NEWS
‘More cases of MIS-C, encephalitis in children’
There has been an increase in the number of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) cases in children locally for both January and February. This is according to senior paediatric emergency medicine specialist at the North-Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) Dr Joanne Paul, who also urged parents to get their children vaccinated, as babies especially and children with chronic medical conditions suffer with severe Covid-19. Read more here
PAHO director says vaccination best option
Although there was a decline in new COVID-19 cases recorded across the Americas in the past week, Pan American Health Organisation’s (PAHO) Director Dr Carissa Etienne is urging people to get vaccinated, as this remains the best measure to fight the virus. Speaking during PAHO’s weekly media briefingon Wednesday, Etienne said while there were 2.2 million new cases of COVID-19 reported in the Americas in the last week, this represented a 28 per cent decline from the previous week. Following six consecutive weeks of increases in new cases, she said, “We saw deaths fall for the first time since the beginning of the Omicron wave to 29,000 new deaths reported in our region.” Read more here
POLITICS
Senate approves motion to censure opposition senators
The Senate on Tuesday approved a private motion, filed by Independent Senator Anthony Vieira, which called for it to censure opposition senators for their conduct during a sitting of the Electoral College on October 21, 2021. The college on that day rejected a motion filed by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the appointment of a tribunal to investigate the removal of President Paula-Mae Weekes from office. Persad-Bissessar’s motion was in relation to events that led to the collapse of the Police Service Commission (PSC), and failure to send a merit list of candidates for commissioner of police to the House of Representatives for consideration. Read more here
Education Minister to meet with National Security officials next week
Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly will meet with officials from the Ministry of National Security (MNS) and Ministry of Youth Development and National Service (MYDNS) next week to discuss violence in schools. Responding briefly to a recording of female students fighting in a classroom last evening, Gadsby-Dolly said the meeting will focus on finding solutions to the deeper issues of which violence is the symptom. The 27-second video which was posted to social media showed several female students slapping and pulling each other, pushing and shoving one another, resulting in over-turned chairs and desks as other classmates egged them on. Read more here
BUSINESS
The Brix hotel adds Trini history, easy-going personality to Marriott brand
The story, the decor, the space, the view, the menu and the people of The Brix Hotel all reinforce the brand’s tagline: Exactly like nothing else. The Brix Hotel, Autograph Collection by Marriott International, at Coblentz Avenue, Cascade, is the newest hotel in Trinidad and Tobago. It has 159 rooms and three suites, with the size of each room averaging around 480 square feet as opposed to other hotels, whose rooms average around 300 square feet. Read more here
Secret deal: Govt agrees Atlantic LNG Train 1 is dead
Documents show government has given up on Train 1. Quietly agrees to three train facility. All the while telling the country it is still in negotiations. The Keith Rowley administration has quietly walked away from any hope of salvaging Atlantic LNG Train 1 and has instead signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell, the National Gas Company and bpTT to unitise trains two, three and four into a single train. The government had announced the plan to have a single LNG train facility and that it had signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the multinationals and the state-owned company, but it has never told the country the terms of the agreement. Read more here
REGIONAL
Local Content Registers operationalised
The Natural Resources Ministry, on Tuesday, operationalised its Local Content Registers, opening the door for Guyanese businesses and individuals to gain easier access to opportunities in the oil and gas sector. Subject minster, Vickram Bharrat, in a recent interview had said that the registers were part of the hallmark Local Content Bill, which was passed in the National Assembly, on December 29, 2021. Minister Bharrat stated that the registers will be used as a way to bring together local expertise, human capital and businesses, including those operating in the oil and gas sector. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine conflict: Russian forces invade after Putin TV declaration
Russian forces have launched a military assault on neighbouring Ukraine, crossing its borders and bombing military targets near big cities. In a pre-dawn TV statement Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia did not plan to occupy Ukraine and demanded that its military lay down their arms. Moments later, attacks were reported on Ukrainian military targets. Ukraine said that "Putin has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine". Russia's military breached the border in a number of places, in the north, south and east, including from Belarus, an long-time Russian ally. At least seven people are known to have been killed, including civilians, but a Ukrainian presidential adviser said that more than 40 soldiers had died and dozens more were wounded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that martial law was now being imposed across all of Ukraine, and then severed all diplomatic relations with Russia. Read more here
24th February 2022