Whither India?

By Raffique Shah
May 25, 2014

Raffique ShahWith Narendra Modi taking office as Prime Minister of India following a convincing victory in the month-long general elections, the world’s largest parliamentary democracy, India, stands at critical crossroads.

The close to 200 million voters who propelled the controversial Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power comprise in the main Hindu nationalists who see the country as Hindu first, anything else afterwards. But they were not the decisive elements that drove the Indian National Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty out of power in a humiliating rout.
Continue reading Whither India?

Volney on Section 34: I Was Wrong

By Rachael Espinet and Clint Chan Tack
May 21, 2014 – newsday.co.tt

I Was WrongIN a surprising turn of events yesterday former Justice Minister Herbert Volney apologised to Attorney General (AG) Anand Ramlogan for alleging that he was responsible, in any way, for the early proclamation of Section 34 of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act 2011

In offering this apology to his former Cabinet colleague, Volney accepted full responsibility for what has become known as the Section 34 fiasco.

Volney made these statements at a joint news conference with Ramlogan, at the Ministry of the Attorney General, Cabildo Chambers, Port-of-Spain.
Continue reading Volney on Section 34: I Was Wrong

Rumours of War, Weapons of War

By Raffique Shah
May 18, 2014

Raffique ShahMaybe he does not realise it, but by his untimely utterances and seemingly panicked posturing, National Security Minister Gary Griffith is fuelling fear among the populace.

Last Friday, according to news reports, rumours of an imminent coup triggered a virtual self-evacuation of Port of Spain, leading to the early closure of some businesses and traffic jams on roads leading out of the capital city.
Continue reading Rumours of War, Weapons of War

Baby Dies – Forgotten in Car

HEARTBROKEN

By Newsday Staff
May 15, 2014 – newsday.co.tt

BABY BEATEN TO DEATHThe mother of a 17-month-old boy is today standing by the child’s grandfather who forgot the baby in his car at work, on Tuesday, only to find him dead when he returned to the vehicle hours later.

“A most wonderful grandfather, the best grandfather in the world,” is the praise Masika Wharwood had yesterday for her father-in-law who had her son, Jaedon Cudjoe, in his care and is inconsolable over his death.

Winston Cudjoe, 56, had placed his grandson in a car-seat in the back seat of his Nissan Teana and left their home at Aquat Village, Penal to take the child to stay with a relative, before heading to work at a division of State-oil company, Petrotrin in Penal, on Tuesday morning.
Continue reading Baby Dies – Forgotten in Car

A Wray of Light into Ideas of Male Entitlement

By Corey Gilkes
May 15, 2014

Male TorsoHow nobody eh pick up on this one, jred? Or maybe someone did and I jes eh see it. So much things going on eh, I almost forget this gem of an article that came out in the Jamaican Gleaner on March 30th. I had to read it several times just to make sure the writer, one Milton Wray, wasn’t using irony – a dying skill in vocabulary of late I gather.
Continue reading A Wray of Light into Ideas of Male Entitlement

Dana’s death in vain

By Raffique Shah
May 11, 2014

Raffique ShahAfter all the tears and anger and outrage and tributes and exhortations, what do we do? Dana is dead, gunned down gangland-style, making for good copy for a week or two, but what after that?

The politicians shed buckets of tears and scream: her death must not be in vain! The police vow to leave no stone unturned in their quest to bring her killers to justice. The preachers say she was an exemplar, her colleagues-in-law deem her irreplaceable, her friends say only good things about her, and her extended family mourns in a dignified manner.
Continue reading Dana’s death in vain

DPP Orders Probe into Prison Litigations

CONSPIRACY

By Jada Loutoo
May 08, 2014 – newsday.co.tt

Director of Public Prosecutions Roger GaspardDIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, says he is of the “unflinching view” that there is more than sufficient material in the ruling of High Court Master Patricia Sobion-Awai in the Jamal Sambury assault claim against the State to warrant a criminal investigation of conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice and conspiracy to defraud the State of Trinidad and Tobago.
Continue reading DPP Orders Probe into Prison Litigations

Gov’t $2.5M Reward, Amber Alert following Seetahal’s Murder

Dana SeetahalSpeculations continue in the aftermath of the killing of Attorney, Journalist and Law Lecturer Ms Dana Seetahal as a stunned nation continues to reel from the shock of her death.

Police reports now show that the weapon, which would have used the caliber of ammunition shells found on the scene, is used mostly by military personnel.

CCTV camera footage is being scoured at this time but it is being reported that the Wingroad vehicle used in the killing may have been fortified with bags of cement to prevent it from moving should she have attempted to ram the vehicle after it blocked her access.
Continue reading Gov’t $2.5M Reward, Amber Alert following Seetahal’s Murder