NEWS
Man killed, pregnant woman among two shot in Wallerfield attack
An early morning shooting in Moonan Road, Wallerfield, led to the death of a 34-year-old man and the wounding of two others, including his pregnant girlfriend, relatives say. Guardian Media visited the home yesterday, where relatives of Anthony Francis, alias “Smalls”, confirmed he was shot and killed by a gunman as he slept just before 2 am. Relatives said the attacker pointed his gun through Francis’ bedroom window and shot him. His girlfriend and another man were wounded during the attack. Francis’ younger brother, Larry Francis, said he was deeply hurt by the incident and confirmed that his brother was recently released from police custody as part of enquiries into cars that were vandalised in the neighbourhood. Read more here
CAL: No ongoing issues after ‘hoax’
THERE are no ongoing issues relating to a flight between Trinidad and Tobago and the John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has said. The airline’s statement came in response to a social media post which hinted at possible issues on the March 17 flight. CAL labelled the post as “erroneous”. A post by Captain Steeeve (Steve Scheibner), a retired American Airlines Boeing 777 captain and former US Navy pilot, detailing an audio interaction between a CAL flight (BW528) and Air Traffic Control at JFK recently went viral, amassing nearly 700,000 views on YouTube alone. Read more here
POLITICS
‘Disinvited’: Sobers claims T&T surreptitiously excluded from Caricom vote
The Government is now pushing for a special meeting of Caricom Heads of Government to challenge the reappointment of Dr Carla Barnett as Secretary General, signalling that fresh elections are also firmly on the table. This, after it was revealed yesterday that this country was deliberately “disinvited” from the voting process. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago claims it was “surreptitiously” excluded from the decision-making process, alleging that the reappointment occurred without being on the official agenda and without an invitation for T&T to participate in the deliberations. On Monday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar declared that she will “ruthlessly” pursue the matter. Read more here
BUSINESS
PAT &MAX MOVES DESPITE TOUGH ECONOMY
Despite seeing long-standing Tunapuna business Pat&Max Ltd move from its Eastern Main Road home to the Trincity Industrial Estate, business stakeholders from the area are hailing the move as a success given the current economic conditions of the country. The printing company, which had been based in Tunapuna for more than 40 years, opted to move its operations due to the expansion of its business model. Finance director of Pat&Max Marsha Senhouse-Gooding explained at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the company's new location yesterday, " We outgrew our space where we were before so we weren't able to have the production and core operations in the business in the same space. Now we are able to bring it back under one roof. This way we can see and manage better." Read more here
Central Bank gears up for new five-year plan
As it readies its new five-year strategic plan for 2026–2031, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago has announced plans to further modernise the nation’s financial landscape. Among the key initiatives the Central Bank intends to undertake over the next six to 12 months are the rollout of the Series 2026 $100 note alongside a public education campaign, expansion of digital payment services through registered e-money issuers, and pilot testing of cutting-edge supervisory technology to strengthen real-time risk monitoring, the Central Bank stated in its latest Strategic Plan. Read more here
REGIONAL
Over 140,000 receive cash grants through bank deposits
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, has announced that more than 140,000 Guyanese have already received their $100,000 cash grant via direct bank transfers. During an update on the initiative on Tuesday evening, Dr Singh said that the government first targeted central government employees for whom bank account information was already on file. A total of 48,858 such employees had received their grants directly into their bank accounts. To reach the wider population, the government established an online portal at cashgrant.gov.gy, allowing citizens to self-register for the grant. According to Dr Singh, 126,011 persons have used the portal to complete self-registration, and 91,688 have already received their grants via direct transfer. This brought the total number of direct deposits processed so far to 140,546, combining both central government employees and self-registered applicants. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Israel strikes southern Lebanon after US-Iran ceasefire
The Israeli military has carried out a wave of air strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday morning, an indication that, for Israel, the US-Iran ceasefire deal does not apply to Lebanon, where it is fighting the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah. Air strikes hit the Tyre and Nabatieh areas in the south of the country, among others, hours after the agreement was announced. The office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, denied the assertion by Pakistan, which helped mediate, that the deal also covered the devastating conflict happening here, and the Israeli military said air and ground operations continued. Read more here
8th April 2026