NEWS
Caribbean Airlines names new acting CEO
Just seven months after taking up the top job at Caribbean Airlines (CAL), Nirmala Ramai has stepped down from her role as acting CEO. The move became effective on Monday (April 13th). According to the company, she will now focus on "core operational priorities" in her substantive role as Chief Operating Officer. Varma Khillawan, the company's vice president of Maintenance and Engineering, will now act as CEO for a period of three months while the airline searches for a permanent CEO. In an internal memo seen by Guardian Media, Khillawan's appointment as acting CEO became effective April 14th. Khillawan is a seasoned airline industry professional and has previously acted as vice president of Human Resources. The position of CEO was last held by Garvin Medera, who departed the company last October. The move comes mere days after CAL was reassigned from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, making Minister Eli Zakour its new line minister. Zakour met with some of CAL’s board members on Tuesday. Read more here
POLITICS
Kamla: T&T staying in Caricom despite controversy
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has declared that Trinidad and Tobago will not exit Caricom, even as she launched another scathing attack on the regional body over what she described as a failure to corroborate a key WhatsApp message central to an ongoing governance dispute. Given recent tensions, the conversation about T&T’s possible exit has re-emerged; however, in a post to social media yesterday, the Prime Minister underscored the country will not exit the regional bloc, stressing that Trinidad and Tobago “helped build this organisation and will be a part of fixing it to benefit all the people of Caricom.” The Prime Minister, however, expressed deep frustration that no member of Caricom’s leadership has publicly confirmed the existence of a WhatsApp message she claims supports Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers in the controversy surrounding the reappointment of Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett. Read more here
BUSINESS
Rising tobacco taxes risk boosting black market, warns PMI executive
Increasing taxes on tobacco and related products may unintentionally incentivise a surge in the illicit trade market within Trinidad and Tobago, says Matías O’Farrell, vice-president of corporate affairs for Latin America and Canada at Philip Morris International (PMI). Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday at day one of Technovation 2026 at the Hamilton Hotel in Washington DC, O’Farrell emphasised that while illicit trade is a global scourge, it is not unique to this country. As of October 2025, Trinidad and Tobago increased its excise duties on tobacco products by 100 per cent. O’Farrell highlighted that governments often face a delicate, high-stakes balance when attempting to regulate and tax tobacco products, noting that regulatory frameworks vary significantly across the Caribbean and globally. Read more here
Prestige Holdings profit dips
Prestige Holdings Ltd has reported a 38% drop in its profit before tax for the first quarter of the financial year 2026, with chairman Christian Mouttet citing foreign exchange constraints and increased labour costs that led the group to absorb these increased costs. Its profit before tax was $14.2 million, compared to $22.8 million in the previous comparative year. Meanwhile, its after-tax profit for the group stood at $9.3 million, compared to $15.7 million in 2025. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana to host global aviation safety forum following MoU signing with ICAO
GUYANA has secured the hosting rights for a major international aviation safety forum after the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday. The agreement formalises arrangements for Guyana to host the ICAO/EASA Third Global Regional Safety Oversight Organisation (RSOO) and Regional Accident and Incident Investigation Organisation (RAIO) Forum, scheduled for September 29–30, 2026. The signing marks a significant milestone for Guyana’s aviation sector, positioning the country as an emerging player in shaping international aviation safety standards and strengthening its role within the global aviation community. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Lyse Doucet: Under fragile ceasefire, Iranians wonder if US deal can be done
On the plains of northwestern Iran, edged by snow-ribboned ridges, spring nudges almond trees into frothy bloom and a fragile ceasefire brings more traffic onto highways, and more Iranians back to their homeland. "I stayed with my son in Turkey for a month," a grey-haired banker says as we stand waiting in the departures hall at a Turkish crossing where a late winter's snow has sent temperatures plunging on that side of the border. "In my city in the north the Israeli and American airstrikes mainly hit military targets, not homes and civilian infrastructure," was his personal summary of five weeks of grievous war, paused by a two-week truce whose end falls in a week's time. Read more here
16th April 2026