NEWS
One injured after crane detaches from Perenco drilling platform
Independent hydrocarbon producer, Perenco, has confirmed the detachment of a crane on its Samaan Alpha Drilling Platform, southeast coast of Trinidad, yesterday at 4 p.m. In an e-mail response to the Express this morning, it stated, "During routine lifting operations, the crane on the platform became detached from its pedestal. The emergency response team was immediately activated, and personnel aboard the platform and support vessels were mobilised to respond to the incident." The company added that one person was injured but is resting and is expected to make full recovery."One person sustained injuries and was stabilised before being evacuated to a medical facility onshore Trinidad accompanied by a company medic. The individual is resting and is expected to make a full recovery," Perenco stated...read more
Govt moves to sell Hilton, Magdalena and National Quarries...
State sheds ‘loss-making’ firms
The Government is preparing to issue requests for proposals (RFPs) for the divestment of the Hilton Trinidad, Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort in Tobago and National Quarries Ltd, as Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the State can no longer afford to use taxpayers’ money to sustain loss-making companies. She yesterday confirmed that work was already under way to issue the RFPs shortly. She did not provide a timeline for completing the sales. She also clarified that while the divestment of LABIDCO in La Brea had been raised, the company remained under consideration...read more
Threatened, held against his will...
Aboud to pay adviser $25,000
BUSINESSMAN and corporate secretary, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS), Gary Aboud has been ordered to pay $25,000 in damages to an investment adviser whom the High Court found he had threatened and held against his will for several hours while pressuring him to accept responsibility for a $10 million investment loss. The order was made on Monday by Justice Devindra Rampersad, who also ordered Aboud to pay Lawrence Mollenthiel $3,868.15 in interest as well as his legal costs after finding that an agreement in which Mollenthiel accepted responsibility for the loss was signed under duress and could not be relied upon as a voluntary admission of liability...read more
POLITICS
PM criticises complaints of funding cuts for Opposition corporations:
PNM gets $490m more than UNC
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has dismissed claims by People’s National Movement (PNM)-controlled municipal corporations that their funding was cut, disclosing yesterday that the seven PNM corporations received almost half a billion dollars more than their United National Congress (UNC) counterparts.Persad-Bissessar accused the PNM corporations of mismanaging public funds and questioned their complaints despite receiving increased allocations...read more
POLICE BUDGET TRIPLES
TTPS allotment jumps from $70M to $230M as they prepare to roll out new Special Ops plans
At the dawn of special operations in designated divisions and the Government’s promise of harder policing, development funding for the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service is set to more than triple to $230.5 million, with substantial boosts for specialist units, stations, vehicles and equipment. The information is detailed in the Draft Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure, Draft Estimates of Development Programme and Public Sector Investment Plan (PSIP), which were presented following the Budget debate in Parliament on Monday, where Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo detailed $63.368B fiscal package. The draft estimates provide $186.1 million through the Consolidated Fund and another $44.4 million through the Infrastructure Development Fund. Together, that represents an increase of approximately $159.7 million, or 225 per cent, over the combined revised 2026 provision of $70.9 million...read more
BUSINESS
Forex shortage to continue after gas boost, warns Seerattan
Trinidad and Tobago will continue to face foreign exchange shortages even when new natural gas projects begin contributing to economic activity in 2027, unless the country addresses the structural weaknesses that drive demand for foreign currency, economist Dr Dave Seerattan has warned. While increased energy production could provide relief to businesses struggling to access foreign exchange, Seerattan believes higher energy revenues alone will not resolve a problem that has persisted for more than a decade. He is calling for a deliberate industrial policy, stronger collaboration between the Government and the private sector, and greater investment in non-energy industries that earn foreign exchange rather than consume limited supplies. Seerattan made the case during a post-budget panel discussion hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) at the Hyatt Regency on Tuesday...read more
Roach remembered for shaping lives beyond business
Olympic javelin champion Keshorn Walcott fought back tears yesterday as he remembered Sean Roach, the businessman and athlete manager who helped transform his life, describing him as the brother who shaped the person he has become. Walcott was among mourners at an emotional interfaith funeral service for Roach at Himalaya Club in San Juan. Roach, 50, died on October 5. He was the former chairman of Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) and chief executive officer of Langston Roach Industries Ltd. Members of the business community, former government ministers and prominent figures from the sporting fraternity joined family and friends to celebrate his life...read more
REGIONAL
Jamaican National Charged With Voting Illegally in US
WASHINGTON, DC - United States authorities on Monday named a Jamaican national among 16 individuals in connection with illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and related election crimes across the country. The Justice Department said that Staciann Pollion Davis, 42, a lawful permanent resident, had been charged by criminal complaint with voting as an alien. It said Davis allegedly voted in the November 2024 general election in Clarke County, Alabama, despite not being a United States citizen. The Justice Department said that a complaint, indictment, and information merely contain accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law...read more
INTERNATIONAL
Zelensky says Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian refineries as frustration with Trump mounts
Ukraine will resume strikes on Russia’s oil refineries President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, also criticizing what he called a “dangerous” withdrawal of US intelligence sharing and restrictions to the Starlink satellite internet service. The Ukrainian leader said he had halted attacks on Russian oil infrastructure for three days after the US announced a surprise “energy ceasefire” initiative. But given that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities continued, Zelensky told the Financial Times: “We’re done...read more
How backlash against data centres could shape the US midterm elections
A year ago, a longtime US senator was not thinking much about data centres. Now, according to one of his advisers, he is having regular meetings with staff to track their impact and working on new legislation aimed at curbing their rapid expansion across the country. "This happens sometimes, something starts slow and then it goes fast," the senior policy adviser to the Democratic senator told the BBC. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not permitted to speak to the press...read more
15th October 2026