PM signs alone, no unanimity on declaration
Heads divided on Declaration of PoS
Summit plagued by disorganisation
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama opted out of posing for an official photograph for the Fifth Summit of the Americas when it was taken yesterday as several heads of State skipped the symbolic act amidst chaos at the Prime Minister’s Diplomatic Centre in La Fantasie, St Ann’s.
Continue reading 5th Summit of the Americas News: April 20, 2009
The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures
Chavez flies in over the Gulf
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez thought he had escaped the glare of the media when he quietly flew in on his military jet over the Gulf of Paria from Sucre, Cumana, to Trinidad and landed at the helipad in Chaguaramas shortly after 4 pm yesterday.
Smiling Obama lands on T&T soil
Chavez steals the spotlight
“Hail, Presidente!” The cry emitted from the lips of the Venezuelan contingent of media personnel who had gathered at the entrance to the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
LET’S BE FRIENDS
Chavez tells Obama during historic handshake:
Continue reading 5th Summit of the Americas News: April 18, 2009
The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures
Obama, Chavez arrive today
After months of preparation, the Fifth Summit of the Americas gets going this evening at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port-of-Spain.
CHAVEZ WARNS OBAMA
Don’t try to set me up at summit
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ramped up his verbal artillery yesterday saying US President Barack Obama should not follow the example of Spain’s King Juan Carlos who told him to shut up during a 2007 summit…
Continue reading 5th Summit of the Americas News: April 17, 2009
The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures
» Castro and the Summit of the Americas
Cuba, and in particular its former President, Fidel Castro, is already a player at the fifth Summit of the Americas which takes place Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, in Port of Spain, Trinidad. That much is evident from information coming out of Havana, Moscow, Santiago de Chile and La Paz in recent days.
Continue reading 5th Summit of the Americas News: April 16, 2009
The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures
Chavez holds own talks: Nations meet in V’zuela
Three days before the Fifth Summit of the Americas, scheduled for April 17-19, a group of Latin American and Caribbean leaders led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will meet in Caracas to discuss new paths for regional integration, trade and cooperation.
Much conflict and contradiction
Questions were being raised about the alleged breaking of the rules, the outright refusal to be governed by the rules, about the refusal of the UDeCOTT leadership to submit to ministerial oversight.
Continue reading 5th Summit of the Americas News: April 13, 2009
By Stephen Kangal
April 05, 2009
I wish to bring to the attention of civic society that First Citizens Bank (FCB) is exploiting former CIB depositors, most of whom are senior citizens. FCB is holding us to ransom although the State has made tax-payers money available to finance the bail-out or the buy-out and made public guarantees to assuage and allay the fears of CIB customers.
Continue reading First Citizens Exploiting CIB Depositors
By Raffique Shah
Sunday, April 5th 2009
FOR those charged with securing the Summit delegates from rampaging protestors, as happened at last week’s G20 meeting in London, their bigger challenge is likely to be refereeing jousts among the delegates. Our people are not known for violent protests. In my youthful days I was involved in some of the biggest protest demonstrations that followed the Black Power eruption of 1970. Among them was the infamous “Bloody Tuesday” on March 18, 1975, which, by the time it was violently attacked by the police on Coffee Street, San Fernando, had grown in size to more than 5,000 people-and expanding by the minute. The violence, when it came, was on orders from Dennis Ramdwar, not from the demonstrators.
Continue reading We have come a long way, Barack
Newsday’s Editorial
Thursday, April 2 2009
It seems that every expert testimony given so far to the Uff Commission of Inquiry has revealed mismanagement, technical incompetence and, perhaps, deep-rooted corruption.
The testimony given by engineer Arun Buch last Tuesday on the Tarouba Stadium project was especially damning. “I have never seen anything like this,” said Buch, who has more than 30 years experience in the construction industry. But he placed blame for the myriad faults at the feet of Turner Alpha Limited, who were responsible for the stadium’s design. Udecott, said Buch, was not culpable, since the corporation was not required to know about design issues.
Continue reading Corruption poster child
Newsday Editorial
Wednesday, March 25 2009
There is clearly a link between the findings contained in the February 20 report presented by Gerry McCaffrey, construction expert hired by the Uff Commission of Inquiry that the structural steel work at the Brian Lara Stadium project “is effectively condemned” and the cancelling of his return flight to Trinidad on February 27 by the Office of the Prime Minister.
In addition, the report had effectively cleared former Minister of Housing, Dr Keith Rowley, of any wrongdoing with respect to the Cleaver Heights Housing Project. Instead of McCaffrey’s report triggering a desire by the authorities to facilitate the further pursuit of the investigation, McCaffrey’s probe into a series of projects has been abruptly halted as the cancellation of his return flight meant that he was unable to continue his inquiries.
Continue reading McCaffrey disgrace
…a trigger for national protest
By Pierre Small
March 25, 2009
Prime Minister Patrick Manning has been trying effortlessly to convince Trinidadians and Tobagonians that the Fifth Summit Of The Americas will bring them great prosperity ‘in all areas of our economy.’ This claim is being met with overwhelming skepticism throughout the country as the Prime Minister and his administration has become notorious for false promises, consistently failing, and short sighted policies in all areas of our economy.
Continue reading Summit of contempt for Tobago’s tourism industry