NEWS
Abdool-Richards: Vaccination remains voluntary
With more sectors of the economy opening up, greater movement of people in public spaces and no evidence as yet of the delta variant in Trinidad and Tobago, the Government is maintaining a voluntary covid19 vaccination policy. Principal Medical Officer at the Health Ministry Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards made this point at the virtual health news conference on Monday. "The Government of TT has recognised that vaccinations are really a multi-sectoral response and that requires the co-operation of the members of the public." Read more here
Gamers happy lottery booths back open, but agents still worry
The odds had been stacked against them for nearly three months, but yesterday, gamblers breathed a sigh of relief when the majority of National Lotteries Control Board operators resumed business. Despite many missing the mark, players said they were happy for a chance to hit the jackpot once more. According to one player who was captured outside a lottery booth on Keith Street, San Fernando, “I don’t win but I like the excitement, the amusement nah.” Just before midday yesterday, a team from Guardian Media captured Abedie Cox hustling to “play a mark” at a booth in Carenage. Read more here
POLITICS
MP Haynes questions hybrid learning for September school reopening
MP for Tabaquite Anita Haynes has questioned the Ministry of Education’s proposed plans for hybrid learning in September. In a statement, Haynes said the population has been thrust into a state of uncertainty over the reopening of schools next month. “What assessments have been conducted that support this approach?” she asked. “The Ministry of Education needs to use more substantive data and less guesswork when making plans for our nation’s children.” Read more here
Social Development Minister makes humanitarian call to landlords as evictions are on the rise
Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox, is making a humanitarian call to landlords to hold their hands in evicting tenants who cannot afford to pay their rent. This, as Cox confirmed on Monday, eviction notices were on the rise in T&T as those on the breadline, including single mothers struggle to pay rent. In an official written response to questions sent by Guardian Media, Cox said, “Through the Ministry’s critical incidence mechanism reports are being received from members of the public, as well as media personnel on various social issues that require emergency intervention. These include reports of single mothers and their children being forced to turn to the streets following eviction and or domestic violence.” Read more here
BUSINESS
Heritage destroys derelict tank
Crude oil storage tank #4 at the Galeota Tank Farm, Guayaguayare will be decommissioned and dismantled from Monday, Heritage Petroleum Co Ltd has stated. Tank #4 is an out-of-service tank, with a capacity of 60,000 barrels. The decommissioning project is expected to last 66 continuous working days. Work is scheduled to take place Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Heritage said no traffic disruptions are expected to occur as a result of the project. The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) has issued Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) 6125/2020 which governs and manages the environmental impact of the project. Heritage stated that the transportation of waste will be conducted along Isthnus Road, Guayaguayare Road, Naparima Mayaro Road through San Fernando to a waste facility in La Brea. Read more here
T&T open for investments
Trinidad and Tobago is open for investments in the areas of agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism, maritime activities, financial services and logistics and distribution,” says Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon. She was speaking during a webinar hosted by the World Trade Centre, Mumbai, and the High Commission of India, Port of Spain, on Friday. The webinar was a curtain-raiser event to the online bilateral exhibition themed “Trade and Business Opportunities between India and Caribbean countries” which will run from August 16 to November 16, 2021. Read more here
REGIONAL
Consumers, business community to save $4.8B
In direct response to increasing commodity prices fuelled by the pandemic-induced astronomical shipping costs, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has ordered that freight charges be adjusted to pre-pandemic levels, that is, rates charged before March 2020, effective August 1, 2021. The ultimate result of this adjustment to customs duties, excise taxes and input value added tax (VAT) on goods imported, would be the return of $4.8 billion to the pockets of consumers and the business community over the next six months. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Virginia Giuffre: Prince Andrew accuser files civil case in US
A US woman who alleges she was brought to the UK aged 17 to have sex with the Duke of York has filed a civil case in New York claiming he abused her. Virginia Giuffre, who was an accuser of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, claims she was sexually assaulted by Prince Andrew in London and New York. A spokeswoman for Prince Andrew, 61, said there was "no comment" on the case, which was filed under New York's Child Victims Act. He has consistently denied the claims. The case alleges the prince sexually abused Ms Giuffre - then known as Virginia Roberts - at the London home of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and at Epstein's homes in Manhattan and Little St James in the US Virgin Islands. It claims the prince engaged in sexual acts without her consent, knowing how old she was and "that she was a sex-trafficking victim". Read more here
Greece faces 'disaster of unprecedented proportions' as wildfires ravage the country
Greece is facing a "natural disaster of unprecedented proportions," as 586 wildfires burn in "all corners" of the country, according to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Mediterranean nation is broiling under one of its worst heat waves in decades and firefighters continue to battle blazes across the country. Sixty-three organized evacuations have taken place in the past few days, Mitsotakis said in a televised address on Monday. He also apologized "for any weaknesses" on the part of the government in containing the wildfires, which have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced people to evacuate dozens of villages over the past week. Read more here
10th August 2021