Daily Archive: Friday, March 6, 2009

A 15-year-old of Block ‘R’, North Sophia was fatally shot in the left eye during an attempted robbery in the neighbourhood last night.

Leader of the main opposition PNCR Robert Corbin is pressing government to take over the operations of CLICO (Guyana), calling for an “unequivocal guarantee” to assure policyholders and investors of their claims.

-in bid to up price paid to farmers Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud yesterday announced a 60 percent cut of the export commission that exporters are currently required to pay to the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), in a bid to allow millers to pay farmers better prices.

PNCR leader Robert Corbin has expressed concern about how the surveillance equipment, allegedly used by indicted businessman Roger Khan to intercept the calls of officials and suspected criminals here, ended up in the possession of the businessman’s lawyer  in New York.

Chartered accountant Christopher Ram is calling on Police Commissioner Henry Greene to investigate a statement on a blog that he was among those questioned by the police about the posts on the Living Guyana blog.

The Schools Welfare Department is aiming to ensure that school-age children are in their learning institutions during the day by having major campaigns every month in each region to round up truant students, according to new head of the department Reverend Banmattie Ram.

Though blood is suspected to be on several items collected during the New Amsterdam double-murder investigation, DNA testing and overseas help are not options being considered by the police presently.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The World Bank yesterday  approved a $1.3 billion loan to help Brazil’s environmental  management and climate change efforts.

JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – A Palestinian driver rammed  his bulldozer into a police car, rolling it over until it  slammed into a bus at one of Jerusalem’s busiest intersections  yesterday before police and a taxi driver shot him dead.

Representatives of the National Aquaculture Association of Guyana recently met with over 1500 aquaculture specialists in the US at Aquaculture America 2009 who cited Guyana as a good potential investment location because of its high quality tilapia broodstocks, among other things.

CARICOM trade ministers are urging a development dimension in  scheduled trade talks between CARICOM and Canada, the CARICOM Secretariat has said in a press release.

The fast-growing Guyana Karate College (GKC) will at 10am today stage a demonstration at the Marian Academy School.

NEW YORK – The European Central Bank and the Bank of England  cut interest rates to record lows yesterday to battle a  recession that has threatened the survival of General Motors and  undercut fellow U.S.

The Mayor and City Council says it is becoming increasingly concerned about the number of destitute persons living and sleeping around public facilities and monuments in the city.

By Tony Cozier In Port-of-Spain Given the record at the Queen’s Park Oval, Joey Carew’s pronouncement that there will “most definitely” be an outright result in the decisive fifth Digicel Test starting today was simply stating the obvious.

UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) – The International  Criminal Court has ordered the arrest of Sudan’s president, but  even the court’s most ardent supporters concede it will be a  long time before he appears in the dock — if he ever does.

Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson yesterday sentenced a Jamaican national who admitted swallowing over 100 pellets of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking to four years imprisonment.

The Demerara Cricket Board (DCB)/Gafoors sponsored 20/20 round robin first division cricket competition will resume today with six round six matches in the two zones  from 14:00 hrs.

HOUSTON, (Reuters) – A federal judge yesterday  ordered the release of about $500 million from Stanford Group Co  customer brokerage accounts held by Pershing LLC that had been  subject to a court-ordered freeze since February, a filing  showed.

The family of Deodat ‘Ramesh’ Persaud, who hung himself in the Number 51 Police station lock-ups on Wednesday, said that they were not allowed to see him since he returned from Suriname and so are in the dark as to why he jumped off the fishing vessel that he was working on.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Doubts over Venezuela’s  commitment to democracy and a market economy could hinder its  entry into the South American trade bloc Mercosur, the head of  Brazil’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee said yesterday.

Rice farmers were on Wednesday last exposed to a session held in Region Two which emphasised a six-point system of farming to garner a higher production yield.

– Bishoo and Crandon brothers out of team With a record of five defeats and two draws, host Guyana would be looking to redeem themselves when they face the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) in their ninth round clash of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional four-day competition at the famous Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground from today.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Singer Chris Brown was  charged yesterday with felony assault and making criminal  threats in what prosecutors say was a Grammy-eve attack on his  girlfriend, the pop star Rihanna.

International boxing referee/judge Eion Jardine will leave Guyana this morning for Trinidad and Tobago where he will officiate in the world title fight between Trinidadian Lisa `Bad News’ Brown and Maribel Santana of the Dominican Republic.

A modern $400M five-storey complex is currently being constructed at Charity on the Essequibo Coast by business magnate Afro Alphonso.

`We did our due diligence on Stanford’ Hand in Hand Trust Company’s $822m investment with the now folded Stanford Bank may well be irretrievably lost to the company, according to information reaching Stabroek Business.

A two-day conference focusing on how best to optimize local engineering practices to save money opened at the International Convention Centre, Liliendaal yesterday.

LONDON, (Reuters) – U.S. pop star Michael Jackson  announced his long-awaited comeback yesterday, telling  hundreds of screaming fans he would perform in London this  summer and calling it his “final curtain call” in the city.

Tonight marks the fifth day of the competition in the annual Mayor’s Cup Knockout Tournament powered by Digicel where four teams are set to collide in a quarterfinal round double header at the Georgetown Football Club ground.

GTUC says will engage gov’t on economic crisis `without precondition’ Over 500 job losses in mining, manufacturing sectors With more than 500 jobs already having been lost to retrenchment in the wake of what the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) believes is an economic crisis that will grow worse, the leadership of the labour movement says that it is now prepared to join government and the private sector “without precondition” in a bid to create “an alliance of stakeholders” to seek to fashion a collective response to the crisis.

-seminar on serious sexual offences to be held Local courts will soon be equipped with UK-funded audio recording systems which will speed up proceedings as judges and magistrates will no longer have to take notes by hand.

Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Captain Gerry Gouveia, pointed out on a recent television programme shared with Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and Citizen’s and Demerara Bank Chairmen Clifford Reis and Yesu Persaud respectively that he believed that inaccurate, irresponsible and precipitate reporting on issues arising out of the current controversies associated with CLICO and Hand-in-Hand Trust could engender a diminution of confidence in these institutions and in the local financial infrastructure as a whole, resulting in a run on the system.

-Lowe and Bryan dominate The various winners of the National Sports Commission (NSC) sponsored Mashramani table tennis competition were rewarded for their efforts at a simple prize giving ceremony which was held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Wednesday.

By Rawle Toney Starting this evening the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall will be the venue of one of the biggest basketball tournaments in Guyana.

Dear Editor, I refer to the letter in the Stabroek News of March 3, 2009 on the subject of ‘Is it permissible to rear pigs in urban areas?’

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – One dollar could buy a cup of  coffee, a pack of chewing gum, or a roll of bathroom tissue.

-states need to set minimum standards Caricom says that while member states have reported progress in efforts to reduce the demand for illicit drugs there are still concerns that though some countries have set standards others have failed to meet even the minimum standard for care and treatment.

The Mayor and City Council says squatters account for 80% of the city’s littering problems and it is particularly concerned about this situation as it occurs close to the city’s waterways.

By Keith Evelyn In order to enhance public understanding of national and global financial issues and institutions and the various ways in which they impact on society, Stabroek Business has asked Hand-in-Hand Group CEO Keith Evelyn to contribute a series of articles on these issues.

By Rawle Toney The Linden Foundation Secondary School (LFS) narrowly defeated New Silver City Secondary (NSS) 45-41 to book a place in today’s semi-finals when the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport sponsored Inter-School Basketball Tournament continued at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court in Linden.

Receiver seeks Stanford ease The court-appointed receiver in charge of the operations and assets of the Stanford Financial Group has asked a federal judge to release some client brokerage accounts that contain $250,000 or less.

Dear Editor, When people with no knowledge of international trade make public pronouncements on matters about which they have absolutely no idea it can be a very dangerous thing.

Dear Editor, I write regarding President Bharrat Jagdeo’s assertions on Sunday, as published in the March 4 issue of your newspaper, that one of the individuals involved in the “cocaine in pepper sauce” illicit narcotics trade is a financier of the AFC. 

Says can help entire agri sector Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Chandradat Chintamani is calling for the creation of a government-funded credit facility to break the logjam of long-outstanding payments by rice millers to paddy farmers and the consequential frustrations which the farmers face.

By Rawle Toney The Banks DIH and Ministry of Sport sponsored Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) First Division league is set to resume from this evening with a double header at the MacKenzie Sports Club ground.

(Barbados Nation) – The region has not co-operated enough in terms of how each country regulates its financial matters, and the Clico crisis has painfully exposed this.

The Guyana United Artists (GUA) plans to set up cultural outposts in Brazil and other South American countries to facilitate marketing of Guyanese art forms.

The Anglican Diocese of Guyana was unable to elect a bishop after going to the ballot last month owing to a reported lack of sufficient support for the nominees, placing the appointment of a new bishop under the control of the House of Bishops in the regional province.

Dear Editor, I would like to advise Mr Dennis V Debidin who penned a letter in the Stabroek News (‘The land alongside the Berbice Bridge road should be reserved for commercial development,’ 27.2.09) that lands on both sides of the Berbice River are transported lands.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela said yesterday it has no plans to take over any additional holdings of US food giant Cargill after socialist President Hugo Chavez ordered the seizure of the rice plant, renewing his nationalization drive.

Rawle Lucas is a Guyanese-born Certified Public Accountant and Assistant Vice-President of the Lending Services Division.

At least play for the pride of being “Guyanese”The display by the Guyana cricket team in this year’s regional cricket competition shows just how far this country has retrogressed in the sport.

(Trinidad Express) – The collapse of a large financial conglomerate and continued exposure to plunging oil and gas prices make Trinidad and Tobago’s economy vulnerable, a new report from the International Monetary Report has shown.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/ telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 293’s trading results showed consideration of $39,996 from 3,333 shares traded in 1 transaction as compared to session 292 which showed consideration of $1,622,399 from 139,944 shares traded in 24 transactions. 

Thoughts on Guyana’s Diaspora-We Gave The World…“Di-as-pora”—— Greek for “scattering of seeds?”

“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude.

An 11 race cycling card sponsored by R&R International takes place tomorrow at the National Park circuit.

Dear Editor, We, at City Hall, wish to update citizens on solid waste management in the city of Georgetown.

The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha is hosting chowtal samelan countrywide for this year’s holi festival while its annual Phagwah Mela and Bazaar will be held at its Prashad Nagar kendra.