Daily Archive: Friday, July 27, 2012

The IMF says that Guyana’s economy continues to be resilient with impressive growth of 5% last year but it cautioned that the authorities need to accelerate reforms of the power company, GuySuCo and the NIS.

(Reuters) – An outstanding opening stand of 254 from Chris Gayle (150) and Kieran Powell (134) helped West Indies build a 91 run lead with four first innings wickets remaining after the third day of play in the first test in Antigua.

President Donald Ramotar has announced today his intention to visit Linden, tomorrow, Saturday, July 28, 2012, to meet the residents of Linden and civic stakeholders from the community.

The US Embassy in Guyana is warning US citizens to be careful in public owing to the “violent protests in Linden and ongoing protests in Georgetown in response to a rise in electricity rates.”

Anti-narcotics agents in Jamaica today netted more than 100 lbs of cocaine which was on board a cargo vessel that departed Guyana for that country last week.

(Reuters) – The former United States attorney appointed to investigate corruption in FIFA has promised a “fresh and independent” look at the various scandals which have dogged soccer’s governing body over years.

NAIROBI,  (Reuters) – The head of Venezuela’s embassy in Kenya was murdered at her official residence in the capital, police and foreign affairs ministry officials said today.

(Trinidad Guardian) T&T Cricket Board’s chief executive officer, Suruj Ragoonath, has said that surveillance cameras will soon be installed at the Sir Frank Worrell Development Centre at Balmain, Couva.

(Trinidad Guardian) Nigerian president Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan and a 70-member delegation will be the Government’s specially invited guests for next week’s  Emancipation celebrations.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Mobile operator Digicel Group has signed a US$17-million ($1.5b) financing arrangement with mobile banking outfit Boom Financial, formerly m-Via, to spearhead remittance products in the region.

(Jamaica Gleaner) As Jamaica prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Independence from Britain, the Government says it’s far advanced with steps aimed at replacing The Queen as the country’s head of state.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Olympic champion Usain Bolt says he may go for four gold medals by running the 4 x 400-metre relay in London.

The visit of diplomats from the US, UK and Canadian missions to Linden which was set for today is off.

Cabinet has agreed to the establishment of sub-offices of the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Police say that at about 2100h yesterday, ranks conducted a search on a Venezuelan National at Eteringbang Landing during which an unlicensed .45 Colt pistol with six rounds  was found.

The police say they are investigating the murder of Lakeram Persaud, 34 years of Lincoln Street, Enterprise, ECD, which occurred at his home at about 0545h today.

The mother of Prime Minister Sam Hinds has passed away at the age of 92.

(Barbados Nation) Prime Minister Freundel Stuart says Barbados is at the crossroads and wants all Barbadians to pull out the stops and be more productive.

OSLO,  (Reuters) – It is just a matter of time before the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad falls because its use of massive force is mobilizing insurgents, General Robert Mood, the former head of the U.N.

Three persons, including a pregnant woman, died on the spot yesterday morning when the car they were travelling in sped out of control and landed in a ditch at Friendship, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Chris Gayle benefitted from a huge slice of fortune and marked his return to Tests with a typically flamboyant half-century to lead a strong West Indies reply against New Zealand in the first Test yesterday here.

The Public Utilities Commis-sion (PUC) yesterday ordered Digicel to immediately withdraw all advertising of new rates even as the company declared that it is willing and ready to fight any legal action its competitor, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) mounts, and will aggressively defend its legal right to provide low cost international calls.

LONDON,  CMC – Team doctor of Jamaica’s track and field outfit, Winston Dawes, says Usain Bolt is fit and ready for the Olympics despite lingering public concerns over his fitness.

Crime Chief Seelall Persaud has said that there are currently too many gaps in the investigation of last Wednesday’s fatal shooting at Linden for charges to be laid and he is appealing to residents of Linden who have information on the circumstances to come forward.

Several high-profile PPP members employed on a contractual basis by the Office of the President (OP) are among more than 180 persons not receiving monthly payments of wages and allowances as a result of the opposition-led cuts on the 2012 National Budget, according to information released by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Pau Gasol said yesterday he felt like a “beast” after working hard to prepare for his pivotal role in Spain’s bid for Olympic hardware in basketball.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – All eyes turn to London today for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, an exuberant journey from Britain’s idyllic pastures through the grime of the Industrial Revolution and ending in a contemporary world dominated by popular culture.

By Emmerson Campbell The Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) will come alive tonight when the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) stages its 25th edition of its Fight Night Pro Am card.

Headquarters (HQ) with a commanding lead of  213,  trailed by  their closest rivals ‘A’ Division on 130 points, is set to be the top athletics division as the police athletics championships wind down today with a keenly anticipated contest in the men’s 1500 metres.

The Local Government Ministry’s decision to install Carol Sooba to act as Town Clerk for the Georgetown Municipality was yesterday met with a protest from city council workers and a union, who said that she was not qualified for the post.

The Guyana Government is working on several options for the mining industry in face of the impending ban on the trade in mercury, according to Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud.

The unfair treatment meted out to hinterland athletes could act as a deterrent to others in interior locations, according to Brian Rodrigues of the Rupununi Athletics and Sports Academy.

A 58-year-old man yesterday pleaded guilty to beating his wife with a broom and pulling a knife on her when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon says that government will continue to engage in regular “constructive” discussions with the relevant stakeholders to resolve the unrest at Linden, while noting that cabinet is unhappy with the disruption to business that the continuing protests there has caused.

After four hours waiting at the Georgetown Public Hospital to meet with a doctor, Dexter Scotland, one of the shot Linden protestors, was admitted as a patient and is awaiting surgery to the face.

The Demerara Cricket Club defeated the touring side from New York, Atlantis Cricket Club, by five runs in a thrilling finish at the club’s ground in Queenstown on Wednesday.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC-Indian Premier League (IPL) stars Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine will play for Trinidad and Tobago in the Champions League T20 Competition, Sports Minister Anil Roberts has said.

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand informed the National Assembly on Wednesday that the new University of Guyana (UG) Council is almost fully constituted, with only two organisations still to identify their nominees.

Former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran is calling on either Minister of Finance Dr.

The Inverhaugh Cricket Club is on its first tour to Guyana and is set to play four matches against select teams in Demerara and Berbice starting tomorrow.

Bank of Guyana (BoG) Governor Lawrence Williams has been seeking to allay fears that the decision to introduce a new $5,000 note will trigger inflation in the country’s economy.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,  CMC-Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is banking on home advantage to inspire his team to victory at the ICC World Twenty 20 in September.

With protests continuing in Linden over the imposition of higher electricity tariffs, the town’s New Building Society (NBS) branch has not been in operation and account holders have been left without access to their funds.

The banking sector continues to be guarded in response to questions that have been raised by this newspaper about how local commercial banks propose to respond to a new United States law, which requires foreign banks and other agencies to provide the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with financial information pertaining to account holders and investors holding US citizenship.

A Jamaican who said he came here to see his daughter was on Wednesday fined $30,000 and ordered to be deported for illegally entering Guyana when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

LONDON, UK –  CMC– British Virgin Islands (BVI) top sprinter Tahesai Harrigan-Scott is seeking to rekindle her confidence as she prepares to run in the first round of the women’s 100m in the Olympics on August 3.

High hopes for another year of record production in the country’s gold industry are doing little to conceal the escalating tensions between government and the sector over what the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) perceives as a battle by gold miners to stave off government’s attempts to tighten its control over the sector.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC -West Indies cricketer Dwayne Bravo sustained slight injuries following a vehicular accident on a major high way running through central Trinidad Wednesday, local media have reported.

Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on Monday referred Akeem Charles, who was accused of cursing and threatening to kill his mother, for counselling.

Dear Editor, The debate on the Linden deaths, and, prominently, the causes of the protest, are essentially and critically political.

Dear Editor, All countries with market economies outlaw monopolies since they can, by setting either the level of supply or price, optimize their profits to the detriment of consumer surplus.

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Indian athletes who win Olympic gold in London will receive another gold medal weighing five kilogrammes, business conglomerate Sahara Group said yesterday.

It’s not just the high-priced, high-profile, well financed development projects that make an impact.

Central American and Caribbean countries can reduce their oil dependency and shield themselves from high oil prices through a combination of renewable energy, energy efficiency programmes and regional energy integration, says a new World Bank report.

BIRMINGHAM, UK,  CMC– Captain Michael Frater says he believes the world will be gunning for Jamaica at the summer Olympics in London as a result of his country’s exploits in Track and Field.

One year after it was established with the objective of equipping female entrepreneurs in Region Four with the knowledge, skills and support to develop sustainable businesses, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Network (WENET) is looking to the wider corporate s community to help keep alive the ideal of strengthening the entrepreneurial base among Guyanese women.

Work ethic awardees

University of Guyana (UG) students Ryan Hoppie and Onika Stellingburg  were selected this month to  represent  the University of Guyana at the annual One World Youth Project Summer Training Conference in Boge Village, Kosovo.

Dear Editor, Mr Horace Williams hit the nail on the head with his observations in a letter captioned ‘We should be designing energy-efficient buildings‘ (SN, July 8).

The perjury charge against  Anand Sanasie in his capacity as Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has been adjourned to September 28 for report.

ST CROIX, US Virgin Islands, CMC-Defending champions Trinidad and Tobago breezed past Guadeloupe and Jamaica brushed aside The Bahamas in their opening matches Wednesday night at the 14th Senior Women’s Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Championship.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. government should block a bid by China’s state oil company CNOOC for Canadian oil company Nexen until China’s government provides fair access for U.S.

Dear Editor, Of all the preposterous things I’ve heard, few can beat the statement made yesterday in the National Assembly by Minister Robeson Benn, that “The Demerara Harbour Bridge is in its best state” now.

Every fortnight, on Sunday, Edith Adams departs Moruka in a small boat powered by a 15 horse-power engine for a trip to Charity that takes up to nine hours.

Dear Editor, Once again I am forced to highlight a matter of grave concern hoping to draw attention to the combined opposition, human rights, Red Thread and any other organization that could help address this situation with fairness, and to have measures put in place swiftly so that the management of Buddy‘s Pool Hall and Night Club could carry on their business in a more humane manner and stop this gross display of arrogance and abuse of power, thereby bringing some kind of justice and relief to myself and family.

Local commercial banks have restated their preparedness to help finance the growth of the small business sector in Guyana, but maintain that lending decisions will continue to be based on judgements that are rooted in the soundness of such entities.

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – Doctors are “”cautiously optimistic” that former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher will regain sight in his left eye, they said yesterday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo./NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Google Inc made its foray into the market for bundled Internet and television services on Thursday, promising access speeds more than 100 times faster than those of traditional U.S.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment signed a $33M agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the execution of a six-month project aimed at developing a comprehensive strategy that will be adopted as a policy for sustainable management of Guyana’s natural resources.

AMMAN/BEIRUT,  (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad’s forces renewed a ground and aerial bombardment of Aleppo  yesterday, extending efforts to crush rebels in Syria’s commercial capital in what the United States said it feared could become a massacre.

Amid concern that official indifference to the plague of pirated text books will allow the practice to persist and in the face of the unrelenting assault from pirates, Lloyd Austin, proprietor of Austin’s Bookstore, the city’s largest, has had to effect still more cuts to orders for text books.

A Trinidadian who came to Guyana for vacation with his wife and children yesterday appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry accused of  unlawfully assaulting his wife.

Dear Editor, Mr Navin Chand has assailed the Sunday, July 22, Stabroek News editorial.

(Reuters) – Former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam has been provisionally suspended by soccer’s governing body only a week after his life ban for bribery was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Head of Corporate Affairs and Forestry Planning at Barama Company, Mohindra Chand, has been named the new President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) to replace

HAVANA,  (Reuters) – Cuba adopted a new tax code this week and said it would loosen regulations on some state companies while turning others into cooperatives, as one of the world’s last Soviet-style economies moves in a more market-friendly direction.

Dear Editor, I wish to respond to Mr Claude Raphael’s letter in the Stabroek News of July 20 in relation to some of his unwarranted and inaccurate statements on the Essequibo Cricket Board.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Top seeded Roger Federer could meet Britain’s Andy Murray in the Olympic tennis final in a repeat of Wimbledon earlier this month, after the pair were drawn on opposite sides of the competition yesterday.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – China will try Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Politburo member Bo Xilai, on charges of murdering a British man, state media said on Thursday in the latest turn in a scandal that has rocked the government in Beijing and could bring Gu the death penalty.

Business Cartoons

The much-anticipated 30th Olympiad begins today in London and the British, at least, are eagerly awaiting the revelation of who will be afforded the honour of lighting the Olympic Flame to signal the official commencement of the Games.

Dear Editor, With reference to a letter dated April 18, 2012 published by Kaieteur News under the caption, ‘The Home Affairs Minister has over stepped his bounds,‘ that also mentioned bureaucratic officials, the Chief Justice, Commissioner of Police, Chief of Staff, et al, it was alleged to have been written and signed by me, Alfred Johnson, ex Police NCO 8753.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt will carry Jamaica’s flag at today’s opening ceremony of the London Olympics, the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) said yesterday.

Music at the Museum: Famous indigenous Northern Plains Flute player, JJ Kent (left) playing the flute at the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology yesterday to an engrossed audience of young children as well as some adults.

(Trinidad Express) Anger has turned to pleasure as the Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) yesterday received TT$2 million with another TT$2 million promised from the State for this year’s Emancipation celebrations.

SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Murders and robberies are soaring in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city and financial capital, in a crime wave that could further hurt the local economy and have national political implications.

Several months ago in an interview with this newspaper, General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis, expressed concern that business houses had become so preoccupied with profits, they were increasingly unmindful of matters that have to do with the welfare of their employees.

Politikles

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 469’s trading results showed consideration of $12,794,079 from 520,826 shares traded in 21 transactions as compared to session 468 which showed consideration of $27,835,818 from 167,638 shares traded in 17 transactions. 

The article ‘Harbour bridge reopens to light traffic,’ in the Thursday, July 26, 2012 edition of the Stabroek News, incorrectly quoted Minister of Transport Robeson Benn as saying that although the Demerara Harbour Bridge officials knew that the temporary support system of the bridge was weak, they allowed heavy duty vehicles to traverse.

Four, five days from today it’ll be time for the observance, the celebration, the jollification – soirees marking the anniversary of the 1838 emancipation of enslaved Africans from the British– owned sugar plantations of the British Guiana Colony.

(Trinidad Express) Chairman of Medcorp Ltd Dr Kongsheik Achong Low has been found negligent in the death of a 36-year-old patient.