NEWS
33,000 doses of covid19 vaccines coming
A shipment of 33,000 covid19 vaccine doses is now expected to reach Trinidad and Tobago by the end of March, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said during a press conference on Monday. The shipment is part of 100,800 vaccines secured through the Covax facility. “We are now waiting on our first tranche of 33,000, which we are guaranteed at this stage,” Deyalsingh said. “The rest of the vaccines will follow between March and May.” Read more here
Fair Trading body to monitor Agostini’s acquisition
The Pharmaceutical Board of T&T and other businesses are concerned about the possible effects of the Agostini’s Group’s acquisition of certain distribution companies - including a ripple effect on prices for customers and on other businesses. But T&T’s Fair Trading Commission intends to continue monitoring the situation post-acquisition. “Approval isn’t the end of the process,” said TTFTC executive director Bevan Narinesingh yesterday. Read more here
POLITICS
Moonilal: Government hypocritical on IWD
Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal on Monday claimed the failure of the Government to fix problems at the Ramai Trace Hindu School makes any greetings it extends on International Women's Day "hypocritcal and deceitful." Monday was International Women's Day. In a statement, Moonilal said the school was more than 90 per cent complete by the time the former UNC-led People's Partnership coalition government demitted office in September 2015. He claimed that for over five years, the PNM has "steadfastly refused to finish and put the facility to use." Read more here
Kamla pledges to support pepper spray law
Bring the pepper spray legislation and the Opposition United National Congress will support it - but the party still has concerns about the Anti-Gang bill being debated in the Senate on Tuesday morning. And there still isn’t equality of pay for women, a gender policy, or policy against sexual harassment in the workplace. Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar raised those issues at Monday night’s UNC virtual report, which featured a special platform of female speakers marking yesterday’s International Women’s Day. Read more here
BUSINESS
It won’t harm consumers
The Trinidad and Tobago Fair Trading Commission (FTC) said it took four months to evaluate the application acquisition by local pharmaceutical importer, Smith Robertson, to acquire competing pharmaceutical importer Oscar Francois and an associate company, before granting it approval. Read more here
REGIONAL
Petrojam fallout
Another former top executive at Jamaica’s state-owned oil refinery Petrojam is expected to be slapped with fraud-related charges early next week, senior law enforcement sources have disclosed. Read more here
Three new tourism circuits to be developed this year
Guyana’s ecological construct, which includes an expanse of greenery, fresh water and natural beauty, has served as an attraction for tourists from across the world, but, with the country’s true potential still being somewhat undiscovered, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce will be looking to expose this nation’s full wonders through the development of three new tourism circuits. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
First independent report into Xinjiang genocide allegations claims evidence of Beijing's 'intent to destroy' Uyghur people
The Chinese government's alleged actions in Xinjiang have violated every single provision in the United Nations' Genocide Convention, according to an independent report by more than 50 global experts in human rights, war crimes and international law. The report, released Tuesday by the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy think tank in Washington DC, claimed the Chinese government "bears state responsibility for an ongoing genocide against the Uyghur in breach of the (UN) Genocide Convention." Read more here
Covid vaccines: How fast is progress around the world?
More than 300 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines have been administered, in more than 100 countries worldwide. However, there are vast differences in the pace of progress in different parts of the world. Some countries have secured and delivered doses to a large proportion of their population - but many more are still waiting for their first shipments to arrive. Read more here
9th March 2021