NEWS
Two in court for Guanapo massacre
Two men from the Heights of Guanapo have appeared before an Arima magistrate charged with the murders of four members of the Peterkin family, last month, and the shooting of five relatives. On Monday, Jalini Rivers, 22, and Jodel Noel, 24, appeared virtually before Magistrate Natalie Hamilton-Diop on a series of charges relating to a Guanapo massacre just after midnight on September 21 at La Retreat Extension, Heights of Guanapo, Arima. Rivers was represented by attorney Criston J Williams, while Noel was represented by Sallian Holdip-Francis and Tahirah Davis Gibson-Sobers. Read more here
Teen Trini student flees war-torn Israel... Another national stays on, hoping peace will prevail eventually
As fighting intensifies in Israel, Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne has confirmed a T&T national studying there has been safely evacuated from that country. Dr Browne didn’t identify the student because he did not have permission from her parent to do so, but did indicate she was a teenager studying in Israel. By 4 pm local time yesterday, the teen was on a flight out of Tel Aviv bound for London. “She will be met by our diplomatic staff, and subsequently safely conveyed to her mother’s arms here in Trinidad and Tobago,” Browne said in an interview with Guardian Media. He said he spent the weekend working to have her safely removed after her mother reached out to him, given the outbreak of military hostilities between the Israelis and Palestinians in that country. Read more here
POLITICS
Hinds: Support police instead of 'stand-your-ground' policy
National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds called on the public to show support to the police by providing information and intelligence, instead of taking matters into their own hands. He made the call in his budget contribution on at the fourth sitting of the House of Representatives on Monday following the reading of budget 2024. “Some say the solution to our problems is more guns and more ammunition, following the philosophy wrongly adopted by that last commissioner,” Hinds said. “This Government is more focused on the restrictive policy where firearms are going to be granted to those who can demonstrate that they need them, and not simply because you are someone’s friend... Read more here
Govt saved businesses, jobs by raising minimum wage
Government’s move to raise the minimum wage by $3 from January 1 was a responsible one, says Labour Minister Stephen McClashie who defended the increase from $17.50 to $20.50. In his contribution to the budget debate yesterday, McClashie said the increase was carefully thought out in the best interest of the national workforce. “The increase was not pulled out of a hat but was based on a recommendation from our minimum wage fixing machinery – in this instance the Minimum Wages Board,” he said. He said while Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar wanted a $25 increase and some trade unions requested as much as a $30 hike, that was not feasible and would have put the Government under increased pressure to increase salaries across multiple sectors. Read more here
BUSINESS
Trinidad and Tobago, Chile working to finalise trade agreement
TT and Chile are close to finalising a partial scope trade agreement, which was signed in 2020. In June, the fourth round of negotiations was completed. Speaking at the TT Coalition of Service Industries (TTCSI) Doing Business with the World Series webinar last week Wednesday, Chilean Ambassador to TT Hernan Nunez Montenegro said the fifth and hopefully final round of negotiations will take place in Port of Spain next December. Once completed, the trade agreement will allow TT exporters entry into the Chilean market and access to over 19 million people at preferential rates of duty. Read more here
Young: More than just Dragon deal involved
“DRAGON is well on the way” and it is not the only joint project that Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela are contemplating, Energy Minister Stuart Young said as he delivered his contribution to the debate on the national budget in the Parliament yesterday. Young spoke on his recent visit to Caracas where he said an agreement was signed for the promotion of joint projects in the hydrocarbon sector. “And I can report to the people of Trinidad and Tobago today, it is not only for Dragon. Also as part of that agreement, and we cannot get into the terms of it because as happens with all commercial agreements, and energy sector agreements, there are terms of confidentiality,” he said. Read more here
REGIONAL
Less talking, time for action
Taking the bull by the horn, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has said that he was done talking and Guyana’s metamorphosis will be seen through the implementations and initiatives that his government were putting forth. While delivering his feature address at the Canada-Guyana Chamber of Commerce Maple Leaf Ball and Awards Presentation last Friday, the President spoke on Guyana’s bright future that lies ahead and the captaincy it will have in the areas of food, energy, and climate security. “It will be the country that will lead the role on climate security, it will be the country that will be around every single leadership table on energy security and it is a country that will be in the leadership positon in this region on food security and the next seven years will be spent to position this country exactly there,” Dr. Ali said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Myanmar: 29 killed in artillery strike on camp for displaced people
At least 29 people, including children, have been killed in an artillery strike on a displaced persons camp in north-east Myanmar, near the Chinese border. The camp is in an area controlled by the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), one of several ethnic insurgent groups which have been fighting for self-rule for many decades. All the victims were civilians, a KIO spokesman told the BBC. It is one the deadliest attacks in the 63 year-long conflict in Kachin State. Kachin officials say the armed forces have scaled up attacks on KIO-run areas over the past year because of growing Kachin support for other insurgent groups fighting the military government. Much of Myanmar has been embroiled in a wider civil war since a 2021 military coup displaced the country's elected government. The military has increasingly used air strikes against opposition-controlled towns and villages since seizing power. Read more here
10th October 2023