NEWS
‘Covid’ killed in Barrackpore fire, 10 homeless
Several animals including two pet dogs named Covid and Raven were killed in a fire which destroyed a house in Barrackpore on Saturday night leaving 10 people homeless. The fire at Tin Pan Alley has left Avenash Chatoor, his common-law wife Trisha Harrilal, Chatoor’s mother and stepfather, as well as two siblings and their spouses, and a cousin and his spouse all homeless. The victims range in age from 20 to 50 years. Read more here
CXC to address grade queries this week
Registrar of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Dr Wayne Wesley has confirmed that the examination body will move to address thousands of grade queries that were received from students across the region, within the coming week. The announcement came from Wesley during a virtual media briefing yesterday, as CXC delved into a draft report recently compiled by an independent review team. Read more here
POLITICS
Committee to look at port privatisation
Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said a committee will be established to look at the public private partnership of the Port of Port of Spain. He was responding to a question during a tour of the Bamboo #1 pump site on Sunday, on whether there has been any expressions of interest after the Finance Minister’s announcement of the privatisation of the port. Read more here
Young: No truth US deported Venezuelans through T&T
National Security Minister Stuart Young has dismissed claims by US Senator Robert Menedez that the US conducted “stealth” deportations of Venezuelans back to their homeland through T&T over January to March. “As far as I’m aware there is no truth to the allegations that the US deported Venezuelans through T&T,” Young said yesterday when contacted. International media reported last Friday on statements by Democrats Representative Menendez, member of the US Senate Foreign Relations team. Read more here
BUSINESS
T&T’s fiscal dilemma
The economic woes, exacerbated by the global pandemic, have left Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) with a large and growing debt load. Read more here
REGIONAL
Economy to grow 26.2% despite COVID-19
Guyana is the only country in the Caribbean and Latin America region projected to have positive real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, pegged at 26.2 per cent, in spite of the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The World Economic Outlook Report (WEO), published by the IMF and released this month, states that Guyana’s GDP is expected to grow by 26. 2 per cent for 2020. Additionally, this report also projects that Guyana’s economy will grow by 8.1 per cent in 2021. In 2019, Guyana’s real GDP grew by 5.4 per cent. Read more here
Soldier Arrested After Allegedly Firing Weapon In Dispute With Wife
A Jamaica Defence Force soldier has been taken into police custody after allegedly discharging his licensed firearm during a domestic dispute with at his wife. She was not injured. According to a police report, the altercation happened yesterday after the soldier found videos and messages in the phone of his 29-year-old wife. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Trump's campaigning stoops to new lows as Covid cases spike
President Donald Trump and the pandemic he is supposed to be fighting are running out of control with the two weeks until Election Day shaping up as among the most ugly and divisive periods ever ahead of a presidential vote. He's on a fresh collision course with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who's publicly questioning why Trump thinks mask wearing is weak after a wild weekend that saw the President, who's trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in the polls and still playing to his base, pack swing state rallies that flouted his government's Covid-19 protocols. Read more here
Coronavirus: Has the pandemic really peaked in India?
Has the coronavirus pandemic already peaked in India? And can the spread of the virus be controlled by early next year? A group of India's top scientists believe so. Their latest mathematical model suggests India passed its peak of reported infections in September and the pandemic can be controlled by February next year. All such models assume the obvious: people will wear masks, avoid large gatherings, maintain social distancing and wash hands. Read more here
19th October 2020