NEWS
A 20-YEAR-OLD man was detained by the police investigating the double homicide of Claxton Bay scrap iron dealer Basdeo 'Ricky' Lallan and his girlfriend Whitney Narine. The suspect, who also resides in Claxton Bay, was detained on Saturday-two days after the killing of Lallan and Narine in Lallan's house at Teak Avenue on Macaulay Road. Lallan, 46, and Narine, 21, a labourer employed at the San Fernando City Corporation, were shot multiple times when a gunman stormed their house shortly before 9 p.m. last Thursday. Lallan's 17-year-old son covered the couple's seven-month-old child with his body when the gunman opened fire. Police were told that the firearm jammed and the teenager grabbed the child and then ran out of the house to his neighbouring relatives for safety...Read More
Tobago's iconic Pigeon Point scene of $42 million drug bust
Two men were arrested and three firearms and quantities of cannabis and cocaine worth an estimated TT$42.2 million, were seized in a major drug bust in the Tobago on Monday night. It was an operation involving officers of the Tobago Division Task Force, directed by ACP Subero and Snr. Supt. Elie, 167 rounds of assorted ammunition. The drugs have an estimated street value of TT$42,214,350. The suspects, of Marabella and Buccoo, were arrested in connection with the finds. Officers intercepted a pirogue with two men. A search of the vessel resulted in the discovery of 231.7 kilogrammes of cannabis, 13 kilogrammes of cocaine, a Beretta M12 pistol, three Beretta M12 magazines, a Glock 17 pistol fitted with a magazine, a Glock 19 pistol fitted with a magazine, and 167 rounds of assorted ammunition. The drugs have an estimated street value of TT$42,214,350. The suspects, of Marabella and Buccoo, were arrested in connection with the finds...Read More
Imbert: Trinidad and Tobago must balance transition with economic stability
WHILE Trinidad and Tobago may be a leader in renewable-energy infrastructure development in the English-speaking Caribbean, Finance Minister Colm Imbert insists a transition from oil and gas is not a short-term objective. He says this transition must be done gradually to avoid major economic disruption. Speaking at the launch of the 2024 Report on Economic Development (RED) by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), at the Central Bank Auditorium, Port of Spain, on December 2, he stressed the importance of balancing global climate goals with the economic realities of fossil-fuel-dependent economies such as TT's...Read More
POLITICS
PNM rejects Mc Clashie; MP insists process not over yet, residents want better representation
Incumbent La Brea MP Stephen Mc Clashie yesterday put on a brave face in the wake of the rejection of his candidacy for the upcoming general elections by the People’s National Movement (PNM) screening committee on Monday night at Balisier House. Mc Clashie was among two La Brea candidates rejected by the screening committee, led by PNM leader and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. A source said the other candidate, Jillon Lewis, was also rejected, with the committee instructing the La Brea Constituency Executive to identify fresh prospective candidates. Another candidate, Christopher Encinas, was reportedly unable to attend the screening session due to an emergency. Encinas will be considered alongside the new prospects going forward, Guardian Media understands. But when contacted yesterday, Mc Clashie denied being rejected, saying the screening process was not complete. He noted that it was inappropriate to comment further, as the process was still ongoing...Read More
PM dismisses Kamla’s claim of overruns at ANR Robinson Airport
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has dismissed Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s accusation of mismanagement of public funds on the ANR Robinson International Airport Development project, which she claims has incurred $431 million in cost overruns due to excessive delays. Persad-Bissessar made the claim at a UNC cottage meeting in Las Lomas on Monday night, where she alleged that Mott MacDonald, an engineering and development consultancy firm engaged by the Ministry of Finance, had highlighted several concerns in its evaluation of the project. Contacted yesterday, however, Rowley said, “I don’t wish to engage the Opposition Leader in any of her search for relevance...Read More
BUSINESS
Daniel Best to lead CDB
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is expected to announce today that the Barbadian candidate, Daniel Best, will be the new president of the Bridgetown, Barbados-based regional development bank. Best edged out the T&T candidate, Gregory Hill, following discussions that, sources said, took place between T&T Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley. The two prime ministers were among regional leaders who were in Bridgetown last Saturday for a meeting with a bipartsan US Congressional delegation. Rowley supported the T&T candidate, while Mottley supported her countryman. The discussions between Prime Ministers Rowley and Mottley on the issue of the selection of the CDB president were suggested by the board of governors of the CDB, as a means of breaking the deadlock between the two candidates following the November 21 polling for the presidency...Read More
Angostura seeing fourth quarter turnaround
Angostura is expecting a good Christmas in terms of sales and an overall rebound in its performance for the fourth quarter of 2024. In its unaudited financial statement for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, Angostura declared after-tax profit of $94.35 million, which was 9.6 per cent less than the $104.42 million the rum and bitters company declared for the same period in 2023. That drop in profit was partially due to a $22.2 million decrease in revenue to $697.94 million for the nine-month period. Executive manager for local sales, Nigel Balkaran, said the company is seeing signs of a turnaround. "We've seen progress. We had our challenges in the first nine months a year, but we have seen it turn around in the last couple months as a result of the support we have been getting globally, as well as locally," said Balkaran at the local leg of the Angostura's Global Cocktail Challenge held at Nube Nueve restaurant in Valpark on Tuesday afternoon. He said while the company had seen growth internationally, he was looking at growth in the local market....Read More
First Citizens reports 23% increase in profits
FIRST Citizens Group Financial Holdings Ltd recorded a profit after tax of $957 million for the year ended September 30, 2024. This represents an increase of 23.17 per cent from $777 million in the previous year. In a newspaper ad on December 3, First Citizens chairman Anthony Smart said the group's total assets stood at $47.1 billion, an increase of 4.84 per cent from $44.9 billion. Loans to customers increased by over $1.1 billion or 5.37 per cent to $21.2 billion from $20.1 billion. Earnings per share increased by 23 per cent from $3.08 to $3.79...Read More
REGIONAL
TCI police investigate multiple robbery incidents
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is investigating three violent crime incidents that occurred within days of each other. In the first incident, an employee was assaulted during an attempted robbery at a service station on Leeward Highway shortly after midnight on November 30. The lone male suspect, who arrived in a black Honda Fit, struck the employee with a firearm before fleeing the scene. The victim was treated for injuries at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre. Later that same evening, an armed robbery took place at an eating establishment in Blue Hills. Two masked individuals, one armed with a firearm, entered the premises and robbed patrons before escaping on foot. Fortunately, no injuries were reported during this incident....Read More
Guyana: 'No explosion in Better Hope gas cylinder incident'
Massy Gas Products Guyana Ltd. (MGPGL) has issued a statement clarifying news reports of an ‘explosion’ of a massy gas cylinder in a home at Better Hope Village over the weekend saying there was no explosion. The statement details that MGPGL was informed of the incident at 10am on Friday, November 29 and a response team arrived at the customer’s home at 2:35pm the same day to investigate the incident. MGPGL was informed that while the customer was using her stove, the cylinder ran out of gas and she replaced the cylinder with an MGPGL cylinder the statement read. “Very shortly thereafter, fire was observed at the cylinder but this was extinguished using a fire extinguisher and water...Read More
INTERNATIONAL
The South Korean president's martial law gamble backfired: What was he thinking?
One of the biggest questions on people's minds in Seoul on Wednesday is: what was the president thinking? In a late-night address that threw South Korea’s parliament into chaos and tested the country’s commitment to democracy, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared that he was imposing martial law.Less than 24 hours later, his political future is on the brink, with protests on the streets and impeachment proceedings against him under way...Read More
4th December 2024