NEWS
Flash flooding in Penal, corporation says mitigation works coming
FLASH FLOODING hit some of the lowest-lying areas of the Penal/Debe municipality on November 20, stranding dozens of motorists. Having received an estimated 120 per cent increase in funding for fiscal 2026, the Penal Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) chairman says detailed mitigation works for the perennial issue are on the table for the upcoming dry season. Speaking with Newsday at his municipal corporation's Debe office on November 20, Gowtam Maharaj said extensive watercourse clearing work initiated by the new administration earlier this year has been successful in averting major flooding incidents in the municipality affecting households, but admits much more needs to be done. Read more here
HDC to end 50 maintenance contracts; signals more jobs cuts to come
The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) will end its contracts with at least 50 maintenance providers and their employees by year’s end and has signalled the possibility of further staff reductions as its chairman seeks to reverse, what he says, is a decade of severe financial mismanagement. In an exclusive interview with Guardian Media at the HDC’s South Quay office yesterday, Chairman Feeroz Khan painted a picture of the corporation’s current financial predicaments, which he said have led him to take certain “corrective actions.” Read more here
POLITICS
Trade Minister: Inaugural flight to Ghana coming
MINISTER OF Trade and Tourism Satyakama Maharaj has announced plans to launch an inaugural test flight from TT to Ghana. He made the announcement at a post-Cabinet media conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's. The minister said the government is looking at an Ethiopian airline charter and is in consultation with the government of Ghana to execute the plan. He explained the frustrations of crossing the Atlantic, noting that flights to the African and Indian continents takes days. Read more here
Panday tells Govt: Country should not depend on US troops to curb crime
Leader of the Patriotic Front, Mickela Panday, says the country should not have to depend on the US to address the crime situation. In a Facebook post yesterday, Panday took issue with Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander saying that the country has benefited from the presence of US warships in the region, as it has curbed gun and drug trafficking. Speaking with Guardian Media outside the Immigration Detention Centre in Aripo on Wednesday, Alexander said, “There is great hesitation in persons bringing in guns, illegal drugs and performing this act of human trafficking. That much I can tell you. I continue to shower praise on them. Our borders were very porous over the years, and we have some friends or partners with us, that is assisting with that.” Read more here
BUSINESS
BpTT completes Cypre project
ENERGY giant bp Trinidad and Tobago yesterday announced that it safely completed the Cypre seven-well drilling programme following the delivery of first gas seven months ago. The Cypre development, located 78 kilometres off the southeast coast of Trinidad within the East Mayaro Block, is made up of seven wells tied back into bpTT’s existing Juniper platform. Four wells were drilled and completed at the end of 2024 with the first gas delivered in April this year. Read more here
REGIONAL
Gov’t committed to delivering one-stop access to gov’t services – President Ali
THE spotlight was firmly placed on improved public service on Thursday as President Dr. Irfaan Ali underscored his administration’s commitment to efficient, accountable, and people-centred governance. He was at the time addressing a sizeable gathering at State House in New Amsterdam. He and members of his Cabinet are on a two-day outreach, which will see them, along with senior technical officials visiting communities across the region to engage residents and address their concerns. At the heart of his address was the rollout of Guyana’s expanded service delivery centres, which will be operating in New Amsterdam, Port Mourant, and the Upper Corentyne. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Zelensky ready to work with US on 'their vision' for ending Ukraine war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready to work with the US on "their vision" for ending the war with Russia. Under the widely leaked plan, Kyiv would cede significant areas of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine that it still controls, cut the size of its army, and pledge not to join Nato - proposals it has previously ruled out. The White House has pushed back on claims that Ukraine was not involved in the drafting of the plan, which emerged following meetings between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and and Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev. Provisions in the draft plan come across as heavily slanted towards Moscow - and it received a carefully diplomatic response from Kyiv. Read more here
21st November 2025