NEWS
Farmers commend cops who nabbed sheep thief
From complaints of failure to respond, Barrackpore police officers are now being applauded by farmers for the arrest of a sheep thief over the weekend. One of the two suspects, who entered the property at Cunjal North Trace on Saturday morning, escaped. However, the two animals were recovered and returned to their owner. The suspect is assisting the police with their investigations into multiple reports of the theft of livestock in the district. Spokesman for the farmers, Shiva Mohammed, said the farming community is pleased by the response and felt a little comforted. Read more here
Four shot dead in New Grant
In a dark bushy field in New Grant during the wee hours of yesterday morning, four people including two Venezuelans were lined up and shot dead by multiple gunmen. Police have identified the victims as Aaron George, 35, Venezuelan national Guimar Jose Rausseo Marcano, aka Maria, and Darnel Mitchell, 35, of Sado Road, South Manzanilla Road, Manzanilla. The fourth victim, also a Venezuelan, was identified as Jose Seranno. Police have no information on his occupation or address. Police said George had three addresses, the first in Balmain Couva where he lived with his wife, another in Fyzabad and the third at Hope Road, Princes Town which he shared with Marcano. Read more here
POLITICS
Des Vignes: I serve all of Tobago
PNM Tobago Council PRO Kwesi Des Vignes has sidestepped the claim made by Assemblyman Sheldon Cunningham that a PNM official was undermining him by distributing food cards in the Mason Hall/Moriah/Providence electoral district. On May 18, the district’s representative, Sheldon Cunningham, alleged during a Tobago Channel 5 interview that a PNM official was distributing food cards in the area without proper protocol. Cunningham, Assistant Secretary in the Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and the Environment, also claimed declaration forms were not being signed. Read more here
THA gets party backing for audit into special purpose companies
The Tobago Council of the PNM is supporting the Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA’s) decision to consolidate three special purpose companies. Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis announced last week that the Fish Processing Company (FIPCOT), the Tobago Cassava Products Limited (TCPL) and the Tobago Cold Storage and Warehouse Facility (TCOSWAF) will be incorporated into one, with a new mandate and a fresh vision, to ensure that the desired objectives are achieved. The three companies will be subsumed into one company called the Tobago Agri-Business Company Limited and would be managed by a board of directors. The company would be formed by October 2020, and would fall under Secretary Hayden Spencer in the Division of Agriculture, Food Production and Fisheries. Read more here
BUSINESS
Espinet objects to terms of Govt Vat bonds
Businessman Wilfred Espinet has slammed the process for the payment of Value Added Tax Bonds which the government is insisting will only be done for businesses whose taxes are paid in full and up to date. In a letter to the editor, Espinet, who was the chairman of Petrotrin under the Rowley administration and of Heritage Petroleum, said he was not against paying taxes but disagreed with the government’s approachHe said: “Today I received a circular notice on the issue of Government/Sovereign Bonds in lieu of overdue VAT Refunds to business. The circular stated that a condition of receiving the Bond is having all taxes paid up to date. While irrational behaviour seems to be the hallmark of today’s politicians, it is unimaginable that a Government will intimidate the population while flagrantly breaching the regulations in question.” Read more here
Bahamas applies for IMF’s 1.054% loan
The Bahamas on Sunday indicated that it has applied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to take advantage of a low-cost, emergency loan facility that is available to all of its member countries. Read more here
REGIONAL
‘Remember their sacrifice’
President David Granger in urging the nation to celebrate this year’s 54th Independence Anniversary, has asked that they do so in a restrained manner, as the emergency COVID-19 measures do not permit public celebrations. The President, in his annual address on the occasion has noted that for Guyanese, the celebration of Independence is “recalling the sacrifice, suffering and struggle of our working people, who struck the first blows against colonial oppression 115 years ago in Georgetown.” Read more here
Holness under tourism pressure
Days after tourism advocates called for the Holness administration to declare a timeline for the resumption of incoming air and sea travel, Jamaica’s most powerful private-sctor lobby has added pressure for a clear road map towards a “date for a safe and sustainable reopening”. Keith Duncan, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), yesterday demanded certainty in the wake of a downturn in tourism that has sparked collapsing fortunes in linkage industries such as agriculture, distribution, manufacturing, and the micro, small, and medium enterprise sector. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Airline resumes flights to Italy (but turns around when airport's shut)
We're all pretty excited about being able to travel again -- but German airline Eurowings might be more eager than most. The low-cost carrier resumed services from Düsseldorf to Sardinia, Italy, on Saturday -- but was forced to turn around at its destination because Olbia Airport is still closed. Flight EW9844 set off on the 730-mile (1,170km) flight to Sardinia's Olbia Airport on the morning of May 23, but was in Sardinian airspace before being informed by air traffic control that it wasn't open to commercial traffic. Read more here
Coronavirus: WHO halts trials of hydroxychloroquine over safety fears
Testing of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for coronavirus has been halted because of safety fears, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. Trials in several countries are being "temporarily" suspended as a precaution, the agency said on Monday. It comes after a recent medical study suggested the drug could increase the risk of patients dying from Covid-19. Read more here
26th May 2020