NEWS

Tobago on stream for historic pan show

Pan Trinbago president Beverly Ramsey-Moore says plans are well on stream to host the national finals of the medium conventional steelband Panorama competition in Tobago. The event is expected to be held on February 22 at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, from 7pm. Speaking to Newsday Tobago, an excited Ramsey-Moore reiterated the competition will create history on the island. “It is the first major national finals of any kind of event to be held in Tobago and we are hoping it comes off satisfactorily,” she said. Read more here

Cops seize millions more at pastor's church

Po­lice seized mil­lions more in cash at the Third Ex­o­dus As­sem­bly Church in Long­denville head­ed by Pas­tor Vin­worth Day­al late Thurs­day evening. The lat­est raid was con­duct­ed by of­fi­cers of the Fi­nan­cial In­tel­li­gence Unit (FIU) of the Trinidad and To­ba­go Po­lice Ser­vice with the help of the Fi­nan­cial In­tel­li­gence Branch (FIB), as they widened their in­ves­ti­ga­tion in­to the fi­nan­cial op­er­a­tions at the church. Of­fi­cers from the FIU are in­ves­ti­gat­ing an in­ci­dent in which the pas­tor at­tempt­ed to change close to $29 mil­li­on in old $100 bills on De­cem­ber 31. That mon­ey has since been seized by the po­lice. "It's mil­lions for sure," said a se­nior in­ves­ti­ga­tor who spoke with Guardian Me­dia fol­low­ing the po­lice search at the church that was con­duct­ed si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly with an op­er­a­tion at an Ocean Av­enue home in Gulf View, La Ro­maine, on Thurs­day evening. Read more here

POLITICS

Garcia to name schools for repair

Education Minister Anthony Garcia will reveal the names of the schools that are still to be repaired before terms starts next week. A source at the ministry said the minister, along with the ministry’s permanent secretary and chairman of the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL), Ricardo Vasquez, visited several schools on Thursday. The source said about three schools have been identified that were in need of repairs. “The minister will talk about that
tomorrow (Friday) during a press conference. We are not saying that the schools will not be reopened, but there will have to be some repairs done.” Read more here

REGIONAL

Thieves Plague Fish Farm - High-Tech Security Fails To Nab Thugs

Noel Wilson, a businessman who runs a fish farm in Hill Run, St Catherine, is at his wits’ end as thieves continue to make inroads into his investment by stealing his freshwater fish despite employing several security measures to keep the thugs out. Spread over 106 acres, Aqua-Wilson Farm has 80 one-acre ponds stocked with tilapia, a very tasty and popular freshwater fish, which should make for a lucrative business. The problem for Wilson is that thieves are cutting into his profits, and despite investments in digital technology and good old-fashioned theft deterrents like dogs, the criminals still manage to stay ahead of the businessman. Read more here

Ten-Pow has not resigned

The Permanent Mission of Guyana to the United Nations (UN) has debunked media claims that Guyana’s Permanent Representative and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the UN, Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow, has resigned. In November 2019, Guyana was elected to serve as the 2020 Chair for the Group of 77 (G77) and China, formed in 1964 to provide a forum for developing nations to promote their economic interests. A release from the mission facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Ten-Pow is actively engaged in the preparations for the transition. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

There's talk of a new Cold War. But China is not the Soviet Union

In the battle for global dominance, all eyes are on China and the United States. With a new decade of competition looming, Washington is pushing back hard against Beijing across a range of fronts, including trade, military and diplomatic matters. For some the tensions are reminiscent of the Cold War, the almost 50-year conflict between the Soviet Union and the US which defined much of the 20th century. But this is not the Cold War -- and the People's Republic of China is not the USSR. Read more here

Qasem Soleimani: US kills top Iranian general in Baghdad air strike

Iran's most powerful military commander, General Qasem Soleimani, has been killed by a US air strike in Iraq. The 62-year-old spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East as head of Iran's elite Quds Force. He was killed at Baghdad airport, along with other Iran-backed militia figures, early on Friday in a strike ordered by US President Donald Trump. Soleimani's killing marks a major escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran. Under his leadership, Iran had bolstered Hezbollah in Lebanon and other pro-Iranian militant groups, expanded Iran's military presence in Iraq and Syria and orchestrated Syria's offensive against rebel groups in the country's long civil war. Read more here

3rd January 2020

Back