NEWS
No water since Republic Day
Residents of Williams Terrace in Belmont are pleading with the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to bring relief as they have not had water since Republic Day — a stretch of 15 days. Residents began telephoning Newsday since Monday — Budget Day — to complain that they have been experiencing dry taps since September 24, with no explanation from the State utility and no relief. Pensioner Janet Tyson, 73, who resides at No. 6 Williams Terrace, yesterday explained that she and other residents have been trying to contact WASA but have only gotten recordings. In the meantime, she said, it has been two weeks of stress as basic chores such as bathing, washing clothes and flushing the toilet are difficult. She said the least that WASA could do was to send truck-borne water supplies to the area until the problem is rectified. Read more…
$200,000 in marijuana seized in Grand Riviere
A joint anti-crime exercise in northeast Trinidad by police officers attached to Eastern Division Task Force and members of CID Sangre Grande led to the arrest of five people and seizure of $200,000 in marijuana. Three family members were among the six held at their Grande Riviere home late on Tuesday evening. Police acting on information searched the house around 4 pm and found the marijuana packed in several plastic bags in a bedroom. Read more…
Burnt body found under tyres
Police were called to a forested area in Freeport yesterday after a burnt body was found under a pile of tyres. Officers of the Homcide Bureau (South), Freeport CID, and Central Division Task Force responded and went to an area off LaSolita Road, Chickland. Around 11.15 a.m., a resident stumbled upon the charred remains.
The body was burnt beyond recognition and there were mainly skeletal remains underneath the debris, police said. Read more…
POLITICS
PM Steps In
Government is committed to the restoration of President’s House, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley assured yesterday. Rowley was responding to a question from the Express concerning the absence of a provision in the Estimates of Development Programme for 2016 in which no money was allocated to the restoration of President’s House. PM says Government committed to restoration Acknowledging that there was no line item in the Budget documents for this, the Prime Minister said: “We are getting around to addressing that. I spoke to the Minister of Finance about it”. The Prime Minister said this matter may have to be treated as an “extraordinary item where we may have to authorise the Minister of Finance to make separate arrangements to borrow that money and have a contract so that it (the restoration) can be done”. “It may have to be done by Cabinet authorising the Minister of Finance to find that money,” the Prime Minister added. Read more…
Al-Rawi: We can close deficit gap
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi is confident Government can close the $21 billion deficit gap between revenue and expenditure using subsidy reduction, revenue generation and asset sales. He was speaking to reporters after attending a career guidance seminar at his alma mater Presentation College, San Fernando, yesterday. Defending his Government’s $63 billion budget, Al-Rawi said a similar deficit was recorded when the People’s Partnership presented its last budget. Read more…
BUSINESS
It was end of the fiscal year
Former Finance Minister Larry Howai has confirmed that Government’s account at Central Bank was in overdraft—but he says this can happen coming to the end of the financial quarter and also because this was the end of the fiscal year. Howai clarified the situation briefly following Imbert’s criticism on Monday in his 2016 Budget speech, of the People’s Partnership’s economic management. He also confirmed that he had spoken to Imbert to hand over the Finance portfolio after elections, but didn’t speak to him at all about the new PNM Government’s 2016 Budget. Read more…
Charran: Budget a reality check
Barataria: PRESIDENT of the San Juan Business Association Vivek Charran says Finance Minister Colm Imbert's 2015-2016 budget “sends the correct signals to the population”. “The time of excesses is over. Financial prudence is recommended. For stability and growth in the economy the right mix of austerity and growth initiatives is the way forward. The budget will challenge us in various aspects but I submit, like all medicine, it doesn't taste great, but it may begin to address what ails our economy,” Charran said. He was speaking at the association's post-budget discussion held at the Maritime building in Barataria on Tuesday. Read more…
REGIONAL
US rejects Haiti opposition call for new elections
The US government rejected on Tuesday demands by opposition parties in Haiti to invalidate the results of recent legislative elections, and to set up a transitional government that would have led the impoverished Caribbean country to general elections in a so far undetermined future.
During a brief visit to the Haitian capital on Tuesday, US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said the holding of elections was the only way to have a change of government, as to challenge those who wish to foil the ongoing electoral process to favour the departure of the current administration and the installation of an transitional government, which would not be the results of a popular vote. Read more…
Destined For Greatness: Rural Student Blazing A Trail At Wolmer's Boys School
Ambition goes beyond circumstances, and Aldane Walters of Newland district in Yallahs, St Thomas, is a true personification of this. Topping classes ever since his days at Yallahs Primary School, the now-18-year-old scholar shines brightly as the head boy at Wolmer's Boys' School. Much delinquency and misdemeanour are tracked back to the community and conditions under which children are raised. Walters' surroundings and circumstances served as fuel to his slick ride, his drive to success. "I've never considered myself poor, but maybe, if I wasn't born where and how I was, then I wouldn't work so hard. Though sometimes I wish it was easier, the fact that I don't have everything at my disposal and that I have to work twice as hard, motivates me," said Walters, who admits that he has never fallen beneath the top-three mark in his classes. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Fifa: Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini & Jerome Valcke suspended
Fifa has provisionally suspended its president Sepp Blatter, secretary general Jerome Valcke and vice-president Michel Platini for 90 days. The punishments were handed out by the ethics committee of football's world governing body, which is investigating the three over corruption allegations. It also banned ex-Fifa vice-president Chung Mong-joon for six years. Both Chung and Platini are hoping to replace Blatter when he steps down as president in February. "The grounds for these decisions are the investigations that are being carried out by the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee," the body said in a statement. The three are banned from any football activity in the interim. They deny any wrongdoing. Read more…
Saudi prince now owns 5% of Twitter
Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has given Twitter a big vote of confidence just months after suggesting CEO Jack Dorsey should step aside. Alwaleed has increased its stake in Twitter over the last six weeks to 5.17%, making him the second biggest shareholder after former CEO and co-founder Evan Williams. The announcement comes just days after Twitter (TWTR, Tech30)named Dorsey as its permanent CEO. Read more…
8th October 2015