NEWS
Stakeholders again call for wider use of body cameras
Two stakeholders yesterday questioned the T&T Police Service’s (TTPS) handling of the Joshua Samaroo case and again called for the full use of body cameras by police during their operational duties. Speaking on CNC3’s The Morning Brew, former police commissioner Gary Griffith first clarified that the situation was not about Kaia Sealy actually shooting Samaroo, but rather her alleged action/s which reportedly forced the police to react as they did and which led to the death of Samaroo. Griffith said, “This is the allegation that police officers were involved in armed conflict with her and she was actually firing at police officers, and police, in their reason to defend themselves, returned fire and by Mr Samaroo being killed, she is now being charged.” Read more here
Rising tension between public, police
FORMER chairman of the Police Service Commission (PolSC) Nizam Mohammed has called on the authorities to urgently address tensions between the public and police, flagging increased mistrust in the justice system after the police’s issuing of arrest warrants for Kaia Sealy. Mohammed said while he did not want to be “alarmist”, there was rising sensitivity in the particular case of Sealy and her common-law husband Joshua Samaroo, who were both shot by police on January 20, 2026 in St Augustine after a chase. Read more here
POLITICS
Govt issues EOI for e-passport system amid public outrage
One day after the Sunday Guardian published an article stating that booking an e-appointment for a passport on the Ministry of Homeland Security website takes as long as six months, the ministry issued an expression of interest (EOI) for suitably qualified entities to upgrade its passport portal. Yesterday, the ministry posted on its website an EOI to upgrade its machine-readable passport (MRP) to an electronic passport (E-passport) for the Immigration Division. Deadline for submission of the EOI is June 19. The ministry stated the EOI intends to identify private and public sector entities that would be interested in providing service to “upgrade the passport issuing and control system from MRP to the E-passport issuing and control system.” One of the scope overviews is that the entity must be able to develop and commission a fully functional online application for e-passports, with online payment processing. Read more here
Farley tears into cops
Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Farley Augustine has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the police’s handling of the disappearance of two-year-old Angelo Tobias Plaza, saying he expected a much better response from investigators. Augustine told the Express yesterday that, in his opinion, the matter was not properly managed from the outset. “This case was not properly managed from the get-go. I am not satisfied with how the (T&T Police Service) managed this case. I feel as though justice is not being served, I feel as though justice is still delayed,” Augustine said during an interview at the Shaw Park Complex in Scarborough. Read more here
BUSINESS
Darbasie joins Agostini board
Less than a year after retiring as group chief executive officer of First Citizens Group, Karen Darbasie is set to join the board of directors of Agostini Ltd from June 1. Darbasie will replace Dr Wavne Frederick, who will step down as a director on that date. In a notice published under the Securities Act, Agostini said Frederick’s departure was linked to increased commitments in the United States. The company thanked Frederick for his service, describing his contributions and judgment during his tenure as “meaningful and highly valued.” Darbasie served as group chief executive officer at First Citizens from April 2015 until her retirement in October 2025. Agostini described her as a senior executive with more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services and telecommunications sectors. Read more here
Chamber president: Chaguanas needs east-west overpass
President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) Baldath Maharaj wants discussions surrounding an east to west overpass in the Chaguanas borough to restart. He made the statement while delivering the welcome address at the CCIC Indian Arrival Day celebration and award ceremony held on Saturday at Passage to Asia, Chaguanas. Maharaj said he intended to engage Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John on ways to improve road traffic arrangements in Chaguanas. Read more here
REGIONAL
‘We are a nation that has emerged against all odds’
Under the glow of fireworks and the echoes of patriotic songs along the Essequibo River, President Dr Irfaan Ali used Guyana’s 60th Independence Anniversary celebrations to cast the nation as a country entering a new era of ambition and global relevance. Addressing a packed audience of dignitaries, regional leaders and citizens, the President framed Independence at 60 as a moment to measure how far Guyana has travelled from the fragile, divided and economically dependent state that raised the Golden Arrowhead in 1966. He reminded Guyanese that at the moment of independence the commanding heights of the economy, sugar estates, bauxite mines, banks and major commercial interests, were still in foreign hands, leaving the new state “a nation with a dependent economy” despite its new symbols of sovereignty. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
US launches new strikes on Iran, targeting missile sites and boats
The US said it launched new strikes on southern Iran on Monday, targeting Iranian missile sites and boats attempting to place mines. The strikes were in "self-defence" and designed "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces", US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday it had downed a US drone and fired at a fighter jet and another drone that entered Iranian airspace, state media reported. It did not specify when this happened. Read more here
26th May 2026