NEWS
Parents' farewell letter to 'sweet kids': We were in too deep
A Princes Town couple who appear to have died by suicide over the weekend left a letter to their children – a nine-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son – apologising for leaving them without parents. Shaline Ramkissoon, 38, and her common-law husband Steve "Ricky" Jugmohan, 40, died on Saturday. Their daughter found the bodies in their La Paille Road home. Read more here
Body found in Maracas identified as Harripaul
The badly decomposed body that was found on Thursday in Maracas has been positively identified as abducted Tucker Energy Services shift supervisor Zephaniah Harripaul. The confirmation was given by family members who attended the viewing of the body at the Forensic Science Centre on Monday. Shunning members of the media from any comment while at the centre, Harripaul’s brother, Stephen, instead later posted on social media the following: “Good afternoon to all we have identified the body that was discovered as Zephaniah Harripaul. As a family, we thank you for your continued pray and support. As we move forward we will keep you informed. God is good all the time and all the time God is good.” Read more here
POLITICS
Ex-UNC candidate files complaint after Chaguanas clash
Former UNC candidate Davica Thomas has complained to the police about being assaulted during an incident in Chaguanas on Sunday, which saw former Caroni (1975) Ltd workers clash with UNC supporters during a march led by the party's women's arm. Thomas made her complaint at the Chaguanas Police Station at 5 pm. A copy of the citizen report receipt obtained by Newsday showed she complained about being assaulted. The receipt did not say who the complaint was made against. Read more here
Deosaran: Not unusual for PM to meet PolSC members
A former Police Service Commission (PolSC) chairman says it is not unusual for a Prime Minister to meet with members of the commission’s board. “As chairman, I did meet with the Prime Minister in 2011 when I was first appointed,” Professor Ramesh Deosaran said yesterday. He told Guardian Media that he and other members of the PolSC discussed a number of issues with the then Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. “The commission cannot live in an isolated environment. It has to share and be fact-finder as well, and if that means to execute its purpose it has to meet with the Prime Minister, who is responsible for the Parliament and the public’s safety through policing, then that’s a justifiable reason to do so,” he explained. Read more here
BUSINESS
CAL has no immediate plans to raise ticket prices
Caribbean Airlines has no immediate plans to raise its airfare, despite surging oil prices sparked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict which has prompted some other international air carriers to up their prices. In a recent interview with the BBC, Delta Airlines Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said higher oil prices would lead to 10 per cent increase in fares on the airlines domestic flights in the United States, with a higher increase expected on international trips. This he explained, was an attempt to offset the higher cost of jet fuel. Other airlines, Emirates, Japan Airlines and Air Asia have also introduced surcharges on the fares, as result of increased fuel costs. Read more here
Manufacture drugs in T&T
Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon is calling on Indian pharmaceutical companies to take advantage of this country’s low energy cost and trained workforce to set up manufacturing plants. Gopee-Scoon made the call as she addressed the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) on Thursday night, during a business meeting with the High Commission of India in T&T, at the Passage to Asia Restaurant in Chaguanas. Read more here
REGIONAL
Major UAE real estate developer in Guyana for discussions
Cognisant of the impending development and advancement of Guyana’s economy, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LACASA Real Estate Developers & Engineering Company, Emad Jaber, is in Guyana for discussions with local authorities and private sector stakeholders. According to a press release, LACASA is a major real estate development and engineering design company from the United Arab Emirates. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
China plane crash rescuers find charred personal belongings
Rescuers at the site of a plane crash in southern China found burnt wreckage and personal belongings of those on board, but no sign of any survivors. China Eastern flight MU5735 was carrying 132 people when it nosedived 30,000ft into hills in Guangxi. The cause of the Boeing 737-800's crash is being investigated. Recovery work has been hampered by difficult terrain. There has been an outpouring of grief in China, where families of those on board are waiting anxiously for news. Although the search for survivors is continuing, there has been no word of anyone found alive, while neither local media nor the authorities have reported any finding of human remains. Read more here
22nd March 2022