NEWS
6 deaths, 217 new covid19 cases
The Ministry of Health has reported six deaths and 119 new covid19 cases on Wednesday. The ministry’s 4pm update said the number of deaths to date is now 1,572, the number of active cases is 4,207 and there have been 53,216 positive cases since March of last year. It said 47,437 patients have recovered and 263 are in hospital. The update said 45 are in step down facilities, 61 are in state quarantine, and 3,682 are in self isolation. Read more here
POLITICS
Trade Minister applauds DeNovo's hiring of Pt Lisas firm for Zandolie platform construction
Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon has applauded DeNovo Energy Ltd's hiring of Pt Lisas-based United Engineering Services Ltd to build its Zandolie platform in the Gulf of Paria. She hailed the venture as a "testament of the capability and capacity of local firms in Trinidad and Tobago to undertake large scale projects in the manufacturing, energy and services sectors utilising local content and resources." "The Ministry of Trade and Industry fully supports this initiative and is committed to advocating for the promotion of local content and the preservation of the environment." Read more here
TTUTA officials walk away from meeting on return of Forms 1-3 students
A meeting between the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) yesterday to discuss the physical reopening of schools for vaccinated students in Forms One to Three did not result in final decisions on how and when this will be done. TTUTA officials last evening said they had walked away from the meeting without having received any clear or straight-forward answers to questions as to how the ministry intended to address unvaccinated students in Forms Four to Six who are at home and what would become of the unvaccinated students in Forms One to Three – all of whom will be preparing for exams. The MoE said feedback had been received of the difficulty some schools are experiencing in delivering online to Forms 1-3 and physically to Forms 4-6 students - despite the presence of connectivity infrastructure at the school, or the provision of MiFi devices and laptops to teachers. Read more here
BUSINESS
Research, development and innovation: Giving Trinidad and Tobago businesses a competitive edge
Who would have thought that the modern computer circuit would have been invented using theories derived from ancient Greek philosophy? Greek philosopher Aristotle who died in 322 BC developed a system of logic based on two propositions – true or false. In the 1800s, English mathematician George Boole used this philosophy to develop a symbolic mathematical system which is now called “boolean algebra.” Using this algebra he wrote several papers, mathematically investigating the laws of thought and the nature of logic. In 1938, American mathematician and electrical engineer Claude E Shannon completed a master’s thesis at MIT based on boolean algebra, which when it was applied revolutionised the study of switches in electrical circuits. This eventually led to the modern computer circuit, the basis of all the technology we use today. Read more here
A failure of leadership
Carl Schmitt, one of the foremost German intellectual right-wing thinkers, argued that the intellectual foundation of Parliament lies not in their representative nature but their commitment to “a process of confrontation of differences and opinions” out of which a political will is established. He defined Parliamentary debate as “an exchange of opinion that is governed by the purpose of persuading one’s opponent through argument of the truth or justice of something, or allowing oneself to be persuaded of something as true and just.” For him, Parliamentary decisions should be made on the basis of a clash of opinions rather than of interests, and debate requires “independence from party ties and freedom from selfish interest; public debate and public discussion, parley.” Read more here
REGIONAL
Gov’t advances efforts to revise Guyana’s NDC
THE Office of the President, on Monday, convened a stakeholder engagement session to discuss the revision of Guyana’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, countries are required to prepare and submit NDCs, outlining their commitments to take action to address climate change. NDCs are required to be updated every five years. Since Guyana’s first submission was made in 2016, a revision is now due. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Kongsberg: Bow and arrow suspect known to Norway police
A man arrested over a deadly bow and arrow attack in Norway had converted to Islam and there were fears he had been radicalised, police say. The 37-year-old Danish citizen is accused of killing four women and a man on Wednesday night in the southern town of Kongsberg. Police were in contact with the man last year over their concerns. The suspect has not been identified, and police are working to establish whether it was a terror attack. Meanwhile, flags were flown at half-mast on Thursday while flowers and other memorials were placed in Kongsberg's main square. The victims were all aged between 50 and 70, regional police chief Ole Bredrup Saeverud told reporters. Residents have told local media that the close-knit community has been deeply shaken by the violence. Read more here
14th October 2021