Daily Archive: Thursday, December 20, 2012

To cheers in the Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) Camp Ayanganna auditorium President Donald Ramotar today announced a “one-month pay” to members of the disciplined forces.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – The gold deals the government is about to sign with Iamgold and Newmont mean at least 50% of gold revenues will stay in Suriname, Public Works (OW) Minister Ramon Abrahams stated at an event in Voorburg, Commewijne yesterday.

The failed $62M Kumaka, North West revetment works are being redone at the cost of $35.2M, Works Minister Robeson Benn disclosed to the National Assembly this afternoon.

Government seems to be backpedalling on the commitment it made to the Region Ten Regional Administration, the Opposition and the people of Linden with regard to the television station to the region, says former PNCR Member of Parliament Anthony Vieira.

(Jamaica Observer) The umbrella Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) is demanding a pay increase for its members, and minimum standards in schools that would see the scrapping of pit latrines for disposing of bodily waste.

A licensed firearm holder yesterday went to the rescue of a man who had just been robbed and managed to hold the two bandits.

The police say they are investigating the murder of Trevor Thomas, 19 years, of Lethem, which occurred at about 2300h last night at Mudhole Backdam, Eteringbang.

(Barbados Nation) Tension between Guyanese nationals arriving in Barbados and Immigration authorities appear to be easing.

(Barbados Nation) A 21-year-old Trinidadian woman who was studying at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies died yesterday morning after collapsing as she was preparing to go home for the Christmas break.

(Trinidad Express) The Police Service Commission (PSC) is in “wonder-land” over when a substantive Police Commissioner will be appointed in this country.

(Trinidad Express) President George Maxwell Richards may be stretching his constitutional right to request information from the Prime Minister about Section 34.

ALGIERS,  (Reuters) – President Francois Hollande acknowledged today France’s colonisation of Algeria had been “brutal and unfair” but he stopped short of an apology to the oil-rich North African state that Paris sees as a major trading partner.

(Trinidad Express) A report on the Chronic Non Communicable Diseases (CNCD) risk factor survey carried out in 2011 has shown that more than half of this country’s adult population is overweight or obese.

MOSCOW,  (Reuters) – Russia’s main concern in Syria is the fate of the country and not that of President Bashar al-Assad, President Vladimir Putin said today.

By Javone Vickerie Shock continued to grip the communities of Charity and Abrams Creek yesterday as they mourned the loss of six persons, including three children, after Tuesday afternoon’s boat collision near Siriki, in the Pomeroon River.

A man was fatally stabbed in an attack by another man at the Stabroek Market yesterday afternoon.

Six persons lost their home to a fire in Samaroo Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara early yesterday morning.

Following recent incidents, prison authorities have increased security for two high profile prisoners, Ministry of Health arson accused Collin Jones and alleged gang leader Tyrone ‘Cobra’ Rowe, Prisons Director Dale Erskine yesterday said.

Haslyn Hodge, who was accused of murdering the mother of his children, was set free yesterday after Justice Navindra Singh found there was insufficient evidence in the case.

President Donald Ramotar last evening formally declared Parliament Square, Brickdam open at a simple ceremony attended by government officials, diplomats and invited guests.

– GFF to honour outstanding monies owed to players early next year By Emmerson Campbell After weeks of silence, yesterday the top brass of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) at its Campbellville headquarters, answered several unanswered questions and also shed light on their expenditure for the year.

Preparatory ground work for the multimillion dollar specialty hospital at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara appeared stalled up to yesterday even as Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran maintained that the project was a “living one” and diverted questions about the status of the Indian line of credit for it to the Finance Ministry.

Zahir Abdul, 22, of Adelphi New Scheme, Canje, one of the four alleged bandits involved in a shoot-out with police was remanded to prison on Tuesday by Magistrate Adela Nagamoo-too at the New Amsterdam Court.

Castries, St Lucia – West Indies captain Darren Sammy has welcomed the Caribbean Premier League, saying “the time is right” for such an event to be staged in the cricket-loving region.

Three Bourda Market stalls were broken into and raided between Tuesday night and yesterday morning.

Opposition leader David Granger is asking the High Court to dismiss the motion by Attorney General Anil Nandlall to overturn Speaker Raphael Trotman’s ruling on limiting the participation of Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee in the National Assembly.

St John’s, Antigua – In light of media reports in the Asian sub-continent regarding the Pakistan tour of the West Indies in 2013, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) provides details regarding the scheduling of international cricket for the 2013 season: 1.

By Duncan Saul Blessed with silky moves, fantastic vision and a penchant for the extraordinary, Fruta Conquerors talismanic striker Vurlon Mills has certainly made a name for himself within the football fraternity.

LAS VEGAS, (Reuters) – A 20-year-old beauty queen who plays the cello and is a breast cancer advocate was crowned Miss Universe yesterday, the eighth time an American has won the pageant where the world’s most beautiful women parade in bikinis and ball gowns.

Participants from organisations in Peru, Bolivia, Jamaica and Guyana benefitted from a Volunteer Programme Development and Management (VPDM) course, which was conducted last month at the Lake Mainstay Resort, in Region 2.

MELBOURNE, Australia,  CMC – West Indies player Marlon Samuels produced a cameo all-round performance to propel Melbourne Renegades to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League here  yesterday.

A Port Kaituma man was yesterday fined a total of $28,000 after he pleaded guilty to drug possession and resisting a policeman.

SEOUL,  (Reuters) – South Korea’s first woman president, Park Geun-hye, will have her job cut out when she takes office in February with the economy slowing, her father’s autocratic rule still an issue for many and North Korea as unpredictable as ever.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – South Africa celebrated their long-heralded arrival at the summit of test cricket in 2012 while West Indies enjoyed their first world title since the team’s 1970s heyday with a maiden Twenty20 trophy.

The Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) made history when it graduated its first batch of teachers under its Associate Degree in Education (ADE) programme.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed to press for tighter gun laws early next year, as he sought to turn national outrage over the Connecticut school massacre into action to ban assault weapons and ensure better background checks on gun buyers.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Talks to avoid a U.S. fiscal crisis stalled yesterday as President Barack Obama accused opponents of holding a personal grudge against him while the top Republican negotiator called the president “irrational.”

HOBART,  (Reuters) – Sri Lanka will be hoping for help from wickets more suitable for spin bowling in the second two tests against Australia after losing the opener by 137 runs on a Hobart track described as a “minefield” by coach Graham Ford.

A man who told the court yesterday that he uses cannabis to treat his asthma failed to make any headway with Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Syrian rebels have captured at least six towns in the central province of Hama, activists say, in an operation aimed at putting pressure on President Bashar al-Assad from the north as insurgents close in on the capital from its southern suburbs.

A food safety seminar for school canteen operators was held on December 18 at the Ocean View International Hotel and Convention Centre at Liliendaal.

MIAMI,  (Reuters) – LeBron James says he is engaged in a “vendetta” against himself as he pushes himself to reach his physical peak and win a second straight NBA championship with the Miami Heat.

President Ramotar speaking with the wife of boat captain Harrinarine Bhagwandin

HOBART,  (Reuters) – Australia have put their squad into “quarantine” before next week’s second test against Sri Lanka to make absolutely certain there are no additions to their already lengthy casualty list, according to coach Mickey Arthur.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Security at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya was grossly inadequate to deal with a Sept.

Board of Industrial Training (BIT) training coordinator Coreen Connelly says that with effect from January 2013, a Driver/Salesman course will be added to the National Training Project for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE), a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said yesterday.

(BBC) Stand-in captain Eoin Morgan is backing his inexperienced England Twenty20 side to follow the Test team’s lead by upstaging India on their own turf.

The lone survivor from the wrecked boat Eli Orlando Rodrigues being consoled by Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai

TEGUCIGALPA, (Reuters) – Honduras’ congress passed a law on Tuesday to purge the police of corruption, a victory for the ruling party and President Porfirio Lobo after a recent conflict with the Central American country’s highest court.

(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has responded to President George Maxwell Richards’ written request for answers on the Section 34 fiasco, informing him that answers were already provided and action taken on the issue.

ZURICH/NEW YORK  (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors charged two former UBS traders yesterday with taking part in a multi-year scheme to manipulate Libor and other benchmark interest rates, making them the first individuals to be criminally accused in the international scandal.

Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul says that the government has no difficulty with the audit office probing its accounting for public funds and he hailed the current Auditor General, Deodat Sharma as someone who meets the requirements of the job.

Dear Editor, I have a few observations and questions about this ridiculous situation regarding all the agreements with the people of Linden, but especially with regard to the transfer of the TV station to them.

By Iva Wharton Guyana’s lightweight champion Revlon Lake said yesterday he was prepared for his rematch against Wonder Kid, Clive Atwell on December 28 at the Sophia Exhibition Site.

At play: Children at the Ruimveldt Aid Centre at play yesterday.

Blue Santas at GT&T’s light up last evening at the Promenade Gardens.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – A government official in Venezuela for the first time has raised the possibility that Hugo Chavez’s Jan.

OSLO,  (Reuters) – Norway, which has led developed nations by investing billions of dollars to slow tropical deforestation, announced plans yesterday to step up its efforts as part of “first aid” to slow climate change.

Dear Editor, Before sentencing a person found guilty of an offence a magistrate or judge  takes into consideration mitigating circumstances, pleas made on behalf of the accused by defence attorneys, probation or welfare officers, and sometimes the accused themselves, and as such the maximum penalty for that offence may not be unopposed.

(Reuters) – The Golden State Warriors staved off a late fourth-quarter challenge to beat New Orleans Hornets 103-96 for a successful home return on Tuesday.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Jessica Chastain carries the weight of starring in one of the year’s most anticipated films, “Zero Dark Thirty,” about the decade-long hunt and eventual killing of Osama bin Laden.

Big help: Michelle `Big Red’ King leading singing classes for children at the Ruimveldt Children’s Aid Centre yesterday.

Dear Editor, Many Guyanese are astounded that outsiders perversely reward the retrograde policies and actions of former President and de facto PPP boss, Mr Bharrat Jagdeo, which have resulted in low development for Guyana and its resources.

(Jamaica Observer) The Office of the Contractor General (OCG) says that it is appalled at the Cabinet’s challenge to its powers to access information needed to complete investigations into three major investment projects being pursued by the Government.

Dear Editor, News out of the Cayman Islands that lawmakers there passed a vote of no confidence on Tuesday ousting embattled Premier McKeeva Bush from office one week after he was arrested on suspicion of corruption, has many Guyanese everywhere asking: If it can happen in the Cayman Islands, why not Guyana?

 (Reuters) – Rani Mukerji, the pretty girl in the “Khandala” song, has played a firebrand reporter, an angel, a deaf-mute, con artist and even a cricket-obsessed woman disguised as a man — since her Bollywood debut in 1997.

Thursday’s Cartoon

Roadside treat for seniors: On December 18, 2012 around  80 senior citizens were hosted by the Roadside Baptist Skills Training Centre at No.68 Village, Corentyne.

  By Geoffrey Kemp and John Allen Gay   WASHINGTON, DC – One of the greatest challenges that US President Barack Obama will face in his second term is Iran’s pursuit of advanced nuclear technologies.

Government ends 2012 with its draconian abuse of the Guyana Chronicle, our State newspaper, showing no sign of relief.

Last Monday, Dwayne Jordan joined a small local group which seldom receives new members when he was sent to death row by Justice Navindra Singh to await his execution for the murder of his wife, Claudine Rampersaud, on June 14, 2007.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands,  (Reuters) – The Cayman Islands’ governor appointed Deputy Premier Julianna O’Connor-Connolly as premier of the British Caribbean territory yesterday, refusing a request by the ousted premier to dissolve parliament and call early elections.

(Trinidad Express) THE SON of calypsonian Mark John, aka Contender, was felled by bullets yesterday during a shoot-out with members of a gang from an area known as “Resurrection” in Carenage.