The victims and grieving relatives of a Canadian truck crash, in which 16 people died, will have to wait until March to learn the driver’s sentence. Following an emotionally charged week of victim impact statements, the judge overseeing the case has asked for nearly two months to consider how to sentence the driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu. On 6 April last year, his semi-trailer truck collided with the bus of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team after he failed to stop at an intersection in central Saskatchewan.

Sidhu had previously pleaded guilty to all 29 charges he faced — including 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death. Young hockey players, coaches, a trainer and a radio announcer were among those killed. The crown had asked for a 10-year prison sentence and a further 10 years of suspended driving. As part of the sentencing, 75 written victim impact statements were submitted to the court, with 65 read by friends and family over a four-day period. Some included grim details of the parents being unable to fully identify their children – and the tragic extent of some injuries.(theguardian)…[+]

MOSCOW/NEW YORK-  A law firm appointed to act as a buffer between Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska and one of his businesses, under a deal that allowed Washington to lift sanctions on the firm, has worked closely with Deripaska for years. Asked about the law firm, the U.S. Treasury Department said it would vigorously monitor arrangements to ensure Deripaska cannot influence board members of the businesses. A representative for Deripaska said there was no scope for the businessman to influence how the law firm acted.

But a senior U.S. senator said the connection between Deripaska and the law firm further bolstered the argument, being made by U.S. President Donald Trump’s Democratic opponents, that the sanctions should not have been lifted. The U.S. Treasury Department agreed to lift sanctions on three businesses controlled by Deripaska on condition that the tycoon – who will still be under sanctions himself – reduces his ownership in the businesses and severs his control.

As part of the deal, some of Deripaska’s voting rights as a shareholder in his main company, En+, were handed over to a “voting trust obligated to vote in the same manner as the majority of shares held by shareholders other than Deripaska,” according to the Treasury Department. On Monday, announcing names of this and other trustees, En+ said that one of the trustees exercising the voting rights was called “Ogier Global Nominee (Jersey) Limited.”(Reuters)…[+]

Police responding to a report of a car crash found more than a kilogramme of marijuana in the vehicle. The accused, Gabriella Jardine, of Cassia Drive, Petit Valley, appeared before the Port of Spain Magistrates’ 4A Court yesterday charged with possession of 1.104 kilogrammes of marijuana, for the purposes of trafficking.

She pleaded not guilty to the offence. Jardine was represented by defence attorney Ian Brooks. She was charged by PC McClean of the Western Division Task Force (WDTF). Magistrate Aden Stroude presided over the matter. After submissions to the court, the matter was adjourned to February 26. Bail was granted, with a surety, at $25,000.

According to police reports, at about 11.15 a.m. on Tuesday, officers of the WDTF, comprising PC McClean, PC Sahadath and WPC Mathews, as well as Sgt Hudlin, PC Davis, and a party of officers from the Police Traffic Branch, responded to a report of a vehicular accident in St James. In the vicinity of Panka Street and Clarence Street, St James, the officers observed a crashed Nissan Note. The officers stopped to render assistance, but they observed two brown packages in the car.(Trinidad Express)…[+]