NEWS
Petrotrin worker crushed to death
Penal police are investigating the death of Petrotrin worker Charles Mitchell, 59, who was crushed while carrying out maintenance work on an oil well. Police reported that Mitchell, a technical craftsman, was in the company of six co-workers at Lowkie Trace in Penal, when he was crushed in the gearbox area of the well at about 11.30 am. Mitchell’s co-workers rushed him to the Petrotrin Medical Facility at Clarke Road in Penal where he succumbed to his injuries. Police believe mechanical failure was responsible for the fatal accident. Mitchell lived at Inverness in Barrackpore. In a media release issued by Petrotrin’s Corporate Communications Department, the company stated Mitchell had over 40 years service and was injured, “near a well site in the company’s Exploration and Production Operations”, at Penal. The State-owned company confirmed that at the time of the accident the Craftsman II, of the company’s Production Operations Department was working with a mechanical crew. Read more…
Pensioner, 80, shot in head
An 80-year-old Erin pensioner is clinging to life while awaiting surgery at the San Fernando General Hospital after she was accidentally shot in the head by a rookie police officer on Monday night. With the bullet still lodged in her head yesterday, Sona Lalloo, of Rancho Quemado, was being prepped for surgery yesterday evening. The police constable who fired is attached to the South Western Division Task Force (SWDTF) and is expected to be questioned as ASP Jackman has begun inquiries. A senior officer said he also would undergo counselling. According to a report, the incident occurred around 7.45 pm on Monday when members of the SWDTF were responding to a report that a group of gunmen were seen walking along Johnson Trace, Rancho Quemado. Read more…
Lewis on track to set sail in Rio
The importance of being motivated was the overall message from Andrew Lewis, Trinidad and Tobago’s representative in the sport of sailing at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, when he appeared as a guest speaker at the Rotary Club’s meeting at Goodwill Industries on Fitzblackman Drive, Port of Spain yesterday afternoon. Read more…
POLITICS
I worked for them before I became AG
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi yesterday made it clear he has never given advice to ArcelorMittal since assuming the post of AG last year, nor did he have any prior knowledge of the Pt Lisas- based steel company’s decision, on March 11, to suddenly end its operations in this country and not pay out termination benefits to workers. At a news conference during the tea break in the Senate in Port-of- Spain, Al-Rawi also denied statements by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, during the UNC’s Monday Night Forum at Tableland Secondary School, that ArcelorMittal had financed his personal campaign for the September 7, 2015, general election. The AG is the PNM’s Member of Parliament for San Fernando West. “I want to say that I categorically and with any form of reservation condemn her statements,” he told reporters. Al-Rawi further described Persad-Bissessar’s statements as going beyond the realm of irresponsible.” Acknowledging that he has served as the company’s legal counsel since 1999, while in private practice, Al-Rawi insisted that his professional association with ArcelorMittal ended when he became AG. Read more…
Decisive action on terror needed
Government is about to approach the courts to have a number of T&T nationals designated as terrorists and will also very shortly present to Parliament new legislation to deal with people alleged to be terrorist fighters, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said yesterday. “The country deserves action and enforcement and that’s exactly what we intend to do,” Al-Rawi said in the Senate. He gave details of how Government plans to treat with T&T terrorist fighters and such persons returning from overseas, in reply to Opposition Senator Wade Mark’s queries on the issue. Mark sought details concerning the future of nationals who’ve gone overseas and are reportedly fighting with the Islamic State (Isis) terrorist network. He asked if Government intends to invoke laws in respect of citizens with proven links to Isis and who wish to return home. Read more…
Al-Rawi claims 63% cyber bullying solved by cops
The police have solved 63.3 per cent of cases involving cyber bullying, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said yesterday. Speaking in the Senate on a motion to pass legislation to deal with cyber crimes, including cyber bullying filed by Independent Senator Melissa Ramkissoon, the Attorney General said the country had many laws to deal with such crimes. Read more…
BUSINESS
10 more CNG stations coming
The National Gas Company Compressed Natural Gas (NGC CNG) Company Ltd is looking to open ten new CNG supply points to the public by the end of this year. “We have heard the cries of the public, of needing more stations which are reliable; NGC CNG is addressing those concerns while it partners with NP and Unipet,” the company’s president Curtis Mohammed said yesterday. Read more…
REGIONAL
War of words erupts in St Lucia over IMPACS report
Responding to a reported commitment by political leader of the opposition United Workers Party (UWP), Allen Chastanet, to make public a confidential report into alleged extrajudicial killings by the Saint Lucia police force, Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony has questioned Chastanet’s sanity. Releasing the report to the public can endanger the lives of people who gave evidence and compromise future prosecution, Anthony said at a Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) political rally on Sunday evening. “I ask you whether it is responsible to put the lives of those persons in danger. That is why I have asked you, whether he is sane. Whether he understands what he is doing. I don’t understand it,” he questioned. Read more…
Opportunity Missed - Did Jamaica Allow Usain's Global Success To Bolt?
To any fan of track and field, Usain Bolt is much more than a great athlete. He is a global icon. Bolt has risen from the rural district of Sherwood Content in Trelawny to become the holder of 11 World Championship gold medals and six Olympic titles, with world records in the 100m and 200m making him the fastest man alive. Certainly, the intensity is building worldwide in preparation for the summer Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and to witness the sprint king's final showdown, before retiring from the sport in 2017. As the sprint legend looks to hang up his spikes, the discussion among some of his fans has been whether Jamaica had effectively utilised his fame or has allowed it to bolt. Paulson Gordon, sports marketing lecturer at the University of Technology (UTech), wants Jamaica's leaders to focus on capitalising on Bolt's legacy in a bid to fill what he describes as gaps that exist in the country's sporting industry. Speaking with The Gleaner in an interview on Monday, he said more could have been done over the years to maximise on Bolt's global success. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
US election 2016: Donald Trump sweeps five US states
ISIS internal docs show struggle to retain fighters, cut costs
ISIS is facing cash and manpower shortages, the deputy commander of the counter-ISIS coalition said Tuesday. His statement was reinforced by newly obtained internal ISIS documents. The cache shows the group struggling for funds -- some of which are used to pay for sex slaves -- and calling on fighters to use less electricity and stop driving official cars for personal use. The fighters, meanwhile, seem to be suffering low morale, in some case seeking doctors' notes to avoid serving on the frontlines. Maj. Gen. Peter E. Gersten told reporters that attacks on ISIS finances and personnel had reduced the number of foreign fighters joining ISIS from 1,500-2,000 per month a year ago to 200 per month today. "We're actually seeing an increase in now the desertion rates in these fighters. We're seeing a fracture in their morale. We're seeing their inability to pay. We're watching them try to leave Daesh," Gersten said, using another name for ISIS. Read more…
27th April 2016