NEWS
South, Tobago schools in Samsung sci-tech final
Marabella North Secondary, St Joseph’s Convent San Fernando and Bishop’s High School Tobago have advanced to the final of Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow 2025, a regional competition in science and technology, featuring entries from 13 countries. The three schools were named among 39 semi-finalists with projects focused on urgent environmental challenges, from flooding and invasive species to waste management and clean energy. Marabella North’s team is developing a solar-powered flood early warning system called Don’t Get Wet – Alerts to Stay Dry and Stay Safe. Their concept responds to Trinidad’s chronic flooding, linked to climate change, poor drainage and unplanned urbanisation. It uses low-cost, autonomous monitoring stations to alert communities before severe flooding occurs. Read more here
Breakfast Shed vendors threaten to sue Udecott
One day after the closure of the Breakfast Shed, cooks who once worked there have signalled their intention to fight back, with three vendors threatening legal action against the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (Udecott). At the same time, politicians across the divide are urging the Government to step in and preserve what they describe as a cultural landmark. The vendors, including three cooks from two establishments, have threatened to sue Udecott and its CEO, Tamica Charles, after chairman Shankar Bidaisee told Guardian Media that the operators were not evicted but instead faced demands for $1.8 million in outstanding rent. In a pre-action protocol letter dated September 29, attorney Kenneth Munroe Brown accused the state agency of unlawfully shutting down the facility and breaking promises dating back nearly two decades. He also accused Charles of forcing vendors out of their livelihoods. Read more here
POLITICS
Swaratsingh: Beetham landfill must be closed
Planning and Development Minister Kennedy Swaratsingh says Trinidad and Tobago has a climate-change agenda. He also repeated a call made under previous governments to close the Beetham Landfill. He made these comments during an interview on TTT on September 29. Referring to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar's address at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York on September 26. Swaratsingh said Persad-Bissessar's comments should not be interpreted to mean TT is opposed to climate change. "It is not that we do not have a climate agenda." He said the point Persad-Bissessar was making is the need for balance in pursuit of this agenda. Read more here
Dragon dance: US Secretary of State changes tune on OFAC licences after high-level talks with PM
Three months after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar declared the Dragon gas deal “dead” —and five months after revoking two Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licences to explore the Dragon and Cocuina-Manakin fields in Venezuelan waters—the United States government has reversed its decision. The development came following a high-level meeting between Persad-Bissessar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, DC, yesterday. In a video uploaded to the United National Congress’ Facebook page shortly after the meeting, Persad-Bissessar described the talks as “very important discussions for bilateral interests” and hinted that positive developments would be announced soon. Read more here
BUSINESS
‘Govt must cut non-energy fiscal balance’
As the country prepares for the upcoming national 2026 budget expected to be delivered early next month, UWI professor of economics Roger Hosein says there needs to be a strategic economic push to take the country forward. Speaking on CNC3’S Morning Brew programme yesterday, Hosein outlined the areas that he believes Finance Minister Dave Tancoo must take into consideration including lowering the non-energy fiscal balance, improving non-energy export revenues and enhancing the labour force participation rate. “If he focuses on reducing the non-energy fiscal balance and focusing on increasing non-energy export revenues and improving the labour force participation rate, he is well on the way to having the right methodology in terms of a strategic plan to fix the economy. So, it requires that type of high-level thinking being brought to bear on where he places his first step in preparation for where he places his second, third, fourth and fifth steps as he pushes forward,” Hosein explained. Read more here
‘T&T walking narrowing fiscal tightrope’
Trinidad and Tobago is walking a narrowing fiscal and external accounts tightrope, economist Prof Roger Hosein has warned. “While S&P’s affirmation of the ‘BBB-’ rating offers temporary relief, the negative outlook is a warning shot that the country’s buffers are thinning faster than official projections admit,” Hosein told Express Business. “Reserve depletion is already running ahead of S&P’s assumptions, and the fiscal deficit remains hard-wired into the expenditure-revenue gap,” he said. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana’s financial system gets timely boost in security, transparency
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced a series of immediate policy measures to strengthen foreign exchange management and protect Guyana’s financial system, as the country faces unprecedented demand for U.S. dollars and a surge in credit card transactions. During an engagement with the heads of commercial banks and regulatory agencies on Tuesday, President Ali revealed that credit card clearances alone had skyrocketed. “In 2023, total credit card clearance was about US$91.3 million. In 2024, it was US$347.5 million. And to date [in 2025], it is almost US$252 million and you don’t even have Christmas clearances yet. That growth is extraordinary,” the President said. Dr. Ali said the government will ensure that such financial trends do not compromise the country’s economic stability or create opportunities for capital flight. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
State of calamity in Philippines province as earthquake kills 69
At least 69 people have been killed and dozens injured after a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines late on Tuesday. The province of Cebu, which suffered the brunt of the damage, declared a state of calamity early on Wednesday, after thousands spent the night on the streets amid repeated aftershocks. One Cebu resident told the BBC he was among them, adding that power and water supplies were cut off. He says the voices of crying children could be heard around him, adding that they were "traumatised". The earthquake comes barely more than a week after the country was hit by back-to-back typhoons which killed more than 20 people. Read more here
1st October 2025