NEWS
Shorter shopping time at Marabella market to avoid crowds
San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello has advised Sunday morning shoppers at the Marabella market to walk with a shopping list and be prepared to spend a shorter time purchasing produce. He said the market is open from Sunday to Friday, with Saturdays being reserved for vendors at the Mucurapo Street market. Regrello encouraged shoppers to shop on an alternative day to Sunday. He said the same vendors are there daily. Read more here
US vaccine pledge brings hope to T&T
The United States announced yesterday it will give six million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Latin America and the Caribbean, bringing new hope for an increased number of vaccines coming to our shores. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was one of four national leaders to speak with US Vice President Kamala Harris yesterday about the donation, in his capacity as Caricom chairman. The exact amount that will come to T&T is not yet known. Read more here
POLITICS
AG awaits info on Pfizer vaccines in Trinidad and Tobago
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said he is yet to receive any information on the illegal entry of Pfizer vaccines being brought privately into the country. At Wednesday’s Ministry of Health's virtual covid19 briefing, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram said if Pfizer vaccines were indeed brought into the country via a private route, it would have been done illegally. Read more here
Govt opens wider door for cultural workers to travel, return
The Ministry of Tourism has opened up a way for cultural workers wishing to travel abroad to participate in revenue-earning events, to do so more easily. The ministry said in a statement yesterday that workers in culture and art such as event managers, bandleaders, artistes and pan men desirous of travelling abroad for events and festivals, will benefit from priority access to vaccinations and travel exemptions to depart from and return to Trinidad and Tobago. Read more here
BUSINESS
Minister Hassel Bacchus working to move Trinidad and Tobago toward e-governance
In 1979, the Workers Bank, now known as First Citizens Bank, introduced “Mary-Anne All Day All Night Service,” Trinidad and Tobago’s first automated telling machine. People did not know it back then, but that would be the first of a long line of information communication technology (ICT) systems that would use technology to make citizens’ lives easier. Read more here
WiPay signs with money transfer giant
WIPAY Caribbean signed an agreement yesterday with remittance payment giant Ria Financial Services, expanding the WiPay network into over 150 countries across the world, including locations like Walmart and Kroger. The agreement would allow customer-to-customer and business-to-business money transfer from Ria Financial’s network of 435,000 locations in 160-plus countries to WiPay’s network throughout the Caribbean. Ria Financial is the second largest remittance company in the world after Western Union. Ria Financial has a large cash collection and money transfer presence in the region and the agreement adds direct-to-bank deposits in the Caribbean to its network. Read more here
REGIONAL
$51M multi-purpose facility for Section ‘C’ Turkeyen
In keeping with the government’s commitment to improving the lives of residents across the country, the Ministry of Housing and Water on Thursday signed a contract for the construction of a $51 million multi-purpose facility at Section ‘C’ Turkeyen. Based on the specifics of the contract, the facility will be a 26’ X 50’ reinforced concrete structure, with an open view deck and bleachers, open ground-floor space with washroom and changing room facilities, tiled floors, and wheelchair access ramp. Read more here
Lashing lawyers, DPP says acquittal appeals offer justice for victims
Criminal defence lawyers weary of Parliament granting powers of appeal to the country’s main prosecutorial body need to “grow up” and enter the 21st century, Paula Llewellyn, the state’s chief prosecutor, has argued. “The pendulum of justice must swing in both directions, not only for the accused but also for the victim,” she insisted on Thursday at a virtual Gleaner Editors’ Forum. Lawmakers are debating a bill to empower the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) with the right to appeal low sentences and questionable decisions in the Supreme and Parish courts. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Few Israelis wanted a leader to the right of Netanyahu. Naftali Bennett is set to oust his old boss anyway.
After the 2019 elections, Naftali Bennett's right-wing party failed to cross the electoral threshold and had no seats in Israel's parliament. Two years later, he's on the verge of becoming the country's next prime minister. A former chief of staff to then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Bennett could now unseat his former boss, bringing an end to Netanyahu's run as the country's longest serving prime minister. Read more here
Roman Protasevich: Belarus journalist's confession was forced - family says
The family of Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich says he was coerced into making a confession on TV of organising anti-government protests. Mr Protasevich, 26, was arrested in Minsk last month after his flight to Lithuania was diverted. In a tearful appearance on state TV, he praised President Alexander Lukashenko and admitted attempting to topple him. Marks were visible on his wrists. Human rights and opposition campaigners say he was tortured. Read more here
4th June 2021