Staff Editor

ISTANBUL, (Reuters) – Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan joined thousands of worshippers at Hagia Sophia today for the first prayers there since he declared the monument, revered by Christians and Muslims for almost 1,500 years, a mosque once again.

(Reuters) – Devon Brumfield could hear her father gasping for breath on the phone.

Bandits this afternoon shot and killed a 23- year-old resident of Middle Road, La Penitence during a suspected robbery.

Opposition-appointed GECOM commissioners: Sase Gunraj, Bibi Shadick and Robeson Benn today deplored mounting attacks on GECOM Chair Claudette Singh.

Amid continuing signs that APNU+AFC will not accept a declaration by GECOM of the results based on the national recount, PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo today said that President David Granger and the riggers supporting him are living in a fool’s world if they believe they will get away with that.

WENCHANG, China,  (Reuters) – China successfully launched an unmanned probe to Mars today in its first independent mission to another planet, a bid for global leadership in space and a display of its technological prowess and ambition.

(Trinidad Guardian) More than two dozen local police officers are currently under watch by the T&T Police Service Professional Standards Bureau having been implicated in an intrinsic human trafficking ring operating between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

European Union (EU) spokesperson for foreign affairs, Nabila Massrali today said the recent ruling by the CCJ paves the way for GECOM to issue a declaration of the result from the March 2nd general elections using the figures from the recount.

Clinging to power despite a recount result which showed that it lost the March 2nd general elections,  the incumbent APNU+AFC today said “Any attempt to include fraudulent votes in a ‘Declaration’ will constitute a violation of the Constitution and the fundamental principles of democracy.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – The United States has told China to close its consulate in Houston, both countries said today, deepening a deterioration in bilateral relations, and a source said Beijing was considering shutting down the U.S.

SRINAGAR, India, (Reuters) – India has cancelled a historic Hindu pilgrimage to a holy cave high in the snow-capped mountains of contested Kashmir for the first time, as cases of the novel coronavirus continued to rise today.

Members of the Organisation of the American States (OAS) this afternoon called for the David Granger administration to allow a peaceful transition of power in Guyana even as government representatives maintained that the process is still to be completed and the declaration by the GECOM Chair will be recognised once it is in accordance with the law.

Welcoming yesterday’s decision by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire, the Private Sector Commission today called on the GECOM Chair Claudette Singh to move towards the declaration of the result based on the recount of the votes and to the swearing in of the new President.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said today the United States wants to build a global coalition to counter China as he accused Beijing of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests.

 (Reuters) – Rapper Kanye West posted a series of tweets late on Monday claiming his wife was trying to have him locked up on medical grounds, comparing himself to Nelson Mandela and suggesting the movie “Get Out” was based on his own life.

(Trinidad Express) Radio announcer Andy Williams was ambushed and shot at his Chaguanas home at daybreak Monday.

Acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire today ruled that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) endorsed the recount of votes and that the ten old declarations from March 13 cannot be “resurrected”.

 (Reuters) – England bowled out West Indies for 198 in the final session on day five to win the second test by 113 runs and level the three-test series at 1-1 in Manchester today.

(ICC) The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia 2020 has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – A top U.S. Homeland Security official on Monday defended the federal crackdown on protests in Portland, Oregon, including the use of unmarked cars and unidentified officers in camouflage and said the practice will spread to other cities as needed.