NEWS
AG commits to combating money laundering at Caribbean task force meetings
Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, discussed Trinidad and Tobago's anti-money laundering measures at the 58th Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Plenary and Working Group Meetings, which brought together Caribbean and Latin American leaders to discuss and implement measures to fight money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. A release sent on June 8 said the meeting was held in PoS from June 2-7, and matters addressed included changes to international standards and technical discussions on the 4th Round Mutual Evaluation Reports of Anguilla and Guyana. The biannual CFATF Plenary Meetings provide a forum for all 24 CFATF member states and co-operating and supporting nations to discuss operational issues affecting them. Read more here
OSHA takes WASA to court; finds 6 HSE breaches after jobsite death
Eight months following Kern Ettiene’s tragic death in a trench at a WASA worksite, the Occupational Safety and Health Authority has filed a formal complaint in the Industrial Court against the authority for six breaches of the OSH Act after Etienne’s accident on October 22. OSHA also mandated a complete overhaul of WASA’s safety procedures after finding the breaches. WASA has now engaged the services of the National Gas Company to review, audit and advise on its processes to ensure best practice. Etienne had been a Wastewater Craftsman. He, along with eight other workers, had been performing work on the sewer and water mains at the San Fernando Licensing Office Compound when the mud from the trench collapsed on top of him. His colleagues frantically clawed through the mud to save him but he died on the spot, bleeding from his eyes, ears and mouth. Read more here
POLITICS
La Horquetta residents respond to MP Cummings's intention to sue State
One day after announcing plans to bring a civil case against the State as a private citizen for misuse of private information, Youth Development and National Service Minister Foster Cummings conducted a walkabout in his La Horquetta constituency. At a media conference on June 8, his attorney, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, said Cummings’s case stemmed from a leak of a secret Special Branch report in 2022, which was read by Opposition Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial-Ramdial on a political platform on May 5, 2022. Maharaj described this as a breach of confidence and a violation of Cummings’s constitutional right to privacy. Read more here
Political analyst tells Kamla: PM’s endorsement should be a concern
Political analyst Dr Winford James says Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s recent endorsement of Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s leadership of the UNC is strategic as the general election looms. While speaking on the Supplementation of Appropriation by $2.3 billion in the House of Representatives on Friday, the Prime Minister backed Persad-Bissessar’s position as leader of the United National Congress. “The Opposition leader, fuming about everything, hoping for a knock out punch, Madame Speaker on the 16th of June those flimsy arms will knock out nobody and I could say Madame Speaker as I support her, leave her right there because I support her. Don’t move her, leave her right there,” Rowley said then. The UNC’s national executive elections (NATEX) take place next Saturday. Mayaro MP Rushton Paray is leading a slate called United Patriots, while Persad-Bissessar has thrown her support behind the star Slate. Read more here
BSUINESS
Amcham Guyana welcomes Trinidad and Tobago businesses
Devindra Kissoon, president of the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) Guyana, wants Trinidad and Tobago’s business community to set up shop in Guyana and help it to become one of the world's richest countries per capita as is projected. “Really and truly, the country is open for business in every single facet,” Kissoon told an audience of business executives at a forum after Amcham TT’s 31st annual general meeting on June 7 at Hilton Trinidad, Port of Spain. “Every single business in which each of you is involved, there’s an opportunity for you. And we need the help because we have 800,000 people,” he said, adding that its small population and high revenue projections would place it among the highest per capita income earners globally within two years. Read more here
Flavorite is back!
FLAVORITE is back on shelves, and for many people on social media, “Life is good” as the local ice cream’s popular slogan says. Social media was abuzz yesterday when Flavorite Supreme, the official social media page of the ice cream, posted that its products would hit shelves tomorrow. “Aye boy, other than Jouvert, I’ve never been more excited for a Monday morning,” one social media user posted in response to the post. However, customers of Xtra Foods supermarket’s Endeavour and Aranguez locations did not even have to wait until tomorrow, as Flavorite’s frozen novelty ice creams were available yesterday. Read more here
REGIONAL
All incoming flights at CJIA diverted after transformers damaged due to bad weather
On Sunday afternoon, the Timehri area experienced intense rainfall with thunder and lightning which damaged several GPL and CJIA transformers.
As a result, the airport runway lighting became inoperable. The runway is equipped with two independent circuits, each of which can facilitate aircraft landings. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz quits emergency government
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has quit the emergency government in a sign of deepening divisions over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's post-conflict plans for Gaza. Speaking during a news conference in Tel Aviv on Sunday where he announced his resignation, Mr Gantz said the decision was made with a "heavy heart". "Unfortunately, Mr Netanyahu is preventing us from approaching true victory, which is the justification for the painful ongoing crisis," he said. Considered by some to be a potential challenger for power in Israel, Mr Gantz called on Mr Netanyahu to set a date for elections. Read more here
10th June 2024