NEWS
Fire Chief hopeful budget will extinguish long-standing issues
For more than a decade, the Fire Service has been operating under a severe shortage of essential equipment, however, acting Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Andy Hutchinson expressed hope that today's national budget will finally address these long-standing concerns. Hutchinson spoke with Newsday at an educational fair at the Brian Lara Promenade, Port of Spain on October 10. He emphasised while new equipment is vital, training is equally critical. "Anybody who knows the fire service and what our responsibility entails will know we cover a wide spectrum," he said. "If you give us a new vehicle, like a Hazmat truck, we need officers trained to operate it. That requires ongoing training programmes, which have been lacking over the years." Read more here
Student invents water-activated deyas for Divali
A 22-year-old student has introduced a modern and safe alternative to traditional deyas during Divali. Shazara Ramnarine has launched water-activated LED deyas for this year’s celebrations. A past student of Trillium International School, Ramnarine is currently in her final year of pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Management at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. A practising Hindu, she recalled that her grandparents brought a similar sample product from India two years ago—one she immediately fell in love with. Since then, she has tried to find a quality local alternative but was unsuccessful. During her market research, Ramnarine explored deyas powered by solar energy and electricity before deciding on the water-activated LED version. She believes the water-activated LED deyas offer unmatched convenience, flexibility, and safety. Read more here
POLITICS
High expectations in first budget of UNC government – Over to you, Mr Tancoo
Expectations will be high as the country waits to see if the UNC delivers on several general election campaign promises, when Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo delivers the 2025/2026 budget in the House of Representatives which sits from 1.30 pm on October 13. It will be Tancoo's maiden budget presentation since his appointment as finance minister after the April 28 general election – and follows nine years of consecutive budgets read by then finance minister Colm Imbert, who now will sit and listen to Tancoo, from the Opposition benches. This budget is also the first for Kamla Persad-Bissessar in her second stint as prime minister. At a Divali celebration at her Siparia constituency office on October 11, she used a religious analogy to compare the UNC's ten years in opposition as a case of the people calling her and the party back to government. Read more here
Kamla on Budget: We can’t give everybody everything
With the national spotlight on today’s Budget presentation by Finance Minister Dave Tancoo, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is acknowledging that they “cannot give everybody everything.” Speaking at her Divali celebrations at her constituency office in Penal on Saturday night, however, Persad-Bissessar promised that they would certainly try. Briefly touching on the Budget, she said, jokingly, “We go to Parliament on Monday and is blows and Barry will say, ‘sit down’,” as she made reference to last week’s heated exchange between Laventille West MP Kareem Marcelle and Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath in Parliament. As she thanked her team in the Parliament and the Senate, she asked her guests to also thank them, adding, “After Monday, I hope you will still be thanking all of us.” Read more here
BUSINESS
Grenada wants clear guide on border issue
The Grenada government is proposing that a tri-lateral joint commission be established with Venezuela and St Vincent and the Grenadines to guide the process for demarcating maritime boundaries. “Grenada has also started an initiative to delimit the maritime boundaries with Venezuela and with St Vincent and the Grenadines. We completed the process you know with Trinidad and Tobago back in 2012, we have never been clear on what is the boundary between Grenada and Venezuela and what is the boundary between St Vincent and Grenada,” said Nazim Burke, chairman of Grenada’s oil and gas Technical Working Group (TWG). Read more here
REGIONAL
24/7 drone monitoring, early warning systems for traffic control
President Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday read the riot act to contractors and the consultant of the ongoing East Bank Demerara road expansion project. This came after crippling traffic congestion was reported along the corridor due to poor management of the project last week. The Head of State met with officials of the Ministry of Public Works, the Guyana Police Force and the Coast Guard, along with the contractor China Road & Bridge Corporation, and the consultant Sheladia Associates Inc. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Trump threatens to impose additional 100% tariff on China
US President Donald Trump has said he would impose an additional 100% tariff on imports from China from next month. In a post on social media, Trump said the US would also put export controls on critical software. In an earlier post on Friday, he hit back at Beijing's move this week to tighten its rules for exports of rare earths, accusing China of "becoming very hostile" and trying to hold the world "captive". He threatened to pull out of a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping. He later said he had not cancelled it, but that he did not know "that we're going to have it". Read more here
13th October 2025