their ballots. Read more...
PNM gets two landslide victories
The People's National Movement (PNM) scored two landslide victories in yesterday's by-elections in the local government electoral districts of Auzonville/Tunapuna and Malabar South. Preliminary results revealed that the PNM's Merlyn Calliste received 2,459 votes against 325 votes for United National Congress (UNC) candidate Dara Mahendra Singh, to convincingly retain the Auzonville/Tunapuna seat in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation. Read more...
BUSINESS
FCB is bank of the year
Once again, First Citizens Bank has been named Bank of the Year by The Banker Magazine. This comes three months after Global Finance magazine named it, the Safest Bank in Trinidad and Tobago. First Citizens yesterday noted this is the fourth such time “in its short history” it has earned the prestigious title of best bank in TT. The three previous awards included one in 2012, when the renowned publication also listed as one of the Top 1,000 World Banks. First Citizens Group CEO, Karen Darbasie, said “this award is a testament to our prudent risk management, strong operational controls, and our philosophy of putting customers first”. Read more...
T&T Chamber: Governor breached confidentiality
The T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce said Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran breached confidentiality when he identified by name, companies and businesses deemed to be T&T’s top users of foreign exchange. Rambarran made the disclosures, including the amount of foreign exchange purchased by each company, in his address at the Fifth Monetary Policy Forum last Friday. Read more...
Scotia records $566m net income
Based on its "continued outstanding performance", the board of directors has approved a final quarterly dividend of 70 cents per ordinary share, together with a special dividend of 110 cents per ordinary share, the Bank stated yesterday in a media release of its highlights for the financial year. Read more...
REGIONAL
St Vincent PM denies financial wrongdoing days before election
The prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, has issued a forceful denial to claims of financial wrongdoing on his part. The claims began circulating on social media on Sunday, three days before Vincentians vote for a new government on Wednesday. Via his Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) Facebook page, Gonsalves denied holding a Swiss bank account with millions of US dollars in it. Read more...
Parties Flagged - Inaction Pushes Political Ombudsman To Seek Police, NSWMA Aid In Removing Paraphernalia
Political Ombudsman Donna Parchment Brown says she is unhappy that the general secretaries of the two major political parties have, to date, failed to take steps to remove party flags in at least three Corporate Area communities, despite earlier commitments to take down political paraphernalia which run counter to the Political Code of Conduct. The inaction by the political representatives has pushed the political ombudsman to seek help from the National Solid Waste Management Authority and the police to assist with the removal of party flags. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
The shocking truth about Muslims in America
Donald Trump unleashed a firestorm of criticism from liberals, conservatives and those in between when he called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. But while such a ban is unlikely to be implemented in a country founded by immigrants, the cheers that followed his announcement at the South Carolina rally are telling. "I think that we should definitely disallow any Muslims from coming in. Any of them," supporter Charlie Marzka, 75, told CNN. "The reason is simple: we can't identify what their attitude is." Read more...
Oscar Pistorius granted bail after murder conviction
8th December 2015