NEWS
Active covid19 cases down, no new reports
The Ministry of Health’s 4pm update on Monday said there were no new reported covid19 cases, reflecting data taken between February 5 and 7. The number of active cases has dropped to 194 from 215 on Sunday. The total number of deaths remains at 135. Read more here
Schools open but TTUTA finds students flouting COVID rules
Thirty-five thousand students returned to school yesterday, as the Education Ministry opened schools on a phased basis for students in Forms 4, 5 and 6. But according to TTUTA some students were flouting the health protcols in place to keep them COVID free. Speaking to Guardian Media at the St Augustine Secondary School, Education Minister, Dr Nyan Gadsby Dolly announced that the Secondary Entrance Assessment examination will be held on June 10. Read more here
POLITICS
Couva West students happy to return to school
When Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly visited the Couva West Secondary School on Monday, many students told her they were happy to finally return to physical classrooms. On Monday, the first cohort of students due to sit exams soon returned to school. The minister also visited the St Augustine, Diego Martin North, St James and San Juan Secondary Schools. Read more here
AG: We hear you, we’ll do our part
“We hear you, we share your pain.” That was the response to anti-violence protestors and those at vigils from Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi who has redoubled a push for the return of the hangman. “We guarantee we’ll do our part but the Opposition’s refusal to help pass laws to protect you, the public, has shown they’re not hearing you,” he said. Read more here
BUSINESS
CARIRI, Nedco partner to help entrepreneurial ideas
With job losses increasing in light of the economic impact of Covid-19, the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) has seen a steady increase in the number of people approaching them with ideas to open their own businesses. Read more here
REGIONAL
T&T pays better price for Guyana’s sugar
The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has secured an increase of US$30 per metric tonne for sugar from Trinidad and Tobago and has signed a one-year agreement with Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) which offers a much higher price for molasses. This was disclosed on Monday by GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sasenarine Singh, during a visit to the Blairmont Sugar Estate. Singh told members of the media that the corporation is also looking to expand its market in the Caribbean. Read more here
‘Sanitise and carry on’ - Education minister dismisses talk of face-to-face lockdown
Despite calls by the country’s main teachers’ lobby and the umbrella parent group for an immediate end to face-to-face classes, Education Minister Fayval Williams has rejected those appeals, saying schools are governed by the standard workplace policy on COVID-19. Jamaica has recorded its largest sustained series of infections over a five-day period, totting up 1,325 cases of the coronavirus that threaten to swamp state hospitals and worsen the public healthcare crisis. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Trump's trial set to rock Washington and echo through the ages
The simple question posed by Donald Trump's second impeachment trial that begins Tuesday is whether a president who loses reelection can get away with a violent coup attempt in a desperate bid to stay in power. The answer contained in the former commander-in-chief's likely acquittal for inciting a deadly mob assault on the Capitol will echo through generations and may influence the outcome of some unknowable future test of US democracy. Read more here
Myanmar coup: Police fire rubber bullets as protesters defy ban
Police in Myanmar have fired rubber bullets during a demonstration in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, as thousands defied a ban on protests. Water cannons and tear gas have also been used against protesters, who are standing against a coup that removed the elected government last week. BBC Burmese has been told at least two protesters have been seriously injured. The fourth day of consecutive protests is under way, despite new restrictions being introduced on Monday. Both a ban on large public gatherings and night-time curfews have been instigated in some cities, with military leader Min Aung Hlaing warning that no-one is above the law. Read more here
9th February 2021