NEWS
No Pfizer jabs yet for children five-11 in Trinidad and Tobago
Even though the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently gave the green light for children five-11 in the US to be vaccinated with the Pfizer covid19 vaccine, this country will not do so until the World Health Organization (WHO) has given approval. Epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds stated the Ministry of Health’s position during Monday’s covid19 briefing. Hinds explained, “The FDA’s approval is basically a national-level approval for the US. Read more here
ICU nurses traumatised by severity of COVID deaths
While most people who contract COVID-19 survive, there are patients lying on beds with tubes stuck down their throats to transfer oxygen to their lungs at Intensive Care Units (ICU) across the parallel healthcare system. However, according to one team lead at the Couva Hospital and Muti-Training Facility, Josette Bethel-Smith, ICU nurses are now being traumatised by the loss of their patients after fighting hard to save their lives. In a moving story at the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 update yesterday, Bethel-Smith said people would never understand what goes on in an ICU unless they are there. Read more here
POLITICS
PM to address COP26 climate change conference on Tuesday
The Prime Minister will address the final day of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland on Tuesday. COP26 began on Monday. A post on the Office of the Prime Minister's (OPM) Facebook page said Dr Rowley joined other world leaders at the opening ceremony. The OPM also said, "Prime Minister Rowley is expected to deliver a national statement tomorrow which is the second and final day of the World Leaders Summit." Among the other leaders present are host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Read more here
BUSINESS
Witco records $382m profit
The West Indian Tobacco Company (Witco) has reported a before-taxation profit of $382.9 million in its unaudited interim results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Witco chairman Anthony Philip said this represented a decline of $49.4 million or 11.4 per cent below the corresponding period last year. He said Witco's performance was a reflection of the realities of the covid19 pandemic, including "periods of shutdown and restricted commercial activities." Read more here
REGIONAL
China Railway to build Amaila Falls hydro
The Ministry of Finance has reported that Cabinet has granted its ‘no-objection’ for the Office of the Prime Minister to engage the China Railway Group Limited to construct the Amaila Falls hydropower station (AFHP) based on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model. Under this model, the company will supply electricity to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. at a cost not exceeding US$0.07737 per KWH and. According to a release, this follows publication of a request for proposals by government in various national newspapers during the period July 25 to August 15, 2021. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
COP26: US to stop methane leaks from oil and gas wells
The US is set to announce measures to prevent millions of tonnes of the greenhouse gas methane from entering the atmosphere. The measures will target methane leaking from oil and gas rigs across the US. It is one of the most potent greenhouse gases and responsible for a third of current warming from human activities. A global partnership to cut methane is to be announced at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow on Tuesday. Dozens of countries have joined the initiative led by the US and the EU to cut emissions of the gas by at least 30% by 2030, compared with 2020 levels. However, China, Russia and India - some of the world's top methane emitters - are not among them. Read more here
2nd November 2021