NEWS
Sargassum takes over Rockly Bay
Rockly Bay is now a sea of sargassum after a floating "island" of sargassum washed ashore on Wednesday. The Tobago House of Assembly’s sargassum management committee is ready to treat with the issue, according to Howard Robin, climate change specialist at the Coastal Zone Management Unit of the Division of Infrastructure, Public Utilities and the Environment. On Wednesday, the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) reported sightings of a large mass of sargassum approaching Rockly Bay, Scarborough. Read more here
Coast Guard fishes out bags of drugs during high speed chase in the Gulf
Coast Guard officers recovered seven bags containing marijuana and drugs that were thrown overboard a vessel of which they were in pursuit in the Gulf of Paria, on Wednesday night. The occupants of the vessel managed to escape by crossing over the border in Venezuela. According to a report, at about 9:05 pm, Coast Guard Officers were on marine patrol in Interceptor 019 under the stewardship of Petty Officer Burroughs in Icacos, Gulf of Paria, when Burroughs observed a vessel proceeding in a south to north direction. This aroused his suspicion, and he began proceeding towards the vessel. Reports are the said vessel then altered its course, increasing its speed, causing Burroughs to also increase the speed of the Coast Guard Interceptor. Whilst this chase intensified, the occupants of the unknown vessel began throwing overboard items resembling bags. The vessel continued until it crossed over the Border into Venezuelan waters. Read more here
POLITICS
Salary relief grants managed by Ministry of Finance, not Social Development
The Ministry of Finance is calling on the media to do “more stringent research and vetting of stories” after inaccurate information about salary relief grants was published. In a release, the ministry referred to an Express story published on Thursday. The article quotes an unnamed customer service representative who claimed the Central Bank was causing a delay in the grant payment process. But the ministry said, “The Central Bank plays no role whatsoever in the disbursement of funds from the treasury to commercial banks on behalf of any ministry for payments. Read more here
PM impressed with Recovery Committee's initial presentation
The ‘Road to Recovery Committee’ has held its first meeting Prime Minister Dr keith Rowley who is said to be impressed with its work thus far. Vice-Chairman of the committee and Public Utilities Minister, Robert Le Hunte, told Guardian Media it is clear that the economy will not be “as healthy” whenever the pandemic subsides. However, he said the Prime Minister was “impressed” by the 22-member committee’s work thus far. Read more here
BUSINESS
Sagicor posts 703M in profit for 2019
Sagicor Financial Company Ltd has recorded a profit of $703 million (US 104.1) for fiscal 2019. In the company’s Financial Statements for the fourth quarter and full year 2019, Dodridge Miller, Group President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We delivered strong results in the fourth quarter and full year driven by solid growth across all business segments.” Miller noted that 2019 was a transformative year and the listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange marked yet another milestone in the long history of Sagicor. He said: “The additional equity raised from the business combination between Sagicor and Alignvest enhanced our already strong capital position.” Read more here
Hardware stocks running low
Private construction work in Trinidad and Tobago has been brought to a near standstill as building material stocks at local hardware stores are being depleted. Read more here
REGIONAL
Mother’s lockdown - Closing for 30 days as COVID curfew tightens screws on fast-food chains
A reported 70 per cent reduction in business has forced fast-food chain Mother’s to close its 18 stores islandwide, relieving 900 staff and 200 vendors of their jobs for the next 30 days. It takes effect Saturday. Mother’s joined the line of major quick-service providers that have announced plans to either slash their workforce or reduce in-store hours owing to the economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19. Restaurant Associates Limited (RAL), operators of Burger King, Popeyes, and Little Caesar’s Pizza, on Thursday revealed that it had experienced up to a 50 per cent plunge in sales at its stores as a result of the reduction of in-store hours because of curfew constraints and will cease operations at The University of the West Indies and the Norman Manley International Airport. Read more here
Jagdeo denies having COVID-19
Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo has denied speculations that he is infected with COVID-19. In a Thursday press conference, he also denied that there were medical workers coming to his home; that he underwent gastric bypass surgery in New York and that he had lost weight in relation to any of these situations. He said that this goes too for People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali; PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate, Mark Phillips and PPP/C Executive Secretary, Zulfikar Mustapha whom COVID-19 rumors had also being spread about. “It’s all false,” he said. “It would have been laughable had there not been a tragic side to it.” Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Coronavirus: Trump stands by China lab origin theory for virus
US President Donald Trump has appeared to undercut his own intelligence agencies by suggesting he has seen evidence coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory. Earlier the US national intelligence director's office said it was still investigating how the virus began. But the office said it had determined Covid-19 "was not manmade or genetically modified". China has rejected the lab theory and criticised the US response to Covid-19. Since emerging in China last year, the virus has killed 230,000 people worldwide including 63,000 in the US. Read more here
In quest for vaccine, US makes 'big bet' on company with unproven technology
It almost felt like an episode of "Shark Tank."
One by one, vaccine developers at a White House roundtable convened by President Donald Trump in early March pitched their product as a viable solution to the coronavirus that was spreading globally and killing Americans. John Shiver, the head of R&D for Sanofi Pasteur vaccines, said he could have a product ready for the clinic in a year -- perhaps a vaccine for the public in as "few as several years." Trump seemed uninterested. "Right. OK. Thank you very much," he said at the March 2 roundtable, which was captured on C-SPAN. Read more here
1st May 2020