NEWS
Uncle evicts family of 7 from San Juan house
A family of seven has been suddenly evicted from the house they have called home for the past year. Lauren Maloney, 27, and her four children, aged two, four, six and seven, along with her mother and brother, had been living with her maternal uncle for the past year. The family’s Laventille home was destroyed by fire on June 7 last year. After spending one night with a cousin living nearby, Maloney said her uncle told her they were welcome to stay at a house he owns at Laventille Road in San Juan. Read more here
COVID Command Centre opened at Golden Grove prison
Prisons Commissioner (Ag) Dennis Pulchan said a COVID Command Centre has been established at Golden Grove to gather and process all information required to aid in decision making, in an effort to effectively manage the containment of COVID-19 within the walls of the nation’s prisons. Pulchan said daily reports from every station are mandatory and are to provide information inclusive of, but not limited to, staff attendance and status, enhanced prisoner observation, sanitization methods and frequencies. Pulchan who heads the Centre, explained that situational awareness during this time is detrimental to how responses are coordinated. As such, outlets of communication were established specifically for the purpose of relating of COVID-19 situations. Read more here
POLITICS
PM returns to work Tuesday as quarantine ends
The Prime Minister returns to work Tuesday after spending days in quarantine. On his Facebook page on Friday Dr Rowley said he had learned on Thursday night that on election day, August 10, he was exposed to someone who later tested positive for covid19. The PM said he had been tested and the results were negative. But “out of an abundance of caution” he had been told to stay in quarantine at home “until next Monday when the full 14-day period would have expired.” Read more here
Former supporters continue criticism ahead of Kamla's appointment today
While Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar will be appointed as Opposition Leader today, some of her former key supporters have hardened their criticism of her continued leadership. A number of Persad-Bissessar's MPs and the UNC-controlled Princes Town Regional Corporation, recently expressed support for her UNC activists yesterday added that the UNC under her leadership won more votes in the recent general election as a party on its own and without ties to other parties than the UNC did in 2015 when it was part of the People's Partnership (PP) coalition. They noted Persad-Bissessar won the UNC's leadership polls with increasing votes since 2010 when she bested UNC founder Basdeo Panday. They said she increased votes in 2015 against Roodal Moonilal 's challenge and in 2017 against Christine Newallo-Hosein's and they saw no reason for her to resign. Read more here
BUSINESS
GHL records almost 40 per cent reduction in Half Year Profits
After experiencing a $40.9 million net loss in the first quarter of 2020, Guardian Holdings Ltd (GHL) has experienced a profitable second quarter, recording net income of $194.5 million—yet still, the net profit for the Group’s Half Year results declined by 39.5 per cent (from $253.6 million to $153.6 million) when compared to the previous year. In GHL’s unaudited financial statements, Chairman Patrick Hylton expressed that the group “has produced a strong performance in its second quarter which is extremely positive as we have reversed the loss from the first quarter, and we have exceeded the second quarter performance of 2019.” Read more here
Covid restrictions driving up taxi rates
Taxi fares are going up to compensate for fewer passengers. Read more here
REGIONAL
GFC gets new lease on life
Guyana’s ailing forest sector will be able to stay “rooted” for a while, following Cabinet’s approval of $350 million to support the cash-strapped Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). The once flourishing agency and major revenue earner for Guyana, was at its wits end, and was forced to request a bailout from government early this month in order to stay afloat. The Commission, which is responsible for the administration and management of all state-owned forest land, had descended into a state of bankruptcy over the past five years, despite having a surplus of more than $4 billion at the end of 2015. Read more here
No special treatment for Bolt - Tufton says rules apply to everyone as star tests positive for COVID-19
As the fallout continues from Usain Bolt’s now-controversial birthday party, Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed that the matter is now being investigated by the police. Holness warned that the sprinter, who was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, will not benefit from any special treatment in the process. “No one is going to be treated with any exemption, so all Jamaicans have a duty, and those who have public ear and influence in the public sphere have an even greater (responsibility),” Holness said during a virtual press conference on Monday. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Kenosha becomes center of nationwide protests after police shoot Black man in front of his children
Buildings and cars in Kenosha, Wisconsin, were set ablaze Monday night amid protests reignited by the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake. Blake, a Black man, was shot multiple times in the back Sunday evening as he tried to enter an SUV through the driver's side door. In the vehicle were his 3-, 5- and 8-year-old children. Following the shooting, police said officers rendered aid before the injured man was flown to a hospital in Milwaukee. He remained in intensive care late Monday, his attorney said. Read more here
25th August 2020