The second suspect in a $6,000 robbery at Central on Wednesday was arrested by alert villagers of Warren Road, Bejucal.

Reports revealed that around 8 pm on Wednesday, Bejucal villagers saw a 20-year-old man hiding in a garden. The man was held by villagers and handed over to officers of the Chaguanas CID Robbery Squad. The man was wanted in connection with an armed robbery at Frankie’s Velocity Joint Repair Shop. Reports revealed that around 3.25 pm on Wednesday, two men armed with guns went to the velocity shop where they held up Dindial Boodhu and his wife Khama. They robbed them of $6,000 and escaped. Quick response from officers of the Chaguanas CID Robbery Squad led by Ag Sgt Ajith Persad, and including Sgt Dennis Housen and PC Toleram led to the arrest of a 21-year-old man and the siezure of a fully loaded .380 pistol. Both suspects in the robbery will be placed on an identification parade today.

A 23-year-old Westmoorings man was abducted while leaving Club Coconuts early yesterday.

Reports revealed that around 3.45 am, Allan Deverteuil was driving his car in company with a friend when he was forced off the roadway. He was then dragged out of his car, placed into another vehicle, robbed and taken to Aranjuez. The abductors attempted to contact the family of the kidnapped man, but failed. They then released him at the Aranjuez Savannah. The police were alerted and Deverteuil was interviewed by officers of the Anti Kidnapping Squad.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning said yesterday the issue of barriers on Marli Street was “unfortunate-ly…being blown out of proportion.”

While insisting that citizens had the right to complain, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said the situation, (in which citizens are agitating for the removal) “should not have gotten to where it is.” He said Government had a responsibility to protect all foreign missions in the country. Manning also said that if Government, in the face of the public hue and cry, were to have the barriers removed  and there was an incident, the government would be responsible. “And that is a liability that we certainly don’t want, as it has international obligations,” he noted.

Speaking at the post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall,  Manning said there was “nothing to be gained” by commenting on the view that it was the US attempt to bully Caribbean states to withdraw support for the International Criminal Court that led to the issue “being blown out of proportion.” He said if the embassy felt that the barriers should remain in place, “the government would be hard-pressed to deny that request.” However, the Prime Minister, when asked whether US ambassador Roy Austin was the competent authority to say — as he did on Wednesday — that the barriers would not be removed, stressed that it was the government of Trinidad and Tobago in exercise of its sovereign function which makes such a decision.  He added that from time to time the arrangement of the barriers is reviewed and it was up for review at this time. “We will see if the authorities are of the same view now, as they were at that time (when the decision was taken to leave the barriers after September 11),” he said.

Asked whether he was going to be part of a Caricom delegation  to persuade US President George Bush to restore military aid, Manning stated that if he was invited to join such a meeting, he would. He said that issue was raised after he left Montego Bay. He said it was felt that direct discussion between Caricom and the US Government, would be useful in helping relations between the countries. On Austin’s statements that not enough was being done to address the crime situation, Manning said he held a different view. But, he noted, he always took in consideration any opinion from reputable sources.

Trinidad and Tobago would be behaving like a father disowning a child if it were to accede to the US demand not to adhere to the International Criminal Court,  Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift noted yesterday.

His observation brought smiles from Prime Minister Patrick Manning, Ken Valley and Attorney General Glenda Morean. Gift stated that Trinidad and Tobago is a major claimant to the paternity of the initiative of the ICC. “We cannot be on the left and on the right at the same time,” the Minister stated. He added that he hoped that the rest of Caricom would see to it that the solidarity of the region is upheld on this issue.
He said the meeting of the Caricom leaders in Jamaica was “overwhelmed” with the news that the US had implemented its July 1 dictum — to withdraw military aid to those countries which did not support its request for its citizens to be excluded from the jurisdiction of the court.

The suddenness of the decision, though not unexpected, caused “a flutter” within the meeting, he said. Gift said it was very difficult to segregate in the United States system and divide military aid from other aid for drug interdiction. He said one might be able to say to the US authorities that it was also in their interest to restore the aid, since they were also potential beneficiaries of proper drug interdiction programmes. Stressing that Caricom, particularly Trinidad and Tobago, played a vanguard role in the establishment of the court, Gift said he did not see the possibility of Caricom’s solidarity being broken either on the FTA matter or on the ICC issue.

The utilisation of a local labour force will be a major factor in the construction of a 56 inch natural gas transmission pipeline which will run along the Southern Coast of Trinidad from Beachfield in Guayaguayare to Point Fortin. So said President of the National Gas Company (NGC), Frank Look Kin, as he addressed the signing ceremony between NGC and German company Europipe for the supply of Line Pipe for the 56 inch Cross Island Pipeline which was held at the Normandie Hotel yesterday. The signing is the culmination of the first phase of the Cross Island Pipeline project and represents an investment of US $43 million (TT $250 million).

Look Kin stated that the company intended to maximise local content not only in terms of labour, but also in terms of site surveying, detailed routing and transportation among other things.  It was noted that NGC would own, build and operate the line. An income will be derived in the form of a tariff received for the transportation of gas through this line.
Giving an overview of the Pipeline Project, he revealed that the pipeline would be used to transport natural gas comprising approximately 95 percent methane. It is expected to run 76 kilometres from Beachfield to the Atlantic LNG site in Point Fortin. This pipeline, he went on, will provide natural gas to the Atlantic LNG Train 4 initially.  However, it is expected that there will be enough spare capacity to provide feedstock to future gas developments. NGC Chairman, Keith Awong, expressed his belief that the signing ceremony signified the start of another phase in the expansion of TT’s Natural Gas Industry.

Over the past 28 years, he stated, NGC has grown from being the owner of a single 16 inch pipeline from Penal to Port-of-Spain to a company with approximately 625 kilometres of pipeline network. This network has a transmission capacity of 1.4 billion cubic feet per day. The new  project, he went on, would see the company entering into a major systems expansion wherein that capacity would be increased to 3.8 billion cubic feet per day by 2005. “This is an almost twofold increase in capacity,” he maintained. “This proposed 56 inch Cross Island Pipeline will be a key infrastructural development facility to transport up to 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from Beachfield to La Brea and Point Fortin,” he added. Awong revealed that presently 56 inch natural gas pipelines exist only in Russia, Poland, Iran and Saudi Arabia. “Our country is fortunate to house a project of such magnitude,” he maintained, adding, “this project propels TT onto the world’s stage like no other single activity in our energy sector history. Trinidad and Tobago will rank among the leaders of natural gas technology and development,” he stated.

Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Eric Williams, commended NGC on its initiative. He noted that it would ultimately lead to TT becoming a significant entity on the world map in terms of the Natural gas industry. He especially praised the decision to make what he called, “a significant investment in human capital in TT,” by employing local labour for the project. “The way we are heading appears to be a win-win situation for all partners,” he said.

HERE comes the bride. Here she comes again…and again…and again. Whenever there is a racket, expect a Trinidadian connection.

A Manhattan woman, Maria Davis, confessed to New York authorities that she obtained marriage licences to marry men from Trinidad and St Lucia so they could stay in the United States. Each time she “wed,” she was paid US$1,000. Five other women were charged with getting licences to marry men from the Dominican Republic, India, Pakistan, Peru, Nigeria and Bangladesh. Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said yesterday the women received a total of 43 marriage licences to wed illegal immigrants who wanted to stay in the country and were paid up to US$1,000 every time they temporarily tied the knot. One of them, Dezerrie Cortes, 40, of Manhattan, obtained 27 marriage licences between 1984 and 2002, he said. “Maybe that should go in the Guinness Book of World Records,” Morgenthau quipped, adding that Cortes married men from Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Pakistan. Investigators believe she also sought marriage licences in Florida. He said the matter of sham marriages was serious enough to merit a continuing investigation given the possibility that terrorists could obtain residency documents this way.

Morgenthau also said he was forwarding the names of the “grooms” to relevant federal agencies to determine whether they were involved in prosecutable wrongdoing such as marriage fraud, Social Security fraud and immigration fraud. Morgenthau said the women were charged with perjury because they lied when seeking the marriage licences. Four of them have been arrested and face up to four years in prison if convicted. In addition to Cortes, the “brides” were identified by authorities as: Maria Davis, 26, of Manhattan, who is charged with perjury and offering a false instrument in seeking three marriage licences between 1998 and 1999 to husbands from Trinidad and St Lucia. Monique Figueroa, 26, of Richmond Hill, who is charged with perjury in four marriage applications between 1999 and 2002. Chera Larkins, 32, of Manhattan, charged with perjury and filing a false instrument in three marriage applications. They were being held on Wednesday night.

THE ABSENCE of Defence Attorney Fitzgerald Hinds yesterday caused High Court Judge Rajendra Narine to adjourn the sentencing of a Cumuto man, who was found guilty of having sexual intercourse with a female under 14 — the victim was 12 years old at the time of the incident.

The nine-member jury found John Jobity, also known as “Mash-up,” guilty by a seven-two majority verdict after deliberating for the maximum three-hour period. They also informed the court that additional time would not assist them in arriving at a unanimous verdict in the matter. Following the guilty verdict, Justice Narine made the observation that Hinds was not present in the court and was informed that “he would be back shortly.” The judge then told State Attorney Nalini Singh that in the absence of Hinds, he would adjourn the sentencing to today since the defence had to present their mitigation plea. The evidence presented to the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court by the State was that around 11 am on Sunday November 25, 2001, the victim left her Cumuto home and rode her bicycle to a nearby shop to purchase ice for her mother. On her way to the shop, she met Jobity, who told her that he had a surprise for her.

After making her purchases, the shop’s proprietor agreed to walk back part of the way with her. He walked with her a short distance and then left her.The court heard that the victim was pushing her bicycle up a hill when Jobity grabbed her from behind and pulled her into some bushes where he raped her. The young lady then went home and told her mother what had happened to her on the way home. The mother, together with some villagers, mounted a search for Jobity and found him, whereafter they tied him up, beat him and then called the police. When the police arrived, they took him to the Arima Hospital where he was treated and later taken to the Arima Police Station and charged for the offence. In her testimony, the victim told the court that she had known Jobity for at least seven years prior to the incident.

The year 2002 was a difficult one for national carrier BWIA, as it dealt with, among other things, the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, which saw falling yields and collapsing traffic volumes, in addition to the seizure of  two aircraft and an ultimatum from government to lower production costs or risk losing government aid.

2002 in fact proved to be one of crisis for the entire airline industry, as practically all carriers suffered significant losses with the total industry losing US $31 billion for 2001 and 2002. This wiped out all the profits produced by the industry since 1945. In the airline’s 2002 Annual Report, it was revealed that the year began with January’s revenue and net profit/loss on target. However, the Carnival season in February turned out to be surprisingly poor, primarily due to major shortfalls of 14 percent to 28 percent off target on North American routes, with most traditional tourists staying at home. March saw temporary improvement. However, in April and May, revenues fell by approximately seven percent. The first half of the year ended with June coming in at 23 percent to US $5.5 million below the June 2001 figure. Revenues were also recorded at US $10.9 million less than the comparable period in 2001.

BWIA Chairman, Lawrence Duprey was quoted as saying that the anticipated global slump of the last quarter of 2000, deepened immeasurably by 9/11, had alerted the airline’s management to a need to redefine the airline and to move toward a lower cost operation that could compete effectively in the new industry environment of lower fares and new service expectations. This transformation/restructuring, he stated, would be the focal activity in 2002 and would be largely completed with the January 28, 2003 emergence of the lower cost Business Model 2003. “But even this radical restructuring would itself be shown by May 2003 to have been inadequate and the company would find itself relying on financial support from the TT Government to stave off bankruptcy and continue operations,” Duprey noted. However, he commended BWIA’s management which he said performed to a “higher level” than several other larger airlines. “That BWIA was still in business at the end of 2002, when several other international airlines had shut down, is indeed remarkable,” he maintained.

Duprey revealed that the company had adopted several survival strategies which included fleet rationalism, voluntary management salary cuts, reduced service frequencies on soft routes, rationalism of catering, reduction of travel agents’ commissions, was well as reductions on duty travel and associated operating expenses. “It is BWIA’s objective to reduce its operating costs to US 8 cents cost per available seat mile (ASM) by December 2003,” he explained. According to Duprey, by January 2003, the airline had achieved something of a “rebirth” that is best seen in the scrutiny of the operating cost of the company. “BWIA still has the capacity to become increasingly more efficient without significant loss of our unique character and selling proposition,” he asserted. He added that investors would view the anticipated recovery of the industry with a renewed confidence that the new operating Business Model of BWIA is well suited to maximise on the limited opportunities that present themselves.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning took time out from his busy schedule yesterday to meet with  members of the differently-abled community.

The members were, at the time, holding a prayer vigil outside Whitehall, and had called on all religious bodies, organisations, NGO’s, trade unions and concerned citizens, to join them in a show of support believing that prayer can move mountains as indicated in their invitation. However while the vigil fizzled with not more than a dozen people present at any one time, Prime Minister Manning made it his business to meet with and introduce himself to the disabled just before 3 pm. At that time, Manning was between the end of his usual cabinet press conference and a meeting with an ambassador before heading off to his San Fernando constituency office.

Advisor to the Prime Minister,  Herbert Atwell was subsequently sent to meet with the disabled to arrange a further meeting between PM Manning and the Disabled. On hearing of the PM’s meeting with his people, Chairman of the Disabled People International/TT George Daniel, who was unable to be present at the vigil described the meeting as hopeful. He said: “In one word, hopeful. I feel very good and I want to say thank you.” Daniel told Newsday that after hearing of an earlier report stating that the PM wasn’t aware of the disabled people outside of his office he was very surprised, but that he now looks forward to a further meeting with the PM.

Daniel is currently laid up at the physical medical section of the St James Medical Complex infirmary under doctor’s orders. The vigil was another planned event in the struggle of the disabled for “full citizenship”, and among the few high profile people who turned up to show their support were president of the Public Services Association Jennifer Baptiste, activist Clive Nunez, CEPEP contractor Mackie Padmore and a representative of Pastor Clive Dottin.

Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, Orville London, yesterday conceded that it was best that too much was not said on the Pigeon Point issue.

At yesterday’s post-Executive Council media briefing, London said that he had been advised that sometimes when matters reached the point where they were most likely to go to court, “one of the greatest harms one can do to oneself was to talk too much. “Under the circumstances, I do not believe that one should speak too much or reveal too much, but I promise, as I have done in the past, to be as transparent as possible and to let the public know what I think they should know without undermining the THA’s position,” London said. London was making reference to the latest twist in the longstanding impasse between the Ansa McAl group and the THA, where, on last Friday, the owners of Club Pigeon Point recently filed a constitutional motion against the State challenging the proposed compulsory acquisition of the property “for public purposes” recently initiated by the Tobago House of Assembly.