NEWS
Business Chamber's budget wish: Bring on Tobago regional police service
The Tobago Business Chamber is hoping to hear an announcement of a localised police force for Tobago in the THA’s budget presentation on June 24. Chief Secretary and Secretary of Finance, Trade and the Economy Farley Augustine is expected to present the 2024/2025 fiscal package in the Assembly Legislature, Scarborough, from 10am. At a function on June 18, Augustine said the presentation – the third of his administration – will focus heavily on human capital development. Read more here
Three killed in Matura massacre Gunmen storm house, demand cash and gold
Three men are dead and a fourth was wounded after gunmen stormed a house in Matura early on Sunday morning. While police are continuing enquiries into the attack, relatives suspect it was a robbery, as the attackers were overheard demanding cash and valuables before murdering the trio. Police said cousins Malcolm Richardson, 21, Andre Meloney, 20, and Sherwyn MacFallen, 17, were asleep at their family’s Mendoza Street home at 1.10 am when gunmen entered the house through the back door. The trio were awakened and gunned down despite pleading with their killers for mercy. A 30-year-old man who was in the house at the time was also shot twice in his chest by the attackers who then ran away. Read more here
POLITICS
PM defends silk process, slams detractors
The Prime Minister has defended his two cabinet ministers and a member of parliament against criticisms after they were awarded the title of senior counsel on June 17. Receiving the "silk," as it is referred to, were Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young, Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Faris Al-Rawi and Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland. Since the ceremony, criticisms have come from politicians and even stakeholders within the legal profession, as they called for the process of selecting lawyers for the award to be amended. Read more here
Govt team to review latest Petrotrin refinery bids
As the Petrotrin Pointe-a-Pierre refinery approaches six years in mothballed state, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the Government should be able to announce whether it has found an operator by the end of August. Rowley yesterday told supporters at the People’s National Movement (PNM) Sports and Family Day at Skinner Park, San Fernando, that the Cabinet will install an evaluation team to assess the offers submitted by companies that bid for the refinery. He said the team will have to evaluate those who have the means to convince the Government they are a good fit for the refinery. Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) president general Ancel Roget has warned that the union will not stand idly by and allow any company to take over the refinery. With the OWTU’s Patriotic Energies and Technologies having been among the bidders for the refinery, he said they must be a part of the resumption. Read more here
BUSINESS
Contracts signed for five onshore blocks
Contracts for five onshore blocks in southern Trinidad were signed between oil and gas companies and the Ministry of Finance in a signing ceremony for exploration and production licences on June 21. The licences were awarded from bids on the 2022 onshore and nearshore competitive bid round, which saw 16 bids on 11 blocks in central and southern Trinidad. “The oil and gas sector continues to be a major contributor to the economic and social development of TT,” Young said in his keynote address at the ceremony at the Ministry of Energy’s offices at the Waterfront in Port of Spain. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana to cut cost of aquaculture by 50 per cent
By the first quarter of 2025, Guyana is expected to cut its import expenditure on aquaculture feed by 50 per cent, as the country ramps up its local production of corn and soya bean to meet not only its local market demands, but also the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM). This is according President Dr. Irfaan Ali who, during a recent press conference, told reporters that the increased production of the legumes will see the country improving its competitiveness while creating great opportunities. “The corn and soya project is progressing well. From 125 acres in 2021, we now have over 10,000 acres under cultivation with a combination of corn and soya. By the end of 2025, we aim to have 25,000 acres cultivated twice annually,” the Head of State said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Nineteen dead in attacks on churches and synagogue in southern Russia
Attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have left 19 people and five gunmen dead. At least 16 people were taken to hospital with injuries after the Sunday evening attack. Three days of mourning have been declared in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia which neighbours Chechnya. The apparently coordinated attacks targeted the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on the Orthodox festival of Pentecost, with an Orthodox priest among those killed. He was later identified by the head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, as Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, who had served in Derbent for more than 40 years. Read more here
24th June 2024