Police and members of the Defence Force have locked down areas in Belmont.

I95.5 News Now understands that the Belmont Circular Road, the Valley Road and surrounding streets are now under police control.

Officers are also said to have locked off the Lady Young Road entrance to Belmont.

UPDATE: No reason has been given for the lockdown but according to radio reports, 10 persons have been arrested thus far.

Persons could now be charged for littering as litter prevention wardens will begin walking the streets of the capital city from Novemebr 7th.

And Mayor Murchison Brown says he hopes the wardens can assist in detecting criminal activities including attempts to bomb the capital.

Mr. Brown also said the Port of Spain City Corporation took the decision to improve the environment of the capital.

He also sent a stern warning to all business persons.

Courts, the giant furniture and appliance chain, is up for grabs. Several local conglomerates, including ANSA McAL, are making bids to purchase the assets of the company's operations in Trinidad and the wider Caribbean, the Express reported.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning leaves for Argentina today to attend the Fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Americas.

TRINIDADIAN Kendell Frederick, a United States army reserve specialist, was killed in Iraq in October while still trying to get his American citizenship.

A Guatemalan national working on a Digicel cell site fell to his death yesterday. The dead man was identified as Humberto Ernesto Aragon, 32.

According to police reports, at around 11 am, Aragon was with a group of contract workers on a cell site tower in the hills of Gran Couva.

He reportedly lost his footing and fell 75 feet to the ground.

Arogan was rushed to the Couva District Hospital, where he underwent emergency treatment. He died at the facility around 2 pm.

Efforts to contact Digicel were futile.

Officers of the Gran Couva police and Couva CID are conducting investigations.

Former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj backs Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, whose capability as Political Leader of the United National Congress, has come under question by some senior party members, including Chaguanas Member of Parliament (MP) Manohar Ramsaran, MP Gerald Yetming and UNC Deputy Political Leader Jack Warner. Ramsaran said he believes Panday is leading the party to self-destruction.

A Coroner's Inquiry into the death of Police Constable Carlos Guerra has been ordered. Guerra was killed with the pistol of PC Narine, a colleague. The pistol allegedly accidentally "went off" and killed Guerra. PC Narine has been suspended until the conclusion of the investigation.

The second worker of the National Fluor Mills who was severely burnt while working at NFM has died at a health care facility in Miami. The first worker had died earlier.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) -- Irish-owned telecom Digicel was awarded a license to provide mobile telephone service in Trinidad, the government announced Monday.

The move came four months after Digicel won an auction for one of two 10-year mobile licenses being offered by the Caribbean nation, one of the last in the region to liberalize its telecommunications sector.

By VIJAY MRUTHYUNJAYA and RAMI HULAYYEL, Gulf Daily News

FIFA vice-president and special advisor to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation Jack Warner gave full marks to Bahrain following a two-day visit ahead of the 2006 World Cup playoffs on November 12 and 16.

"The hospitality on our arrival in Bahrain was spellbound. We were met by their top officials and whisked away in two separate Mercedes Benz to the VIP Lounge," said Warner who was in Bahrain last week to inspect the ground and hotel facilities ahead of the do-or-die playoffs.

PORT-OF-SPAIN: The Indo-Trinidad financial ties have received a boost with the setting up of an equity fund by an NRI in the Caribbean nation.

Bourse Securities Limited, privately-owned by a great grandson of an East Indian indentured labourer, who came here between 1845 and 1917, has re-attached financial links with India with the setting up of Savinvest India Asia Fund.