NEWS
Not My Boys
XTRA-FOOD chief executive Vindra Naipaul-Coolman could not have been shot and her body sawed up at a red brick house in Upper La Puerta, Diego Martin, the mother of two of ten men accused of killing the Chaguanas businesswoman, testified yesterday at the trial in the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain. Rita Garcia, mother of accused Keida Garcia and Jamile “WASA” Garcia, was the sole witness for the defence. She was called as a witness by her son Keida, but denied doing so with a bias to save her boys, insisting instead, she came to, “speak the truth.” On trial are Shervon “Buffy” Peters; the Garcia brothers, Marlon “Mad Man Marlon” Trimmingham; Earl “Bobo” Trimmingham; Ronald “22” Armstrong; Antonio “Hedges” Charles; Lyndon “Iron” James; Devon “Blackboy” Peters and Anthony Dwayne Gloster, also called Anthony Peters. Garcia said she recalled the morning of a police search. Read more...
Union warns of backlash from cheap steel imports
With many hardware dealers now importing cheap Chinese steel products, the Steel Workers Union (SWUTT) is warning Government and contractors that infrastructure in T&T will not be able to stand natural disasters in the near future. Dozens of retrenched workers of Central Trinidad Steel Ltd (Centrin), T&T’s leading supplier of steel products, protested in front of the company’s Point Lisas plant yesterday. Read more...
El Salvador warns: Don’t get pregnant for two years
Don't get pregnant for the next two years. That is the warning El Salvador’s government has issued women as Zika, a tropical virus blamed for causing severe birth defects, sweeps Latin America and the Caribbean. But a spate of such recommendations from health officials in several countries has drawn derision in a region where activists say women have little control over their bodies in the first place. Since Zika, a mosquito-borne, flu-like disease that originated in Africa, arrived in Latin America last year, there has been a rampant increase in babies born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, a birth defect that can cause brain damage and death. Read more...
POLITICS
Deyalsingh: Impossible to stop Zika
Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh yesterday warned it was impossible to prevent the dreaded Zika virus – which has been linked to birth defects – from arriving in this country. However, the Minister fell short of calling on the population to postpone pregnancies, instead saying an “integrated management approach” was being adopted by his ministry. “It is next to impossible for any country – whether it is Brazil, Panama, the United States, Suriname, Barbados, to stop the unwelcome entry of the Zika virus into your country,” Deyalsingh said during Senate Question Time. “The only way to effectively stop it, is to build a huge wall around your country, stop international trade and containerized cargo from coming into your country and stop the movement of people. International trade and commerce are part of what we now call the global village.” Earlier, Opposition Senator Wade Mark had asked what steps were being taken to prevent the spread of Zika in light of the upcoming Carnival season. Mark’s question appeared to echo fears, in countries such as Brazil, that Carnival celebrations could intensify risk. Read more...
UNC senator slams army/police patrols
Days after soldiers were instructed to return to the streets to patrol with police officers in crime hot spots, Opposition Senator and attorney Wayne Sturge has criticised the move saying all the military officers were doing was posing for the camera. Sturge was contributing to yesterday’s Senate debate on a private motion brought by the Leader of Opposition Business, Wade Mark. That motion related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Read more...
PM: Section 34 ruling is no vindication for Partnership
AS far as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is concerned, the Privy Council’s ruling in the Section 34 appeal on Monday is no vindication of the former government, and any attempt by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to do otherwise is an insult to the population. Dr Rowley issued a statement yesterday in response to claims being made by Persad-Bissessar and other Opposition politicians regarding the judgment in the State’s favour in the appeal brought by businessmen Ameer Edoo, Steve Ferguson and Maritime and three companies, who challenged Parliament’s decision to repeal Section 34 of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act. Read more...
BUSINESS
Tobago RBL welcomes new manager
Republic Bank’s Tobago Corporate Customers were treated to a cocktail appreciation reception, as they witnessed the introduction of the bank’s new Area Manager, at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, Lowland, Tobago over the weekend. The event was aimed at announcing the retirement of Allison Cooper, Area Manager and introducing Shedley Branche, a former Marketing Manager in the Group’s Marketing and Communications Department. Branche is expected to assume the position of Area Manager, Tobago effective January 29. Read more...
ACCA re-launches microsite
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has re-launched its Find an Accountant microsite to make it easier to locate a professionally qualified ACCA accountant or ACCA accountancy practice. The new site allows users to not only search by location, but also by services offered by the ACCA member or practice. This means that firms who offer audit, or specialise in small business accounts, for example can publicise these services to potential new clients. Read more...
Contractors demand US$40m from Govt
Local contractors employed in the construction of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin are demanding outstanding payments, following reports that Brazilian firm OAS Construtora is pulling out of the multi-billion-dollar project. Some 60 contractors claim that no payments, totalling US$40 million, have been made for the past seven months. The contractors blocked the entrance to OAS Construtora’s administrative office at Golconda, near San Fernando yesterday. Read more...
REGIONAL
Turks and Caicos government allegedly defrauded of millions
On Monday, Andrew Mitchell QC commenced the second week of his opening statement on behalf of the prosecution in the criminal trial of former Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) premier Michael Misick and others, by outlining in detail a land transaction that allegedly defrauded the TCI government of millions of dollars. At the end of last week, Mitchell had turned to a case of alleged “land flipping” at North West Point, an area of Providenciales located approximately ten miles from Grace Bay. David Wex, a developer from Canada, became interested in the prospect of developing the land at North West Point and sometime in 2006 he ended up, through a corporate entity, as the beneficial owner of the land, paying close to the open market value. Read more...
Annual tourist arrivals to Jamaica surpass population size
Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Dr. Wykeham McNeill says Jamaica has been welcoming more visitors every year than the size of its population. For the past two years, the island has seen around 3.5 million tourists annually – two million stopover visitors and 1.5 million on cruise ships -, which is a million more than the number of people living in the country. “Bringing in more people than our current population is no ordinary feat…and we are not done as yet,” McNeill told JIS News. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
French Minister Christiane Taubira resigns amid terror row
Iowans react to Trump debate decision
Donald Trump's campaign declared Tuesday that the Republican presidential front-runner is boycotting Thursday's GOP debate hosted by Fox News. The announcement went off like a bombshell in the presidential race, drawing condemnation from Fox and mockery from Trump's Republican opponents. But at a Trump rally in Iowa City, voters met the news with a mix of skepticism and amusement. Jim Glasgow, a plumber from Iowa City who is supporting Trump, called the move a "marketing ploy" by Trump to get more viewers to tune in. Read more...
27th January 2016