“Go to school and do well, work hard to achieve your goals because you cannot be successful in life if you do not put in the hard work.

You cannot be successful in your studies by playing games and watching a lot of television,” Duncan advised students at a ceremony in her honour at the school.

Duncan, who passed for her first choice St Joseph Convent, Port of Spain, said she felt very proud and honoured.

“I want to encourage others that despite what challenges you may have, keep working hard because I did not reach here by watching plenty of TV. I worked very hard and I am thankful for the support from my aunt Renna Duncan.

“My aunt played a magnificent role in my studies and dedicated all her time and energy to help prepare me for the SE A exam. I must also praise and thank my teacher Miss Miranda Sakawat.” Interim Rector of the Holy Trinity and the school’s manager Carl Williams said it is an important time for the school and thanks must be given to God for its achievements.

He boasted that every year, St Catherine’s places in the top 20 overall in the SE A. “This year we have a student who placed first in Port of Spain and environs and 16th nationwide. It is an appropriate time to give thanks and celebrate.

“I believe parents are disciplined at this time to know the importance of education for their children and it is important to have a principal who is always thoughtful,” Williams said. He added that the annual award ceremony gives students an incentive to work harder as they prepare for their exams.

He said Rowley should have gone to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), rather than Minister of Foreign Affairs Dennis Moses.

Saying Moses will today face empty seats in his address on the assembly’s last day, Charles said that had Rowley attended, he would have spoken much earlier and so addressed most of the 187 delegations (under UN protocols that give heads of government precedence over ministers in speaking.) “He will therefore miss a golden opportunity to inform a larger global audience on the urgent need for regional, financial and other assistance from international aid agencies in the wake of recent hurricanes.” Hurricane-stricken Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Thursday highlighted his country’s plight and pleaded for international assistance.

“Dr Rowley, instead of offering piecemeal help like temporary residence status, could have used our national and regional clout to argue frontally for debt relief for Caricom countries ravished by natural disasters.” He said Dominica’s debt-to- GDP ratio is a hefty 93 per cent, while Antigua and Barbuda’s is 67 per cent.

“This Keith Rowley Government must grow up and realise that it has to develop strategic and well-thought-out policies, plans and programmes to confront and overcome our national and regional challenges.

“TT missed an opportunity to demonstrate decisiveness and leadership at the UNGA. Our regional brothers and sisters would have been much better off had Dr Rowley chosen to exercise that leadership by being present in New York.”

He is to reappear in court on Tuesday, when the charges will be read to him by the presiding magistrate. Diaz was charged with false imprisonment, common assault with a firearm, shooting with intent, possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm and ammunition to endanger life.

Two officers – Cpl Ronald Ramdeen of the Malabar CID and Acting ASP Mervyn Edwards of the Northern Division – charged Diaz. According to reports, a man arrived at the O’Meara campus in a taxi with a 20-year-old female trainee. The taxi driver got out and went to campus security, saying the passengers had been arguing and the man had threatened to kill the woman.

Police were contacted and when they got there the man fired at them, and there was an exchange of gunfire.

The man ran into the school building and held a 17-year-old male student captive for about ten minutes. Cpl Paul De Leon of the Arima CID, engaged the suspect, persuading him to release the teenager and disarm himself

Both mother and daughter were stabbed outside their South Trinidad home on Wednesday by a man after the mother petitioned the courts for a restraining order against him. Residents who assisted the woman and her child, later found the man in some bushes and gave him a sound cuttail before calling the police.

The man remains warded in a different ward at San Fernando General Hospital where his victims are also warded. Police said a decision was made to beef up security around mother and daughter and to also manage and limit the number of people allowed to visit them, after death threats were sent to the child. Police sources said that the death threats were made by associates of the male suspect who is handcuffed to the iron rails of his bed. The schoolgirl remains listed as serious but stable. The suspect was expected to appear in court next Friday when the case filed by the woman for a restraining order, was expected to be heard.

Police sources said that the man, when he is discharged from hospital, could face two charges of attempted murder as well as several charges of sexual assault against the child. The mother was stabbed in the chest and hand.

Pepper spray is a great non-lethal weapon to have in one’s possession, especially if travelling alone at night. It is an invaluable instrument of self-defence since it possesses the remarkable ability to inflame the mucous membranes of the attacker’s eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

The criminal is temporarily blinded and also experiences breathing problems as the pepper spray is extremely pungent.

The effects usually last long enough to allow the victim to escape.

Pepper spray in a woman’s is a powerful tool that can save lives and mishaps of the worst kind.

CHELSEA BEDASE El Dorado

Police from the North Eastern Division Task force, led by Snr Supt Surrendra Sagramsingh, ASP Michael Sooker, and co-ordinated by Sgt Simeon Guelmo, conducted a 12-hour anti crime exercise from 11 am to 11 pm on Thursday.

During the exercise police were led to an abandoned car in Petit Bourg. They searched the car and found 109 grammes of marijuana.

The three men, all from Morvant, were then arrested and were said to be in custody up to press time, assisting police.

Police also found three firearms in separate locations during the exercise.

Task Force officers searched an abandoned building in Chinapoo Village, Morvant, where they found a Desert Eagle pistol with six rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Police then went to Bagatelle Road, San Juan, where they found a Smith and Wesson pistol with five rounds of ammunition.

Another Smith and Wesson revolver was found under a derelict car on Parry Lane, El Socorro. The gun was found with two rounds of .38 ammunition.

No arrests were made in connection to these finds.

In the Northern Division, police seized a gun which was dropped by an unknown man in Arouca.

According to reports, police from the Northern Division were on patrol in Windy Hill when they saw a man standing in the road. When he saw them, he ran off. Police chased him but lost him in some bushes. However, police noticed that he dropped something while trying to escape.

They searched the area, and found a revolver, loaded with six rounds of .38 ammunition.

Police are now on the search of the unknown man.

The budget, he added, is already a done deal and won’t be influenced by such a debate.

Maharaj, in a press release, said Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young’s disclosure of the discussion is “a political mamaguy” that insults the population’s intelligence.

“Since Government assumed office they have been lamenting the state of the economy they inherited, instead of dealing with the economic challenges,” Maharaj said.

“So what else new will they be adding to the national debate on the economy other than showing their incompetence to deal with the challenges? Is not the budget address by the Minister of Finance presumed to treat with these fundamental issues?” Maharaj said that as a former public servant and cabinet minister, he knew that, at this stage, the budget was virtually, “cast in concrete.” Budget documents, his release added, had already been printed and some agencies already had an idea of their anticipated allocations.

Projected revenue streams had been factored into projected expenditure in PSIP (public sector investment programmes), recurrent expenses, developmental projects, etc.

Budget consultations and planning began as early as April and it was at that point that any serious consultation should have been conducted.

Every public servant in the Ministry of Finance knows this fact, so this last-minute consultation is a farce, Maharaj said.

He wondered if participants at this consultation were to suggest some truly innovative idea, would Government “burn the already- printed budget documents” and have public officers rework the figures to fit these new ideas.

Speaking at the San Fernando ASJA Mosque during ‘juma’ prayers, Sulaimani saluted Rowley’s stance saying people are duty- bound to help and especially those in the Muslim community, even if it meant people having to facilitate a family in Dominica in their respective homes .

“People do not have food, drinking water and their houses have been destroyed,” Sulaimani told the congregation. He called on Muslims to begin putting together their Zakaat to send to Dominicans and they must be at the forefront in initiating such a drive .

“Muslims must not be holy only during the month of Ramadaan .

What has happened to our neighbours, is a test for us. Or, it is a punishment depending how we look at it from an Islamic perspective .

It is public knowledge that some of these islands are filled with lewed activities, for tourists. They commit sin. But, it also serves as a test for us here, for we are not to blame others, but reform others using the best way,” Sulaimani said .

The mosque was packed to capacity and included Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein, former House Speaker Nizam Mohammed, Justice Robin Mohammed and retired judge Shahfeyei Shah .

Sulaimani said that the calamities that befall some, is a test of faith for those who have not yet been affected by hunger, thirst and the forces of nature .

“Nationals of this country must never lull themselves into a false sense of security, in believing the winds will not destroy us, for we are told as Muslims, to seek refuge from the evil of the winds and the very water which cleanse us.” With this in mind, Sulaimani said, Rowley made a bold declaration for nationals of this country to sponsor a family, relative or friend they may know who have lost their home in Dominica .

“That is why I salute the prime minister. Let us not play politics with this. The prime minister understands the effect on the one who gives, at a time, to the one who is in need.”

The seven, including a woman, were taken to the nearby Port of Spain General Hospital where one succumbed while the others were receiving treatment up to press time. No identity of the victims were forthcoming from police.

Those of us who have been markers with CXC can vouch for the efficiency of the table markers because of the numerous checks and balances involved.

Since CXC has moved on to e-marking the exercise has not gone smoothly and there are many teething problems to solve before the users of this service can be satisfied with it.

The public must have noted the confusion with examination results, which some members of the public without knowledge of the process were quite eager to heap at the doorsteps of the minister. What many people did not realise was that a few days before the results were due to be released to the public, marking was not completed due to inefficiencies in the e-marking process.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia and his ministry will do well to hold their hands on committing the students under their care to an e-marking system without the relevant infrastructure in place.

There are reasons why not one Caribbean country has yet embraced this e-marking dynamic.

There is a great deal of physical infrastructure that has to be set up first, including a reliable Internet service and knowledgeable technicians, teachers and administrators.

I acknowledge that e-testing is the way to go in the future but not without the system being ready to handle it. With these perilous economic times on our doorstep it may take longer than CXC would like but there is wisdom in waiting while the system gets ready as fast as it possibly can.

Garcia has once again shown why it is important to have as a Minister of Education a person well versed in the education system. That way the country avoids hasty decisions which will do greater harm than good if it is hurried. Good going, sir.

Keep up the good work.

PAULINE ISIDORE via e-mail