NEWS
Guyana President Dr Irfaan Ali arrives in Trinidad and Tobago
Guyana President Dr Irfaan Ali arrived in Trinidad and Tobago for his first visit to the country since assuming office in 2020. Ali arrived at the Piarco airport at about 4.45 pm with his wife Arya Ali and son Zayd, as well as a contingent of Guyanese delegates including TT High Commissioner to Guyana Conrad Enill, Guyana’s Minister of Tourism Oniege Walrond, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd. Read more here
Landslide to blame for major power outage
A landslide triggered a chain of events that knocked out power to thousands of homes across Trinidad on Tuesday night and then again yesterday morning. The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) indicated that a landslide in Grant Trace, Rousillac, led to a 220-kilovolt transmission tower shifting, putting excess strain on high voltage lines and resulting in a partial collapse of the tower and lines at 7 pm on Tuesday. Load-shedding was immediately implemented, leading to sporadic outages across Trinidad on Tuesday night. Read more here
POLITICS
PNM to hold internal elections on December 4
For the first time, the People’s National Movement (PNM) will have early voting in November for its internal elections in an attempt to increase the participation of its members. At a press conference at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s on Tuesday, PMN chairman Colm Imbert said the party was trying to mirror the Elections and Boundaries Commission in its conduction of general elections and special voting. This would include polling cards and polling stations in all 41 constituencies. Read more here
Farley wants ‘fairness’ in relocation of residents for airport project
Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Farley Augustine is appealing to the Government to work with him to ensure those who need to be moved to make way for the ANR Robinson International Airport expansion get their fair share. Speaking to the media in Tobago on Tuesday, Augustine said while Tobago needs the expansion project in Crown Point, he cannot support citizens being kicked out of their homes and not paid a fair price. Revealing some of the compensation packages made to residents of Zone D, Augustine said the State was not offering these families enough money. Last week, an attempt was made to evict residents of Crompston Trace, off Silk Cotton Road, as the State gears up to begin major work on the $1.2 billion project. Read more here
BUSINESS
Rojas Engineering working on becoming number-one metalwork hub
The I Love Tobago sign on the Scarborough Esplanade has become an attraction for locals and visitors eager to take pictures celebrating their favourite island. But what do you know about the company, Rojas Engineering Ltd, responsible for the now famous sign. Rojas Engineering Ltd (REL) is run by managing director Deon Rojas and his wife Josanne who is the manager of administrative affairs. REL, located at Cove, Canoe Bay, has been around since 2013 and has created unique pieces out of metal with the aim of becoming the number one creative hub for innovation in metal fabrication and finishing. The managing director said the I Love Tobago sign was actually the workmanship of two signs. Read more here
Central Bank 2021 Financial Stability Report
The Central Bank of T&T continues to be concerned about the debt held by the local private sector and the impact that higher interest rates could have on both individuals and companies. The Central Bank expressed its concern in the Financial Stability Report (FSR) for 2021, which was released yesterday. The report identifies three main risks faced by T&T’s financial sector: rising international interest rates; increasing cyberattacks and sovereign concentrations in the banking and insurance sectors. The FSR report noted two of the risks in the 2020 report—increasing cyberattacks and sovereign concentrations among banks and insurance companies—remained relevant in the 2021 report. The 2021 report said financial stability risks in Trinidad and Tobago were tempered as the effects of the pandemic appeared to subside over 2021 and early 2022. Read more here
REGIONAL
PNC calls for programmes it removed while in gov’t – AG
Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall S.C. on Tuesday accused the political opposition of living in “La-La-Land”, chiding Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton for now calling on the President, Dr Irfaan Ali-led administration to implement programmes which the opposition coalition removed while it was in government. Nandlall made these remarks during his weekly “Issues in the News” programme streamed on social media platform, Facebook. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Afghanistan: Deadly blast rips through crowded Kabul mosque
A huge explosion has ripped through a crowded mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing 21 people, police say. Another 33 people were injured, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said. Wednesday's blast occurred during evening prayers. The mosque's imam is reported to be among the dead. It is unclear who was behind the attack, a week after a Islamic State (IS) militants killed a pro-Taliban cleric in a suicide bomb blast, also in Kabul. Security forces have now sealed off the blast scene in Kabul. Witnesses described hearing a powerful explosion which shattered windows in nearby buildings. "I saw that so many people were killed, even people were thrown out of the windows of the mosque," one eyewitness told Reuters news agency. Read more here
18th August 2022