NEWS
Lendore bags third post-Olympic men's 400m bronze
Olympian Deon Lendore earned bronze in the men’s 400m at the Zurich-leg of the 2021 Wanda Diamond League in which concluded in Switzerland on Thursday. The 28-year old quarter-miler clocked 44.81 seconds. He finished behind American winner Michael Cherry (44.41s) and Grenadian silver medallist Kirani James (44.42s). James is a three-time Olympic medallist (2012 gold, 2016 silver and 2020 bronze) in this event while Cherry won his first Olympic medal, gold with USA’s men’s 4x400m team, at the Tokyo Games. Read more here
Paediatric COVID-19 cases rising in Tobago
COVID-19 cases among children are on the rise in Tobago according to data presented during the Division of Health, Wellness and Family Services yesterday. Since January some 402 cases were recorded among people under the age of 20; 296 of whom were 15 years and under. With 150 infections August saw the largest number of people under 20 contracting COVID-19; 105 of whom were under the age of 15. While January did not see any under 20s infected, February and March each saw one child under the age of five contract the disease. Cases under 20 years of age began to climb from April which witnessed four infections in children between 0 to 15 years, 3 between 6 to 10 years, three between 11 to 15 years and 3 between 16 to 20 years. Read more here
POLITICS
Ministry not surprised by pregnant women’s delay in vaccinations
The Ministry of Health was not surprised by the lack of an initial rush of pregnant women coming forward to be vaccinated for COVID-19 when it extended the option to them late last month. Appearing on Aakash Vani 106.5 FM’s Morning Panchayat show with host Satesh Mahabir yesterday morning, the Ministry’s Director of Women’s Health Dr Adesh Sirjusingh said that he was not immediately concerned that only approximately 350 pregnant women have been vaccinated since vaccinations were extended to them on August 25. Read more here
BUSINESS
Downie appointed Bankers Association president
RBC managing director Richard Downie is the new president of the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BATT). Downie was formally installed as president during a handover ceremony at the First Citizens Corporate Centre, Port of Spain on Tuesday.
He succeeds First Citizens Group CEO Karen Darbasie and will serve as BATT president for the next two years. Darbasie was appointed on August 15, 2019. Read more here
AMCHAM T&T lists post-Covid plan for economic recovery
Accelerating the development of oil resources in the shortest possible time-frame is just one of the recommendations for economic recovery the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM T&T) has submitted to the Finance Ministry for the upcoming 2021/2022 fiscal budget. AMCHAM T&T—which represents 300 companies across several sectors—has submitted a 15-page document to the ministry. Read more here
REGIONAL
ExxonMobil strikes more oil at Stabroek Block
EXXONMOBIL Guyana has struck big yet again at the 6.6 million acres Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, discovering high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs at the Pinktail well. In a press statement on Thursday, the company confirmed that its Pinktail well encountered 220 feet (67 meters) of net pay in high quality hydrocarbon- bearing sandstone reservoirs. ‘Pay’, according to Schlumberger, is a reservoir or portion of a reservoir that contains economically producible hydrocarbons. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Biden's six-step Covid plan, explained
The US Covid situation is as dire as ever, with 1,500 people dying each day -- an average of 150,000 new cases each day. With more than 100,000 hospitalized Americans, the number of deaths -- almost certainly an undercount -- will continue to rise above the 653,000 current total. It seems sure to eclipse the death total from the 1918 influenza pandemic and is far greater than every US conflict except the Civil War. President Joe Biden, outlining a new Covid strategy on Thursday, expressed near-anger at the unvaccinated. "We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us," he said, before laying out new mandates and requirements for US citizens to get the virus under control. Read more here
MI5 boss warns of Afghanistan 'morale boost' for extremists
The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban is likely to have "emboldened" UK terrorists, the director general of MI5 has warned. Ken McCallum told the BBC that while the terror threat would not change overnight, there could be a "morale boost" for extremists.
The UK has to be "vigilant" for a rise in "inspired terrorism", he said. A total of 31 late-stage attack plots have been foiled in the UK in the past four years, said Mr McCallum. That includes six during the pandemic period alone, he added. While they were largely Islamic extremist plots, there were also a "growing number" of attacks planned by extreme right-wing terrorists. "The terrorist threat to the UK, I am sorry to say, is a real and enduring thing," he added. Read more here
10th September 2021