NEWS
Students awarded prizes for Penal/Debe corporation art competition
Standard three students from 17 primary schools under the Penal Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) participated in an art competition and received high praises on Wednesday for their creativity. A total of 83 students painted clay pots in two categories — Water and Earth Element and Let Your Imagination Run Wild. The corporation hosted the event in keeping with the plan to build the region's cultural capital. Read more here
Is the EMA costing T&T hundreds of millions of dollars?
There is concern that T&T is loosing out on hundreds of millions of US dollars because of slow decision making by state agencies, especially the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), and now comes word that Touchstone Energy’s Cascadura project will be delayed at a time of high gas and oil prices. Sources at the Ministry of Energy told the Business Guardian that the delay in the project will mean a lack of access of to 90 million standard cubic feet per day of new natural gas production and three thousand barrels of light-sweet crude oil, plus Touchstone is losing money having already hired a rig to drill its wells in anticipation of approval from the EMA, but it appears that the regulatory body wants more questions answered. Read more here
POLITICS
Piarco III case starts over: Pandays et al return to court
Even as the Director of Public Prosecutions considers his next move on the decades-old Piarco corruption charges against a former minister and several businessmen, former prime minister Basdeo Panday his wife Oma, former minister Carlos John and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh returned to the Port of Spain magistrates court on Wednesday on spin-off charges. The Pandays were charged with corruptly receiving money while John and Galbaransingh were charged with corruptly giving 25,000 British pounds sterling to the Pandays. Read more here
No word from Gov’t on flour assistance
Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon has promised to update the population “soon” on her promise to introduce measures that could make the increase in the price of flour easier for citizens to bear. In a brief statement to Guardian Media on Wednesday, Gopee-Scoon said the Government has been busy as it has been doubling up on Parliament sittings as the sessions come to a close. At a post-Cabinet media briefing two weeks ago, Gopee-Scoon said the Government was aware of the hardships facing citizens and would try to assist. Read more here
BUSINESS
First Citizens putting Tobago first: CEO talks investment on the island
First Citizens Group Financial Holdings CEO Karen Darbasie says the bank has a solid and growing client base of about 35,000 in Tobago. “We continue to be a lender to all aspects of Tobago customers,” she told Business Day on Monday during an interview at the bank’s Canaan office. Darbasie added the bank’s commercial clientele is also growing. Read more here
‘Two-thirds of households impacted by pandemic’
The National Financial Literacy Survey report, conducted by the Central Bank, has revealed that earnings in two out of three households in T&T may have been negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey, which was conducted between 2021 and 2022, sampled 1,090 adults, 151 students and 160 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via online and telephone interviews. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana, Barbados strengthen ties with updated co-operation agreement
Guyana and Barbados, on Tuesday, signed an updated and augmented copy of the Saint Barnabas Accord, paving the way for the two countries to have further dialogue and co-operation in nine specific areas. “The specific areas include agriculture, aquaculture and food security; mining and quarrying; tourism and international transport; trade and business development; energy; manufacturing; education – technical and vocational training and capacity building; co-operation in security and bilateral integration measures,” the Office of the President said in a statement. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine war: 21,000 alleged war crimes being investigated, prosecutor says
Ukraine says it is investigating more than 21,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression allegedly committed by Russia since the start of its invasion. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told the BBC she was receiving reports of between 200 to 300 war crimes a day. She admitted that many trials would be held in absentia, but stressed that it was "a question of justice" to continue with the prosecutions. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February. It denies all war crimes allegations. Speaking to the BBC's World Service Outside Source programme, Ms Venediktova warned that Russian soldiers who killed, tortured or raped civilians "should understand that it's only a question of time when they all will be in court". Read more here
7th July 2022