Daily Archive: Thursday, January 7, 2010

A substantial sum of money stolen from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) by one of its employees was yesterday returned to the GRA one day after the money was discovered missing.

An East Bank Demerara woman has sued the government and a Cuban doctor, now attached to the Leonora Diagnostic Centre, for performing a hysterectomy on her without her consent and she is claiming in excess of $38 million for special damages.

A Melanie man took a bullet to the thigh during a drive-by shooting in the city last night.

-arrest warrant issued for third Two men yesterday appeared in court charged with the December 31 murder of Wendell Tapping in Albouys-town.

Russell Defreitas, one of the four men indicted on charges of conspiracy to blow up the JFK International Airport in 2007, told investigators when he was arrested that he was the “brain of everything”; the plan was “to blow up the tanks” and the intention was to hurt the US economy.

The Labour Ministry has intervened in the current dispute between the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) and the union representing the fired casual postal workers and has called representatives of both entities to conciliatory talks.

A Guyanese woman living in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), has been found guilty of forging a document in an attempt to have visa applications by relatives for Canada and the US turned down.

The police are not disclosing more details about the case of the missing $3.4M from their Eve Leary Finance Office.

It has been almost two years since a rice farming family filed a lawsuit against Mahaicony Rice Ltd for $39 million owing for paddy supplied, but the company denies the indebtedness and has accused the family of attempting to defraud the High Court.

The Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) is inviting persons who held temporary positions at its offices to a two-day training programme aimed at helping it find permanent staff for existing vacancies.

Two men, who were charged with wounding each other following an argument over a girl, were yesterday placed on $50,000 bail each when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

By Marlon Munroe Yesterday belonged to national middle-order batsman Assad Fudadin  who  chalked up his successive century on the first day of the second three-day trial match for the national team days ahead the commencement of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) regional four-day tournament.

The top performer at the 2009 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations of the Saraswati Vidya Nikhetan School was presented with a certificate of commendation yesterday by President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Office of the President.

– Claims lost $M of revenue for closing stadium gates Director of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, Kashif Muhammad, said yesterday that the decision by members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to prevent spectators from entering the Providence National Stadium during the New Year’s Day final between Alpha United and eventual winners Western Tigers has cost the organization millions of dollars.

The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs has donated over 1500 food hampers to residents of the South Central and Deep South Rupununi to easy the impact of the arid El Nino weather.

By Orin Davidson With the West Indies Cricket Board stumbling from one predicament to another former West Indies captain Carl Hooper feels the time has come for Clive Lloyd to play a more prominent role in the administration of the regional game.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has blanked a request from the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) to delay the West Indies first-class sixth-round matches by one day to facilitate a Beyonce concert at the Queen’s Park Oval.

MUMBAI, India,  CMC – Eight West Indians, including former Test captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, have been picked for the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction later this month.

TORONTO, Canada, CMC – Veteran Guyanese all-rounder Sunil Dhaniram has retained his place in Canada’s set-up for the start of their 2010 campaign and will participate in a training camp this month in Sri Lanka.

ATLANTA, Georgia, CMC – Jamaica’s two-time Olympic sprint champion Veronica Campbell-Brown is targeting an indoor season in 2010.

LONDON, (Reuters) – In 2007, when the Tour de France  kicked off in London, Bradley Wiggins was tipped as a decent  shot to take the opening time trial for the home nation before  rapidly disappearing back into the peloton.  

SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – Regional soccer heavyweights Japan and  Iran secured places at the 2011 Asian Cup finals with away  qualifying victories yesterday but Australia failed to join  them after a brave fightback by Kuwait.

PARIS, (Reuters) – Flamboyant former Renault team boss  Flavio Briatore declared justice had been done after a French  court overturned his life ban from Formula One on Tuesday.

TAURANGA, New Zealand,  CMC – West Indies used imposing performances from pacer Nelson Bolan and batsman Shane Dowrich to outgun Northern Districts A by two wickets  yesterday in an unofficial ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup warm-up match.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua,  CMC – Former Test batsman Robert Bailey, who became a qualified umpire in 2006, will stand in several matches in the West Indies first-class season starting Friday, as part of the umpires’ exchange programme.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Washington Wizards guard  Gilbert Arenas was suspended by the NBA indefinitely yesterday pending investigation into an incident in which he  took guns into the team’s changing room.

Guyana has finalised a Trade Protocol with Trinidad and Tobago to increase the exportation of agriculture and forest products to that country.

Dear Editor, In the ‘Public Notice’ issued under the signature of James Singh, Commissioner of Forests (Guyana Chronicle, Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, January 3, 2010), bulletwood (botanical name Manilkara bidentata) is listed among the timber species that can be exported in log form.

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) – Argentine President  Cristina Fernandez tried to force out the country’s central  bank chief yesterday in a dispute over using billions of  dollars in foreign currency reserves to pay rising debt  obligations.

Dear Editor, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thanks you for the opportunity to respond to the letter published in the Stabroek News by a resident of Chateau Margot (‘Chateau Margot chicken farm still causing residents discomfort’ 19.11.09).

The remains of a man, suspected to be a vagrant, were discovered in an abandoned car behind the Botanical Gardens yesterday morning.

DOHA, (Reuters) – World number one Roger Federer made  light of the chilly conditions to ease into the quarter-finals  of the Qatar Open with a 6-2 6-4 win over Russian Evgeny Korolev  yesterday.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Two former British cabinet  ministers yesterday called for a secret ballot of MPs to  decide if Prime Minister Gordon Brown should lead the Labour  Party into an election due by June.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – Lamar Odom produced a solid  performance to help the Los Angeles Lakers survive a ragged  offensive outing in beating the Houston Rockets 88-79 on  Tuesday.

Dear Editor, I refer to two letters, one in the January 4 edition of Kaieteur News, ‘Are we pawning our forests because we are desperate for money?’

Less than a month after its institution, the Guyana Police Force has rescinded the restriction order which prevented motor lorries from traversing between Houston and Timehri on the East Bank Public Road, between 6 am and 11 am.

LILONGWE, (Reuters) – Amnesty International urged  Malawi yesterday to release two men arrested last week after  becoming the first gay couple to wed in the conservative  southern African state, which bars homosexuality.

RALEIGH, North Carolina,  (Reuters) – Former Olympic  and world champion Justin Gatlin warned kingpins Usain Bolt and  Tyson Gay to brace for a possible defeat when the American  sprinter returns from a four-year doping suspension this year.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Veteran Democratic Senator  Christopher Dodd said yesterday he will not seek re-election  in November in recognition that he faced an uphill battle and  underscoring upheaval facing President Barack Obama’s  Democrats.

Dear Editor, I refer to Mr Fidel A Captain’s letter in your December 30, 2009 edition (‘Is the Guyana Gold Board the largest, most profitable government agency outside the GRA?’)

After several delays, GT&T is hosting a ceremony at the Kingston seawall on Saturday to mark the shore-end landing of the Suriname-Guyana Submarine Cable System (SG-SCS) which will vastly expand the current bandwidth capacity.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – The United States urged Honduras on Tuesday to form a unity government and establish a truth commission to investigate the country’s June coup, suggesting that US aid may hinge on these conditions.

SANAA, (Reuters) – Yemeni forces surrounded a  suspected al Qaeda regional leader near the capital yesterday  and captured three militants wounded in a raid, security sources  said.

Dear Editor, Guyana is not the only major Caribbean territory with a prioritised public transportation network. 

CARACAS (Reuters) – President Hugo Chavez’s government has relaxed unpopular electricity rationing at malls amid an energy crisis that dampened the New Year’s fun of shopaholic and party-loving Venezuelans.

(BBC) Spinner Nathan Hauritz ripped through the Pakistan tail as Australia bowled out the tourists for 139 to seal a stunning victory in the second Test yesterday.

Cabinet gave its no-objections to eight contracts valued over $300M at its last meeting for 2009 including one for police uniforms valued at $90m.

WASHINGTON – National security has jumped to the top of U.S. 

The Ministry of Public Works setting up roadside rails at Paradise, East Coast Demerara yesterday.

Former president of the Board of Directors of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood As-sociation (GRPA) Beverly Braithwaite-Chan is its new Executive Director and she yesterday announced plans to revamp its organisational structure and tackle the funding challenge.

Dear Editor, There has been great improvement in our housing programme over the years but we still have far to go.

CAPETOWN,  (Reuters) – South Africa moved into a  strong position to win the third test and level the series after  England, chasing an unlikely 466 to win, reached 132 for three  at the close on the fourth day at Newlands yesterday.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Standing defiantly in front of his mother, the skinny boy orders his drunken father to stop beating her.

CAPETOWN,  (Reuters) – South Africa batsman AB de  Villiers kept the ball-tampering controversy simmering after the  fourth day of the third test against England  yesterday.

No casino gambling Grenadian Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has given the thumbs down to casino gambling on the island.

The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) says as it reflects on its achievements in 2009 it looks forward to continuing serving citizens.

History This Week By Hazel Woolford The political leaders and trade unionists in British Guiana, and the West Indies had campaigned for the political union of the British West Indian colonies since the 1920s.

JAKARTA, (Reuters) – An ambitious Indonesian plan to  plant millions of hectares of forest should allow the country  to exceed its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by  more than a quarter by 2020, the forestry minister said yesterday.

Dear Editor, For reasons best known to myself I have been keeping away from engaging in the ongoing debates on national issues in spite of the urgings of many citizens to re-enter the process.

On the first working day of this year over 130 former casual employees of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) had no job to go to and for most of them – in the current straitened circumstances of the local economy – no prospects either.

On New Year’s Day Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited honoured first-born babies in Berbice, Essequibo, Georgetown and Linden.