NEWS
Heritage cleaning up oil spill in Point Fortin
Cleaning up after an oil leak in Point Fortin continued on Monday as workers tried to minimise the damage. Workers from state-owned Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd, Quintana Sales and Services Ltd and Petting Zoo Serpentarium Wet and Wild Exotics were at the site when Newsday visited. The source of the leak had not yet been identified and Heritage was trying to find the cause. Read more here
POLITICS
PM attends Caricom emergency meeting on covid19
The Prime Minister was set to attend a Caricom special emergency heads of government meeting on Monday morning, said a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister. It said the virtual meeting would focus on the management of covid19 in the region. Along with Dr Rowley, Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne was also due to attend. Read more here
Ministry: No deaths related to vaccine
There have been no deaths relating to the COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Ministry of Health. This follows a recent Facebook post by a woman who claimed her 12-year-old niece died after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Asked by Guardian Media to address this claim during the ministry’s COVID-19 virtual media conference yesterday, Principal Medical Officer Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards said, “At this point in time, the ministry does not have any information regarding the death of a 12-year-old child post-vaccine administration.” Read more here
BUSINESS
Young plans to take electric vehicles policy to Cabinet
Energy Minister Stuart Young says he intends to take a policy to Cabinet in a few weeks time to promote the use of electric vehicles in this country to try and help save the environment. Young made the statement yesterday as he delivered an address at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Solid Waste Management Co Ltd (SWMCOL) and the National Gas Company (NGC) to capture and utilise the methane gas emitted by the Forres Park landfill. He said such an agreement was “long overdue” and urged the two State agencies to move beyond an MOU to a more sustainable project as the time for talk has passed. Read more here
Union takes Republic Bank to court over vaccine policy
The Banking, Insurance and General Workers’ Union (BIGWU) filed a petition against Republic Bank Ltd in the Industrial Court yesterday, calling for the bank to end its return-to-work policy. BIGWU executive Jason Brown said yesterday the bank is refusing to meet and treat with the union on the workers’ issues including the demands they bear costs of the PCR tests, which could amount to about $3,000 a month. Read more here
REGIONAL
Citizens shun lockdown calls from ‘Opposition elements’
Residents throughout Guyana have shunned a call from elements of the opposition for a shutdown of the country for business. On Monday, all businesses and government offices in the various regions were in full operation. At the various markets throughout Guyana, vendors were busy hawking their goods as a steady stream of customers made their daily purchases and went about their business. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
China rushes to contain 'school centered' Delta outbreak before major holiday season
Chinese authorities are rushing to contain a widening Delta variant outbreak in the southern province of Fujian ahead of a major upcoming national holiday, when hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel across the country -- creating a window for the highly infectious variant to spread far and wide. The outbreak, dubbed China's "first school-centered flare-up" by state media, was originally detected Friday at a elementary school in the city of Putian. It has since spread throughout the province, infecting more than 100 people in three cities. Read more here
Climate change: World now sees twice as many days over 50C
The number of extremely hot days every year when the temperature reaches 50C has doubled since the 1980s, a global BBC analysis has found. They also now happen in more areas of the world than before, presenting unprecedented challenges to human health and to how we live. The total number of days above 50C (122F) has increased in each decade since 1980. On average, between 1980 and 2009, temperatures passed 50C about 14 days a year. The number rose to 26 days a year between 2010 and 2019. In the same period, temperatures of 45C and above occurred on average an extra two weeks a year. Read more here
14th September 2021