NEWS
The one-shot J&J vaccine is coming today: 108,000 doses
Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Dr Amery Browne has informed the national community of the scheduled arrival of 108,000 WHO-approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, from the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP), at the Piarco International Airport at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
This shipment of vaccines is the first tranche out of an order of 800,000 made by Trinidad and Tobago through the AMSP, with further tranches to follow as additional supplies become available. Read more here…
Several southern districts affected by floods
There was another day of chaos in several areas of South Trinidad yesterday, after floods forced scores of residents to stay indoors, some roads were left impassable and several businesses remained closed. Other residents also left work early, fearful they could be stranded.
And if the heavy rains continue, it is expected that residents and farmers will suffer millions of dollars in losses, as the ground is saturated and some waterways were swelling overnight while others had already overrun rivers banks. Read more here…
POLITICS
Education Minister pleased with student vaccination rollout, turnout
Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said she was heartened by the fast start to the rollout of Pfizer vaccines for students yesterday Despite yesterday’s gloomy weather, it was a bright start to the Government’s student vaccination programme, aimed at arming the vulnerable group with a layer of protection as the physical reopening of school inched closer. Read more here….
Concern over secrecy about Gary Griffith's acting appointment
THE FAILURE of the Police Service Commission (PSC) to be fully transparent in appointing Gary Griffith to continue to act as Commissioner of Police until Parliament approves a new appointee has opened the independent body to criticism.
Griffith's three-year term came to an end on Tuesday.
The process of appointing an acting CoP entails the PSC sending the President a list of qualified candidates. Read more here…
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BUSINESS
RFHL subsidiary granted license to conduct life insurance business
Republic Financial Holdings Ltd (RFHL) has granted approval for its wholly owned subsidiary, Republic Evolve Ltd’s registration as a long-term insurance company to conduct the life insurance class of business only. The approval was granted by the Central Bank on August 16.
Republic Evolve Ltd said it expects to commence offering its first life insurance products within 12 months. Read more here…
Rock Hard to stop selling cement
EMBATTLED cement importer, Rock Hard Distributors Ltd, will be temporarily closing its doors on Friday, due to the import duties and implemented restrictions in the domestic market for the commodity.
In an interview with the Express yesterday, Ryan Ramhit, managing director of Rock Hard Distributors, confirmed that Friday will be the last day the company will be selling cement to the local market, as a result of increased duties and the quota that the Government implemented on the importation of cement. Read more here…
REGIONAL
Haiti earthquake: The forgotten villages cut off from help
Before the earthquake hit it had two churches - Catholic and Baptist - a medical centre, a school and a voodoo community centre. A tarmac road runs through the village, and off that tight paths cross banana trees, meandering by cinder block houses.
The town we arrive in is unrecognisable. The drive up to Marceline is marked by landslides, and huge fissures in the road. The driver at times slows the car to a stop so he can negotiate the cracks. The town of Les Cayes was badly affected by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake on 14 August. Perhaps one in six buildings collapsed. Read more here…
22 cases of COVID-19 Delta variant confirmed in Jamaica
The Ministry says the positive cases are among the results of 40 of 60 samples sent for testing at the Caribbean Public Health Agency
“The epidemiology and laboratory teams are now doing further analysis to see if there is any particular significant factor related to the 22 identified. The public will be kept updated,” Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said in a media statement. Read more here…
INTERNATIOAL
Struggle to evacuate Afghans from Kabul airport
A UN document says the Taliban is intensifying its hunt for all people who worked and collaborated with Nato and US forces. The confidential paper was produced by the Norwegian Centre for Global Analyses, which provides the UN with intelligence information.
“The Taliban are arresting and/or threatening to kill or arrest family members of target individuals unless they surrender themselves to the Taliban,” the document, seen by the BBC said. Read more here…
Biden's presidency is under scrutiny as never before over Afghan chaos
President Joe Biden is struggling against an intensifying examination of his judgment, competence and even his empathy over the chaotic US exit from Afghanistan. And each attempt the administration makes to quell a furor that's tarnishing America's image only provokes more questions about its failures of planning and execution. Read more here…
19th August 2021