NEWS
State, colleagues provide assistance to Laventille woman after home damaged
The Laventille woman who had a retaining wall fall on her house on May 18 said she had been assured she would be housed in temporary accommodations by the state for the next three months while a starter home was being built for her. Debra Woods, 44, said Crystal Edwards, an official from the Disaster Management Unit had taken her somewhere where she would be able to access temporary accommodations in the San Juan area for three months. “I should be going to sign there tomorrow and hopefully I could move in. She took me to Foundation for the Enhancement & Enrichment of Life (FEEL) and they barely had any donations, so all they could have given me was a bed frame, no mattress, I might get a pillow, probably some wares, a tabletop, but they really don’t have anything else really, no mattress, nothing. I don’t know what going on with the mattress. Read more here
Moruga couple pleads for help after roof caves in during heavy showers
A Moruga couple is thankful to be alive after the roof of their home collapsed during torrential showers on Sunday. Indera Torres Estevez and her husband Carlos, 54, were in the bedroom at their La Rufin Road home when they heard a crashing noise around 8.30 pm. Recalling the scary ordeal yesterday, Torres Estevez said, “We were going to sleep. The rain was falling. It had a lil breeze and the roof just collapsed. The galvanize on the roof (over a bedroom) just collapsed.” The 52-year-old woman said when she and her husband ran out of the house, they saw the electrical wires sparking. Read more here
POLITICS
Gadsby-Dolly denies PNM convention is 'rushed'
PNM chairman Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly says the party's internal elections are taking place in line with its established democratic processes, in a statement on May 20. Voting is set for June 22 nationwide and the special convention is due on June 29 when the results will be announced. Her statement came the same day as a newspaper published an article citing former general secretary and former Arima MP/Arima mayor Ashton Ford alleging the election date was rushed. He claimed holding it before September meant the exclusion of some party groups and typified a "top-down manoeuvre" so as to "engineer a predetermined outcome." Read more here
Baptiste-Primus not seeking any post in PNM’s internal election
People’s National Movement (PNM) labour relations officer Jennifer Baptiste-Primus has taken a “dig” at former prime minister and party leader Dr Keith Rowley, while announcing that she will not be contesting the post in the party’s upcoming executive election. Baptiste-Primus did so following last Friday’s announcement of the June 29 election convention and voting, which will be done for executive posts on June 22. This was agreed to by the PNM’s General Council. All 16 posts, including political leader, will be open for contest. Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has said she would seek the leader’s post. Nomination day for submission of candidates is June 2. Read more here
BUSINESS
Swaratsingh: T&T must diversify now
Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development Dr Kennedy Swaratsingh said the Government remains committed to working closely with the business community to advance economic diversification efforts. Swaratsingh said under Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s leadership, the Government remains open, collaborative, and committed to sustainable growth. Swaratsingh also assured that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles are being placed at the heart of national development. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the AMCHAM’s Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Conference yesterday at Asa Wright Nature Centre, Arima. Read more here
REGIONAL
Chang, Bunting differ on reform details, but agree campaign finance law needs review
Legislators from both major political parties in Jamaica agree that reforms to the country’s campaign financing laws are necessary though they differ on the specifics of what those changes should entail. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Gaza aid yet to reach civilians, UN says, as pressure grows on Israel
The UN says no aid has yet been distributed in Gaza despite aid lorries starting to cross the border after an 11-week blockade. Israeli officials said 93 trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday, carrying aid including flour, baby food, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs. But the UN said, despite trucks reaching the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, no aid has been distributed so far. Its spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a team "waited several hours" for Israel to allow them to access the area but "unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse". Read more here
21st May 2025