Trinidad and Tobago

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - BY the time you read this column, the official results of yesterday's general election in Grenada should have been publicly declared. Grenadian voters had trekked to polling stations aware that, according to forecasts by credible pollsters, the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) of Prime Minister Tillman Thomas was facing defeat by former prime minister Keith Mitchell's New National Party (NNP).

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - On the day after a weekend murder spree left eight dead, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, speaking in another country, put a dollar cost of crime to Trinidad and Tobago. It was an admission that her administration has not been able to get a handle on criminal activity. However, her solution proposed to the CARICOM 24th Intersessional Summit would have little impact on crime locally. Mrs Persad-Bissessar focused on tourism revenues, revealing that T&T loses more than $200 million a year because of crime.

PORT OF SAPIN, Trinidad - Next month, Dr Julian Hunte will be in a three-way fight to retain the presidency of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). He will be going after a fourth successive term, although he had previously hinted he might finally step down from the position he has held since July 2007.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Trinidad and Tobago loses more than $200 million in tourism revenue a year because of crime, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday.
Persad-Bissessar made the statement as she opened discussions at Caricom's Inter-Sessional meeting on strengthening the regional crime and security agenda and architecture in Haiti.
Persad-Bissessar is responsible for Crime and Security in the Caricom Quasi Cabinet.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Tourism, a mainstay for the majority of Caribbean economies for their foreign exchange and jobs, continues to be hit by major challenges, prompting the industry to issue an urgent call on governments to convene a summit by June to tackle key issues and ensure its long-term sustainable growth.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Guardian -T&T is not in danger of a devaluation of its currency as just happened in Venezuela because the two foreign exchange regimes are different, a University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) economist and International Relations lecturer, who asked not to be named, told the T&T Guardian yesterday. The lecturer explained that Venezuela has a fixed exchange rate and Venezuelan Central Bank officials made the decision to increase revenues to fund the country’s popular social programmes.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Guardian - Beating Australia at any form of cricket is always a major triumph and West Indies’ women conquered that particular challenge wonderfully well in the International Cricket Council’s Women’s World Cup semifinal to earn a berth in Sunday’s final.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government and environmentalist Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh appear headed for another confrontation after Works and Infrastructure Minister Emmanuel George described as “good news” an unsigned report by an independent committee on the controversial seven billion (One TT dollar = US$0.37 cents) highway south of here.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Express- NOW THAT Carnival 2013 is over Trinidad and Tobago may well give some thought to last weekend's statement by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines that this country is breaching Caricom's Revised Treaty in providing fuel subsidy support to state-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL). Gonsalves currently wears two hats pertaining to regional air transport— he is chairman of the shareholders group for island-hopping airline LIAT and he has lead responsibility among Caricom Heads of Government for air and sea transportation.

SCARBOROUGH, Tobago, CMC – Five people were killed in a two car smash up along the Claude Noel Highway during the early hours of Sunday morning, police said.
They have identified those killed as Alloy Duke, Fernando Stewart, Christian Stewart, Anesha Hamilton and Stephen Winchester, but gave no further details on the accident which has marred the 2013 Carnival celebrations on the sister isle.
They said investigations were continuing.