The man of Sampson Trace in Cunupia is expected to be placed on an identification parade for the offence.

According to reports, at about 1.30 am, Satayanand Ramsakal the owner of Ramsakal Central Supermarket was inside the supermarket preparing his accounts when he heard a loud noise coming from the back of the business place. Ramsakal made a check and discovered that someone was trying to gain entry by climbing trough the roof of the Supermarket.

He wasted no time in alerting the Cunupia police and a party of officers led by Police Constable Singh and others responded and caught the suspect trying to enter the Supermarket through the roof. He was promptly arrested and taken into custody. Officers discovered a pig foot along with other house breaking implements in the man’s possession. Ramsakal was high in praise for the Cunupia police which led to the arrest of the suspect.

At 9 pm; Hillpiece, winners of the first semi-final against Massahood; will take on the winners of the second ‘semis’ between MonDesir Power Hitters, who were scheduled to clash with Starblinkers last night at the same venue.

The losers of the second ‘semis’ will clash with Massahood in the third place play-off today from 6.30 pm.

Unicomer Trinidad Limited and Courts partnered with National MonDesir Organisation, a community- based non-profit organisation to promote the T10 competition for rural clubs.

During the preliminary rounds of the championships, there was a “Spectator Competition”.

in three categories – adult male, adult female and kids under 12.

Using a tennis ball, all participants were given the opportunity to bowl at a set of cricket stumps.

Daily winners collected $100 and all previous winners will be allowed to vie for many mini-appliances sponsored by Courts during the play-offs today.

There are also other novelties for spectators who can pocket $100 for taking a catch from balls hit for six during the two matches scheduled to form part of the grand finale that would be watched by many supporters of the various teams who participated in the competition.

In addition, the ‘Most Valuable Player’ of the tchampionships will receive a 40-inch Smart TV provided by Unicomer Courts Trinidad Limited.

Rowley opted out of portions of Thursday’s debate on his Minister of Finance’s mid-term review, visiting a sapling farm in Biche and Forestry Division facilities in Rio Claro.

We hope this was not intended by the Prime Minister as an indirect commentary on the quality of the discourse that normally fills the august chamber at the International Waterfront Centre.

It is understood Rowley gave Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat a mandate to have a million saplings ready for planting in time for the rainy season. And Thursday’s tour was to allow the Prime Minister to see what progress was made on this initiative.

Rowley, a former agriculture minister, reportedly told the workers at Maper Farm that he was concerned about the wanton slashing and burning of the Northern Range.

This, he said, has made it easy for forests fires to ravage the hillside and leave areas vulnerable to major flooding and landslides during the rainy season. Even in his own constituency of Diego Martin West, Rowley said, he is very concerned about destruction of the vegetation on the hills, recalling some constituents have lost their homes because of heavy flooding linked to deforestation.

Issues involving how we interact with the environment are not just matters relating to one public official’s personal views and preferences. As the case of forest ranger Keith Campbell last year showed, they are matters of life and death.

Indiscriminate slashing and burning is but one of the many offences on our charge sheet.

Also appalling is the practice of quarrying – sometimes at the behest of the State – which has scarred our landscape. Reforestation has been an ongoing activity in the ministry for years. However, there has been little transparency in how this programme has been working. How effective has it been over the years? And has it remained responsive to environmental changes? Reforestation is not only important in preserving physical safety, it is key to the atmosphere as well. As a nation this country has one of the highest rates of carbon emissions per capita in the hemisphere. Trees play a vital role in the delicate ecosystem that regulates our weather.

Last month marked exactly one year since Trinidad and Tobago joined 174 other countries in signing the historic Paris Climate Change Agreement at a special high-level signing event at United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 22, 2016.

However, the fact is this agreement is more or less in tatters given the position of US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party (American philosopher and historian Noam Chomsky this week reaffirmed that the Republican Party is “the most dangerous organisation in human history” because of its efforts to reverse climate change measures).

France’s new President, Emmanuel Macron, however campaigned heavily on a stance in favour of this agreement and has even called on US scientists to come to France to continue work on the matter.

It is a good thing to see the Prime Minister taking the lead.

It speaks volumes when the head of the Government makes an effort to underline issues relating to how we treat the environment as well as to the natural habitat of our precious wildlife.

It is also important that the Ministry of Agriculture be brought into the modern era and that it be repurposed to fit our needs in an era when so much is at stake at home and abroad. That should be the next stop.

“We were thinking about doing many things for her for Mother’s Day but none of the plans were confirmed. Whatever we decided on, obviously, she would have been at the centre of it. We are expecting some relatives from abroad to come, so the funeral might be on Monday or so,” said one of Ramdeen’s daughters.

Ramdeen worked as a foreman with the Forestry Division at Mafeking Village. Shortly after 12 noon on Wednesday, relatives found her body in the garage located at the front of her home off the Naparima/Mayaro Road in Bristol Village, Mayaro. Two of Ramdeen’s granddaughters, aged four and two, whom she was taking care of, were unharmed.

The suspected killer, Ramdeen’s estranged companion of 17 years Andrew Vasquez, 73, was killed moments after the gruesome discovery in a vehicular accident. Police believe the pensioner deliberately drove his Nissan B15 car into the path of an oncoming Jusamco Contractors Ltd truck which was proceeding in the opposite direction along the Naparima/Mayaro Road in Union Village, Mayaro.

Ramdeen and Vasquez shared a tempestuous, on-again/off-again relationship that spanned almost two decades. Vasquez, a father of six, lived at Stone Road in Piparo, with his wife of 53 years, Habiban Vasquez, 69, and other relatives.

Speaking at the family’s home, relatives described him as a family man who loved to help others.

However, they do not believe that Vasquez, a heart patient, intentionally caused the accident or killed Ramdeen. They recalled that the grandfather of seven was complaining of feeling unwell shortly before 9 am on Wednesday and went to, “take a rest” at home.

“He was not a violent man. Grandpa was always willing to help others. We know him, we know his heart…he is not a killer,” said a granddaughter. The family acknowledged that he had an “outside woman” for years and went to visit her after receiving a phone call from someone.

“Maybe when he reached, maybe he saw the body on the ground and he immediately left. It could have raised his anxiety and because of his heart problems caused the accident. Habiban is a stroke patient and also has diabetes. It is very traumatic for us,” another relative added. Since news of the murder/suicide broke, there have been several negative comments about Vasquez, who was a cricket lover.

“His death itself is very traumatic for us and may people are posting all sorts of things about him on social media. Even if he is innocent, they already tarnished his name,” she added.

An autopsy performed by pathologist Dr Hughvon Des Vignes at the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James stated that Vasquez died as a result of injuries consistent with that of a vehicular accident, police said. Police also said Ramdeen’s death was caused by the slit throat.

Justice Aboud has reserved his decision to July 31, the last day of the court’s term. Warner is contending that the Extradition Order issued by the US goes against local extradition laws. According to Warner’s attorneys , there is no common law right of extradition and the mere existence of a treaty between TT and a foreign sovereign state is of itself of no domestic effect until and unless that treaty is incorporated into domestic law They also contend that US Order failed to comply with the strictures contained in the local Extradition Act; was not in conformity of the Act, and specifically offended against the restrictions contained in the Act against the return of persons to a requesting state.

The application says it was unlawful for a person to be tried and punished in the requesting state for extra- territorial offences where such offences, had they occurred outside of TT in similar circumstances, would not have constituted an offence in this country.

“Even the arrest of Mr Warner was wrong in law,” his lead counsel Fyard Hosein SC, further submitted. But the Attorney General’s lawyers have told the judge that he does not have the jurisdiction to decide whether the Extradition Treaty conforms with the Act.

“As a rule of law the court cannot interpret a Treaty… That was not parliament’s intention,” Douglas Mendes SC, who leads the case for the State argued.

Mendes has also submitted that the court cannot invalidate the Order. “You are stuck.

The court has no jurisdiction to look at the treaty and interpret it.

You cannot,” he said, adding that the Treaty was not incorporated into domestic law.

Warner surrendered himself to Fraud Squad officers on May 27, 2015, after learning of the provisional warrant.

He is currently on $2.5 million bail.

Warner was indicted by a US grand jury on 12 charges of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering over an escalating scandal at FIFA, football`s world governing body. US authorities have charged 14 FIFA officials and sports marketing executives of soliciting and receiving more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks over two decades.

On July 23, US authorities asked for Warner, a former head of football`s governing body in North America, Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf) to be extradited to face the charges.

The march included 20 students from 49 primary and secondary school along with members from the TTPS, Air Guard, Prison Service Youth Training Centre, Coast Guard, Families in Action, and Rape Crisis. Jacob said the march is all about an amnesty everyone has to get involved to deal with crime and criminality in the Northern Division.

He said with a robust will to fight against crime, the police have all the support from all stakeholders.

“The Northern Division for 2016 and as we entered 2017 is the division with the highest incidents of crime and criminality that is existing and we have to get the message across that we are not giving up.

Once we join forces together, we can redress this problem of crime in the division.” He continued, “We are getting the support from the Mayor, the MP and all personnel, from the prisons, air guard, the residents from the area. I want to thank everyone who supported the event and most importantly all the school the principals and teachers, because they ensured that at least 10 or 20 students from each school participated in this march.” Jacob said the young people are the future and they are getting the message, however, he said with all the support he believes the crime situation can be turned around.

He said the walk is an important initiative to interact with the community, because the police need to show they mean business, and welcomed their support in the fight against crime.

“The event is not a one-off event and it is a continuation of a mentorship programme that we have with schools in the area. The Prisons do it on a monthly basis, going to each schools, taking them to the prisons and other areas to meet with certain inmates who have reached a high level of reform to talk to the young people. The initiative will continue.” Jacob said the four and a half miles’ walk was incident free, and participants of the walk also got the corporation of motorists and people on the side walk along the way. He said anyone could have seen the students were concern about the crime situation in the country by the placards they carried.

Also addressing the students, former Legal Affairs Minister and St Augustine Member of Parliament Prakash Ramadhar said the march represents the future of the country where young people are sending the message that they do not want crime in the country.

MY CONCEPT of “mother” is seen through the lens of my own matriarchal upbringing, dominated by grandmother, mother and the women I called “auntie” out of respect. My uncle was there, and there were of course other male figures, but the women were “in charge.” They were the primary caregivers and made decisions about finances. But most of all, they were the ones who determined how the children were raised; the rules, discipline and behavioural structures and values that would be imparted.

The notion of mother is complicated.Regional authors have interrogated her influence, often against a post-colonial backdrop, and a search for sense of self — common themes in the 1950s, 60s and even the 1970s.

Merle Hodge’s Crick Crack Monkey examines the struggles of a young girl caught between the different class worlds of Tantie and Aunt Beatrice; contrasted with the safety she feels with her grandmother Ma. Ma Lammy, from Green Days, is a strong female figure, loving, focused on her family, but a person in her own right. Lamming’s In the Castle of my Skin begins and ends with the mother.

Our shared histories have produced variations of mother and, as birthing rituals of Hindu, Orisa, Christian and other communities show, she remains essential to keeping the family together.

However, the elders who shared those rituals lamented that these traditions are no longer the norm for our society. Interestingly, this week I had several experiences surrounding mothers that seem to support this.

One mother brought her little girl to dance class, but the child, who was around four years old, whined and terrorised her mother until the teacher decided to do the class with the child on her hip.

The mother was embarrassed and I thought back to my own childhood, where it never would even have occurred to me to disturb my grandmother or mother.

And even if I tried, a stern look or squeeze on the arm is all that it would have taken to dispel any thoughts of misbehaviour.

I remembered this incident while catching up with a male colleague after. He was clear that women and mothers are the driving force in the home and in matters of business. “Women are in charge,” he said. “They also have the ability to come together, much better than men, to get things done. Men are more destructive, they don’t know how to build. Their instinct is to destroy.” I’m not sure that I fully agree.

We no longer talk about post-colonial in the context of identity, family and social structure, but the truth is we’re still struggling to find ourselves. And as we search, the role of our mothers in advancing and stabilising our society is becoming more critical.

For me, the question is how do we reclaim that space previously occupied by women like my grandmother and the literary Ma who became symbols of what a mother should be? It is a complicated question, but I believe it is one to which we must urgently respond.

Dara Healy is a performance a r t – ist and founder of the N G O , the Ind i g e – n o u s Creative A r t s Network – ICAN

“The Atlantic Provider and. the (Trinity Transporter) barge. definitely not working for us. We. tried it for the past three weeks. and it’s not working. The most. we could do is protest for a better. boat, it’s up to government to give. us something because in a matter. of weeks Tobago will be in a dire. state.”. Trucker Sheldon Lezama described. the new cargo transportation. system as a total failure.

“This provider is not providing. for us, Tobago is suffering, we. not getting enough goods across. to efficiently distribute across to. Tobago…It’s a ripple effect; because. of this whole thing we can’t. mind our families.

“What is sad is the Tobago politicians. not doing anything about. it they are just sitting back and. watching everything. It’s taking. three to four days to make one. sailing when you do get there its. taking three to four days to get. back. From a Superfast Galicia. that used to hold 150 trucks now. we have come to a stage where. we can only carry 50 trucks maximum.”. Some of their issues are. there is no passenger area, the. Atlantic Provider is too small. and slow, the Trinity Transporter. barge is unreliable and can cause. permanent damages to vehicles. and construction materials.

Members from the TT Chamber. of Industry and Commerce, Tobago. Division and the head of. the Truckers and Traders Association. Horace Amede were given. a tour of the Atlantic Provider to. see the capabilities of the vessel. which they said was not impressive.

David Wong member of the. Chamber of Industry and Commerce. said, “It’s nonsense, it’s. takes too long to get here. They. (owner of the vessel) blames the. port for keeping the vessel back. from sailing. Let the port say why. the boat gets in the port at 4 am. and is not allowed to dock till. 6.30 am.

“Why does it have to start loading. at 10 am why can’t it (Atlantic. Provider) start loading at 1 pm. and leave 3 pm.They say they. can reach there (Tobago) in five. hours so if they leave there at 3. pm they will be here at 8 pm. If. this happens the truckers can go. back to a normal sane lifestyle. where they get to work at 6 am. in Port-of-Spain; the truckers can. do what work they have to do get. back to the port and get on the. provider at 1 pm and be back in. Tobago by 7 pm.”. Amede said the attempts of the. owner to convince truckers to. accept the vessel is useless, “from. the executive stand point we cannot. tell the drivers to take it because. they are not accustomed to. these problems,” he said.

.

Instead, it will be a Brian Lara Trinidad and Tobago XI against an International XI in an exhibition T20 match, from 7 pm, at the Academy, following an opening ceremony which will begin an hour earlier.

Sports Minister Darryl Smith, during a post-Cabinet media conference on April 20, announced that Tendulkar was expected to participate in today’s match but it was revealed last week that the ex-India captain had never confirmed his attendance for today’s game.

Instead, the international names who will compete in today’s encounter are former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, ex-South Africa opener Herschelle Gibbs, West Indian-born ex-England pacers Devon Malcolm and Gladstone Small, and Bermudian all-rounder Terryn Sunil Fray.

Other notable names include former WI captains Ramnaresh Sarwan, Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo, as well as Sir Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Browne, Corey Collymore, Ricardo Powell, Mervyn Dillon and Dinanath Ramnarine.

In a media briefing at his Lady Chancellor Hill, St Ann’s residence yesterday morning, Lara revealed, “just sitting back and listening, I normally feel I can tell when something is going to blow over. It seems like this has festered for quite some time. I felt embarrassed.” He apologised for the lack of communication among himself, the Sport Company and Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

“Maybe we put our left foot before our right foot but that is something I apologise for. I don’t think it’s anyone else’s fault. I’m expressing disappointment in myself for not really getting everything stacked up properly but so be it.

At the end of the day we’ll have a beautiful facility,” he said.

Lara gave an insight into how the Tendlukar mix-up came about, explaining, “I’ve invited my friend and I want the rest of Trinidad and Tobago to know I spoke to Sachin, I was in India and I was (wondered) how do I approach this guy and even ask him if it’s possible…I wanted the opportunity to use his name and (others) like Sir Garfield Sobers.” Earlier at the media briefing Lara, reading from a prepared speech, commented, “I was contacted to be involved in the opening ceremony and a date for it. January was talked about, then April and May.

“I suggested my birthday, May 2, which with preliminary inquiry sat well with a number of international players, including Sachin Tendulkar, my good friend. May 2 was a Tuesday and it stood for a while as the date until I was asked to consider a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.” Lara, 48, said he contacted Tendulkar, who could only “squeeze in one day on his busy schedule” and unfortunately, messaged him to say he couldn’t come.

“I felt that proceedings were well on the way and, with my schedule restrictions as well, that it was best to stick to the date (of the opening ceremony) and arrange something with Sachin and other contemporaries of mine at a later date.” Addressing the furore with the potential naming of one of the stands after Tendulkar, Lara described the former Indian batsman as a rival on the field and a friend off it.

Three weeks ago, chairman of the Sports Company (SPORTT ) Michael Phillips was reported as saying the north west stand at Tarouba would be named after Tendulkar, a decision which upset some of the local cricketing fraternity, including TT Cricket Board (TT CB) president Azim Bassarath.

Lara remarked, “I urge you not to see this as a Trinidad and Tobago facility but as us Trinidad and Tobagonians leading the field in embracing what sport is all about, especially cricket.” The opening of the Academy yesterday continued to caused controversy though with MP for Princes Town Barry Padarath calling for the match to be called off.

On April 25, Padarath suggested major questions were yet to be answered about the safety of the structure.

Yesterday, however, Lara said, “We heard from professionals and I am satisfied. I visited the venue on many occasions and made suggestions which I have seen been implemented.

This can be confirmed by the project managers on site.” Padarath yesterday noted that Sports Minister Smith had admitted the venue has not been ICC accredited or cleared as yet.

Teams – TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO BRIAN LARA XI: Brian Lara, Mervyn Dillon, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Rayad Emrit, Evin Lewis, Kirstan Kallicharan, Tion Webster, Dinanath Ramnarine, Kevon Cooper, Jason Mohammed, Navin Stewart, Lyndon Lara.

INTERNATIONAL XI: Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka), Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa), Devon Malcolm (England), Gladstone Small (England), Terryn Sunil Fray (Bermuda), Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Imran Khan, Curtly Ambrose, Ricardo Powell, Courtney Browne, Kirk Edwards, Corey Collymore, Ian Bradshaw.

It is understood that Rowley gave Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat a mandate to have a million saplings ready for planting in time for the rainy season. And yesterday’s tour was to allow Rowley to see what progress was made on this initiative.

He then made his way to Ecclesville in Rio Claro, where the PM viewed facilities at the Ministry of Agriculture’s forestry division branch.

At Maper Farm, Rowley was warmly greeted by workers who seemed very eager to display the healthy-looking saplings which will be used in the reforestation drive.

Rowley thanked them for their commitment in having the plants ready in time and asked that they to do him “a favour”, by ensuring another million plants are available for the rainy season next year.

Rowley, a former agriculture minister, who at a recent cottage meeting said if he is no longer wanted to lead government he would gladly go back to the Tobago to plant the land and rear animals, told the workers at Maper Farm that he very concerned about the wanton slashing and burning of the Northern Range for farming purposes.

This he said has made it easy for forests fires to ravage the hillside and leave areas vulnerable to major flooding and landslides during the rainy season. The reforestation drive is to ensure that the Northern Range can have green cover once again. Even in his own constituency of Diego Martin West, Rowley said, he is very concerned about destruction of the vegetation on the hills, recalling that some constituents had lost their homes as a result of heavy flooding.

The Prime Minister also asked for fruit trees to be planted alongside the soft and hardwood trees so that wildlife could benefit throughout the year. He believed the fruit would also be of use to the public and added that ensuring the country’s return to greenery would redound to the benefit of all.

The Prime Minister said that contrary to what some may believe, he is genuinely interested in ensuring that all home owners benefit from having fruit trees on their premises so people can return to the “good old days” of having freshly squeezed orange, lemon and lime juices with their lunch.

He joked that he grew up drinking freshly squeezed citrus juice and still enjoys them.

Yesterday, Minister Rambharat praised the effort of the farm workers adding the was very pleased to be able to carry out the mandate given him by the Prime Minister, because he too is of the belief that reforestation should be a national priority. He added that some of the fruit trees would go on sale to the public from Monday. The reforestation drive also starts on Monday.