Daily Brief - Monday 16th November, 2020

NEWS

Police: 25 per cent reduction in road deaths still not enough

The police service says although there has been a 25 per cent reduction in deaths from road traffic accidents compared to last year, the figure is still unacceptably high owing to the preventable nature of many of the incidents. Some 78 individuals have died in accidents for the year so far. In a statement on Sunday to commemorate the UN World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, the police service said people should try to keep themselves, their families and fellow citizens safe particularly at a time when the world is dealing with covid19. Read more here

Children using social media, TTPS apps to report sexual abuse

Eighty per cent of crimes of abuse against children reported to the Child Protection Unit (CPU) of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, (TTPS), are sexual. This is according to Acting Superintendent of Police Natasha George, who also said more and more children are now reporting their abuse and the perpetrators. Via a telephone interview, George was responding to the question of whether or not the TTPS had seen an increase lately, in reports of sexual abuse against minors. She, however, could not state if the pandemic and the fact that children were at home due to school closure since March, had a keen role to play in this increase. Read more here

 

POLITICS

Two-way race for UNC leadership as Devant pulls out

Allegations and threats of legal action were hurled towards United National Congress (UNC) incumbent political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the party’s elections committee, as nominations were filed on Sunday for its upcoming internal election. Challenger for the post of political leader Vasant Bharath said the current executive has been an embarrassment to its supporters and the foundation upon which the party was built. He called for fair and proper conduct of the election and also accused Persad-Bissessar of trying to rig the process after another of her challengers, Devant Maharaj, accused her of developing a manual for the party’s internal management committee. Read more here

 

 

BUSINESS

SMEs listing on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TTCIC) and the Central Statistical Office (CSO), based on available data as at 2011, there are approximately 20,000 to 25,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Trinidad and Tobago, representing roughly 85 per cent of all registered. Read more here

 

REGIONAL

Culture of entrepreneurship to be ‘radically’ transformed

The business culture in Guyana is changing with every passing day, especially with the advent of the oil-and-gas sector, so, in order to ensure that entrepreneurs are able to ‘keep up,’ the government will be establishing a National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council to focus on reforming entrepreneurship. Read more here

‘They’re Not Qualified’ - CEO-In-Waiting Of Mining Investors Bashes Environmentalists

A former deputy commissioner of the Government’s Mines and Geology Division tapped for a leadership role in the controversy-plagued Jamaica World LLC has warned that much of the criticism of the Puerto Bueno Mountains quarrying plan is misplaced noise. Kashif Sweet, Jamaica World’s managing partner, revealed in an exclusive interview with The Gleaner on Saturday that Ronald Edwards was being eyed for the role of chief executive officer. Read more here

 

INTERNATONAL

Trump's failure to work with Biden is becoming more urgent as Covid spreads

President Donald Trump is facing a barrage of calls to permit potentially life-saving transition talks between his health officials and incoming President-elect Joe Biden's aides on a fast-worsening pandemic he is continuing to ignore in his obsessive effort to discredit an election that he clearly lost. The increasingly urgent pleas are coming from inside his administration, the President-elect's team and independent public health experts as Covid-19 cases rage out of control countrywide, claiming more than 1,000 US lives a day. More than 246,000 Americans have now died from the disease. Read more here

Moderna: Covid vaccine shows nearly 95% protection

A new vaccine that protects against Covid-19 is nearly 95% effective, early data from US company Moderna shows. The results come hot on the heels of similar results from Pfizer, and add to growing confidence that vaccines can help end the pandemic. Both companies used a highly innovative and experimental approach to designing their vaccines. Moderna says it is a "great day" and they plan to apply for approval to use the vaccine in the next few weeks. However, this is still early data and key questions remain unanswered. Read more here

16th November 2020

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