NEWS
Police use Taser, pepper spray to subdue suspects
Police used a Taser and pepper spray to subdue and detain two suspects who were acting violently and resisting arrest in two separate incidents on Saturday. In a release on Sunday, the police said PC Mahabir and other officers from the Couva police station responded to a road traffic accident at about 3.45 pm, when they saw a vehicle which crashed into a gate. When they went to the driver’s home, a suspect came out and began advancing towards the officers, acting violently and being abusive. Read more here
WASA Chairman invites employees to make recommendations to cut spending
Newly appointed chairman of the Water and Sewerage (WASA) Authority Dr Lennox Sealy is inviting all employees of the cash strapped company to make recommendations to reduce spending as they face a critical crisis on their hands. He also warned that WASA will ramp up its revenue collection drive this year to become viable. Sealy put forward the recommendation in the first issue of WASA’s 2021 chairman bulletin recently sent out to WASA workers. Read more here
POLITICS
5 local gov't by-elections in Trinidad on Monday
While most attention will be focused on the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections in Tobago on Monday, five by-elections will be taking place at the same time in Trinidad. Arguably, the intensity of the campaign for control of the assembly has overshadowed the campaigns for these five local government districts. Read more here
The election bells of Scarborough
No Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election has ever been won by a slim margin. Since the THA was formed in 1980, only the Democratic Action Congress (DAC)/National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) and the People’s National Movement (PNM) have governed the island. Between them, the smallest victories have been 8 seats to 4, coming in 1980 when the DAC won the first THA election, in 2001 when the PNM won for the first time and in 2009, again a PNM win. In 2009, the new boys on the block were the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) led by Ashworth Jack who had broken away from Hochoy Charles and brought together former DAC/NAR supporters. Read more here
BUSINESS
Khan: Deep water Bid round before year end
A deep water bid round is expected to take place before the end of this year, Energy Minister Franklin Khan has said. And the prolonged negotiation with bpTT and Shell on the blocks they bid on in last year’s shallow water bid round may soon come to an end, he said. Khan made the statements yesterday as the results of the annual audit of the non-associated natural gas reserves and resources of Trinidad and Tobago for the year ended 2019 was released. Read more here
Latin America, Caribbean credit rating fragilities persist into 2021
Economies in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region have undoubtedly experienced a tremendous blow from the Covid-19 pandemic in comparison to the rest of the world and have suffered negative credit rating actions. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana condemns Venezuela’s intrusion
For years Guyanese fishermen have plied their noble trade unhindered along the Waini River, but this comfortable practice was obstructed recently when Venezuelan naval troops reportedly entered Guyana’s territory and apprehended two vessels, the Lady Nayera and the Sea Wolf, which are both owned and operated by Guyanese. Read more here
Police Hunt Occupants After Crash-Landing In Smuggling Hotspot
A multipronged investigation has been launched into whether a deregistered plane bearing the Mexican flag that crash-landed in Rocky Point, Clarendon, on Saturday evening was on a smuggling mission. High-level security officials have been tight-lipped on the probe so far amid mounting speculation because Rocky Point is one of several nodes along Jamaica’s southern coast known to be hotspots in the illegal drug trade. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Biden's authority is on the line already in first full week of presidency
As his first full week in the White House begins, Joe Biden already faces critical early tests of a presidency premised on political compromise and uniting Washington to fight the pandemic. The President's team Sunday appealed for two things that may ultimately be elusive: time to stand up an aggressive attempt to finally turn around the Covid-19 nightmare and Republican buy-in for his $1.9 trillion economic relief plan. Read more here
Sikkim: Chinese and Indian troops 'in new border clash'
Chinese and Indian troops have reportedly clashed again in a disputed border area, with injuries on both sides, Indian media say. The incident took place in north Sikkim last Wednesday. India's army said there had been a "minor" incident that had been "resolved". Tensions are high along the world's longest disputed border. Both sides claim large areas of territory. At least 20 Indian soldiers died in a skirmish in the Ladakh area last June. Read more here
25th January 2021