According to reports, Su Lang Quang of El Socorro, was sitting in the vehicle at about 6.30 pm when he was approached by a masked man armed with a gun.

The man attempted to rob Su, who attempted to drive away but was shot.

The victim drove to the Carenage Police Station where he made a report and was taken to hospital where he was treated and warded.

Investigations are continuing.

David Woods, 33, a watchman of Coconut Drive, Valencia, appeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the Port of Spain Four A Court. He was not called on to enter a plea and was ordered to return on October 16.

Rampersad, 47, a labourer, of Silver Mill Street, San Juan, was found close to his home, with multiple injuries about his body, on January 13.

He was allegedly beaten by two assailants and later died at hospital.

Woods was charged by PC Chad Bushell of the Homicide Bureau’s Region 2 after police received advice from Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions George Busby on Thursday to lay the charge.

He explained, “Alexandrov would be expected to come back if his evidence is required in court.” Young added, “Someone stopping being in their position does not negate them going to court.” The minister did not expand on his comment about former ministers going to court. Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal has threatened legal action against Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for comments which Rowley made at a news conference at Piarco International Airport last week, before leaving for a medical check-up in California.

Rowley said Moonilal may have questions to answer regarding the alleged mishandling of more than $400 million at the Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited (EMBD) in August 2015.

Moonilal was the EMBD’s line minister at that time.

Young said Alexandrov is not performing any autopsies at this time.

He said Dr Hughvon Des Vignes is currently doing autopsies at the Forensic Sciences Centre and Dr Eslyn Mc- Donald-Boris will be joining him fully from October 21.

Young said Boris has made herself available to assist in the interim.

In response to another question, Young said the Police Service has acquired a total of 1,591 vehicles from 2010 to 2016.

Imbert said this when asked about two recent polls giving Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley a fairly low approval rating.

“We don’t ignore these things but don’t overreact to them as well,” Imbert said. “We have taken note of everything published. We read everything in the papers everyday. We internalise it, digest it.” Imbert made the statements at a media briefing at Tower D, Port-of-Spain.

Asked for a date for the National Budget speech, he said he would provide this date in a statement “some time next week.” Imbert said the statement would include the Government’s policy, performance and plans. Imbert said the budget debates must, by law, be completed in both Houses of Parliament by October 30.

Regarding online reports that the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) recommended criminal and disciplinary action against certain police officers for the “Day of Total Policing” that locked down the country’s roads in 2015, Imbert said the PCA must be careful what it puts out, so as to not make pronouncements but just recommendations.

The incident arose when Newsday visited Alexandrov at his office at the centre yesterday for a brief interview on his career and experiences in TT.

Less than ten minutes into speaking however, Director of Forensics at the centre Arlette Lewis, interrupted the meeting and ordered reporters to leave the office as media were not allowed inside the facility, due to “security concerns”.

However, Alexandrov would not accept that excuse and questioned Lewis’ motives for wanting the reporters out of the office, saying the interview was not about the centre specifically, but about his own personal experiences as a medical practitioner in TT.

“Do I need you to give me permission to talk about my personal life and my personal experieces and plans? Why do I have to talk to them outside of my office. It’s not the secret service, it’s not the CIA, they are not in the firearm lab or the DNA lab, they are in my office.

I’m not going to provide them with any information pertaining to forensics.

They are asking me about my resignation and I am free.” Lewis said that while she was not opposed to Alexandrov giving the interview, she said that it would have to be done outside the compound, however, Alexandrov continued to question her wanting the interview outside his office adding that in the past other media have entered the facility without hinderence.

“Who gave information to a newspaper that on Monday due to your intervention that the crisis was resolved in the matter. What intervention are they referring to?” Lewis said that in order for the interview to take place, it would have to be outside of his office.

Alexandrov further dismissed Lewis’ concerns as “spy paranoia”.

This, from Acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Security Stuart Young at a news briefing yesterday at Tower D, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

The briefing revealed that in the storm-hit areas, all TT nationals were safe. Young said three TT nationals were in the British VIrgin Islands and seven or eight were in St Martin.

While Young mulled offering an Air Guard C-26 airplane to assist against Irma’s devastation, in addition to a State-owned helicopter already committed, he did not want such assets to get stranded up the islands by Jose’s arrival.

Imbert said was receiving demands from members of the public for Government to assist St Martin but that island’s two parts were each, respectively, colonies of France and the Netherlands. Countries that were better positioned than TT to help the island. Amid reports of a breakdown in law and order he said a Dutch warship is near St Martin.

“They are dependencies,” Imbert said. “We are focussing on our Caricom colleagues.” He added, “Within reason, with our financial difficulties, whatever assistance we can render to Caricom countries we will. So far its Antigua and Barbuda. Barbuda has been virtually flattened.” Imbert said yesterday morning that he had talked Antigua and Barbuda’s foreign minister and that as most of Barbuda’s infrastructure had been flattened, their population had been evacuated to Antigua as both islands now awaited the arrival of Hurricane Jose.

“Hurricane Jose is projected to hit Antigua or Barbuda tomorrow (today), Imbert said.” Imbert said aid would be chiefly by the loan of a 12-seater Agusta Westland helicopter (owned by State-run National Helicopter Services) already in Dominica on private business.

“We will re-route it to Antigua. It is expected to arrive in Antigua this (yesterday) morning,” he said. “We’ll make it available for one week to assist in Barbuda.” Imbert said the Government would absorb the cost of providing the helicopter, while the Antigua and Barbuda Government would provide accommodation to the flight crew. He added that he expected private citizens of TT to help Antigua and Barbuda.

Regarding Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, Imbert said several TT nationals were stranded there.

Young said all TT nationals in the hurricane- hit areas were safe, including nationals now in Tortola and the British Virgin Islands.

He said he had, earlier yesterday, held a meeting of relevant agencies, notably the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Security; Defence Force; Caribbean Airlines Limited; Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and the Immigration Division.

The aim was to put in place plans, protocols and logistics. Young said he was in close contact with allies such as the United States.

He said a statement will be issued advising how TT nationals in hurricane-hit areas can register their location, and to advise that the collection of relief will be coordinated by the ODPM. “The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force is on standby,” he said. “We are also in contact with the Venezuelan Government who are sending troops and military supplies to assist.” ile some foreign military aircraft have managed to fly in to the devastated Saint Martin Airport but not civilian craft, Young did not want to send assets from TT that could get stranded there by Jose’s impact.

Asked about the 8.2 magnitude earthquake in Mexico yesterday, Young advised any TT nationals in Mexico to contact the TT embassy in Washington DC, even as the TT Government would liaise with the Mexican Embassy in Port-of-Spain.

Speaking with reporters after a function at his ministry’s headquarters at Tower C of the Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre, Khan said there is no problem with the ministry’s permanent secretary Selwyn Lashley being a member of the Petrotrin board.

He said Lashley consulted with the Head of the Public Service as to whether his presence on the board would constitute a potential conflict of interest., “From that level, he had no objection to his appointment,” Khan said. Reiterating that the board’s appointment was “a collective Cabinet decision,” Khan said Cabinet confirmed the note about the Petrotrin board at its regular weekly meeting at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on Thursday.

Describing the members of the Petrotrin board as “very competent,” Khan said the company needs three things to improve its current circumstances.

He identified these as: proper skill sets at the managerial and senior managerial level; the right skill sets in Petrotrin’s core to effect the turnaround and, “serious new capital injection.” Saying these things form part of the new board’s mandate, Khan reiterated, “The Government does not intend to handle the day to day operations of Petrotrin.” Khan said he would speak again with the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) about their concerns with the new board.

However, Khan said the OWTU is acutely aware that, “the challenges are extremly grave at Petrotrin.” Noting the union is a key player in the company’s turnaround, Khan was confient that the OWTU would be willing to work with Petrotrin’s board and management.

He said it is, “in their own interest that Petrotrin be put right.” Khan also expressed optimism that this year’s revenues from the energy sector would be higher than last year’s. He hoped this would be reflected in the 2017/2018 Budget.

Sources said the budget is expected to be presented in Parliament either in the last week of September or the first week in October.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia made the announcement yesterday during a press conference at the Education Towers, Port-of-Spain.

Garcia said that, on Thursday, Cabinet made the decision to change the date of the exam to the last week of the second term, which was usually in March, as it was more feasible and cost effective.

However, the change would be put into effect in the 2018 to 2019 academic year so that current Standard Five students would not be affected and would sit their exam as usual in May 2018.

Giving a brief history of the exam he said it began as the Common Entrance Exam in 1961 and changed to the SE A Exam in 2001. Both exams were held at the end of the second term.

However, when the Continuous Assessment Component (CAC) was introduced in 2012, the date changed to May to give students a better chance of improving their performance.

“However, when we looked at the performance of the students over the period 2012 to 2017 and we did our analysis, we found that there was no fundamental change or improvement in the performance of our students.” Other reasons for the change was given by Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan.

He said since CAC was removed the additional time was no longer required. He said the May date created a number of challenges for the Ministry. For example, preparation for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSE C) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) started around the same time as SE A. “It created additional demands on the Ministry of Education for resources, for exam personnel, storage, and managing that process.” Seecharan added that holding the exam in March would allow for the people who mark the exam papers to be available during the Easter vacation instead of having to take them away from schools during the term. It would allow more time to process and place students so that people would not have to work extremely long hours. Results could also be released earlier and it would allow more time for the secondary school registration process, review of results, and transfer requests.

Garcia concluded the press conference with a plea to stakeholders for support and asked that they deal with any problems with mutual respect.

“We in education recognise that we can not do it alone,” Garcia said.

“We need the active support of our stakeholders.

And as a result, parents, teachers, TTUTA and all those stakeholders and all the actors in education, we are appealing to all of them.

Let us come together to work in the interest of our students.

Despite Garcia’s call, education stakeholders said they were completely unaware that the Ministry was considering the change.

National Parent Teacher Association president Zina Ramatali told Newsday her organisation was not aware that changing the date of SE A was on the Ministry’s agenda and that she would have to discuss the matter with her membership.

Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president Lynsley Doodhai said he was surprised to hear the Ministry’s announcement to revert to the SE A Examination to March because there was absolutely no consultation with TTUTA.

“TTUTA represents the teachers in the Primary School system who prepare students to write the SE A examination.

It would have been a better option to hear the views of the teachers on this particular issue.

He added that the Ministry held a lengthy meeting with TTUTA on Thursday but they were not given any indication that the Ministry was considering such a change.

Undercurrents of war as relations between the United States and North Korea worsen, and as China, Russia and other nations try to make sense of an increasingly tense reality. Devastation because of hurricanes, storms, mudslides and flooding, from Sierra Leone to India to Texas, and now parts of our precious Caribbean almost entirely destroyed by Hurricane Irma.

At home, it does not even take a powerful weather system to cause our capital to flood or create instability with food supplies.

Human beings are reaping the results of their lack of respect for the planet. The year “2016 was recorded as the hottest year on Earth,” and increasing temperatures in the air and ocean are not only playing a role in the massive weather systems being experienced, but are a direct cause of higher sea levels and intensified flooding.

As one commentator put it, “Let’s not dance around the issue: Hurricane Harvey was a direct consequence of global warming, which in turn is a direct consequence of human activities.” We talked about these matters while in rehearsal for upcoming performances of Eintou Springer’s play I Hyarima. The play is being put on as part of national commemorations of the heritage and culture of our First Peoples. Theirs is an ancient legacy, going back some 6-7,000 years.

Indigenous peoples lived in harmony with the earth, surviving on the meat and fish around them, planting crops and accessing the medicinal properties in the trees and plants. They killed to survive and used every part of the animal, so what they did not consume, was used for clothing or other aspects of home life.

Spiritually, they paid reverence to the change in seasons, cycles of the moon and sun, the animals, rivers, and forest. Their rituals and traditions reflected synergy with the earth.

Tracy Assing, a descendant of the peoples from the Santa Rosa community in Arima, has created a successful documentary about the history and heritage of her family, as a way of ensuring that they are not written out of the consciousness of the people of TT. She says, “I go to the forest and look for guidance and answers. Here I feel most connected with the universe and my family.” But there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done to achieve her goals. Recently, I cringed to hear a well-known cultural practitioner describe Hyarima, the cacique or chief who waged war against the brutality of the Spaniards, as a guerilla. And a new social studies book for infants does not include the First Peoples.

Commenting on this grave faux pas, Collin Harris, Director of Research at the Warao Research Institute, conceded that available information was limited, staying largely within the families of the various groupings. “The Warao Research Institute was created to clean up that mess that the Spanish, French, Dutch and English made.” In our own way, through the dance, the movement and the words in the play, we will make our contribution to the omissions of history, and to the consciousness of the people who will come to see us perform. But a more permanent solution is required. We need to integrate our indigenous peoples into our education system and daily lives, and teach citizens how to live in harmony with the earth like their ancestors before them.

Is it too late to arrest the damage we have caused? Perhaps. Earth has already heated up and sea levels continue to rise. The First Peoples have a great deal to teach us. The crucial question is, are we willing to listen.

D a r a Healy is a perform a n c e a r t i s t a n d founder of the N G O , the Indigenous Creative Arts Network – ICAN

In Thursday’s Second Qualifier at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Munro benefitted from two dropped chances to bat from start to finish, as the Knight Riders, replying to the Amazon Warriors’ 159 runs for six wickets in their allotted 20 overs, reached 160/4 with two overs to spare.

Today, at Tarouba, the Knight Riders will oppose St Kitts/Nevis Patriots in a rematch of the First Qualifier on Tuesday (the Patriots won that clash by 38 runs to move directly into the final).

Munro was pushed up a notch to open with fellow left-hander Sunil Narine, after the experiment with William Perkins ended after just one match.

Narine fell in the first ball of the innings, leg-before to leftarm pacer Sohail Tanvir while advancing down the wicket.

Munro then struck off-spinner Steven Jacobs for three successive fours to move to 13, but he was shockingly dropped at mid-off by Roshon Primus while attempting a fourth boundary.

A couple overs later, the Amazon Warriors captain Rayad Emrit leapt high at cover but was unable to hold on to a lofted shot from Munro (when on 18) off leg-spinner Rashid Khan.

Those missed opportunities deflated the confidence of the Amazon Warriors outfit as Munro featured in a third-wicket stand of 82 with Darren Bravo to virtually guarantee the win for hosts.

Hamza Tariq, who replaced Perkins in the Knight Riders’ XI, hung around for 10 before he edged Emrit to wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi.

Darren Bravo (43 off 27 balls with two boundaries and four sixes) feasted on the spin of Jacobs and left-armer Veerasammy Permaul before he was caught on the long-off boundary.

His brother and team captain Dwayne Bravo was stumped off a leg-side wide, before Munro (51 balls, seven fours) and Denesh Ramdin (18 off 12 balls) carried the Knight Riders to the finish line, seconds before a shower fell at the venue.

The Amazon Warriors, who were sent in to bat first, were kept in check by useful bowling by the Knight Riders.

Tanvir (eight) was leg-before sweeping at Narine and Ronchi (23) lost his leg-stump as he played all over to a slower ball from Dwayne Bravo.

Opener Chadwick Walton struck three sixes in his 31-ball 37 before he was stumped by Ramdin off Narine, while Jason Mohammed (10) slashed at one from pacer Javon Searles to Yasir Shah at extra cover.

Shah came into the Knight Riders team at the expense of fellow Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan, who returned home to fulfil national commitments.

Gajanand Singh (39 off 25 balls with three sixes and one four) and Primus (35 not out off 18 balls with four fours and a six) accelerated the scoring in the latter overs, but fast bowler Ronsford Beaton, in the final over of the innings, removed Singh and fellow left-hander Assad Fudadin off successive balls.