NEWS
Marabella community laments attacks on children as BOY, 8, MOM KILLED IN SLEEP
A Guyanese mother and her son were brutally murdered while they slept at their Battoo Street, Marabella home on Tuesday morning. Marabella residents lamented the killing of innocent children, as the bloodied bodies of Guyanese national Hollice Skinner Thomas, 40, and her son Noel, eight, were discovered in the bedroom of their rented apartment. Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said she was heartbroken by the tragic death of another child. Read more here
Rose Hill RC pupils inspired to write their own future
It’s been a little over a year—October 31, 2022—since video footage surfaced on social media and showed pupils of Rose Hill RC Primary School taking cover while rival gang members fired rapid gunshots outside their school. What did not go viral was the immediate intervention by members of the Victim and Witness Support Unit (VWSU) who began working with the affected pupils through a programme titled Who’s Writing Your Story: From Fear to Freedom. “One hundred per cent of the participants here today know the sound of gunfire, 100 per cent of the participants here today have experienced running, ducking and seeking for cover at the explosion of these sounds, 75 per cent of our participants have lost a loved one or a close family member to gun violence,” VWSU Operations Supervisor Janelle Sebastien-Reyes said during a graduation ceremony yesterday at the Police Retirees Building, Besson Street, Port-of-Spain. Read more here
POLITICS
PM attends Guyana-Venezuela talks
The Prime Minister will attend Thursday's talks in St Vincent and the Grenadines between Guyana President Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro about the ongoing border controversy between their two countries. A statement issued on Tuesday by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said Dr Rowley would attend the meeting between Ali and Maduro "on matters related to the border dispute between the two countries." The OPM added that the meeting between Ali and Maduro "was borne out of ongoing discussions and a decision taken at an emergency Caricom virtual meeting held last Friday (December 8)." Read more here
Minority leader accuses THA execs of refusing to answer key questions
Minority Leader of the Tobago House of Assembly, Kelvon Morris, has accused the current administration of refusing to answer important questions related to key decisions in Tobago. As a result, he resorted to naming and shaming THA members who have failed to answer approximately 25 questions during plenary sittings in the assembly legislature over the last two years. Morris outlined several questions that have gone unanswered regarding salaries and board positions, infrastructure contracts, community development projects, and travel expenses, among others. He said that these unanswered questions highlight the administration’s reluctance to be held accountable to the public. Morris also criticised the Secretary of Tourism for failing to provide information regarding the CEO of the Tobago Tourism Agency Limited and the alleged rescinding of approved decisions. Read more here
BUSINESS
RFHL announces changes to board
Republic Financial Holdings Ltd (RFHL) has announced changes to its board of directors, effective December 12. In a media release, RFHL said Peter Inglefield has retired from the board, while Mark Loquan, president of National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (NGC) and Senior Counsel Jason Mootoo have joined as the group’s newest directors. Read more here
TTSEC goes after GETGXL
Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a probe into GETGXL. In a news release yesterday, the Commission said it has taken "note of complaints circulating on social media as it pertains to the entity known as GETGXL. The TTSEC is also in receipt of information that was submitted anonymously, and which is currently engaging our attention. " According to the Commission, "Members of the public who have fallen victim to any form of prohibited schemes such as Pyramid or Ponzi-type investment scams are encouraged to submit a report to the TTSEC via our investor protection mobile application." Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana-Venezuela border controversy not up for discussion
Ahead of “high-level” dialogue between Presidents Dr. Irfaan Ali and Nicolas Maduro, the Guyanese Head-of-State has reiterated the position that the border controversy is not on the table for discussion, as it is squarely before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). President Irfaan Ali has agreed to a proposed meeting with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro set to take place Thursday in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, facilitated by the Prime Minister of St. Vincent Ralph Gonsalves and observed by Brazil, CARICOM, and a UN Under-Secretary-General. In a letter penned to the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, on Tuesday, President Ali sought to clarify the inaccuracies that Maduro has been spreading. “In my prior letter, I indicated my understanding that the meeting is to be conducted in consonance with the framework elaborated for such a meeting in the Communique of CARICOM Heads of Government of 8th December, 2023,” Dr Ali said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Israel losing global support over Gaza bombing, Biden says
US President Joe Biden has said Israel is starting to lose global support over its "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza. His comments, made to donors at a fundraising event on Tuesday, marked his strongest criticism yet of Israel's leadership. Mr Biden has offered unwavering public support to the country since Hamas launched its attacks on 7 October. And while he reiterated that Israel could count on US backing, he issued a direct warning to its government. "Israel's security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world," he told donors to his 2024 re-election campaign in Washington. "But they're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place," he said. Mr Biden, however, added that there was "no question about the need to take on Hamas" and Israel had "every right" to do so. Read more here
13th December 2023