Daily Archive: Monday, November 7, 2011

Yvonne Hinds, the wife of Prime Minister Sam Hinds, this evening released a statement explaining her role in a custody case in US courts involving her son.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Michael Jackson’s personal  doctor was found guilty today of involuntary manslaughter  in the singer’s death following a six-week trial that  captivated Jackson fans around the world.

MANAGUA, (Reuters) – Nicaraguan President Daniel  Ortega, a socialist former guerrilla leader, cruised to a  landslide re-election victory after drawing broad support for  his anti-poverty programmes.

BOGOTA, (Reuters) – A mudslide has killed 37 people  in Colombia and buried homes in the central city of Manizales  after torrential rains, the government said today.

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Brazil’s labour minister  came under pressure to quit today after media allegations  of corruption put him at risk of becoming the seventh member of  President Dilma Rousseff’s Cabinet to fall this year.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A woman accused Republican  presidential hopeful Herman Cain today of improperly  touching her in 1997, going public with ugly allegations that  may create more trouble for his campaign.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) today said it has published in the Official Gazette the Lists of Candidates which were submitted by (i) A Partner for National Unity (A.P.N.U.),

PPP Campaign Representative Robert Persaud this afternoon said that the Governor of the Brazilian state of Roraima was not in Lethem to campaign for the PPP/C but that he had merely used the party’s meeting to bring greetings from the neighbouring state to the residents of Region Nine.

The Guyana Elections Commission today said that all National Identification Cards issued before October, 2009 (“red” and “green” ID cards) have been decommissioned with effect from October 31, 2011.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India squandered a flying start  on a bowler-dominated second day to concede a 95-run first  innings lead to West Indies in the first test today.

(Trinidad Guardian) The state of emergency, coupled with curfew restrictions, is the last straw for T&T’s suffering construction industry, according to Mervyn Chin president of the T&T Contractors Association (TTCA).

(Trinidad Express) Two Augusta Westland helicopters are not grounded but are, in fact, in full flight, according to National Security Minister Brig John Sandy.

(Jamaica Observer) The promoters of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival are this week expected to announce that multi-award-winning Canadian superstar Celine Dion has been signed for next year’s staging of the annual event.

(Jamaica Observer) The complete archives of the BBC Caribbean broadcasts from 1998 to 2011 have been donated to the University of the West Indies (UWI) to be used by researchers there and the people of the Caribbean.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Four years after the dual-citizenship drama threatened to collapse the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government, former Director of Elections Danville Walker says he wants the entire matter to be “fixed” urgently and that a Commonwealth dual citizen should have no greater right to enter representational politics than any other.

President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday told a Lethem meeting of the PPP/C that the concerns of Amerindians are given “tremendous attention” on the agenda of Cabinet and in a surprise twist the governor of the Brazilian state of Roraima also addressed the gathering and  lauded the President.

The AFC took the Bharrat Jagdeo administration to task over its track record on crime and corruption last evening with member, Moses Nagamootoo alleging that PPP officials did not want to reform the police force because their friends were involved in the narco-trade.

Police Commissioner Henry Greene yesterday issued a statement distancing himself from any suggestion that he had something to do with the bugging of the office of his predecessor Winston Felix.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Shivnarine Chanderpaul enhanced  his reputation as a nemesis for India with an unbeaten century  to power West Indies to 256 for five on the opening day of the  first test yesterday.

An injury-time 92nd minute goal from Alisha Leila propelled the Guyana Under-20 Lady Jaguars to an exciting come-from-behind 2-1 victory, over the Dominican Republic, in the final Group D qualifying round match at the Uitvlugt Community Centre Ground yesterday.

Armed robberies and break and enter and larceny are increasing rapidly in Linden, forcing residents to make unanticipated and immediate adjustments to their business and social activities.

A man has been hospitalized with two gunshot wounds to his right hip after a family gathering ended badly on Sunday morning as persons refused to leave a Goed Fortuin, West Bank Deme-rara beer garden, which they had rented.

The Digicel-sponsored netball tournament continues today at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall with the second two-best in three semifinals.

“He showed me the house he wanted and by the time I look and look back, he had a gun to my head,” says an Indian Chief Taxi Service driver, 29, who is among 15 reportedly robbed by a lone gunman who has been posing as a customer.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya led an  assault on the New York City Marathon record book by winning the  men’s race in course record time yesterday, while Firehiwot Dado  of Ethiopia produced an amazing comeback to claim the women’s  title.  

SHARJAH, (Reuters) –     Tharanga Paranavitana and  Kumar Sangakkara both hit half centuries yesterday as Sri Lanka  extended their lead over Pakistan to 237 runs at the close of  the fourth day and set up an intriguing finale in the third and  final test in Sharjah. 

Training of local observers by the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) is moving full speed ahead across the country, a senior official of the non-governmental organization said.

The Ministry of Health has dispatched a team to Chinowieng in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni to determine what caused some residents there to fall ill.

LONDON, (Reuters) – A human resources graduate from  Venezuela, whose ambition is to work with children, was crowned  Miss World 2011 at a glittering beauty pageant in London yesterday.

MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Kveta Peschke and Lucie Hradecka  beat Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-2 in the decisive  doubles to give the Czech Republic a 3-2 win over Russia in the  Fed Cup final yesterday, clinching the country’s first title as  an independent nation.

By Iva Wharton Days before the November 13th GT&T/Seaboard Marine Caribbean Race of Champions Meet, local champion Kevin Jeffrey says that he is confident that his Mitsubishi Evolution 8 nicknamed ‘Bush Cow’ would be ready.

Fire equipment procured at the cost of some $92M was handed over to the Guyana Fire Service by  Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee on Friday at a ceremony at the National Park, Thomas Lands.

LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) – Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has a legion of fans all over the world, but not many will be able to beat Vishal Singh’s obsession with the star.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – Animated film “Puss in  Boots” held on to the domestic box office crown with a  surprisingly strong second weekend performance that beat new  Eddie Murphy comedy “Tower Heist.”

Dear Editor, According to the Guyana Constitu-tion, Title 4, The President, Article 177 (2): “A Presidential candidate shall be deemed to have been elected as President and shall be so declared by the Chairman of the Elections Commission –– (a) if he is the only Presidential candidate at the election; or (b)where there are two or more Presidential candidates, if more votes are cast in favour of the list in which he is designated as Presidential candidate than in favour of any other list.”

A Violence Prevention Programme was launched on Friday by the programme implementation unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Citizen Security Pro-gramme (CSP) in an effort to create safer neighbourhoods.

LAUDERHILL, Florida, CMC – Former West Indies duo Lance Gibbs and Lawrence Rowe are part of a newly-formed committee to help promote and market the game in Broward county.

The latest batch of graduates from the President’s Youth Award: Republic of Guyana (PYARG) programme has taken the number of youths who have passed  through the award at the bronze, silver and gold levels to 5,516, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a press release.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – “Twilight” actors Robert  Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, made their mark  on Hollywood on Thursday, leaving imprints of their hands and  feet outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Dear Editor, Mindful of the fact that Harry Gill enjoys certain notoriety in the letter columns of some newspapers, I am hesitant, yet compelled, to respond to his writings recently published with the title: ‘Was the AFC list …a false copy?‘

The Guyana Police Force ‘A’ arrested their fellow Police counterparts when the 2011 Inter-Organization team Table Tennis competition concluded yesterday at Queen’s College’s Auditorium.

Dear Editor, Voters in Guyana should ask the question how come the President’s pension is now a matter of concern.

ATHENS/PARIS, (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister George  Papandreou and conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras  agreed yesterday on a new coalition government to approve a euro  zone bailout deal before calling elections, the office of the  president said.

Pacesetters ‘A’ dominated their opponents on Saturday evening when the super sixteen rounds of the Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 basketball tournament concluded at the Mackenzie Sports Club basketball court in Linden.

CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque will pay an official visit to Barbados from today  to Thursday this week, the CARICOM Secretariat at Turkeyen said in a press release.

Dear Editor, Mr. Seelochan Beharry, an AFC candidate for parliament and a former member of the PPP who fell out with that party, in a letter captioned,  `Bisram and the PPP’ (SN Nov 6) noted my presence at the India Day Parade  2011 along with that of representatives of the Guyana government and invited me to “offer some rational explanation …”.

 ROME – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has one day  left to win over waverers and see off a group of party rebels  threatening to bring down his government in a backlash over its  failure to adopt reforms to defuse a dangerous debt crisis.

Guyana formally handed over the Pro Tempore Chairmanship of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to Paraguay at the fifth meeting of the Council of Heads of State and Government of UNASUR  in Asuncion, that country’s capital,  on October 29.

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – West Indies-A endured stiff punishment when Mominul Haque and Nasir Hossain went on the rampage collecting hundreds to lead a spectacular Bangladesh-A revival in the first “Test” yesterday.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – President Hugo Chavez accused  political opponents eyeing a 2012 election battle yesterday of  wanting to reverse social policies in Venezuela’s slums and rid  the nation of Cubans who promote his self-styled “revolution.”

Dear Editor, Reading his letter titled ‘Like Dr Jagan, Ramotar is unpretentious and modest‘ (SN, November 5), I seriously wondered how Cheddi Berret Jagan II could commit this travesty of associating Cheddi Jagan with Donald Ramotar.

An early morning blaze yesterday left one house partially damaged and the lone occupant injured as neighbours related that the man had to be rushed to the hospital.

Arif Bulkan teaches human rights law at the University of the West Indies in Barbados.

Dear Editor, Every five years the people of Guyana hire a new chief executive to oversee the affairs of the nation.

AMMAN, (Reuters) – Syrian forces shot dead at least 13  civilians yesterday in a continued military assault on the  restive city of Homs and in attacks on pro-democracy  demonstrations that erupted after prayers marking the main  Muslim feast, activists said.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Despite renewed pressure from Britain for Jamaica to repeal its anti-buggery law, Prime Minister Andrew Holness says it will be up to Jamaicans to signal such a desire.

This week on What the People Say we asked members of the public: Are you excited about the elections?

“When more than 90 per cent of young people can read and write and have a modicum of education, no traditional authoritarian regime will last for long.” 

(Trinidad Express) Although they landed in the country five months ago, the two Augusta Westland (AW) 139 helicopters, one half of a TT$2 billion order that will include two other AW 139 choppers scheduled to be in Trinidad and Tobago next year, are still grounded.

Politikles

BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Colombia’s FARC rebels scorned  the “happy laughter” of their foes and rejected a plea to  demobilize after the killing of their leader Alfonso Cano gave  President Juan Manuel Santos his biggest military victory.

Dear Editor, I would like to bring to the attention of eligible voters some observations made during this election year.

MF Global’s precipitous decline into bankruptcy last week must have jerked unpleasant memories in this region about disappearing investors’ and pension funds.

St Lucians will go to the polls on the same day as Guyanese – November 28.

(Trinidad Express) Kidnap victim Christine Williams escaped her abductor last night.

(Trinidad Express) The State of Emergency will be reviewed today by the National Security Council, says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – A retired right-wing  general promising a crackdown on violent crime won Guatemala’s  presidential election yesterday and will be the first military  man to take power since democracy was restored in 1986.