“Part of our Local Government reform is to strengthen our Municipal Police throughout the 14 Regional Corporations of Trinidad and the Tobago House of Assembly. We’ve already started the recruitment process for that…

In addition to that, we are also launching shortly a programme referred to as the NCPP. This would provide a direct nexus between the Ministry of National Security and the municipalities; what we call Community Councils, dealing with issues within the communities because we’ll have (direct communication). Therefore, we’ll be able to take certain kinds of initiatives to treat with situations.

More on that later on; I don’t want to go too much into detail because it will be launched soon.” Dillon previewed Government’s latest crime fighting strategy yesterday while speaking with reporters on the sidelines of a graduation ceremony for the Citizen Security Programme training course in Information and Communication Technology for residents of Sea Lots.

The six-month course was taught by staff at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago, and it was at the college’s City Campus Student Centre on the corner of Dundonald Street and Fitzgerald Lane, Port-of-Spain, that the graduation ceremony was held.

Asked if he was concerned about the police yesterday fatally shooting 22-year-old Kendall Garcia, alias Sausage; one of the suspects in the June 27 double murder in Malabar, Dillon said, “Any kind of engagement with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) or other law enforcement agencies and the public will always be of concern to me but that is being dealt with by the Commissioner of Police.” Dillon was also asked about border security, in relation to Venezuela and the deteriorating economic situation there which has prompted thousands of Venezuelans to come to this country.

“The Coast Guard continues to work together with Venezuela’s Guarda Costa and Venezuelan National Guard. Some time ago, we re-established bi-lateral co-operation with the Venezuelans; to the extent where we had direct person- to-person contact between the Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard and the Commander of the Guarda Costa. In fact, the Commanding Officer of the Guarda Costa is due here some time next week for another one-to-one visit with his counterpart – the TT Coast Guard Commanding Officer.” “Additionally, we have tasked our Military Attaché in Caracas to go into the outlying areas; the places that are border to TT on the east coast of Venezuela, to give us a sense of what is happening in those coastal villages. So we are looking at tapping different sources.” Dillon told reporters that according to the latest report he’s received from Immigration officials, “between January and now, roughly 9,000 Venezuelans came into this country legally.

Of those, about 800 remain in TT.

“It seems to be a travel pattern as to those who come through the legal routes,” Dillon stated.

The junior “Calypso Girls” destroyed neighbours Grenada 76-35 in their final game in Botswana yesterday .

It was their second victory of the cup series after their victory over Wales 36-32 on Tuesday .

But Caribbean teams fared badly at the cup series as none except Caribbean queens Sunshine Girls of Jamaica (facing Uganda in their last preliminary game) have a chance of qualifying for the round of eight. Neither Grenada nor Barbados managed to win a solitary game at the cup series .

Despite their two victories, the junior “Calypso Girls” failed to reach the final eight team group to challenge for the title currently held by New Zealand .

The Silver Ferns, Australia England and hosts Botswana head their group .

The top two teams in each group after the preliminary round advance to the second round .

The intention is for the books to be placed in the libraries of each of the secondary schools which are affiliated to the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL). The presentation took place at Naparima College, San Fernando on Tuesday.

“This is part of the FA’s overall drive to get the education of football in schools. We feel it is very critical that the students understand the history of football in our country,” TTFA General Secretary Justin Latapy George told the gathering on Tuesday.

“We feel it is important that we start here and because of that, the FA has decided to follow through with the distribution to the schools.

It is very important that we understand what we are currently, where we want to be, and we believe this is just a small part in stepping into that direction along with other things that the FA has rolled out under the current administration led by our president David John Williams,” Latapy-George added.

“Part of what we do with our past and what we intend to do moving forward really resides with the students, the Secondary Schools League and other stakeholders,” he added.

SSFL president William Wallace echoed similar sentiments.

“It is said that if you don’t know your history then you do not know anything. I think this titbit of our history is very important in terms of our footballers knowing where we came from and where we are heading. We are grateful for the gesture from the TTFA and we will be placing these books into the libraries and looking forward to it being part of what is offered at the secondary schools,” Wallace said.

The Legacy of the Soca Warriors, written by Valentino Singh, takes the reader through one of TT’s most historical journeys with enough for both the technical football fan, or the person who just supported with national pride.

With photographs that put the reader on the pitch, the publication also doubles as a picture book with many of the images being different from those popularly published in the media.

The passion in the writing is as real as it was during Germany 2006 and you can almost hear Maximus Dan’s (MX Prime) “Fighter”, which became the side’s anthem, jumping off the page.

As well as documenting Germany 2006, the book takes the reader back into the history of Trinidad and Tobago’s World Cup campaigns (beginning in 1964) and most notably the agonising near misses of 1973 and 1989.

No facet of the 2006 national team is left untouched. There is an assessment of each group opponent, a look at how the German hosts took the team to their hearts, the resolute performances, Shaka Hislop’s heroics, the last hurrah of Russell Latapy’s dancing feet and Dwight Yorke’s consummate skills and how football united a nation.

Chapter 4, Reflections, a very short chapter, described TT’s previous missed chances to make the World Cup—against Haiti in 1973, and in more recent memory, the deflating loss against the US in 1990 here at home. It goes into the psychology of our entry into the FIFA fray and giving an idea of the national mindset during both ‘73 and ‘90.

Flatts was charged yesterday with the two offences after police received instructions from DPP Roger Gaspard.

Gregory Laing was kidnapped on June 29 outside his San Fernando business Puff ‘n Stuff and a ransom of $270,000 was demanded for his safe return.

The money was paid and he was released in the Beetham Gardens area.

On June 30, police raided Alicia’s Guest House and held three people in connection with the kidnapping.

Four others were also held in the Laventille area.

On Monday another suspect Jespen Superville appeared in the same court charged with Laing’s kidnapping. Flatts was represented by attorney Ian Brooks.

Clarke’s nude body was found by a passer-by in some bushes along the Guapo/Cap-De-Ville Main Road, at the back of a hardware store. Her face was bruised and bloody and she was frothing at the mouth. Her clothes, also covered in blood, were found near her body. Police were working on the theory that she had been sexually assaulted, killed and her body dumped in the bushes.

Though visibly upset, Clarke’s mother Francesca Shade told Newsday her daughter was “hardened” and did not like to listen to her advice.

“She was a nice girl but she never liked to listen to me,” Shade said.

“She only liked to smoke weed and lime with bad company.” Clarke lived with her father in San Juan for a number of years after he and Shade separated. However she eventually asked to live with her mother in Belmont.

Shade told Newsday that for a number of years Clarke was acting out against her, then one day she left altogether.

“She just take up her clothes and leave and gone. She went to live with a man in Point, then she went to live with another man who was also from Point. Last month she was in the hospital in San Fernando. I begged her to take her clothes and come back home, but she said that she did not want to go.” A pathologist at the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday determined that Clarke was beaten to death with a piece of wood. The beating was so brutal that her face was crushed. Police also found a piece of wood at the scene with blood on it.

The pathologist found no evidence of sexual assault. The murder toll for the year now stands at 266.

Newsday was told the message was urging people wear red and assemble at one of these venues to protest Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s decision on July 2 to revoke McDonald’s appointment as public utilities minister.

When asked whether she had any knowledge about the message, McDonald said, “No. I am totally oblivious to this.” Mc- Donald declined to make any comment regarding the revocation of her appointment. “Like last year, I have chosen to be quiet for now.” Constituency officials told Newsday neither McDonald nor anyone else in the constituency was planning any protest.

They alleged the message was being circulated by three people one of them being Radio 104.7 FM talk show host Andy Williams.

They said another was a former activist in the Laventille area who was formerly aligned to the UNC.

Williams yesterday confirmed his involvement. He said this was being done because McDonald was unfairly treated by Rowley and insisted there would be a protest today.

Ten junior track and field athletes will benefit from the programme initially, which will help them with their nutrition, education and sport medicines.

Most of the athletes selected represented TT at the 2017 Carifta Games.

The athletes include Akanni Hislop, Rea-Ann Serville, Anya Akili, Jenea Spinks, Tyrell Edwards, Kashief King, Tyriq Horsford, Avindale Smith, Adell Colthrust and Joshua St Clair.

Several of the athletes attended the launch yesterday at NGC in Pt Lisas. Olympic gold medallist Hasely Crawford, Vice-president of operations at NGC, Ronald Adam, and programme coordinator, Ian Carter, were among those who attended the function.

NAAA secretary Dexter Voisin is hopeful that a total of 31 athletes will benefit from the programme before the 2020 Olympics

On his Twitter page on Tuesday, Lewis posted, “first national Beach and Sand Games on the drawing board, (TTO C) looking at November 2017.” In a telephone interview, Lewis said, “We plan to have it come off the ground. We’re having discussions in the background and we’re very determined for it to happen.” The inaugural World Beach Games will take place in San Diego, California, United States in 2019. And it will be staged under the auspices of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).

Lewis is unclear whether or not his idea for an inaugural Beach and Sand Games in November will come to fruition.

“With the economic challenges, it may have to be scaled down,” he acknowledged.

Among the sporting disciplines which may be contested at the TT Games are beach soccer, beach volleyball, beach handball and dragon boat racing.

Lewis noted, “Tobago has the potential to be the Beach Games capital of the Caribbean.” He pointed out, “At the international level, most organisations and federations are having a beach version of their Games.” And the TTO C boss is expecting that a number of untapped sporting talent, preferably from coastal areas, will have a chance to showcase their potential at the national level.

“It affords an opportunity for the youths in these areas to participate in the Beach and Sand Games,” ended Lewis.

Camille Guerra, 48, of River Road was granted bail by Magistrate Rae Roopchand who ordered her to report to the Arima Police Station every Saturday.

She first appeared before a San Fernando magistrate on Monday but bail was refused and she was remanded into custody. Guerra is also accused of signing documents claiming to be a woman named Vina Bayne.

It is alleged the cheque she attempted to deposit on July 4 at Republic Bank in Mayaro was made out in Bayne’s name.

Police have also charged Guerra with having and uttering a false driver’s permit, a false identification card, a false WASA bill and a false certificate of registration to a company with the name Vina Bayne Interiors.

Another charge of uttering a valuable security payable to Vina Bayne in the sum of $2.5 million drawn from the account of Marooni Enterprise Ltd was also laid against her. The mother of four was not called upon to plead.

Guerra was represented by attorneys Chantal Paul and Wayne Beharry. The case was adjourned to August 9.

Moonilal questioned why the Defence Force asked for an extension of time to provide a copy of a report, to former chief of defence staff Kenrick Maharaj, on an investigation into who authorised Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi’s children to handle military weapons at Camp Cumuto last year.

Noting that Moonilal alleged that two officials linked to the probe received HDC units, Mitchell said, “Dr Moonilal is alluding to two purchasers of apartment units in the Victoria Keyes Development, Diego Martin, which was formally opened in February 2017.” Mitchell said he indicated then that 206 units in that development was available for sale on the open market. “To clarify further, these 206 units are advertised and available for sale to anyone who is financially able to meet the purchase prices subject to the usual financial due diligence,” Mitchell said yesterday.

He said the officials referred to by Moonilal satisfied the requirements and entered into sales agreements for the purchase of the units through a transparent sales process.

He said it is unfortunate that Moonilal continues to place inaccurate information in the public domain and urged the UNC MP “to re-acquaint himself with the facts.”