NEWS
Family loses everything in San Francique fire
Deonath Maharaj had just stepped outside to dispose of some garbage when he turned around and saw a ball of fire where his seven-year-old son had been lying on a couch moments earlier. By the time he reached his Murray Trace, San Francique home on Wednesday, flames were already spreading through the house. “When I reached by the bend and turned back, I saw a ball of fire right where he was lying on the couch,” recalled Maharaj, 38. “His hand and part of his pants got burned.” Maharaj said his first instinct was to save his son before rushing back into the house to alert his wife, who had been asleep in the front bedroom and initially did not grasp the seriousness of the situation. Read more here
8 roofs blown off
At least eight roofs were blown off and a communications cell tower collapsed in Sangre Grande yesterday as heavy rainfall, lightning and strong winds affected parts of the community. The collapse of the tower along Graham and Katwaroo Trace, off Ojoe Road, also brought down several overhead electricity lines, leaving the entire Ojoe Road area without power for some time. Read more here
POLITICS
PM calls Independent senators 'Satan's helpers'
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday criticised the Independent Senate bench after all nine Independent senators voted against the Special Operations Bill. She said her Government would no longer accept amendments from them on future legislation. Persad-Bissessar said the Independent senators had effectively “relegated” themselves to irrelevance in Parliament and accused them of siding with criminals by opposing the legislation. Read more here
BUSINESS
Debt service squeezing people's priorities, analysts say
T&T’s growing debt burden, persistent fiscal deficits and continued dependence on the energy sector are raising serious concerns about the country’s long-term economic sustainability, with economists Dr Vanus James and Dr Jamelia Harris warning that policymakers face increasingly limited options as they prepare the 2027 national budget. The concerns emerge against a backdrop of worsening public debt indicators and more than a decade of recurring budget shortfalls. Data compiled by the Central Bank shows that the public sector debt-to-GDP ratio increased from 62.9 per cent in 2019 to an estimated 84.2 per cent in 2025, while the economy contracted by an estimated 0.8 per cent last year. Further data also indicates that from 2020 to 2025, T&T’s general government debt rose from $130.7 billion to $147.8 billion, an increase of approximately TT$17.1 billion. Read more here
REGIONAL
President Ali again urges Venezuela to respect ICJ’s imminent ruling on border controversy
President, Dr Irfaan Ali has called on Venezuela to respect the forthcoming ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy, reaffirming Guyana’s commitment to a peaceful resolution of the decades-old controversy. Addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday, Dr Ali said Guyana had consistently pursued peaceful avenues to settle the controversy, despite what he described as “long and repeated provocations and aggression.” His remarks came a day after Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez used her UNGA address to reaffirm Caracas’ claim over the Essequibo region and call on Guyana to return to negotiations under the 1966 Geneva Agreement. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Xi got Trump's red carpet welcome - but not everything he wanted
President Xi Jinping's summits with Donald Trump have one clear aim. China believes the United States is trying to contain its rise as a superpower, and it wants Washington to stay out of its way - particularly when it comes to trade, technology and Taiwan. On this visit, however, despite Trump rolling out the red carpet for him, the Chinese leader didn't get everything he wanted. The trade truce that saw both countries pause a tit-for-tat tariff war and prevent a further escalation, was extended by only a few months - from November to January. Beijing had hoped for at least a year as Xi looks to ride out the remainder of Trump's presidency. Read more here
25th September 2026