NEWS
Busted
Anthony Smith, 30, was yesterday rearrested and slapped with 21 charges involving human trafficking, child prostitution and assault. Among the charges is that of recruiting a child within Trinidad and Tobago for the purpose of trafficking under section 18 of the Trafficking in Persons Act. This section states: A person who—(a) recruits, transports, transfers or receives a child into or within Trinidad and Tobago; (b) harbours a child in Trinidad and Tobago; or (c) recruits, transports or transfers a child from Trinidad and Tobago to another jurisdiction, for the purpose of exploitation, commits the offence of trafficking in children and is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of not less than one million dollars and imprisonment for not less than 20 years. Read more…
Met Service ends rough seas warning
The Met Service yesterday discontinued the rough seas bulletin which had been in effect for several weeks. A release from the Met Office yesterday stated: “Sea conditions have been steadily improving along coastlines in Trinidad and Tobago.” However, it still warned that people who were engaging in sea activities, from fishermen to swimmers, must sill exercise caution while entering the waters. Read more…
Brother, sister to be buried side by side
They were very close in life, so why not be together in death? Junior ‘Gang-Gay’ Jaikaran and his sister Dinnse are to be given one funeral and will be buried side by side in one grave, their relatives confirmed yesterday. On Sunday, 49-year-old Jaikaran collapsed and died inside a bar not too far from his Penal home. Minutes later, when she was awakened and told of his death, Dinnse, 51, ran out of their home and collapsed in the yard. Read more…
POLITICS
Abdulah: Strange UNC waited till out of Govt
Why now? Leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) has questioned the timing of Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge’s exposé on Housing Minister Marlene McDonald and Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) chairman Noel Garcia.
Sturge, at a news conference on Monday, questioned Abdulah’s silence, as well as Fixin T&T’s, on the issues he raised with respect to these office- holders. Sturge has written the Integrity Commission, requesting investigations into McDonald for allegedly misusing her ministerial authority, under the former Patrick Manning-led People’s National Movement (PNM) administration, to ensure her partner, Michael Carew, was allocated a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) unit in 2008. Read more…
Culture Minister hints of tighter fiscal measures
Further cuts may be made in the budgetary allocations for Carnival 2016, says Community Development, Culture and the Arts Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly yesterday. Yesterday, Gadsby-Dolly and new National Carnival Commission (NCC) chairman Kenny de Silva, Pan Trinbago president Keith Diaz and others toured the designated area of the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, to get a first-hand view of the state of preparedness for the events. Read more…
Health Minister on swine flu vaccine We are well covered
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh last night reassured that the country has sufficient vaccines to deal with the current H1N1 influenza virus (swine flu). Deyalsingh also gave the assurance that his ministry will be getting more vaccines over the course of this week and the next two weeks. Responding to claims from Pharmacy Board Association president Andrew Rahaman about a shortage of swine flu vaccines in TT, Deyalsingh told Newsday, the vaccines are provided to the public sector through the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and to the private sector through a local distributor. Read more…
BUSINESS
Flavorite gets new owner
Share trading in ice cream producer Flavorite Foods Ltd has been suspended on the local stock exchange following its takeover by privately owned financial services company Stone Street Capital. Former CL Financial executive Andre Monteil is the chairman of Port of Spain-based Stone Street Capital. He confirmed to the Express in a brief telephone interview yesterday that Stone Street had acquired 100 per cent shareholding in Flavorite. Read more…
Economists not surprised at forecast: T&T economy to shrink
T&T has been ranked among the ten economies likely to shrink this year by the Economist. A report by the magazine’s Economist Intelligence Unit places this country 9th on the list, just above Greece in a ranking that also includes Venezuela, Brazil, Syria, Libya, Equatorial Guinea and Burundi. Reacting to the news yesterday, two economists told the T&T Guardian they were not surprised at the ranking. Indera Sagewan-Alli, executive director of the Caribbean Centre For Competitiveness said while she could not agree or disagree with the magazine’s assessment, she is not surprised at the country’s rate of decline in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). Read more…
Business bust at Christmas
Head of the Supermarkets’ Association, Dr Yunus Ibrahim, says prices on several items sold in the supermarkets are expected to decline after the passage and implementation of the new Value-Added Tax (VAT) regime, which is due to go to Parliament on Friday. The legislation will see VAT dropping from 15 percent to 12.5 percent, and a widening of the range of items to which VAT is applied. A statement posted on the website of the Ministry of Finance on December 30 last, stated the government will introduce the Finance Bill, 2016 in the House of Representatives on January 8, 2016 to amend the law and legalise the change in the rate of VAT. Read more…
REGIONAL
It's Sexual Harassment - Proposed Law Frowns On Gayle-Like Conduct
If a Sexual Harassment Bill tabled last month in Parliament becomes law, utterances like those made recently by West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle to a female Australian reporter could lead to civil sanctions, including a monetary penalty. Attorney-at-law Bert Samuels, in an interview with The Gleaner yesterday, said that the fact that Gayle tendered an apology would mitigate whatever consequences would follow his action. "However, it's interesting that he said he meant it for humour, but the act does not exclude it if it's just a prank, therefore, one has to be careful. Both men and women must be careful. It does not only speak to words, but a wink, or sticking out your tongue or fingers can amount to harassment. It doesn't have to be verbal or physical," Samuels said. Read more…
Former deputy chief renews call for Bahamas police leadership change
Former deputy commissioner of police Quinn McCartney has renewed his call for a change in leadership in the crime fight following the setting of a new murder record in The Bahamas in 2015, and several serious crimes already recorded for 2016, including two murders and multiple shootings. While McCartney did not identify anyone in his remarks, his comments are widely viewed as a critique of Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade, the Nassau Guardian reported. Meanwhile, a new crime warning was issued on Tuesday by the US Embassy in The Bahamas, singling out operators of personal watercraft or jet skis following the sexual assault of a US citizen. The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) said a 26-year-old man was taken into custody as a suspect in the January 2 attack. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
North Korea nuclear H-bomb claims met by scepticism
Austria police suspect murder-suicide after head, body parts found in lake
Police in Austria appear to have a bizarre murder-suicide case on their hands. Authorities believe a man killed a woman and then dismembered her before encasing her head in concrete. His body was found submerged in a lake. The gruesome details began to unfold over the weekend when a suitcase with the woman's body parts was found in Traunsee lake, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Salzburg, said prosecutor Birgit Ahamer. A police dog later found a second suitcase with more pieces of her body. Read more…
6th January 2016