She submitted that the evidence of the two young sisters, one of whom is still a primary school student, was manifestly unreliable in respect of indecent assault charges also laid on her client. Surajbally was arrested and charged with kidnapping the sisters, indecently assaulting them and giving them alcohol. The alcohol charges were laid under the Children’s Act. The victims, aged 14 and nine at the time, were allegedly found in a van in Barrackpore.

The children and their mother were called by State prosecutor Sarah de Silva to testify against Surujbally.

The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is pursuing the Preliminary Inquiry via paper committal in a hybrid form, in which some witnesses statements were sworn and filed for the defence, and other witnesses were called to give direct evidence, from the witness box.

Elder submitted to the court that Section 36 of the Children’s Act states it is an offence if a person gives or causes to be given to a child, a dangerous drug or a substance having an effect similar to that of a dangerous drug, except upon the order of a medical practitioner.

However, she added, there is no offence known to law that anyone could commit punishable as a crime, as giving alcohol to a child.

She asked the magistrate to uphold her no-case submission in respect of the giving alcohol charge preferred against her client. Elder further submitted that the evidence of the children were manifestly unreliable and on this basis, even if properly directed by a judge in the High Court, it would be dangerous for Surujbally to stand trial before a jury. Elder also tendered written legal submissions to Magistrate Rambachan. On January 16, State Attorney de Silva would reply to Elder’s submissions.

Emanuel Rivero, 19, of Tarodale Gardens, Ste Madeleine; Emo Stewart, 42, of Siparia and Sheldon John, 23, of La Romaine, appeared before Magistrate Brambhanan Dubay who read a charge that on Tuesday, the three had in their possession the magazine, at an abandoned apartment at Aerides Drive, Orchid Drive, Pleasantville.

Another charge alleged that Rivero, Stewart and John had in their possession, 27 rounds of ammunition.

The three were arrested following a police exercise on Tuesday spearheaded by Cpl Roger Nanan and included Cpl Ali, PCs Crawford and Sookram.

The three stood before Magistrate Dubay and pleaded not guilty to both charges. The magazine and bullets were sealed in a box and container respectively and they are to be sent to the Forensic Sciences Centre, Port of Spain, for analysis.

Attorneys representing the three pleaded for bail to be granted and the accused men’s wives and other relatives who were in court, were called and allowed to stand as surety. Magistrate Dubay granted each accused man bail in the sum of $30,000. The case was adjourned to February 2.

At 1 pm yesterday afternoon, the driver found John’s charred remains in the yard. The victim had been badly chopped apart from being burnt beyond recognition. “We as the family were able to identify him because of the space in his two front teeth,” said John’s mother Judy Harry. “His body was burnt really bad.” John was last seen alive at 4 pm on Monday at the corner of Circular and St Joseph Roads in San Fernando.

An autopsy revealed John died from two chop wounds to the head.

Relatives said that had John’s boss not sent the company driver to go looking for him, it may have taken days or weeks for the discovery to be made since the chicken farm is, “in the middle of nowhere”. No arrest has been made and no motive for the murder have been established.

Investigations are continuing.

The councillors walked out on December 15 after objecting to the procedure adopted which led to the re-election of Martin Terry Rondon as chairman of the Corporation.

Following the election, the People’s National Movement (PNM) and UNC each won four electoral districts in the Council.

And although the PNM claimed victory in the Corporation on the basis of Rondon’s incumbency and the party winning the popular vote in Sangre Grande, the UNC councillors objected the proposal to have him return as chairman.

The UNC subsequently threatened legal action.

But yesterday, the members of both parties appeared to have made amends, even though a closed-door audience between Rondon and two UNC councillors – Nirmal Singh and Anil Juteram – delayed the start of yesterday’s meeting.

Rondon, in an allusion to the recent controversy, later pledged to work with all of the Corporation’s councillors and aldermen.

“I wish to assure you that under my stewardship, there will be fairness,” he declared in opening remarks. “Good for one. Good for all. I don’t want anyone to feel that because you are in Opposition, you will not get treated fairly.” Rondon, who has represented the Toco/Fishing Pond electoral district for the past 23 years, said the Corporation’s first priority during this term, will be to conduct a clean-up exercise throughout the region.

The exercise will be carried out from January 14 to April 29. “We all have to come on board,” Rondon said, urging councillors to mobilise the schools and other institutions in their electoral district.

Rondon said the problem of littering, particularly along the north-east coast beaches, needed to be addressed.

“We need litter wardens to come on board to change people’s attitudes.

We have to get serious.

During the meeting, Rondon also addressed a range of procedural matters in the Corporation, including dress code, attendance, punctuality and cross-talk during meetings.

He said councillors and aldermen should strive to make the corporation a model one.

Sources close to Khan told Newsday yesterday, “He is in very good spirits and improved state of health and has the will to get better.” They also indicated that Khan is of the firm belief that, “with mind, body and spirit in place, he will return to good health and be back at work.” At a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on Wednesday, following a twoday Government retreat there, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley disclosed that Khan will undergo “very serious surgery” on Sunday.

Rowley said Khan was not hospitalised at this time. “He’s at home, he has been examined by local doctors and has serious heart challenges.” Rowley also said, “I’m an optimist.

I am hoping and expecting that his surgery will go well and he will come back to his job after.” Finance Minister Colm Imbert has been acting as Energy Minister and will continue to do so until Khan is better. Khan fell ill in Thailand last month, where he and his wife Laura were on vacation.

They returned home last Thursday, “around noon.”

In a telephone interview yesterday, TTUTA president Lynsley Doodhai said while the impending strike action by the OWTU has not been discussed by the union’s central executive, he expressed the hope that this would not have any negative effects on the reopening of the new school term.

“TTUTA has noted the public statements by the president general of the OWTU about possible strike,” Doodhai said.

“We are cognisant of the fact that school would reopen on Monday and we are hoping that any possible planned strike will not have any negative impact in terms of the reopening of school,” Doodhai said, adding, “we are cautiously optimistic about the reopening of school and we await to see what happens.” And regarding Petrotrin’s offer to the union, Doodhai said, “We have not discussed the matter but as a trade union, which I am sure that when the matter is discussed, it would be a cause of concern to our general council and our central executive that an offer of zero-zero-zero has been made.” “The offer made to the OWTU, we would not be in favour of such an offer made to the OWTU because if that offer is made to TTUTA, we would reject that offer outright,” he said.

Doodhai continued, “The teachers union, we are due to commence negotiations shortly with the Chief Personnel Officer for the period October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2017.” He said the union has not received feedback regarding school repairs during the Christmas vacation as this would be known when schools were reopened.

Meanwhile, National Parent Teachers Association (NPTA) president,” Zena Ramatali, said major disruptions would occur should the strike action be undertaken on the first day of the new school term.

“I really hope there can be a speedy resolution to this issue and I really hope that OWTU and the government could sit around the table and come to some kind of an agreement,” she said.

The Finance Ministry began its statement by reminding the public that the bill complies with the Model One reciprocal agreement which was approved by the former Kamla Persad- Bissessar administration in May and October 2013. Cabinet minutes from that time period showed the former regime agreed that TT adopt this agreement option of the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with the US which enables compliance with the requirements of FATCA.

Those Cabinet minutes also showed the former regime agreed that the Finance Minister enter into the Model One agreement with the US. The ministry then outlined all of the amendments made by Government to the bill, in the absence of the Opposition on December 12, 2016, and the reasons for them. The Opposition’s amendment that the competent authority which the US Treasury interacts with be the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) has been dealt with in the amendment to Clause Four of the bill.

The Government removed the provision for the declaration of tax information exchange agreements by Order under the Act, with the deletion of Clause Five. The Opposition proposed an amendment be made to this clause for the order to be made the Finance Minister, to be subject to the affirmative resolution of Parliament.

The ministry explained this was unnecessary because the deletion of the clause means, “agreements will not be declared by Order under the Act.” The ministry said the amendment to Clause Eight of the bill provides for the disclosure of information for the purpose of the 1989 tax information exchange agreement, “despite the secrecy provision of the Income Tax Act and some provisions of the Data Protection Act.

A similar provision is made in Part Three for the purpose of the 2016 IGA, which Finance Minister Colm Imbert signed on August 19, 2016.

The amendment to Clause 18 of the bill allows the BIR to enter into an agreement with the competent authority in the US with respect to procedural matters.

The Opposition suggested the memorandum of understanding (MOU) be subject to the affirmative resolution of Parliament prior to execution.

The 22-year-old woman is listed in stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital. Investigators said that the officer and the woman are friends and, at the time of the incident, she had paid a visit to him.

According to a police report, at about 7 am the woman arrived at the the Usine Ste Madeleine Sugar Factory which is located opposite the Police Station.

Sources say the two were seen conversing shortly before an explosion was heard.

Reports said that the woman attempted to reach for the police officer’s holster and the officer grabbed his pistol.

Police said the firearm may have accidentally discharged and the woman was shot in her right leg. She was rushed to the hospital where she remains in stable condition.

Investigations are continuing.

Romano, an engineering geologist by training, has more than 30 years experience in various industries throughout the Caribbean, including at the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) “and most recently as General Manager, Technical Services at the EMA,” the EMA stated yesterday.

EMA Chairman, Nadra Nathai-Gyan, said Romano “was selected for the position from a pool of 77 applicants, using a competency-based evaluation process.” “His understanding of today’s dynamic environmental conditions and his strategic leadership qualities competently positions him to take up this opportunity and make a difference.

Mr Romano’s appointment is effective January 4, 2017 for a period of two years,” Nathai-Gyan told Newsday. Asked what he intends to focus on during his tenure as MD, Romano told Newsday, “The work ahead for the EMA under my tenure will have strong alignment to the 17 ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ set out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).” Romano cited waste management, energy efficiency, biodiversity protection and management, climate change and the establishment of Sustainable Partnerships for achieving the goals and objectives of the EMA, as “some of the strategic issues that are high on the Authority’s agenda.” “I look forward to working with all stakeholders, at home and abroad, to bring about meaningful change in the coming years,” Romano said. Prior to his appointment, Romano has lectured part-time at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, in the Engineering Geology and Petroleum Geosciences disciplines

Speaking at a post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair on December 23, 2016, Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young said the FIU reported that 182 TT nationals may be involved in financing the activities of terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State (ISIS). “ What the FIU has picked up in their STRs (Suspicious Transaction Reports) and SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports) is that approximately 182 TT citizens, we suspect, may be involved in the financing of terrorist activities,” Young said. He added the total monetary value of the 739 STRs submitted to the FIU for this year was $805.5 million and this represented a 127 percent increase in the STR submissions to the FIU in 2015.

Today’s sitting will also see the laying of the Fire Service Amendment Bill 2017 by Finance Minister Colm Imbert. Later in the sitting, Imbert will field questions from Naparima MP Rodney Charles about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and unemployment.

A total of 20 papers will also be laid in the House today. Also on the Order Paper is a motion in the name of Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson- Regis to approve the nomination by President Anthony Carmona of attorney Martin George as a member of the Police Service Commission (PSC).

On Monday, the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on State Enterprises will hold a public hearing from 10 am to 12.30 pm at Tower D with officials from Caribbean Airlines with a specific focus on customer services