分类: world

  • DIN: Zijn lichaam is ons ontvallen, maar zijn missie leeft voort

    DIN: Zijn lichaam is ons ontvallen, maar zijn missie leeft voort

    AMSTERDAM – April 6 – The Diaspora Institute Netherlands (DIN) has released a statement mourning the passing of former Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, remembering his transformative vision for Suriname’s development through global collaboration with its diaspora community.

    Drawing on an ancient Vedic teaching that frames human death as occurring in three stages — first when a person draws their final breath, second when their body is buried or cremated, and third when all memory of them fades — DIN emphasized that Santokhi will never experience this final passing. His ideas and vision remain embedded in the work of the institution he helped found, and will continue to shape Suriname’s future for generations to come.

    The institute was formally established on September 11, 2021, during Santokhi’s first state visit to the Netherlands. Then-serving President Santokhi installed the organization at the Ons Suriname community center in Amsterdam, after recognizing the untapped potential of the global Surinamese diaspora to drive national growth. It was on this historic occasion that he shared his defining vision in one powerful, memorable statement: “We will build Suriname with 1 million Surinamese.”

    Since that day, Santokhi’s words have formed the foundational inspiration for all of DIN’s work. The organization’s core mission is to connect Surinamese communities spread across the globe, and channel their resources, energy and expertise to accelerate inclusive development in Suriname — a mission that grew directly from Santokhi’s clear, unifying vision. Today, even after his passing, DIN confirms it will continue to advance that mission, with Santokhi’s goal of building a stronger Suriname in partnership with all Surinamese worldwide remaining its guiding north star.

    Santokhi’s ideology lives on in the hearts and actions of everyone who continues to work toward his ideal. As long as his vision is upheld and put into practice, he will remain a lasting presence in Suriname’s future, the statement notes.

    The institute extended its deepest condolences to all Surinamese people around the world who mourn this great loss, while reaffirming its unwavering commitment to carrying forward Santokhi’s work. “His body has left us, but his mission lives on. His voice has fallen silent, but his message echoes onward. Chan will never die. Jai Ho Chan! DIN connects.” the statement concluded.

    The message was signed by the DIN Board: John Brewster, Uriel Sabajo, and Ranjan Akloe.

  • Abinader orders stronger border measures over Haiti unrest

    Abinader orders stronger border measures over Haiti unrest

    Escalating gang violence and spreading political instability in neighboring Haiti have prompted the Dominican Republic to implement strict new surveillance measures along their shared border, a response directly triggered by Haiti’s recent declaration of a maximum national alert and the deployment of a UN-supported Gang Suppression Force.

    Following a high-stakes emergency meeting of the Dominican Republic’s National Security and Defense Council, held to evaluate the rapidly deteriorating security situation across the border, President Luis Abinader reaffirmed the country’s unwavering commitment to protecting its sovereignty. In a public statement, Abinader stressed that defending national territory, preserving community safety and upholding public order are “non-negotiable priorities,” confirming that all units of the Dominican Armed Forces are fully deployed and on standby to address any unexpected contingency that may arise.

    On the Haitian side of the border, security officials have enacted their own sweeping emergency measures. The Armed Forces of Haiti issued an order requiring all military personnel to immediately report to their assigned barracks, canceled all ongoing leave, and placed the entire force on highest alert. This order comes in the wake of surging gang-related attacks, including deadly armed clashes and a recent large-scale massacre in Haiti’s Artibonite region that has been linked to the notorious armed faction Grand Grif.

    Haiti’s ongoing security collapse stretches back to 2018, when political fragmentation and institutional weakening allowed armed gangs to seize control of large swathes of territory, including most of the capital Port-au-Prince and its surrounding suburbs. New data from the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti underscores the severity of the crisis: in 2025 alone, gang violence and counter-violence security operations left at least 5,915 people dead and another 2,708 injured across the country.

    The unfolding chaos has sent ripples of concern across the Caribbean region, with policymakers warning of risks to cross-border security, unregulated migration flows, and broader regional stability. For the Dominican Republic, which shares the entire island of Hispaniola with Haiti, the enhanced border deployment represents a critical proactive step to shield its national security and maintain firm territorial control as the Haitian crisis continues to unfold.

  • Whale births and killings

    Whale births and killings

    The concept of “culture” is far from an immutable moral foundation. It can be twisted, reinterpreted, and shaped to fit the selfish needs of those in power, depending on how deeply rooted a society’s moral emptiness and hypocrisy run. Nowhere is this double standard more obvious than when comparing two Caribbean approaches to whales: one rooted in scientific care and collective protection, and another that defends cruel killing as cultural tradition.

    Last year, a team of marine biologists published groundbreaking findings from a rare, fully documented sperm whale birth they witnessed off the coast of Dominica in 2023. The expedition had originally set out to tag sperm whales to track their migratory patterns and complex acoustic communication systems, when researchers encountered a cluster of 11 sperm whales gathered unusually tightly at the ocean surface. Deploying camera drones to investigate the odd behavior, the team captured the entire birth of a 12th whale: the first complete documentation of a sperm whale birth in human history.

    Over two years of frame-by-frame analysis of the drone footage, researchers made remarkable discoveries about the complex social bonds of sperm whale communities. The mother, a well-documented individual named Rounder, belongs to Unit A, a social group made up of two unrelated whale families that regularly return to the waters off Dominica. When Rounder’s calf was born, it was completely helpless, unable to swim on its own and at risk of sinking if left unsupported. For the first three hours of the newborn’s life, every member of Unit A took turns holding the calf afloat, pressing their bodies close together to form a living raft beneath it. While Rounder and her half-sister Aurora led the rescue effort, the group also included a whale from the unrelated second family, Ariel, as well as Rounder’s 15-year-old half-brother Allan, who traveled to the site specifically to attend the birth. The extraordinary cooperative care displayed by the entire social group left even seasoned researchers deeply moved.

    This story of intergenerational whale solidarity stands in brutal contrast to the cultural practice of unregulated whaling in nearby St. Vincent and the Grenadines, local commentator Patrick Ferrari argues. If the same pod of sperm whales had gathered near St. Vincent and the Grenadines instead of Dominica, Ferrari says, Rounder and her newborn calf would not have been celebrated — they would have been hunted down for meat. While local whalers primarily target humpback whales, he notes, they do not turn away easy prey like sperm whales or vulnerable calves.

    Ferrari pulls no punches describing the brutal process of traditional whaling in St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Hunters in small boats drive a heavy iron harpoon into the whale’s body, attached to buoys that tire the animal out over hours of agonizing struggle. Once the whale is too exhausted to fight back, hunters use lances to stab deep into its heart and lungs. The animal dies a slow, torturous death from blood loss, organ damage, and extreme pain, before its body is towed back to shore where the kill is celebrated as a community event. Local defenders of the practice hide behind the language of “tradition” and “culture” to shield it from criticism, but Ferrari argues this is nothing more than moral cowardice.

    Culture, he points out, is not a static concept that justifies cruelty forever. Humanity has already abandoned other long-standing harmful traditions, such as slavery, by listening to conscience and drawing a clear line between outdated practice and moral right. The same shift is long overdue for whaling, he argues. Just because a practice has existed for generations does not give people an inherent right to continue torturing sentient animals for entertainment and meat. Dominica’s choice to protect whales for research and conservation proves that the Caribbean can choose a better path, and it is past time for St. Vincent and the Grenadines to end what Ferrari calls a shameful, uncivilized practice that has no place in the modern world.

    *(This is an opinion piece by Patrick Ferrari, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of iWitness News.)*

  • Oil prices climb after Trump threatens Iran over Strait of Hormuz

    Oil prices climb after Trump threatens Iran over Strait of Hormuz

    Tensions flared in the Middle East over the weekend as former President Donald Trump’s aggressive verbal threat against Iranian energy infrastructure triggered a sharp upward swing in global crude oil prices, amplifying existing market uncertainty and driving down stock futures. In an inflammatory post shared to his Truth Social platform Sunday morning, Trump issued an extreme ultimatum to Iranian authorities, warning that if the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most critical chokepoints for global energy trade—remains closed, Iran will face devastating targeted attacks on its key power plants and bridge infrastructure. “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” the post read.

    In an immediate response to the threat, a senior Iranian government official reiterated Sunday that the country will not reopen the strategic waterway until it receives full compensation for damages it sustained from previous conflicts. This latest exchange marks the second time Trump has issued a public ultimatum to Iran over the strait: an earlier deadline set on March 21 was extended to April 6, with no resolution reached by that date. The hardline stance also marks a notable shift from Trump’s claims just one week prior, when he asserted the United States had no critical reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for energy supplies.

    Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation were already underway Sunday, with Oman’s foreign ministry confirming that Omani officials had convened talks with Iranian representatives to negotiate the resumption of unimpeded commercial shipping access through the waterway. On the same day, major oil-producing nations of the OPEC+ alliance held a virtual emergency meeting to address growing risks of attacks on global energy infrastructure. In an official statement released after the gathering, the bloc emphasized that repairing disruptions to global oil supply and restoring stable market demand is an extraordinarily costly process that requires extended timelines to complete. The meeting came just weeks after OPEC+ agreed to implement a modest daily production increase of 206,000 barrels starting in May, a move intended to cool rising prices.

    The sudden disruption to potential energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil shipments pass—has already pushed retail fuel prices in the United States to their highest level since 2022. Data from motoring group AAA released Sunday shows the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline climbed to $4.11, representing an almost 38% increase since the outbreak of the latest regional conflict that triggered the strait closure.

    Beyond energy markets, the escalating geopolitical tensions rippled through global equity futures on Sunday, following a long weekend closure for U.S. markets. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.69%, equal to a 324-point decline, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.76% and Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 0.91%, signaling widespread investor risk aversion amid the growing uncertainty.

  • Magnitude 3.9 Earthquake Recorded Near Antigua and Barbuda

    Magnitude 3.9 Earthquake Recorded Near Antigua and Barbuda

    A minor earthquake measuring magnitude 3.9 has been registered in waters north of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, according to the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Research Centre.

    The seismic event struck at 4:12 p.m. local time on Sunday, with a calculated depth of 28 kilometers below the ocean surface. Geographical data pinpoints the epicenter at coordinates 18.35 degrees north latitude and 63.13 degrees west longitude, placing it around 198 kilometers northwest of St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda’s capital. The epicenter is also situated roughly 124 kilometers north-northwest of Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis, and approximately 200 kilometers northwest of Brades, the administrative center of Montserrat. All measurements confirm the quake struck a significant distance from any populated landmass, in open offshore waters.

    As of the first official updates, there have been no public reports that the tremor was felt by residents across Antigua and Barbuda, nor have any casualties or structural damage been linked to the event.

    The UWI Seismic Research Centre has cautioned that the current magnitude and epicenter location data was produced automatically by computer algorithms. The readings are classified as preliminary, and will undergo further evaluation and adjustment if needed by the center’s team of seismic analysts before final confirmation.

  • Antigua and Barbuda commits fully to ocean protection following intense negotiations at the UN

    Antigua and Barbuda commits fully to ocean protection following intense negotiations at the UN

    For small island developing nations like Antigua and Barbuda, the world’s oceans are far more than a geographic feature—they are the unshakable backbone of national life, underpinning local communities, driving economic activity, and securing the long-term future of the country. As such, the stakes of failing to safeguard marine biodiversity in areas outside national control are too high to ignore, and the island nation has made clear that the unfinished work of bringing the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty into full force remains a top priority.

    Following the wrap-up of the third Preparatory Commission meeting held at United Nations headquarters, global negotiators have recorded meaningful incremental progress toward operationalizing the historic treaty. Yet despite these steps forward, critical gaps in the framework and implementation roadmap still stand between the current draft and a fully functional, enforceable agreement. These unaddressed provisions have created uncertainty around the treaty’s ability to deliver on its core goal: protecting and sustainably managing marine biodiversity in areas that fall outside the jurisdiction of any single country, which make up more than two-thirds of the world’s oceans.

    Antigua and Barbuda has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to closing these remaining gaps, and will continue its long-standing advocacy for a global ocean governance regime that is robust, equitable, and effective for all nations. The country has also highlighted the pivotal contributions of its national negotiating delegation, led by Asha Challenger, First Secretary of Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and Vice President of the third Preparatory Commission. Challenger’s leadership has been instrumental in amplifying the shared concerns and priorities of small island developing states, which are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of marine biodiversity loss despite contributing the least to the crisis.

    Challenger’s work at the negotiating table was backed by a specialized team of technical and legal experts, including Darius Joseph, a Legal Officer with Antigua and Barbuda’s Department of Marine Services and Marine Shipping, and Zachary Phillips, Crown Counsel II from the country’s Office of the Attorney General. Both experts brought invaluable, targeted legal and policy insight to negotiations led by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the bloc that represents the interests of small island developing nations on the global stage.

    Moving forward, Antigua and Barbuda remains fully dedicated to the multilateral process of finalizing the BBNJ Treaty, and will continue to champion ambitious ocean protection measures that will benefit current and future generations of island communities and global citizens alike.

  • Trump doubles down on Iran threat, says ceasefire ‘not good enough’

    Trump doubles down on Iran threat, says ceasefire ‘not good enough’

    Five weeks after a joint US-Israeli air offensive on Tehran ignited a sweeping conflict across the Middle East, US President Donald Trump has amplified his aggressive rhetoric, issuing a stark new threat to Iran’s civilian infrastructure that has sent shockwaves through the international community. Speaking at a press conference in Washington on Monday, Trump doubled down on his warning that American military power could wipe out every bridge and power plant across Iran in as little as four hours, dismissing a 45-day ceasefire proposal brokered by global intermediaries as insufficient to de-escalate the crisis. The US leader has issued an ultimatum: Iran must reopen the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz to international commercial shipping by midnight GMT Tuesday, or the country will face a devastating new wave of airstrikes.

    Both Washington and Tehran have rejected the current draft of the ceasefire, which diplomatic sources confirm is being negotiated through mediators from Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey. While Trump previously acknowledged the plan as a significant step forward, he emphasized it still falls short of US demands. “We have a plan — because of the power of our military — where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again,” Trump told reporters. “I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock, and it’ll happen over a period of four hours — if we wanted to.”

    For its part, Iranian state media quotes senior officials confirming Tehran has also turned down the proposed truce, insisting a permanent, definitive end to hostilities is the only acceptable outcome. The Iranian military has reiterated it will continue offensive operations as long as the country’s political leadership deems it necessary, following recent high-casualty strikes that have killed top Iranian security commanders.

    The conflict has already escalated dramatically on the ground in recent days. On Monday, Israeli airstrikes targeted two of Iran’s largest petrochemical facilities: the major complex at Asaluyeh on the Persian Gulf coast, Iran’s biggest petrochemical hub, and a second installation outside the central city of Shiraz. The Israeli military also confirmed it struck Iranian Air Force assets, including fighter jets and helicopters, at airports across the country, including in Tehran. The strikes claimed the life of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps intelligence chief Majid Khademi, who was killed early Monday in a joint US-Israeli raid, one day after Israeli forces killed Asghar Bagheri, commander of the Quds Force’s elite special operations unit.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his government’s stance Monday, saying “We will reach anyone who seeks to harm us.” In response, the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence branch has vowed to carry out a major retaliatory strike against the US and Israel for the assassinations, according to the group’s official Sepah News outlet. The spillover of the conflict has spread across the region: Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who back Iran, announced a new attack targeting Israel Monday, while Iran’s ally Hezbollah continues to engage Israeli forces along the Lebanon border. US-aligned Gulf nations have also been drawn into the fighting, with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates reporting strikes and injuries between Sunday and Monday.

    Iran’s virtual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil supplies pass daily, has triggered a sharp spike in global oil and gas prices, sending ripple effects through economies around the world. The conflict first erupted on February 28, when the initial joint US-Israeli airstrike killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opening a full-scale war that has upended global energy markets.

    On Monday, Indonesia announced it would raise jet fuel surcharges, and long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia X said it would implement ticket price increases of up to 40% to offset soaring fuel costs. South Korea’s ruling party confirmed Monday that Seoul will redirect oil tankers to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz entirely to avoid the risk of attack, with Taiwan’s government announcing it would adopt the same alternate shipping route.

    Even as diplomatic efforts continue to revise the ceasefire proposal to meet both sides’ demands, Trump’s latest threats — including a profanity-laced social media post Sunday directed at Iran — have drawn sharp international condemnation. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, warned that deliberate threats targeting essential civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law.

    As tensions remain at a boiling point, both sides continue active operations across the region. Iran has kept up missile and drone attacks against Israel: Monday, Israeli military and medical officials confirmed four civilians were pulled dead from the rubble of a residential building in the northern Israeli city of Haifa after an Iranian missile strike. On the Iranian side, state media reported multiple strikes on residential neighborhoods in Tehran, and a strike on a Tehran university knocked out gas service to large swathes of the capital.

  • Vermiste Amerikaanse piloot gered in Iran na hevige vuurgevechten

    Vermiste Amerikaanse piloot gered in Iran na hevige vuurgevechten

    On April 5, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a landmark military achievement: the second pilot of an American F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over southern Iran just three days prior had been successfully recovered by U.S. rescue forces after 48 hours of searching. Trump hailed the operation as one of the boldest rescue missions in modern U.S. military history, marking a high-stakes success amid a rapidly escalating regional conflict that has gripped the Middle East for nearly six weeks.

    The F-15E was downed by Iranian air defense systems on a Friday, contradicting earlier U.S. military claims that Iran’s integrated air defense network had already been fully destroyed in prior strikes. The first crew member of the jet was evacuated shortly after the crash, but the second pilot remained missing for two full days, triggering an urgent search-and-rescue operation deep inside Iranian territory. During the extraction mission, U.S. Black Hawk rescue helicopters came under hostile fire, yet all U.S. aircraft exited Iranian airspace without sustaining damage, according to initial U.S. accounts. Multiple regional outlets including Al Jazeera have since confirmed that the operation escalated into intense direct firefights between U.S. special operations forces and Iranian military personnel on the ground. The rescued pilot sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident, and military officials expect a full recovery.

    Iran has not issued an official confirmation of the pilot’s successful rescue, but the country’s military has confirmed separate developments tied to the operation: it claims a U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft supporting the rescue attempt was shot down over Iranian territory. Additionally, local Iranian reports note nine civilian and military fatalities in airstrikes targeting southwestern Iran that officials link directly to the U.S. rescue mission.

    The hunt for the missing pilot represented a major strategic and political risk for the Trump administration, as public support for the six-week conflict continues to decline among U.S. voters. Iranian authorities launched a widespread domestic manhunt for the airman, calling on local populations to assist in capturing the pilot and offering a substantial cash reward for information leading to his detention. Nomadic tribes in the mountainous search zone responded to the government’s call, opening fire on U.S. rescue helicopters operating in the area.

    The successful rescue came just days after Trump issued a stark ultimatum to the Iranian government: reach a negotiated settlement and reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, or face expanded U.S. military strikes that would target critical Iranian energy infrastructure, including national power plants. The ultimatum was widely interpreted by global analysts as a major escalation of the ongoing conflict, which began in late February 2026 when a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since the opening of hostilities, thousands of people on all sides have been killed, and the conflict has expanded into a full regional war, with Iran launching retaliatory strikes against Gulf states that host U.S. military assets and American interests.

    Iran rejected Trump’s ultimatum outright in an official statement from Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Araqchi clarified that Iran has never refused to enter into negotiations, but any talks must be built around terms that deliver a “decisive and lasting end” to what Tehran describes as an illegal war of aggression against the country. He emphasized that Iran will never concede to one-sided demands imposed by Washington, and reaffirmed that the Iranian people remain fully determined to defend the country’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty against foreign invasion.

  • Guerra’s empire now under siege

    Guerra’s empire now under siege

    For years, Danny Guerra cultivated an image as a legitimate, successful businessman operating across Trinidad. But behind that carefully crafted public persona lay a sprawling network of high-level connections, spanning ranks of local police and prominent political figures. Insiders confirm this shadow alliance acted as an impenetrable shield, blocking official scrutiny and killing off potential criminal investigations before they could advance.

    When the 50-year-old was gunned down in a targeted assassination on March 13, he walked free without a single criminal conviction on his record, despite widespread persistent rumours of his deep involvement in illegal activities. Outstanding charges tied to allegations of unregulated unlawful quarrying will now never go to trial, buried alongside the tycoon.

    In the wake of his execution, those once-secret connections have emerged as a key to unpacking how Guerra evaded justice for decades, how his sprawling business empire became so deeply rooted in local commerce, and why a violent battle for control of his assets has erupted across the country.

    One of Guerra’s major holdings is a $21 million waterfront property located at Paharry Junction, along Toco Main Road in Sangre Grande, first reported by the *Sunday Express* last week. The bitter, violent dispute over this asset between Guerra’s relatives and a former business partner extends far beyond a single plot of land, investigators confirm. When a high-stakes land deal collapsed, that business associate placed a $600,000 contract to have Guerra killed, according to official probes.

    Guerra’s assassination has already sparked a wave of follow-on violence across the region. Roughly 10 days after his killing, Rondell “Patch” Adolphus, a former quarry supervisor with ties to Guerra’s operations, was shot dead at Trini Lime Resort. Unknown attackers also stormed Guerra’s private Sangre Grande residence, stealing multiple high-value items before fleeing.

    The escalating bloodbath has forced a key figure in Guerra’s business and personal life to flee the country entirely. A 42-year-old woman identified by multiple insiders as Guerra’s close business partner and new romantic partner left Trinidad in the days after the killing, convinced she was next on the hit list in the rapidly expanding murderous conflict.

    Court documents obtained by the *Sunday Express* show the woman assisted Guerra in July 2025 to transfer the Paharry Junction property mortgage from an East Trinidad bank to a separate mortgage institution. The paperwork, drawn up by a respected local legal firm for Guerra’s DG Homes Company Ltd, frames the transaction as a “consolidation of deeds and mortgage” covering a total value of roughly $43.1 million. The remaining balance beyond the $21 million land value was earmarked for large-scale development of the site. The deal was originally brokered by the same business associate who would later order Guerra’s hit, before he was pushed out of the venture and sidelined by Guerra, sources confirm.

    Investigators believe the scorned associate not only masterminded the assassination, but also recruited a trusted insider within Guerra’s circle to track his movements on the day he was killed, ensuring the attack would succeed.

    The 42-year-old woman first met Guerra more than five years ago while she worked at an East Trinidad bank, before later moving to a senior role at a local credit union, multiple sources confirmed. Most recently, she arranged an unsecured $30 million loan for Guerra, and she was already under active official investigation for that transaction at the time of his death.

    Insiders familiar with the pair’s relationship say Guerra bought a luxury St Augustine property for the woman roughly three years ago, putting both of their names on the property deed. A frequent guest at the home, Guerra also recently gifted her a brand-new Mercedes-Benz, and was reportedly planning to marry her before his death. The woman left her first husband and two children in 2023, finalizing a divorce shortly after, and just months after her departure, her 14-year-old son passed away.

    “Her joint ownership of the St Augustine property means she has a legal claim to a portion of Guerra’s business holdings and real estate empire,” one source close to the tycoon explained. “But that claim has put a target directly on her back.” The source added that many of Guerra’s long-time associates and inner circle members have grown resentful of the woman’s rapid rise to wealth and influence. With no formal legal documents guaranteeing the associates a share of the estate after Guerra’s death, eliminating the woman clears the way for other figures to file for a letter of administration and seize full control of all of Guerra’s assets.

    Tensions have boiled over into open conflict even within Guerra’s own family. In the days after the killing, one family member allegedly issued a death threat to another relative, accusing them of deliberately helping the business associate set up Guerra’s assassination. The relative who issued the threat has since gone into hiding, after a price was put on his own head. He is also currently wanted by local police under a preventative detention order (PDO), and was in line to take over leadership of Guerra’s company before the assassination.

    Public record documents obtained by the *Sunday Express* show that just two months before his death, in January after Guerra was released from a month-long prison stint held under a PDO, he removed two people from their director positions at DG Homes Company Ltd, leaving only himself and two family members as active directors. When Guerra’s last will and testament was read to heirs last week, multiple close associates and family members were shocked to discover they had been cut out of the estate entirely, deepening existing rifts and distrust.

  • Paus Leo roept op tot vrede te midden van oorlogen in de wereld

    Paus Leo roept op tot vrede te midden van oorlogen in de wereld

    On the holiest night of the Catholic liturgical calendar, Pope Leo XIV used his address during the Easter Vigil at Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Basilica to deliver a urgent plea to global Catholic communities, urging people not to grow numb to the human suffering caused by active conflicts across the world — most notably the escalating war roiling the Middle East. In his remarks delivered Saturday evening, the pontiff called for intentional, active pursuit of peace, warning against the paralysis that fear and mutual distrust can sow in global relations.