N Touch

FBI hunts suspect with Trini connection

A SAUDI ARABIAN with Trinidad connections, is one of four persons being sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) worldwide  in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States. The FBI issued a bulletin with photographs of the four wanted men on its website yesterday. They circulated the bulletin among law enforcement agencies after intelligence reports indicated that the four could be involved in a plot against US interests. The wanted men have been identified as Adnan G Shukrijumah, Zubayr Al-Rimi, Abderraouf Jdey, and Karim El Mejjati.

Shukrijumah, 28, occasionally wears a beard. He has a pronounced nose and is asthmatic. He speaks English and carries a Guyanese passport, but may attempt to enter the United States with a Saudi, Canadian, or Trinidad and Tobago passport. Shukrijumah spent time in Trinidad two years ago when his father was a cleric teaching in Central Trinidad. FBI believes that the wanted man has ties to South Florida, where some of the persons involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were training as pilots. FBI officials have described Shukrijuman as a possible Al-Qaeda operational planner similar to Mohammed Atta, a key organiser of the September 11 attacks.

South businessman kidnapped

AFTER several days of prank calls to his family and on his cellular phone, South businessman Vernon Roop-narine was kidnapped outside his home, while he was preparing to park his car in the garage, on Thursday night. Roopnarine, 56, owner of Refinery and Industrial Fabricators Ltd at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, was opening the gate of his house at Sum Sum Hill, Claxton Bay, when he was attacked by kidnappers who bundled him into their car and sped off. Yesterday, his worried relatives told Newsday the kidnappers had not yet contacted them for a ransom demand. The silence from the kidnappers has relatives very worried about his condition and whether he is alive or not.

According to police reports, around 9.30 pm on Thursday, Roopnarine was standing outside his house when a white Honda Civic pulled alongside him and a man alighted from the car. The man began beating Roopnarine who tried to defend himself. After a short struggle, Roopnarine was pushed into the car, which sped off. Roopnarine’s daughter, Natalie, told Newsday that for three days (prior to the kidnapping) her father had been getting prank calls on his cell phone and the house telephone. “His cellular phone and the house phone would be ringing during the day and late at night, but no one would answer on the other side,” Natalie said. She added that 15 minutes before the kidnapping, Roopnarine telephoned home to say he was on his way home. Natalie recalled that her father drove up and parked his silver Audi sedan opposite the family house and was opening the gate to park the car in the garage under the house, when he was attacked and kidnapped. 

“I unlocked the gate and had just turned my back to put down the keys when I saw someone dressed in black come out of a white car and pull his (Roopnarine’s) hand behind his back. The man started cuffing him (her father) on his head and hitting him repeatedly,” 20-year-old Natalie said. The woman added that as her father fought back, his attacker slammed his head on the iron gate, then shoved him into the car. “It happened so quickly, I was helpless. By the time I ran inside to get help, the men had already driven off with my father.” The family immediately telephoned Couva Police, who in turn alerted the Anti-Kidnapping Squad (AKS). Roopnarine’s wife of 33 years, Shafira, said her husband came home around 4 pm that day, before he left for his usual liming spot at Touch and Taste bar in California. “We heard the kidnappers were also liming in the bar and when he left they left and followed him home,” Shafira said. The couple have four children and two grandchildren. Investigations are continuing. Roopnarine’s kidnapping is the second in central/south Trinidad this past week, following that of Moruga resident and father of two, Avalon Wendell Paul, who was snatched from his home on Tuesday night. He was released on Wednesday morning along the Uriah Butler Highway.

Two men gunned down in Malick

A SUSPECTED kidnapper was one of two people shot and killed in Malick early yesterday morning in what is believed to be revenge for the killing of a child almost eight years ago, police sources said. The dead men are Winston “Wattle” Pierre, 30, and Rondel “Blacks” Hillaire, 19, both of Upper Seventh Avenue, Malick.  Their deaths have pushed the year’s murder toll to 154, homicide sources told Newsday. Hillaire’s elder brother, Rennie, aka “Mooksy,” 22, also of Malick, was wounded in the attacks which occurred within four hours of each other.  He is under police guard at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.  Pierre and the Hillaire brothers were friends. North Eastern Division police said they were supposed to execute a search warrant at Pierre’s home last night for firearms and ammunition. He was shot about five times, police said.

Pierre was also labelled a suspected kidnapper by the police.  Almost eight years ago a jury had acquitted him of murdering a shopkeeper’s child. The State, according to Pierre’s elder brother, Roderick, paid Pierre a sum of money after he had been acquitted of the murder charge. Pierre, father of two whose wife Marissa is pregnant, met his death around 7.30 am yesterday when he went to pay his respects to the Hillaire family, who live a short distance away. The Hillaires’ mother, Shirley, told Newsday that Pierre told her he felt sad about what had happened and did not know what to tell her about her son’s murder and the attempted murder of another son. “After speaking with him I left to take a bath in the back but before I could bathe, I heard shots ring out,” Shirley said.  It was then discovered that Pierre had been killed mere metres from the Hillaires’ home.  He did not make it to his metallic green Honda CRV vehicle. “I told him to stay away, but he did not listen,” Pierre’s wife, Marissa said from their home.  She did not want to comment further.

However, Roderick Pierre said that “at least 9,000 people”  would have wanted to kill his brother.  He said Pierre used to dress nicely, and wore a couple of gold chains. Roderick, who is employed with a security firm,  said he got the news of his brother’s death while at work. Roderick also described his brother as a “jack of all trades.”  However, police said he worked nowhere and wondered how he came to be in possession of such an expensive vehicle.  Residents said he had other cars, and that Rondel drove one of them. The first of the shootings took place around 3.30 am when gunmen broke a portion of the Hillaires’ back door. It is not known how many men entered the home, but Shirley Hillaire said Rennie told her from his hospital bed that Rondel, a PH driver, was shot first. Rondel is believed to have sought refuge in the toilet after hearing the breaking down of the back door.  There were two bullet holes on the blue toilet door.

Afterwards, Shirley said, Rennie, an employee at National Petroleum (NP) told her that he was subsequently shot in the bedroom.  Both brothers then jumped through a louvre window, smashing six louvre panes in the process. Police said Rondel died on the jump. Shirley said Rennie ran through some bushes and was later taken to the city hospital by neighbours.  While running through the bushes, another relative said, a gunman who stood guard at the family’s porch fired several shots at Rennie. “I just heard Rondel bawl,” Shirley said.  She added that she and her 12-year-old daughter, Keisha, remained in their bedroom.  She said after the shooting, someone tried to kick down her door. Shirley could not say why anyone would want to harm her sons.  Rondel is now her second son to be murdered by the gun. 

On October 14, 2001, Rodney “Stress” Hillaire was shot dead in the Malick area, in what residents said was also linked to the killing of the child. “Stress” was linked to a man who killed a child and “Wattle” was the main man behind it, but the court had no evidence and “Wattle” was freed,” one outspoken resident said. He also said that about seven shots were fired at “Wattle” earlier this year and that every single bullet had missed him.  “You live by the sword, you die by it.  Time for them to get out of the life anyway,” the resident said. The resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also predicted that two more people were going to die, since four were linked to the child’s death. Officers under Sr Supt Waldron Bishop, and including Acting Supt Wayne Gilbert, Insp Ancil Coa, Sgts David Abraham and Jordan, and Cpl Jacobs visited the scene.  No arrests had been made up to late yesterday evening but police said arrests are imminent.

The post war story

MISSION accomplished, Mr President? Since George Bush made that triumphant declaration last May, some 61 US soldiers have been killed in Baghdad, more than the number who lost their lives in the five week invasion of that Middle East country. How embarrassing this death toll has become for the world’s only superpower can be seen in the deliberately poor coverage by the American press, particularly the television news channels, of the dead soldiers returning home in body bags and their subsequent funerals. In spite of the high praise which Bush and his team of White House hawks lavished on the invading soldiers after the toppling of Saddam, we have not seen any of them commiserating with the families of the dead servicemen or attending any of their final rites. We have the distinct impression that this is an aspect of the magnificent victory which Bush and his lieutenants claimed to have achieved in Iraq that they would now conveniently prefer to ignore.

But the guerrilla counter-attack on US soldiers and the violent reprisals being inflicted on those seen as supporting the US occupation of Iraqi stem from the horrible morass which Bush and the British PM Tony Blair have created by their illegal and destructive invasion of that unfortunate country. Indeed their ill-conceived attack has turned out to be a monumental blunder, since their soldiers are now virtually trapped in a country growing increasingly hostile to their continuing occupation. Very little that Bush and Blair had predicted about their massive attack on Iraq has come true, and such is their inability to control the chaos they have created that they are now appealing to other nations to send troops to Iraq to help in “the rebuilding process” but which is clearly intended to ease the violent reprisals now being exacted on their own soldiers. Of course there are countries with dependent economic ties to the superpower and those seeking its favours which would respond in some limited way. But the plight of the US administration and their now convenient quest to win the support of the international community for their effort in “rebuilding” Iraq is an act of hypocrisy that is amazing for the apparent earnestness with which it is being pursued. Believe it or not, Bush is now seeking to achieve this by moving a resolution in the United Nations Security Council, the same Council and its members whom he contemptuously dismissed when they opposed his ill-conceived and reckless plan to attack Iraq and rid that country of its weapons of mass destruction.

Well the world now knows the truth, that the intelligence which both Bush and Blair used as a pretext to justify their foolish Iraqi adventure was a colossal hoax, almost laughable in the case of the British PM whose declaration that Saddam could deploy nuclear missiles in 45 minutes was patently ridiculous. But in their superpower arrogance, Bush and his warmongers cannot accept or admit to the atrocity they have committed on the Iraqi people who, more than three months after the invasion, are still suffering from a lack of security and the destruction of its civil amenities. Among the US and UK press, it seems that only the BBC has had the courage and independence to deal impartially with this horrible episode, exposing for example, the plight of Iraqi children who have been maimed and mutilated by the “coalition” bombardment and who now lie in hospitals without the equipment and expertise to treat them properly. Bush and his lieutenants now talk about “expanding the coalition” and “a key role for the UN” but does anybody believe they plan to give up ultimate control of that oil-rich country? Never happen.

Got skills?

A coming wave of jobs — no, really — will mean ‘help wanted’ across a range of professions. How American firms and workers can prepare for the ride.


HOLYOKE, MASS: It’s small comfort to people who need a job now, but experts say there’s a dramatic labour shortage looming in the United States.

In 10 years, available jobs could outnumber workers by 6.7 million, according to a new analysis by the non-profit Employment Policy Foundation in Washington. By 2030, the gap could widen to 35 million. Shortages are already visible in certain occupations — nursing, for example — but across the board, employers could start to feel a pinch in the next few years. Whether they need people with basic literacy and computer skills or a flair for management, they may just find that they’re competing for a piece of a shrinking pie. Some of the explanation is pure demographics. As baby boomers start to transition out of the labour market, even if they work beyond traditional retirement age, there simply aren’t as many younger workers to replace them. The gap is wider when one takes into account the education level needed for the types of jobs being created. There will be 30.7 million job openings for people with at least a two-year college degree in the next 10 years, the EPF estimates. But only 23.3 million people are expected to earn those degrees.


It’s technology


When it comes to bridging the skills gap, some people have become visionary out of necessity. For more than a decade, Holyoke, Mass., has been facing the paradox that could soon land on others’ doorsteps: Employers struggle to fill job openings while residents unqualified for the positions sit idle. As chairman and chief executive officer of Hampden Papers Inc, Bob Fowler employs 160 people to create specialty paper products — a tradition handed down from his great grandfather, George Fowler, who cofounded the company in 1880. (The present-day Fowler, white beard and all, bears a striking resemblance to the man in the black-and-white photo on the wall.) But the changes inside the factory verge on revolutionary. To illustrate, Fowler displays a scuffed-up square flint stone with bevelled edges — heavy, but small enough to hold in one palm. For nearly a century, machines swung these stones over the paper as it rolled through, buffing a wax coating until it shone. The machines moved slowly enough that an operator could monitor four or five at once. It was almost as simple as pushing a green button at the beginning of the shift and a red button at the end. When new immigrants arrived, “you could find someone (on staff) who spoke their language and give them instructions for their entire career in about an hour,” Fowler says. “I don’t mean to demean it, because learning a machine like this was really an art. But you didn’t need complex mathematical and linguistic skills to make a union wage and put your kids through college.”


A management-skills deficiency


The company “got out of the stone age” in 1973, he says, installing faster and more complicated machines. Employees needed more training, and their mistakes got costlier. If something is set up improperly, “you can make enough bad paper in an eight-hour shift to stretch from here to Boston and back again,” Fowler says. As job requirements changed, he was determined not to leave any employees behind. For seven years, an in-house teacher offered English and math classes on company time. Now, Hampden reimburses for academic courses that employees opt to take on their own. Fowler looks beyond his own company, too. He participates in local workforce-development initiatives and advocates for everything from education reform to more government funding for training. He worries about all the people still being left behind. Such skills gaps are showing up nationwide — and at all levels of hiring and employment. About 60 percent of employers test job applicants in some form, and 38 percent are deficient in basic reading and math, according to the American Management Association. At the management level, the AMA also reports shortcomings in conceptual skills, communication, and problem solving. That’s of particular concern, because by 2013, the EPF report says, nearly 40 percent of US jobs will be professional or managerial. But with some executives struggling to keep their companies afloat in a rocky economy, it’s not easy to get them to think strategically about the future workforce crunch. Training and development of employees are often the first areas to be cut, and companies rarely measure how that might be hurting their bottom line, according to a recent study by Accenture, a New York consulting firm.

It’s also difficult to project more than a few years ahead. No one knows for sure if technological advances will create more jobs than they make obsolete. And, of course, if the economy unexpectedly nosedives, a labour shortage won’t be the problem. But barring such dramatic events, closing the skills gap will require a combination of educational gains, more immigration, increased productivity, and higher participation in the workforce, the EPF report concludes. Everyone’s standard of living is on the line. A call for more immigration may raise eyebrows, because this period of higher unemployment has caused resentment to rise. But to say that immigrants are “taking jobs” is misleading. At the same time, he says, it’s important to change cultural attitudes in the US that discourage people from learning math and technical skills — areas in which firms have sought special visas for foreign employees. To attract and retain workers and develop their skills, experts say firms will probably turn to a range of solutions including more on-the-job training and mentoring, better child-care assistance, a return to incentives such as signing bonuses, and more openness to hiring people with disabilities.

COPS versus COPS

POLICE OFFICERS attached to the Court and Process Branch were taken by surprise yesterday when a wrecker from the Traffic Branch moved down St Vincent Street and took away their vehicles which were parked in a no-parking zone outside the city magistrates’ court. The officers became highly incensed when they were told by the wrecker crew that the decision to move their vehicles came from ACP (Traffic) Trevor Paul.

Proceedings at the city courts slowed down as police officers rushed outside to make alternative arrangements for their vehicles. Admitting that they were parked in a no-parking zone, the officers felt the hierarchy of the Police Service should have been more sensitive and shown understanding for the officers who are responsible for controlling prisoners at the courthouse. The officers said the decision to clamp down on these vehicles “came like a thief in the night.” One officer told Newsday, “when they launched Anaconda, there was a big thing in the media which alerted the criminals to take cover. But they decide to move our vehicles, and no one had the courtesy to let us know.” When contacted, Acting Commissioner Paul said he was very surprised that police officers would protest what was done yesterday. He said court officers, like the rest of the Police Service, are there to ensure that the laws of the country are enforced. Paul said he instructed the Traffic Branch to move through Port-of-Spain to ensure that the traffic laws were enforced. He said the police had to work within a boundary —Richmond Street to the west, Duncan Street to the east, Park Street to the north, and Independence Square to the south.

Paul said he asked the senior officers to take command of this exercise. “While we are focusing on the kidnappings and the flow of drugs into the country, we must also be serious about the smaller things, like traffic laws. We are too lax in this country and it is time we become serious with what we do.” The acting ACP continued, “I did not target St Vincent Street. I gave them a boundary with which to work and they went there to do their work. People must comply with the law. Police officers who should be upholding the law, should be the last people to complain about this exercise. They should not be complaining. I would have thought that policemen would have moved their vehicles and not allow them to be towed away.” But while the wrecker moved vehicles outside the city court, it left others which were parked outside the old Police Headquarters building on St Vincent Street. When Newsday passed there, several cars were parked in front of the building, where no-parking signs were visibly displayed. The wrecker simply drove by and went on its merry way. When told about this, ACP Paul said the police did not do their job. “They were supposed to deal with complacent motorists within this boundary. Maybe, they plan to do it, as this will be a continuing exercise,” he added.

St Anthony’s cruise past QRC in SSFL opener

CHAMPIONS St Anthony’s opened their campaign in the British Gas Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) 2003 season with a convincing 2-0 win over QRC at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, yesterday.

But Mucurapo and Fatima battled to a goalless draw in the other match of the double-header. Fielding a starting lineup of players who were among the reserves during their unbeaten and sensational 2002 season, the “Westmoorings Tigers” took a while to settle down, but when they did, they tormented the Royalians defence with a series of attacks from both flanks, as well as the middle. Goals by Christopher Sam in the 78th minute and Keon Trim in the 86th, gave the Tigers their victory yesterday. Abiola Sandy was ushered into the penalty area by a flat-footed QRC defence, but his pass to fellow winger Christian Cabral was mis-kicked in the 34th minute while, six minutes later, Trim evaded defender Sherwyn O’Brien and centred to Sam whose shot was blocked by Jared Sampson. The Royalians failed to score in the 45th minute when a rebound effort from Kyle McIvor was cleared off the line by Yohansey Marshall, after Tigers’ goalkeeper Kegan Davidson parried a backpass from Marshall.

After a goalless first half, QRC goalkeeper Thorne Holder stopped a left-footed blast from Clevon George two minutes into the second session while, in the 58th, a through ball from Troy Thompson was laid off by Trim whose right-footer was swatted away by Holder with Sam’s follow-up hitting the crossbar. Against the run of play, Sampson got past Davidson but his left-footer was cleared off the line by defender Kareem Freitas in the 63rd. But St Anthony’s were not going to be denied and, with their opponents losing confidence with every passing minute, broke the deadlock in the 78th. A long ball by substitute Shabazz Best on the right flank was collected by Trim who found Sam inside the penalty box. With no mean threat from the ragged QRC defence, Sam weaved past four challengers and buried his right-footer past Holder. Holder was easily QRC’s brightest spark, but he could do nothing to prevent Trim from scoring a well-earned goal in the 86th, with Hans Rogers receiving a loose ball and laying off to a goal-bound Trim.

At the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, Arima, The “Dial Dynamos” Arima kick-started their season with a 4-0 whipping of San Juan while, in a subsequent match, the “Blue Thunder” El Dorado squeezed past the “Green Machine” St Augustine 2-1. South Zone action will kick off today with a double-header at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella from 3 pm. Vessigny faces St Benedict’s and Naparima opposes defending zonal champs Princes Town from 5 pm. Action  in the East Zone continues today with  Barataria playing hosts to debutants Hillview, while St George’s will travel to the Sangre Grande Recreation Ground to face Toco. Both matches begin at 3.45 pm.

Ganga, Dinas lead teams in Angostura Classic

WEST INDIES batsman Daren Ganga will lead the Rush XI into battle against a Dinanath Ramnarine XS XI as the three-match Angostura Classic bowls off tomorrow at the National Cricket Centre.

This inaugural series carries a winner’s prize of $4,500 with the runners-up getting $3,000. The games were organised by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) as part of their preparations for the annual regional Red Stripe Bowl limited- overs series to be held in Jamaica next month. The Classic will take the form of  three limited-overs matches and will be played over 50-overs per innings. Missing from the names released by the TTCB yesterday was West Indies captain Brian Lara who is out of the country. However, fellow West Indian players Ganga, Dillon, Ramnarine and Dave Mohammed will be on show this weekend when the action gets going. 

Notable omissions from both teams are players who recently represented the victorious Trinidad and Tobago Under-19 team in Guyana. It is the belief of the selectors that the youngsters need a rest after playing on consistent days in Guyana. Giselle Laronde-West and Brenda Awai from the sponsoring firm Angostura will meet the players before the start of the game tomorrow. Teams: RUSH XI: Daren Ganga (capt), Imran Khan, Andy Jackson, Aneil Kanhai, Shazam Babwah, Zaheer Ali, Samuel Badree, Dave Mohammed, Ricardo Paty, Reyad Emrit, Asif Jan, Kieron Lynch, Navin Chan, Devindra Krishna with manager-coach: Dasrath Maharaj.

XS XI: Dinanath Ramnarine (capt), Sherwin Ganga, Dwayne Bravo, Lincoln Roberts, Kenton Thompson, Denzil James, Gregory Mahabir, Earnil Ryan, Theodore Modeste, Richard Kelly, Sean Siloch, Amit Jaggernauth, Gibran Mohammed, Mervyn Dillon with Roland Sampath manager-coach.

Athletico, BM Spurs President’s final

RESURGENT Athletico Sports Institute and BM Spurs meet on Sunday at the St Augustine Senior Secondary School ground with the Eastern Football Association  President’s Cup on the line.

The teams who are separated by one point in ninth (Spurs) and 10th (ASI) on the 13-team league standings, scrambled through the knockout series, disposing of the “big guns” on the way. Athletico disposed of Carib FC 5-4 on penalty kicks after holding last season’s league runners-up 0-0 at the end of regulation and extra-time, and later shocked top club Crab Connection in similar fashion in the semi-finals. BM Spurs had an easier passage to the final, first knocking off cellar-placed East West Coaching School, before edging TSTT 1-0 in the semi-finals. Sunday’s final is timed to kick off at 3.30 pm, and a new cup holder will be crowned by 6 pm, as previous holders Crab Connection were ousted at the semi-final stage. Meanwhile, the WASA Clean & White vs Crab Connection Lucky Bakery-sponsored FA Trophy match will be replayed at WASA ground, St Joseph, also on Sunday from 4.15 pm. Impending darkness forced this game to be blown off while the teams were taking kicks from the penalty spot. But, Joe Public, otherwise known as the Eastern Lions, advanced to the next round of the FA edging Police 4-3 on penalty kicks after the teams battled to a 3-3 draw. Ex-national striker Dexter Cyrus scored twice and Edmond Homer got the other goal for the lawmen, while Jardeno Theobald got a double and Keseon Theodore scored for Joe Public.

TSTT scored an emphatic 3-0 victory over Delta Glass Young Hearts to move on, with Wendell Alexander getting a double and Marlon Yearwood the other goal. And Athletico nudged out JGAS Maloney Two Touch 3-1 on penalties after playing to a 2-2 draw. Stephen Peters got both goals for the “School Boys” while Kyle Williams knocked in both for Maloney. Samba Xtra Malt East San Juan United sneaked into the quarter-finals with a narrow 1-0 triumph over East/West Coaching School on Dion Sosa’s goal. Quarter-final matches: Tuesday — Hearty Foods Bulls vs BM Spurs, at Arima Municipal Stadium; Carib FC vs WASA or Crab Connection, at St Augustine Senior Comprehensive ground; Joe Public vs Samba Xtra Malt East San Juan United, at Squadron ground, Arouca; TSTT vs Athletico Sports Institute, at Valsayn.  All games kick off 4.15 pm.

W/Cup 2007 summit in St Lucia

CASTRIES, St Lucia:  Venue development director for the Cricket World Cup 2007, Donald Lockerbie is in St Lucia to hold discussions ahead of the first World Cup Summit to be held in St Lucia.

During Wednesday’s visit, Lockerbie was expected to finalise plans for the hosting of the summit in St Lucia this month. The dates originally announced for Venue Summit have been changed due to scheduling conflicts. The new dates for the summit are now September 26-28. The summit is expected to bring approximately 60 representatives from the different ICC Test playing countries as well as ten members of the tournament organising committee to the island. Hosting of the first summit of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in St Lucia is a very important achievement for the island, which has only recently become a player in international cricket and sports tourism. During the venue summit, the ICC delegation is also expected to take a tour of the Beausejour Cricket Ground.