NEWS
5 girls charged for brutal attack at Holy Faith Convent
Five schoolgirls, ages 14 to 18, have been formally charged for assaulting a form four Holy Faith Convent, Couva student outside the school on June 10. The move has now left the victim's mother filled with hope that her family will receive justice for the traumatic experience. Assistant Commissioner of Police (South Central) Wayne Mystar said the charges were laid on June 25 after a thorough investigation conducted by WPC Boodoo attached to the Couva Police Station. All five girls were charged with the offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Read more here
Suspect in prison officer shooting dies
Days after police released one of two suspects held in relation to the attempted murder of a prison officer, the second suspect has died. According to both police and prison sources, Jessie Belfon, who was thrown out of the getaway car after the shooting, died early this morning. Belfon is believed to have been the shooter. Police are searching for a third suspect, whom they have already identified. The man was captured walking away calmly after the getaway car crashed. On Tuesday, the first suspect was released after police said there was insufficient evidence to keep him in custody. Police were hoping to question Belfon, who remained critically injured since his admittance to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex last Friday night. Read more here
POLITICS
Imbert, Padarath spat spills outside Parliament
The clash over the cost of refurbishing the Ministry of Public Utilities that arose on June 23 in the Mid Year Review in the House of Representatives, spilled outside of Parliament and its privileges and protections on June 25. Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath told Newsday he would not be distracted from his duties to provide services to the population by the earlier utterances of his predecessor, Diego Martin North East MP Colm Imbert, who heatedly accused him of providing incorrect information, addressing a briefing held at Balisier House, Port of Spain. Imbert used an unflattering phrase to describe Padarath, and said he deliberately voiced it outside of Parliament. Padarath in turn said his attorneys would examine Imbert's remarks. Read more here
WASA heads roll: Govt fires CEO Halliday, 9 others
The Government yesterday fired Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) CEO Keithroy Halliday in a major upper-management shake-up at the authority. Newly installed chairman Roshan Babwah confirmed the move, as he revealed that Halliday was among 10 top-level executives whose positions were terminated. The other executives were hired to deal with the contentious transformation plan implemented by the People’s National Movement administration, which has been rescinded by the Government. However, they were not named. The announcement comes just two days after Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath publicly described Halliday as “a failed CEO” during his contribution to the debate on the Mid-year Budget Review in Parliament on Monday. Yesterday, Babwah said Halliday was dismissed with “immediate effect.” Read more here
BUSINESS
Bridging the telecom gap: FNP launches in Trinidad and Tobago
Almost ten years after an initial agreement among telephone service providers, business and landline customers can now finally switch providers and keep their phone number at no additional cost with the launch of fixed number portability (FNP) services in TT. Speaking at the official launch of the service on June 25 at the Telecommunications Authority of TT (TATT) headquarters in Bartaria, TATT CEO Kurleigh Prescod said the journey for number portability in TT began in 2010, with mobile number portability (MNP) achieved in 2016. "Although FNP took longer to implement due to framework requirements, the process has shown the importance of empowering consumers." Read more here
Holidays promote productivity, says HR expert
Last weekend, as a result of the Labour Day and Corpus Christi holidays, T&T’s workers enjoyed another four-day holiday weekend for 2025. There are 14 holidays on T&T’s calendar and it raises the question of how do all these holidays impact productivity and the economy. President of the Human Resource Management Association of T&T (HRMATT) Cavelle Joseph-St. Omer told the Business Guardian that holidays are not necessarily bad and in fact once managed effectively, they can actually boost productivity and business competitiveness. Read more here
REGIONAL
‘Digital Guyana’ being actively implemented with Citizen Portal, AI platform
Rooted in innovation, inclusion and efficiency, Guyana is now heading into a new era with several digital and artificial intelligent led platforms aimed at improving access to government services and enhancing security. These platforms, the ‘Citizen Portal’ and ‘ AskGov’, President Dr. Irfaan Ali explained, will ease every single bureaucracy creating a stable, strong, service-driven and oriented system. “We want Digital Guyana to make life enjoyable. We want Digital Guyana to make life easier, to make systems more efficient, to make systems more reliable, to make doing business easier,” the Head of State said in a Wednesday morning broadcast. These investments will see Guyana being competitive in building a strong and resilient economy, further strengthening the country’s transparency, efficiency, competitiveness and reliability in services. “Powered by innovation and anchored by our national e-identification system, this transformation will make Guyana a digital leader in the region and a better place to live, work and raise a family,” President Ali said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Gaza mediators intensifying ceasefire efforts, Hamas official says
A senior Hamas official has told the BBC that mediators have intensified their efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, but that negotiations with Israel remain stalled. The comments came as US President Donald Trump said "great progress" was being made since Israel and Iran ended their 12-day war on Tuesday, and that his envoy Steve Witkoff thought an agreement between Israel and Hamas was "very close". Israeli attacks across Gaza on Wednesday killed at least 45 Palestinians, including some who were seeking aid, the Hamas-run health ministry said. Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced that seven soldiers were killed in a bomb attack on Tuesday claimed by Hamas. Read more here
26th June 2025