Suriname's president vows to make oil wealth 'available to all'
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Lawmakers backed Jennifer Geerlings-Simons and her vice president, Gregory Rusland, on Sunday in the Surinamese capital of Paramaribo after the incumbent party opted against putting forward a challenger.
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Geerlings-Simons, a 71-year-old former parliamentary speaker who campaigned on a more socially inclusive strategy, is set to be inaugurated on July 16. 'I come into this position to serve and I will use all my knowledge, strength and dedication to make our wealth available to all our people, but with special attention to our youth,' she told the National Assembly.
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Her National Democratic Party government is taking office as TotalEnergies SE begins development of the offshore GranMorgu project, which is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day in 2028. The French energy giant and Malaysia's Petronas are searching for more oil in the Guyana-Suriname basin.
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Suriname's reserves are estimated at 760 million barrels and its $4.5 billion economy is forecast to grow 3.2% this year. Growth is on track to slowly edge up to near 4% by 2027 before a more than ten-fold surge once crude starts flowing.
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Sunday's unopposed victory by Geerlings-Simons caps a lengthy electoral process in which her NDP won 18 seats in the May 25 national vote. It later negotiated at coalition with five other parties to form a 34-seat majority in the 51-member legislature. The Progressive Reform Party of outgoing President Chandrikapersad Santokhi holds the remaining 17 seats.
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Toronto Star
21 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
France's Macron makes a state visit to the UK with migration and Ukraine on the agenda
LONDON (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Britain on Tuesday for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent U.S. indifference to the idea and Russia's refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbor.
Winnipeg Free Press
30 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
France's Macron makes a state visit to the UK with migration and Ukraine on the agenda
LONDON (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Britain on Tuesday for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent U.S. indifference to the idea and Russia's refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbor. Macron's three-day visit, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the U.K. by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the British government's desire to reset relations with the bloc that the U.K. acrimoniously left in 2020. The president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, will be driven to Windsor Castle by horse-drawn carriage, greeted by a military honor guard and treated to a state banquet hosted by the king and Queen Camilla. The British royals made a state visit to France in September 2023. Macron also will address both houses of Britain's Parliament in the building's fabulously ornate Royal Gallery before sitting down for talks with Starmer on migration, defense and investment. At a U.K.-France summit on Thursday, senior government officials from the two countries will discuss small-boat crossings, a thorny issue for successive governments on both sides of the channel. Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the U.K., either by stowing away in trucks or — after a clampdown on that route — in small boats across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The U.K. has struck a series of deals with France over the years to increase patrols of beaches and share intelligence in an attempt to disrupt the smuggling gangs. It has all had only a limited impact. About 37,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2024, the second-highest annual figure after 46,000 in 2022. More than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of 2025, up by about 50% from the same period last year. Dozens of people have died attempting the crossing. Starmer, whose center-left government was elected a year ago, has pledged to ' smash the gangs ' behind organized people-smuggling. His plan rests on closer cooperation with France and with countries further up the migrants' route from Africa and the Middle East. The U.K. also aims to strike deals with individual nations to take back failed asylum seekers. British officials have been pushing for French police to intervene more forcefully to stop the boats, and welcomed the sight of officers slashing rubber dinghies with knives in recent days. U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the French are 'bringing in important new tactics to stop boats that are in the water.' Britain also is pushing France to let officers intervene against boats in deeper waters, a change the government in Paris is considering. Campaigners for migrants' rights and a police union warn that doing so could endanger both migrants and officers. Starmer spokesperson Tom Wells said some of the tactics being discussed are 'operationally and legally complex, but we're working closely with the French.' The two leaders have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, though they have taken contrasting approaches to U.S. President Donald Trump, with Macron more willing to challenge the American president than the emollient Starmer. Britain and France have led efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and U.S. security guarantees. Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. British officials say the 'coalition of the willing' idea is alive and well, with Macron and Starmer due to join an international videoconference on Thursday to discuss planning for the force. Starmer spoke with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday about the 'significant progress being made by military planners,' the British leader's office said.
Montreal Gazette
6 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Letters: Give the OQLF a reason to investigate
Maybe it's time to overwhelm the Office québécois de la langue française with a flood of complaints about English signage — call it peaceful bureaucratic resistance. If the agency is going to micromanage every sign, let them chase shadows. And once the absurdity reaches a peak, people should alert international media. Let the world see how language policy can tip into parody. Lois Baron, Montreal Not the time for language complaints Re: ' Spike in service complaints to OQLF ' (The Gazette, July 4) Quebec's medical system cries out from a lack of funds, and now the education system will see much-needed services affected after the government ordered at least $570 million in cuts. Plus, seeing as we eagerly encourage tourists to come boost our economy, we need to be at minimum bilingual. In these circumstances, how can the OQLF be justified? It is time to give Montreal a break and allow it and its population to survive. Sandra Sterling, Snowdon Bilingual signs boost water safety Re: ' There have been five drownings near Verdun beach in last four years ' (The Gazette, June 25) It is alarming that in Quebec, protecting French from a sea of English apparently includes endangering the well-being of English-speaking Montrealers and tourists. After two tragic drowning deaths recently at Verdun beach, the local TV news showed several apparently French-only signs at beaches along with Raynald Hawkins, the Lifesaving Society's executive director for Quebec, declaring that all beach visitors should follow water safety instructions. Along with French-only provincial road signs, one wonders if unilingual safety signs may have had a part in some deaths and injuries over the years. George McArthur, Montreal Other options for Alzheimer's patients Re: ' Canada is falling behind on treatments for Alzheimer's disease ' (Opinion, June 26) Hope is a dangerous thing, and although we should welcome treatments for insidious and devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's, we shouldn't let enthusiasm cloud our judgment. The scores we should be looking at for these new drugs — clinical improvements in cognitive scores — have barely shown more significance than placebo, and we still don't know how long the benefits persist. Not to mention high dropout rates in trials due in part to side effects such as brain swelling. Factor in the price of over $20,000 per year, and there are other interventions that are more cost efficient for patients in our publicly funded health-care system. Aylon Wisbaum, pharmacist, Côte-St-Luc Respect from U.S. in the cards Re: ' Canadian mistrust of the U.S. remains high, new poll finds ' (NP Montreal, July 3) I play online bridge against players from all over the world. You get to play two deals against new opponents, who then move on to other opponents. When they arrive, I always chat: 'Hello from Montreal, bonne chance.' I've been amazed at how many Americans reply: 'We love you, I didn't vote for him, ' or words to that effect. Gary Bernstein, N.D.G. Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
