Daily Archive: Thursday, December 22, 2011

HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Financier Allen Stanford was  judged mentally fit to stand trial by a federal judge today, setting the stage for a trial next year in one of the  biggest white-collar fraud cases since Bernard Madoff.

During yesterday, the police say they conducted drug eradication operations at Gateroy and De Veldt in the Berbice River.

At about 1015h today, the police say they responded to a report of threats made by fisherman Mohan Maniram, 38 years, of Henrietta, Essequibo Coast.

Armed bandits held up the Western Union Outlet at Church Street, Georgetown last night and escaped with $10 million and cell phones.

A 57-year-old motorcyclist died last night after he swerved from a cow on the Public Road at Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara and crashed.

(Trinidad Guardian) Operations at the Point Lisas port came to a halt yesterday after workers refused to show.

A 20-year-old woman was this morning murdered allegedly by the father of her child at Lot 8, North Sophia.

The Guyana Police Force says that approval has been given for the Youth Coalition for Transformation, the youth arm of APNU,  to hold a march around the streets of Georgetown tomorrow, Friday December 23, 2011, commencing at 1530h.

(Trinidad Express) Bread and breadfruit were the substance of the argument among three male relatives that led to Tuesday’s early-morning fire at Building 2, Trou Macaque, Laventille.

(Trinidad Express) The US government has expressed “disappointment” regarding the decision of Attorney General Anand Ramlogan not to appeal Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh’s decision not to extradite businessmen Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson.

(Trinidad Express) Homicide Bureau officers were last night interviewing a 39-year-old man wanted for burning the top floor of a Trou Macaque, Laventille, apartment building on Tuesday morning, leading to the deaths of four people, including two children ages two and ten months.

(Jamaica Observer) The perennially controversial issue of homosexuality appears to have set the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) on collision course with some sections of the Christian Church.

The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Company’s Jingle and Song Competition grand finale for the English segment produced superb performances last night with crowd favourite Brandon Harding taking the top prize.

(Jamaica Gleaner) University Professor Anthony Harriott has pointed to the beheading of reputed Clansman gangster Nervado Hodges as a “sure sign” that members of the criminal underworld believe they have immunity from prosecution.

(Barbados Nation) The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has been blasted by a top local sporting official over the poor quality of pitches which are prepared for regional junior tournaments.

BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – A rash of bombings hit Baghdad  today, killing at least 57 people in the first big attack  on Iraq’s capital since a crisis between its Shi’ite Muslim-led  government and Sunni rivals erupted days after the U.S.

The Guyana Revenue Autho-rity (GRA) yesterday flayed Managing Director of BK International Inc.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) are still locked in discussions as to who will be the Opposition nominee for Speaker of the National Assembly but AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday held out that he wanted Moses Nagamootoo to fill the post.

An Enmore business was yesterday morning raided and robbed of over $1.5M in cash and jewellery.

At least 600 workers of the state-owned Guyana Power and Light Company Inc.

Justice Brassington Reynolds yesterday adjourned the Bharrat Jagdeo libel suit to January 27, 2012, to allow the new Jagdeo lead attorney time to familiarize himself with the case, despite repeated objections from the defence lawyers.

Gunmen, in what appeared to be a well-orchestrated attack, robbed Guyana Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Mahender ‘Mark’ Ramotar at Agricola, East Bank Demerara early yesterday morning minutes after he slammed into a concrete median, after being braced by a speeding car.

With the elimination of the Trinidad Soca Warriors football team by Guyana’s Golden Jaguars from the 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign still fresh in their minds, a Trinidad Club team is here to avenge that team’s elimination while hoping to strike gold to boot, a pound of gold that is.

A grand countrywide two day dominoes competition will take place  on Monday and Tuesday at two different venues in the city.

Seven women who were arrested outside the residence of Commissioner of Police Henry Greene at Lamaha Springs were yesterday charged with taking part in an illegal procession and they appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

By Iva Wharton Nigel Hinds a former national hockey and basketball player Nigel Hinds is back home and has stated his intention of doing his part to aid the development of sport.

Canadian oil explorer CGX Energy Inc yesterday announced that the Government of Guyana has granted it a deferral for drilling of the Eagle-1 well offshore Guyana on the Company’s Corentyne Petroleum Prospecting Licence (the “Corentyne PPL”).

Indigent and convalescing elders, often the recipients of holiday giving at this time of the year, spread cheer in their own way with their joyful gratitude and contentment with whatever little they receive.

Kwakwani secured a spot in the final of the 2011 Titan’s Bowl basketball tournament yesterday when they defeated Plaisance Academy in the semifinal at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The two long-awaited Chinese-built roll-on/roll-off ferries arrived at Port Georgetown yesterday and will remain at the city harbour until the first week in February, when they are to begin operating along the Parika/Good Hope route in the Essequibo River.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Chelsea and England captain John Terry will be prosecuted for the alleged racial abuse of Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in a Premier League match in October, British authorities said  yesterday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados defied conventional wisdom and chose Kirk Edwards to lead the national team in the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship next month.

The Youth Coalition for Transformation (YCT) yesterday said it would continue to lobby supporters to boycott businesses that are working against the interests of the people.

Government spokesman Dr Roger Luncheon yesterday said that government would throw its support behind sports promotion organisation Kashif and Shanghai, while saying calls for a boycott of its annual football tournament amounted to discrimination.

(Reuters) – A Las Vegas judge sentenced boxer Floyd Mayweather yesterday to six months behind bars for a 2010 attack on the mother of his children, but half of that jail term was suspended, officials said.

HAMILTON, Bermuda,  CMC – Long jumpers Tyrone Smith and Arantxa King have been named Bermuda’s men’s and women’s Athletes-of-the-Year after “exceptional” performances.

At the No 51 Magistrate’s Court yesterday, cocaine accused, Salim Bacchus, one of four persons arrested in a major cocaine bust was further remanded to prison despite strenuous submissions from his lawyer.

A couple was yesterday placed on self-bail after they appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to answer the charge of assault causing actual bodily harm and unlawful and malicious wounding.

Dear Editor, The sugar industry has compiled a remarkable record in terms of policy and management under the direction of the last Minister of Agriculture.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Jamaal Shabazz said he is working on a deal with the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation that would also allow him to stay with Guyana.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) yesterday said it has filed a petition in the High Court to institute winding-up proceedings against DIDCO Trading Company Limited which it says has failed to honour its financial obligations.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Premier League leaders Manchester City and champions Manchester United switched attention back to the action and away from controversies surrounding racism with easy wins  yesterday.

Dear Editor, I must confess that I saw the title of your Saturday editorial (December 17), ‘Quantum leap into the future,‘ and never suspected that you would actually be talking about physics, accustomed as I am to the overuse of the term ‘quantum leap‘ for other purposes.

LONDON,  (Reuters) –  Barcelona’s Lionel Messi was named as Argentina’s sports personality of the year  yesterday, winning the Olimpia de Oro (gold) for the first time.

City Hall yesterday presented a proposed $2.3B budget for 2012. In making the presentation at a press briefing at City Hall, City Treasurer Andrew Meredith said that revenue collection is expected to be to the tune of $1,993,363,000.

Dear Editor, Mr Chris Ram’s analysis of Vishnu Bisram’s poll findings is seriously flawed, biased and misguided. 

SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Federal police in Brazil   yesterday recommended the indictment of several  Chevron and Transocean officials involved in an oil spill in  early November for environmental crimes and withholding  information in an investigation.

The holiday season is here and the demand for some food items has increased and in some cases there has been a corresponding  price hike.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – Australian batsman Shaun Marsh will test his fitness in a Twenty20 match this  evening and is confident he will be ready to go for next week’s opening test against India.

Dear Editor, The new regulation of having applicants for a provisional licence submit pictures in addition to completing a form for the renewal of a driver‘s licence, is very frustrating for all who have business at the back building of the Licence Revenue Office.

Dear Editor, Elections have come and gone; here in Bartica we all campaigned for the parties of our choice.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp’s   Countrywide Financial unit agreed on Wednesday to pay a  record $335 million to settle civil charges that it  discriminated against minority homebuyers, an historic  settlement for the Obama administration in the wake of the  subprime mortgage morass.

DHAKA,  (Reuters) – Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman broke through Bangladesh’s resistance before Pakistan raced against fading light to complete a seven-wicket win on the final day of the second test yesterday.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony urged students at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre (KKTC) to demonstrate the spirit of generosity they feel at Christmas all through the year, when he attended the institution’s annual Christmas lunch.

Dear Editor, BK International Inc wishes to refer to the press release of the Delegation of the European Union on the 9th EDF Sea Defence Programme Contract which was carried prominently in all the major media.

DAR ES SALAAM, (Reuters) – The U.N. war crimes  tribunal for Rwanda yesterday found two bosses of the former  ruling Hutu-led party guilty of genocide for their leading roles  in the 1994 massacre of Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and sentenced  them to life in prison.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The explosive issue of homosexuality surfaced on Tuesday night in a debate that fizzled into what analysts for the most part labelled a disappointing exchange on policy issues, with little detail being presented on the way forward by the leaders of the two major political parties.

KARACHI,  (Reuters) – Pakistan marked the first international hockey match played in the country for seven years with a 3-0 win over China yesterday.

With over 1,000 persons touching down daily at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri (CJIA) visitor arrival figures are up by 6% compared with last year.

Dear Editor, With reference to the letter in last Thursday’s edition of the Stabroek News titled ‘There was a strange selection of awardees at the Guyana Cricket Board Awards Ceremony,‘ I write to set certain records straight and place within the public purview our response to what the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) considers to be an unwarranted and misguided commentary regarding the achievements of the club over the past year.

Junior Agriculture Minister Alli Baksh has told fishermen that Cabinet will be asked to strengthen anti-piracy laws in order to ensure their safety while at sea.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Large distributor Wisynco Group says it will invest close to J$1 billion next year in a new energy plant at its St Catherine complex aimed at slashing production costs.

Triumph gives back

BEIJING – North Korea will shift to collective rule from a  strongman dictatorship after last week’s death of Kim Jong-il,  although his untested young son will be at the head of the  ruling coterie, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and  Beijing said.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Reigning Caribbean champions Jamaica finished the year at the top of the Caribbean Football Union rankings.

Less than a month into her tenure, new Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster, put her staff and the public on notice when she announced earlier this month that high priority will be placed on improving systems through monitoring and evaluation.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The police yesterday morning found the severed head of a male believed to be that of Navardo Hodges, a leading member of the Clansman gang.

Good day Mr President

Dear Editor, According to Guyana Times, APNU had completed its analysis of the Statements of Poll (SOPs) since at least Saturday, December 17.

BEIRUT,  (Reuters) – Syrian forces killed 111  people ahead of the start of a mission to monitor President  Bashar al-Assad’s implementation of an Arab League peace plan,  activists said yesterday, and France branded the killings an  “unprecedented massacre”.

In a world that shrinks as the microprocessor squeezes every bit out of every nanosecond, this nation must start thinking of our place in the global village.

An electoral court in Brazil has ordered the ouster of the Governor of the Brazilian state of Roraima for a 2010 offence, the same man who created a furore here by appearing on a PPP/C campaign platform in Lethem on November 6, 2011.

(Reuters) – Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant tore a ligament in his right wrist in Monday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers and is considered day-to-day, the National Basketball Association club said  yesterday.