NEWS
Newborn in freezer: doctor for ID parade
The doctor was detained after the baby was found during a police search of his office in San Fernando. Police officers said they retrieved the body of the baby boy who had been wrapped in a plastic bag and placed in the freezer section of the refrigerator. Read more here
‘Sausage’ slain by police
One of the men who was initially arrested for questioning following the double murders of Videsh Subar, 13, and his sitter Hafeeza Rose Mohammed, 56, was killed by police officers during a gunfight yesterday morning. According to a police report, at about 4 am Kendall “Sausage” Garcia, 23, was shot during an exchange of gunfire with officers who responded to a robbery in progress at Orange Valley, Couva. Police said Garcia, who was originally from Valencia, was one of four men involved in the robbery. Read more here
School Sinking In Swamp
Two years and $28 million later, the half-way constructed Fanny Village Government Primary School, which was being built to replace its burnt down predecessor, is earmarked to be demolished. This is because the building was found to be sinking in “a swamp” in which it was being constructed. The status of the school was revealed by Education Minister Anthony Garcia at the Conversations with the Prime Minister event held at the Point Fortin East Secondary School on Tuesday evening. The revelation was in response to a parent asking how soon her child and other students of the school could expect to be moved out of the community centre and into a new, more comfortable school. Read more here
POLITICS
Section 34 cases end
Five years after 23 persons and four companies sought freedom from prosecution under the controversial and now repealed Section 34 of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act, all the applications were yesterday officially withdrawn bringing to an end one of the most controversial court cases in local history. Justice Mira Dean-Armorer yesterday cleaned house as she granted permission for the applications to be withdrawn and made no orders for costs which was agreed to by the attorney for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Read more here
Wind Up Clico
The Government has petitioned the High Court to have the conglomerate once chaired by Lawrence Duprey, CL Financial (CLF), wound up because it is unable to pay its debt. The debt, according to the application filed on June 11 by permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance Vishnu Dhanpaul, is in excess of $15 billion. Read more here
BUSINESS
Petrotrin stakeholders asked to make sacrifices
As Government crafts solutions to keep State-owned Petrotrin afloat, every stakeholder will be called upon to make a sacrifice, says Energy Minister Franklin Khan. He said the Government was now coming to terms with the challenges at the oil company. Khan was addressing the issue during “Conversations with the Prime Minister”, at Point Fortin East Secondary School on Tuesday night. Read more here
Couva Chamber president: Hard times for T&T’s business community
Business chambers in south and central Trinidad plan to use moral suasion during a series of sessions with the Bankers’ Association of T&T (BATT) on bank fees and other concerns, Liaquat Ali, president of the Couva Chamber of Commerce told the T&T Guardian yesterday. The business groups are holding a series of workshops across the country to advance discussions on how banks can adjust high fees and other transactions. Read more here
REGIONAL
Fears of Venezuelan migration crisis in Trinidad
In the face of growing political unrest in Venezuela, a large number of Venezuelan immigrants living in Trinidad are concerned that the continued violence may spill-over into Trinidad and result in an immigration crisis. Approximately 15,000 Venezuelans are residing there and as the social upheaval continues in Caracas and other major cities, this figure is expected to grow before the end of the year, Trinidad Newsday reported. Read more here
Port development, funding among major Brexit-related issues raised by British territories
How will Britain leaving the European Union impact on the UK’s Overseas Territories and what kind of benefits can these territories, including those in the Caribbean, gain from Brexit? Those were among the questions asked by a European Union Committee that held an evidence session on the implications of Brexit for the Overseas Territories. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Trump meets Macron, shadowed by Putin
In normal times, President Donald Trump's two-day sojourn to Paris would be a simple and uncomplicated mission. But as the Russian election-meddling drama intensifies, these are not normal times. Trump will serve as guest of honor at France's Bastille Day national military parade on the 100th anniversary of America's entry into World War I, invoking American triumphs abroad with a dash of pageantry that could help lift a struggling presidency and position him as a strong commander-in-chief. Read more here
Nice attack: Prosecutor calls for ban on Paris Match photos
The Paris prosecutor has called for Paris Match magazine to be pulled from newsstands after it published CCTV images of the 14 July attack in Nice. A lorry killed 86 people when it drove into crowds celebrating Bastille Day. The publication of the images has angered a victims' group, which accused the magazine of morbid sensationalism. Read more here
13th July 2017