NEWS
SHOCKING TWIST TO SAMAROO PROBE
Four months after Joshua Samaroo was allegedly killed by police officers during a dramatic shootout in St Augustine, the case took a shocking twist yesterday, after directions were given for his girlfriend, Kaia Sealy, to be charged with manslaughter in his death. The directive from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard was handed down hours after the Commissioner of Police (CoP) Allister Guevarro announced, during a media briefing at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, yesterday morning, that the all-clear had been given for a series of criminal charges to be laid in the matter but refused to say who would be charged or the nature of the charges to be laid. Read more here
Alexander: It would take a miracle to recover Angelo
IT would take a miracle to recover two-year-old Angelo Tobias Plaza in Tobago. So said Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, who added that losing sight of what was believed to be the child’s body last Tuesday at Goodwood Bay during the search at sea impacted retrieval. “At this time it would be somewhat merely impossible to find the child, and if he is found it might be more considered a miracle because at the first sighting of what seemed to be a sighting from the Fire Service, I think it was on Tuesday of last week, it was in the area where there was a lot of seaweed; and by the time they went and try to retrieve the body, it was gone,” Alexander told the Express yesterday. Read more here
POLITICS
Minister suggests Amplia could be on the chopping block
Jobs at Amplia Communications Limited could be under threat as Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath says the state-owned TSTT subsidiary may be wound up, pending the outcome of an investigation expected to begin in the coming months. The development comes about a month after a major leadership shake-up at Amplia, when General Manager Shawn Clarke was terminated with immediate effect by the TSTT board. Clarke had served in the post since 2024. Padarath said there are concerns over duplication of functions between Amplia and its parent company, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), and that the subsidiary’s operations could eventually be absorbed. Read more here
BUSINESS
PriceSmart wins tax case against BIR
Membership shopping company PriceSmart Clubs Ltd has won a lawsuit against the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) over its move to change from its previously accepted methodology for considering foreign exchange losses when calculating corporation tax. Delivering a judgment on Wednesday, High Court Judge, Vigel Paul, ruled that the BIR breached the company’s legitimate expectation by not accepting the methodology it had previously approved for the calculations. The company, which operates four clubs in Trinidad, filed the case after the BIR sought to reassess its tax returns for 2016 in late 2022. The reassessment was based on the BIR rejecting the methodology for foreign exchange gains and losses, which it resolved with the company between 2004 and 2007 and accepted for tax returns up to 2015. Read more here
REGIONAL
Workforce development key to engineering, industrial success
A NEW US$35 million integrated industrial complex commissioned by Machinery Corporation of Guyana (MACORP) Guyana Inc at Covent Garden was on Thursday hailed as another major vote of confidence in Guyana’s economic transformation. Doing the honours was Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill, who couldn’t help but note that the country’s expanding infrastructure, mining, agriculture and industrial sectors will increasingly depend on reliable heavy-duty equipment, technical expertise, and skilled local labour. The facility spans more than 450,000 square feet across seven specialized buildings, and was described by company officials as a long-term investment designed to strengthen equipment support services, technical training and operational capacity in Guyana, while serving as a hub for advanced diagnostics, maintenance and engineering support for industries across the country. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Cubans grapple with fuel shortages and blackouts as US steps up pressure
The incident at the centre of a murder charge against Cuba's former president, Raúl Castro, is burned into the collective memory of both Havana and Miami. The US case, unveiled on Wednesday, accuses Castro and five others in the shooting down of two planes belonging to Cuban-American group Brothers to the Rescue in 1966 - killing four people, including three Americans. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has called this and other charges levelled at Castro "a political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation". US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since said Cuba poses a "national security threat" and the likelihood of a peaceful agreement between the two countries is "not high". Read more here
22nd May 2026