NEWS
National Awards 2020: Order of the Republic for Dr Wayne Frederick
Dr Wayne Frederick, surgeon and president of Howard University in Washington, DC, was awarded the nation's highest honour, the Order of the Republic of TT (ORTT), for medicine and education, at the postponed National Awards for 2020. The ORTT is given for distinguished and outstanding service to TT. A statement from President's House, where the awards were conferred on Monday afternoon, said Frederick is the distinguished Charles R Drew Endowed Chair of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. Read more here
UWI targets full return for new academic year
It’s been two years since education facilities including tertiary institutions in T&T closed their doors and transitioned to online classes in a bid to keep the COVID-19 virus at bay. While a phased resumption of in-person classes at the secondary and primary levels began in the first and second terms respectively, tertiary level students are yet to return to lecture halls full-time although they have been given permission to return for practicals and labs only. On Monday, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine Campus, Prof Brian Copeland told Guardian Media, “We are targeting a full return as of the new academic year.” Read more here
POLITICS
PM: ALNG Train One not abandoned
The Prime Minister rejected claims being made in some quarters that Atlantic LNG's (ALNG) Train One, which has been shut down since November 2020, will never be restarted. Dr Rowley did so in an opinion piece which was published in all three daily newspapers on Monday. "Our job is to make whatever we have in Train One, equity or relationships, work for the benefit of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. That process is still underway. " He added, "We as a Government, and certainly right-thinking people, cannot be the voices to take delight in nor cheer the news that Train One is no more." Read more here
Kamla wants Paria accident site locked down
Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited must say if it has restarted work at Berth Five and the pipeline where the recent tragedy with the four divers occurred - and police and the Director of Public Prosecutions must lock down that "crime scene." Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar made that call at Monday’s UNC Forum. Speakers kept up the pressure on the Government and Paria on the deaths of LMCS divers Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuff Henry and Rishi Nagassar. They were among a crew of five working on a Paria pipeline at Pointe-a-Pierre on February 25 when an incident occurred and they were sucked into the pipeline. All four men died. The matter is currently under probe. Read more here
BUSINESS
Diptee: We need more agri projects
With food prices increasing stemming from the conflict in Ukraine, now is the time to put agriculture projects in the pipeline to sustain the country, according to Supermarket Association head Rajiv Diptee. The latest UN FAO Food Price Index has shown record increases in February. The Food Price Index averaged 140.7 points in February, up 3.9 per cent from January—this is 24.1 per cent above its level a year earlier and 3.1 points higher than it reached in February 2011. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana set to benefit from highest oil and gas pricesss
Democracy is essential for Guyana to move from a developing nation to a developed nation because the country will have the resources to do so and it has the capacity to be another Norway, according to Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Mauricio Claver-Carone. Norway is considered to be the most sustainable country in the world with output of fossil fuel that is the cleanest, while being environmentally friendly. The country has also led the charge towards renewable energy. In a roundtable with Caribbean journalists on Monday during a virtual meeting over Microsoft Teams, the IDB President said Guyana will have the per capita resources if managed well, to be a shining example for the Caribbean Region. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
War in Ukraine: Russia says it may cut gas supplies if oil ban goes ahead
Russia has said it may close its main gas pipeline to Germany if the West goes ahead with a ban on Russian oil. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said a "rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market", causing prices to more than double to $300 a barrel. The US has been exploring a potential ban with allies as a way of punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. But Germany and the Netherlands rejected the plan on Monday. The EU gets about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia, and has no easy substitutes if supplies are disrupted. Read more here
8th March 2022