56 nurses, midwives honoured for exemplary service to local health sector
“You have nothing to fear… we will protect and defend our sovereign space”
– President Ali to Guyanese
…says GDF mobilised to protect Guyana’s sovereignty, territorial integrity Guyana’s sustainable logging a model for the world – British High Commissioner
President Ali unveils 7-Point "HITLIST" to strengthen Caribbean policing
Investigation still at evidence-gathering stage – Crime Chief as int’l help arrives Over $470M to be distributed in Reg 7 as cash grant distribution begins
BRIDGE OPENINGS
The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, May 13 – 03:55h-05:25h and Tuesday, May 13 –03:55h-05:25h.
The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, May 13 – 16:15h-17:45h and Tuesday, May 13 –16:50h-18:20h.
FERRY SCHEDULE
Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily.
WEATHER TODAY
Thundery showers are expected during the day and at night, with sunny conditions in the afternoon. Temperatures are expected to range between 23 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.
Winds: East North-Easterly to South SouthEasterly between 1.79 metres and 3.58 metres.
High Tide: 16:26h reaching a maximum height of 2.55 metres.
Low Tide: 10:01h and 22:10h reaching minimum heights of 0.55 metre and 0.70 metre.
“You have nothing to fear…we will protect and defend our sovereign space” – Pres Ali to Guyanese …says GDF mobilised to protect Guyana’s sovereignty, territorial integrity
President Dr Irfaan Ali has reaffirmed that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is mobilised and prepared to defend the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amid ongoing tensions with Venezuela.
The Head of State emphasised that security operations are actively underway, particularly in light of Venezuela’s upcoming unlawful elections and continued claims over Guyana’s Essequibo region, claims which Guyana has consistently rejected and challenged at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
His remarks were delivered at the sidelines of the 39th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, currently underway in Georgetown.
“We ask Venezuela to respect international law, but we are not sitting back. I want to assure all Guyanese that the Guyana Defence Force, the Government, and every stakeholder are putting everything in place to ensure that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana is always protected and safeguarded,” President Ali said.
Meanwhile, when asked about whether the border is being monitored more closely ahead of Venezuela’s election, President Ali responded, “Definitely. I can't go into details, but I can assure you that we, along with our partners, are engaged in continuous analysis and monitoring, especially in areas close to the borders.”
Further, addressing residents living along Guyana’s border regions, the President offered reassurance and a message of calm stating, “My message is very clear to all citizens of Guyana and those living in the territory of Guyana — you have nothing to fear. You are living in what is our sovereign space, and we are going to protect and ensure that our sovereign space is respected by all.”
The President’s remarks follow the ICJ’s recent order that Venezuela must refrain from conducting or preparing to conduct elections Guyana’s Essequibo region.
Act responsibly
A day after the order was issued, the Guyana Government had expressed its expectation that Venezuela will act responsibly and comply with the recent orders issued by the ICJ, refraining the Spanish-speaking nation from holding elections in Guyana’s Essequibo region.
“The Government of Guyana expects that the Government of Venezuela will act responsibly in complying with the Court’s Orders of both 1 December 2023 and 1 May 2025 which are legally binding on both States, and in so complying, fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Georgetown said in a statement.
Back in January, the Nicolás Maduro regime had
announced plans to hold elections in the Essequibo region, which is two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, on May 25, 2025 – something which Guyana wrote the ICJ in March to have blocked.
The World Court, which is hearing the case to settle the decades-long border controversy, issued an order recently that Venezuela must refrain from conducting or preparing to conduct elections in Guyana’s Essequibo region.
It also reaffirmed the provisional measures issued by the Court on December 1, 2023, which states that “… Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Cooperative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area; and (2) Both Parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.”
No intention
However, the Venezuelan Government had said no international pressure or foreign court could make it back down; and called on Guyana to engage in direct negotiation and comply with the Geneva Agreement.
In response to Caracas, the Foreign Ministry called Venezuela’s reaction to the additional provisional measures issued by the World Court “unfortunate” and shut down, once again, any idea of bilateral talks between the two neighbouring states.
“The Government of Guyana further wishes to remind the Government of Venezuela that it has no intention of entering into bilateral
negotiations with Venezuela regarding Venezuela’s claim of nullity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and by extension, its claim to almost two thirds of Guyana’s territory,” the missive from Takuba Lodge outlined.
In fact, the Foreign Ministry went onto remind Venezuela that the case pending before the ICJ is a decision of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General in accordance with the 1966 Geneva Agreement on the settlement of the controversy –an Agreement to which both Guyana and Venezuela are parties.
According to the Foreign Ministry, “The Court’s judgment will be definitive, final and binding on Guyana and Venezuela. The Government of Guyana urges the Government of Venezuela to do more than pay lip service to the Geneva Agreement, and to actually comply with its provisions, including but not limited to Article IV (2). Essequibo is Guyana’s.”
After years of failed good offices process through the UN, and based on the recom-
mendation of the-then UN Secretary General, Guyana approached the World Court in March 2018, seeking a final and binding settlement of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which determined the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.
The case is currently pending before the ICJ, which has already established its jurisdiction to hear the matter. Guyana has already filed two written pleadings on the merits, and Venezuela has filed one, with its second pleading due in August 2025. Oral hearings are expected in the first half of 2026, following which the Court will deliberate on the case and issue its final judgment on the Merits, which will be binding on the parties. Guyana and Venezuela signed the Argyle Declaration – a December 14, 2023 pact, but despite this, Venezuela continues to use aggressive tactics against Guyana, including plans to unlawfully elect a Governor and legislative council of “Guayana Esequiba State”, which is the name the Spanish-speaking nation has given to Guyana’s Essequibo region.
In its Thursday, May 1, 2025 Orders, The Hague, Netherlands-based World Court stated that, “…Pending a final decision in the case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from conducting elections, or preparing to conduct elections in the territory in dispute, which the Co-operative Republic of Guyana currently administers and over which it exercises control …[And] Unanimously, reaffirms the provisional measures indicated in its Order of 1 December 2023, which should be immediately and effectively implemented…”
The proliferation of misinformation in today’s Digital Age represents one of the gravest emerging threats to public security and social stability. As rightly underscored by President Dr Irfaan Ali during the opening of the Association of Caribbean Police Commissioners’ (ACCP) Annual General Meeting and Conference in Georgetown, the battle against crime and insecurity can no longer be fought solely with traditional law enforcement tools. The manipulation of information, whether for political, personal, or malicious purposes, has become a weapon capable of sowing discord, undermining institutions, and endangering lives.
The President’s urgent call for a modern and effective information and communication strategy must not go unheeded. Regional police commissioners and security officials, gathered from May 12–16 for the ACCP Conference, bear the weighty responsibility of shaping a strategic framework that is not only reactive, but proactive in countering misinformation. The importance of such a framework cannot be overstated in a region as diverse and interconnected as the Caribbean, where shared vulnerabilities demand shared solutions.
Misinformation, particularly when disseminated through social media platforms, can spread with alarming speed and virality. It can fuel public outrage, distort ongoing investigations, and compromise the legitimacy of policing institutions. The recent events surrounding the death of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge are a stark reminder of this threat. The deliberate circulation of inflammatory and false information, resulting in public unrest and court proceedings, demonstrates how misinformation can move beyond digital spaces to affect real-world outcomes, including legal processes and public safety.
The legal action taken against individuals accused of spreading such misinformation sends an important signal. Accountability must be enforced to deter the deliberate spread of falsehoods that incite panic or manipulate public sentiment. However, enforcement alone is not sufficient. Law enforcement agencies must be equipped with robust communication capabilities that allow them to quickly and credibly address rumours, clarify facts, and maintain public trust.
President Ali’s observation, that the region has “not invested” adequately in communication strategies, is a frank and necessary critique. Historically, communication has been treated as an ancillary component of national security, rather than as a core strategic pillar. This outdated approach must be corrected. Effective communication is no longer a luxury; it is an imperative. Security agencies must possess not only the tactical expertise to manage threats, but also the communicative capacity to control narratives, refute falsehoods, and engage constructively with the public.
In this regard, capacity building must extend beyond law enforcement to include media entities and community stakeholders. Journalistic institutions, particularly in small and developing states, need support to enhance their investigative standards, digital verification capabilities and ethical reporting frameworks. In parallel, communities must be educated to critically assess the information they consume, share, and believe.
Further, the role of regional cooperation cannot be overlooked. The Caribbean, by virtue of its geographic closeness and shared history, must embrace a coordinated approach to both crime and its information-related dimensions. A regional communication strategy should enable timely information-sharing, harmonised public messaging, and a unified stance on misinformation threats. This should be complemented by investment in technology, personnel training, and legal frameworks that reflect the complexities of the Digital Era.
The ACCP Conference offers a timely opportunity to lay the groundwork for this transformation. The collective expertise and authority present at this high-level gathering can shape an information and communication strategy that is agile, transparent, and capable of navigating the modern media landscape. Discussions must focus on developing cross-border mechanisms for rapid information exchange, crisis communication protocols, and partnerships with tech platforms to flag and remove harmful content.
There must also be a concerted effort to identify the social, political, and economic drivers of misinformation. In many cases, falsehoods gain traction not merely because they are persuasive, but because they fill voids left by institutional silence, distrust, or delay. Addressing these gaps requires honesty, consistency, and a commitment to public engagement at all levels.
By positioning communication as central to the regional security agenda, the ACCP and its stakeholders now have the momentum to move from rhetoric to action.
The new Pope
By Jean Lowrie-Chin
We Catholics held our breath after we saw the white smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave of cardinals met to elect a new Pope.
There was joyous celebration at the message, “Habemus Papam” (We have a Pope). We had been in mourning after the passing of the compassionate Pope Francis, and prayed that the new pope would follow in his footsteps, calling for peace, engaging the downtrodden, and concerned about environmental endangerment.
As we read about the most popular candidates, we saw two favourites from the Philippines and Africa — Cardinals Luis Tagle and Peter Turkson of Ghanaand there were comments that this would bring hope to Catholics in the developing world. The name of Robert Prevost did not appear in the betting reports; yes, there was active betting on who would be the new pope. Even then, Cardinal Prevost had said to his brother John a few days before the conclave, “Not going to happen.”
But scarcely had 24 hours of the conclave passed that there were two-thirds or more votes (we will never know the exact number) electing Prevost, Pope Leo XIV, and his life story was revealed to the world. We learned that this Chicagoborn cardinal had answered his vocation to become a monk of the Order of Augustine. His degree in mathematics resulted in him being offered a place at Harvard. Instead, he opted
for the priesthood, and studied at the Pontifical College of St Thomas Aquinas, where he received a doctorate in canon law.
He was then sent by his superiors to serve in Peru, where he is reported to have become a fatherly figure to the people of the city of Chiclayo. He rode on horseback and carried bags of provisions on his back to the poorest in remote areas. He became so close to the people that he had said he would serve there for the rest of his life. Later he was named bishop of the city, and became a naturalised citizen of Peru. However, his leadership qualities led to him being appointed the head of the Augustine Order, and he subsequently relocated to Rome. Most recently, he was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican, overseeing the selection of bishops.
It is no wonder, then, that on the social media platform X, he reposted statements criticising the current US actions against immigrants. He has also posted a comment opposing VicePresident JD Vance’s hierarchical approach to love. He expressed sorrow at the killing of George Floyd, and surprisingly, this was criticised by a functionary in the current US Government.
My non-Catholic friend in Florida chuckled, “Jean, your new Pope is a browning!” Ancestral records reveal that Pope Leo’s mother was a Creole from Louisiana and her father was a Haitian born in Santo Domingo, while her husband was of French ancestry. This has
also been on repeat on social media. Racists may describe him as a ‘one-drop’ man of colour.
However, this Pope, who is fluent in five languages, and who turned his back on a comfortable life to share the discomfort of the poor, has risen above such labels. He is now the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, numbers matched only by the populations of India and China.
Here in Jamaica, Catholics are about 1.5 per cent of the other Christian denominations. However, we have a large footprint in education and service to the needy. Jessie Ripoll’s Alpha and Mercy community, Father Holung’s Missionaries of the Poor, Monsignor Ramkissoon’s Mustard Seed Communities, Food For the Poor founded by Ferdie Mahfood, Sister Benedict Chung’s Laws Street Centre, Archbishop Dufour’s Good Shepherd Foundation, all testify to our emphasis on service to ‘the least of our brothers [and sisters]’. Even strong anti-Catholics boast about their children’s achievements at Catholic schools. Although these institutions may have been founded by Catholics, there is no discrimination against students or beneficiaries of other religions, as we follow Jesus’s teachings that every human being is our neighbour.
Catholics have been outstanding business leaders, and indeed represent a high percentage of those in the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica Hall of Fame.
We have had, and still have,
some strong voices in political leadership, including Alexander Bustamante, and are proud that National Hero Marcus Garvey and our famed poet Claude McKay became Catholic converts. Last Sunday, CCRP was hosted by the Bethel Baptist Church for our 15th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service. Afterwards, I thanked Reverend Rosalena Robinson for her warm welcome, and told her I was a Catholic. She replied that it was the theology of the Catholic Church that she and fellow pastors had studied. The teachings of Christ and His first leaders prevail. May our new Pope, Leo XIV, be blessed as he preserves the legacy of our first Pope, St Peter.
It is coincidental that Jamaica’s Archdiocese of Kingston, led by Archbishop Kenneth Richards, is hosting the 62nd Antilles Episcopal Conference this week. There are five archdiocese and 14 dioceses which are represented at the Conference, which had been scheduled months ago before the passing of Pope Francis. Cardinal Luis Tagle had confirmed his attendance, but had to cancel after the setting of the conclave. As this is a jubilee year for the church, yesterday there was a procession of Catholics from Highholborn Street to Holy Trinity Cathedral for a concelebrated Mass. I believe there will be a pep in the steps of our participants, proud of the order of succession in our church and the selection of a Pope who has a heart for them all. (Excerpted from Jamaica Observer)
Young women in Indigenous ‘Panchitas’ attire accompany a procession during the 43rd Cultural Festival of Palms and Flowers in the colonial city (The Guardian)
Page Foundation
English Maths
Read the extract below carefully and answer ALL the questions that follow.
The CAPTAIN. BERTHA. The CAPTAIN is sitting crumpled up over the table.
BERTHA: [Going up to him]. Are you ill, Father?
CAPTAIN: [Looks up dully]. Me?
BERTHA: Do you know what you’ve done? Do you know you threw a lamp at Mother?
CAPTAIN: Did I?
BERTHA: Yes, you did! What if she’d been hurt?
CAPTAIN: What difference would that make?
BERTHA: You’re not my father when you talk like that!
CAPTAIN: What’s that you say? I’m not your father? How do you know? Who told you that? Who is your father, then? Who?
BERTHA: Well, not you, anyway!
CAPTAIN: Still not me! Who then? Who? You seem well informed. Who have you been talking to? That I should live to hear my own child tell me to my face I’m not her father! Don’t you realize you’re insulting your mother when you say that? Don’t you understand that if it’s true, it’s to her shame?
BERTHA: Don’t say anything bad about my mother, do you hear?
CAPTAIN: No, you stick together, all of you against me. You’ve done so all along.
BERTHA: Father!
CAPTAIN: Don’t use that word again!
BERTHA: Father! Father!
CAPTAIN: [Pulls her to him.] Bertha, my dear, dear child, of course you’re my child! Yes, yes, it can’t be otherwise. It must be so!
BERTHA: No, no! I want to be myself!
CAPTAIN: Don’t be afraid, my darling child, I shan’t hurt you!
Questions
1. How does Bertha feel about her father, the Captain? Support your answer with evidence from the extract.
2. Explain what the stage directions in lines 1, 3 reveal about the Captain.
3. Identify ONE prop used in the extract and explain its effect on the conflict.
4. Suggest a title for the extract. Justify your answer with evidence from the extract.
…urges bold intelligence shift to combat rising transnational crime
With traditional methods proving insufficient in the fight against emerging trends in crime, Guyana’s Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken is calling for enhanced internal intelligence to tackle offences such as cybercrime.
Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken has revealed a surge in crimes ranging from gender-based violence, human trafficking, and cybercrime, warning that organized criminal networks are becoming increasingly coordinated and transnational.
He said that the region’s
traditional national policing models are no longer sufficient to combat these evolving threats and, thus, additional ways to solve these crimes must be considered.
The police commissioner made this call during the opening ceremony of the 39th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, held at the at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
“Our traditionally and nationally confined policing models are no longer sufficient. The threats are
clear. Organized criminal networks are increasingly coordinated and rootless. Illicit firearm trafficking is fueling gang warfare and a sheer rise in youth homicides. Human trafficking, particularly involving women and children, is taking root across our territories. Cybercrime is exploiting our financial institutions, government systems, and sensitive personal data.”
He further stated that gender-based and domestic violence is escalating, threatening the safety of women and families across the region.
Another issue, drug de -
pendency, he stated, continues to drive crime and vulnerabilities. Most concerning, public trust in law and law enforcement, he mentioned, is eroding, especially among the youth. He noted that it is evident criminal networks are already working across borders.
“This demands that we build entrepreneurship across agencies—from police and customs, the financial intelligence unit, and social services. it requires real-time intelligence sharing, regional surveillance, joint task forces, and the standardization of protocol and training.”
He further stressed the urgency of the matter, stating that the time has changed and that progress must be made as opposed to promises.
“This is not a time for promise. this is a time for measurable progress. ‘united in action’ must mean shared operations, common platforms, and unified enforcement. ‘Transform in purpose’ must mean a shift towards prevention, preservation, and inclusion. and building an integrated Caribbean security architecture must not remain a concept. it must become our collective legacy.”
Amidst all of this, he mentioned that while the region strengthens operational systems, we must also return to people-centered policing.
“Community trust is not a byproduct. It is a foundation of security. We must engage our youths as partners, support victims, and invest in preservation strategies to stop violence before it starts.”
The Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP), established in 1987, is the premier regional body for promoting professional policing. With a membership comprising Commissioners of Police from 25 Caribbean jurisdictions, the ACCP seeks to strengthen law enforcement cooperation, improve technical competencies, and develop unified responses to crime and security threats in the region.
How big…
…is our population?
Finding how many people there are, in particular groups of people, has a looong history. In Exodus, its written that God Himself told Moses in the Sinai desert to take a census. And we discovered His reason why from the words of the Big Guy Himself - from behind burning bushes. According to Exodus, “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom (half a shekel) for his life to the LORD…that there be no plague among them.” God gotta be paid for not launching plagues and such-like as a kind of tithe?
Thousands of years later, around the time that Jesus was born, we hear: “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.” By then, there were all sorts of reasons for these censuses that go back to David, who conducted his census to determine how large an army he could raise!! The Romans held census to determine how much taxes they could impose to run their Empire.
Well, the British - who fancied themselves succeeding the Romans - followed suit and held censuses in all their colonies, including us in dear Mudland. These were held every ten years, after they combined the three colonies into British Guiana in 1831: our population was 93,000. A century later, in 1931 - with over 250,000 immigrants entering and remaining - we’d only grown to 310,000. There were more deaths than births!! By 1960, when our reasons for looking at censuses started to become political, since they signalled how the votes might be split, we didn’t just look at the total numbers – 560,000but the ethnic breakdown!!
By 1970 we’d jumped to 710,000 but flattened by 1980 to 760,000; then, in 1991, dropped to 723,000 because of massive migration!! Burnham’s riggings made ethnic breakdowns irrelevant, but now the Indians’ numbers - even reduced since 1980s 50% – were still enough to get the PPP over the hump!! The PNC’s 42% of the vote in 1992 mirrored the African/Mixed percentage!! In the new millennium - surprising many after free and fair elections - the 2002 census showed only 751,000 with migration unabated and Indians inexorably slipping to 43%! 2012’s 746,000 showed the trend worsening, with Indians now 39% and no group having a majority. With the game now to attract from outside the tribe, the PPP was checkmated in 2011, then lost in 2015.
Last week, the IMF announced our population actually GREW - to 814,000!! But while Indians would’ve shrunken further, the PPP has used the oil revenues to launch such a development programme that ALL ETHNIC SHIPS HAVE BEEN LIFTED!!
Ethnic breakdowns are now irrelevant!! Hallelujah!!
…will be the strike?
Your Eyewitness heard through social media “grapevine” that there’s been a two-week nationwide strike called to force the Government to have Adrianna’s death investigated by “independent international authorities, like the FBI, Scotland Yard, and RCMP.” The ex-RMCP individual sourced by the Govt clearly ain’t up to snuff.
Other demands were, “No school. No work. No shopping except for absolute essentials. No business as usual until we get justice. Gather in front of the U.S. Embassy every day, united, with signs demanding FBI intervention.” In case you wouldn’t think about it, they advise “Stock up on food and essentials”!!
However, in your Eyewitness’s estimation, he can predict very confidently they ain’t gonna be getting no support, since they also specified – “No violence, no looting, no destruction.” Are they for real?? Don’t they realise those were precisely the attractions that brought out the “protestors” in GT??
The intention was to get into the stores to loot - and violence was merely incidental to anyone who got in their way!!
…palace in the air
Qatar just presented Trump with a $400M superluxury outfitted Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, that’s been called a “flying palace”!! Don’t think this is to influence the US President – that’s illegal. It’s just a gift between friends!!
A section of the gathering at the 39th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police on Monday
Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken
“Because We Care”
Over $470M to be distributed in Reg 7 as cash grant distribution begins …“this means so much” – migrant mother with Guyanese children
Over $470 million will be distributed to parents of school aged children in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) following this year’s launch of the “Because we Care” cash grant, one of the Governments flagship initiatives. On Monday, the Government through the Education Ministry commenced the distribution cash grants in Regions Seven and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
A total of $11 billion has been allocated in the 2025 Budget for the distribution of the grant to 205,000 children in public and private
schools nationwide. This year, the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant has been increased to $50,000, coupled with the $5,000 uniform allowance, giving parents a total of $55,000 per child.
Speaking at the launch of the distribution exercise, which officially kicked off at the Little Achievers Nursery
School in Region Seven, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said that at that the particular nursery school alone a total of $6.6 million will be distributed to parents, moreover for the entire region the govern-
need clothes. But we need an inside toilet. And my children will benefit from that. I know people who have taken this money and said I'm buying a small generator. Or I'm buying a water pump or I'm buying a boat engine.
ment has allocated a whooping $447 million to support the initiative.
“So that's almost $448 million to the parents of Region 7 that's what happened during the course of this year,” Manickchand said.
During her remarks, the minister addressed concerns about whether the cash grant must be used solely for school-related expenses. She explained that while the government cannot dictate how parents use the money, she emphasized the importance of spending it wisely.
“They want to come and tell you that you don't know how to spend this money. I know people who have taken this and bought their children's clothes and still have savings. To invest in something else in their homes,” the minister said, adding, “I know people who have taken this and said we don't
tion in the region.
“Right now, in Region Seven, we're building four secondary schools, one at Phillipai, one at Jawalla, one at Issano, and one at Parral and our hope is that every single child in Region Seven is going to be able to go to a discreet secondary school where you can begin and finish your secondary education.”
Meanwhile, parents also expressed their appreciation for the cash grant, Reahna Anderson of Bartica, a pregnant mother of four said “I feel very grateful for this money [the cash grant] knowing that I have four children and one on the way its a lot and its going to benefit me and my kids.”
Delia Perez, a mother of three also expressed her appreciation for the cash grant she said, “I come from Venezuela and I have been living in Guyana for seven years I have three children that are Guyanese one is currently going to school and the other one will begin next year and I’m very happy to receive help with the
I know people who have taken this money and banked it because we know how to budget.”
Moreover, as the government works towards achieving universal secondary education, Manickchand spoke of the number of secondary schools are under construc-
children.”
The distribution exercise also got underway in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). on Monday. The other regions will be targeted in the coming weeks.
Education Minister Priya Manickchand with students
Adrianna Younge’s drowning Investigation still at evidencegathering stage – Crime Chief
…more
persons interviewed; footage being reviewed as int’l
help arrives
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum on Monday revealed that the investigation into the death of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge is still at the evidence-gathering stage.
In fact, he said as of Monday, two more persons who were at the poolside on the day the child went missing – April 23 – had to be interviewed by detectives on the case.
Moreover, the Crime Chief noted that investigators are still combing through footage related to the incident, including video of the day the child went missing.
Younge was at the poolside of the now-gutted Double Day Hotel, Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) on April 23 with her grand-
mother and other relatives when she went missing.
Relatives say they searched the pool and poolside area and the child was not found.
The following day – less than 24-hrs later – the child’s body was found floating in the pool.
An autopsy conducted on the body of Adrianna Younge by three international pathologists revealed that she died as a result of drowning and that there were no signs of physical or sexual assault.
Additionally, DNA samples obtained from the hotel owner and those of the child was escorted by a forensic investigator for advanced testing and analysis to be conducted at the Mount Sinai Health System, New York.
According to the Crime Chief, when the evidence-gathering stage is completed, investigators will move on to evaluate and examine the evidence against several theories and possibilities.
Thereafter, a case file
Region 1 police division get boats, roads, radios upgrade
Regional Division One (Barima-Waini) is now better equipped and according to Senior Superintendent Krishnadat Ramana, Commander of the division, during a recent police programme, the recent investments in boats, transport, and local support systems are helping law enforcement reach even the most isolated communities efficiently.
“The division, I can say proudly, we are not starved for resources here. This is probably one of the major issues some time ago before my time here as the commander, but I can probably say at each police station and outpost, we are having transportation so we could address the needs of the public,” Ramana said during the division’s first official outreach for 2025.
The Barima-Waini region, home to thick forests, sparse roads and wide rivers, requires a specialised approach to policing. Ramana confirmed that each subdivision has appropriate equipment to meet
these needs.
“We have some river areas for example, in Batiro... Santa Cruz, Morocco, those areas, including Mabaruma, also, we have proper boats, new boats, engines, and we would patrol the river areas,” he said.
Yet patrolling these remote communities is not without its hardships. “Of course, it’s not easy because those of us who know what is happening in Region One, the area is very cold, so when we patrol in the night, you have to be prepared. And then the police are also fighting against sandflies, which is terrible. But those are the things, it doesn’t matter. Our first interest is to ensure that we serve and protect the citizens of this region,” Ramana added.
A standout improvement to regional operations has been the division’s ability to maintain its own vehicles.
“In addition to that, we do not have issues where, say, if our asset is done, our transportation is done, that it takes long to repair. We have our in-house mechanic in each subdivision, so it’s easier to service our transportation to repair and they’re easily at hand to go again and continue our work,” Ramana explained.
The division also relies on a strong network of partners to report unusual activity and to help monitor border communities.
“We have our CPG group, we have our stakeholder group, the business community. In fact, certain parts of this region, what we’ve encouraged persons to do is create some group in the villages, so
when anything should happen or if they observe anything out of the norm... they would normally send messages... police could react right away and that is how we get things done in this division,” he said.
Ramana emphasised that communication and cooperation with the public is fundamental to the division’s ability to function.
“We’ve seen a number of things are happening within the river communities and we want to be there for the citizens to serve and protect them,” he noted.
Beyond resources and logistics, Ramana said the region’s strength lies in consistent presence and responsiveness.
“We’ve also been looking at entertainment areas, having police visibility there. We’re also looking at other areas, not because entertainment and commercial areas alone, we notice certain citizens live in remote areas and crimes may likely happen. We’d also visit, patrol those areas, and we would ensure that the persons there interact with them and they feel some sort of security coming from the police aspect,” he explained.
The ability to maintain constant contact and deploy quickly to far-flung areas has transformed public trust.
“The outreaches and the reception by the members of the public has been exceptional. I can say that we’ve been to places where persons haven’t seen police much, but now they are seeing police three, four times in the month,” Ramana shared.
will be sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal opinion.
“Examining every detail”
So far, Blanhum noted that detectives have taken statements from a “substantial amount of persons”. They are “examining every detail” relating to the incident, the Crime Chief added. These include photos and video evidence.
In fact, Blanhum has said they were able to garner footage from the poolside “prior to/at the same time an alarm was raised that she was missing.”
However, he noted that the footage is not from the hotel’s security system; he said the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) forensic analysts have confirmed that the facility’s cameras were not working.
The Crime Chief also assured that “the investigators are very objective” and that he has instructed them to ensure “they do not disregard any information or any evidence during this probe.”
Nonetheless, retired member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Leonard McCoshen, has arrived in the country to assist the GPF with their investigation into the child’s death.
McCoshen is a trained and qualified homicide and suspicious death investigator, with over 30 years of experience as an investigator of the RCMP. He had spent 20 of those years attached to the Serious Crimes Branch (SCB) in the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), with the mandate to investigate serious, complex and sensitive matters, mainly homicides and deaths where foul play was suspected.
Meanwhile, the Crime Chief has also confirmed that the owner of the now-gutted double day hotel is complying with his conditions, which is to report to the police station daily. The hotel owner is also barred from leaving the jurisdiction.
The GPF has faced intense public scrutiny over its handling of the case. Among other things, the GPF had issued a statement, containing inaccurate information that the child was seen leaving the hotel in an identifiable motorcar. The GPF subsequently admitted to the error and the person responsible for providing the false report was sent on leave. Moreover, the driver of the motorcar that was identified has since sued the State for $100 million. Furthermore, two police officers have since been relieved of their duties while the commander of the region at the time of the incident, Khalid Mandal, was sent on administrative pending the outcome of the investigation.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum
Senior Superintendent Krishnadat Ramana, Commander of Region One
GECOM rolls out revised election...
The Electoral Support Project will provide high-level technical assistance, international expertise and best practices to support GECOM’s core activities in administering elections that meet international standards.
The project is designed to support both the immediate and longer-term needs of GECOM in man -
aging the 2025 electoral cycle and will continue through to March 2026. The UK has allocated some £750,000 or G$208.9 million to support this initiative, while the UNDP will oversee its implementation.
A joint statement on Friday last, explained that this partnership underscores the importance
of international cooperation in bolstering national systems through the application of global best practices tailored to Guyana’s unique political and cultural context.
It added that building on the lessons learnt during previous electoral cycles, there is strong commitment and renewed emphasis on fostering
transparency, trust, and inclusive participation in the electoral process.
The key objectives of the project include technical support for 2025 Elections, which will see the deployment of senior international electoral experts, who will be based within GECOM to provide technical advice and support to strength -
en processes such as communications, operations and logistics, etc, for the preparation, management and conduct of the elections.
Another focus of the initiative will be capacity building. This includes institutional strengthening of GECOM’s operational systems, human resources, and technical
capacity for sustainable electoral administration. The project will also prioritise improved communications and stakeholder engagement with enhanced public information strategies and fostering more inclusive engagement among electoral stakeholders to promote transparency and trust.
$192M project launched to push local value-added wood processing
…consortium to link producers, communities to opportunities
A$192 million pilot project that is intended to expand value added wood processing in Guyana, including with the use of less popular wood species and encourage more youths to get involved in the business side of wood work, has been launched.
On Monday, the Forest Value Creation Hubs project was launched at the residence of the British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller. The project has a year and a half implementation period and will cost over $192 million. According to Miller, the project is intended to kickstart increased sustainable and innovative value-added wood production.
“The UK (United Kingdom) has worked in the forestry sector for decades. And I’m incredibly proud of the work that we have done in Guyana. And we see this as another step forward in our collaboration with Guyana Forestry Commission, but also communities, to be address-
ing an issue that has been (talked about) many times. How can communities really add value and improve value chains.”
“Its relatively small funding. And the success of this programme will not be just purely what comes out of the next 18 months with these individuals. It will be how they work with others and the idea is to stimulate innovation. And I think the
way in which you communicate, the way in which you work with others, the way in which you use innovative social media, this will be the key thing for the success of the programme,” Miller also said.
A Guyanese consortium, with support from the UK’s Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (PACT), is implementing the project, which will con-
nect local timber producers with domestic markets and international group certification.
There is a component of the project that will see training opportunities being offered to youths and students of the Bina Hill Institute in Region Nine. Scott Francisco, the founder of Canadian based non-profit Pilot Projects, which is leading the con-
Adrianna Younge’s drowning
sortium, made it clear that the indigenous community and their woodworking techniques will be incorporated in the project.
“The fundamental here is collaboration. And you’ll see the word systemic… its not just collaboration in general. Its how do you work as a team, how do you bring the best skills and knowledge and practices, from different sectors and from Government, private sector, community and indigenous knowledge. How do you actually work as a team?”
“There are pressures, both local and global. So, finding ways to generate sustainable income, whilst conserving these forests, is really at the heart of this. So that communities and businesses and regional and international Governments can benefit from the forest as a standing forest, as well as invest in the livelihoods and health and wellbeing, knowledge, all of the things that communities want,” Francisco added.
Meanwhile Vanda Radzik, a Trustee of the Bina Hill Institute, assured that the indigenous communities they work with will all be granted free, informed and prior consent, as required by the Amerindian Act of 2006.
“For us, the selection of communities was done collectively, by the leadership. Because we have that built in. We also apply free prior consent to everything, even if its not extractive. Basically, timber is extractive. So, the communities were pre-selected. Right now, there are 21 (communities) in the North Rupununi.”
“We have currently, in the Rupununi, six communities that are directly being targeted. But as of yesterday, we’re actively looking together, how we can further include more communities especially those that might have deep forests. So, we’re looking at how we can stretch the budget to be more inclusive,” she also said.
FBI’s involvement hinges on US resources, formal request – US Ambassador
United States (US) Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, has made it clear that any involvement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the ongoing probe into the death of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge would depend on both the availability of FBI resources and a formal, Governmentto-Government request.
Speaking to journalists on Monday on the sidelines of the 39th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, Ambassador Theriot explained that while the US can assist in such investigations, the process must be formally initiated by the Guyanese Government.
“I understand that it in-
volves requesting FBI assistance for the investigation,” Theriot said. “So the way that that works is that it's a Governmentto-Government request, so the Government of Guyana would have to make that request to the FBI, and they would determine based on the capacity and resources
if they can assist,” the ambassador said.
Theriot’s remarks come amid calls from Adrianna Younge’s family for international support in the investigation. Already Government has hired the services of retired member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP),
Leonard McCoshen. McCoshen is a trained and qualified homicide and suspicious death investigator, with over 30 years of experience as an investigator of the RCMP. He had spent 20 of those years attached to the Serious Crimes Branch (SCB) in the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), with the mandate to investigate serious, complex and sensitive matters, mainly homicides and deaths where foul play was suspected.
Adrianna’s body was found on April 24 in the swimming pool of the Double Day Hotel on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD). An autopsy conducted by an international three-member pathology team on April 28 concluded that the child died from drowning. However, the family remains unsatisfied
and is calling for a more thorough probe into the circumstances leading up to her death.
In response to the calls for FBI intervention, a protest was reportedly planned outside the US Embassy in Georgetown on Monday. Though police barricades were erected in anticipation of the demonstration, no protestors showed up.
Ambassador Theriot also addressed the issue of public protest, saying the US supports the right to peaceful demonstration.
“The protest is part of free speech and as long as it's a peaceful protest we are more than happy to hear the demands of the protesters,” she said. “Check with my security team and there isn’t anyone there yet but we will gladly lis -
ten to their requests.”
The Government has taken several measures to accommodate transparency in the ongoing investigation into the child’s death.
Suspicions were raised surrounding the girl’s death after marks were observed on her body after it had been retrieved from the pool. However, the findings of the expert pathologists during the forensic autopsy were that the marks were consistent with water damage, and that there was no sign of sexual assault or violence on the young girl’s body.
In addition to being witnessed by family members, their lawyer and family-doctor, the entire post mortem examination was also video-recorded for added transparency.
British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller (2nd left) and Guyana Forestry Commission head Edward Goberdhan (3rd left), posed with the principals of the Forest Value Creation Hubs project and representatives from Bina Hill Institute
US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot
“Nobody can stop you from fishing” – Agriculture Minister tells Port Mourant residents
Residents of Port Mourant, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), who make a living by catching fish from trenches in the cultivation area, have been given the green light by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha to carry on their activity with a promise that they will not be hindered. Additionally, the Minister has promised to construct a bridge for easier access.
Residents raised their concerns with the Minister when he visited the community on Saturday that their fore parents used the lands for fishing, and now animal owners are stopping them from entering the area.
“Some land was given to them, we understand, but then they tried to own all
the land at the back dam, so none of the fishermen them can go fishing anymore at the back dam. And you know sometimes when things bad with people here and they don't get work, or after they come for work, they go to the savannah to fish. And are glad if you can look into this thing,” one resident appealed to the Minister, who asked them to voice their concerns.
“It is all Government property and they are stopping people,” the resident added.
Mustapha instructed that the residents must be able to fish in the backlands of Port Mourant.
“Nobody can stop you. Nobody will stop you from now on. So, no cattle farmer at the back there must stop these fellows from fish-
ing,” he instructed that the Manager for the Albion Sugar Estate ensure that persons are allowed to enter the backlands and fish freely.
“Sometimes people use that activity as their livelihood. And we cannot stop those people. So, at the end of this meeting, we will put a system in place so that nobody will stop you all in the future from fishing at the back there.”
Mustapha pointed out that the purpose of the meeting was to listen to the concerns of citizens are try to resolve issues the community might have.
He also committed to having a bridge constructed across a canal. This, according to residents, will make easier access to the backlands for some.
Climate crisis threatens the banana, the world’s most popular fruit, research shows
The climate crisis is threatening the future of the world’s most popular fruit, as almost two-thirds of banana-growing areas in Latin America and the Caribbean may no longer be suitable for growing the fruit by 2080, new research has found.
Rising temperatures, extreme weather and climate-related pests are pummeling banana-growing countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica and Colombia, reducing yields and devastating rural communities across the region, according to Christian Aid’s new report, Going Bananas: How Climate
Change Threatens the World’s Favourite Fruit.
Bananas are the world’s most consumed fruit – and the fourth most important food crop globally, after wheat, rice and maize.
About 80% of bananas grown globally are for local consumption, and more than 400 million people rely on the fruit for 15% to 27% of their daily calories.
An estimated 80% of banana exports which supply supermarkets around the world come from Latin America and the Caribbean – one of the most vulnerable regions to extreme weather and slow-onset climate disasters. And yet the crop is un -
der threat from the human-made climate crisis, and threatens a vital food source and the livelihoods of communities that have contributed virtually nothing to the greenhouse gases driving global heating.
“Climate change has been killing our crops. This means there is no income because we cannot sell anything. What is happening is that my plantation has been dying. So, what has been happening is death,”
Aurelia Pop Xo, 53, a banana grower in Guatemala, told Christian Aid researchers.
Bananas, especially the cavendish, are sensitive fruits. They require
a temperature range between 15C and 35C (59F and 95F) to thrive, and just enough water – but not too much. They are sensitive to storms, which can cause a banana plant to shed leaves, making it much harder for the crop to photosynthesize.
While there are hundreds of banana varieties, the cavendish accounts for the vast majority of exports since it was chosen by the fruit conglomerates for its decent flavor, hardiness and high yield.
It’s this lack of genetic variation that makes bananas particularly vulnerable to the rapidly changing climate.
The climate crisis directly harms growing conditions – and contributes to the spread of fungal diseases that are already decimating crops and livelihoods. Black leaf fungus can reduce the ability of banana plants to photosynthesize by 80% and it thrives in wet conditions, making bananas at risk from erratic rainfall and flooding. Rising temperatures and changing rain patterns are exacerbating another fungus, fusarium tropical race 4, a soil-borne microbe which is devastating entire cavendish plantations across the world.
Christian Aid is calling on wealthy polluting
nations most responsible for the climate crisis to urgently transition away from fossil fuels and fulfil their obligations to provide financing to help communities adapt to the changing climate.
“Bananas are not just the world’s favourite fruit; they are also an essential food for millions of people. We need to wake up to the danger posed by climate change to this vital crop,” said Osai Ojigho, Christian Aid’s director of policy and campaigns. “The lives and livelihoods of people who have done nothing to cause the climate crisis are already under threat.” (The Guardian)
A section of the gathering at the meeting with Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha
Regional
Kenya seeks Dominican Republic help with Haiti anti-gang mission
Kenya asked the Dominican Republic Monday for more support for a security mission in neighboring Haiti, where the African nation leads an under-resourced international force battling violent criminal gangs.
With backing notably from France, Canada and the United States, the UNapproved Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) is meant to help Haiti’s overwhelmed and outgunned police tackle gangs that control swaths of the poorest nation in the Americas.
Deployed in June last year, the force has about 1,000 police and soldiers from six countries — well short of the 2,500 originally envisaged.
“We want your support within the framework of the United Nations so that we can provide more international collaboration to the peace efforts in Haiti,”
Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi said after meeting Dominican counterpart Roberto Alvarez in
Santo Domingo Monday. “We look forward to your leadership in this particular area.”
The comparatively wealthy and stable Dominican Republic shares the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola with Haiti, which is riddled with poverty and gang violence. (AFP)
T&T’s San Juan Business Association suggests cap on lawyers' fees
The San Juan Business Association (SJBA) has suggested that government put a cap on all legal fees paid to attorneys, after Attorney General John Jeremie, SC, raised concern over the hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees being owed to attorneys, left over from the previous administration.
“The revelations made by AG Jeremie on the huge legal fees paid by the government to attorneys, came as no surprise to the nation,” said SJBA president Abrahim Ali.
“His findings also disclosed large unpaid bills to the tune of hundreds of millions dollars.
“The expectation of attorneys wanting large remittances for legal work done for the AG’s office, has affected the private sector in
ways that interfere with delivery of justice, as in many cases the demand for exorbitant legal fees are not feasible for the private sector to address any challenges that may come up against their businesses.
Ali recommended that the cap be based on the magnitude of cases worked at an hourly rate.
On May 8, Jeremie in a local news report said the Attorney General’s office is looking at a debt of more than $70 million, noting that the "vote" – an allocation given to ministries by the Parliament for certain purposes – was all spent.
Jeremie said by his calculations the outgoing PNM government spent over $1 billion in less than two terms with some payments still owed to attorneys.
“I do not think that a sys-
tem that allows for the selective employment of a few attorneys with no oversight, either in terms of who is selected or how much money is paid, is to the benefit of the citizens of TT,” he said.
He said he spoke with the Law Association of TT on how he intends to handle the matter.
Head of the Criminal Bar Association Israel Khan, SC, said it would be very difficult to determine a proper wage cap if one were to be imposed.
“Payment depends on the complexity of the matter, the nature of the matter, the availability of the lawyer, the experience of the lawyer. This is a complex matter.”
He said there is already an hourly rate for senior lawyers. They get paid $4,000 an hour. (T&T Newsday)
Bahamas GDP grows 3.4%
Economic growth in
The Bahamas in 2024 exceeded expectations, according to new numbers released by The Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI).
The agency reported on Friday that there was a 3.4 percent increase in economic activity – from $13.6 billion in 2023 to $14.1 billion in 2024 – the largest the Bahamian economy has ever been.
This represents robust growth over what had been projected and is seen by the Davis administration as evidence of the success of its policies to expand the economy in a high-cost environment.
“This is very positive news,” Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis told The Nassau Guardian on Saturday.
“We have some projections that come out of the IMF upon which we base a lot of our projections that we put in the budget, and they had revised it down, and then they did a recent revision upward during the World Economic Outlook, but they were all in the area of anywhere between 1.6 and 1.8 percent, maybe as high as 1.9.
“So to see this number coming from The Bahamas National Statistical Institute is very, very encouraging, and if we can sustain this sort of level – it’s higher than what we were seeing pre-Dorian and preCOVID – I think it has very, very positive implications for the future.”
The GDP value of $14.1 billon compares to GDP activity of $12.8 billion in 2018 (pre-Dorian and pre-
COVID).
There was growth of 2.6 percent in 2023 and the International Monetary Fund had projected 2.3 percent economic growth in 2024. The IMF recently projected 1.8 percent for 2025.
Standard & Poor’s, in a report released last September, had projected economic growth in 2024 of 1.8 percent.
That projection proved way off. There was an increase in growth across most industries last year, BNSI said.
“This real growth was evident in a number of industries, led by Wholesale and Retail Trade, Motor Vehicle Repair and the Construction Industries, which were responsible for the lion’s share,” BNSI said.
(Excerpted from The Nassau Guardian)
Brazil’s president seeks ‘indestructible’ links with China amid Trump trade war
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has heralded his desire to build “indestructible” relations with China, as the leaders of three of Latin America’s biggest economies flew to Beijing against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s trade war and the profound international uncertainty his presidency has generated.
Lula touched down in China’s capital on Sunday for a four-day state visit, accompanied by 11 ministers, top politicians and a delegation of more than 150 business leaders.
Hours later Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, arrived, making a beeline for the Great Wall of China and declaring his desire for the South American country to not “only look one way” towards the US. “We have decided to take a profound step forward between China and Latin America,” Petro said.
Chile’s Gabriel Boric
has also travelled to Beijing to attend Tuesday’s meeting between members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and Chinese representatives.
Addressing hundreds of Chinese and Brazilian business chiefs in the Chinese capital on Monday, Lula hit out at Trump’s tariffs, saying he could not accept the measures “that the president of the US tried to impose on planet Earth, from one day to the next”.
The Brazilian leftist said he hoped to build an “indispensable” relationship with China – already Brazil’s top trading partner – and heaped praise on his Communist party hosts as his officials announced $4.6bn (£3.5bn) of Chinese investment in their country. On Tuesday, Lula is scheduled to meet China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who is expected to return the visit in July, when Xi travels to the Brics summit in Rio.
“China has often been treated as though it were an enemy of global trade when actually China is behaving like an example of a country that is trying to do business with countries which, over the past 30 years, were forgotten by many other countries,” said Lula, who is expected to seek major Chinese investments in Brazilian infrastructure projects.
The visit of the three South American leaders to China underlines the east Asian country’s rapidly growing footprint in a region where, over the past 25 years, it has become a voracious consumer of commodities such as soybeans, iron ore and copper. Chinese companies have also poured into the region. Electric cars made by the Chinese manufacturer BYD can be seen cruising the streets of Brazilian cities, from Brasília to Boa Vista, deep in the Amazon. (Excerpted from The Guardian)
Crates full of Nazi documents found in Argentine court's basement
Crates containing documents from Nazi Germany have been rediscovered in the basement of Argentina's Supreme Court.
The unusual find was made as workers were clearing the building's basement ahead of its archives being moved to a newly created museum.
The documents were sent by the German embassy in Tokyo and arrived in Argentina on 20 June 1941 inside 83 diplomatic pouches aboard a Japanese steamship, according to information gathered by court officials.
They ended up in the Supreme Court that same year after they were confiscated by Argentine customs officials who had opened five pouches at random and found Nazi propaganda material inside.
They were rediscovered last week by workers who were intrigued by a number of wooden champagne crates they stumbled upon while moving archival material from the Supreme Court's basement.
"Upon opening one of the boxes, we identified material intended to consolidate and propagate Adolf Hitler's ideology in Argentina during [World War Two]," the court said about the find.
The crates were quickly moved to a secure office in the building and court officials alerted the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum to their existence and asked for its help in creating an inventory of all their contents.
Photos published by the
court show the experts sifting through black-and-white photos and membership booklets bearing swastikas on their covers.
Historians hope the documents will yield clues to the Nazis' financial networks and their international ties.
In a statement, Argentina's Supreme Court revealed the information it had managed to piece together so far.
It said the documents, which arrived in Argentina on board the Nan-a-Maru steamship from Tokyo in June 1941, had been declared as "personal effects" by the German embassy in Buenos Aires at the time.
However, Argentine custom officials were suspicious because of the size of the shipment and alerted the Argentine foreign minister, fearing it could contain material which could endanger Argentina's neutral stance in World War Two at the time.
Five of the pouches were opened at random and found to contain postcards, photo-
graphs and Nazi propaganda material.
The German embassy in Buenos Aires requested that the pouches be sent back to its embassy in Tokyo - from where they had been sent in the first place - but an Argentine judge ordered in September 1941 that all of the 83 pouches be seized.
Argentina's Supreme Court was tasked with the decision as to what to do with them next but it appears no decision was made before 1944 - when Argentina broke relations with the Axis powers - explaining how the crates ended up gathering dust in the court's basement for decades.
After the end of World War Two, Argentina - under the leadership of Juan Perón - became a place of refuge for a number of high-ranking Nazis, including Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele.
In 2000, President Fernando de la Rúa officially apologised for his country's role in harbouring Nazi war criminals. (BBC)
Members of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission on patrol in Haiti (File Photo)
The boxes contained what appear to be membership booklets for Nazi-affiliated organisations
Around the World
Petrobras announces $2.1 billion in dividends
and interest on equity
Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA), opens new tab said on Monday its board of directors approved the payment of 11.72 billion reais ($2.07 billion) in dividends and interest on equity to shareholders, or about 0.91 real per share. ($1 = 5.6699 reais) (Reuters)
Poland to close Russian consulate in Kraków over Warsaw fire
Poland has said it will close down the Russian consulate in Kraków, after authorities in Warsaw announced they had found evidence proving Russia’s intelligence services were behind a huge fire that destroyed a shopping centre in the Polish capital last year.
The Polish foreign minister, Rados?aw Sikorski, wrote on X: “Due to evidence that the Russian special services committed a reprehensible act of sabotage against the shopping centre on Marywilska Street, I have decided to withdraw my consent to the operation of the consulate of the Russian Federation in Kraków.”
The fire, in May last year, damaged about 1,400 shops and service outlets, Polish authorities said. Sikorski said Poland would take further action if similar attacks occurred. Polish and other European intelligence services believe Russia is orchestrating a campaign of sabotage attacks in Europe, with some targets linked to the war in Ukraine but others picked at random with the aim of sowing chaos. Investigators have also linked Russia to arson attacks in Lithuania and the UK. The Polish justice minister, Adam Bodnar, and the minister responsi-
Markets rise as US and China agree to slash tariffs
Share markets jumped on Monday after President Trump said weekend talks had resulted in a "total reset" in trade terms between the US and China, a move which goes some way to defuse the high stakes stand-off between the two countries.
The talks in Switzerland resulted in significant cuts to the tit-for-tat tariffs that had been stacked up since January on both sides.
The US will lower those tariffs from 145% to 30%, while China's retaliatory tariffs on US goods will
drop to 10% from 125%.
President Trump told reporters, that, as some of the levies have been suspended rather than cancelled altogether, they might rise again in three months time, if no further progress was made.
However, he said he did not expect them to return to the previous 145% peak.
"We're not looking to hurt China," Trump said after the agreement was announced, adding that China was "being hurt very badly".
"They were closing up factories. They were having a lot of unrest, and they were very
happy to be able to do something with us."
He said he expected to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping "maybe at the end of the week".
Investors welcomed the de-escalation. The S&P 500 index jumped more than 3.2% after the announcement, while the Dow climbed 2.8% and the Nasdaq had surged 4.3% by the end of the day. The gains left the indexes roughly where they started the year, fully recovered from the losses they sustained in the aftermath of the 2 April tariffs announcement,
dubbed "Liberation Day" by the Trump administration.
Framed as a campaign to give Americans a fairer deal from international trade, the US announced a universal baseline tariff on all imports to the US.
Around 60 trading partners, which the White House described as the "worst offenders", were subjected to higher rates than others, and this included China.
Beijing retaliated with tariffs of its own, which led to levies being ratcheted up on both sides, sending shares sharply lower. (BBC)
Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander released by Hamas in Gaza
Hamas has released an Israeli-American hostage held captive for 19 months to Israeli forces as part of efforts to reach a new ceasefire deal, the group said.
Edan Alexander, 21, had been serving in the Israeli army on the border of Gaza when he was captured by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023.
On Monday, Israel paused its military operations in Gaza for a few hours to facilitate the transfer. A senior Hamas official told the BBC the release was intended as a goodwill gesture ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East on Tuesday.
held by Hamas who was still alive. Trump offered "congratulations" to his family on his release.
government and negotiators to continue working to free the 58 remaining hostages.
a two-month ceasefire came to an end.
On Monday, he was seen with masked Hamas fighters as they handed him over to Red Cross workers in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
He was then transferred to Israeli authorities in Gaza before being reunited with his family in southern Israel. The Israeli military said it provided a "safe corridor" for Mr Alexander's release.
ble for the secret services, Tomasz Siemoniak, released a joint statement on Sunday evening that said the investigation into the fire had required “extraordinary measures”, involving 55 prosecutors and 100 police officers over a period of four months.
“Based on the evidence gathered, we know that the fire was the result of arson instructed by the Russian secret services,” the statement said, adding that the operation was “organised and directed by a specific person residing in the Russian Federation”, although it did not name the person.
Authorities said some suspects in the case had already been apprehended, while others were still being sought. They did not give any information about the nationalities of the suspected perpetrators.
Intelligence services believe Russia’s sabotage campaign is directed by staff intelligence officers in Moscow, but carried out by freelancers and one-time recruits on the ground. In the past, the perpetrators have often been Ukrainian or Belarusian refugees. Some of them realise they are working for Russian intelligence, while others may think they are simply carrying out criminal work for money. (The Guardian)
Mr Alexander is thought to be the last US citizen
In a statement, his family thanked the US president but also urged the Israeli
Mr Alexander is the first to be freed by Hamas since Israel restarted its military offensive on 18 March, after
A video shared on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's X account showed Yael Alexander speaking to her son over the phone.
"You are strong. You are protected. You are home," she said in the video. (BBC)
India PM Modi warns Pakistan of more strikes if there is a 'terrorist attack'
ndian Prime Minister
INarendra Modi warned Pakistan on Monday that New Delhi would target "terrorist hideouts" across the border again if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad's "nuclear blackmail".
Modi's first public comments since Indian armed forces launched strikes on what New Delhi said were "terrorist camps" across the border last week indicated a hardening of India's position on ties with its neighbour, which were icy even before the latest fighting.
Pakistan denies Indian accusations that it supports militants who attack it and says the locations hit by India last week were civilian sites.
Modi was speaking two days after the nuclear-armed neighbours
agreed to a ceasefire, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The truce was reached after four days of intense exchanges of fire as the old enemies targeted each other's military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.
The military confrontation began on Wednesday, when India said it launched strikes on nine "terrorist infrastructure" sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir following an attack on Hindu tourists by Islamist militants in Indian Kashmir last month that killed 26 men. Islamabad denied any links to the attack and called for a neutral investigation.
"If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given... on our terms," Modi said, speaking in Hindi in a televised address. "In the coming
days, we will measure every step of Pakistan... what kind of attitude Pakistan will adopt."
"India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail," he said, and listed New Delhi's conditions for holding talks with Islamabad and lifting curbs imposed after the
Kashmir attack.
"India's position is clear: terror and talks cannot go together; terror and trade cannot go together. And water and blood cannot flow together," he said, referring to a water sharing pact between the two countries New Delhi suspended. There was no immediate response to his comments from Islamabad. (Reuters)
Oil prices settle up at 2-week high as US, China ease tariffs
Oil prices rose about 1.5% to settle at a two-week high on Monday, after the U.S. and China agreed to temporarily slash tariffs, raising hopes of an end to the trade war between the world's two biggest economies. Brent crude futures rose $1.05, or 1.6%, to settle at $64.96 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 93 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $61.95. (Reuters)
Supporters in Tel Aviv gathered to watch and celebrate Edan Alexander's release
About 1,400 shops and service outlets were damaged in the fire last May, Polish authorities said (Photograph: Dariusz Borowicz/ Agencja Wyborcza.pl/Reuters)
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Vment from Test cricket, bringing the curtain down on a career that spanned 14 years and included 123 Tests – 68 of them as captain – in which he scored 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.
"It's been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It's tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I'll carry for life," Kohli said in a social media statement on Monday morning. "There's something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees, but that stay with you forever.
"As I step away from this format, it's not easy - but it feels right. I've given it everything I had, and it's giv-
IPL 2025 is going to resume being played on May 17, and the entire league comes to an end on June 3, the BCCI has confirmed by issuing a release on Monday night.
The remainder of the tournament, which was suspended on May 9 for a week due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, will be played at six venues: Bengaluru, Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
A total of 17 match-
my Test career with a smile."
As reported on ESPNcricinfo on Saturday, Kohli had communicated his desire to retire from Test cricket to the BCCI ahead of the big five-match series in England starting June 20, for which he was expected to be part of the squad. It was learnt at the time that Kohli had been having conversations on the matter with officials of the BCCI for the past month or so.
For Kohli, it hadn't been a particularly fruitful time in the format of late. When he scored 100 not out in the Perth Test in November 2024, it was his first century in Tests since July 2023 (against West Indies in Port of Spain), and his average, 55.10 at its peak after he scored his career best of 254 not out vs South Africa in Pune in 2019, had been 32.56
over the last 24 months.
Despite that, it's understood that the team management and selectors wanted his experience on the England tour, where India would be playing under a new captain. Shubman Gill is the frontrunner to take over from Rohit Sharma following his retirement from Test cricket earlier this week.
Apart from Rohit, R Ashwin had also retired from international cricket late last year. With Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav not in the mix at the moment, and Mohammed Shami's form under scrutiny after his return from a long injury layoff, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah remain the only links to that phase of Indian Test cricket, where they reached two successive World Test Championship (WTC) finals, the first under Kohli's leadership.
Kohli and Rohit were included in the highest category (A+) in the latest BCCI contracts, which is usually meant for players who play all three international for-
Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket
mats. Both Kohli and Rohit had retired from T20Is after India won the World Cup last year, and they would be available only for ODI cricket going forward.
BCCI president Roger Binny, in hailing Kohli for his qualities as a cricketer and leader, said in a statement, "Virat Kohli's name will be remembered alongside the finest ever to have graced Test cricket."
"What set him apart was not just his hunger for runs, but his commitment to excellence in the toughest format of the game. His leadership marked a shift in how India competed overseas - with aggression, belief, and a refusal to settle for second best. He inspired a generation to take pride in the whites, and his impact on Indian cricket will be felt for decades to come."
Kohli made his Test debut on India's tour of the West Indies in mid-2011, and after a quiet start in Kingston, where he scored 4 and 15, he totalled 76 runs in five innings on that tour as he first showed glimpses of his ability against West Indies at Mumbai's
Wankhede Stadium later that year, scoring 52 and 63. It was a struggle initially on the subsequent ill-fated tour of Australia, where India lost 4-0, but Kohli finished the series on a high, scoring his first Test century in the Adelaide Test.
Kohli's first really big Test series was also in Australia, in 2014-15, when he scored twin centuries in Adelaide, and followed it up with centuries in Melbourne and Sydney to aggregate 692 runs for the series at an average of 86.50. By then he was also India's Test captain. MS Dhoni was the designated captain, but missed the first Test because of a thumb injury, leading to Kohli's elevation. Dhoni returned for, and captained in, the second Test in Brisbane, and continued in the position for the third Test in Melbourne, but retired from the format altogether after that game. Kohli took over the reins after that.
A glorious period ensued, where India won 40 of the 68 games Kohli led in, losing just 17. The 40 wins made Kohli India's most successful Test captain of all time -
The tour of England
2018 was another
He was the top run-getter across the two sides in the five Tests, aggregating 583 at an average of 59.30 with two centuries. That it came after he had scored just 134 runs in ten innings on the previous tour, in 2014, made the performance that much more special. That year, 2018, was also his best in terms of aggregate for a year, when he scored 1322 runs.
During his golden run, he averaged 75.93 in 2016, 75.64 in 2017, 55.08 in 2018, and 68.00 in 2019. During that period between 2016 and 2018, Kohli scored 3596 runs in 35 Tests at an average of 66.59, with 14 hundreds and eight fifties in 58 innings. (ESPNcricinfo)
IPL 2025 to resume on May 17, final to be played on June 3
es will be played, with two double-headers which will be played on two Sundays. The venues for the playoffs will be announced later, but they will be on the following dates: Qualifier 1 on May 29, the Eliminator on May 30, Qualifier 2 on June 1, and the final on June 3.
A total of 17 matches will be played in the revised schedule - 13 league games and the four playoffs. That means the Punjab Kings (PBKS) vs Delhi Capitals (DC) game that was called off midway in
the first innings on May 8 will be played again on May 24 in Jaipur. The match that would resume the tournament would be played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 17 in Bengaluru.
The first of the two double -headers in the revised schedule is Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs PBKS, as the day game (3.30pm IST) on May 18, and DC vs Gujarat Titans (GT) would be played later that evening. The next
Sunday - May 25 - would see GT take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the day game in Ahmedabad, followed by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs KKR in Delhi from 7.30pm IST.
The last league game will be between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and RCB on May 27 in Lucknow.
The official release said the BCCI held "extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders," before finalising the re-
sumption of the tournament.
The delay of the IPL, which was originally scheduled to end on May 25 in Kolkata, means it will now coincide with the entire ODI series between England and West Indies, starting on May 29 in Birmingham and ending on June 3 at The Oval. It will lead to a clash for the West Indies players Romario Shepherd (RCB), Shamar Joseph (LSG) and Sherfane Rutherford (GT), all picked in the ODI squad. England have not named
their squad yet, but the players likely to be affected are Jos Buttler (GT), Phil Salt (RCB), Jacob Bethell (RCB), Liam Livingstone (RCB), Will Jacks (MI) and Reece Topley (MI), depending on which teams make the playoffs.
The revised IPL schedule also squeezes the gap between the IPL final and the WTC final to just seven days, with Australia and South Africa set to clash for the ICC title from June 11 at Lord's. (ESPNCricinfo)
Dhoni with 27 from 60 and Sourav Ganguly with 21 from 49 rank below him. And at the time of his retirement, Kohli is placed at #4 on the overall list of captains with the most Test wins, behind Graeme Smith (53 from 109), Ricky Ponting (48 from 77) and Steve Waugh (41 from 57).
in
high point.
…Return home to splendid welcome
Guyana’s Senior Women’s Cricket Team flipped the script on former champions Jamaica on Sunday, going down to the wire in a super over thriller to clinch the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s T20 Blaze Championship.
As such, a welcome fit for the bravest of heroes met the Women’s team on Monday when the majority of them returned home to Guyana in a flight that touched down at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara. As they were ushered off the plane by the sweet sounds of drumming alongside the
naments to win, and I’d just like to say, ‘Thank you’,” standout leg-spinner Nyia Latchman said on behalf of her team during the ensuing welcome programme.
Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, expressed pride in the team’s performance, praised their ability to match the heroics of their male counterparts, and shared with the players and support staff, “You have made a nation proud, and you would have exhibited true Guyanese grit. You know Guyanese are a very resilient people, you went down to Jamaica and you bounced back up, and you gave them a proper
the 4-Day championship. You ladies have shown that anything the men do you can do, and even better,” Ninvalle said, as
calming traditional dances of the Riverside Angels, the women’s team could be seen beaming with joy.
“We have more tour -
licking. We are very proud of that.
“Just earlier this year, we were here because the male team would’ve won
he went on to joke about the ladies’ superior dance skills, compared to their male counterparts’.
Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President Bissoondyal Singh also had glowing words for the victorious ladies.
“Your performance on the field has been nothing short of extraordinary,” he remarked, as he went on to state, “Your return to Guyana as champions is a moment we have been eagerly awaiting. You went abroad not just as competitors, but as ambassadors of Guyana’s spirit, determination, and cricketing excellence, and you have returned home as heroes. Your triumph marked the second regional title within one year; but of significance, this is the first time we’re lifting the CWI T20 Blaze Trophy.
“The last time we were here, the Honourable Charles Ramson said that we are becoming a nation of winners. From a cricketing standpoint, we are now a nation of champions; so, I say welcome home, our champions. Today is a day of national pride and celebration.”
The Championship run
Two days earlier, Guyana lost their last league match to Jamaica by 7 wickets, and had had to face the 2024 champions again at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for Sunday’s final.
Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, the Guyanese bowlers stifled Jamaica’s star power just enough to keep them to 122-5 in their 20 overs.
Chedean Nation was the most outstanding Jamaica batter, hitting a run-a-ball 35, while Abigail Bryce remained unbeaten in accumulating 32 in 36 deliveries. 15 and 27 off the bats of Lena Scott and opener Jodian Morgan respectively helped Jamaica to their total.
Both Nyia Latchman and Ashmini Munisar claimed two wickets for Guyana. And the efforts of captain Shemaine Campbelle and Realanna Grimmond pushed Guyana to level the scores at the
end of their 20 overs. Campbelle had a captain’s knock of 54 off 47 balls that included 3 fours and 2 sixes, while Grimmond slammed 4 fours and 1 six, but missed out on her half century, as she contributed 46 from 53 balls.
Jodian Morgan snared 2-25 from 3 overs.
As such, the encounter went down to a super over, where Guyana batted first and posted 8-1 in their six balls. Captain Campbelle then entrusted leg-spinner Nyia Latchman with defending Guyana’s total, and that she did. Latchman’s over had three dot balls and two wickets, keeping Jamaica at 3-2, 6 runs short of the target. Guyana’s Shemaine Campbelle and Realeanna Grimmond were among the tournament’s top run-getters with 133 and 121 runs respectively; while Shenetta Grimmond, Nyia Latchman and Trinidad’s Steffie Soogrim tied for the most wickets with 10 apiece.
Plaffiana Millington presented GCB President Bissondyal Singh with the Championship Trophy (Jemima Holmes Photo)
Joint highest wicket-taker and super over winner Nyia Latchman addressed the gathering (Jemima Holmes Photo)
Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle (Jemima Holmes Photo)
