NEWS
Family knocks fire, police for poor response to arson attack
Five members of a South Oropouche family narrowly escaped with their lives after their neighbour's home was destroyed by fire on Sunday morning. The fire had spread to theirs. Homeowner Denise Acevero-Hosein of Mon Desir Road, Dow Village, South Oropouche, said if the police and fire services had responded when she alerted them to a man’s erratic behaviour earlier that evening, the losses suffered could have been avoided. “We could have lost the entire house or even lives last night, or be homeless this morning,” Acevero-Hosein told Newsday. Read more here
Two siblings killed, 2 shot by off-duty cop at Courts Megastore
Mayhem and chaos erupted in the carpark of the Courts Megastore in San Juan as gunshots rang out sending Christmas shoppers and staff inside the store to scamper for cover. In the end, two siblings lay dead and two others were on the ground nursing gunshot injuries. The shooter was an off-duty police officer. What prompted the deadly shooting is now the subject of three investigations by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, the Police Complaints Authority and the TTPS Professional Standards Bureau. Yesterday as news of the incident broke, the T&T Police Service (TTPS) claimed the shooting in the car park of the Courts Megastore was the result of an attempted robbery of an off-duty police officer but relatives of the two siblings killed at the scene strongly denied this. Read more here
POLITICS
Minister: 2024 will be 'busy year' for WASA
Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales said announcements will be made regarding the restructuring of the leadership structure of WASA in early January. He reiterated that workers at the lower level of the organisation would not be impacted at this stage. Speaking at the commissioning of the Simeon Road booster station in Diego Martin on Saturday, Gonzales said the focus at the time was on the leadership and management of WASA. Read more here
Venezuelan leader urges UK Minister to stay out of Essequibo issue
While the tensions between Guyana and Venezuela appeared to have eased following a meeting between the two leaders last week, Venezuelan national newspaper, El Nacional, is reporting that its President Nicolás Maduro has called on Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, to remain silent and not “talk nonsense” on the issue with Guyana over the Essequibo. The region of about 160,000 square kilometres has been part of Guyana but has also been claimed by Venezuela. In a translated quote, El Nacional reported Maduro as saying, “The chancellor of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, had to be slapped because he started talking nonsense. If you failed, David Cameron, you failed, what do you do as chancellor if you fail? Stay quiet. Read more here
BUSINESS
Scotiabank’s profits dip by 1% to $678m
Scotiabank realised a profit after tax of $678 million for the year ended October 31. The dip in profits is a one per cent decrease from the previous year ending October 31, 2022, when it earned $684 million. For the quarter ended October 31, income after tax was $176 million, a 12 per cent growth over the quarter ending on July 31. Read more here
Lutchmedial raises ‘red flag’ over new system
As he piloted a bill designed to allow for a fully electronic system to be used at the Registrar General, Attorney General Reginald Armour sought to assure senators that measures were being introduced to deal with cyberattacks. The Senate debated the Miscellaneous Provisions (Registrar General, Companies, Registration of Business Names, and Non Profit Organisations) Bill on Tuesday at the Red House in Port of Spain. Read more here
REGIONAL
$90M aquaculture farm, processing facility earmarked for Berbice
With Guyana looking to rapidly expand its aquaculture sector, a $90 million aquaculture farm and processing facility will be built in Borlam, Corentyne. The multimillion-dollar facility is expected to ramp up the production of brackish water aquaculture that includes fish and shrimp in the area. According to a project summary submitted to the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the planned processing facility will be located within the boundaries of the Mensburgh Aquaculture farm’s existing operations and will be away from residential areas, thereby minimising negative impacts that may be caused by the generation of noise, dust and unpleasant odours. “The farm has been designed to facilitate the brackish water aquaculture of fish and shrimp. The current brackish water aquaculture system cannot be practiced without regular access to sea water,” the project summary stated. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Afghanistan: 'Tea is sometimes all I have to give my hungry baby'
"The last time I was able to buy milk for my baby was two months ago. Normally I just fill the [feeding] bottle with tea. Or I soak bread in tea and then feed it to her," Sohaila Niyazi says, sitting on the floor of her mud brick home up a hill in eastern Kabul. There are no roads to her house - you have to walk up steep mud tracks with sewage flowing by the side of them. Sohaila is a widow. She has six children, her youngest a 15-month-old girl named Husna Fakeeri. The tea that Sohaila refers to is what's traditionally drunk in Afghanistan, made with green leaves and hot water, without any milk or sugar. It contains nothing that's of any nutritional value for her baby. Read more here
18th December 2023