News

PARIS,  (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday accused his far-right rival Marine Le Pen of being in thrall to Russian President Vladimir Putin over a years-old Russian bank loan to her party during a fiery TV debate ahead of Sunday’s election.

A 52-year-old businessman is now counting his losses after a fire of unknown origin gutted a building which housed his workers and equipment at Kwakwani, Region Ten yesterday.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Hydro-meteorological Service yesterday signed a handover agreement for 45 rain gauges and 90 measuring jars to support Guyana’s sustainable disaster preparedness and response initiatives. 

(Reuters) – Peru’s government will present a bill to allow for chemical castration as a penalty for raping a minor, Cabinet members told reporters yesterday, following national outrage over the rape of a 3-year-old girl.

WASHINGTON/LONDON,  (Reuters) – Top officials from Britain, the United States and Canada walked out on Russia’s representatives at a Group of 20 meeting yesterday and many members spoke to condemn Moscow’s war in Ukraine, exposing deep divisions in the bloc of major economies.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who leads opinion polls for October’s election, wants to recruit a former governor or other seasoned politician to run economic policy if he wins, close advisers to the leftist leader told Reuters.

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Eight people infected with COVID-19 died in Shanghai on April 20, Chinese state television said yesterday.

A 19-year-old man is currently hospitalised after he was stabbed during a scuffle on Tuesday night at the Unity, Mahaica seawall.

President Irfaan Ali today appointed the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) board and named Major General (Rtd) Joe Singh as the Chairman.

(ESPN Cricinfo) West Indies limited-overs captain Kieron Pollard has retired from international cricket, announcing the decision on social media on Wednesday, a day before his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians’ game against Chennai Super Kings.

Attorney-at-Law Nirvan Singh was this morning charged at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court with allegedly directing racial remarks towards Police Constable Shaunette Bollers.

The PNCR today expressed condolences at the sudden passing of Kadim ‘Kads’ Khan this morning.

(Reuters) – A Russian ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender or die expired this  afternoon with no mass capitulation, but the commander of a unit believed to be holding out in the besieged city said his forces could survive just days or hours.

SHANGHAI,  (Reuters) – To prepare the 3,000-plus orders of vegetables, meat and essentials her Carrefour supermarket sends out every day to locked-in Shanghai residents, manager Zhang Wei wakes at 5 a.m.

SYDNEY,  (Reuters) – A security pact between the Solomon Islands and China will not undermine peace, the prime minister of the Pacific island nation told parliament today in a bid to ease the worries of the United States and its allies about China’s growing influence.

(Trinidad Express) Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday led an island-wide protest against the hike in fuel prices, increasing food costs and escalating crime, under heavy police presence.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected here in June this year, sources say, which would make him the second holder of that office to visit this country in less than two years.

Fibre Tech Industrial Plastics (FTIP) yesterday became the first Guyanese company to achieve certification under the Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ (GNBS) Made in Guyana Certification Mark Programme.

A 41-year-old mother of two was on Monday night fatally struck down while crossing the Mon Repos Public Road, East Coast Demerara, and the driver has since been taken into custody by the police.

A 24-year-old security guard died on Monday night after crashing into a motorcar on the Ogle railway embankment, East Coast Demerara (ECD).