NEWS
Murder toll rises with ten killed in 3 days
The murder toll continues to rise after ten people were murdered in three days, bringing the country’s murder toll to 363. In the latest incident, two men died after they were shot while liming in Samaroo Village, Arima on August 5. Around 9.12 pm police received reports of gunshots and went to Edma Avenue. Police were told Emerson Boucher, 21, Michael De Gazon, 27, and Nigel Jemmotte, 40, were liming in front of a house when a dark grey, heavily tinted Suzuki Grand Vitara fitted with blue lights, similar to unmarked police vehicles, drove towards the men. Read more here
Stakeholders partner with MiLAT to educate young men on GBV
Statistics from the Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CADV), show that between August last year and May 2024, there were 2,848 reports of domestic abuse. During that timeframe, there were 22 deaths as a result of domestic violence. This is why stakeholders of the Military-Led Academic Training Programme (MiLAT), CADV, and the Ministry of Youth Development & National Service (MYDNS) saw the value in developing a programme to educate 90 MiLAT students on gender-based violence (GBV). Project Coordinator and Child Rights Activist Marcus Kissoon said it was his honour and also his duty to teach the young men and boys about GBV. He said the young men knew about physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, harassment, and discrimination very well. Read more here
POLITICS
Farley vows to finish Friendship Connector Road
Chief Secretary Farley Augustine has pledged to explore every legal option to ensure the completion of the Friendship Connector Road project. Speaking at the commissioning of part of the project yesterday, Augustine said, “Yes we know the challenge with the court matter, but we will find a legal way to complete this exercise in a timely manner. “But, I pledge to you that this road would be completed before that airport (ANR Robinson International Airport expansion project) is completed.” Read more here
Young: Venezuela-US politics will not affect energy agreements
Energy Minister Stuart Young has expressed confidence that energy agreements between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela will not be negatively affected by the internal politics in the South American nation or in the US. Young did so during a tour of the National Energy Skills Centre's drilling academy in Ste Madeleine on August 6. On July 29 Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) said with 80 per cent of the votes in the July 28 presidential election counted, President Nicolas Maduro had claimed 51 per cent of those votes, beating his main opponent, Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who received 44 per cent. Read more here
BUSINESS
'Jindal not only potential investor in refinery'
Economist Indera Sagewan says the decision by Jindal Steel and Power Ltd to pull out of the refinery bid will not tarnish this country's international image. Sagewan said Jindal was not the only potential investor for the refinery and as such there are still others to be considered, adding that the deal is not off the table. She noted the bigger picture is the restarting the refinery and the cost to do so. "This is not the first or second attempt by the Government to bring back the refinery. The longer it takes the more difficult it takes to bring back into operation the infrastructure. The threat is not so much Jindal pulling out but whether the cost would be worth the while of any potential investor so to do," Sagewan explained. Read more here
LIAT returns to the Caribbean skies
The newly formed LIAT 2020 made its inaugural flight to St Lucia on Tuesday, signalling the return to the skies of the inter-regional airline, whose previous owners, LIAT (1974) Ltd went bankrupt in January this year. LIAT 1974 Ltd has been under administration since July 24, 2020 and the new entity, has been formed in partnership with Air Peace, a private Nigerian airline founded in 2013. Earlier this year Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that Air Peace would be putting in close to US$65 million, while the government is investing US$20 million. Read more here
REGIONAL
Rice farmers to benefit from free GIS mapping, drone technology services
As the Government of Guyana continues its efforts to improve and increase rice production across the country, farmers in all rice-growing regions will soon benefit from free drone technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) services. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture through the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) hosted a closing ceremony for its Enhancing Precision Farming Practices in Rice Production for Guyana’s Small Farmers Using Drone Technology Programme. The groundbreaking initiative, which was piloted in Regions Two, Three, and Six, and subsequently introduced in Region Five, seeks to introduce drone technology and GIS mapping to improve rice production and build capacity in the rice industry. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
'Harris's no 2 taught in China': Chinese internet reacts to Walz
Kamala Harris's vice-presidential pick Tim Walz has drawn attention halfway across the world in China. Chinese social media users have been discussing how Mr Walz spent a year teaching in the south-eastern province of Guangdong in 1989 - a topic that was trending on Weibo with 12 million views. He and his wife, fellow teacher Gwen Whipple, later honeymooned in the country. Mr Walz once described his decision to teach in China as "one of the best things I've ever done". Read more here
7th August 2024