NEWS

OWTU still in talks with Yara

Yara’s Point Lisas Industrial Estate-based ammonia plant was “safely shutdown” on December 31. That was the observation by Yara Trinidad Ltd president Richard De La Bastide in response to an emailed question from Newsday concerning the plant’s pending closure. De La Bastide also provided an update about negotiations between the OWTU, which represents the workers and the company regarding retrenchment packages. “The Yara Ammonia plant has been safely shutdown and secured as planned. “Talks with the Oilfield Workers Trade Union regarding the separation arrangements for the workers affected are in progress.” Read more here

Men held for questioning in Coco Reef Resort robbery

At least two men are in po­lice cus­tody fol­low­ing a $15,000 rob­bery at the Co­co Reef Re­sort and Spa, Crown Point, on Mon­day morn­ing. Ac­cord­ing to ACP To­ba­go Di­vi­sion Ver­non Roberts, two men en­tered the re­sort's front of­fice at ap­prox­i­mate­ly 2:37 am, armed with cut­lass­es. He said the men, who wore hood­ies and dark-coloured cloth­ing, es­caped on foot with the cash. Read more here

POLITICS

If not crime, then what to judge you on?

Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee has called on the Prime Minister to help “a confused nation” know on what basis his government’s performance must be judged, if not on the issue of crime and lawlessness. In responding to the PM’s pre-recorded interview released over the weekend, Lee said that in the fifth year of his administration’s life, Dr Rowley’s inability to list any achievement of substance in key sectors such as education, the economy, improvement of forex supply and social services was glaring, as his government simply has nothing to show for its stewardship. What is more concerning, Lee said, was Rowley’s perception that his administration had put the energy sector in a much better place than it was in 2015, when several experts have said otherwise. Read more here

UNC: PM interview a work of fiction

The Prime Min­is­ter’s in­ter­view broad­cast­ed across most ma­jor me­dia plat­forms in the coun­try on Sun­day night was de­cep­tive, hope­less, and a work of fic­tion. That’s the sen­ti­ment be­ing ex­pressed by mem­bers of the Op­po­si­tion yes­ter­day. In the 90-minute in­ter­view, Dr Kei­th Row­ley ad­dressed a wide ar­ray of top­ics which were promi­nent in the pub­lic do­main over the past five years. Among the is­sues dis­cussed were crime, the coun­try’s eco­nom­ic sta­tus, the re­struc­tur­ing of state-owned Petrotrin, mar­i­jua­na de­crim­i­nal­i­sa­tion, and the fu­ture of the Peo­ple’s Na­tion­al Move­ment (PNM). In a re­lease, the Unit­ed Na­tion­al Con­gress (UNC) de­scribed Dr Row­ley’s in­ter­view as a “po­lit­i­cal cam­paign ad­ver­tise­ment” which was a “pa­thet­ic at­tempt to bol­ster his par­ty’s im­age” to which he failed to ac­com­plish. Read more here

BUSINESS

PM: We saved T&T from a worse situation

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had a one on one interview with CNC3 journalist Khamal Georges which was broadcast on Sunday. Rowley responded to questions on a number of national issues. The following are some of his responses on the state of the economy. Read more here

REGIONAL

Killed In Her Sleep - St Bess Woman Murdered By Estranged Boyfriend

The kitchen knife used in the preparation of Sunday dinner at Neville Sinclair’s home in Brinkley district, St Elizabeth, became an instrument of death a few short hours later as it was used to slaughter the senior justice of the peace’s (JP) daughter, Nevia Sinclair, who was allegedly murdered in her sleep by her estranged boyfriend. The suspect is now in police custody. According to reports, shortly after 10 p.m., the accused killer broke into Sinclair’s house and apparently went into the kitchen, picked up the knife, and then went to the room where his 27-year-old daughter, a secretary of the National Water Commission (NWC), had retired to bed. She suffered multiple stab wounds. Read more here

‘Oil money’ must benefit all Guyanese- Dr Vindhya Persaud

Former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament, Dr Vindhya Persaud, has affirmed that the oil revenues Guyana will soon begin to get must benefit all citizens of Guyana, and not a select few. “When the oil comes…it should not be used to fill people’s pockets. The money that we get from oil, the richness that this country should benefit from, should go to you the people of Guyana,” Dr. Persaud told a gathering of PPP/C supporters at an election rally organised at Albion, in Berbice. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

The stage is finally set for impeachment's dramatic, divisive endgame

The imminent final act of America's impeachment ordeal will be played for far higher political stakes than might be expected given the all-but-guaranteed acquittal of President Donald Trump in his trial in the Republican-led Senate. The long wait for the trial to begin -- nearly four weeks pulsating with political gamesmanship after the House voted to consign Trump to historic ignominy -- finally looks to be over. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, will meet her troops on Tuesday and is expected to finally relent in her refusal to send the articles of impeachment to the other chamber -- a delay triggered by a bid to dictate the terms of the trial. Read more here

Iran nuclear deal: European powers trigger dispute mechanism

European powers have triggered a dispute mechanism over the nuclear deal with Iran, after the country took a further step back from its commitments. Iran has suspended all limits on its production of enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons. It has said it is responding to sanctions reinstated by the US when it withdrew from the accord in 2018. France, Germany and the UK said they did not accept Iran's argument. The nuclear deal saw Iran, which insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, agree to limit its sensitive activities and allow in inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. Read more here

14th January 2020

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