A Grenadian family-owned and operated US-based company involved in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects has chosen to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its founding with the hosting of a summit in Grenada of top American engineers now on the island.
“The summit brings together senior executives of our leadership team, all of them visiting Grenada for the first time. We thought it was a fitting way to celebrate our 30th anniversary and to do something here that could benefit Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique,” said Claudia Samuel, Chair of the board of directors of Samuel Engineering and Samuel EPC, simply referred to as “Samuel”.
Her husband, Everod V Samuel, a registered professional engineer, who attended St George’s Anglican School and Grenada Boys’ Secondary School (GBSS), is the chief executive officer (CEO).
Both husband and wife, who are ex-teachers of the Anglican High School (AHS), celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on 8 June.
The 4-day summit of Samuel begins Monday, 16 June at the Grenada Radisson Hotel and continues through Thursday, 19 June.
The visiting participants of high-level executives are arriving in Grenada on 13 and 14 June. Among the executives attending will be 2 company presidents, chief engineers, senior directors and other key business managers.
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The Government of Grenada is amending the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) legislation for the sole purpose of empowering the authority to collect fees that are required or prescribed under other legislations, but are designated for the authority.
The amended bill is among 3 pieces of legislation that will be debated by Members of the Lower House on the 17 June sitting. The amendment is specific to Sections 38 and 39 by inserting the words “Without prejudice to subsection (1), the Authority may collect fees as prescribed under any other enactment or authorised under any other legally binding arrangement, for collection by the Authority.”
Subtitled Fees, section 38 states “The Authority may charge such fees as are prescribed by order made by the Minister responsible for Finance for the issue or renewal of licences; and for any service performed by it.”
By inserting the new sentence in the legislation, it means that the authority will be able to collect fees for other entities once the minister approves it to be used for the operations of the authority. Section 39, subtitled “Fund and resources of the Authority” provides guidelines as to the sources of funds and resources of the authority.
The authority funds should be allocations voted for by Parliament; subject to the approval of the Minister responsible for Finance, any special tax imposed for the tourism sector and all amounts payable to the authority in respect of advertisement or any other service performed by the authority.
The legislation states that funding could also come from all amounts collected under the authority of regulations made under Grenada Tourism Authority Act; amounts borrowed by the authority for the purpose of meeting or discharging any of its obligations, and all other amounts or property which may in any manner become payable to or vested in the authority in respect of any matter incidental to its powers and functions.
The legislation also states that funds should be “All monies of the Authority, including monies raised on loan or grants received for the purposes of this Act shall be paid into an account in the name of the Authority in accordance with the directions of the Board.”
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The administration of US President Donald Trump may expand its current travel ban by including citizens from 36 more countries, according to a memo from the State Department reviewed by the news agency Reuters. On June 4, Trump signed the proclamation banning travel from 12 countries. The White House said that this was needed to protect the United States against “foreign terrorists” and other national security threats.
Trump has launched an immigration crackdown since assuming office for the second time. He deported thousands of Venezuelans suspected of gang activity and enforced stricter policies on foreign students in the US.
The memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stated that the US is worried about how some countries manage the identity and security of their citizens.
The cable outlines several reasons why these 36 countries are being considered for a full or partial ban.
In an internal diplomatic cable signed by Marco Rubio, the State Department outlined, “The Department has identified 36 countries of concern that might be recommended for full or partial suspension of entry if they do not meet established benchmarks and requirements within 60 days.”
Other issues mentioned in the memo — include poor passport security, citizens overstaying visas, lack of help in deportation cases, and involvement of some nationals in terrorist, antisemitic, or anti-American activities.
However, the memo also pointed out that not every concern applies to every country on the list. Each nation will need to address the issues within 60 days to avoid being added to the expanded ban list.
LIST OF COUNTRIES AT RISK OF BAN
The countries that might face restrictions if they don’t meet US standards include: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
This list adds to the 12 countries already banned earlier this month: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
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UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said today that the human rights crisis in Haiti has plummeted to a new low, with gangs extending their reach beyond Port-au-Prince and into the central regions of the country, carrying out killings, rapes and kidnappings. A record 1.3 million people are now displaced by violence.
At least 2,680 people were killed between 1 January and 30 May 2025, including 54 children, according to information verified by the UN Human Rights Office. At least 957 others were injured and 316 kidnapped for ransom. Sexual violence by gangs and recruitment of children in gangs also continues to rise.
“Alarming as they are, numbers cannot express the horrors Haitians are being forced to endure on a daily basis,” said Türk. “I am horrified by the ever-increasing spread of gang attacks and other human rights abuses beyond the capital, and deeply concerned by their destabilising impact on other countries in the region.
“While law enforcement struggles to restore security, mob and self-defence groups are taking the matter into their own hands, leading to even more human rights abuses.”
Since the end of March 2025, gangs have launched major attacks in the central Haitian commune of Mirebalais, ransacking police stations and private properties, and releasing more than 515 inmates from the local prison.
Meanwhile, clashes between gangs and so-called self-defence groups have intensified in the region of Bas Artibonite. On 20 May, at least 25 people were killed and 10 injured by armed individuals who accused the victims of supporting gangs. People were killed with machetes inside a church or in their homes, and some of the bodies were subsequently dragged into the streets and set on fire.
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INTERNATIONAL
Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of Thursday’s plane crash in Ahmedabad.
The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew members, a 40-year-old British man.
Officials have also been trying to establish how many people were killed on the ground and have been continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the victims’ identities.
Vigils honouring the dead have taken place across India and the UK.