NEWS
Maracas trail gets facelift through Rotary Club, Digicel Foundation
When Racine Belle saw the refurbished Maracas nature trail leading to the Maracas Waterfall she was pleasantly surprised. Bell said that when she last visited, the site was in a “deplorable condition” and one “could not even recognise the sign.” Belle is from D'Abadie but she has family in Maracas/St Joseph and would usually visit the waterfall when she is there. But when she saw it on Sunday after the Rotary Club of Maracas St Joseph in partnership with the Digicel Foundation worked to refurbish the space, all she could say was that she looked forward to enjoying it. She said the only thing that needs to be done is some road repair. Read more here
Fire officers battle blaze at Point Lisas factory
Firefighters battled a raging inferno inside the eTecK Park in Point Lisas last night, after a chemical factory went up in flames. For several hours, dozens of firefighters from Southern Divisional Headquarters, Central Division, Tunapuna, Wrightson Road, Princes Town and Siparia firefighters risked their lives to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other establishments near Pacific Avenue, Point Lisas. The Point Lisas Industrial Estate comprises 103 companies involved in the production of petrochemicals such as methanol, ammonia and urea. For over three hours, the firefighters also battled to stop the blaze from spreading to nine containers filled with flammable chemicals on the eastern and southern sides of the eTecK Park. Initially, the fire was believed to be a Mastermix warehouse but later was said to be a building adjacent to Mastermix called Gemini Inks, a printing supplies company. Read more here
POLITICS
Hinds: Other restrictions may be lifted when SoE ends
The end of the state of emergency (SoE) on November 29, may see other public health restrictions being lifted, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said on Monday. This despite public health officials expressing worry over a new surge in infections and deaths. Read more here
Dennis to Duke: THA is not the PSA, where you are Lord and God
A campaign promise by Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) leader Watson Duke to pay a $1,000 “jus because” bonus to all employees of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) could cost upwards of $20 million, money that the THA just does not have. Addressing Duke’s promise made during a PDP meeting over the weekend yesterday, current THA Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis said Duke’s promise was just not feasible. “He has said and I don’t think his figure is correct, but he has said that there are some 20,000 public servants on the island. If he gives each of them $1,000, then that is $20 million. If it is $5,000 each, then that is over $100 million. He has to explain what is the authority, basis and justification for that and also where is the funding coming from,” Dennis said. Read more here
REGIONAL
Manufacturing sector ‘booms’ in first half of 2021
Production within Guyana’s manufacturing sector remained positive throughout the first half of 2021, recording an increase in output of 13.1 per cent, according to the Bank of Guyana. This performance, based on statistics from the Central Bank’s mid-year report, is a significant improvement, considering that the sector contracted by 0.2 per cent at the end of the corresponding period last year. “This out-turn reflected a 23.1 per cent rise in output of ‘other’ manufacturing, and 3.1 per cent increase in rice manufacturing, which together offset the decline of 17.2 per cent in the value-added of sugar. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Belarus migrants: Poland fears armed border escalation
Poland has warned of a possible "armed" escalation on its border with Belarus, fearing its neighbour may try to provoke an incident with hundreds of migrants seeking to cross into the EU. Extra troops have been deployed after desperate crowds tried to cut a barbed-wire border fence. Poland, the European Union and Nato say Belarus is orchestrating the problem, a claim denied by its disputed leader. Poland says it is shutting a major border crossing at Kuznica. As many as 4,000 people are now caught up in the migrant crisis on Poland's eastern border, officials in Warsaw say. Overnight temperatures at the border have slumped below zero and several people have already died in recent weeks. Read more here
China's new high-tech aircraft carrier could launch in early 2022, satellite imagery analysis shows
A new Chinese aircraft carrier with technology nearly equaling the capabilities of its US counterparts could be launched as soon as February next year, according to an analysis of satellite imagery by a Washington-based think tank. In images provided by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the carrier -- known only as the Type 003 -- can be seen on the edge of completion on October 23, in the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai. The installation of major external and internal components, including power plants and the aircraft launching system, appears to either be finished or on the verge of completion, CSIS said. Only a few additional items -- such as radar and weapon systems -- remain to be installed before the vessel can slip into the Yangtze River, the analysts added. Read more here
9th November 2021