NEWS
Jearlean John: Lost generation if Government doesn't get covid19 vaccines soon
Opposition Senator Jearlean John is warning of a new lost generation in five-ten years if Government fails to secure covid19vaccines urgently and reopen schools, the borders and the economy. She said the children who have been out of school for the past year and the 49,000 children who are either without devices or connection will be “the real pandemic, five or ten years down the road.” Read more here
Two teens, man, 60, among 4 murdered
The criminal element went on a rampage yesterday, killing three people, including two teenagers and a 60-year-old man. And in another incident, a San Fernando man stabbed his girlfriend to death before taking his own life in a domestic-related matter. In the latest incident, police said mother of three Adeina Adana Alleyne, 35, was stabbed to death by her common-law husband inside her Building Five apartment at Embacadere, San Fernando, sometime before 7 pm. Read more here
POLITICS
$7b at stake – Imbert warns over 2011 PSA, NIB wage agreement
A collective agreement reached between the Public Service Association (PSA) and the National Insurance Board (NIB), under the former People's Partnership (PP) government, could have consequences that are "far-reaching and could result in tremendous expense to taxpayers" if it is implemented, Finance Minister Colm Imbert has warned. Speaking in the Senate on Tuesday, Imbert said, "I can say off the bat, if that agreement, the wage increase that was contemplated by that agreement, was implemented in the public sector, it would cost $7 billion." He explained, "This is why I am seeking advice at this point in time and that is all I can say at this point in time." Read more here
Minister says 21 children have COVID related illness
Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh said there were 21 confirmed cases of Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome (Mis-C) among infants in Trinidad and none in Tobago — and all have recovered. “I checked with doctors (yesterday morning) and there are no fatalities,” Deyalsingh added in confirming the situation yesterday. He said initially there were 29 suspected cases – 28 in Trinidad and one in Tobago. Read more here
BUSINESS
Business chambers worry over covid19 vaccines supply, fear Agostini's monopoly
San Fernando-based business chambers are expressing concern over the acquisition of covid19 vaccines for Trinidad and Tobago after Government announced it would be getting less than half of than the 100,800 doses it had ordered. Also, the news of the takeover of two pharmaceutical firms which are distributors for vaccine manufacturers by the Agostini's Group has raised alarm of a monopoly on distribution. President of the of the Greater San Fernando Chamber Kiran Singh told Newsday on Tuesday it has been frustrating to see what is happening with efforts to acquire vaccines for the country. Read more here
GraceKennedy acquires Scotia Insurance Caribbean Ltd
GraceKennedy (GK) has come to an agreement with Scotia Insurance Caribbean Ltd to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Scotia Insurance Eastern Caribbean Ltd (SIECL), with the associated transaction being subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. SIECL is a licensed life insurance company operating in seven countries in the Eastern Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Read more here
REGIONAL
Upgrade for GPL’s fault identification system
Numerous power outages prompted a meeting among Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar and the top management of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), where it was highlighted that the company’s fault identification system will be upgraded. Following the meeting on Tuesday, the Prime Minister explained that the Government opted to engage GPL amid the numerous reports of the frequent power outages, or ‘blackouts’ as they are more commonly called, over the past weekend. These occurred primarily on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara. Read more here
Jobless, poor elderly wooed with $10,000 grant as Gov’t rolls out $60b stimulus
Pushing aggressively for herd immunity in Jamaica within the new fiscal year, the Holness administration announced on Tuesday a $60-billion allocation aimed at purchasing COVID-19 vaccines and dedicated to social and economic recovery under an initiative dubbed – The SERVE Jamaica Programme. A one-off dividend of $33 billion from the Bank of Jamaica will help to fund the SERVE programme. This also includes $31.1 billion to be spent on infrastructural development – the largest sums to be spent in any one fiscal year on infrastructure projects. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Westerners are increasingly scared of traveling to China as threat of detention rises
Jeff Wasserstrom is a self-proclaimed China specialist who is seriously considering never returning to China -- at least, he says, not while President Xi Jinping is in power. The American professor, who for decades made multiple trips a year to China and was last there in 2018, hasn't focused his career on Tibet or Taiwan -- lightning-rod issues which attract Beijing's ire at lightning-quick speed -- but he has written about cultural diversity and student protests in mainland China, and appeared on panels with people he says the Communist Party is "clearly upset with." Read more here
Covid: Brazil experts issue warning as hospitals 'close to collapse'
Health systems in most of Brazil's largest cities are close to collapse due to Covid-19 cases, the country's leading health institute warns. More than 80% of intensive care unit beds are occupied in the capitals of 25 of Brazil's 27 states, Fiocruz said. Experts warn that the highly contagious variant in Brazil may have knock-on effects in the region and beyond. "Brazil is a threat to humanity," Fiocruz epidemiologist Jesem Orellana told the AFP news agency. The country has recorded more than 266,000 deaths and 11 million cases since the pandemic began. Read more here
10th March 2021