NEWS
16 new covid19 cases, no deaths reported
Seven of the 16 new covid19 cases detected between November 28 and 30 are from Tobago. There were no deaths reported over the last 24 hours, so the total remains at 120. The Health Ministry’s release on Tuesday afternoon said the total number of active cases stands at 758. There are 42 people in hospital and 671 people in home self-isolation, 186 of whom are in the prison system. Read more here
PM: Spike in sex crimes against children horrendous
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the apparent current upsurge in sex crimes against children and young girls in particular is horrendous. However, he says the number of cases being reported to the T&T Police Service is as a result of the systems that are being put in place to help protect victims. In the past seven days, 11 cases of sexual assault against minors have been heard in the local courts. On Monday, five men appeared before courts in Port-of-Spain and San Fernando respectively, to answer to various such charges and yesterday, two more appeared. Read more here
POLITICS
PM wants to see refinery in local hands
The Prime Minister has said he would like to see the Guaracara refinery restarted and run by locals. However, he gave no commitment on Tuesday morning in response to a question as to whether Patriotic Energies and Technologies Co Ltd, had satisfied government’s requirement to take possession of the refinery, which has been out of action for the past two years. Read more here
AG: Ruling in migrant case helps state uphold law
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi says Justice Frank Seepersad's ruling in a case against an 11-year-old Venezuelan girl may be a victory which he takes no pleasure in. However, he said it was important in the context of the state being able to uphold Trinidad and Tobago's laws going forward. Seepersad yesterday refused to grant an injunction barring the State from deporting the girl pending the determination of a substantive legal challenge on her right to stay in T&T while seeking refugee status. Read more here
BUSINESS
Minister: Utility rates must increase for greater efficiency
In order for greater efficiency in the public utilities sector, current rates must increase. This from the Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales, who was in Tobago on Monday. The minister spoke with members of the media following his tour of the Cove Power Plant. Read more here
REGIONAL
Gov’t Backed Into Corner For $57b NHT Drawdown
Financial expert Dennis Chung says the Holness administration had no alternative but to tap the coffers of the National Housing Trust (NHT) over the next five years to shore up government spending in the wake of the massive fallout owing to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance and the Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke tabled a bill on Tuesday to amend the NHT Act to allow for the Government to draw down $57 billion from the housing entity over the next five years to cushion the economic impact of the virus. Read more here
232 persons hired at Skeldon Estate
Cultivating an environment for the sustained growth and development of Guyana’s ailing sugar industry has started across the belt, with management of the shuttered Skeldon Sugar Estate, for example, hiring 232 persons to lay the foundation for the rejuvenation of a facility which was once heralded as a potential saviour of the industry. The Skeldon Estate, like the Rose Hall and Enmore Sugar Estates, was closed in 2017 by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government. The closure of those estates left over 7,000 persons without a job or source of income. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
UK becomes first country to approve Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, first shots roll out next week
The United Kingdom has become the first Western nation to approve a Covid-19 vaccine, a landmark moment in the coronavirus pandemic that paves the way for the first doses to be rolled out across the country next week. Help is on the way," Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced Wednesday morning, after UK regulators granted emergency authorization for a vaccine made by US pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. A final analysis of the Phase 3 trial of Pfizer's vaccine shows it was 95% effective in preventing infections, even in older adults, and caused no serious safety concerns, the company said last month. Read more here
Trump pardons: US justice department unveils bribery inquiry
The US justice department is looking into claims that lobbyists have tried to use bribes to secure a presidential pardon, unsealed court papers show. They say that in August investigators began investigating a "secret lobbying scheme" possibly involving attempts to contact White House officials. The redacted filings do not give any names, but the justice department says no government official is being probed. In a tweet, President Trump referred to the investigation as "fake news". Read more here
2nd December 2020