Yearbook 2003
Trinidad and Tobago. According to Countryaah.com, Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day is August 31. 71-year-old former university lecturer George Maxwell Richards was elected in February as new president of parliament. Richards, who was the government’s candidate, won the opposition candidate, banker Ganace Ramdial.
The same month, The Mirror’s daily newspaper was stormed after employees were taken hostage by a radical Islamist group. One month earlier, The Trinidad Express newspaper reported that two journalists had been abducted with a blind eye by a group of perpetrators who claimed to belong to a radical Islamist organization. The kidnappers said they had the capacity to manufacture chemical and biological weapons to be used against US and British targets in the region if the US-led coalition on terrorism started wars against Iraq. In June, a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison for kidnapping was introduced as a result of the events earlier in the year.
In November, the country’s highest court, the British Privy Council in London, announced that Trinidad and Tobago’s mandatory death penalty for murder violated the Constitution. A dozen previous death sentences could thus be annulled and the convicted could have their sentences reconsidered.
Trinidad and Tobago Brief Guide
According to AbbreviationFinder, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a republic in the Caribbean Sea. It is located eleven kilometers north of the Venezuelan coast. The main islands of the state are Trinidad and Tobago, of which Trinidad is larger in both area and population. In addition to the two main islands, the country includes 21 smaller islands.
Security
Pickpocketing and crime are possible, especially in cities, and moving around at night in certain areas can be unsafe. General caution within common sense is desirable during the trip. Current security warnings for all countries can be found on the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ website
Food and drink
Like all other Caribbean island nations, Tobago eats a lot of fish. The diet is also influenced by ethnic background, Creoles often eat chicken, rice, fried bananas and red beans. Indians eat chicken curry, chickpeas, potatoes, rat bread and rice. The national dish of Trinidad and Tobago is callaloota, which is potato-filled aloo pie pies, vegetable-filled rat breads, and rice and beans. Local specialties include the fruit of the cocoa tree, whose white fruit flesh tastes very sweet. Cocoa butter is also made from fruit flesh. Sugar cane is also grown on the islands. All water and drink must be industrially bottled. Salads and vegetables should also be rinsed with bottled water. The food should be heated or cooked. Reheated foods should be avoided.