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guyana-times.com
MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2016
Regional
Chinese freighter inaugurates newly expanded Panama Canal
Chinese merchant ship COSCO Shipping Panama pictured before crossing the new Cocoli Locks in Panama City during a inauguration at the Panama Canal on June 26, 2016 [AFP]
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Chinese container ship has become the first vessel to sail into the newly expanded Panama Canal. Thousands gathered as the ship, called Cosco Shipping Panama, entered from the Atlantic en route
to the Pacific. Construction on the new lane for the canal, which runs for 77km (48 miles), began in 2007 and was due to finish in 2014. But strikes and disputes over costs delayed the US$5.2 billion project.
The original Panama Canal was first used in August 1914. It was built by the US and handed over to local control in 1999. The expansion allows a new, much-larger generation of container ships to pass through the isthmus. Some 35 to 40 vessels transit the waterway every day. Panama hopes the expansion will increase the revenues it gets from the canal, reported to have been But the canal could face competition from a new passage in Nicaragua. The controversial 278km (172 mile) scheme, being built by a Chinese firm, will be longer, deeper and wider than the Panama Canal. Its construction started in 2014 and it is estimated to cost US$50 billion. (Excerpt
from BBC News)
Venezuelan Opposition says petition to oust Maduro is validated
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enezuelan Opposition Leaders say they have validated enough signatures on a petition to move to the next stage in a process to remove President Nicolás Maduro in a recall referendum. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have given fingerprints to authenticate signatures on the petition. Referendum coordinator Vicente Bello said the number of signatures had "clearly exceeded the minimum needed". The process must now be validated by electoral officials. If that step is passed, a second petition must be
signed by four million people before a recall referendum can be held. The Opposition blames Maduro's socialist policies for rampant inflation and shortages of food and basic goods. The initial petition handed in on May 2 gathered almost two million signatures, but election officials said 600,000 of those were fraudulent. Those who signed the petition had until Friday to have their identity cards and fingerprints checked in centres set up by the National Electoral Council (CNE). Only one per cent of the electorate, or 194,729 vot-
ers, is needed to endorse the referendum in the first phase. Many people queued for hours to have their signatures authenticated by electronic fingerprinting. "Prices are going up every day, on top of the shortages," said civil servant Felix Rodriguez, who skipped work to give his signature. He said he had no flour, milk or meat in his kitchen and there were no spare parts to repair his car. Opposition leaders want the recall vote to be held this year, as its timing is key for what happens next. (Excerpt from
BBC News)
Tobagonians vote for new council leaders M embers of the People’s National Movement (PNM) in Tobago came out on Sunday to vote for two candidates to fill the posts of political leader of the party’s Tobago Council and Chairman. After weeks of campaigning, ending with rallies across the island late Saturday night, over 8000 party members were expected to begin voting at 13 polling stations from 06:00hto 16:00h. Over the past weeks, the 12 candidates have been making promises to voters on the future of the internal affairs of the party in Tobago. The seven candidates vying for political leader have also already begun campaigning for the Tobago
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The bones were discovered by chance in December 2015
Orville London
ducted in the one man, one vote system. Chairman of the Elections Supervisory
Committee, Alvin Pascall in an interview said all was prepared for the election. “The microphones are in the air, the ads are in the media. We are winding down. Polling station workers took away paraphernalia for polling stations and we are all prepared so that if voting goes well, we can expect to have results within three hours of the start of the count.” Pascall described the campaigning by candidates as normal. “They were in the trenches doing what they had to do, but it is a bit different because of the new voting structure. It’s hard to tell who will win. We are hardly getting any feedback from the ground.” (Excerpt from Trinidad
Guardian)
UK’s exit from EU a threat to the Caribbean, warns Region’s top academic
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ice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Sir Hilary Beckles has warned the Region to brace for the impact of the United Kingdom’s break with the European Union (EU), as he predicted that every aspect of life in the Caribbean will be negatively affected. The Brexit vote last Thursday has already caused ripples across the world, with the value of the pound falling and stock markets dipping among the immediate effects. And Sir Hilary says the Region’s fragile economic recovery is now under threat and Britain’s exit should trigger immediate strategic regional reactions, even before Heads of Government
Remains of a mammoth uncovered near Mexico City exican experts say they are completing work on digging up fossilised bones of a mammoth found near Mexico City. They were found near the village of Tultepec while drains were being installed. The bones are believed to be about 14,000 years old and were scattered, suggesting the mammoth had been cut up by humans for its meat and pelt. Other remains have been found in the area which had been a shallow lake where the heavy mammoths got stuck. Luis Cordoba, an archaeologist with the National Institute of Anthropology and History told French news agency AFP that the remains of more than 50 mammoths had been discovered in the area around the capital, Mexico City. He said the Tultepec mammoth had been found 2m beneath a street in the
House of Assembly (THA) elections which will be held in January. For the first time, the internal elections of the Tobago Council will be con-
village. He said when alive it had been between the ages of 20 and 25, and the skeleton was almost complete and wellpreserved with tusks still attached to its skull. Scientists hope to eventually assemble the fossils and put them on display. The position of the bones suggests to scientists that the mammoth may have been partially cut up by a human group. Mammoth remains have been discovered in several regions of Mexico, in areas near lakes where herds congregated. Known as the Columbian Mammoth, they were a subspecies which lived across the United States and Central America. Remains of the mammoths have been uncovered across Mexico, Texas and as far west as the La Brea Tar Pits in California. (Excerpt from BBC
News)
meet in Guyana for their July 4 to 6 Summit. “The predictable, highly individualistic action poses both a short-term as well
erations and external relations with the wider world. “It’s a moment for Caricom to come closer together rather than drift
Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Sir Hilary Beckles says Brexit will affect the Caribbean in every way
as a long-term threat to the performance of Caricom economies,” he said in a statement issued Saturday. “From trade relations to immigration, tourism to financial relations, and cultural engagements to foreign policy, there will be a significant redefinition and reshaping of Caricom-United Kingdom engagements,” Sir Hilary further warned, as he urged Caricom to use the development to deepen and strengthen its internal op-
apart. The Region should not be seen as mirroring this mentality of cultural and political insularity, but should reaffirm the importance of regionalism within the global context for the future.” Sir Hilary said the UWI will host a symposium this week to discuss the implications for the Caribbean, with a view to facilitating regional action ahead of the meeting in Guyana. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)
BoJ denies issuing new guidelines, warns about fake email
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he Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) says it is aware of an email being circulated in the public domain, which is purporting to inform people about new transaction guidelines from the central bank. The entity, in an advisory in the press Sunday, said that the email was fake as it had not sent out any such information to stakeholders or the general public.
The central bank has since urged people not to open the email but to delete it immediately, noting that it has been informed that the email contains malicious software. Meanwhile, the BoJ advised that any concern regarding the authenticity of any emails should be forwarded to the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team. (Jamaica Observer)