NEWS
Heartache as boy, 2, dies in Morvant fire
Two-year-old Kimani Douglas died in a fire in Morvant on Monday afternoon. His grieving mother, Krystal Braithwaite, fell to her knees in agony outside the family’s home at Petunia Avenue, off Coconut Drive, as she waited for undertakers to take his body out of the gutted house. Douglas was trapped in a room on the first floor of the house when the fire broke out. The mother of three stood her ground even in the pouring rain. Read more here
St George’s to be temporarily relocated to UTT Valsayn
St George’s College will be temporarily relocated to the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s (UTT) Valsayn Campus soon to facilitate anticipated extensive repairs to its school’s building in Barataria, the T&T Guardian has learnt. Physical classes at St George’s were suspended earlier this month after the school’s ceiling collapsed as a result of heavy rain. No one was injured during the incident but as a precaution classes have since been conducted online. In a memo from the Chief Education Officer last Friday to St George’s principal Dr Asha Ramraj-Sookdeo it noted that plans are being put in place to have the school relocated to the UTT campus from this week. Read more here
POLITICS
Saddam Hosein: What were SCs paid for indemnity advice?
Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein has called for the disclosure of the fees paid to two senior counsel who advised on granting indemnity to King's Counsel Vincent Nelson in a deal by then attorney general Faris Al-Rawi for Nelson's testimony against former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and attorney Gerald Ramdeen on corruption charges. The case has since collapsed, with Nelson's refusal to testify until his civil lawsuit was heard for the State's alleged breach of his indemnity agreement. Hosein made his call on Sunday at a briefing at the Opposition Leader's office in Port of Spain. He recalled Al-Rawi citing the two senior counsel – Douglas Mendes and Gilbert Peterson. Read more here
Gonzales dismisses Padarath’s discrimination claim over power outages on Monday
Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales has acknowledged some customers experienced disruptions in their electricity supply on Monday. However, he said it was resolved around midday. Responding to questions from Guardian Media, Gonzales said there was a challenge with one of the independent power producers that resulted in T&TEC having to do some load shedding. On Monday, Princes Town MP, Barry Padarath noted that every year thousands in the Hindu community suffer from dry taps and power outages for Divali as he called on Minister Gonzales, to intervene in such incidents on an auspicious day. Read more here
BUSINESS
New NGC chairman lauds staff and loved ones
In his first public address as the chairman of the National Gas Company (NCG) Dr Joseph Khan has lauded the sacrifices and support of the families and loved ones of his staff and the efforts of the staff themselves. Khan made the comments as National Energy hosted its Divali celebration titled “An Evening of Illumination” on behalf of the NGC Group at its head office compound at Factory and Rivulet Roads, Couva. The celebration, the first in-person event for the NGC Group in two years, was attended by more than 200 employees, their families and other stakeholders. “The strength of the National Gas Company comes from the hard working men and women who ensure day after day that the country continues to get a reliable supply of natural gas and continue to contribute positively to the growth and future development of the country as we transition into a future that is low carbon and sustainable and of course for the benefit of all the generations to come,” Khan said. Read more here
Creating culture of safety in companies
The American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM T&T) will be exploring new perspectives on health, safety, security and environment (HSSE) policies transforming business models and governance to create a culture of safety throughout companies operating in the private sector. All of the initiatives will be discussed at the Chamber’s 26th annual HSSE Conference and Exhibition, from November 1-3, at Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain. It will be the first time in two years that participants will be allowed to attend the conference and exhibition in person, while a virtual audience will be able to view all of the conference sessions via the event online platform. Read more here
REGIONAL
E-Networks to launch Guyana’s first 5G VoLTE Mobile Cellular Network
E-Networks has, once again, raised the bar for unsurpassed service, speed, and technology by building Guyana’s first 5G VoLTE (“Voice over LTE”) cellular network, firmly establishing itself as the leader in Guyana’s telecommunications industry. According to a release, with an investment of US$35 million, the new network built by US-headquartered company, Mavenir, will deliver VoLTE, the latest innovation in mobile telecommunications. VoLTE allows users to make high-definition, secure voice calls. E-Networks, the release noted will shortly be releasing competitively priced packages, with increased data allocations and modern account management features. E-Network’s commercial launch is planned for later this year, the company said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Rishi Sunak: World leaders welcome next UK prime minister
World leaders have been reacting to Rishi Sunak's victory in the race to be the next British prime minister. Many offered their congratulations, and expressed hope for stability after a "turbulent" few weeks. Read more here
25th October 2022