NEWS
UWI Principal welcomes virtual graduations
Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus Professor Brian Copeland says he feels great as preparations are underway for the university’s first-ever series of virtual graduation ceremonies. The campus’ five graduation ceremonies will be held online owing to the covid19 pandemic and the current public health regulations preventing gatherings of more than ten people. Read more here
No-alcohol decision will stop restaurants from operating as bars
Founder of the Trinidad and Tobago Restaurant Week, Shira Mohammed believes the government’s decision to debar the sale of alcohol at restaurants even as in-house dining resumes, was a stratagem to prevent restaurants from turning into bars. In an interview with Guardian Media yesterday, Mohammed said, “I honestly think the decision to keep alcohol as a ban even when resuming in-house dining is really to minimise the sale of alcohol or encouraging people to turn restaurants into bars.” Read more here
POLITICS
Vasant wants transparent UNC internal election
Former United National Congress (UNC) Minister, Vasant Bharath is once again calling on the party’s incumbent leader to ensure that the party’s internal elections are conducted fairly. During a news conference at his San Juan office yesterday, Bharath, who is challenging incumbent Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the leadership role in the December 6 election, said the voice of the party’s membership is being suppressed by Persad-Bissessar’s administration. “Unfair elections serve no one except dictators, and those who are addicted to a position despite not achieving any tangible results while holding that position,” Bharath said. Read more here
Tobago to honour community icon at Comdev Week
The presentation of the community icon award will be the highlight of the Division of Community Development, Enterprise Development and Labour’s Virtual Comdev Week, which begins today and ends on Friday. Apart from showcasing the division’s activities within communities, Comdev Week celebrates the spirit of volunteerism and also offers coping strategies on a range of family and community-related issues. Read more here
BUSINESS
Managing one’s income
The 2021 national budget of Trinidad and Tobago was presented in Parliament on October 5, 2020. Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic challenges that arose due to the lockdowns and restrictive measures implemented to curb the infection rate, along with depressed energy. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guard Disembarked Vehicle Minutes Before Four Killed In Highway Collision
Kymani Steele is still in shock as he remembers disembarking the Toyota Fielder death car around 15 minutes before a fiery collision along the Queen’s Highway in St Ann killed four members of a family on Sunday morning. Steele, a security guard, looked on in disbelief as he saw the bodies arriving at the St Ann’s Bay Hospital hours after he had cheated death. What makes the event more chilling is that he remembers them discussing the probability of accidents during the journey. Read more here
Lethem’s power capacity to triple with new energy projects
Primary production has been the hallmark of the local economy, mainly because secondary production- manufacturing- has been constrained by the absence of reliable and cheap energy, something which the new government is looking to address, incrementally, through its revised energy mix, which includes tripling the power in Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). Energy and electricity, particularly from a renewable source, are undoubtedly critical elements to the growth of an economy and the welfare of people, as they catalyse advancement on all fronts. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Trump in denial over election defeat as Biden gears up to fight Covid
Even with President Donald Trump still refusing to concede the election, President-elect Joe Biden will launch an aggressive plan on Monday to control the pandemic that is escalating at an alarming rate and will define his administration as soon as he takes office. Biden's announcement of a coronavirus task force is an acknowledgment of record new infection numbers in recent days that mean that the Covid-19 crisis will be far worse by the time he reaches the Oval Office in January. The initiative is a forceful statement of intent and makes clear that Biden will use an active transition period to mobilize against the staggering health and economic challenges he will face. And it indicates that he is already moving ahead with the business of assuming power after celebrating the achievement of his three-decades long quest for the presidency on Saturday. Read more here
Virgin Hyperloop pod transport tests first passenger journey
Virgin Hyperloop has trialled its first ever journey with passengers, in the desert of Nevada. The futuristic transport concept involves pods inside vacuum tubes carrying passengers at high speeds. In the trial, two passengers - both company staff - travelled the length of a 500m test track in 15 seconds, reaching 107mph (172km/h). However, this is a fraction of Virgin's ambitions for travel speeds of more than 1,000km/h. Read more here
9th November 2020