NEWS
Hope shattered for families as missing divers declared dead
The families of four divers who went missing while working on a 36-inch underwater crude oil pipeline in Pointe-a-Pierre on Friday had their hopes for the men’s successful rescue dashed when officials of Paria Fuel Trading Company announced that they are presumed dead. The grim announcement was made by Paria chairman Newman George, general manager Mushtaq Mohammed and terminal operations manager Collin Piper at a news conference at the former Petrotrin staff club in Pointe-a-Pierre shortly after 8 pm on Sunday. Read more here
No vaccinations at Savannah today
The North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) has advised that its COVID-19 vaccination site at The Paddock, Queen’s Park Savannah, will be closed today, due to scheduled activities by the National Carnival Commission at the venue. Read more here
POLITICS
Opposition calls for independent investigation into diving tragedy
Pointe – A - Pierre MP David Lee has chastised the chairman and CEO of Paria Fuel Trading, and the government by extension, for its response to the diving incident in which five men were sucked into an underwater 36-inch pipeline while doing maintenance work on Friday. One of the men, Christopher Boodram, was rescued. The others, identified as Fyzal Kurban, Kazim Ali Jr, Rishi Nagassar and Yusuf Henry were still considered missing when Lee spoke on Sunday morning during the Opposition’s weekly news conference at the office of the Leader of the Opposition in Port of Spain. Read more here
BUSINESS
TSTT on board with roaming cuts
Majority State-owned TSTT says it supports last week’s agreement by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union on the proposed reduction of intra-Caricom roaming rates. In a statement last week, the local telecommunication provider said it fully embraces the initiative as it will redound to the benefit of its customers, particularly those who travel frequently in the region, by making intra-Caricom roaming rates more affordable. Read more here
REGIONAL
US$35B worth of gold still contained in Guyana’s reserves
Although a notable gold producer for decades, Guyana is still considered a gold mine, literally, with massive amounts of gold still waiting to be extracted. As a matter of fact, in his commemorative message for Guyana’s 52nd Republic Anniversary, President Dr. Irfaan Ali disclosed that the potential value of the nation’s gold reserves stands at an impressive US$35 billion. The Head of State emphasised that Guyana is a rich land of some of the world’s most enviable resources, and that these ought to be utilised in a manner that brings prosperity to all Guyanese. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine conflict: Putin's nuclear alert a distraction attempt, UK says
Vladimir Putin putting Russia's nuclear forces on high alert is an attempt to distract people from "what's going wrong in Ukraine", Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said. Mr Wallace said Mr Putin was engaged in a "battle of rhetoric" by trying to "remind the world" he had a deterrent. He said Russia was behind schedule on its invasion of Ukraine and Ukrainians were putting up a "very strong fight". Mr Putin has said his order was due to aggression by the West and Nato. His announcement does not mean Russia intends to use its nuclear weapons. But it attracted international condemnation, with the US branding it an "unacceptable escalation". Read more here
28th February 2022