Category Archives: China

China, General T&T, Health, International, USA

Of coincidences and conspiracies

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By Raffique Shah
March 23, 2020

Raffique ShahI admit that it took me some time to come to terms with the seriousness of the COVID-19 virus. When the highly contagious bug first struck in China late last year, I followed its development with more curiosity than concern. China is a vast country with a huge population and millions of foreigners visiting it most times, so one could expect anything to happen—such as a superbug making its entry into the world. But I have also learnt that the Chinese government and people can handle whatever nature throws their way, usually dispatching the intruder to a swift demise, and in the process sparing the rest of the world worry about it.
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China, Chinese, Finance, General T&T, International, USA

US demonising China

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By Raffique Shah
July 12, 2019

Raffique ShahLast May, Minister of Finance Colm Imbert announced at a post-Cabinet media briefing that Shanghai Construction had been awarded a billion-dollar contract to build the Port-of-Spain General Hospital’s new central block. Minister Imbert said that the Chinese construction giant, which is no stranger to undertaking big projects in Trinidad and Tobago, had bid TT $1 billion, which was $600 million less than Bouygues Batiment, a French company.
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CARICOM, China, General T&T, International, Russia, USA, Venezuela

Trump’s Coup in Venezuela: The Full Story

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Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair
Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair

By Eric Draitser
January 30, 2019 – counterpunch.org

The US-sponsored coup in Venezuela, still ongoing as I write, is the latest chapter in the long and bloody history of US imperialism in Latin America. This basic fact, understood by most across the left of the political spectrum – including even the chattering liberal class which acknowledges this truth only with the passage of time and never in the moment – must undergird any analysis of the situation in Venezuela today. That is to say, the country is being targeted by the Yanqui Empire.
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China, corruption, Finance, General T&T, Health, Opposition Party, Parliament, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Scale of squandermania mind-boggling

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By Raffique Shah
October 19, 2015

Raffique ShahIf a mere ten percent of the sums of money quoted by almost every new PNM minister as having gone to waste or astray under the previous government is factual, then at least a billion dollars was squandered or stolen during the tenure of the People’s Partnership.

If the ministers were accurate and truthful in their allegations of profligacy, then an astounding ten billion dollars, at least, found its way into the bank accounts of assorted thieves and accomplices.
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Africa, China, England, Features, General T&T, Media, Race and Identity, Racism Watch, USA, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

Harare: Is It Really the Worst City on Earth?

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Out and About in Zimbabwe’s Capital

By Andre Vltchek
March 15, 2013 – andrevltchek.weebly.com

ZimbabweFor a change, I don’t want to discuss politics. I don’t want to debate whether big bad Mugabe is actually an African national hero, as many on this continent believe, or some brutal dictator, as we are told relentlessly by the BBC, The Economist and virtually the entire Western establishment media.

‘Data’ about Zimbabwe is developed somewhere, to serve Western political interests, and then it is recycled, repeated by hundreds of websites all over the Internet. Old reports are not updated when the situation improves. Incorrect statistics are hardly challenged.
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Africa, China, Culture, General T&T, India, Labour, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

Question of origins and Indian Indentureship: Updated

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By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
September 12, 2012

lettersIn the aftermath of the celebration of Indian Arrival Day on 30 May 2011 in T&T, this article focuses on certain origins and the historical dynamics of Indian Arrival. These origins include the Asian-Chinese Dynasty, “Ganges” river, Indian originality and the label “Indentured Servants.”
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China, Finance, General T&T, International, Law, People's Partnership, Politics, Tourism

China Offers Caribbean $6 Billion in Loans

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Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar (rear left) and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (rear right) attend a signing ceremony for an intergovernmental agreement between the two countries at the Diplomatic Centre in St. Ann's Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Monday, September 12, 2011.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar (rear left) and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (rear right) attend a signing ceremony for an intergovernmental agreement between the two countries at the Diplomatic Centre in St. Ann’s Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Monday, September 12, 2011.
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$6B for region

By Andre Bagoo
September 13, 2011 – newsday.co.tt

IN A BOLD declaration of his country’s bold ambitions for the Caribbean region, China’s Vice Premier Wang Qishan yesterday unveiled a suite of measures including a $6.3 billion loan to regional governments, aimed at deepening cooperation between the People’s Republic and the Caribbean.
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