NEWS
'Customers' rob businessman at gunpoint in Cocoyea
Two men pretending to be customers at a restaurant and bar in Cocoyea Village robbed the owner at gunpoint on Monday night. A police report said at around 7. 30 pm, two men walked into CeeJayz Restaurant and Bar at Naparima Mayaro Road near the roundabout. They walked up to the owner, who was working and announced a robbery. One had a gun, and the other a cutlass. They hit the owner on the head and robbed him of $4,700. They also stole his cellphones and a digital video recorder for the business's camera system. Read more here
T&TEC boss admits power outage headaches ahead
T&T Electricity Commission customers may have noticed an increased frequency of outages over the past few months. Well, according to T&TEC general manager Kelvin Ramsook, this is partly because of high fuel prices which have forced the commission to rely less on maintaining standby capacity as a backup when issues affect power generation. “We don’t run with a significant amount of spinning reserve, which we can do, which could assist in avoiding these short interruptions and the reason is quite simple. If I run with spinning reserve, I’m going to be using gas which is very costly,” Ramsook said. T&TEC currently owes the National Gas Company (NGC) $7 billion and in September, Minister of Finance Colm Imbert said the commission had purchased gas at $700 million annually over the last decade. Read more here
POLITICS
Hinds: 108 legal guns used in crimes including 4 murders
National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said 108 legally-issued weapons have featured in serious issues, including four murders. He said this is an emerging problem in Trinidad and Tobago, and his ministry, through its law enforcement agencies, was working to bring those responsible to justice. “The gangland thing is generating the majority of the killings, especially in the possession of automatic weapons, and we are now finding that legal weapons have emerged as a problem in TT. "The police commissioner informed me yesterday that 108 legally-issued weapons featured in serious issues gaining the attention of the police, including four murders. So where we had a problem with illegal guns, we now have a problem with legal guns." Read more here
BUSINESS
Amcham T&T donates equipment to Fire Service
Two “IdeaHub Screens” were donated to the Fire Service to support its National Incident Command System (NICS). These are expected to assist in its fire fighting operations through “real-time, high-quality video,” a release from Amcham T&T said. The presentation was made at the opening ceremony of Amcham T&T’s recent 26th Annual HSSE Conference. The organisation secured the screens from Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited (PPGPL). Read more here
REGIONAL
Improved access to life-saving treatment expected
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has said that the launch of the Pharmaceutical Equity for Global Public Health is a manifestation of actionable South-South cooperation. He said that it is a model through which the countries of the south could assume greater responsibility for responding to health and other challenges. The Head of State made this point while delivering remarks virtually on the margin of COP 27 to discuss the furthering of pharmaceutical equity for global public health with President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; Chair of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
US midterm elections: The candidates making history
Republican candidate Katie Britt, 40, will be elected as Alabama's first woman to serve in the US Senate, according to projections from the BBC'S US partner CBS News. Ms Britt will replace Senator Richard Shelby, who is retiring at the end of this term after 36 years in the Senate. She beat Democrat Will Boyd to secure the position. "I am humbled, I am honoured and grateful," she said to supporters. Read more here
9th November 2022