NEWS
Judge powerless to order return of Venezuelan children, women to TT
A high court judge has been told she cannot order the return to TT of a group of Venezuelan children and women deported on Sunday. On Sunday night, Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams ordered the Chief of Defence Staff to “produce the bodies” of the group of 16 children and nine women on Monday in a writ of habeas corpus filed on their behalf. But Newsday was told that on Sunday the 16 children and nine women were put in two unregistered boasts and escorted out of TT waters by the Coast Guard. Read more here
Fatima principal says college coping with online classes
Students and teachers at Fatima College in Port-of-Spain continue to cope in the face of unprecedented changes to how education is administered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With ongoing reports of students, teachers and parents being overwhelmed, anxious and stressed by online learning and reduced physical interaction, Principal of the Roman Catholic boys’ secondary school, Father Gregory Augustine said frequent examinations paint a different picture which suggests all parties may have found the secret to success. Read more here
POLITICS
No Senate sitting on Tuesday
The Senate will not sit on Tuesday after the House of Representatives last Friday failed to pass the Anti-Gang Bill 2020 due to the Opposition's abstention. As such, the Senate now has no need to sit to debate that legislation, parliamentary sources told Newsday on Monday. The bill needed a special majority to be passed, as it breached certain civil rights under the TT Constitution. Meanwhile on Friday in the House, Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein will condemn Government’s handling of crime in a private motion. Read more here
Kamla: No Opposition support for bills until procurement legislation
No procurement legislation, no Anti-Gang bill support! "If you don't bring the Procurement legislation, we'll isolate you! We'll not support you!" said UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar Monday night. Unbending in her firm declaration, she maintained the UNC's trade-off position on the two pieces of legislation despite criticism and calls for the Opposition to work with Government and bring the Anti-Gang bill back to Parliament. Read more here
BUSINESS
One more year of struggle due to COVID-19 pandemic says Baptiste
The President and CEO of Republic Financial Holdings Ltd (RFHL) Nigel Baptiste has expressed that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would be felt in the economies in which the group operates for another financial year. In RFHL’s 2020 annual report Baptiste said: “Over the next 12 months, the economies in which we operate will likely continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Read more here
REGIONAL
US$1B in hotels
Close to US$1 billion (G$215B) will soon be injected into Guyana’s economy in the form of world-class hotels which will be constructed across the country to cater for the anticipated increase in visitors, who are being attracted by the nation’s burgeoning oil and gas sector and its spill-off benefits. A business-friendly climate supplemented by the anticipated economic ascension is being credited for the attraction of major players in the hotel industry such as, Sheraton, The Element, Delta Marriott, Best Western Hotels and Resorts, the H-Tower Luxury Hotel, the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, the Radisson Hotels, and the Hilton Hotels and Resorts, among others. Read more here
‘Animals’ - Cop, Residents Decry Gun Slaying Of Grandma, Girls
On humid nights in Tryall Heights, 71-year-old Sylvia Stewart would often find respite by sleeping on her verandah, with even her back door left open. Now she is deathly afraid. Stewart is still rattled by the bloodbath that unfolded in Tryall Heights on Sunday which severed half a century of fond memories with her best friend, Iciline McFarlane. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Biden unveils his administration as Trump's firewall crumbles
Not even Donald Trump, the great twister of truth, could keep reality at bay forever. After nearly three weeks of his absurd legal claims and corrosive attacks on democracy, a cascade of momentous developments Monday obliterated the President's fantasy that he would have a second term. In the most significant and symbolic sign that it's over for Trump, General Services Administrator Emily Murphy, heeding the inevitability of constitutional processes, finally switched on the administrative machinery that will formally transfer power to President-elect Joe Biden. Read more here
Paris police in 'shocking' clash at migrant camp
French police violently dismantled a makeshift migrant camp in the heart of Paris overnight, clashing with migrants and activists. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin tweeted that some of the scenes were "shocking", and ordered the police to provide a full report on their actions. Dozens of small tents were removed from Place de la République, with occupants sometimes being tipped out by police. The homeless migrants say they are forced to live on the streets. Volunteers had joined the migrants and, linking arms, the crowd - several hundred strong - chanted "papers for all, accommodation for all!" when police moved in. Read more here
24th November 2020