NEWS

Women told, be your sister’s keeper

The country’s women are being urged to be their sister’s keeper as a way of empowering each other. The call was made during the JMMB’s Women’s Day brunch and panel discussion at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain. During the panel discussion, women were encouraged to share their stories, be it successes or failures so as to empower each other. The event was hosted by the JMMB Group in collaboration with We Inspire Ltd, an NGO partner based in Jamaica, and the theme was, Stories of Sisterhood, Solidifying Networks for the Global Advancement of Women and Girls. Read more here

CARPHA: Be wary of private labs’ tests

The Caribbean Pub­lic Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Min­istry of Health have ad­vised that CARPHA has the on­ly ac­cred­it­ed lab­o­ra­to­ry in the re­gion to test for the nov­el coro­n­avirus (COVID-19). As fears con­tin­ue to mount over the virus cur­rent­ly mak­ing its way around the world and most re­cent­ly the Caribbean re­gion, lab­o­ra­to­ries lo­cal­ly have al­so ad­ver­tised their abil­i­ty to test for COVID-19. How­ev­er, ac­cord­ing to the Min­istry of Health in their dai­ly up­date on the virus, “the Caribbean Pub­lic Health Agency (CARPHA) has the on­ly lab that is cer­ti­fied to test sam­ples for COVID-19 and there­fore, it is the on­ly lab that can con­firm pos­i­tive or neg­a­tive re­sults of the sam­ples.” In a re­lease on Sat­ur­day CARPHA fur­ther ex­plained it “has the on­ly CARI­COM re­gion­al ref­er­ence lab­o­ra­to­ry” to test for the virus. It fur­ther stat­ed that its tests are done un­der strict guid­ance and rec­om­men­da­tions from the Pan Amer­i­can Health Or­gan­i­sa­tion/World Health Or­gan­i­sa­tion (PA­HO/WHO) and US Cen­tre for Dis­ease Con­trol and Pre­ven­tion (CDC). Read more here

POLITICS

TT to get ground provision from Ghana

TT will be receiving ground provision from Ghana, acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert has reported. He was responding to a prime minister's question in the House on Friday from Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh, who asked the purpose of the Prime Minister's current trip to Ghana, as well as people comprising the delegation. Imbert said Dr Rowley was invited to be the special guest of honour at Ghana's 63rd independence celebrations. "This is a very high and esteemed honour, and it was accepted by the honourable Prime Minister." Read more here

BUSINESS

COVID-19 fears rattle global economy

Starting today, the Trinidad Express will partner with publicly listed, majority State-owned First Citizens to bring our readers cutting-edge analysis of local, regional and international financial developments that impact the investments held or proposed by T&T individuals, companies and institutions. Read more here

REGIONAL

Cruise Sector Shutdown Looms - US Warning Could Submerge Entire Industry, Ministers Fear

Jamaicans have been urged by at least two senior Cabinet ministers to brace for a near-complete shutdown of the cruise industry amid swirling concern over the novel coronavirus, which has surpassed 107,000 infections worldwide and killed 3,600 people. The situation has been exacerbated by a travel warning issued yesterday by the United States Department of State imploring American citizens to reconsider cruises because of restrictions to ports of entry. Jamaican health authorities have arm-wrestled with cruise lines over the rigidity of COVID-19 protocols dictating that travel history, and health and temperature logs be turned over to local officials before passengers and crew have been allowed to disembark. Read more here

Court to hear elections matters

Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire, ruled that the High Court has jurisdiction to determine whether the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, followed the correct procedure before declaring the total number of votes for District Four in the General and Regional Elections. Justice George-Wiltshire handed down the judgment on Sunday, before a packed courtroom, in the case brought against the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo; the Chief Elections officer, Keith Lowenfield; and GECOM by a private citizen – Reeaz Holladar – on behalf of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

Coronavirus: Italy in 'massive shock therapy' pledge to offset virus impact

Italy's government has pledged to further increase spending in a "massive shock therapy" to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The country is struggling to adapt to the most restrictive measures since World War Two, introduced on Sunday. Up to 16 million people in northern Italy now need permission to travel under quarantine rules. With 366 deaths now confirmed, Italy is the worst-hit country in the world after China. In a separate development, six people died in a prison riot in the city of Modena, following protests at the new restrictions, local media report. There were also riots at several other prisons in northern Italy. Read more here

Global markets plunge amid coronavirus fears and oil price drop

Global markets are plunging after the implosion of an alliance between OPEC and Russia caused the worst one-day crash in crude prices in nearly 30 years, fueling panic triggered by the escalation of the coronavirus epidemic. Read more here

9th March 2020

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