NEWS
Schools in PoS and environs underperforming
Education stakeholders gathered on Friday to discuss the root cause for underachievement of schools in Port of Spain and environs. The topic was discussed during a virtual joint select committee meeting on human rights, equity, diversity, and equal access to education. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education, and other education stakeholders including various denominational boards of education and the TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA). Read more here
Automotive Dealers’ boss wary of Super fuel removal
This is what T&T Automotive Dealers’ Association (TTADA) president Visham Babwah is predicting if Government decides to phase out the use of Super gasoline as a fuel in T&T and only allows the use of Premium gasoline. In an interview with Guardian Media’s Lead Editor Business Curtis Williams, Energy Minister Franklin Khan admitted that the matter has gone to the Cabinet but said no final decision has been taken. Read more here
POLITICS
Minister: UNC using water for political agenda
Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales has called on the Opposition to stop using the issue of water as a means to furthering a political agenda. The minister, in a press release issued on Sunday, said that rather than the the "now weekly rants" by the UNC, government expected them to work with it in order to deal with this national crisis. Read more here
Weekes pleased with citizens’ activism for women
President Paula-Mae Weekes says she did not speak out in the weeks following Andrea Bharatt’s murder, despite public calls for her to do so, because she had no comfort to bring to citizens. In her International Women’s Day message, published in yesterday’s newspaper, Weekes said citizens have instead brought comfort to her with their activism and outcry. Read more here
BUSINESS
HSF drawdowns in the global context
The Government of Trinidad and Tobago withdrew roughly US$900 million from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) in fiscal year 2020 (October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020). Read more here
REGIONAL
India ‘injects’ Guyana with 80,000 COVID-19 shots
Amid Guyana’s efforts to intensify its COVID-19 vaccination programme and immunise a significant portion of the population by year end, the country received 80,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India on Sunday at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, East Bank Demerara. Read more here
Lockdown lobby loud but businesses resist call
With anxiety heightening as Jamaica’s coronavirus infections skyrocketed Saturday to a record toll of 726 cases, private-sector leaders are resisting calls for a national lockdown. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
She's the first female tour guide in Afghanistan, but she's determined not to be the last
For many people who work as tour guides, showing people around a new city involves a little bit of getting off the beaten track. But when there is no track at all, you just have to blaze one yourself. That has been the story of Fatima, the only woman working as a tour guide in Afghanistan. The 22-year-old (who asked that CNN not use her surname for safety reasons) grew up leading sheep through the countryside, and now she leads tourists through the streets of Herat, the third-largest city in Afghanistan. Read more here
Huge explosions rock Equatorial Guinea's main city
At least 17 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in a series of explosions at a military base in Equatorial Guinea, officials say. They say Sunday's blasts in the main city, Bata, were caused by stubble burning by farmers and negligence in the storage of dynamite at the base. Almost all buildings and homes in the city suffered "huge damage", President Teodoro Obiang Nguema said. State television showed people looking for survivors in the rubble. There are fears the death toll will rise further as some victims may be trapped. Read more here
8th March 2021