NEWS
Gun dealer sounds alarm over new US policy on gun export
Attorney Nyree Alfonso, director of one of the largest firearm dealerships in TT, has sounded alarm bells over the local impact of a new US policy which imposes restrictions on firearm exports to curb US-made civilian guns in crimes abroad. The new regulations will now require experts to better vet their customers and tighten sales to 36 countries deemed “high-risk” for illicit diversion of semi-automatic firearms. Trinidad and Tobago is one of these 36 countries which would be affected. Read more here
Gunmen storm hospital to finish off one of four murder victims
After opening fire on a group of men in Gonzales last night, gunmen rushed into the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where one of the victims was being taken for treatment and continued shooting to ensure that he did not survive. The brazen act resulted in eight people being shot, four of whom died. The incident began just before 8 pm Sunday, with Gonzales residents reporting that a vehicle pulled up in the area and men dressed in police outfits emerged. They confronted the group of men and fired several shots. Read more here
POLITICS
Tancoo: $70b 'could easily' address all Trinidad and Tobago's problems
Opposition MP Davendranath Tancooo says $70.7 billion the Government intends to spend in fiscal 2024, "could easily address every single problem this country is facing." Tancoo spoke at an Opposition media briefing on June 2, ahead of Monday's meeting of the standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives which will be asked to consider an increase of $2,328,099,600 to the 2023/2024 budget. Tancoo said he cannot understand why the government was seeking an additional $2.3 billion, "having failed to account for $1 billion spent last year." Read more here
Nakhid: Govt will face lawsuit from ‘Chris Must List’
United National Congress (UNC) Senator David Nakhid says the Government may be facing a possible lawsuit from Canadian YouTube Vlogger Christopher Hughes, better known as “Chris Must List,” who has been charged under the Sedition Act for allegedly publishing a seditious audio/video publication on social media. The charge was laid under section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act. However, Nakhid says despite being charged, he believes Hughes will walk free. Speaking to Guardian Media following the UNC’s media conference yesterday Nakhid said, “He (Hughes) is going to get off because the act speaks to the intent to incite and facilitate one community against another. If that is the case, I think Fitzgerald Hinds should be charged with sedition when he said that we should drive a dagger into the heart of the UNC and then someone spoke about Calcutta ship in Tobago. I think those are more seditious statements than anything Chris Must List did. Read more here
BUSINESS
Huawei TT joins Adopt a School programme
Huawei TT Ltd has signed on to the Ministry of Education's Adopt-a-School programme by pledging two years of support to local schools. This programme aims to facilitate the equitable distribution of corporate sponsorship for school-based initiatives among all schools. Permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education Jacqueline Charles and CEO of Huawei TT Bruce Yu signed the memorandum of understanding at the Education Towers, Port of Spain, on May 27. Speaking at the event, Yu said through this opportunity Hauwei will be committed to empowering teachers and students with advanced education tools to facilitate a fair chance of education for all in the digital age. Read more here
Energy Minister: T&T-V’zuela natural gas dealings not at risk
Minister of Energy Stuart Young has dismissed statements by a former minister that a court order puts Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas dealings with Venezuela at risk. In a Facebook post yesterday, Young noted news reports on May 30, 2024 that a local High Court judge granted an order at an ex parte hearing permitting Phillips Petroleum Company Venezuela Ltd and ConocoPhillips Petrozuata BV to enter judgement of an ICC attribution award against PDVSA dated April 24, 2018. “This order of the Judge was made without notice to the State and is currently being subjected to appropriate legal scrutiny and the pursuit of legal advice,” Young stated. Read more here
REGIONAL
Over $2.5B injected into housing development in Region Ten
The housing sector in the mining town of Linden, Region Ten, has seen exponential growth with a significant investment of $2.5 billion from 2021 to 2024, to expedite infrastructure works, construction of housing units and roads in Amelia’s Ward, Wisroc, and Plantation York. These developmental works have since paved the way for many families to become homeowners. Many Lindeners’ living conditions have greatly improved as a result of several interventions, such as the distribution of land titles, house lot allocation, regularisation of squatting areas, and the housing construction support initiative. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as first woman president
Claudia Sheinbaum has been elected as Mexico's first woman president in an historic landslide win. Mexico's official electoral authority said preliminary results showed the 61-year-old former mayor of Mexico City winning between 58% and 60% of the vote in Sunday's election. That gives her a lead of about 30 percentage points over her main rival, businesswoman Xóchitl Gálvez. Ms Sheinbaum will replace her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on 1 October. Read more here
3rd June 2024