NEWS
4 families homeless, 4 puppies killed in San Juan fire
Four of the 11 people who lost their home in a fire in San Juan on Thursday morning say the first fire truck that came to put out the blaze had no water. When three other trucks with water arrived, the residents say the fire officers changed shift while trying to put out the inferno and had to share two pieces of breathing apparatus during the incident. After two hours, the house was completely gutted and four puppies were dead. All four families lost their belongings while two residents were treated at the scene by medical personnel. Read more here
Man killed, neighbour wounded in ‘fake’ taxi
This is how Kevon Lewis described the murder of his uncle, Siparia labourer Leroy Sifontis, who was held up on his way to work yesterday morning. Sifontis, 38, fondly known as Bhal, was shot and killed as he jumped from a moving “taxi” after the driver and a front-seat passenger tried to rob him in Siparia. Another villager, who had entered the vehicle with Sifontis, was also shot and is warded in a stable condition at the hospital. Sifontis and a fellow villager, age 20, were on their way to work at 5.10 am when a vehicle stopped at the junction of Darsan Trace, along the Siparia Old Road, and indicated that they were working the Fyzabad route. Read more here
POLITICS
UNC repeat local govt complaints against PNM
The Opposition UNC has reiterated its claims that the PNM is undermining its local government corporations. The claims were reiterated by UNC vice-chairman Khadijah Ameen and the chairmen of seven local government corporations the party controls. The other seven are controlled by the PNM. Ameen referred to a memo sent by the Rural Development and Local Government Ministry to the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation (SGRC) that the contracts of a financial adviser and disaster management co-ordinator at the corporation could not be renewed due to insufficient funding. Read more here
Imbert says 2023 revenue probe not a sham; slams Kamla’s claim as ‘nonsense’
Finance Minister Colm Imbert has fired back at claims by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar that the independent probe into the understatement of revenue for the financial year 2023 and related matters is an “illegal sham”. Persad-Bissessar made the claim on Tuesday against the team set up to probe the matter by the Cabinet. She said the team, headed by retired High Court judge Richard Harris, could not legally conduct such a probe, and suggested the Public Service Commission was the better body to do so since it had the power to reprimand public servant if they were found to be negligent in the court of their duties. Asked about Persad-Bissessar’s assertion during a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday, Imbert rejected the suggestion as he defended the team. “It is nonsense because in the Senate, I said that I am going to conduct an internal investigation to investigate the facts within the Ministry of Finance. So who is supposed to pick the team? Should I ask the Leader of the Opposition to pick the team, it is nonsense,” Imbert said. Read more here
BUSINESS
Young meets with Shell TT, Trinity executives
Energy Minister Stuart Young met with executives of Shell TT and Trinity Exploration and Production PLC to discuss ongoing energy matters. According to a ministry release, Young was accompanied on both visits by Penelope Bradshaw-Niles, permanent secretary at the Energy Ministry. In a meeting with senior executives of Shell TT on May 8, both parties discussed Shell's current in-country production and its short-term plans for future production. Read more here
Exxon: Door still open to gas coming to T&T
The distance between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the route it has to take through Venezuela’s territorial waters, are two major obstacles hindering the construction of a natural gas pipeline to export gas from Guyana to T&T, ExxonMobil’s country manager Alistair Routledge has said. Exxon has so far discovered over 11 billion barrels of oil (bbo) and 15 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas in Guyana. T&T currently has an installed capacity to utilise 4.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (bcf/d) but its actual production stands at only 2.5 bcf/d. Read more here
REGIONAL
Unions, associations being ‘hijacked’ by the opposition
President, Dr Irfaan Ali has drawn attention to what he perceives as the politicisation and “hijacking” of unions and associations by the A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), pointing to the detrimental effects on national discourse and governance. The President, during an engagement with Batavia, Region Seven residents on Thursday, condemned what he described as the “hijacking of unions by the political opposition.” He raised concerns about the infiltration of certain associations such as the Amerindian People’s Association (APA) and the Guyana Teachers Union. Over the years, these associations have come under fire for selective outrages, especially against the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine says it repulsed Russian bid to cross border
Ukraine says it has repelled a Russian armoured attack in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, after Moscow's forces launched an incursion across the border and sought to break through defensive lines. Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Russian reconnaissance groups had tried to penetrate the border, adding that "not a single metre has been lost". The local head in Vovchansk said the town had come under heavy attack from the early hours of Friday and civilians were being evacuated. Read more here
10th May 2024