Daily Archive: Sunday, March 10, 2013

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – West Indies coach Ottis Gibson said Sunday mystery off-spinner Sunil Narine had not been discarded but given time off from what had been a gruelling schedule.

(Reuters) – Ageless American Bernard Hopkins bettered his own record as the oldest man to win a world boxing title on Saturday, claiming the IBF light heavyweight crown with a convincing victory against an opponent 17 years his junior.

KABUL,  (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai ratcheted up his criticism of the United States today, marring a debut visit by the new U.S.

(Trinidad Guardian) Information on a case against the son of a senior government minister in the United States is hard to come by because the circumstances surrounding the case have been cloaked in secrecy, as authorities there are dealing with it through a sealed indictment.

University of Guyana (UG) Pro-Chancellor Dr Prem Misir says a decision is yet to be taken on raising current tuition fees.

(Jamaica Observer) Today marks the 109th year of Mathias McDonald’s life.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Executive chairman of GraceKennedy, Douglas Orane, has called for a dramatic change to the structure and governance of West Indies cricket.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Former Jamaica and West Indies fast bowler, Michael Holding, says it was ‘unrealistic’ for Clive Lloyd to run for president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) given his recent run-ins with the board over the Guyana government setting up an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to take control of the running of the sport in the South American country.

(Trinidad Express) Two men were arrested and almost TT$5 million worth of marijuana, together with an authentic United States military bulletproof vest were seized during a major drug bust in the Eastern Division on Friday afternoon.

(Trinidad Express) There could be another financial bailout on the cards for the T&T Government.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela has fired the starting gun in a highly charged election race likely to pit Hugo Chavez’s preferred successor, acting President Nicolas Maduro, against centrist opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

AMMAN,  (Reuters) – Syria’s opposition as postponed a meeting to form a provisional government, in the latest setback to opposition efforts to create an administration to take over if President Bashar al-Assad is ousted, coalition sources said today.

The ammunition used to kill the three men shot dead at Linden on July 18, 2012 is used by the police for hunting and not for controlling public disorder.

Story and photos by Shabna Ullah Edinburgh, East Bank Berbice is located five miles from New Amsterdam but the time and effort to manoeuvre around huge potholes to get there makes the distance seem much longer.

Although concerns persist about the quality of the jury pool, there continues to be scepticism about scrapping the jury trial system and Attorney General Anil Nandlall says that a case is still to be made to review the system.

A frustrated woman is calling for an improvement in the system set up to deal with violence in schools, after her 10-year-old daughter was attacked by a classmate who was armed with a compass.

Exceptionally high tides, waves and winds are predicted from this period until Friday and the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) is warning all vessels navigating in Guyana’s waters to navigate with extreme caution.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Veteran West Indies left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored his 65th first class century as Guyana produced a gallant effort before going down by 45 runs to Trinidad and Tobago, on a thrilling last day of their fourth round encounter of the Regional Four-Day Championship here  yesterday.

With his more celebrated Coco’s Cycling club mates, Raynauth Jeffrey and Junior Sportsman of the year Paul DeNobrega out of contention because of mechanical problems suffered during the course of the race, junior star rider Raul Leal stole the show and sprinted to his first victory of the cycling season.

At a time when the idea of dividing Test cricket into two tiers is again gathering influential support, the West Indies forthcoming Tests against Zimbabwe take on a special significance.

Ongoing screening and treatment programmes have helped to control the spread of tuberculosis (TB) in the prison system, but more can be done.

Alpha United Football Club coach Wayne `Wiggy’ Dover says that he will contest the post of president of the Guyana Football Coaches Association when that association stages its annual general meeting and election of office bearers today.

A key meeting between the government and opposition on the budget is yet to take place because of scheduling differences Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh said, and he brushed off criticism that the meeting at this juncture may mean little for the process.

Senior and junior athletes in and out of Georgetown will be on show today at the Guyana Defence Force ground, Camp Ayanganna when the Running Brave Athletic Club in conjunction with the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) host the first Developmental Meet for the season.

The firm contracted for the US$138 million expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri says that at least 40% of the workforce for the project will be made up of local workers, while the balance will come from China.

Women of Influence, a faith-based organisation that operates out of Central Corentyne, last Friday held a march and prayer session to mark the global observance of International Women’s Day.

The inaugural 10/10 softball cricket Challenge Series organized by local entertainer Kirk `Chow Pow’ Jardine in association with YOLO Entertainment and Productions will get cracking today from 10am at the Wales Community Development Centre ground.

Third division newcomers Buxton Heat found their rhythm in the second half and blew away Republic Bank Nets 76-54 yesterday during the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Super League at the Burnham outdoor basketball court.

Vanessa Dickenson was yesterday installed as president of the National Association of Women’s Football when that body held its Annual General Meeting at the office of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).

Christopher Matthias, General Secretary of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) has won the nomination of that club to contest the presidency of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Lavern Fraser, Acting President of the GFA said that the special general members’ meeting was called yesterday to deal specifically with the nomination for the GFF top post.

Minister Frank Anthony has revealed that as the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport goes forward in the development of the arts, it will establish, under one umbrella, the Institute of Creative Arts, a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs said the Sexual Offences Amendment Bill passed in the House on January 3, 2013 has been sent to the Office of the President for presidential assent, as it has been issued with an assent certificate by the Attorney General.

Digicel has launched its Hybrid Plan, a combination of post-paid and pre-paid plans, aimed at giving customers the best of both worlds.

Failure to meet strict sanitary and phyto-sanitary conditions have hindered the aquaculture export trade to countries within the region (like Trinidad and Tobago), which have huge import bills for aquaculture products.

Thirteen year-old emerging squash talent Rebecca Low is hoping to build on her recent success at the Bounty Farm Mash Handicap tournament to strengthen Guyana’s junior team for the Caribbean Area Squash Association’s (CASA) Caribbean Junior Championships this year.

A woman is beaten within an inch of her life by her partner and is forced to seek refuge with a friend whose husband then starts to make sexual advances.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Former Test star Jeff Dujon believes Clive Lloyd’s failed nomination for the post of West Indies Cricket Board president could have resulted from his involvement in the controversial Interim Management Committee in Guyana.

Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in to act as President of Venezuela by the National Assembly on Friday night, has hailed President Donald Ramotar as “an extraordinary man of the Caribbean”, according to the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The New Opportunity Corps (NOC) on Thursday received a quantity of sports gear including footballs, basketballs, volleyballs and table tennis and cricket gear from the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) said that it is time to end the violence of mal-development and deprivation that have diminished women’s roles in decision making fora.

An 18-year-old Sophia teen yesterday afternoon escaped serious injury and possible death when a bullet grazed the right side of his face while he was making his way home.

CAVE HILL, Barbados, CMC – Ryan Austin followed up Chadwick Walton’s second first-class hundred with another destructive spell of off-spin bowling to catapult Combined Campuses & Colleges to a 152-run victory over Leeward Islands in the Regional Four-Day Championship here yesterday.

Scarcity and  choice As a prelude to my intended discussion of the 2013 Annual National Budget after it is presented to the National Assembly later this month, in last week’s column I had started an appraisal of the management of government investment spending in Guyana.

Guyana yesterday lost another centenarian. Leah Allen of Bartica died one month short of her 104th birthday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Classy right-hander Vusi Sibanda grabbed the chance for precious match practice ahead of next week’s first Test with a fine half-century against the WICB’s High Performance Centre here yesterday.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela will hold a presidential election on April 14, officials said yesterday, as acting President Nicolas Maduro tries to benefit from an emotional outpouring for his late mentor, Hugo Chávez, and win his own term in office.

From a youth in Saints, dealing with Mr Singh and Mr Stanley Fernandes who taught us English, I was drawn to the intricacies of words and the shades of meaning that one could extract merely from word choice. 

The view of the opposition that a member of the National Assembly can be prevented from speaking is nothing but weird.

The C. Queen has landed! A vessel docked on land near Kingston yesterday.

Orrin Gordon, Chairman of the Interim Management Council of Linden will be the featured speaker at the Linden Media Forum scheduled for Friday at 11.30 am at the Linden Business Centre/Linden Enterprise Network on Republic Avenue, Linden. 

Consider yourself fortunate if you are right 51% of the time.

Venezuela’s late President, Hugo Chávez, was one of those figures about whom almost everyone had an opinion.

Conclusion Introduction Well, Mr Brassington has done it again. Like he did to me over the Berbice River Bridge Company, he wanted me to hold back a column while he committed NIS money to the Berbice Bridge.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Uhuru Kenyatta, indicted for crimes against humanity, was declared winner of Kenya’s presidential election yesterday, but rival Raila Odinga said he would challenge the outcome in court and asked supporters to avoid violence.

PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian protesters torched buildings in Cairo and tried unsuccessfully to disrupt international shipping on the Suez Canal, as a court ruling on a deadly soccer riot stoked rage in a country beset by worsening security.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security Jennifer Webster (at podium)  addressing the audience yesterday at an International Women’s Day event at the Red House lawns hosted by the Women’s Progressive Organisation (Photo by Arian Browne)  

On the moo-ve!  This Driver was having a hard time manoeuvring through these cattle at the intersection of D’Urban Street and Vlissengen Road.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s death will most likely mark the beginning of the end of Venezuela’s political clout in Latin America, but his influence inside Venezuela is likely to last for many decades.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – By leaving Venezuela under the cover of night and skipping a funeral ceremony for its late leader Hugo Chávez this week, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was once again trying to chart out a more moderate brand of leftism and send a clear signal to investors and diplomats.

Dear Editor, The Justice Institute Guyana welcomes the publication of the judgement in the case of  Chang v Guyana Geology & Mines Commission and the Isseneru Village Council.

A view of the structure which will be the Marriott Hotel from the Atlantic Ocean.

Moving on up – This massive structure being constructed at the corner of Lamaha and Albert streets will reportedly house a number of foreign food franchises.

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – The driver of the bus in which a young Indian woman was gang-raped and fatally injured three months ago hanged himself in New Delhi’s Tihar jail yesterday, police said.

What mighty contests rise from trivial Things -Pope The Rape of the Lock …divers coloured fans, whose wind did seem to glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool, and what they undid did – Shakespeare Antony and Cleopatra Guyana’s major national festival Mashramani exploded in colour, spectacle, performance, revelry and music in February 2013 as the nation celebrated its Republic anniversary.

Taking a breather: A manatee surfaces for air near the Kingston sea shore yesterday (Photo by Arian Browne)  

Dear Editor, I refer to my letter of 27th November 2012 which was published in your newspaper  concerning the Commission of Inquiry into the deaths of three persons from Linden and my expectation that the matter of ministerial responsibility as it is understood and practised within the Commonwealth would have been considered and a finding made by the Commissioners on the matter with reasons being given.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain should consider leaving the European Convention on Human Rights because it interferes with the government’s ability to fight crime and control immigration, Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May said yesterday.

(Trinidad Guardian) Deputy chairman of Transparency International (TI) Bertrand de Speville says T&T seems close to resignation in the anti-corruption fight and the public perceives the Integrity Commission (IC) as ineffective.

Dear Editor, The Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) wishes to thank you for allowing our response to a letter that was published in your March 8, 2013, edition under the caption, ‘Why does mail sent to Europe take months to arrive?’

The lime, citrus aurantifolia originated from South-east Asia and was quickly spread throughout Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe by the early traders and explorers. 

All the luck! This young fisherman showing off the big catch he made with his friends near the Kingston Seawall yesterday.

Dear Editor, The life of the late Pariag Sukhai, the former Chairman Region 3, was geared towards serving humanity and he was determined to work diligently towards developing Guyana.

It would appear that the late President Chávez is to join a select band of deceased leaders whose mortal remains have been embalmed and placed on public display.

Last week, we discussed the option of spaying/neutering as a method of pregnancy prevention. 

The Caribbean Media Corporation yesterday said that Trinidad was rocked by an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 early yesterday morning, but there were no reports of damage or injury.

Guyanese Collis Augustine was yesterday awarded as one of the 12 winners of the inaugural Scotiabank Bright Future Young Leaders Award.