NEWS
Judge to rule on contentious migrant issue today following State’s appeal
Lawyers representing a group of 54 Venezuelan migrants and the State engaed in tense submissions yesterday over a stay of a judge’s decision to order their conditional release pending the outcome of their lawsuit over their proposed deportation. Appellate Judge Prakash Moosai presided over the hearing on the stay and a ruling on the matter is expected to be handed down today. Guardian Media understands that hours after High Court Judge Ricky Rahim granted the interim relief sought by the group on Tuesday afternoon, State attorneys filed an urgent appeal and an application for a stay of Justice Rahim’s orders so they would not take effect pending the outcome of an appeal over them (the orders). Sources said that the legal challenge came after immigration officials placed almost half of the group on supervision orders and released them in accordance with Justice Rahim’s decision. The remaining members of the group remained in detention yesterday. Read more here
POLITICS
Jack ready to ‘jam’ Rowley over claims of extradition deal
UNC frontliner Jack Warner says he will be responding “fully, firmly and completely” tonight to claims made by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley about him at a PNM meeting in Sangre Grande on Tuesday. Warner said yesterday that his stinging response will be coming as he campaigned with the UNC in Moruga. While he held back on the bulk of his response, Warner accused the PNM political leader of being desperate. “What the Prime Minister has claimed simply shows the level of desperation on his part and by extension his PNM party in this Local Government Elections—but more on that in Arima. He had his say yesterday, I’m entitled to mine (today),” Warner said. Prime Minister Rowley had claimed that Warner was back with the UNC in a bid to make a deal to prevent his extradition from T&T. Read more here
BUSINESS
Chinese investors onboard, Phoenix Park to start soon
Chinese Ambassador Fang Qiu and Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne have said the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate (PPIE) will be fully operational with more investors to come aboard. They spoke at the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which began after Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to build a Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road. Qiu said, “The Phoenix Park Industrial Estate, the first BRI flagship project in the Caribbean, has been completed and will soon be put into operation. Powered by the cutting-edge technologies of 5G, artificial intelligence, big data and internet of things (IoT) – a network of interrelated devices that connect and exchange data with other IoT devices and the cloud, which is an on-demand availability of computer system resources – this state-of-the-art industrial estate will host companies in the areas of light and advanced manufacturing, assembly, logistics and distribution and ICT industries and advance the realisation of the economic diversification strategy of TT.” Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana eyes Brazil market with planned petrochemical plant
Guyana will soon be positioned to become a supplier of agro-chemicals and the country has already set its sights on a lucrative market in Brazil. On Tuesday, during a bilateral meeting in the Dominican Republic, representatives from Guyana’s private sector signed several Memoranda of Understanding MoUs; one of the agreements is for the establishment of a petrochemical plant in Guyana.President Dr. Irfaan Ali who led the private sector delegation at a conference shortly after the agreement was signed said that once the project comes to fruition, Guyana could supply agro-chemicals to its neighbouring country Brazil. “Northern Brazil is a high consumer of agro-chemicals and they require it from all over the globe. It would take them a very long time for transport and logistics. With an investment like that in Guyana, in 48 hours, we can be in the market,” Ali said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Candidate in Ecuador's presidential election Fernando Villavicencio shot dead
A candidate in Ecuador's forthcoming presidential election who campaigned against corruption and gangs has been shot dead at a campaign rally. Fernando Villavicencio, a member of the country's national assembly, was attacked as he left the event in the capital, Quito, on Wednesday. He is one of the few candidates to allege links between organised crime and government officials in Ecuador. A criminal gang called Los Lobos (The Wolves) has claimed responsibility. Los Lobos is the second-largest gang in Ecuador with some 8,000 members, many of whom are behind bars. The gang has been involved in a number of recent deadly prison fights, in which scores of inmates have been brutally killed. A break-away faction from the Los Choneros gang, Los Lobos is believed to have links to the Mexico-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), for which it traffics cocaine. Read more here
10th August 2023