NEWS
Experts: Food security ongoing issue in Caribbean
Two men who have over 30 years of experience in food security in the Caribbean have developed and published a framework that will enhance the ability to provide affordable food in selected Caricom countries. The launch of the framework took place at the Caribbean (Civil Society) Consultative Working Group meeting on June 4 at the Brix Hotel, Cascade. The launch is part of a wider European Union-funded project entitled Enhancing Cariforum’s CSO Capacity to participate in National and Regional Development Programming and Policymaking, carried out in partnership with the Caribbean Policy Development Centre. Read more here
Girl, 12, shot twice as gunman opens fire on father
A 12-year-old girl was shot twice during an ambush by a gunman who attempted to kill her father on Wednesday night. The incident occurred around 8.25 pm at Cascade Crescent, Bagatelle, Diego Martin. The girl's father was said to have just pulled into his driveway when a lone gunman approached and fired several shots at him. Read more here
POLITICS
IMF: Trinidad and Tobago economy strongest in a decade
Days before he presents his mid-year fiscal review, Finance Minister Colm Imbert received encouraging news from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which gave Trinidad and Tobago a favourable outlook for growth. The IMF, in its country report on June 5, said, for the first time in a decade, TT is experiencing a gradual and sustained economic recovery. It praised Government's fiscal policies which led to a strong performance in the non-energy sector, its management of the public debt, diversification efforts and moves to strengthen its tax regime, and its climate and green energy agenda. Read more here
Sinanan defends demerit points system
Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan wants the population to know that the Demerit Points System is under review.In fact, he says it has been under review every year since it was introduced in May 2020. He said as a result of this process, the ministry amended the minor offences list and removed the deducting of points for defective fittings or blown park or tail lights in 2022. In the current review process, Sinanan said the ministry is looking at another adjustment. “We are looking at extending that time of suspending a driver and before you reach to that point, you can go and do a course or you can go and do some rehabilitation driving ... there are several things that we are looking at,” he explained during the Tenth Road Safety Awards ceremony at the ministry’s Port-of-Spain headquarters yesterday. Read more here
BUSINESS
Cuban envoy, Gopee-Scoon discuss trade
Cuba ambassador designate Gustavo Daniel Veliz Olivares paid a courtesy visit to Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon at the ministry in Port of Spain on June 4. In a media release, the ministry said, “Both parties acknowledged the long-standing and special relationship that the two countries have enjoyed over the decades.” TT formally established diplomatic relations with Cuba over 50 years ago, simultaneously with Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana, making them among the first countries to do so. Read more here
Term Finance launches online wellness platform
Regional Web-based financial institution, Term Finance, has announced the launch of its Online Financial Wellness Platform. “This transformative platform aims to uplift the lives of individual consumers and MSMEs (micro, small and medium size businesses) across the Caribbean,” a release from Term Finance stated. Read more here
REGIONAL
A production boost
In an effort to enhance the agricultural prospects of communities along Soesdyke-Linden Highway, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has revealed plans to offer support to farmers by constructing shade houses and providing other necessary agricultural inputs for productive farmsteads. In a recent interaction with citizens, the Head of State provided reassurance regarding the government’s backing in the establishment of agricultural lands. “If we have 500 persons from the highway who want to do farming and farming in a modern way, we want to give you an acre of land even in one of the mined-out areas, where you could build your farmstead and we will help you to establish shade houses so that you can have good production.” Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza 'kills at least 35'
An Israeli air strike on a UN school packed with hundreds of displaced Palestinians in central Gaza has reportedly killed at least 35 people. Local journalists told the BBC that a warplane fired two missiles at classrooms on the top floor of the school in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. Videos showed the destruction and a number of bodies. Israel’s military said it had “conducted a precise strike on a Hamas compound” in the school and killed many of the 20 to 30 fighters it believed were inside. Gaza’s Hamas-run Government Media Office denied the claim and accused Israel of carrying out a “horrific massacre”. Dead and wounded people were rushed to the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital, in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah which has been overwhelmed since the Israeli military began a new ground operation against Hamas in central Gaza this week. Read more here
6th June 2024