Daily Archive: Saturday, February 21, 2009

FREDERICKSBURG, VA./ST.JOHN’S, (Reuters) –  Regulators yesterday seized Texas billionaire Allen Stanford’s  banks and companies in Antigua and Barbuda, the Caribbean state  at the centre of fraud charges against him, as the financier  surrendered his passport to U.S.

-region investigates floggingHundreds of Berbice High School students yesterday protested the suspension of a teacher who flogged students for late assignments.

The woman accused of murdering Mohamed Talbot was not required to plead to the indictable offence when it was read to her yesterday by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

The government here is paying careful attention to the current crisis engulfing the Stanford Group headed by flamboyant Texan, Allen Stanford after it was discovered that at least one major institutional investor in Georgetown had invested with the company.

Two men accused of committing Tuesday’s daring gunpoint robbery on a Bartica gold dealer in which $1.8M and a quantity of gold was snatched appeared yesterday in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

A 22-year-old man yesterday pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition without licence when he appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

A 22-year-old self-employed mason yesterday pleaded not guilty to the charge of robbery under arms when he appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Representatives of the business community in Region Six are optimistic that there would be adjustments on the current toll structure on the Berbice Bridge soon following what they described as a “very cordial and meaningful” discussion with officials of the Berbice Bridge Company.

The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Thursday discovered three kilos of cocaine among soya chunks destined for Canada at the post office and are looking for a man identified as Anand Singh.

The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) yesterday said it was seeking another East Coast resident in relation to the first pepper cocaine seizure in Canada on December 8, 2008.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon says government will construct roads and drains at Bare Root, East Coast Demerara as part of a wider social sector upgrade in various areas across the country.

Dear Editor, I wonder if you or your readers could throw some light on why mail to and from Guyana is taking so long to arrive.

Cabinet has given the green light for three contracts in the public works sector that make provision for additional street lights along the East Bank among other projects in the power sector.

Trinidad and Tobago were in total command of their seventh round game against Guyana thanks to an unbeaten century from in-form opener Lendl Simmons at the end of the first day at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence yesterday.

Dear Editor, Allow me the opportunity to congratulate the leadership of the People’s National Congress Reform on their decision to have a leadership retreat this weekend.

-Finance Minister argues as debate closes Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh yesterday argued that there was much in the 2009 budget for Guyanese and chided opposition MPs for wasting a valuable opportunity to properly scrutinize and discuss the document.

Fourteen-year-old Christopher Surat continued his impressive performance for Georgetown in the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB)/Nalico/Nafico-sponsored under-15 inter-association limited overs competition yesterday.

When Shellon ‘Shelly G’ Garraway won this year’s Carib Soca Monarch, she capped off an acclaimed comeback and put any doubt about her claims to the crown to rest.

Dear Editor, Josh Ramsammy first burst upon my world as a person keen on playing a part in correcting the inequalities of society, of rank, wealth and snobbery on the one side and poverty and disrespect and power on the other.

This year the government will widen its community-based sport programmes, fostering better relations between villages and nurturing the development of games at the grassroots level.

Dear Editor, Dr Misir avoided most of the major issues raised by me in the exchange of letters I have had with him over the past couple of weeks, while my hint to him that he should be guided by Eleanor Roosevelt’s classic quote about ideas, events and people appears to have escaped him in his letter of February 17 (‘Excessive nitpicking,’ SN).

Culture Box It was just about two weeks ago that we first visited the painful denigration of soca in the Caribbean.

By Rawle Toney Sixteen  teams, over $700,000 in cash and prizes, plus the return of the Linden versus Georgetown rivalry will be among the highlights of this year’s Next Level Entertainment Basketball Tournament when the event bounces off on March 1 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Several women belonging to the group, Red Thread, were prevented from entering the Public Buildings, where the National Assembly was debating the budget yesterday.

HOUSTON, (Reuters) – For clients, doing business  with Allen Stanford got you a personalized parking spot and a  5-star meal.

Dear Editor, I wish to commend your newspaper for publishing the article captioned ‘The new tourism market is becoming more segmented’ by David Jessop in the ‘View from Europe’ on Sunday, February 15, 2009.

Hi Everyone,  I was 17, it was my first job and someone in the office innocently asked what each of us had for breakfast that morning.

National wicketkeeper Darwin Christian is pleased with his batting in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) sixth round clash against Jamaica at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence last weekend where he scored his first century at the regional level.

The Ramdhani siblings, Narayan and Priyanna stamped their authority on the National Sports Commission (NSC) Mashramani junior singles tournament which ended last week by winning the U-11 and U-13 titles.

Dear Editor, The claim by Regional Chairman, Mr Clement Corlette that the NCN cameraman he barred from covering the last statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Region 4 did not identify himself (‘A disinformation campaign’ SN 20.1.09) highlights his unfamiliarity with being accurate.

PARIS, (Reuters) – French Prime Minister Francois  Fillon asked unions and employers on Guadeloupe yesterday to  accept a new aid package and end a month-long strike that  erupted into violent protests on the French Caribbean island.

– Luncheon Close to $6 billion dollars of National Insurance Scheme (NIS) funds are invested in Clico (Guyana) which the local company has assured is safe, an assurance which Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon said government has had no reason to doubt.

Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament, Sheila Holder has called for the ending of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph’s (GT&T) monopoly and says that there is need for the crafting of an economic stimulus package.

Victory is indeed sweet for Lester Charles. Last Saturday the singer, who goes by the stage name “The Professor”, captured the 2009 Mashramani Calypso crown, which can only be described as just reward for years of hard toil and dedication.

Guyanese Krishna Arjune smashed a massive 170 to lead Bamboo Sports Club to first innings points over Police Sports Club in the North Championship of the T&T Cricket Board of Control last weekend.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The New York Post apologized  on Thursday to those offended by an editorial cartoon that  critics said was racist because it likened President Barack  Obama to a chimpanzee.

Four more women have died and two others came close to joining them over the past few weeks.

This very enthusiastic trio led the tots from the Kiskadee Day Care along Queen Street, Kitty on Thursday.

JERUSALEM – Right-wing leader Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday  accepted a mandate to form Israel’s next government and  immediately called for a broad, national unity coalition with  centrist and left-wing partners.

Dear Editor,Really we need to be very thankful for newspapers and the invaluable service they offer us, even though we are not always happy with how their prerogative is exercised.