NEWS
Forms 4-6 vaxxed students return to school
Thousands of fully vaccinated forms four-six students will return to face-to-face classes today after attending virtual school for the greater part of the pandemic. TT has been battling with the pandemic for more than a year and seven months now. An October 3, Newsday article quoted Education minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly as saying by October 1, there were 30,278 fully vaccinated school-aged teenagers and 42,683 children aged 12-18 having had received their first Pfizer dose. Read more here
How-to: A guide to getting your International Vaccination Card
International Vaccination Cards, aka Yellow Cards (or Carte Jaunes if you're feeling fancy), have existed since the 1940s. They've been used throughout the years to show proof of vaccination against dangerous diseases like cholera, yellow fever, and smallpox. In fact, ICVP cards were used in the fight against, and eventual eradication of smallpox. In the past few months, we’ve seen several countries announce COVID-19 vaccine requirements for entry. Those heading to Miami Carnival this week though, you on the inside... the US policy requiring adult international travellers to be fully vaccinated comes into effect in early November. With no digital system currently in place, Trinbagonians will need to use a WHO International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) to be able to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination when travelling internationally. Here’s how to get one in Trinidad. Read more here
POLITICS
AG: Hefty fines for breaches in covid19 safe zones
As safe zones in restaurants, cinemas and other recreational areas go live in just over a week, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi is warning both businesses and patrons that failure to adhere to the main rules of being vaccinated carries a hefty penalty. Speaking during the Prime Minister’s media conference on Saturday, Al-Rawi said any business owner who operates a safe zone and has an unvaccinated person on their premises will be fined $25,000 if found guilty. Unvaccinated patrons found in safe zones face a $5,000 fine. Anyone found guilty of producing fake documents will be charged with fraud and treated with as the law allows. Read more here
Budget 2022 views: ‘Don’t touch fuel subsidy’
ormer Minister of Energy Kevin Ramnarine believes that any removal of the fuel subsidy in today’s Budget will bring more hardship to the people of T&T. He was one of many expectations we sought on today’s Budget including what the theme would be. The 2020/21 Budget’s theme was “Resetting the Economy For Growth and Innovation.” After the last fiscal year of continuing pandemic problems, there have been views that the 2022 package will have to go in a particular direction–recovery. Read more here
BUSINESS
A band that verifies vaccination
As the Government gears up to open safe zone businesses for the vaccinated come October 11, one company has made it easier to prove that you are vaccinated-instead of walking around with your vaccine card, wear a band instead. The company is called Verify Vaccinated and is founded by Keeva Seegobin. “This has been in development for the last six months, through a very effective and dedicated team of professionals who have been working tirelessly to ensure that our system is robust, strong, and flexible to handle the 400,000-plus citizens that have already been fully vaccinated,” he told the Express in an interview last week. Read more here
REGIONAL
Prisoner confesses to ‘burning down’ Brickdam Police Station
The Guyana Police Force (GPF), on Sunday, disclosed that it has an alleged video confession from a 26-year-old Lodge resident, who claims he is behind Saturday’s devastating fire at the Brickdam Police Station. The police, in a press release, identified the alleged arsonist as Clarence Greene of Lot 2292 Princess Street, Lodge, who had been arrested for armed robbery and was being held in the station’s lockups. According to the police, the man claimed that he “grew frustrated” after being detained for several hours and so he decided to set fire to the building. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Pandora Papers: Uhuru Kenyatta family's secret assets exposed by leak
The family of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, that has dominated the country's politics since independence, secretly owned a network of offshore companies for decades, according to a huge leak of financial papers. The Pandora Papers - 12 million files - is the biggest such leak in history. Mr Kenyatta and six members of his family have been linked to 13 offshore companies. They have not yet responded to requests for comment. The Kenyattas' offshore investments, including a company with stocks and bonds worth $30m (£22m), were discovered among hundreds of thousands of pages of administrative paperwork from the archives of 14 law firms and service providers in Panama and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and other tax havens. Read more here
Facebook whistleblower revealed on '60 Minutes,' says the company prioritized profit over public good
he identity of the Facebook whistleblower who released tens of thousands of pages of internal research and documents — leading to a firestorm for the social media company in recent weeks — was revealed on "60 Minutes" Sunday night as Frances Haugen. The 37-year-old former Facebook product manager who worked on civic integrity issues at the company says the documents show that Facebook knows its platforms are used to spread hate, violence and misinformation, and that the company has tried to hide that evidence. Read more here
4th October 2021