NEWS
Heritage, Angostura warn of fraud acts
Two companies – Heritage Petroleum and Angostura – are warning the public to be aware of online scams involving false recruitment services in the case of the State oil company and credit card scamming by way of a false online competition, in the case of the alcoholic beverage company. Heritage in a press release on Tuesday warned that people and organisations are hosting false recruitment orientations promising employment with the company in return for a fee. Read more here
Minor offences mixed with seasoned criminals in prison
Due to overcrowding in the prisons, people charged with minor offences are mixed with seasoned criminals and sometimes recruited into gangs, says retired Prisons Commissioner Gerard Wilson. However, he said the issue of gang mushrooming is a socioeconomic problem that requires a collaborative approach. Speaking on CNC 3’s Morning Brew programme yesterday, Wilson said last February when he retired from the service there were nine or ten gangs. Noting that Prison Commissioner Dennis Pulchan said there now exits 17 gangs, he said, “You have a person coming in for a minor offence but because of the overcrowding you have to place them in a cell with persons who are seasoned. They may ask him the question ‘what you come for,’ he may say probably ‘I stole a gas tank. I broke into a house or I stole a computer and they may tell him ‘boy look come and make fast money when you come out.’” Read more here
POLITICS
UNC senators boycott Parliament over covid19 concerns
The Opposition has continued its boycott of the Parliament. This time its senators stayed away from the Senate on Tuesday citing fears of contracting the covid19 virus. Last Friday, Opposition MPs requested leave from the sitting of the House of Representatives as they believe people who had been in close contact with the Prime Minister would be there. Dr Rowley has been diagnosed with the covid19 virus eight days ago. Read more here
Senate passes bill to pay fines electronically, Opposition boycotts sitting
Systems to pay fines electronically to the court for non-wearing of masks and other issues moved a step closer to launching after the Senate passed law for this yesterday. The bill to amend legislation for electronic payments into and out of court will now be debated in the House of Representatives today. It was passed in the Senate yesterday by Government and Independent senators - but minus Opposition senators, who were absent. Read more here
BUSINESS
T&T credit unions to help St Vincent counterparts
The Central Finance Facility (CFF) is coordinating the efforts of local credit unions to provide resources to the Credit Union fraternity in St Vincent and the Grenadines. According to CFF President Letitia Telesford, “the CFF has found that targeting credit union members and their families in times of crisis, reduces the threat to this indigenous financial system of democratic management and equitable distribution of surpluses.” Read more here
WITCO unveils new logo
The West Indian Tobacco Company Ltd (WITCO) is undertaking a rebranding exercise with a new logo. Read more here
REGIONAL
Sugar getting ‘sweet’ again
After years of being hamstrung by growing financial constraints and imprudent management, Guyana’s ailing sugar industry has restarted its ascension, which is being stimulated mainly by the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) renewed focus on value-added production and a revised sales mix. Cognisant of the fact that a diversion from the traditional bulk production of sugar is needed if the ailing industry is to recover and regain its vitality and position as a contributor to economic growth, the government had initiated plans to ensure that by 2025, 61 per cent of industry sales come from value-added products. Read more here
PM lashes vaccine hoarders as immunisation drive notches record numbers
In a shot across the bow directed at world powers like the United States, Prime Minister Andrew Holness cast Jamaica’s mass vaccination of more than 75,000 people over four days as a global marker and laid down the gauntlet for hoarders of the life-saving vials to free up supplies. The prime minister did not name the United States, but it was apparent the Biden administration which is sitting on tens of millions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was in the cross hairs of Holness’ rebuke. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Afghans face pivotal moment as US prepares to 'close the book'
"We need to close the book on a 20-year war," is how a US official put it when he broke the news on Tuesday that the last US troops would be out of Afghanistan by 11 September. Two decades on, what does this "book" say about the country that some 10,000 US-led Nato forces will soon leave behind? It's a dramatically different country than the shattered land and pariah state of the Taliban toppled in the US-led invasion of 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. But this withdrawal window is decisive. It could accelerate a push towards peace, or a descent into violence that shreds the more open society which has been taking root - however slowly and unevenly - over the past two decades. Read more here
Protesters and police clash for a third night in a Minneapolis suburb as prosecutors weigh charges against officer
Hundreds gathered for a third night of protests to express anger over the police killing of a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb as prosecutors could decide as soon as Wednesday whether to charge the officer authorities say shot him. The Washington County prosecutor is weighing charges for former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, he told CNN. "I hope to have a charging decision by tomorrow," prosecutor Pete Orput said in an email Tuesday afternoon. "I just received voluminous documents, and with enough coffee, I'll have something tomorrow." Read more here
14th April 2021