NEWS
Lawyer: Selby says he’s been deemed a cop killer
It’s over. With escapees Allan “Scanny Martin and Hassan Atwell both dead in the last 48 hours since last Friday’s city jail break, Christopher “Monster” Selby, the final prisoner who had been on the run, surrendered to police last night. Almost 72 hours after last Friday’s brazen midday prison break, Selby, the last prisoner alive, gave himself up to Barataria police— but he’s expressed fears for his life and that he’s been deemed a “cop killer.” Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams told the T&T Guardian that Selby should have no reason to fear for his life. Williams added, “He’s now in police custody and the rule of law will take place. The matters are being investigated and I’m talking about the relevant matters including their escape from the jail and the murder of the young police constable (Sherman Maynard) so I wouldn’t want to comment on that at this point Read more…
TT loves alcohol
Trinidad and Tobago and two other CARICOM countries were identified in a Pan American/World Health Organisation report on alcohol use as having the highest rates of alcohol consumption in the Americas, and Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan says it may be linked to the culture of Carnival. Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis were also identified in PAHO/WHO first Regional Status Report on Alcohol and Health in the Americas, which also warned that harmful use of alcohol increases in the Americas over 2005 to 2010.
“These things may be linked to the culture of Carnival, which is the culture of drinking, Khan told Newsday in a recent interview. “We do have a problem and we are working with it,” he said noting that the Ministry of Health STEPS programme towards a healthier TT showed that teenage alcohol use has increased along with Non Communicable Diseases. Read more…
Kick’em Jenny goes quiet
No activity has been recorded at the Kick’em Jenny submarine volcano since Saturday and as a result the alert level has been lowered, the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) said yesterday. On Thursday a “strong continuous signal” was observed on instruments monitoring the Kick’em Jenny underwater volcano located eight kilometres north of Grenada. As a result the UWI-SRC heightened the alert level to Orange- the second highest alert level, prior to an eruption. Because the underwater volcano’s activity levels have “reduced significantly” over the past 48 hours however he alert level has now been reduced. “The Seismic Research Centre (SRC), University of the West Indies has reported that the activity levels at the Kick-‘em-Jenny under water Volcano has reduced significantly during the last 48 hours. “Since 6 p.m., on Saturday July 25th, no activity was recorded,” the UWI-SRC’s website stated yesterday. Read more…
Attempted Coup: Remembering those died
July 27th, 2015 marks 25 years since the Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (the Red House) was stormed by armed insurgents in an attempted coup d’état which resulted in the deaths of 24 persons; the holding hostage of the then Prime Minister, other Ministers, Members of Parliament and staff; the shooting of the then Prime Minister who refused to surrender our democracy to the insurrectionists; and physical and emotional injury to many others. Those who lost their lives in and around the Red House during this time included: Special Reserve Police Officer, Solomon McLeod (killed at Police Headquarters), M.P. for Diego Martin Central, Leo Des Vignes, Clerical Officer, Loraine Caballero, Customs and Excise Officer and former police officer, Arthur Guiseppi, Government Broadcasting Unit Employee, Mervyn Teague, Assistant Superintendent, Roger George, Estate Policeman, Malcolm Basanta and Chauffeur, George Francis. The Office of the Parliament pays tribute to those who lost their lives, the hostages and those who suffered directly or indirectly as a result of the events of July 27th to August 1st, 1990. Read more…
11 to appear in court today
Sections of St Vincent Street were blocked off by police yesterday in anticipation of the appearance of 11 men at the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court to answer charges for the murder of senior counsel Dana Seetahal. Deputy Police Commissioner Glenn Hackett has advised members of the public who have no need to be near the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court today to stay away. Barricades were placed along St Vincent Street near the intersections of both Duke and Queen Streets yesterday. The entrance to the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court is located along St Vincent Street. St Vincent Street is a one-way street with vehicular traffic allowed in a southerly direction. An increased number of armed police officers are also expected to be deployed today. These are among several security initiatives which have been put in place to ensure the 11 men accused of Seetahal’s murder are brought to court and leave its precincts without incident. Following the daring daylight jailbreak of three inmates from the Port of Spain prison on Friday, and the shooting death of a police officer, security arrangements have been further scrutinised. Read more…
POLITICS
Cadiz confident of return
Minister of Transport Stephen Cadiz yesterday expressed confidence on his chances of being selected by the UNC to contest the Chaguanas East seat he held in the Tenth Parliament. Cadiz was one of several persons who attended screening activities at the party’s headquarters at Rienzi Complex, Couva, last Friday. “I screened on Friday and I think it went well,” the Minister said. “I am very au courant with my constituency. I walked in without a piece of paper or a pencil because I have a good knowledge of the issues in the area.” However, Cadiz said he told the screening committee that he was willing to serve wherever placed. “I told them that I signed up to serve wherever the party wants me to serve,” Cadiz said. “Wherever they put me I am fine with that.” On the crime situation at Enterprise Village, which had abruptly deteriorated in the last few weeks, Cadiz said it was due to the heightened police presence in the area. Read more…
Claims of voter intimidation is strategy
What PNM La Horquetta/Talparo general election candidate Maxie Cuffie is calling voter intimidation is simply a teleforum election strategy used by politicians all over the world, says the UNC’s campaign team. Cuffie claimed he received several complaints of voter intimidation from constituents of La Horquetta/Talparo who said they are being called on their personal cell phones by someone with a voice purporting to be that of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. The voice invited constituents to participate in a telephone conference call to discuss the general election and said she will be joined by the area’s MP Jairam Seemungal. Cuffie said his constituents complained about these intrusive calls from the UNC campaign team and questioned how their personal numbers were obtained. He charged it was voter intimidation. UNC’s campaign manager, Rodney Charles said Cuffie’s charges were “absolute nonsense”. He said voter intimidation is unheard of in the 21st century. “This is something the UNC would never, ever do. Charles said the PM held a teleforum recently and invited citizens the previous day to participate. Read more…
BUSINESS
DOMA chief upset at city panic
Downtown Owners and Merchants Association president Gregory Aboud yesterday blamed the lack of timely and official information for the panic by businesses and citizens in Port of Spain. Aboud said shortly after rumours began spreading about a shootout in the capital city involving police, businesses responded by shutting their stores. He said he tried calling around for information about what was going on but this proved futile. Aboud noted that he was inundated with calls but because there was no “official organ of information” he could not corroborate the reports of a shootout and therefore did not advise those who called to be worried. “Of course being so close to the July 27 (anniversary of 1990 attempted coup) and being a Friday, many people in the city put two and two together and got seven and decided on their own that it was too risky to take any chance and therefore they decided on their own to make the decision that they did. That situation was exacerbated by the cars driving up and down with sirens blaring and the helicopters overhead,” he told the Express by phone yesterday. Read more…
NFM jumps 11% on strong results
Overall Market activity resulted from trading in 14 securities of which three advanced, four declined and seven traded firm. Trading activity on the first tier market registered a volume of 202,649 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $4,637,770.36. National Flour Mills was the volume leader with 80,250 shares changing hands for a value of $160,381.50, followed by JMMB with a volume of 63,200 shares being traded for $27,830. WITCO contributed 25,000 shares with a value of $3,133,750, while Guardian Holdings Ltd added 21,951 shares valued at $285,363.00. National Flour Mills enjoyed the day's largest gain, increasing $0.20 to end the day at $2.00. Conversely, WITCO suffered the day's greatest loss, falling $0.05 to close at $125.35. Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the mutual fund market, posting a volume of 26,925 shares valued at $610,073.47. Clico Investment Fund declined by $0.04 to end at $22.66. Bourse Brazil Latin Fund remained at $9.50. Fortress Caribbean Property Fund SCC - Development Fund remained at $0.67. Read more…
REGIONAL
Guyana president calls for stronger regional security
“The Caribbean needs a stronger collective security system in order to deal with new threats,” said Guyana’s President David Granger, while delivering the commencement address at the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (WJPC) graduation ceremony in Washington on Friday. The president, who is a former student and adjunct faculty member at the institution, which is an academic institution for defence and security dialogue in the Western Hemisphere, made a strong case for the security of small states. He said, “Unless the small and weak are secure, the strong and large will also suffer.” In this regard, Granger called for collective international and regional mechanisms that include medium and large states and respect for the sovereignty of small states. Referencing the threat Guyana faces from Venezuela against its territorial integrity, Granger said that there are a number of issues at stake; the sovereign right of a country to exploit its own resources, the principles of the peaceful settlement of disputes and the avoidance of the resort to the use of force, threats and intimidation and the inviolability of international agreements and adherence to international law. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
China shares fall more than 8% on growth concerns
Shares in mainland China have recorded their biggest one-day fall for more than eight years following a sell-off towards the end of the trading day. The Shanghai Composite closed down 8.5% at 3,725.56 after more weak economic data raised concerns about the health of world's second largest economy. Profit at China's industrial firms dropped 0.3% in June from a year ago. That followed data on Friday indicating that factory activity in July saw its worse performance for 15 months. Bernard Aw, market strategist at trading firm IG, said the surprisingly weak manufacturing data "added to worries that there could be further weakness in the Chinese economy, after the patch of recent economic data showed signs of stability". The Shanghai market's fall was the biggest one-day loss since February 2007. It's been a roller coaster ride for investors in Chinese shares. First, the heady highs: a massive rally in a span of 12 months - stocks soared by some 150%. Then in late June of this year, a dramatic 30% fall which caused both traders and the government to panic. Read more…
27th July 2015