Daily Archive: Saturday, January 29, 2011

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Over the last two decades, there  is very little missing from Sachin Tendulkar’s list of  achievements as a batsman but the absence of a World Cup in his  trophy cabinet continues to rankle the Indian run-machine.

(BBC) Opposition demonstrators gathered outside parliament in St Vincent on Friday to protest against two pieces of legislation being debated in the House.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Belgian Kim Clijsters shrugged  off a listless start to reel in China’s Li Na 3-6 6-3 6-3 to win  the Australian Open and her fourth grand slam title today.

CAIRO, (Reuters) – President Hosni Mubarak clung to  power today, replacing his cabinet in an effort to appease  angry Egyptians who demonstrated in their tens of thousands to  demand an end to his 30-year rule.

With promises of an end to the executive presidency, lower VAT, the confronting of organised crime and a sugar industry that focuses on ethanol fuel, the AFC last night released its Action Plan for Guyana, which sets out its blueprint for national development should it win the upcoming general elections.

Caribbean Airlines will be introducing direct flights between Guyana and New York from July as the company seeks to improve its service under new management.

The Ministry of Health is monitoring cases of cholera in Venezuela and Minister Dr.

Five men and a juvenile, who according to the police were nabbed with a quantity of ammunition and explosives at Camp Groomes on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, were yesterday remanded to prison by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

The National Inter-schools’ Futsal competition at the National Gymnasium took a bloody turn late yesterday and three youngsters were stabbed, one over a dozen times, as a gang chased him and his friends.

Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn says he is “surprised” at statements by Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) head, William Woolford about there being no evidence of widespread corruption in the field and called for “an urgent review” of the agency’s leadership.

The Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) was officially launched yesterday and farmers expressed hope that the body will resuscitate aspects of the industry here.

Four men were yesterday charged with the abduction of another man.

The executive of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) is to meet today to discuss the next step in its fight to get the government back to the table to recommence salary and wages talks following the expiration of a one-month ultimatum the union issued in December.

Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony says that during 2011 the government will be investing $8M in expanding the storage capacity of the Walter Rodney National Archives and will commence digitising the country’s archival records.

Calling maternal mortality “a painful story for all of us”, Minister of Health, Dr.

The PPP/C administration has failed to keep its promises to the nation’s youth, according to PNCR-1G parliamentarian Africo Selman in her contribution to the debate on the 2011 National Budget.

Relatives of Vishaul “Ryan” Ram, who initial reports had said died from drowning, now believe that foul play was involved in his death.

A woman, charged with damaging her ex-husband’s car, yesterday told a court that her actions were prompted by years of abuse.

Roy Cascius, who on January 5 was placed before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court charged with assaulting his older sister Zoe Cascius after arguing about the use of a blender, was yesterday ordered to pay a $25,000 fine or spend two weeks in jail.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport is revamping its traditional Republic Day programme and plans to include some of Guyana’s most popular cultural ceremonies in this year’s Mashramani celebrations.

An employee of the Skeldon Sugar Estate sustained severe burns to his hands around 2 pm yesterday while working on the boiler and is currently a patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital (NAH).

Visitor arrivals at the Kaieteur National Park were the highest last year since 2007,  and Chairman of the Kaieteur National Park  Commission Shyam Nokta  sees this as a reflection of its growing attraction as a popular tourist site because of Guyana’s heightened international profile.

The Ronald Waddell  Commemorative Committee  will  host  a live television programme this evening  starting at 9:00pm on HBTV Channel 9 in  observance of  the 5th death anniversary of journalist and political  activist Ronald Waddell who was killed in a barrage of gunfire in front of his  Subryanville home on January 30, 2006.

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has begun advertising for the collection and disposal of waste to the landfill at Haags Bosch.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS) Dr Roger Luncheon was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital yesterday morning after complaining of back pains.

Saying it believes that Guyana needs to make the right turn on to the right track and in the shortest period from day one, the AFC’s Action Plan sets out 26 changes that the party promises to deliver within its first year in office.

With his Guyanese roots deeply embedded in his music style, young Toronto rapper/producer BrownFace Gunna is poised to make his mark on the international scene.

The Food and Drug Department hosted an awareness session targeting supermarket and point of sale operators to discuss sale regulations, quality assurance and other issues in order to ensure that quality items are available for sale.

I can’t decide whether the fact that there will be no Carib Soca Monarch competition this year is a good thing or a bad thing.

The Scene Cartoon

Wycliffe Smith, the man accused of killing Brazilian miner Armando Da Silva, in Moco Moco, Central Rupununi, was yesterday arraigned on a murder charge.

(EUR) Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter has signed a deal to co-produce a new movie based on the Broadway musical Annie with Willow Smith in the lead role.

Visitors to Guyana can now obtain a driver’s permit from the arrival hall at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri.

Opening batsman Rajendra Chandrika warmed up for next week’s West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) First Class tournament with a patient unbeaten century at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Ground, Bourda yesterday.

Did someone say bravo? Maybe not, but those creative Bravo Arts guys are up to something new and this time they’re talking strolling tables.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has upgraded its website www.gra.gov.gy as part of its efforts to provide better services to the nation.

Those looking forward to another Carib Soca Monarch competition this year will be disappointed as there will be no contest this year.

Inspired by Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor, she featured in her first movie at the tender age of 14.

“I want to make it clear that I am not done with singing, just with competition” The Mighty Rebel has decided to quit singing at the competition level saying he was forced to retire because of shabby treatment by the state-controlled television station, but he admits also that the time seems right to exit now.

The Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association’s (GABA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections, which was scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed for February 13.

Assistant Secretary/Treasurer of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) and former GABA Treasurer, Vijay Panday said yesterday that he will not be seeking re-election or election to any other executive post in GABA when that body stages its Annual General Meeting next month.

(BBC) The homes and offices of two Bollywood actresses have been raided by India’s income tax officials in Mumbai, officials said.

Minister of Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony is expected to meet with Regional Development Officer of the Pan America Hockey Federation (PAHF), Rene Granat, next month on plans pertaining to the erection of hockey courts at the Guyana National Stadium.

The Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) programme, organised by the Street Solutions Organisation, is set to bounce off today at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – LeBron James and his Miami Heat team mate Dwyane Wade were both picked for the NBA All-Stars on Thursday, joining Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose and Amar’e Stoudemire in an Eastern Conference starting team overflowing with talent.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados’ selectors have defined a new role for out-of-favour West Indies batsman Dwayne Smith and it is not in the four-day team of the future.

Over 15 boxers drawn from two clubs in Berbice will invade West Demerara today for an Under-15 Inter-Gym showdown at Goed Fortuin.

MOLINEUX, St Kitts, CMC – Andre Gale stroked a handsome half-century to lead an England Lions middle order recovery on the first day of their two-day tour match against St Kitts and Nevis here yesterday.

Dear Editor, I wish to lodge with you my consternation regarding the cartoon in your edition of Thursday, January 27.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Andy Murray bludgeoned his way  through a brick wall named David Ferrer yesterday to reach the  Australian Open final and give himself a third crack at ending  Britain’s interminable wait for a men’s grand slam champion.

BANGKOK,  (Reuters) – Fresh demand for rice in two big  Asian countries is sending a worrying signal the region’s main  staple may join a surge in prices for other grains, worsening  Asia’s spiralling food inflation.

Dear Editor, The Guyana Police Force is responding to an article published in the Stabroek News on Thursday, January 27, 2011, under the caption ‘Linden residents appeal to “Top Cop” over spate of hold-ups.’

The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) is moving to revitalize the game in Berbice and towards this end will meet with stakeholders today from 2pm at the Rose Hall Sports Club, Canje.

CAIRO, (Reuters) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak  refused last night to bow to demands that he resign after  ordering troops and tanks into cities in an attempt to quell an  explosion of street protests against his 30-year rule.

Dear Editor, I have noted certain arguments in recent reports in the press discussing the population of old age pensioners in Guyana.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, CMC – An upbeat West Indies arrived here yesterday anxious to begin their preparations for the next month’s World Cup.

Dear Editor, I travelled to the Mackenzie, Wismar and Christianburg area – all of which were referred to as Mac city – by way of the RH Carr (Ralph Hamilton Carr) steamer in the year 1955.

(Jamaica Observer) Two days after the man police described as the brain behind one of the country’s most notorious gangs was captured, Nicholas ‘Fire Key’ Nesbeth was set free on Thursday in a big foul-up that has left the constabulary’s top brass stunned and embarrassed.

QUITO, (Reuters) – Three members of Ecuador’s  governing coalition in Congress have withdrawn their support  for President Rafael Correa over his plan to hold a voter  referendum he says is aimed at reforming the justice system.

KABUL, (Reuters) – A suicide attack on a supermarket  in Kabul’s upmarket embassy district yesterday killed at least  nine people, three of them foreign women, in the first major  Taliban assault on civilians in the capital for nearly a year.

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Local organisers have made a  last-ditch effort to have Kolkata’s Eden Gardens reinstated as  the venue for the high-profile India v England World Cup match.

Dear Editor, Regarding your news item on the heavy snow that blanketed New York and other states (SN, Jan 27), the freezing weather is wreaking havoc everywhere and taking its toll on Guyanese New Yorkers who are trapped indoors losing a day of work and pay during these tough economic times.

(Trinidad Express) Minister of National Security, Brigadier John Sandy on Thursday night became the second Government Minister to apologise for telling the Parliament and the country that former Strategic Services Agency (SSA) director Reshmi Ramnarine was a graduate of the University of the West Indies, when she was not.

Dear Editor, One of the worst experiences anyone could have is that of being wronged, of feeling a sense of injustice and of having nowhere to present your case.

SALVO, North Carolina, (Reuters) – Disgraced Olympic  and world 400 metres champion LaShawn Merritt may take legal  action if USA Track & Field (USATF) does not allow him to  compete in this year’s world championships, his lawyer said yesterday.

NORTHWOOD HEADQUARTERS, England,  (Reuters) – Somali  pirates are increasingly using hijacked merchant vessels with  hostage crews as giant motherships to attack deeper into the  Indian Ocean, the European Union anti-piracy task force says.

Politikles

(Barbados Nation) Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris is concerned about the number of young men killing themselves – mainly because of involvement in drug-related activities.

Dear Editor, The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pensioners are eagerly awaiting the decision of the Board of Directors pertaining to a satisfactory percentage increase on their minuscule pensions.

By Jagdish BhagwatiLONDON – In a recent symposium in the Financial Times on globalization’s prospects in 2011, the columnist Gideon Rachman observed that, “When Barack Obama visited India recently, the US President warned his hosts that the debate about globalization has reopened in the West,” and that “a backlash…is forming…and growing in advanced economies.”

The resurfaced National Park circuit. “It’s so great and so smooth.

DAVOS, Switzerland,  (Reuters) – Myanmar pro-democracy  leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on world leaders and top  executives meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos yesterday to  promote democracy and economic growth in her country.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Former Young West Indies captain Steven Jacobs has been called up to replace injured batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon for next week’s opening game of the Regional First Class Championship against Jamaica.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in a combative mood this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, interrupting the usual backslapping with contrarian advice that was long overdue.

Models displaying costumes at the launch of Digicel’s 2011 Mashramani Band yesterday while moving to a song by Soca singer Adrian Dutchin (at right).

A blazing “rum shop” ruckus has erupted between no less a person than His Excellency the President and his political bedfellow and one-time Science Advisor Navin Chandarpal and as the old saying goes mouth open, story jump out.