NEWS
Fatal Love Triangle
In what police are describing as a fatal love triangle, a woman was shot in the head and killed while in a car driven by a close male relative and which also contained a male family friend on Tuesday night. Both men remain in police custody assisting investigators. Police will now rely on ballistics and gunpowder residue tests to determine which man pulled the trigger and killed Melissa ‘’Melly” Mohammed-Ramkissoon, 32. Mohammed-Ramkissoon’s relative who is 35, told officers at Chaguanas Police Station that a 28-year-old friend of the family was the one who shot her in the car. The friend, who exited the car and ran off after the shot was fired, is claiming that Mohammed- Ramkissoon’s relative was the one who shot her and is trying to ‘frame’ him, for her murder. Read more here
Man killed for his Air Jordans
The grandmother of a man murdered in Mr D’or, Champ Fleurs, yesterday, was left questioning why her grandchild had to return to the country only to become a murder statistic. Eileen De Gannes, who arrived at First Private Road, Mt’ Dor, after seeing Isaiah Neptune’s body on social media, said the young man recently returned to Trinidad to care for a house his deceased father had left him. De Gannes said her grandchild lived at Cunupia and Valsayn. Read more here
PH driver shot dead by ‘passengers’
A Chaguanas “PH” driver was shot and left to die by criminals who hijacked his car in Santa Flora on Tuesday. Kendall Trim, 27, of Flora Terrace, Dass Trace, Enterprise, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at hospital yesterday. Two suspects were detained during a high-speed chase with police in Couva while a third man surrendered to police hours later. Trim was plying his Nissan B14 for hire along the Southern Main Road, Chase Village, on Tuesday night when he picked up three men. Read more here
POLITICS
Young: Small fish catch big fish
Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young yesterday said the Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement Bill 2017 will play a critical role in catching the “big fish” involved in crime in TT. In his contribution to debate on the bill in the House of Representatives, Young observed, “This bill allows persons to negotiate, even before a criminal charge is laid.” He explained that this,”opens an opportunity, which is an important element in the fight against for example, white-collar crime. ” Young said analyses of white-collar crime show, “there is somebody who sits up in the clouds called a big fish.” He continued, “Down below the big fish, there are some small fish who are critical to the carrying out of crime.” While the big fish make the collection of evidence to prosecute them difficult, Young explained, “Those small fish are the ones who very frequently have left their fingerprints and their footprints on the scene of the crime.” Read more here
Ministry: Mayaro principal not suspended
Principal of the Mayaro Government Primary School Andy Paul has not been suspended from duty. The Ministry Education said in a statement yesterday that Paul had been instructed by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to “cease to report for duties while an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the injury suffered by the student, is being investigated.” This is in accordance with provisions of Regulation 88 of the Public Service Commission Regulations Chapter 1:0. Read more here
Health Minister: CT scanners may be sabotaged
The Minister of Health has not ruled out the possibility of sabotage of the CT scanners.
Asked yesterday by former health minister Fuad Khan whether the ministry had found evidence of sabotage, Deyalsingh said he was looking at “all angles” in the “coincidental breakdown” of the CT (computerised tomography) scanners at the country’s major hospitals in Port of Spain and San Fernando. Deyalsingh said there was “no definite report” yet that would allow him to give a precise reason as to why the two scanners stopped functioning at the same time. He said the San Fernando machine should be up and running by tomorrow. Read more here
BUSINESS
Petrotrin bunkering resumes
Petrotrin is set to resume its bunkering operations after the wet lease charter of a tanker, the Valme B, which arrived in Trinidad on 2017 March 29. In a media release on Tuesday, Petrotrin stated that the vessel will be on hire to the company for a one year period initially, while arrangements are being made for purchase of the company’s own double hull bunker barge to replace the Marabella - a single hull barge which was decommissioned in 2015 September. According to the FleetMon website, the Valme B is registered in Panama and has a dead weight of 6936 tonnes and was built in 2008. The ship’s destination was listed as Pointea- Pierre, Trinidad six days ago. Petrotrin said the wet lease charter arrangement allows company representatives to be on board the vessel along with the vessel’s own crew to deliver bunkers to ships in local waters as well as offshore Trinidad. Read more here
Minority shareholder Peter Permell raises FCB alarm: Postpone AGM, allow new owners to vote
Minority shareholder activist and First Citizens (FCB) shareholder Peter Permell is calling on FCB to reschedule its annual general meeting (AGM) carded for April 24 to a later date. He said delaying the annual meeting would allow shareholders who are given an allotment in the Additional Public Offering an opportunity to vote those shares on a resolution FCB is seeking to pass at the meeting, or have the resolution completely removed from the agenda. According to a notice put out by the bank informing shareholders of its AGM, FCB is seeking to allow directors sole authority to make amendments to the company’s bylaws by changing one of the articles of continuance of the company. Read more here
Business as usual in T&T
Shoe retailer Payless ShoeSource has filed for bankruptcy in the United States, Canada and Hong Kong, but it will not close stores in Trinidad and Tobago. The 400 stores to close as part of Payless’ ensuing restructuring will be in the US and Puerto Rico, the company’s chief executive officer said in an e-mail to staff on Tuesday. Payless CEO Paul Jones said: “Chapter 11 (bankruptcy protection) does not mean a liquidation of our business. Chapter 11 is an opportunity under protection of the court to reorganise, get our finances back in shape with a strengthened balance sheet and reduced debt, and enable lenders who believe in us to give us new financing that will help fund growth initiatives. We plan to invest in three specific areas that we believe will provide sustainable growth: omnichannel expansion, product and inventory initiatives, and international expansion in Latin American and elsewhere. We’ll be looking at enhancements to these areas as well as other ways to position ourselves for a more competitive future in the months ahead.” Read more here
REGIONAL
Former government should have been arrested, says Dominica PM
In an attempt to clarify some of the challenges his administration faced when they entered office, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has indicated that the preceding government mismanaged the affairs of the country. Skerrit made specific reference on Sunday to the salary deductions of public servants that were not paid to the Dominica Social Security (DSS). “We are no fools in this government. We have been managing the affairs of the country in a very prudent manner. Because when we came into office… we inherited a very serious state of affairs,” he explained. Read more here
'Big, Fat Lie' - Grange Says Allegations Of Corruption At Culture Ministry As False As Plastic Rice
Culture Minister Olivia Grange has rubbished claims by the South East St Ann Member of Parliament, Lisa Hanna, who, a day before, accused the minister of nepotism and corruption in the awarding of a contract for the Jamaica Emancipation and Heritage Week celebrations. Calling Hanna's statement to Parliament on Tuesday erroneous, Grange said that it was hurtful not only to her, but also to the professionals who work with the Government. "Big, fat lie; false news like plastic rice," Grange said as she sought to clear the air about the allegations. She explained that the $440 million was allocated to the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sports for Emancipation and Heritage Week in 2017-18. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Aung San Suu Kyi: No ethnic cleansing of Myanmar Muslim minority
Russia challenges Trump to say what he would do about Syria
Russia has challenged President Donald Trump to set out his strategy on Syria after he declared that an apparent chemical weapons attack had transformed his views on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Trump, who has previously argued against removing Assad from power, said Wednesday's attack on a rebel-held town in Syria's Idlib province was a "heinous" act that "crossed a lot of lines for me." Read more here
6th April 2017