Daily Archive: Thursday, March 15, 2012

(Reuters) – Pop star Rihanna called her recent musical collaboration with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown “innocent,” after critics and fans split on the duo working together three years after Brown assaulted the pop star.

The police say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Venezuelan national Jose Ramon Valenzuela, 46 years, whose body was found on March 11, 2012, on a Sports Ground at Mabaruma, NWD.

The National Assembly this afternoon passed an appropriation bill to clear extra-budgetary spending from last year, without four items that were voted down by the opposition.

The Associated Press says that a cargo plane loaded with bread crashed in a lagoon near Puerto Rico’s international airport today and both crew members died.

(Jamaica Observer) NEW YORK, USA — Almost three years after United States authorities requested his extradition on drug and gunrunning charges, former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke faces the final chapter in the long-running saga, when he is sentenced here tomorrow.

The Ministry of Home Affairs this morning said that $320, 000 out of the $90 million police elections fund was allocated to Divisional Commander David Ramnarine and it provided a copy of the returned cheque dated November 26, 2011.

(Barbados Nation) The blind woman who will make history next week when she becomes the first female President of the Senate says she is “humbled and blessed” by the honour.

(Barbados Nation) Government is not prepared to bail out the cash-strapped Almond Resorts Inc.

The Guyana Government today said that an objection by Venezuela to Georgetown’s application for an extension of its continental shelf is “deeply regrettable”.

(Barbados Nation) Shanique Myrie, the Jamaican woman who has accused Barbadian Immigration authorities of carrying out an unlawful cavity search and denying her entry last March 14, could be back into Barbados next month.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Ambitious Chinese Communist Party leadership contender Bo Xilai has been sacked from his post as head of the city of Chongqing in a dramatic move that exposes growing ideological divisions just as a new generation readies to take power.

A second batch of solar panels for the government’s hinterland electrification programme is expected to be delivered today.

Several dozen persons were last evening stranded on board the North West ferry MV Kimbia, which broke down soon after departing Port Georgetown for the hinterland.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent,  CMC – West Indies captain Darren Sammy believes Arnos Vale can prove a “happy hunting ground” for his side, as they prepare to square off with Australia there in the first three One-Day Internationals of the five-match series starting tomorrow.

The AFC is requesting an audit of some $29M spent by government for “mobilization payment” on infrastructural works for the specialty hospital being constructed at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.

From 1977/78 to 2009/10, the West Indies and Australia have been engaged in 20 one-day series in the respective teams’ backyards, that have either been bilateral, triangular or in some cases quadrangular.

Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry yesterday decided to continue with the case of Luis Hopkinson, a convict accused of armed robbery, after he had earlier claimed that he was incarcerated at the time the offence was committed.

A Guyanese woman is among three persons who are to appear in a South African court next week after she allegedly attempted to smuggle cocaine into that country concealed in three laptops  on a flight out of Brazil.

The Tobago Hill community will soon reap the first harvest of hassar reared under the National Secure Livelihood Project (NSLP) in Region One, where other projects are also thriving.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday at his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing said that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the One Laptop per Family (OLPF) Sesh Sukhdeo resigned after tensions surfaced.

Laparkan Shipping has moved its Miami warehouse operations to a new state-of-the-art facility, which started working on Monday.

Relatives of an 18-year-old mother of two, who died almost three months ago as a result of injuries she sustained during a botched abortion, are calling on the Medical Council of Guyana to conduct a speedy investigation and have the doctor  implicated brought to justice.

Software is expected to be introduced which will improve the collection of rates and taxes by $18 million, councillors heard yesterday as Acting Chairman of the Mayor and City Council’s Finance Committee, Junior Garrett, continued his presentation of the 2012 budget.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Guyana) has hosted several workshops in preparation for the launch of a two-year Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) Project in April to equip young adults for the job market and entrepreneurship.

Ramon Gaskin has been appointed head of the Implementation Com-mittee for the reform of the Georgetown Municipality and will be moving to breathe life into the recommendations of the Commis-sioner of Inquiry headed by Keith Burrowes more than two years ago.

An eight-year-old girl was yesterday struck down by a motorcyclist on the pedestrian crossing, a few metres away from her school.

The National Insurance Scheme yesterday assured that it is catering for persons who are not internet and IT savvy and who cannot download and complete forms electronically.

By Emmerson Campbell The amateur segment of the 21st edition of the Guyana Fight Night Pro Am card which will be staged at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on March 30 by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) will be a kind of family affair.

By Iva Wharton At 14, Euleen DaSilva has dreams of following in the footsteps of her aunt, former world champion Gwendolyn O’Neil.

The government and the opposition parties last evening began tripartite talks on the Amaila Falls hydropower project.

After being postponed since early last December due to the inclement weather and unavailability of grounds in the city, the Noble House Seafood-sponsored Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) second division, two-day club competition restarted last weekend.

Acting Auditor General Deodat Sharma says that the furore over the $90 million allocation for the Guyana Police Force is a matter over which he is empowered to initiate an investigation, once it is in the interest of the public to do so.

Relatives of a teenager missing since March 7 are appealing to the public for help in locating the girl.

By Cosmo Hamilton It is the year 2012. It is a leap year.

The AFC says it is outraged at what it said is the continued arrogance and disregard being exhibited by RUSAL’s subsidiary, the Bauxite Company of Guyana Limited which didn’t attend yesterday’s arbitration meeting ordered by the Minister of Labour into a longstanding dispute with the union GB&GWU.

Dear Editor, The proposed expansion by Bosai Mining Company should be viewed with some level of concern given the Company’s history of environmental non-compliance.

Guyana’s Beacons Masters Football Club will clash with an over-40 Surinamese team this Saturday at the Tucville Community Centre ground from 19:00hrs.

By Iva Wharton The right structure would assist in the development of women’s basketball in Guyana,  according to Bernard Daniels, former junior and senior coach for women’s basketball.

Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang on Monday discharged a Conservatory Order granted to Synergy Inc, allowing the government to take possession of the equipment which was being used to build the road to the Amaila Falls Hydro Project.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent,  CMC – All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been appointed West Indies vice-captain for the first three One-Day Internationals against Australia.

Watch it disappear

Former presidential guard Malvin Taylor was earlier this month committed to stand trial in the High Court for the attempted murder of his wife and her sister.

Dear Editor, Standing Order 38(a) of the Guyana Police Force states: “The following Officers only are authorized to issue releases  to the Press on behalf of the Commissioner in respect of the subjects shown against their names: Assistant Commissioner                         –        Criminal matters Law Enforcement Traffic Officer                                               –        Traffic matters Public Relations & Press Officer           –        All releases with reference to other matters In every case, releases must be approved by the Commissioner of Police” Every Member of the Force without exception is duty bound to honour the Standing Orders of the Organization.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – Selectors have rung the changes for Barbados’ sixth round clash against Leeward Islands in the Regional Four-Day Champ-ionship this weekend, following the side’s embarrassing innings and 66-run defeat to Guyana on Monday.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Trinidad and Tobago have been boosted by the return of West Indies opener Adrian Barath, the only change to their 13-man squad to face Guyana in their sixth round Regional Four-Day match here this weekend.

ADELAIDE, Australia,  CMC – Australia’s selectors have dumped out-of-form Shaun Marsh but picked his Western Australia teammate Michael Beer in a 16-man squad for the Test tour of the Caribbean starting next month.

Pupils from Mon Repos Primary

Goed Fortuin Young Achievers (GFYA) and Berbice Training School will clash in the final of the Guyoil Trade Wind Tanker and Guyoil True Champion Volleyball tournament this Saturday at the National Gymnasium from 15:00hrs.

BEIRUT,  (Reuters) – Syria marks the first anniversary yesterday of an increasingly bloody uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, with recent army gains unlikely to quell the revolt and no diplomatic solution in sight.

Dear Editor, 2012 will see the 30th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict which followed Argentina’s illegal invasion of the Islands. 

A minibus driver accused of firing a gun at a man with intent was yesterday remanded to prison by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

MARACAIBO, Venezuela, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition candidate sharply criticized socialist President Hugo Chavez for having cancer treatment in Cuba rather than trusting doctors at home, saying it sends a terrible message to ordinary Venezuelans.

Dear Editor, Ms Karen DeSouza wrote a letter to the Editor of the Stabroek News which was published in its March 5, 2012 edition.

THE HAGUE,  (Reuters) – The war crimes court at The Hague found Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo guilty yesterday in its first ever ruling after a decade of work limited largely to Africa while major cases elsewhere remain beyond its reach.

Mon Repos Primary showcasing the use of the rainforest

CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – Several outstanding former West Indies players will tee off in the Sir Vivian Richards Celebrity Golf Tournament, scheduled for the Cap Estate Golf and Country Club here later this month.

Josea Barker was yesterday placed on $100,000 bail after denying that he stole a bangle.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica has registered with the Securities Exchange Com-mission (SEC) its plan to float up to US$1 billion (J$87b) of debt in the United States market to finance its budgetary requirements.

Two police constables on Tuesday were placed on $15,000 bail each by Magistrate Allan Wilson when they appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court accused of stealing a quantity of cash from a Brazilian man.

Tilapia science: Enmore Primary School

LIMA, (Reuters) – At least three protesters were killed and 32 people wounded yesterday as police in southeastern Peru clashed with wildcat, or illegal, miners opposed to a government crackdown on unauthorized gold mining, the interior minister and the ombudsman’s office said.

Dear Editor, I have a grievance with the Guyana Power and light.

MOSCOW,  (Reuters) – Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg is considering suing RUSAL over accusations that he failed to fulfil his duties as its chairman, intensifying a battle with rival oligarch Oleg Deripaska at the world’s largest aluminium producer.

DHAKA,  (Reuters) – Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the Asia Cup one-day tournament duo to a calf injury, skipper Mahela Jayawardene told a news conference yesterday.

LONDON/NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs faced an unprecedented assault from one of its own yesterday after a banker published a withering resignation letter in the New York Times, calling the Wall Street titan a “toxic” place where managing directors referred to their own clients as “muppets.”

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Brazilian prosecutors said yesterday they would file charges against a retired colonel over the disappearance of five guerrillas during the 1964-1985 military dictatorship, the first such case to be brought against any military officer from that era.

Stakeholders made submissions to be considered for the review of the RIO+20 Draft Guyana Stocktaking Report presented at a multi-stakeholder meeting on Saturday, as preparations move ahead for Guyana’s participation in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Brazil in June.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,  CMC – Bermuda suffered their second straight loss in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers played here  yesterday, when they went down by eight wickets to Hong Kong.

Dear Editor, Mr. Vassan Ramracha, a New York based freedom fighter against the former dictatorship, offered wise counsel to the PPP leadership in his missive `President Ramotar has to urgently consolidate his neglected base’ (SN Mar 12).

Life is about stories. What story do we harbour about ourselves?

Politikles

Dear Editor, I am beginning to enjoy the emerging gravitas and leadership being displayed by Finance Minister Ashni Singh; unlike many of the dinosaurs’ representing the major political parties. 

(Trinidad Express) The National Insurance Board (NIB) came under fire yesterday for a four-year-old million dollar investment in CLICO Investment Bank (CIB) instead of a more stable State enterprise.

Election 2011

One of the most ignorant sayings of all time is that attributed to George Bernard Shaw: “Those who can ‘do’, those who can’t teach” as it seeks to negate the teaching profession and the fact that most persons who ‘do’, unless they were born geniuses, are only able to ‘do’ because they were taught how to ‘do’.

(Reuters) – South Africa took full advantage of a green-tinged wicket and overcast conditions to reduce New Zealand to 62 for two at lunch on the first day of the second test at Seddon Park in Hamilton yesterday.

Regional Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) will focus on the progress of the elimination initiative and policy dialogue on the integration of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) into health systems when they meet in Saint Lucia from March 19-21, the CARICOM Secretariat at  Turkeyen said in a press release.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Rick Santorum is winning the hearts of Republican conservatives but the cold realities of time and math are working against his presidential election effort.

(Barbados Nation) The fire is still burning in the bosom of enthusiastic all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.

(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar offered to pay for her sister Vidwatie Newton on the first official trip she made as Prime Minister shortly after assuming office, high-level sources revealed yesterday.