Daily Archive: Saturday, August 8, 2009

Parties join forces for gov’t accountability–to compile dossier on rights abusesRecent revelations in a US court claiming links between members of the government and drug trafficker Shaheed Roger Khan have seen six political parties joining forces to sensitize international organizations on the matter and force greater accountability from the government.

–U-15 cricketers told By Tiadi Blair Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President Chetram Singh yesterday urged under-15 cricketers to think big stating that ultimately their goal should be nothing less than a place on the West Indies team.

LEEDS, England, (Reuters) – Australia took control of  the fourth Ashes test with devastating swing bowling and  positive batting on a dramatic first day yesterday.

All-rounder Erva Giddings and teenaged batting star Shemaine Campbell are among the key players named this week in Guyana’s squad for this month’s WICB Women’s Senior Cricket Championship.

-Jagdeo more popular than government The latest NACTA poll conducted in July finds that Health Minister Dr.

The North-West ferry, the M.V. Kimbia was up to press time last night limping in along the coast after suffering engine failure on Thursday night, leaving many relatives of those onboard worried.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Indian strike bowler Zaheer  Khan has been ruled out of action until the end of the year  after undergoing surgery on an injured shoulder, the Board of  Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said yesterday.

Dear Editor, Once upon a time I was in the British Guiana Police Force and automatically was in the Fire Brigade.

A Chinese national who allegedly attempted to bribe an official at the US Embassy after being denied a US visa was yesterday remanded to prison when she appeared before Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

-party says measures taken for greater transparency Six persons have been nominated for the position of Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the party says that it has been implementing measures to ensure that the election process at the upcoming Congress is transparent.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – China’s success at the Beijing  Olympics was a vindication of its state supported sports system  and there will be few changes before the London Games in 2012,  according to deputy sports minister Cui Dalin.

The Guyana Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) announced yesterday that their senior national championships will be held on September 20 at the National Cultural Centre.

-victim was in excruciating pain for 10 days before taken to hospital A 78-year-old woman was taken to her home by a taxi driver who had knocked her down with his car, causing her to sustain a broken leg and hip.

Dear Editor, The handling of the issue of the University of Guyana Taxi Park at the junction of the East Coast Highway and UG access road by Minister Benn must be commended.

Dear Editor, With reference to your story dated August 5, 2009 entitled ‘Wesley Kirton writes US AG on Simels trial disclosures’ please be advised that neither am I a signatory of the letter sent to  the US AG, Eric Holder, nor have I authorised anyone to sign said letter on my behalf.

Chief Licence Officer Khurshid Sattaur  has given approval  for the PMM serial number for cars  to  come on stream shortly as  the PLL serial number will soon  come to an end,  the Guyana Revenue Authority said in a news release.

MARABELLA, Trinidad, CMC –  Skipper Marvin Oliver scored two second half-goals to inspire San Juan Jabloteh to a 3-0 win over Panamanian side San Francisco FC on Thursday and propel the Trinidadian club into the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Guyana batsman Trevon Griffith and Jamaican spinner Patrick Harty are among 20 players named in a provisional squad to prepare for the 2010 ICC Youth World Cup.

Dear Editor, A noticeable feature throughout human history has been the failure of leaders everywhere to learn the lessons from history.

ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – Pakistan believes Taliban  chief Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million U.S.

‘With all the staff and the money that we pump into this agency something has got to be wrong.

Dear Editor, Recently two highly respected women passed on, firstly our very own Olga Bone an educator for most of her life.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – China’s Zheng Jie  capitalised on a final set meltdown by world number one Dinara  Safina to reach the quarter-finals of the LA Championships with  a 7-5 4-6 6-4 victory over the Russian on Thursday.

The underdog syndrome took effect last Sunday at the GT&T Cellink Jingle and Song Competition showdown when it was narrowed to three finalists: Michael Thompson, Carlvin Burnett and Malika Boyd.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Border security, the drug war  and arms smuggling will join trade and the recession on the  agenda of President Barack Obama’s first “three amigos” summit  with the leaders of Mexico and Canada this weekend in Mexico.

Culture Box Whatever happened to the war on bad manners?  Lost after the first skirmish?

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s improving pace  attack has been pinpointed by New Zealand captain Daniel  Vettori as a key threat to his inexperienced line-up in the  build up to the first test of their two-match series starting  on Aug.

Dear Editor, Now that the much hyped Cellink Jingle and Song Competition has concluded and Ms Boyd was announced the winner, I would like to congratulate  her on her achievement.

Twelve-year-old Ravi Dave Sain was all smiles as he headed to the Air Services Limited aircraft two Saturdays ago at the Ogle Airstrip, excited that his wish to travel in a plane was finally becoming a reality.

PRETORIA, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary  Clinton encouraged South Africa yesterday to press for reform in  Zimbabwe and said Washington would build closer ties with  Pretoria after strains under the Bush administration.

CHENNAI, India, (Reuters) – Olympic champions Markis  Kido and Hendra Setiawan will not be defending their men’s  doubles title at the badminton world championships in Hyderabad  next week due to injury.

Dear Editor, Reporter, Bert Wilkinson, writing for the IPS news service (August 4), says Guyana is being run by a “Hindu-led” PPP government.

The PNCR took its protest to the Office of the President (OP) yesterday continuing to call for an investigation into revelations made in a US court in which the names of some members of the government have been linked with confessed drug trafficker Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan.

BEKASI, Indonesia, (Reuters) – Indonesian police have  shot dead a man suspected to be leading Islamic militant Noordin  Mohammad Top during raids in Central Java and were trying to  identify his body, a police source said yesterday.

Tastes Like home Hi Everyone, Beyond the shores of the Caribbean, when the term “Caribbean cuisine” is used it is often used to refer to the slices of mangoes adorning a plate, or a wedge of pineapple on the rim of a cocktail glass.

Dear Editor, With reference to the letter from Mr Michael E.

Michael O. Correia, Jnr.  of Trans Guyana Airways was elected president of  the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana  Inc.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – The California woman who  gave birth to octuplets in January has won the latest round in  a court fight over the babies’ earnings and assets.

-coach happy The swimmers who took part in this year’s FINA World Championships in Italy have returned with better times than what they went into the competition with says coach Nicholas Fraser.

The President and executives of the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC)  yesterday extended congratulations to Trevon Griffith on his selection to the 20-man West Indies Under-19 squad to prepare for the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand next year.

Dear Editor, When Rakesh Rampertab wrote his letter in which he opined that Guyana needs new thinkers and writers (‘Guyana needs a new group of thinkers and writers,’ SN, July 18), I replied (‘Some of the new blood is worse than the old’ (SN, July 20).

At the first National Community-Based Rehabilitation conference in Region Five yesterday, differently-able persons were assured that the legislation to address their rights and needs would be tabled in parliament before the end of the year.

Most people probably know the words and may have done the actions to the “Hokey Pokey”: You put your right hand in//You put your right hand out//You put your right hand in//And you shake it all about//You do the hokey pokey//and you turn yourself around//That what it’s all about.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The New York Times does not  have the right to gain access to sealed applications for  wiretaps in the investigation of the prostitution ring once  patronized by former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, a U.S. 

BOILING SPRINGS, S.C./OCONTO FALLS, Wisc., (Reuters)  – At scattered events across the United States, protesters are  confronting members of Congress whose summer “town hall”  meetings aim to get a sense of how Americans feel about  overhauling healthcare.

Members of the National Search and Rescue Committee began working to upgrade the current Search and Rescue Plan since late last year and this week their work progressed to a ‘table top’ exercise to discuss, analyze and improve the plan, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a press release.

AKRON, Ohio, (Reuters) – Padraig Harrington played  patiently on a course that is becoming increasingly difficult  to negotiate to take a one-shot lead in the WGC-Bridgestone  Invitational second round yesterday.

Dear Editor, I am a resident of Linden and was at the One-stop-shop programme held in Linden.

GEMS Theatre Productions will serve up yet another gem when it hosts Ken Corsbie’s ‘This Mango Sweet’ from August 21 – 23 at the Theatre Guild in Georgetown and then at Linden and in Berbice.

Dear Editor, Some time ago I read a letter asking ‘Who will the PPP field as its presidential candidate?’

The Guyana Girl Guides Association (GGGA) on Thursday held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) where the new President and Vice President were revealed along with the presentation of the Chief Commissioner report for the period January 2007 to December 2008 At the association’s headquarters on Brickdam, Chief Commissioner, Sarah Gordon highlighted the work that is being done by the executive committee to expand the area of influence to girls countrywide pointing out that already a number of units were resuscitated while new ones in Matthew’s Ridge and Abraham’s Ville were created.

MOSUL, Iraq, (Reuters) – A suicide car bomber killed  38 people as they left a Shi’ite Muslim mosque just outside the  volatile northern Iraqi city of Mosul, officials said yesterday,  while bombs in Baghdad killed another 12.

Some of the big names in motor-racing are expected to be on show today at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) go-kart track when the club stages a one-day go-kart races and family fun day in aid of the drivers heading to Barbados for round two of the Caribbean Race of Champions on August 30.

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said yesterday.

Sonia Noel is calling it “the most ambitious” fashion weekend yet, a blend of the arts and business as the premier event expands beyond the glitzy catwalk and projects a sense of commercial viability in the industry and by extension the country.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – Five persons including a female, said to be the sister of St Elizabeth’s most-wanted man, were taken into custody following clampdown operations against an illegal lottery scam in Warminster and Leeds district.

Three Caribbean nationals were recently appointed to the senior management team of the  CARICOM Development Fund (CDF), the Chief Executive Officer Ambassador Lorne McDonnough announced yesterday.

On Sunday, August 23 from 5 pm, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport will stage a massive cycling event from the University of Guyana entrance at Liliendaal to the Carifesta Sports Complex dubbed ‘The Big Ride’, under the theme ‘Ride On, Live Long’.

Power Raffle, a television game show touted as setting the standard for game show entertainment, has been launched.

Dear Editor, They had travelled from all ten regions across Guyana to the capital – 157 of them, some from the most remote parts of Guyana and over difficult terrain.

(This is the sixth  in a 10-part series intended to look at some of the issues surrounding Guyana’s bid for funds from the World Bank-administered Forest Carbon Partnership Fund (FCPF) and from Norway, and for the President’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.)

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela reduced its poverty  levels in the first half of the year despite a global recession  and a sharp drop in oil revenues in the oil dependent nation,  the head of the national statistics body said yesterday.

A 21-year-old guard accused of stealing a flat-screen television from the squash bar of the Georgetown Club was yesterday admitted to bail in the sum of $200,000 when he appeared before Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

(BBC) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced trade measures against Colombia, amid a growing diplomatic row between the two nations.

In many ways, Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment to the US Supreme Court is a great victory for the Obama administration.

– Joseph E. Stiglitz, Professor of Economics at Columbia University, chairs a Commission of Experts, appointed by the President of the UN General Assembly, on reforms of the international monetary and financial system.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – R&B stars Rihanna, Kanye West and Jay-Z will perform on the premiere of Jay Leno’s comedy and chat show in September, in a apparent bid to grab hip, young viewers to NBC’s new primetime experiment.

Dear Editor, The sugar corporation registered a loss of $4.1B for last year.

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Pakistan ended their losing run  against Sri Lanka with a comprehensive 146-run victory in the  fourth one-day international yesterday.

Cheaper drugs under Clinton deal HIV patients in developing countries could get cheaper drugs under agreements signed between former US President Bill Clinton’s foundation and two drug companies.