Business Enrique Rupert 2 Hrs Ago Energy Minister Stuart Young, left, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and Venezuelan Oil Minister Pedro Tellechea at the signing of the Cocuina Field Exploration and Production (E&P) License in Caracas, Venezuela on July 24. – Photo courtesy NGC The National Gas Company of TT (NGC) has expressed excitement at the continuation of efforts to export natural gas from Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago. Acting president of NGC Verlier Quan-Vie said in a press release on July 26, “NGC welcomes this development. “We are excited to work collaboratively with all the parties to progress this and other opportunities for the benefit of the citizens of TT.” This comes as Minister of Energy Stuart Young announced the licence granted to TT by Venezuela for the exploration and production of natural gas from Cocuina, part of the Manakin-Cocuina field, as “historic” on July 25, on his social media...

Tobago Corey Connelly 2 Hrs Ago Allan Stewart, chairman of the Oil Spill Relief Committee. – Photo courtesy THA FISHERFOLK and other related stakeholders who incurred losses as a result of the February 7 oil spill must submit their claim forms to the THA Division of Food Security, Natural Resources, the Environment and Sustainable Development, Tobago, by August 5. The process is being administered by the Oil Spill Relief Committee (OSRC), chaired by Tobago Emergence Management Agency director Allan Stewart.The committee held two meetings last week to apprise fisherfolk of the process for accessing compensation. The THA, by executive council minute 277, dated May 22, established OSRC for the period May 1- July 31, under the Division of Food Security, Natural Security, the Environment and Sustainable Development. The division said the primary aim of the Tobago OSRC is to provide relief to the local fishing industry — fishermen, fish vendors,...

Sports Jonathan Ramnanansingh 5 Hrs Ago L-R: Sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye and swimmer Dylan Carter were selected as TT’s flag bearers for the Olympic Games opening ceremony along the River Seine in Paris, France, on July 26. – Courtesy TTOC TRINIDAD and Tobago’s Olympic delegation joins over 10,000 other sportsmen and women, and officials, on a historic sail down Paris’ River Seine for the first-ever outdoor hosting of an Olympic opening ceremony. The ceremony begins at 12.30pm (TT time) from Pont d’Austerlitz and will see 94 boats carrying 206 delegations from each participating nation. They follow a 6km route through the heart of Paris passing iconic landmarks like Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Grand Palais and the Invalides before finishing at the Pont d’lena, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Seasoned women’s sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye, who will rep TT for the fourth time on this stage, and ace swimmer Dylan...

Tobago Jada Loutoo 17 Minutes Ago – File photo A Mason Hall “PH” taxi driver has been sentenced to 11 and a half years for raping a 17-year-old passenger in 2012. Justice Kathy Ann Waterman-Latchoo sentenced Ricardo Reynolds on July 24. She also ordered him to report to the Scarborough Police Station seven days after his release to register every three months as a sex offender for eight years. The judge also ordered the registrar of the Supreme Court to send Reynolds’s name and information to the Police Commissioner for publication, in 14 days, on the Public Sex Offender website. A Tobago jury convicted Reynolds on July 12. The incident happened on November 19, 2012, after the girl got into his car in Scarborough to get to her home in Carnbee. She had left a function at her aunt’s home and was with her boyfriend awaiting transport when Reynolds pulled...

Commentary Newsday 2 Minutes Ago – Jerome Teelucksingh One of the dilapidated landmarks in Chaguanas is the famous Lion House on the Chaguanas Main Road. It is also known as Ananad Bhavan or Mansion of Bliss. One hundred years ago, in 1924, Pundit Capildeo used his artistic skills to begin constructing this masterpiece. He died in 1925 whilst on a trip to India. Who was this builder? Capildeo was born in 1873 in the village of Mahadeva Dubey in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. He would later leave for Benares to study, but was recruited by arkatias (immigrant recruiters) to work on the sugar estates in the British colony of Trinidad. He boarded the Hereford ship in 1894 accompanied by other Indians. Capildeo served on the Woodford Lodge Sugar Estate in Chaguanas. Upon leaving the indentured scheme he became a pundit serving the Hindus in central and rest of...

News Corey Connelly 45 Minutes Ago In this file photo, remnants of an oil spill scars the shoreline of the Scarborough waterfront, in Tobago on February 10. – Photo by Corey Connelly FISHERFOLK and other related stakeholders who incurred losses as a result of the February 7 oil spill must submit their claim forms to the THA Division of Food Security, Natural Resources, the Environment and Sustainable Development by August 5. In a release on July 24, the division said the process is being administered by the Oil Spill Relief Committee (OSRC), chaired by Allan Stewart, director of the Tobago Emergency Management Agency. The THA, by executive council minute 277, dated May 22, established OSRC under the division for the period May 1-July 31. The division said the primary aim of the Tobago OSRC is to provide relief to the local fishing industry – fishermen, fish vendors, boat owners, and...

Commentary Newsday An Hour Ago – Kanisa George “WHAT yah crying for?” This is a question I’ve heard far too many times during my childhood and one I’m never too meek to answer as an adult. I have always been a crier, and the possibility of me heading into the next realm as a weeping, sobbing participant is pretty high. Crying, while uncontrollable at best, has always been a cathartic experience for me and not one I readily shy away from. With the exception of childhood bouts of sadness and emotional crying, most adults I know associate crying with weakness, volatility and something that must be done only in extreme circumstances, in the presence of privacy. Men, in particular, who are somehow naturally apt at rejecting emotional exchanges, are, for lack of a better word, allergic to tears. Whether the emotion centre of a man’s brain has been altered to...

News Corey Connelly 3 Hrs Ago The procession of the bride and groom makes its way along the streets of Moriah on July 20. Recreating the ole-time wedding is a highlight of the Tobago Heritage Festival calendar. – Photo by Visual Styles CHARLOTTEVILLE Heritage Performers were a force to be reckoned with at the Folk Fiesta competition at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, Tobago, on July 21. The Tobago Festivals Commission Ltd released the results on July 23. Charlotteville Heritage Performers placed first in three categories: British-influenced folk dance; calypso song; and speech band. They also came in second in the folk song medley and drumology categories. Groups were judged in six categories. Folk song medley Rhythmic Vibrations Charlotteville Heritage Performers Youth Quake British-influenced folk dance Charlotteville Heritage Performers Rhythm Babes Mt Cullane Cultural Group Calypso song Charlotteville Heritage Performers Rhythmic Vibrations Youth Quake African-influenced folk dance Youth Quake Encore...

Letters to the Editor Newsday 6 Hrs Ago Central Bank of TT. – File photo by Jeff K Mayers THE EDITOR: The Central Bank, on Friday July 19, reduced the cash reserve requirement imposed on commercial banks from 14 per cent to ten per cent. I found the announcement perplexing. First, it came just a few weeks after its previous monetary policy announcement on June 28. In that release, the bank stated that: “Financial sector liquidity remained ample during the second quarter of 2024, in the face of an increase in domestic financing by the Government. Commercial banks’ excess reserves at the Central Bank averaged $4.2 billion in the first half of June 2024, marginally lower than in May 2024 ($4.3 billion).” In its release on July 19, the bank justified the reduction in the reserve requirement by citing the fact that system liquidity (excess reserves) in the first two...

News Clint Chan Tack 6 Hrs Ago Fyzabad MP Dr Lackram Bodoe. – FYZABAD MP Dr Lackram Bodoe has written again to Rural Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi, SC, for assistance with a bridge across the South Oropouche River at St John Branch Trace which collapsed on July 10. Bodoe previously wrote to Al-Rawi about it on July 15. In a letter dated July 22, Bodoe asked for Al-Rawi’s urgent intervention to help residents affected by the bridge’s collapse. He updated Al-Rawi on the current situation. Bodoe said seven households have been stranded, over 35 residents are marooned, 11 vehicles have been stranded across the river, the collapsed bridge remains in the river, hindering outflow, access to emergency services is significantly curtailed and the transport of produce from agricultural areas across the river has been forcibly suspended. “Currently, the only means of access for these residents is a...