Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar finally gave citizens what they were waiting for in her Parliamentary address yesterday. There will be a twenty percent discount on rice, flour and oil until August 1—a period which includes Eid, Emancipation Day and the Coup anniversary. Eat a food, Yasin Abu Bakr. Don’t say …

Dwayne Bravo spends as much time in the clouds as most pilots. The analogy works at two levels for the frequent flier who is either diving after cricket balls on the field or hopping off planes en route to assignments all over the globe. His CV, at present, includes West …

The Black Butterflies: Chapter three  December 9th, 1992.  My watch alarm sounded at 6:00 am. This was the only connection I could make to time and date. My night had been without event and dreams and for that I was grateful. Agent Anderson opened the door and peeped in. “Good …

Twenty-three year old James Rodriguez became the most expensive Colombian footballer of all time yesterday when the former Monaco attacker was unveiled as Real Madrid’s latest Galactico. Rodriguez marked his coming out ceremony at the Estadio Bernabeu by kicking footballs into the crowd and saving one exuberant spectator from being …

Who said there is such a thing as easy money? Last night, over 75 law enforcement officers raided a Carapo mosque and held Rajaee Ali, the son of Jamaat-al-Muslimeen Imam Hassan Ali, who was taken to the Arima Police Station for questioning. Initial reports suggested that 22 persons were held …

It turns out that it might be a good idea after all to attach the brand “Trinidad and Tobago” to a competition which attracted, according to the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL), over 250,000 spectators and a global television audience of 36 million last year. So, the Trinidad and Tobago …

Chapter 4: How Mobsters João and Ricardo got rich  Baur au Lac hotel,Zurich October 2010 ‘Mr Teixeira, Mr ‘Teixeira!’ Ricardo turns to look. It is a scruffy, grey-haired man in a Joe Colombo-style beige raincoat shouting at him from the hotel gateway. ‘Mr Teixeira, did you take your bribes through …

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) continues to operate at the edge of financial ruin as, despite general secretary Sheldon Phillips’ sunny disposition, the local football body seems clueless about how to pay its bills while it allegedly dodges debtors. In January 2014, TTFA president Raymond Tim Kee agreed …

Trinidad and Tobago national football team head coach Stephen Hart admitted that the “Soca Warriors” will struggle to keep up with its rivals if the present financial woes continue. Last month, Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president Raymond Tim Kee and general secretary Sheldon Phillips promised camps for the …

Okay, I have just done some cleaning up and tossed out the garbage. How else can I make myself useful for the next few minutes? I know: how about helping to fix the passport office dilemma? This one is tricky. The passport offices are unfit for work and citizens will …

Earl Best recalls some occasions when the public language was not, ahm, parliamentary… Three years ago, Benjai’s monster hit “Trini” mash up the whole place. “And they like to hear Trini talk, talk, talk, talk, talk…,” he told us. There wasn’t one dissenting voice. That “they” includes me because, in …

Breaking news: Unconfirmed reports suggest that Argentina captain and 2014 World Cup Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi had three slices of toast with his dinner last night. Mr Live Wire understands that Diego Maradona could have put away five and still had room for bagels. Football discussion has descended into …