NEWS
‘That man drowned’
Pathologist Dr Eslyn McDonald-Burris of the Forensic Science Centre yesterday stood by the results of an autopsy she performed on the body of Carenage fisherman Brian Smith, who she says drowned while swimming, but whose relatives alleged he was beaten to death by soldiers . McDonald-Burris said she was unswayed by a second autopsy - paid for by Smith’s family - which showed a different conclusion to the cause of death . The first autopsy done by McDonald-Burris found death due to drowning, but a second autopsy by Dr Hughvon des Vignes attributed death to blunt force trauma, in line with claims by the deceased’s relatives that soldiers used a shovel to beat Smith before they threw his body into the sea . Read more...
Autopsy report delayed for Carenage man
The final report on the second autopsy on Brian Smith, who relatives say was beaten by soldiers and dumped in the sea two weeks ago, has been postponed to today. According to relatives, the pathologist Dr Hughvon des Vignes asked for additional time to review the slides containing tissue samples taken from Smith’s lungs before completing the report. Relatives also said Smith was last seen drinking alcohol with soldiers attached to the Engineer Battalion when they got into an argument over an illegal electrical connection on November 20. Read more...
Baby stillborn: mom calls for answers
A mother is calling for an explanation over the death of her baby and has issued a call for better healthcare for mothers at the hospitals and health clinics. Candice Mieraz, 28, delivered a stillborn boy, whom she had planned to name Aidan, at Port of Spain General Hospital on Saturday. She had carried him for nine months. In an interview with the Express yesterday, Mieraz said for the past nine months she had been visiting the Port of Spain health clinic, where her baby’s progress was monitored. Read more...
POLITICS
Poor land management in TT
There is poor land administration, poor land management and a lack of land use planning in Trinidad and Tobago. These were the observations of the Minister of Agriculture Clarence Rambharat as he spoke at the Institute of Surveyors’ Annual Christmas Dinner last Saturday evening. Rambharat used the example of the Caroni Land Distribution Programme to illustrate his point, saying that the absence of surveyors and valuators contributed to the poor land management and administration so clearly seen in that project. F u r t h e r mo r e , politicking through the years added to the country’s land woes as various politicians would have made promises and then crafted policies in order to score points with the electorate. Read more...
Kamla: Is PNM Govt legitimate?
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said there was a strong case that the Elections and Boundaries Commission acted illegally in the September 7 general election by extending the voting time by one hour in Trinidad and is now questioning the legitimacy of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government. Speaking at a Team UNC platform at Three Roads Community Centre, Freeport, on Monday night, hours after the Appeal Court ruling on the election petitions, Persad-Bissessar said the ruling was a victory and she was now placing the faith of the party in the rule of law and in the Judiciary of T&T. Read more...
Govt Seeks 50b More
Government is seeking to increase its borrowing capacity by $50 billion. This would mean its combined borrowing capacity would be raised from the current limit of $70 billion to a total of $120 billion. Minister of Finance Colm Imbert will seek parliamentary approval to increase Government's statutory debt ceiling by bringing three motions aimed at amending three pieces of legislation. Read more...
BUSINESS
TSTT invests $2b in capital expenditure
Majority state-owned Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT) has invested more than $2 billion in capital expenditure over the last five years to ensure this country’s digital communication platform is world class. Rakesh Goswami, executive vice-president of strategic alliance, enterprise and Tobago operations at TSTT, revealed the level of the investment the board and executive management at the company approved and effected, in delivering remarks at the T&T Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) 8th Annual Excellence in Services Awards Ceremony on Monday held at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre on Lady Young Road in St Ann’s, Port-of-Spain. Read more...
Extra RBC banking hours for Christmas
RBC Royal Bank has extended its opening hours for Christmas. Starting this week, the bank has removed its two-hour lunch break on Fridays and also extended its opening time by an hour each day for the rest of the work week. The extended hours are scheduled to be enforced until December 23. In addition to this, lending services will be offered in specific branches for the next two Saturdays. Read more...
REGIONAL
Pesticide that poisoned tourists in USVI still a danger in Caribbean
Nine months after a visiting American family nearly died from exposure to methyl bromide in St John in the US Virgin Islands, authorities have concluded that the use of the banned pesticide was not an isolated event and its use has grave consequences. Two teenage sons from the family poisoned in March, Ryan and Sean Esmond, remain hospitalized in Delaware. They and their father, Stephen, an administrator at the private Tatnall School in Wilmington, suffered neurological damage and are paralyzed. Esmond is conscious but unable to move, his lawyer told CNN. Read more...
Workers shut down Suriname gold mine
Disgruntled over the way the management wants to sever the relationship with over 150 employees, workers shut down operations at the Rosebel Gold Mine (RGM) in Suriname early Tuesday morning. RGM is a subsidiary of Toronto-based gold producer IamGold. Lloyd Read, president of the Rosebel Gold Mine Workers Union (RGWB), said that refusal of the RGM management to appear before the National Mediation Council (BR) on Monday was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He argued that, just as workers and unions, also companies and employers should abide by the rules and regulations in Suriname. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
Syria airstrikes: Has the West learned nothing after its 9/11 response?
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron is determined to deal with the threat from international terrorists. Or so he keeps saying. The problem is that Cameron's proposed air strikes in Syria are likely to escalate the threat, while his government's policies elsewhere in the Middle East are also providing nourishment to "Islamic State" (ISIS) and al Qaeda. Just as his predecessor Tony Blair ignored intelligencewarning that invading Iraq would increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks, Cameron is playing fast and loose with the safety of the British public, and the wider world. Read more...
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to give away 99% of shares
2nd December 2015