NEWS
Scrap Iron Dealers repeat call for meeting with Govt
Scrap Iron Dealers Association president Allan Ferguson has reiterated the association's call for a meeting with Government to ensure that the domestic scrap iron industry is properly re-opened. He made the call directly to the Prime Minister at a news conference at Signature Hall, Chaguanas on Monday. At a news conference in Scarborough on March 8, Ferguson disclosed that the association wrote to Dr Rowley to request an urgent meeting with him and some of his ministers to discuss certain aspects of the Scrap Metal Act 2022, which the association believes are not helping to fully re-open the industry. Read more here
Police crack down on trade in illegal products
As greater efforts are made to crack down on the illicit trade in tobacco products locally, the Multi-Agency Task Force (MATF) and the Tobacco Control Unit seized 115, 766 cigarettes between 2021 and 2022. This was revealed during a T&T Police Service (TTPS) weekly media briefing last Thursday by ASP Leon Haynes who heads the MATF. He said the multi-agency initiative has been producing positive results. The seizure included “cigarettes not licensed to be distributed in Trinidad and Tobago, a number of which breached the packaging and labelling requirement in relation to the regulations,” Haynes said. “Recently, there was a change in the requirement that all cigarette products have a particular labelling, and that is what we consider to be illicit if those labelling requirements are not compliant,” he said. Read more here
POLITICS
Ministers welcome President Kangaloo's vision
Government ministers welcomed the vision which new President Christine Kangaloo demonstrated in her inauguration speech at the Queens Park Savannah, Port of Spain on Monday. Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales said, "I was tremendously impressed by her inaugural address. very humble in recognizing those who paved the way for her inauguration especially former presidents and the support of her family." Gonzales believed Kangaloo demonstrated graciousness and magnanimity in her speech. Read more here
Kangaloo extends olive branch to detractors Let’s forget spites and grudges
As President Christine Kangaloo took her oath of office yesterday under the Grand Stand of the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, she used her maiden address to answer the critics who were against her assuming the role and extended a proverbial olive branch. “I am not at all unmindful of the fact that there are those that express disquiet with my occupying this new role, and for who, for one reason or another, might not currently be fully on board with assisting me to achieve these goals. I know that there have been voices from certain quarters that have given the impression that such collaboration might not as easily be forthcoming as one might have hoped,” President Kangaloo said. Read more here
BUSINESS
Ministry defends flood grant relief
The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services has defended its process in issuing grants for relief, saying that claims had to be verified and there had been some fraudulent applications, while some had lacked critical information. The ministry’s issued a statement on Saturday following claims made by Member of Parliament for St Augustine Khadijah Ameen on Friday that some flood victims were still waiting for grants that were promised by the State, shortly after last November’s massive flooding that persisted for up to a fortnight in some parts of Bamboo No.2 and south Trinidad. Read more here
REGIONAL
Construction of new drainage network, empoldering of lands ongoing at Baracara
In fulfillment of a promise made by President, Dr. Irfaan Ali during a recent visit to Baracara, Region Six (East Corentyne/Berbice), construction has started on a new drainage network, as well as the empoldering of lands in the community. This investment will now make hundreds of acres of new land available for agricultural purposes, according to a post on the President’s official Facebook page. At a recent meeting with farmers in the community, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, said once the works were completed, the Agriculture Ministry will work along with the community to craft two strategic plans for livestock and cash-crop production. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine says Russian missiles destroyed in Crimea
An explosion in the north of annexed Crimea has destroyed Russian missiles being transported by rail, Ukraine's defence ministry has said. The Russian-installed head of the city of Dzhankoi said the area had been attacked by drones. Ukraine announced the explosions but, as is normal, did not explicitly say it was behind the attack. If confirmed, it would be a rare foray by Ukraine's military into Crimea, which has been annexed since 2014. Russia has suffered attacks in Crimea before, but in most cases, responsibility has either been unacknowledged by Ukraine or blamed on some kind of partisan sabotage. This strike, if confirmed, suggests that the capacity of the Ukrainian air force to deploy drones has increased. Read more here
21st March 2023