NEWS
Acting CoP to his officers after 8 charged with murder: Don't be distracted from your jobs
Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob, on Tuesday, called on his officers not to allow the charging of eight of their colleagues to stop them from doing their jobs. Speaking on TV6’s Beyond the Tape, Jacob said Tuesday was a sad day for Trinidad and Tobago and the police service in particular following the court appearance of the officers. Sgt Joseph Solomon, Cpl Charles Budri and PCs Vaughn St Cyr, Sean Lord, Mark Lewis, Sherwin Baptiste, Colin Furlonge and Jameel Mohammed, were each charged with murdering Joel "Lion" Jacob, 38, his childhood friend Noel Diamond, 46 and Israel Moses Clinton, 27, at Juman Drive, Second Caledonia, Morvant on June 27, 2020. Read more here
Starting all over again! Retrial for two accused of murdering 6-year-old Sean Luke
Two men, accused of brutally murdering six-year-old Sean Luke over 16 years ago when they were teenagers, will have to face a retrial. Appellate Judges Nolan Bereaux, Mark Mohammed and Maria Wilson ordered the retrial for Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo yesterday, after upholding their appeal over their convictions based on concessions by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). At the start of the hearing, Deputy DPP George Busby said that the DPP’s Office had to concede four of the seven grounds of appeal raised by the duo’s lawyers, based on a deep analysis of the evidence in the case. “We feel that we are unable to defend those grounds with the result that the State has to concede in this appeal,” Busby said. Read more here
POLITICS
Hinds dodges drenching as tent collapses during rainfall
The opening ceremony for the Josephine Shaw House in Port-of-Spain came to a dramatic end yesterday, after a tent collapsed while National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds was giving the feature address. Hinds was standing in for Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for the reopening of the facility, which will be used as a transition home for young women. Hinds took the podium shortly before noon, bringing greetings to his Cabinet colleagues, Energy Minister Stuart Young, Youth Development Minister Foster Cummings and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Ayanna Webster-Roy. Read more here
Kamla: ‘Eat a food’ lawyers supported AG Armour
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Monday night launched a scathing attack on a number of senior attorneys who she identified as having spoken in defence of Attorney General Reginald Armour. She described them as “beggars” and “eat a food” lawyers singing for their supper so they can continue to pocket millions from the State for legal fees. Speaking at the United National Congress (UNC) virtual meeting, the former prime minister called out the senior lawyers, a number of whom she noted sat on State boards. Read more here
BUSINESS
Tax break helps Massy push Volvo EVs
Luxury vehicle manufacturer, Volvo, is to become a “fully electric car company” by the year 2030, as there is only one decade left to change the way energy is used to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. That’s the revelation from Massy Motors Volvo brand manager, Vir Sieunarine, who spoke with Express Business at the Volvo showroom, last Friday, at Massy Motors on Lady Young Road, Morvant. In October last year, the car company opened the Volvo showroom. Read more here
REGIONAL
World-class accommodation
An increase in economic activities is imminent along the newly opened four-lane Mandela-Eccles Road, following the commencement of work on the US$35Million (approximately $7.3 billion) Four Points by Sheraton–Marriott Hotel at the Houston site just off the new highway. The massive 172-room facility is being constructed by the Caribbean Green Building Inc., and US-based Owen Steel Company. In his address at a simple sod-turning ceremony for the new hotel on Tuesday, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, said this massive investment is aligned with the government’s commitment to unlocking new opportunities and opening new paths for the further development of Guyana. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Wildfires rage in Greece, Spain and Italy as heatwave moves across Europe
Fires continue to run wild in countries across Europe, where a heatwave has intensified drought conditions. Though temperatures have cooled in France and the UK, firefighters are still tackling blazes in Greece, Spain and Italy. The fires in France's badly-hit south-west have started to be brought under control. And as the heatwave moves north-east, low water levels are hampering transport on rivers in Germany. In Greece, nearly 500 firefighters are tackling a blaze in Mount Penteli, to the north-east of the capital Athens, as the effects of the heatwave persist. Three aircraft and four helicopters were deployed at dawn to help them tackle the blaze, the fire service said. Winds in excess of 80 km/h (49 miles/h) have made it harder to contain, the BBC's Stephen Ryan reports. Read more here
20th July 2022