NEWS
Etienne tells government: Level with public on hardship to come
Independent Senator Alicia Pauline Lalite-Ettienne has called on the government to inform the population of what to expect in terms of difficult times ahead, as she criticised the 2026 budget for giving with one hand but taking with the other. During her maiden contribution to a budget debate in the Senate on October 27, Lalite-Etienne described the budget as a Christmas tree with lots of glitter. The senator, who is visually impaired, said: "It has a lot of glitter, plenty glitter that even the blind could see. However, not everything that glitters are gold." Read more here
POLITICS
Prime Minister announces SoE extension on TV show
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced plans to extend the current state of emergency (SoE). She made the announcement during an interview on Crime Watch, the prime-time TV programme hosted by Ian Alleyne, on October 27. “The commissioner of police has given to our attorney general and other members of the national security council the recommendation that the SoE be extended,” she told Alleyne. The current SoE is scheduled to end on October 28. Read more here
Venezuela President suspends energy deals with T&T but PM warns her Govt will not be blackmailed
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last night confirmed the suspension of gas agreements with Trinidad and Tobago, saying this was due to the recent hostile actions taken by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s Government. Earlier yesterday, Venezuela Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had made the commendation to Maduro, citing tensions arising from Persad-Bissessar’s welcome of the US military. Rodriguez said the board of Venezuela’s Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. had proposed to Maduro the immediate denunciation of the Energy Cooperation Framework Agreement between T&T and Venezuela. Last evening, during the 95th broadcast of his programme Con Maduro, Maduro said, “On the aircraft carrier of the supremacists of the US empire against Venezuela and South America, I have approved the precautionary measure of the immediate suspension of all the effects and the agreements. That is why I have decided to take this decision. What the supremacists want is Venezuela’s riches.” Read more here
BUSINESS
Angostura reports over $100m in profit
Angostura Holdings Ltd has reported $757 million in revenue and a $145 million profit before tax for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2025. Profit after tax stood at $104 million, a 10 per cent increase from the previous year. Total assets increased six per cent year-over-year to $1.9 billion, with a low debt ratio of 0.16. Earnings per share also increased from $0.46 to $0.51. With a 182 per cent increase in Branded Rum sales and an eight per cent increase in Angostura Chill sales,the company’s international segment has grown by 18 per cent year-over-year. Export now makes up 45 per cent of total group revenue. Read more here
Chote surprised NIS has not collapsed
Independent Senator Sophia Chote says she is surprised that the National Insurance System (NIS) has not already collapsed, noting that warnings about the fund’s depletion had been raised as far back as 2018. In her contribution to the budget debate at the Senate sitting yesterday, she criticised the former administration for not addressing the issue and commended the United Nation Congress-led Government for taking action. She noted that Parliament held an enquiry into the NIS in 2018, during which stakeholders from across the country were heard, and the Ninth Actuarial Report of the National Insurance Board (NIB) was reviewed. Read more here
REGIONAL
‘Greater value for your assets!’
Over 430 residents from several communities along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway on Monday received their official leases for their lands, and, according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali, this is just one of many land regularisation programmes being pursued in the area. The Head of State, while addressing scores of residents, said the government’s intention is to support livelihoods through sustainable housing and long-term wealth creation. “The very fact that you own your lease now has increased your worth by over 400 per cent, overnight. You can take that to the bank, you can get a loan, you can build your home, and the value of land in this area is growing exponentially,” the President said. Simultaneously, works are underway to create some 1,600 new house lots in Hauraruni, a community along the Soesdyke-Linden highway. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
China controls the rare earths the world buys - can Trump's new deals change that?
US President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of deals on his Asia visit to secure the supply of rare earths, a critical sector that China has long dominated. The deals with Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia differ in size and substance and it's too early to assess their tangible impact. But they all include efforts to diversify access to the minerals that have become essential for advanced manufacturing, from electric vehicles to smartphones. The agreements, which aim to lock partners into trading with the US, are a clear bid to reduce dependence on China, ahead of a key meeting with its leader Xi Jinping. They could eventually challenge Beijing's stranglehold over rare earths, but experts say it will be a costly process that will take years. Read more here
28th October 2025