Daily Archive: Saturday, June 25, 2011

LONDON, (Reuters) – Having lost in the third round  of the French Open last month, world number one Caroline  Wozniacki decided to forget about tennis and focus on football.  

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian security forces shot dead five civilians during funerals which turned into protests against President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo  Chavez, not seen in public for two weeks, ended his unusual  silence with several Twitter messages on Friday, but said  nothing about his health after an operation in Cuba.

(WICB) Kingston, Jamaica– Barbadian right handed strokemaker Kirk Edwards has been named in the West Indies squad for the Second Digicel Test.

(Jamaica Observer) Investigators from the Major Investigation Task Force (MIT) are still processing the crime scene in Queens Way, St Andrew, where 66-year-old businessman Roderick ‘Bunny’ Francis was shot dead this morning.

The Ministry of Health says it has found that 53% of medicines available at private pharmacies in seven regions failed one or more of the quality assurance tests done.

Police early this morning found missing Unity, Mahaica resident Loretta Persaud, who has admitted to staging her own kidnapping.

Earlier this month, a noisy passenger on one of New York’s busy commuter trains was approached by a female conductor.

According to Virgin Islands News Online (VINO), a Guyanese businessman who was found not guilty of murdering a wanted fugitive will be deported from the island tomorrow.

PULE ALAM, Afghanistan, (Reuters) – A suicide car  bomber killed at least 20 people, and possibly as many as 35, in  an attack at a hospital in a remote district of eastern  Afghanistan today that damaged its maternity ward,  officials said.

The two teenaged girls who vanished since Tuesday were found in an isolated area behind the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Timehri at around 10:30 last night, after they were released by their captors.

A 17-year old Unity, Mahaica girl was allegedly being held against her will last evening and her parents were inconsolable as they carried out search efforts to locate her.

The PPP has written to the Guyana Elections Com-mission (GECOM) requesting that it considers some measure to facilitate the registration of eligible persons who have not yet done so.

A decision has not been made on who will be the PPP/C’s prime ministerial candidate, but whoever is chosen will come from the Civic group, presidential candidate Donald Ramotar says.

David Granger will lead the Joint Opposition Political Parties (JOPP) into the upcoming general elections under the banner of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which will present a single list of candidates.

Farmers at Cane Grove, Mahaica on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) are expected to benefit from the recent rehabilitation of the electrical pump station in the community.

The 5 megawatts (MW) Wartsila power generating set at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Skeldon Factory is not working after encountering electrical problems.

A mother and her three children are now homeless after their drunken father set their Friendship, East Bank Demerara home on fire on Thursday night.

Dwarka Gangadeen was yesterday committed to stand trial at the High Court for the murder of his wife, Bridgette Gangadeen.

Contractor Mahendra Ramanan was yesterday charged with the death of schoolgirl Jaswattie Ramnauth, who was struck and killed on the Cotton Tree Public Road on Monday.

Irate relatives of a 12-year-old student stormed into the Charlestown Secondary School and attacked teachers with cutlasses yesterday, resulting in three teachers having to seek medical treatment.

The Ministry of Education said 25 teachers countrywide have completed initial training in sign language while another set has undertaken training in Braille, as it seeks to provide education for all groups of learners.

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) said yesterday that Justice Roxane George’s ruling in the teenager torture case now challenges the Medical Council of Guyana to review its treatment of the matter.

Regional Councillor and Pastor of the Fruits of Calvary Assembly of God (AOG) church Renis Morian has issued a call for heavy vehicles to utilize bypass roads in Linden to avoid risking the lives of pedestrians especially children.

The Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) Steering Committee last Wednesday approved the project concept note (PCN) for the institutional strengthening of the agencies involved in the implementation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Exciting West Indies opener Adrian Barath and rookie leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo have made significant jumps in the latest ICC Test Player rankings released yesterday.

The process for Amerindian communities to ‘opt-in’ to the Low Carbon Develop-ment Strategy (LCDS) has not yet started, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai disclosed last week.

Information on the billions of dollars the government receives in aid from its eight international development partners has now been published on the website guyanapsu.org.gy,

By Treiston Joseph President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), KA Juman Yassin’s analysis of the issues concerning the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) in yesterday’s edition of Stabroek Sport has caused Chairman of the Senior Selection Panel of the GCB, Claude Raphael to come out of the closet on the matter.

Alpha United stumbled  to yet another disappointing Inter-Guiana Club Championship run and will have to wait for another shot to claim the title as the Fourth Edition of the tournament continued on Thursday night at Stade Edmard Lama in Remire Montjoly, French Guiana.

The World Bank is providingUS$5.6 million for Grenada and St Lucia to establish the Eastern Caribbean Energy Regulatory Authority (ECERA) which will allow their energy consumers to benefit from improved electricity service from greener sources.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Andy Roddick’s dream of winning  Wimbledon is on hold for another year after he was out-gunned by  a left-handed Spaniard yesterday, not reigning champion Rafa  Nadal but Feliciano Lopez whose tennis lived up to his nickname.

The Guyana Red Cross Society has partnered with the French and Canadian Red Cross societies and the EU to launch two initiatives for water and sanitation and comprehensive disaster management aimed at boosting the lives of hinterland residents.

If you take musician Francis Bailey and insert him into a New Orleans jazz scene circa 1950s or maybe early 80s he’d fit right in; romancing his saxophone and crooning the blues, but with a neo-soul/ R&B influence.

Kingston, Jamaica – Strong winds propelled Yohan Blake, Michael Frater, Lerone Clarke and Asafa Powell to sub-10 performances in the opening round of the 100m on Thursday’s opening day of the Jamaican Championships at National Stadium.

Where I live, I can hear the Demerara River and see her waves flash gold in the early morning sun as I curl up with an e-book in my hammock.

Acting Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry yesterday acceded to a request from the defence and transferred the Cuyuni cocaine bust case to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.

A man who said he was under the influence of drugs when he committed two separate break-ins as yesterday sentenced to six years imprisonment by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Hi Everyone, All rice is not created equal. Therefore, all rice is not cooked with the same water to rice ratio or using the same cooking methods.

4R Lioness pulled off an upset victory over Shemaine Campbell’s Rose Hall Females to become the Stag Beer & El Dorado Rum softball champions last Sunday at the GCC Ground, Bourda.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – A former top Bolivian anti-drug  official pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of conspiring to  smuggle cocaine into the United States in a case that has  proved a major embarrassment for Bolivia’s President Evo  Morales.

What to do

Brussels, Belgium – Belgium’s Olympic High Jump champion Tia Hellebaut announced her second comeback to athletics at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday.

DUBAI, (Reuters) – Sri Lankan opening batsman Upul  Tharanga has been suspended for three months after failing a  doping test, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday.

Stage monitors were shut down for approximately ten minutes after the excitement and merriment may have become a little too much, prompting patrons at the ‘Advantage’ concert to drench themselves in water, juice and alcoholic beverages, which fell into the stage equipment.

Painting the Spectrum 2011, SASOD’s seventh film festival concludes at the Sidewalk Cafe in Georgetown next week with documentaries and a comedy.

WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand allrounder Scott  Styris has retired from international cricket, lowering the  curtain on a 12-year career with the Blackcaps.

LONDON, (Reuters) – A European plan to raise funds  for clean energy has backfired spectacularly, helping trigger a  rout on its carbon trading scheme and so cutting available green  funds and benefiting polluting coal plants.

Come next month end Ras Leon Saul’s three-act comedy drama Obeah in Court will be staged at the National Cultural Centre, according to a release from the Carib Feedback Productions.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – The inaugural Sri Lanka  Premier League will go ahead next month without the Indian  cricketers after talks failed with the Indian board (BCCI), Sri  Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Reuters yesterday.

Dear Editor, A letter appearing in the Stabroek News edition of Thursday June 23, authored by John Yow, caught my attention and simultaneously provoked my wrath (‘Not all Lethem residents affected by the flood have been assisted’).

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A cell phone found in the  raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan contained contacts  to a militant group with ties to Pakistan’s intelligence  agency, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing senior  U.S.

Dear Editor, My trip from Guyana to Bangladesh provided ample examples of the strides that have been/are being made by women in the field of employment with particular reference to breaking the so-called ‘invisible ceiling’ in occupations typically dominated by men, if not the exclusive domain of the male species.

The inaugural Scotiabank/Pepsi Schools Football Academy wraps up today with what is expected to be a terrific day of football with the finals in the male and female categories being  contested at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Ground.

Tonight, local gospel group Cross Carriers (CC) will present ‘The God Experience: New generation, fresh sound’ with the promise that it is more than “just another concert”.

ATHENS/FRANKFURT – Banks and policymakers moved closer to a  deal yesterday to help Athens secure funds ahead of a  parliamentary vote on austerity next week that Greek Prime  Minister George Papandreou must win to avert default.

Dear Editor, The important walkway across the creek that separates Pomona Village and Riverstown Village (Essequibo coast) was recently renovated at a cost which I do not know, but from using same I can say that it was well constructed.

DAR ES SALAAM,  (Reuters) – The U.N. war crimes  tribunal for Rwanda sentenced former minister Pauline  Nyiramasuhuko to life in prison on Friday, the first time a  woman has been found guilty of genocide by an international  court.

The selection committee of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) has called up 26 female cricketers for a one-day limited overs trial match scheduled for today at the Albion Community Centre Ground.

By now it is fair to assume that when Classique Dance Company stages a show it will be held over; and this is regardless of what the company says in its public relations messages.

Dear Editor, Mr John Yow’s letter to SN of June 23 titled ‘Not all Lethem residents affected by the flood have been assisted’ raised an issue which has been asked by many residents of the Rupununi and that relates to the apparent preferential treatment given to the Regional Executive Officer (REO) over the Regional Chairman (RC) which is most obvious in the way the RC has been seen moving around Lethem in the execution of his duties, by either walking or riding a bicycle while the REO and his subordinates are seen driving regional vehicles.

Here is the next question I posed to the three main presidential candidates on women’s issues.

(Trinidad Express) Business mogul Lawrence Duprey on Thursday made moves to stall the Commission of Enquiry into the collapse of financial conglomerate CL Financial, scheduled to kick off on Monday.

Text Me, a new comedy/drama written by Ronald Hollingsworth and directed by Mahadeo Shivraj is set to leave audiences in stitches on July 2, 3 and 4 at the National Cultural Centre, a press release says.

Education Minister Shaik Baksh is urging parents to take advantage of the school uniform voucher distribution programme, which is intended to boost student attendance.

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – The International Cricket  Council (ICC) will discuss constitutional amendments to abolish  the rotational policy of appointing its head and avoid  “government interference” in the game’s administration at next  week’s conference in Hong Kong.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo  Chavez, not seen in public for two weeks, ended his unusual  silence with several Twitter messages yesterday, but said  nothing about his health after an operation in Cuba.

KINGSTON, (Reuters) – West Indies pace bowler Ravi  Rampaul has been fined 10 percent of his match fee for dissent  after disputing an umpire’s decision in the first test against  India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday.

Dear Editor, Political power in this country is a zero-sum game thanks to the PNC and more pointedly to Forbes Burnham, who replaced a good (not great, but good) constitution with a monstrosity in 1980.

Relatives of the No. 64 Village rice farmer are convinced that he was murdered after the results of a post-mortem examination proved that he died as a result of a severe fractured skull.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Peter Falk, star of the  1970s hit TV drama “Columbo,” whose role as the rumpled  detective of the same name earned him four Emmys, has died  after years of battling Alzheimer’s disease.

The Guyana Music Teachers’ Association annual event ‘Musicians on Stage’ is set for Sunday, July 3 at the National Cultural Centre at 3 pm.

(Jamaica Observer) The World Bank (WB), in its Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) on Jamaica dismisses claims by Jamaican firms that access to financing, or crowding out, is a major hindrance to business development, pointing instead to crime, the high cost of electricity and low workers’ skills as the top three major constraints and noted that Jamaican firms complain more than other firms.

Dear Editor, Every day people living in Guyana are crying out about the economic hardship that faces them.

Husband

WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand will play their  first home test against Zimbabwe in 11 years, as well as a  three-match series against South Africa, in the next southern  hemisphere summer, New Zealand Cricket announced yesterday.

The Licence Revenue Office (LRO) has implemented several new systems to simplify the processes for the purchase and renewal of licences.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Once praised lavishly by  the United States for waging a war on drugs, Mexico’s last two  presidents now say legalizing them may be the best way to end  the rising violence the U.S.-backed

(Trinidad Express) Irish mobile phone services provider Digicel Group Ltd has shown what it calls robust growth in its financial performance for its year ended March 31, 2011.

Uncensored, live stand-up comedy is back with part two tonight and this time there will be a competition segment among upcoming comedians at the National Cultural Centre.

(Trinidad Express) The Commission of Enquiry into the failure of CL Financial (CLF) and four of its subsidiaries has been pushed back to accommodate the application for a stay by the legal team of former CLF chairman Lawrence Duprey.

(Trinidad Express) Fire yesterday destroyed a portion of the multi-million dollar South Campus of the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), still months away from its delayed official opening.

(Trinidad Express) Charged with marrying a woman while being legally married to another, Marlon Joseph appeared before a Sangre Grande magistrate yesterday, where he was denied bail as the court was not too sure about his address.