The event began promptly at 8am as the US flag was hoisted near the fountain by three US Marines.

Ogley, the officer in charge of the temporary move to San Fernando, said this was a “great opportunity” for the embassy to engage with the business organisations and people in one of TT’s “most popular cities.” This country, said, was “one of our closest partners in the Caribbean region, with vast economic ties, historic military co-operation and deep cultural and family connections,” he said, adding that an estimated 10,000 US citizens lived here.

“The US is Trinidad and Tobago’s largest trading partner and US firms have invested over $1 billion in sectors including petrochemical, oil and gas, and the iron and steel areas,” he said.

“San Fernando is a city of industry and education and we are here today to celebrate the connections with Trinidad and Tobago and especially the links and relationship in south.” Consular Chief and US Embassy Liaison in San Fernando Timothy Swanson said while embassies “seldom pick up and move elsewhere for a day,” the temporary move was a “great way to deepen our links with San Fernando and southern Trinidad.” Mayor Junia Regrello applauded the embassy’s visit, saying his hope was that “all of the citizens of San Fernando as well as our more southerly neighbours take advantage of the information that would be shared today to ensure that persons interested in getting a US visa would be better apprised as to what is needed.

“Finally I must mention the symbiotic relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.

Trinidad is hailed as the land of Carnival, but in almost every major US city there is now a carnival celebration. In Trinidad there are about 127 steelbands ,while there are over 600 bands in the US,” he said.

Over 50 embassy staffers were present to interact with members of the public, with activities including a student outreach programme, a US citizen town hall meeting, and a visa question- and-answer session.

The car was later identified as the vehicle which was abandoned by killers on Friday when Eddie Phillip was killed in Chaguanas.

Sherry Mills told police that her husband left home from their Sum Sum Hill, Claxton Bay home at around 9.30 am on Friday, and when he failed to return home she decided to make a missing person’s report.

Yesterday investigators probing the murder said that the car which the woman identified was the same vehicle which was abandoned in Palmiste after he was shot dead.

Police now believe that the missing man could assist them in his murder. Officers also believe that the missing man together with an accomplice have now gone in hiding after the shot him dead on Friday.

On Friday Phillip body was discovered on Gail Street at about 11 am.

Police believe Phillip’s killers first tried to abduct him and put him in the trunk. Phillip struggled, and was trying to escape, but the gunmen shot him multiple times and escaped

A media release issued by the Ministry of National Security yesterday told people living near the camps they might notice the sound of explosions, blank gunfire and occasional flares from June 13 to 17, but said: “Citizens, residents, tenants and visitors to the area should not be alarmed as this would be part of ongoing exercises and controls are in place to ensure that there is no risk to persons or property.” Newsday spoke to Major Al Alexander, senior public affairs officer with the Defence Force, who said all exercises were taking place within the confines of the camps, and the National Security Ministry continued to make civilians’ safety a high priority.

The exercise is expected to see local national security agencies partneringwith over 20 regional affiliates, as well as the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and is aimed at strengthening local capacities with respect to disaster management and response, as well as counter-terrorist training.

Terrence Ramdin, Christopher Walker, and Nigel Fraser were all killed in separate incidents over the weekend.

Ramdin was shot dead in Malick on Saturday morning; Walker was killed in Cunupia on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning police found the bullet riddled body of Nigel Fraser in Barataria.

According to reports, on Sunday morning at about 9 am, police received a report of gunshots being heard on Sawmill Avenue.

When they checked, they found the body of a man slumped on the ground in a yard in the area. The man was later identified 33-year-old Nigel Fraser.

He is originally from Picton Road, Trou Macaque, Laventille, but had relocated to Sawmill Avenue over the past year. Newsday understands that he was arrested on robbery charges two years ago, and was released on bail last year.

A close female relative told Newsday yesterday that his death was expected because he had always lived a life of crime.

“He wasn’t no bad fellah but when the system get a hold of a man it does be hard to let go (sic). That is what happened with him,” said the close female relative.

“Me and him could not agree because he joined up in this Muslim thing and only want to be on this “pow-pow” thing. But when he make he jail the other day he came out and they said that he could not come back down by us so he came down here to live. Many times I wanted to come up here to see him because his son is only saying he wants to see his father, but I tell him no. Now I have to go back home and tell my son “your father is really gone” The female relative noted that despite his criminal background, Fraser was an ambitious and caring person.

Hours before Fraser’s body was found, Christopher Walker, was killed.

Newsday understands that Walker was on Chin Chin Road, in Cunupia, when he was shot by an unknown gunman, at about 8.20 pm. He was rushed to hospital, but died while undergoing treatment.

On Saturday morning, 19-year-old Terrance Ramdin, also known as “Dj Pop Skull” was killed.

According to reports, Ramdin was in his car along with two other occupants, on Seventh Avenue in Barataria when he was killed. Newsday understands that the 19-year-old was doing a job in Morvant when his laptop broke down. He went to Malick to borrow another laptop from a friend, when his car was intercepted and shot up.

Ramdin died as a result of his wounds, but the two other occupants survived. They are said to be nursing gunshot wounds at hospital.

Autopsies are expected to be done on all three bodies at the Forensic Science Centre in St James today

Rowley, last week, slammed OAS secretary general Luis Almagro for the “very derogatory manner” in which he engaged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and called for the OAS official to be changed “so that the institution can return to having the potential of being an honest broker to intervene and to provide a pathway for peace and progress in situations as they exist in Venezuela now.” Accompanying Prime Minister Rowley at the meeting on Friday were Foreign Minister Dennis Moses, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Minister in the Office of the Prime Min ister, Stuart Young.

Accompanying Palmieri, who is assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, were his chief of staff Stephanie Powers, and Charge d’Affaires, John McIntyre. The talks also addressed ongoing collaboration on security initiatives and the importance of T&T as a partner of the United States.

For example, do we have an accurate picture of the place occupied by Indo-Trinidadians today in business and the professions? Do we know the average income levels today of the vast majority of Indo-Trinidadians outside of these two groups and how do they compare to those of the majority of Afro- Trinidadians? Do we have a statistical appreciation of the level of poverty and destitution among Indo-Trinidadians as compared to Afro-Trinidadians? Do we know the current position with respect to gender and family issues in the Indo-Trinidadian community and the evolution of its social and cultural perspectives and the convergence thereof with those of Creole society? My view is that we do not know a great deal about the Indo-Trinidadians’ presence in the society today because not much relevant and informative research has been done .

To argue for such a programme is to run the risk of being accused as having an obsession with race and of engaging in race rhetoric. In polite society it is considered taboo to talk openly about race .

Then there are the self-proclaimed non-racial patriots perched on a moral pedestal who are quick to denounce those who seek to examine the validity of perceptions regarding race categories as being racist or racial and of manufacturing categories and differences where none exist .

To some social scientists race is regarded as an arbitrary and false construct. It is deemed not to exist in reality. This is not to deny that there are individuals who seek to use race to stigmatise other groups and as a mechanism for dominance, superiority and suppression .

My own position is that group consciousness and solidarity are a social reality and a worldwide phenomenon whether based on race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, class, caste, status, gender or region. These of course are not exclusive categories .

While people may think and act as individuals in certain circumstances, they are generally conscious of belonging to a group. It has been said that man by nature is a social animal. It is largely true that people’s outlooks, perspectives, prejudices, beliefs and aspirations are shaped to a considerable degree by intra-group intercourse .

Nearer to home, for example, it seems reasonable to conclude that a great deal of the success of the Syrian community in business has been due to the ethnic solidarity among members and their acute awareness of their common culture and heritage which even extends to significant marriages within the group .

Such group consciousness inspires emotive responses on some issues, particularly of a political nature as is evidenced in the polity and society of many countries of the world, both developed and socalled underdeveloped. This is the reality and as Naipaul said, “The world is what it is.” It is when such consciousness evokes antagonism, hostility, violence, aggression and exclusion against other groups and thus threatens the integrity of the social order that it becomes pathological .

Thus we need to understand the bases of this phenomenon of group solidarity, its antecedents, currency and possible consequences .

I therefore make no apology for commenting periodically on the issue of race and ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago because it is important to search for the truth about our existence, especially with regard to the presence of the various ethnic groups and inter- ethnic relations .

There has been not too much but too little dispassionate, objective and evidence- based dialogue .

Villaroel — one of eight debutants in the hosts’ starting lineup — pulled a rabbit out the hat when he surprised all in the 11th minute with a cracker from almost 30-yards out to beat Civic goalkeeper Akini Adams for his first goal in thirteen months.

Ironically, the former Central FC and Puerto Rico Islanders left fullback’s previous goal was in a 4-0 Central win against his current employers.

Only a rocket of a volley by Elton John three minutes from the half could have outdone his teammate last night, but Adams produced an equally magnificent save to keep out the shot.

Jameel Neptune’s crosscum- shot which crashed off the Civic bar in the fifth minute, and a long-range effort from returning player Jomoul Francois which whisked past Adams’ crossbar five minutes later had provided early warnings for the visitors and excitement for the few hundreds of spectators that came to witness professional football in the heart of Arima.

It was a creditable opening display by a North East Stars team scrambled together following a failed attempt by multiple-time Pro League-winning coach, Englishman Terry Fenwick, to take charge for the new season.

Arima native Derek King, who had joined on as assistant coach, suddenly found himself in the role of head coach. But the former Trinidad and Tobago senior team assistant coach shook off the rust to piece together a team worthy of representing the 2004 league champions and the borough of Arima.

King holds the record as the youngest coach to win the Pro League, leading Joe Public to the crown in 2009 at age 29.

Now back at age 37, his first return since parting ways with Joe Public in early 2011, the former TT international defender still stands as the youngest coach.

King handed starting debuts to former Central players Villaroel, Rundell Winchester, Kishun Seecharan and goalkeeper Akel Clarke; former Morvant Caledonia United duo Jameel Neptune and Seon Thomas; Stars U-17 midfielder Keon Boney, and former Central and W Connection forward Dwight Quintero, who is coming off a lengthy layoff due to an ankle injury which required surgery.

Elton John, Adrian Noel, and second-half substitute Kerry Baptiste were the only surviving members of last season’s squad, while Francois has returned following a brief stint at St. Ann’s Rangers.

Civic also had a number of player returns along with head coach Reynold Carrington, who had walked off the job in January 2015 due to players’ lack of motivation and pointed the problem to uncertainties over salaries.

But in a renewed twist of faith, Carrington, a former TT national captain, said his return is all about serving a community that’s very dear to him.

Carrington’s return also led to the return of defensive hardman Andre Ettienne, midfielder Kelvin Modeste and Adams, while former W Connection attacker Jabari Mitchell is among the new faces.

Pro League play continues today with a double-header at the Ato Boldon Stadium where Defence Force tackle Police FC from 6pm and W Connection, equipped with former Central and Civic star forward Marcus Joseph, take on MICIT St. Ann’s Rangers from 8pm.

(ttproleague.com)

Fasting is not the law of the land but the law of Allah: Q2:181.

Fasting is a spiritual and physical exercise. It is a religious institution and universal as prayer.

It is also a hygienic maxim and an important observation. It is a basic and minimal requirement for the fulfilment of a Muslim’s faith.

Fasting enables one to attain a feeling of closeness to Allah. It is for Allah that Muslims fast.

The purpose of fasting is to learn piety, self-restraint, God-consciousness, to fear Allah, to do good deeds and to obey Allah.

The aim of fasting is to obtain Allah’s pleasure.

It makes a Muslim steadfast, disciplined and always conscious of Allah. The wisdom of fasting is to renounce the lawful satisfaction of one’s desires. Fasting strengthens the will of self-control and heals any pain. It prevents diseases, helps concentration and lays the foundation of moral purity.

May Allah reward Muslims who fast. Ramadan Mubarak.

AHAMAD KHYYAM Curepe

Duke, speaking with reporters at the port, said that when he learnt of the incident, “I got panicky, I got concerned.

Who would want to bomb the T&T Express, and is there anyone on this island who is sufficiently trained and sufficiently resourced to treat with the detection and the neutralisation of a bomb,” Though checks were made and the boat sailed, Duke is convinced it was not thoroughly examined.

“Tobago is very shortstaffed on skilled persons, and so what we are having is that this boat, that was once dubbed a boat that had a bomb on it, has not been thoroughly examined.

I am certain about that. There was no professional persons who were trained in what we would term as improvised explosive devices and there was no proper person here who was trained in the working knowledge of the operations of these improvised explosive devices They are not properly trained in the installation of them, nor how to bypass the intrusion of them,” he said.

Duke described the act as wilful.

“This is more than sabotage, I would say this is a wilful act to detain the people of Tobago and let them know that you are not yet ready for the running of an island.

Which island in the Commonwealth does not have someone who can) deal with bombs?” On Thursday, 232 passengers and 129 vehicles were evacuated from the vessel after a bomb threat at approximately 6.45 am at the port of Scarborough. Checks were carried out but nothing was found.

The ferry eventually set sail at 10.30 am.

She was speaking at the installion of the executive of the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association the Office of the President, St Ann’s.

“Our society needs to ensure and sustain the personal independence of each and every visually impaired person. The right to appropriate access to public buildings, the right to live independently and the right to genuine opportunity are social fundamentals that must not be ignored and must not be taken for granted.

Many able bodied persons in our society do not recognise that these are basic human rights issues that must never be the subject of compromise,” she said.

Carmona said there were many examples of marginalisation suffered by the visually impaired in this country including the blocking of guide dogs for the blind as well as the lack of bells at most of the traffic lights.

She said she was “at pains” to indicate at the United Nations Regional Workshop on the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD last month that society was simply not doing enough.