NEWS
29 days in prison, no charges, then released
June 24 – Police officers execute search warrants at the Westmoorings home of businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife, Genevieve. The couple is arrested and taken into custody under the state of emergency (SoE) regulations. June 27 – Attorneys for the Hadeeds file an urgent application for a writ of habeas corpus seeking their immediate release. Justice Frank Seepersad declines to grant the application ex parte and instead directs that attorneys for the Commissioner of Police be given the opportunity to file documents in response. Later that day, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander signs Preventive Detention Orders (PDOs) against the Hadeeds...read more
Shocking twist to State’s conspiracy to murder case
HADEEDS FREE AT LAST!
* No charges laid, but Minister revokes PDOs against businessman and wife after one month in prison
Close to one calendar month after they were arrested at their Bayshore, Westmoorings home, businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve yesterday walked out of the Golden Grove Prison, Arouca, where they were kept under Preventive Detention Orders (PDOs) while being investigated in an alleged plot to assassinate high-ranking Government officials. However, their relative, 72-year-old Star Sabga, detained with them under the same allegations, remained in custody. Her matter is expected to be heard today. The Hadeeds were released after the PDOs against them were revoked by Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander earlier in the day. According to a media release from the ministry, Alexander’s decision to revoke the PDOs came after a “comprehensive review” of legal, medical and public interest considerations, including the recommendations of the Constitution Review Tribunal and ongoing assessments performed under the Emergency Powers Regulations 2026 existing during the ongoing State of Emergency (SoE). The release noted that while the Hadeeds’ PDOs were revoked, they were still the subject of an active criminal investigation...read more
POLITICS
Al-Rawi: Hadeeds fully free
Businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve are free to resume their normal lives without restrictions following the revocation of their Preventive Detention Orders (PDOs), Senior Counsel Faris Al-Rawi said yesterday. He noted that the criminal investigation involving the couple remained active and matters arising from their detention were still before the courts. Speaking to reporters at Altus Court in Port of Spain yesterday evening, Al-Rawi emphasised that the couple was not confined to their home and could do business without seeking permission from the authorities. “The revocation of a preventive detention order is as good as it never existed,” Al-Rawi said. “It is a complete return to liberty. There are no conditions attached to that. This is not home detention...read more
'Roger Alexander must be fired'
FORMER police commissioner Gary Griffith yesterday called for Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander to be fired, minutes after the minister revoked the Preventive Detention Orders (PDOs) issued against businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife, Genevieve. Griffith claimed the Government's handling of the matter reflected "total incompetence at the highest level" and warned that taxpayers could ultimately be left to foot a multimillion-dollar legal bill. "Somebody must pay for this — and not the taxpayers," Griffith said in a statement issued after Alexander announced he had revoked the detention orders. Alexander said he had decided to revoke the PDOs after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the couple's detention, including a recommendation from the State of Emergency Review Tribunal that their continued detention was "not necessary or expedient in the public interest" and fresh medical information relating to Dominic Hadeed...read more
BUSINESS
Economists: S&P gave T&T grace period
Wednesday’s decision by Standard & Poor’s to uphold T&T’s investment-grade rating of BBB- is a good sign, but experts note that the ratings agency’s decision to maintain the country outlook at negative is a concern. Former Minister in the Ministry of Finance, economist Mariano Browne said the rating reflected the Ministry of Finance managing cash flow with “one eye on the rating.” “That’s the reason why we don’t know how much back pay is unpaid. We don’t know how much VAT is unpaid.” said Browne. “There are drawdowns from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF), that have made the deficit look reasonable. And that is what rating agencies do. They examine your capacity to repay on the basis of the information that they have. The information is that the deficit is down. And the fiscal deficit, they had improved from a primary deficit to a primary surplus. That’s what the central bank indicated as of the 30th of June.” Browne said based on this the rating was maintained but the government has much to address in the upcoming budget...read more
TSTT board member resigns; company now left with three directors
Just over a year after a five-member board of directors was appointed to the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), the company’s board has been reduced to three members following the resignation of director Nadira Prabhudial. The announcement of Prabhudial’s resignation was made today by TSTT’s Corporate Secretary, Viveka Pargass. Prabhudial was appointed to the board on June 11, 2025, alongside chairman Kern Dass and directors Randy Ramtahal, Cassilina Kelshall and Kyle Maloney. Maloney subsequently resigned from the board on July 3 this year...read more
INTERNATIONAL
A dangerous new phase of war is breaking all the oil market’s constraints
The oil market has proven defiantly resilient, but that tenacity faces its biggest threat since the start of the Iran war. The energy industry’s remarkable workarounds to the world’s biggest-ever oil shock have insulated consumers from an inflation and affordability crisis. During the war, crude prices rose uncomfortably high, though they never approached the $128 a barrel level reached in 2022 or the all-time record of $146 a barrel just before the Great Recession of 2008. But extraordinary pressure is building in the Middle East, and the new escalation could send oil blowing past those dubious milestones...read more
US hits dozens of countries with new wave of tariffs
The US has imposed new tariffs on 60 trading partners in the latest escalation in the trade war reignited by US President Donald Trump when he returned to office last year. Those targeted, including the UK, China and the European Union, will face a tariff of 10% to 12.5% on all goods, accounting for almost all American imports. The tariffs, which replace an identical levy which expires on Friday, are based on claims key economic partners have failed to properly tackle forced labour. But US trade expert Caroline Freund said the move is "not about forced labour" but that Trump is simply "looking for a legal reason to put the tariffs in...read more
24th July 2026