NEWS
Hero teens save car crash victims in Morvant
Five teens are being hailed as heroes by their community after working together to rescue two men trapped inside an overturned vehicle. At around 12.45 pm on Sunday, Kabir Bernard, Jelani Rosseau, Tishaan Charles, Tyrique Barrow, and Joel Frank were working and hanging out at their car wash on Crystal Drive, Lady Young Road, when they heard a loud bang and what they thought were children's screams. Bernard, 15, who attends Diego Martin Secondary School, said the group rushed to the sound and found the men inside the overturned car, trapped in a drain. Read more here
NWRHA gets another legal letter over baby’s death Attorneys: Come clean on medical records
Attorneys representing the parents of baby Amelia Williams are calling for full disclosure on what if any changes were made to details contained in her medical records. These concerns and others were raised in a 14-page pre-action protocol letter sent to the North-West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) yesterday, following the child’s death at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital earlier this month. Baby Amelia died on April 2 from a suspected bacterial infection and was one of 11 babies who died from similar circumstances at the PoSGH’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) between February and April. The letter, which was sent by attorney Sue Ann Deosaran, of Freedom Law Chambers, noted that while the NWRHA had provided medical records on seven of the 11 babies who have died, they were unclear on why the documents on the remaining four infants were not provided. Read more here
POLITICS
Panday: More hospitals won't fix healthcare woes
Patriotic Front political leader Mickela Panday has asked how the construction of another hospital will improve the delivery of health care. Last week, the Prime Minister and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh formally opened the new Sangre Grande Medical Campus. Panday did not mention the campus by name when she spoke about health matters in a Facebook post on April 20. "Opening another hospital without the necessary human, financial and medical resources is like spinning top in mud. Especially when the hospitals currently operating are not functioning efficiently." Read more here
Paray welcomes call for youth in party leadership
Outspoken Mayaro MP Rushton Paray says he would like to see the children and relatives of United National Congress (UNC) leaders participate in the party’s governance. Speaking to Guardian Media at the Lion’s Club of Mayaro Fishing Competition on Saturday, Paray made the comment in response to Naparima MP Rodney Charles’ call for Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to resign and make way for younger leaders. Paray said there was a fantastic role for young people to play in T&T, adding he would like to be in an organisation that created a space for them. “I would like to see Mrs Persad-Bissessar’s grandson, her nieces and nephews, and my daughters participate in the governance process in the United National Congress,” Paray said. Read more here
BUSINESS
Economists expect Imbert to keep up with spending
TWO of the country’s leading economists say even in the face of lower revenue, they do not expect Finance Minister Colm Imbert to reduce spending when he presents the mid-year budget in Parliament because the Government has an election to fight in fewer than 18 months. Imbert is expected to present the mid-year budget within the next month, providing an update on the country’s economic performance and signalling any necessary deviations from the original plans for the 2024 fiscal year. Read more here
REGIONAL
‘Do not seek to destroy the lives of ordinary people’
President Dr Irfaan Ali has condemned the verbal assault meted out to “innocent” Guyanese within the diaspora, who recently engaged him on how their home country can prosper. During a statement which was streamed live on his Facebook page on Sunday evening, the President addressed the attack which was launched by Rickford Burke’s organisation, Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), which called for the boycott of Guyanese-owned businesses in the diaspora than embraced the President during his visit to New York last week. Dr Ali in his statement urged persons to share the press statement issued by CGID to United States (US) officials and ask them what is wrong with working for the betterment of their homeland. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Israel military intelligence chief quits over 7 October
The Israeli military's intelligence chief has resigned, saying he took responsibility for the failures before Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Major General Aharon Haliva would retire once his successor was selected. He acknowledged in a letter that his intelligence directorate "did not live up to the task we were entrusted with". He is the first senior figure to step down over the attack, which were the deadliest in Israel's history. Israeli military and intelligence officials missed or ignored multiple warnings before hundreds of Hamas gunmen breached the Gaza border fence that day and attacked nearby Israeli communities, military bases and a music festival. Read more here
22nd April 2024