NEWS
Ayers-Caesar wins landmark legal battle against JLSC
Apprentice mechanic,18, shot dead in SUV
AN apprentice mechanic from Diego Martin was shot and killed in Carenage on Saturday night. Police said that around 8.30 p.m. Raheem Velox, 18, of Roxborough Street, Diego Martin, was attempting to reverse park an SUV along the La Horquette Branch Road, Point Cumana, Carenage, when a man dressed in a straw hat, black hoodie and a three-quarter pants approached the vehicle. Drawing a gun, the man opened fire on the SUV, hitting Velox multiple times to his head and chest...read more
'Susan Maicoo Gone' - Beloved parang singer passes on
Beloved parang singer Susan Maicoo has passed away. She died shortly after being admitted to the Port of Spain General Hospital on Sunday. The country learned in February that she was ailing. Her husband Rawle said then that she hoped to sing again...read more
POLITICS
NTA: Media must choose better experts to interview
National Transformation Alliance (NTA) political leader and former police commissioner Gary Griffith has called on the media to do better in choosing expert interviewees. In a press release on Sunday, Griffith said the media needed to better as the trend of “inflating politically aligned voices and dressing them up as objective experts” was a disservice to the public. “It is time for the national media to wake up and stop misleading the public by carelessly labelling individuals as ‘political analysts’ or ‘security experts’ when in reality their track records and public commentary expose clear political bias and questionable credentials,” it said. He referred to University of the West Indies' (UWI) Dr Indira Rampersad and security consultant Garvin Heerah...read more
Divided political allegiances in Aranguez/St Joseph
There is no seat more marginal than the constituency of Aranguez/St Joseph. Some constituents have sent a warning to incumbent MP Terrence Deyalsingh that he might not be three times lucky with their vote if his presence is not felt more in the former St Joseph seat. In the 2020 General Elections, only 823 votes separated the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) Deyalsingh from the United National Congress candidate Ahloy Hunt. Deyalsingh accrued 9362 votes against Hunt’s 8539 with 63.7 per cent of the constituency’s electorate casting votes. The size of the electorate there was 28,553 as of November 2024 according to the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), spread across 43 polling divisions. Its name change did not shift any of its boundaries but merely incorporated Aranguez to more properly reflect the geographic area within the constituency...read more
BUSINESS
TT Iron start-up delayed
The iron and steel plant that was once owned by international steel giant ArcelorMittal at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate in Couva is still not up and running despite having new owners. On June 7, 2023, TT Iron Steel Company announced it had signed a sale and purchase agreement with the liquidator of ArcelorMittal Point Lisas Ltd, Christopher Kelshall, to acquire the iron and steel plant on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate. The news release then stated that initial refurbishment and restart of the plant was expected to cost US$150-200 million (TT$1-1.4 billion) over the next 24 months with further investment required thereafter...read more
REGIONAL
Antigua PM warns US policy will significantly affect local economy
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says his Antigua and Barbuda is concerned that moves by the United States to impose a levy on Chinese-built ships that operate in US ports could have a significant impact on his country’s economy. The United States Trade Representative has proposed fines of up to US$1.5 million on China-made ships or vessels from fleets that include ships made in China. Browne, speaking on his weekly radio programme over the last weekend, said that the issue has been discussed by cabinet over the past several weeks amid concerns by ministers that such a move will likely have a negative impact on the economy...read more
INTERNATIONAL
Turkey detains journalists as protests over Erdogan rival’s jailing intensify
Turkish authorities detained several journalists from their homes, a media workers’ union reported Monday, in what it said was a crackdown amid escalating protests triggered by the imprisonment of the mayor of Istanbul and top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Sunday, a court formally arrested Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and ordered him jailed pending a trial on corruption charges. His detention on Wednesday sparked the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade, deepening concerns over democracy and the rule of law. In an apparent escalation of the government’s response to the growing protests, the Disk-Basin-Is union said at least eight reporters and photojournalists were detained in what it said was an “attack on press freedoms and the people’s right to learn the truth.”...read more
24th March 2025