“Today [Wednesday 31st May 2023] I read with disappointment, a news report that said ‘Rowley blanks Kamla’s call’ for election observers for the upcoming Local Government Elections. I want to correct Rowley, he didn’t ‘blank’ me, he blanked the people of Trinidad and Tobago.” This from Leader of the Opposition, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, SC, MP.

In a Media Release today, the Opposition Leader said, “Just as he disrespected the people of our nation by the callous manner in which he attempted to stall the Local Government Elections by a year, Rowley is now again contemptuously disregarding the need to reassure the public that these elections will be free and fair and free from fear. There is no logical reason for Rowley to refuse to allow international election observers.”

Mrs. Persad-Bissessar added, “Given the actions by the Rowley Government in the Tobago House of Assembly [THA] Elections, in which Rowley acted outside the proper process and by his own admission, instructed the Elections and Boundaries Commission [EBC] to create additional seats and have the election redone, means international election observers are desperately needed in Trinidad and Tobago for elections going forward. I also want to remind Rowley that in 2015 while as Opposition Leader, he also called for international elections observers, for which I obliged, viewing it as part of my duty to the citizens of our nation.”

The Media Release concluded by saying, “I again repeat my call for the Government to do the right thing for the people of Trinidad and Tobago and allow international election observers for the incoming Local Government Elections as well as the 2025 General Elections.

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) is advising the public that effective from 1st June 2023, persons will no longer require appointments to conduct transactions at any EBC office.

In a Media Release today (Wednesday 31st May 2023), the EBC said persons conducting any of the following transactions need only to present themselves, with the relevant documents, at their respective Registration Area Office:

• Applying for an identification card for the first time.
• Renewing an expired identification card.
• Replacing a lost, stolen or defaced identification card, or
• Changing a name and/or address or both on their registration record.

Please be guided accordingly.

A truck was seen illegally dumping oil into the Caroni River on Tuesday (30th May 2023) and it has attracted the attention of authorities, including Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young.

According to reports, the truck with two (2) occupants onboard, dumped oil at the end of the Bamboo Main Road, at the intersection of the Guayabal and Caroni Rivers. When initially questioned by a Bamboo resident as to why the truck was on the river bed, the driver claimed they were there to pump water. However, that turned out to not be the case as oil was clearly dumped instead.

A report of the illegal dumping was sent to authorities by activist and businessman, Inshan Ishmael, along with photographs and the truck’s registration number. Minister Young confirmed receiving the report to the Express via WhatsApp, saying, “The information was sent to me and I have asked that Mr. Ishmael be contacted and that this be verified and actioned.”

Meanwhile, Ishmael said in a telephone interview with the Express that he shared the information with the Minister and was assured that the matter would be looked into. Ishmael said the culprit must be found and charged.

“What we want is for charges to be laid, it cannot be that somebody can throw anything they want and get away with it. This is endangering our ecosystem and somebody has to be charged and held accountable,” he said.

Ishmael added, “That is at the mouth of the Caroni River and that is going to flow straight down to the mangroves and its going to affect the flamingos, the scarlet ibis and everything, plus the crab population as well.”

He noted that illegal dumping is a weekly activity and there have been instances of people dumping items from coconut shells, ceiling pieces and furniture. He said they are dumping on farm lands and some are burning tyres and the smoke has been affecting the Bamboo community.

“The other times the illegal dumping impacted the village but this time it will impact the ecosystem,” he lamented.

“This is a national problem. If you look all over Trinidad and Tobago you will see people dumping indiscriminately. Trinidadians, sadly, like to dump. For instance in Bamboo Number 2, right at the entrance someone has chosen to go and dump their garbage and there is no collection point there,” he added.

He said the lack of enforcement is the root of why people continue these illegal actions. “You have never heard of somebody dumping oil and getting a big charge. So at the end of the day people see this as a joke.”

The Express also spoke to the eyewitness, who managed to snap photographs of the illegal dumping of oil into the water. The man said when he saw the truck parked at the river bed, he went over and spoke to the driver and enquired what was happening.

​The Bamboo resident said he was told that they were “pumping water,” but upon checking himself, he saw it was oil being deposited into the river. He then immediately raised an alarm.

He said the truck driver and another person who was with him left the area but he was able to take photographs of the registration plates, which he shared in the Bamboo community chat.

More on this as it becomes available.
​
This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

[Source: Trinidad Express]

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), 2-year-old Umar Ali, who was reported missing to Sangre Grande Police on 23rd May 2023, has been reunited with his family.

In a Media Release today (Wednesday 31st May 2023), the TTPS said the search for the missing toddler came to an end at 4:55 PM on Monday (29th May 2023), when Officers attached to the Eastern Division Gang Intelligence Unit and the Hunters Search and Rescue Team (HSRT) located the boy at a campsite about 200 feet away from Barker Trace, Coalmine, Sangre Grande.

Umar was found in good health and unharmed in a hammock.

He was later taken to the Sangre Grande Police Station and then to a medical facility for evaluation.

The TTPS said he is now reunited with his mother.

Since the missing person report, Senior Superintendent, Eastern Division, Ryan Khan, as well as Officers attached to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Criminal Investigations Department, Research Analytical Unit, Traffic Department, mounted a search for the boy.

The TTPS said it thanks the public, particularly the hunters and volunteers, who worked with law enforcement to ensure the safe return of the youngster.

Umar was abducted while sleeping a week ago, on 23rd May 2023, by a close male rel­a­tive from his home in San­gre Grande. According to reports, the suspect broke in­to their home at Quash Trace, San­gre Grande, and took the sleep­ing child around 2:00 AM. He was re­port­ed miss­ing to their lo­cal Po­lice on the same day.

​Police issued a Media Release last week, seeking the public’s assistance in locating the missing child.

The TTPS is continuing investigations into this case.

A man drowned in San Souci yesterday, on Indian Arrival Day (Tuesday 30th May 2023). The deceased has been identified as 45-year-old Gerard Jaikaran of Endeavor Extension Road, Chaguanas. San Souci is a small village located West of Toco, in North East Trinidad.

According to reports, Jaikaran was in the water at Big Bay Beach in San Souci around 3:30 PM, along with his 21-year-old son, when he got into difficulty and disappeared. His son raised an alarm and two (2) nearby villagers went to his rescue and pulled him out of the water and onto the shore. They attempted to resuscitate him without success.

Police and Emergency Health Services were notified. However, despite their best efforts also, Jaikaran could not be resuscitated.

WPC Bailey is continuing inquiries into the tragic drowning.

[Source: Loop]

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS), we can expect partly cloudy to cloudy conditions today (Wednesday 31st May 2023), with occasional light to moderate showers. There is the medium (40% - 60%) chance of isolated heavy showers/thunderstorms. This evening and tonight will be settled despite a few showers developing after Midnight.

The Met Office notes that gusty winds and street/flash flooding are likely near heavy downpours.

The forecast maximum temperature today will be 31°C at both Piarco in Trinidad and Crown Point in Tobago.

Seas are slight to moderate with waves up to 1.5m in open waters and 0.1m to 0.5m in sheltered areas.

A 36-year-old Sangre Grande man, who pleaded guilty to a gun possession charge on Monday morning (29th May 2023), was fined $15,000 by a Sangre Grande Magistrate. Leon Gibson was given six (6) months to pay the fine or serve three (3) years’ hard labour in default, by Senior Magistrate Cheron Raphael.

Gibson was charged with possession of a Beretta .380 pistol on 26th May 2023 by PC West of the Eastern Division Task Force Area West (EDTFAW), following his arrest during a raid last week.

According to Police reports, on the afternoon of 26th May 2023, EDTFAW executed a raid at the suspect’s Railway Road, Sangre Grande home as part of a crime suppression exercise, where they found and seized the firearm.

Gibson was immediately arrested pending further enquiries.

The exercise was headed by Sgt. Bhim and Cpl. (Ag.) Nanhoo, of the EDTFAW, with assistance from the Crime and Problem Analysis Branch.

A Po­lice Of­fi­cer is dead following a car crash in Barataria early this morn­ing (Tuesday 30th May 2023). The deceased has been identified as 26-year-old PC Tris­ton Williams.

According to reports, PC Williams was dri­ving his Nissan Tiida motor car East along the Beetham High­way around 6:15 AM, when he crashed in­to a util­i­ty pole near VM­COTT. The ve­hi­cle was said to have split in­to two (2) up­on im­pact and both of the victim’s legs were sev­ered.

​Fire Officers used hy­draulic pow­er tools to extract McWilliams from the mangled wreckage. At the time, he was still alive. How­ev­er, he succumbed to his injuries while be­ing trans­port­ed to the Port-of-Spain Gen­er­al Hos­pi­tal.

Williams was last as­signed to the In­ter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

In­ves­ti­ga­tions are con­tin­u­ing.

​[Source: T&T Guardian]

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS), the first half of the 2023 Wet Season, June-July-August, is most likely to be as wet as usual with pockets of wetter than usual areas, especially in Western Trinidad, while the rest of the Season is likely to be wet as usual with drier than usual pockets developing over Trinidad. The Met Office notes that the potential for flooding is high.

Normal to below-normal number of heavy and extremely heavy rainfall days, 3-day and 5-day wet spells are likely. Flood potential is high for known flood-prone areas and normal for emerging flood-prone areas. Citizens are urged to accelerate preparations.

The Met Office states that both day and night temperatures are expected to be warmer than average over Western Trinidad and Tobago. Normal to above-normal hot days (maximum temperatures ≥ 34°C) and one (1) to four (4) short-duration hot spells (5 or more consecutive hot days) and heat surges (3 consecutive hot days) are likely. Cities and urban areas are likely to get the most intense heat.

An outlook with increased chances for wet as-usual conditions still suggests:

• Elevated risks of heavy rainfall days and prolonged wet periods.
• Heightened concerns exist for persons in occasionally flooded and flood-prone areas.

Hotter than average maximum day and night temperatures in Western parts of Trinidad and Tobago suggest:

• Heightened concerns for persons with heat-sensitive ailments, vulnerable persons exposed to excessive heat, and heat stress in livestock and other animals, as well as in young and transplanted crops.

The Met Office officially declared the start of the 2023 Wet Season for Trinidad and Tobago on Friday (26th May 2023). Our Wet Season is marked by measurable rainfall (≥ 0.1mm) produced by a Tropical Wave and/or the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), both of which are the main weather-producing features of Trinidad and Tobago's Wet Season.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season is fast approaching and set to begin on 1st June 2023.

The Met Office is reminding citizens that now is a good time to review your emergency plans. Do not wait until an Alert, Watch or Warning is issued to get prepared.

[Source: TTMS]

A rescue operation in a forested area in Sangre Grande yesterday (Monday 29th May 2023) by members of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and Hunters Search and Rescue Team (HSRT), resulted in the safe recovery of 2-year-old Umar Ali. The child un­der­went med­ical treat­ment at the San­gre Grande Hos­pi­tal up to late last night.

According to reports, some­one from the area called Po­lice and tipped them off on the where­abouts of the sus­pect and child. Officers then no­ti­fied the HSRT, led by Sham­sudeen Ayube, and met up with them and trekked about 300 feet in­to the for­est off Barkar Trace, to conduct their search. They lat­er found Umar alone, sit­ting in a ham­mock un­der a makeshift tent in the bush. Po­lice said last evening that the sus­pect re­mains at large and is now be­lieved to be hid­ing deep in the forest. He allegedly aban­doned Umar in the bush when he realized Po­lice and a search team were clos­ing in on his lo­cation.

The child’s 18-year-old moth­er, Adee­ba, con­firmed to Guardian Me­dia that she was con­tact­ed by Po­lice some­time af­ter 4:00 PM and told that her child had been found, hav­ing been aban­doned by the sus­pect.

Speak­ing with Guardian Me­dia last evening in a tele­phone in­ter­view while at the San­gre Grande Po­lice Sta­tion, the child’s un­cle, Habib Ali, said they were told that Po­lice re­ceived a tip-off that the sus­pect and the child were in a forest­ed area off Barkar Trace, near where the sus­pect lives.

“They found Umar sit­ting in a ham­mock un­der a makeshift tent in the bush. They didn’t find the sus­pect be­cause it look like when he hear the Po­lice and hunters com­ing in, he fled deep­er in­to the forest­ed area, leav­ing the child be­hind. Umar was res­cued and tak­en to the San­gre Grande Po­lice Sta­tion, where his mom and I went and met the Po­lice to fill out some pa­per­work,” a re­lieved Habib said.

“Af­ter that, they will take us to­geth­er with the child to the Hos­pi­tal for a thor­ough med­ical ex­am­i­na­tion to check to see if there are any in­juries and oth­er things they’d be look­ing for I guess,” he added.

Umar was abducted while sleeping a week ago, on 23rd May 2023, by a close male rel­a­tive from his home in San­gre Grande. According to reports, the suspect broke in­to their home at Quash Trace, San­gre Grande, and took the sleep­ing child around 2:00 AM. He was re­port­ed miss­ing to their lo­cal Po­lice on the same day.

​The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) issued a Media Release last week, seeking the public’s assistance in locating the missing child.
​
More on this as it becomes available.

​This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

[Source: T&T Guardian]