Staff Editor

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) today said that the President’s decision to unilaterally appoint a Chairman of GECOM poses a clear threat to democracy.

  HARARE,  (Reuters) – A Belgian-based businessman on Friday challenged Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe’s accusation that he duped her of a $1.35 million diamond ring and asked her to provide the court with evidence to back her lawsuit.

LIMA,  (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Wedged between the rubbish-choked Rimac river and lanes of traffic belching fumes, the Cantagallo slum in downtown Lima is a far cry from the Amazon rainforest land that the Shipibo-Konibo people were forced to flee two decades ago.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo tonight declared that the Opposition will embark on a policy of non-cooperation with the government following the unilateral choice of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission by President David Granger.

President David Granger is to swear in a Chairman of GECOM tonight, according to an advisory from the Ministry of the Presidency.

ANSA McAL Trading Limited marked 25 years in Guyana today and as part of observances of its Silver Anniversary it has launched its Public Service Award Programme which will see a teacher receiving $500,000.

The Georgetown District of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) today called for tougher action by the Ministry of Public Security and the Judiciary against crime in the wake of the murder of two elderly women.

(Trinidad Guardian) Yesterday’s Divali Day celebrations were washed out for several families who were left marooned in their homes after flood waters inundated their houses and communities in several areas in South, North East and Central Trinidad.

  JOHANNESBURG,  (Reuters) – The FBI has opened an investigation into U.S.

State House was this evening lit up for Diwali. President David Granger and First Lady Sandra Granger entertained guests.

HARARE, (Reuters) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace has sued a Belgium-based businessman for failing to deliver a $1.35 million ring she ordered for a wedding anniversary, state media reported on Wednesday.

CARACAS/HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s state-run oil firm, PDVSA, is increasingly delivering poor quality crude oil to major refiners in the United States, India and China, causing repeated complaints, canceled orders and demands for discounts, according to internal PDVSA documents and interviews with a dozen oil executives, workers, traders and inspectors.

The Police say they are investigating a fatal accident which occurred about 2.20 this morning on the Lethem Public Road that resulted in the death of pedestrian Devon Fraser, 28, a Guyana Defence Force Lance Corporal of Buxton, East Coast Demerara.

(Trinidad Guardian) Preliminary investigations have revealed that the source of the oil spill that occurred in Chaguaramas over the weekend can be an offshore rig.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Over four million people in Britain are having difficulties paying their monthly bills, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Wednesday, at a time when inflation is rising and interest rates may follow.

Saying that the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) needs to focus on “quality investigations”, the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today said that it is reviewing for the second time a file sent by SOCU on an ongoing controversy with the Guyana Bank for Trade Industry (GBTI) over the release of banking information.

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) today dismissed the constabulary officer who is alleged to have sexually assaulted a minor being detained by the City Constabulary.

  MOGADISHU,  (Reuters) – Medics who rushed to help victims of a huge bomb explosion in the Somali capital Mogadishu that killed more than 300 people say the country’s threadbare emergency services have been pushed beyond their limit.

  BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, (Reuters) – Former captain Brendan Taylor and bowler Kyle Jarvis were both included in the Zimbabwe test squad for the first time after lengthy absences when a 16-man party was named on Tuesday for the two-test series at home to the West Indies.

The GPSU has rejected the government’s wage increase offer for 2017.