Daily Archive: Saturday, May 5, 2012

A Partnership for National Unity today said that Sandra V. Jones will be sworn in, on Monday 7th May 2012, as the new GECOM Opposition Commissioner to replace the late Robert Williams.

(Jamaica Observer) Telecommunications company DIGICEL said staff at its New Kingston office was upset by the conduct of officials of the Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) and police personnel which resulted in them being inconvenienced.

Caricom foreign ministers who convened in Suriname on May 3-4 have described Venezuela’s objection to Guyana’s application for an extended continental shelf as regrettable.

The police are on the hunt for the driver who struck down and killed a La Grange, West Bank Demerara, fish vendor early this morning.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The first day of the tour match between West Indies and Sussex Sharks at the Probiz County Ground in England was abandoned because of rain.

The Associated Press reported today that a medical emergency flight crashed near St.

The police say they are investigating an incident that occurred at about 1320h yesterday at Cove and John, ECD, where businessman Neil Beer, 51 years, was shot to his back while at the home of his brother who is a licensed firearm holder.

SAN JOSE,  (Reuters) – Costa Rica’s transport minister resigned on Friday following reports of corruption in his ministry, making him the second member of President Laura Chinchilla’s Cabinet to fall victim to a scandal in barely a month.

UNITED NATIONS,  (Reuters) – The United States must do more to heal the wounds of indigenous peoples caused by more than a century of oppression, including restoring control over lands Native Americans consider to be sacred, a U.N.

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba, (Reuters) – The arraignment of five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the Sept.

BAMAKO, (Reuters) – Malian fighters from the Ansar Dine Islamist group attacked and burned the tomb of one of the town’s saints, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, residents and a regional official said today.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Lackin claimed that Surinamese, including highly placed officials and even legislators, want to malign Suriname by providing false information about the amnesty issue to international organizations with the intention to undermine or prevent positive developments in the country.

Tragedy struck early this morning in the small riverain community of DeVeldt, Berbice River when a bauxite tug ran over a small launch killing at least one man.

(Barbados Nation) LONDON – English county side Somerset have decided against taking legal action against West Indies batsman Chris Gayle for breach of contract.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday accused the government of locking off more than $50 billion through holding company NICIL and declared that the opposition will use its parliamentary majority to ensure this matter is investigated fully.

Aman Lallchand, once charged with murder and implicated in a series of high-profile robberies, was gunned down in a drive-by shooting last evening in Charlestown, a corner away from his home.

Guyana has slipped from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ in the Freedom House rankings for freedom of the press in 2011, in a period that has seen countries moving positively along the index following social media-goaded upsurges resulting in democracy taking hold there.

Negligent koker attendants were yesterday on the receiving end of bitter insults from residents of flooded sections of Riverview, Ruimveldt after they left a sluice door, leading to the Demerara River, open.

The National AIDS Committee (NAC) has taken the government to task over what it sees as the administration’s failure to date to address public health issues which have hampered the fight against HIV/AIDS.

While congratulating Sandra Jones on her selection to serve as an opposition-nominated member of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom), the AFC yesterday accused Opposition Leader David Granger of closing the door on broader representation on the body.

Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh yesterday announced a further cut in the excise tax on gasoline, in light of the recent increase in fares by minibus operators.

Former Police Commissioner Henry Greene violated professional ethics and took advantage of the vulnerability of the woman who later accused him of raping her, according to the Women and Gender Equality Commission.

Relatives of the underage girl, who was allegedly raped by a 62-year-old shopkeeper in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, want police to speedily bring the man to justice so as to avoid the risk of a recurrence.

Almost two months after a 10-year-old girl was found with visible marks of violence about her body, the man who allegedly abducted and attempted to rape her remains on the run while police and the Child Care and Protection Agency continue their investigations.

Slain taxi driver Renie Williams had been a witness in a murder case, according to background checks done by police.

The second suspect that has been linked to the murder of 18-year-old Nikita Ramischand is said to be Guyanese and is believed to have fled here as well.

By Iva Wharton Distance athletes Alika Morgan and Samuel Kaitan returned from Suriname recently where they finished first and second respectively in the Telesur 10K championship.

HOVE, Sussex,  CMC – West Indies had their first full practice session under bleak skies here yesterday, weather that is likely to be a foretaste of conditions during the upcoming three-Test series starting later this month.

An autopsy performed on the remains of Kelroy Kazer, who died after he was evicted from a Route 32 minibus, after he appeared to be sick on Sunday, revealed that he died from Tuberculosis.

By Iva Wharton Acting General Secretary of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Damien Hughes has described the contents of a letter written by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) in relation to their objection to the process by which Guyana’s Alpha United were eliminated from the CFU Club Championships as “unfortunate and inappropriate.”

Canadian oil exploration company CGX Energy says that it is still doing work on its Eagle-1 well off the Corentyne coast.

Dear Editor, The New Building Society (NBS) held its AGM recently which just under 200 persons attended, something which has been the norm for the past 5 decades.

By Cosmo Hamilton As seasons go in continents such as North America and Europe winters are cold and austere.

The inaugural Guyana Food, Arts and Music (FAM) Festival is expected to boost the local tourism sector.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s absence from the spotlight, his creation of a formal advisory committee, and media leaks of medical details are feeding speculation of a downturn in his nearly year-long battle with cancer.

By Jairo Rodrigues Mariatha Causway also known as Jennifer Thomas has been immersed in drama from as far back as she can remember.

The Lusignan Golf Course will come alive today in a specially arranged Farewell tournament for former Vice President of the Club Esan Shamshudin.

Dear Editor, My initial reaction was to ignore statements by NCN, GINA, and Ministers Ganga Persaud, Norman Whittaker and Irfaan Ali dealing with the City of Georgetown.

Roman Catholic bishops from across the region have expressed concern at the amnesty law recently passed by Suriname’s National Assembly and warned that it could have an adverse impact on human rights trials.

GT&T’s Feel the Beat is just about to wrap up and The Scene would like to go down memory lane just before the semi-finals next week.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Haitian lawmakers approved the nomination of a close adviser to President Michel Martelly as prime minister on Thursday, raising hopes of ending a political stalemate that has stalled reconstruction efforts after Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake.

Twenty seven teams will compete in today’s `Jumbie and Pumpkin’ dominoes tournament which takes place at the Bluebirds headquarters, 1222 Gaulding Place, South Ruimveldt.

Dear Editor, While it is never my intention to respond to every letter written about me or the entity I am responsible for, permit me to respond to Mr Alfred Bhulai, a well-known contributor to your letters column and a political activist, whose letter appeared in the May 3, 2012 edition of your news paper entitled ‘As Commissioner-General of the GRA Sattaur should not allow it to appear as if he is making or defending government policies.‘

Taxi driver Rajendra Puran, who was found with his hands and feet tied at Enmore, East Coast Demerara on Thursday, died as a result of strangulation and blunt trauma to the head.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – China said yesterday that blind dissident Chen Guangcheng could apply to study abroad, a move praised by U.S.

A city zookeeper was yesterday sentenced to six months imprisonment for assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

Dear Editor, It was very disheartening to follow the budget debate.

Hi Everyone, There is one particular vegetable that I buy every week when I go to the market – Okra – even when it is selling for BDS$6 (GUY$540) a pound.

By Neil Barry Jr., Demerara Cricket Club’s `A’ team showed why they are rated ahead of their `B’ side when they defeated them comfortably by 53 runs in the seventh round game of the Brainstreet U-15 competition which was played last weekend.

Keisha Edwards presents her third annual fashion show on May 11 at 8 pm at the Theatre Guild under the theme ‘Fierce Expressions: Steps that lead to Now’, which focuses on the positive and negative during the growth as a fashion designer.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – LeBron James woke from a third-quarter slumber to lead the visiting Miami Heat to an 87-70 thumping of the New York Knicks on Thursday and a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.

Several plastic and styrofoam boxes at the koker door at

Dear Editor, For the first time we learnt from page 17 of SN April 26, 2012, what the salary of a Regional Executive Officer was.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. employers cut back on hiring in April and more people stopped looking for work, troubling signs for President Barack Obama whose re-election prospects could hinge on his handling of the economy.

Repeat offender Marlon Bradshaw was yesterday sentenced to 18 months imprisonment when he appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and admitted to stealing a four-year-old’s earrings.

A resident of Victory Valley still bailing water from

A woman accused of removing the stairs used by her tenant to gain access to their upper flat apartment was placed on $15,000 bail when she appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

MEXICO CITY,  (Reuters) – The bodies of 23 people were found hanging from a bridge or dismembered in ice boxes and garbage bags in northeastern Mexico on Friday, in an escalation of brutal violence involving rival drug gangs on the U.S.

Dear Editor, I appeal to Mr K Juman Yassin, President of the Guyana Olympic Association and Mr Colin Boyce, President of the Athletics Association of Guyana, to go on record and prove that Mr Christopher Ram is totally wrong about sports administrations not producing financial reports.

The Malteenoes Sports Club ground will see a return of first division cricket in almost two years when the home team clash with Transports Sports Club in a match of the Georgetown Cricket Association Heroes Cup competition.

Saskia Hardt, wife of the US Ambassador to Guyana Brent Hardt has graciously accepted the role as the patron of the event ‘Better Living 2012 and Glamorous… walking on sunshine’, the climax of the reality television series – Guyana Model Search (GMS)/Designers’ Portfolio (DP).

The NGC Bocas Lit Fest held last week in Port of Spain is a timely reminder that however bleak political and cultural life in the West Indies may seem from time to time, at least Caribbean literature is alive and well.

Dear Editor, I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate our journalists and media workers on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

The Guyana National Museum on Thursday opened its annual “Indentureship Exhibition,” in

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) – Argentina’s Congress nationalized the country’s biggest oil company, YPF, by an overwhelming lower house vote on Thursday that underscored broad popular support for a measure that threatens to scare off foreign investment.

I often wonder how many women settle for relationships that are not mutually satisfying.

Two men are in custody and are expected to face charges soon after one of them allegedly attacked a policeman with a knife and later stole his gun.

The curtain will come down on the Hadi’s City Mall softball competition today with the staging of the semi-finals and finals at the Ministry of Education (formerly Guyana Softball Cricket Association) ground.

By Jairo Rodrigues Natayha Whaul is relatively new to the drama stage.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Digicel has secured a court order barring Tax Administration Department (TAJ) from extracting information from its servers.

(Barbados Nation) Heavy rainfall yesterday triggered flooding and the forecast is more of the same over the weekend.

(Trinidad Express) Twenty people were held up and robbed by three gunmen who stormed the St Vincent Street, Port of Spain, branch of Island Finance on Thursday afternoon.

(Trinidad Express) Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday the Opposition supports Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in her position that there was no need for a referendum on pulling away from the Privy Council and moving to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final court of appeal.

(Trinidad Express) Say sorry. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Finance Minister Winston Dookeran must apologise for creating a national “scandal” and misleading the people of this country on the true financial position of Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL), says Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley.

(Trinidad Express) Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) recorded a consolidated unaudited loss of US$52.8 million (TT$339.5 million) for 2011, while Air Jamaica recorded an unaudited loss of US$38.1 million (TT$ 245.2 million).