Anyone who has followed local electronic media for a while would have encountered the voice, if not the image, of veteran broadcaster and presenter, Hans Hanoomansingh.
Today, we have received news that the man named Hansley Hanoomansingh has left us, his familiar voice silenced.
Hans Hanoomansingh was born in Las Lomas and grew up in Cunupia and later Chaguanas.
He started off selling in the Chaguanas market with his father, and spent 6 years as a market vendor there, after his father died when he was 11. During this time, he continued his education at Presentation College, Chaguanas and began teaching in San Fernando after High School and teaching French.
Hans entered the world of broadcasting when he was hired by Radio Guardian (although he grew up in a home that never had a radio or TV). As part of the newsroom, he developed his skills as a journalist covering major national events and conducting interviews with high-profile national figures.
After one such interview with Opposition Leader, Dr. Rudranath Capildeo, Hans was encouraged to enter the world of politics and ran and won the Caroni East seat in the 1966 General Elections. His Parliamentary experience did not last long as he opted to make his contribution to national life in broadcasting. He later became Chairman of Heritage Communications and Radio.
He was a radio and television presenter and figured prominently, making immeasurable contributions in the cultural arena and as a pioneer in promoting Indian culture.
Hans became the first president of the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) in 1970, overseeing its transition from the National Council for Indian Music and Drama. He was the man who dreamt of the Divali Nagar, the inaugural event of which was hosted at the Mid Centre Mall car park in 1986.
In 1990, Mr. Hanoomansingh received the Hummingbird Gold medal for his contribution to culture and broadcasting.
Hans credited his growing up in Chaguanas with forming his views about the society and culture. In one interview, he said, "I grew up in a mixed community, …and we lived together, speaking to each other, understanding with some limitations the distinct qualities of our traditions … it .. gave me the consciousness of a multicultural society, which I have put into effect by my life."
He regarded the celebration of Indian Arrival Day not as celebrating indentureship, but as celebrating the triumph of our ancestors over terrible conditions from the time of departure from India.
I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Hans Hanoomansingh and enjoyed wide-ranging conversations with him on national issues of politics, culture and history on several occasions.
With his passing, our nation has lost a pioneer in the field of broadcast journalism, a cultural activist, a man who demonstrated what public service means and a champion and historian of Indian culture, never in a chauvinistic way.
Hans Hanoomansingh has served Trinidad and Tobago well. The national conversation has lost a familiar and important voice.
My condolences to his family, friends, and all who were able to hear and be influenced by his voice.
Keep chatting on the universal airways, Hans. (Source: Angelo Bissessarsingh's Virtual Museum of Trinidad and Tobago, July 5, 2025)

Miss Supranational Trinidad and Tobago, Shenelle Ramkhelawan, has been named as one of five continental winners in the modelling competition at the Miss Supranational 2025 beauty pageant.
She outshone contestants from the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, and the US Virgin Islands during yesterday’s competition.
This marks the first time a delegate from Trinidad and Tobago has captured a continental modelling title at Miss Supranational.
Other continental winners included NaMakau Nawa of Zambia (Africa), Marvelous Sanyaolu of the United States (Americas), Eshwin Kaur of Malaysia (Asia and Oceania), and Anna Valencia Lakrini of Germany (Europe).
(Source:  The Loop, June 24, 2025)

Trinidad and Tobago students applying for student visas in the US must keep their social media profiles set to public, or risk having their applications denied.
In an update today via social media, the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago said the measure is effective immediately:
“Effective immediately, if you are applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa, you are requested to adjust the privacy settings to ‘public’ on your personal social media accounts. This is to facilitate the vetting necessary to establish your identity and admissibility to the United States. The adjudication of visa applications is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States. ”On Wednesday, the US State Department’s Consular Affairs division shared an update requiring all students applying for F, M or J non-immigrant visas to set their social media profiles to public, to allow for vetting by US officials.“Since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms. We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to US national security.”
The directive also applies to other CARICOM territories.
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over 300 student visas had been revoked over pro-Palestine activities. (Source:  The Loop, June 26, 2025)

WITH about 25,800 migrants and refugees from 35 nationalities registered with the UNHCR National Office in Trinidad and Tobago, the head of the agency, Amanda Solando Badilla, is emphasising the organisation's continued commitment to supporting refugees, despite the shift in operations.
The office will be closed to the public on July 25, with operations to be managed remotely from the UNHCR Multi-Country Office in Panama.
"After that, we continue to support refugees, and we continue to be committed with the government of TT to provide our support. However, the way in which we support will change," Solando Badilla told Newsday in a phone interview.
"We will continue to cover TT from our multi-country office in Panama."WITH about 25,800 migrants and refugees from 35 nationalities registered with the UNHCR National Office in Trinidad and Tobago, the head of the agency, Amanda Solando Badilla, is emphasising the organisation's continued commitment to supporting refugees, despite the shift in operations.
After a validation exercise that concluded in May, 12,600 inactive records were closed, bringing the total active and affected population to 25,800.
The closed records represented people who were no longer in the country or who have not had any contact with the office in the last six months.
The majority of the migrant/refugee population – about 21,000 – are Venezuelans, along with nationals from Cuba, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Bangladesh and other countries.
On June 5, the UN Refugee Agency announced that due to financial constraints, its office in Port of Spain will be closed on August 31.
Solando Badilla is a seasoned humanitarian with more than 15 years of experience.
She arrived in TT four years ago and first held the role of protection officer.
In May 2024, she assumed her current role as head of the agency in TT after the departure of her predecessor, Miriam Aertker.
Solando Badilla's career began in her home country of Costa Rica.
She has since worked with several other countries, including a regional office based in Panama that at the time covered seven countries in Central America, Cuba and Mexico.


Reflecting on World Refugee Day, celebrated annually on June 20, she said: "It helps us to honour the strength and the courage of refugees and our solidarity with them."
"It also helps us to shine a light on the rights, needs and dreams of refugees. It helps to mobilise political will and resources so refugees can truly thrive. We have always created opportunities to support refugees in TT."
She recalled that in the past, the agency had partnered with diplomats, businesses, civil society groups, and refugees to organise events like football matches and entrepreneurship fairs. These gave refugees a chance to showcase their talents and products. Cultural activities were also held to raise awareness about refugees' situations.
Despite the physical office closure, two outpost positions will remain in the country to maintain support for local partners: La Casita Hispanic Cultural Center in Arima and the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) in Chaguanas.
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She explained that La Casita helps victims of gender-based violence and people in vulnerable situations. They also offer a daycare and provide activities to support early development in children.
CCHR, she added, provides free legal services to all refugees in the country.
"We also support the Children's Authority. We actually support with a case worker and with an interpreter English/Spanish to facilitate the case management of children in the country who do not speak English," Solando Badilla said.
"Through these organisations and our multi-country office in Panama, we also stand ready to support the national government with efforts to develop a national asylum framework. That is something that the country is yet to develop," she said.


Solando Badilla highlighted several milestones over the past years.
She recalled a successful vocational training initiative conducted in collaboration with the Pan American Development Foundation and the local and migrant communities in Chaguanas.
Some of the skills training included air conditioning repair, solar panel installation and food handling.
"It was incredible to see how everybody integrated. The skills training sessions were conducted in both Spanish and English. It also helped refugees to practise their English skills and Trinidadians to practise their Spanish skills," she chuckled as she recalled.
Another significant achievement was the inclusion of the first cohort of refugee/migrant children in national schools.
"The numbers are still low. We would like to continue supporting the national government so more children can be included," she said.
"However, this was an important achievement for these children. It was the first time that they were able to access education in the country."
She was referring to the students under 18, whose parents registered in the historic 2019 Migrant Registration Framework (MRF) and continue to register yearly.
As previously reported in Newsday, many Venezuelans have expressed sadness and uncertainty regarding the office's closure.


Asked about the possibility of the office reopening in TT, she replied: It is hard to say at this time, but we are always committed to supporting it in any way that we can."
About UNHCR
The UNHCR website (www.unhcr.org) states that for 74 years, the organisation has protected the rights of refugees worldwide.
The global organisation prides itself on helping people who are forced to flee their homes due to conflict or persecution.
It works to save lives, defend their rights, and help them build better futures.
The UNHCR was established by the UN General Assembly in 1950, following World War II, to support the millions who had lost their homes.
Today, UNHCR works in over 130 countries.
For further info e-mail UNHCR at [email protected]