Daily Archive: Saturday, April 20, 2013

(Trinidad Express) The following is the statement of the Congress of the People, signed by its political leader Prakash Ramadhar – The Time has come for the Minister of National Security, Jack Warner to exit this Government or be removed.

At about 1100h today, police say that a motor lorry and an unregistered ATV, travelling in opposite directions, collided on a turn along the trail at Frenchman, Siparuni.

After engineering the cut of the $1.25 billion provision from the national budget for the specialty hospital, the AFC is calling for the contract for the construction to be retendered, while the government is uncertain about the project’s future.

BANGALORE, India, CMC – Chris Gayle anchored a successful Royal Challengers Bangalore run chase to carry them to a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals and top of the Indian Premier League today.

(Trinidad Express) Police Constable Sherwin Legere was unable to access the TT$250,000 bail granted to him by a Port of Spain magistrate yesterday for causing the deaths of three people by dangerous driving.

(Trinidad Express) Jack Warner cannot continue to serve as a Minister of Government.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – A strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit a remote, mostly rural and mountainous area of southwestern China’s Sichuan province today, killing at least 102 people and injuring about 2,200 close to where a big quake killed almost 70,000 people in 2008.

ISLAMABAD,  (Reuters) – A Pakistani court remanded former president Pervez Musharraf in custody for two weeks today as judges pushed ahead with plans to put the former army chief on trial for a crackdown on the judiciary during his time in office.

Broadcaster Enrico Woolford yesterday moved to the courts to quash the decision of former President Bharrat Jagdeo to grant radio and television licences to 10 persons and entities, saying that his actions were unconstitutional.

The Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) has expressed “grave concern” that the manner in which radio licences in Guyana were recently assigned “poses a real and present danger to freedom of expression in general and press freedom in particular.”

The proposed $17.5B in budgetary allocations for the Ministry of Home Affairs escaped the scissors of the opposition last evening, after the AFC withdrew its motion to slash over $500M at the last minute.

Bartica resident Joel Joseph, 22, was yesterday sentenced to a four-year prison term after he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of an AK-47 assault rifle, which he said he was planning to use to commit robberies.

Essequibo farmers lined the Reliance to Anna Regina road yesterday with tractors and machinery on which they placed scarecrows to depict the deaths of their livelihoods due to the low paddy prices.

The Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana (AOAG) is concerned at the direction which the probe into last Saturday’s fatal crash at Sparendaam has taken and has written to President Donald Ramotar on the matter.

Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Director Zulfikar Mohammed says the N27-FT twin engine Piper Aztec plane that crashed into a house in Sparendaam last Saturday was accompanied by certified documentation confirming its airworthiness.

The University of Guyana (UG) must open up itself to the wider society to help students become rounded, if it is to become the university it aspires to be, Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Jacob Opadeyi said yesterday at an interfaith service that was held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the university’s ordinance.

Banks DIH Limited is installing 14 unitanks at its Thirst Park Complex, as part of a project that aims to modernise its brewery.

Amidst cuts made to GINA, NCN and GPL, the opposition on Thursday allowed budgetary allocations of $380.3M, meant to facilitate the payment of salaries to contracted workers at the Office of the President (OP), to go through untouched.

Former local government ministers Harripersaud Nokta and Clinton Collymore are among five of the highest-paid employees in the Ministry of Local Govern-ment, where they are employed as hinterland coordinator and advisor to the minister respectively.

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) says that when former President Bharrat Jagdeo spoke about a “resurgence” of feelings against Indo-Guyanese he was speaking from the premise of “equal opportunity for all.”

The opposition’s chopping of $5 billion from the $10.2 billion allocated to the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) puts the company in a precarious position and could leave government no option but to consider a tariff increase, Prime Minister Sam Hinds has said.

The PPP says cuts made to the budgetary allocations for the Government Information Agency (GINA), the National Communica-tions Network (NCN) and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) will lead to job loss as well as increased blackouts and/or increased electricity tariffs.

Belina Charlie, the miner who earlier this year had ventured up the pristine Kako River to mine against the wishes of Kako villagers causing them to fear pollution of their only source of water, moved out of the area last Saturday, according to an official of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA).

PANAMA CITY,(Reuters) – CONCACAF’s former leaders Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer were slammed as “fraudulent in their management” of the soccer confederation’s affairs by the head of the regional body’s Integrity Committee yesterday.

The Ministry of Labour does not have official statistics on illegal child labour throughout the mining sector, according to Minister Nanda Gopaul, who says the expansion of the industry has made it increasingly necessary for standard issue regulations to be developed to guide employment.

A mother of three is calling on the police to find the gunmen who carjacked her outside a city bank on Thursday afternoon and after having her drive around for hours abandoned her and the vehicle on a dam at La Grange, West Bank Demerara.

If international auditing firm KPMG had any concerns about the vast flows of sponsorship money going out of the bank accounts of one of its client, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF), to an agent company created and controlled by the client’s special adviser Jack Warner, it is not at all apparent in the unqualified statement covering three years of audited accounts the firm signed off on in 2008.

After weighing in at 126 and 125 pounds respectively, Raphael ‘El Potro’ Hernandez and multiple division title holder, Clive ‘The Punisher’ Atwell stood with their faces inches apart, their mouths moving at a rapid-fire pace as they shouted at one another.

Quick work by the police foiled a carjacking early yesterday morning and led to the arrest of two suspects.

Former Caribbean Under19 champion Kathy Shuffler made a classy return to competitive squash on Thursday night but was defeated by current Caribbean Under19 runner up Ashley deGroot on night two of the Ansa McAl-sponsored Senior Easter Squash Tournament at the Georgetown Club Squash Facility.

After five years and a US$1 million commitment the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is calling Guyana’s Centre of Excellence a success in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Guyana was the biggest winner at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation/ Travelmole Sustainable Tourism Award ceremony, which was held in Trinidad and Tobago during the fourteenth Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC14). 

(Reuters) – Can anyone stop LeBron James and the Miami Heat?

HARARE,  (Reuters) – Bangladesh will need to produce a record fourth-innings total to beat Zimbabwe in the first test after 16 wickets tumbled on the third day yesterday.

The Georgetown Cricket Association’s New Building Society (NBS) second division limited overs cricket competition will bowl off this weekend with two matches in each zone.

A D’Urban Street man yesterday became the fourth man charged with narcotics trafficking as a result of a recent police sting operation.

In the only match of the Georgetown Cricket Association/Hadi’s World Incorporated first-division competition scheduled for this weekend, Police Sports Club will be hosted by the Malteenoes Sports Club with  umpires Hortence Isaacs and Cyril Garnath starting proceedings at 9:30am each day.

(Cricinfo) For the second match in a row, Sunrisers Hyderabad turned it on in the penultimate over to clinch a tight victory and go top of the table, defying all pre-tournament predictions.

Moses Mootoo was sentenced to a 36-month-long jail sentence yesterday after he was found guilty of trafficking in narcotics.

By Juanita Hooper Following their outstanding performances at CARIFTA Games and the Police Progressive Youth Festival, athletes Cassey George, Tiranna Mitchell, Alita Moore, Jason Yaw, Jevina Straker and Avon Samuels are expected to once again dominate this weekend’s Wartsila-sponsored Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Youth/Junior Championships set for the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.

As far as dreams go, Ruqayyah Boyer is living hers. She returned to Guyana in February after spending three months away from home, the highlight of which was representing Guyana at the Miss Universe 2012 Pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

As the House last night examined the estimates for regions 1, 2 and 3, it remains clear that issues of sub-standard work and overpayment of contractors still need addressing as these were brought out through questions by the opposition.

Guyana is in dire need of a Rosa Parks; someone to stand up and say no.

Runners-up of the recent Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)/Noble House Seafood’s, second division competition, Georgetown Cricket Club has been lauded for their decision to hand over their prize money to the club.

Staff from the Robb Street branch of Scotia Bank on April 15, presented $1.5M to two organisations involved in cancer awareness and prevention programmes.

The annual Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Company (GTM) annual U19 Inter County three-day cricket competition  is set to commence Wednesday.

Hi Everyone, Cucumber sandwiches are often described as dainty and delicate, rarely are they thought of in the realm of eye candy, unless they are prepared as open-face sandwiches.

(BBC) Olympic champion Mo Farah says he is upset by suggestions he is competing in the London Marathon only for the money.

The Scene Cartoon

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – The genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was mired in uncertainty yesterday as judges squabbled over who should hear the case following an order to annul nearly a year-and-a-half of proceedings.

(Reuters) – American sprinter Shawn Crawford, who won the 200 metre gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has been banned for two years for failing to comply with out-of-competition dope testing even though his agent says he retired last year.

WATERTOWN, Mass.,  (Reuters) – Police captured a 19-year-old man suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings with his older brother after a day-long manhunt yesterday that closed down the city and turned a working-class suburb into a virtual armed camp.

Dear Editor, As the budget debate continues we seem to be losing sight of some fundamental principles.

WEST, Texas, (Reuters) – Investigators sifted through debris yesterday to determine the cause of a Texas fertilizer plant explosion that obliterated parts of a small town and killed at least 14 people, including volunteer firefighters who had raced to the scene in advance to douse a blaze.

TEGUCIGALPA, (Reuters) – A leading anti-money laundering official was shot dead late on Thursday in Honduras, which is struggling to cope with violent Mexican drug cartels.

Local fashion icon Sonia Noel has added makin’ style, a magazine, to her long list of accomplishments.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Mike Denness, the only Scotsman to captain England, has died of cancer at the age of 72, the BBC reported yesterday.

Dear Editor, Two things happened to me over the past week.

Car dealer Gunraj Raghubeer made his second court appearance in a week yesterday, when he was faced with another accusation of collecting money from clients but failing to deliver their vehicles.

(Reuters) – They dressed like typical American teenagers, enjoyed playing sports, were friendly and strived to fit in after arriving in the United States with their family from the southern Russian province of Dagestan a decade ago.

The crème de le crème of the nation’s bikers will battle for pole position on the West Demerara roadway tomorrow when national cycling coach Hassan Mohamed and Banks DIH Limited stage the Powerade 50-mile road race.

Seventeen short stories that speak to the resilience of the Haitian people; that country’s economic reconstruction following the devastation of the 2010 earthquake among other things are what make up Mark Jacobs’s book, What a Friend we have in Jesus.

Entertainment is headed to Better Hope next month in the form of the Chutney Mania show, slated for Saturday May 4, at the Community Centre Ground.

(Trinidad Express) Special Reserve Police officer Bernadette Fraser-Bailey, of King’s Peter Bay Road in Moriah, was stabbed in the head on Thursday during a domestic dispute with her common husband, a Guyanese national.

Dear Editor, The framers of our constitution, of which the PNCR was a major player, certainly had in mind the need for a coherent and trouble-free system of governance when it came up with the idea of an executive that could emerge from a plurality and not necessarily from a majority of the popular votes or seats in parliament.

Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran said the contract for the supply of drugs to the tune of $1.8 billion in 2013 was awarded through competitive bidding but acknowledged that there are problems in the systems to manage the storage and inventory of drugs procured.

MONTE CARLO, (Reuters) – Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal was taken to the brink by improving Bulgarian prospect Grigor Dimitrov before completing a 6-2 2-6 6-4 victory yesterday to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals.

Dear Editor, A recent editorial by Stabroek News in which it condemned former President Jagdeo for his comments as it relates to East Indians caught my attention.

Despite the inability of Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul to provide general unemployment statistics, the opposition on Thursday spared the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) from planned cuts of allocations in this year’s budget.

After Laugh is Cry, a stage production by Kingdom Dynamics, which will feature David Mann (Mr Brown of Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns fame) is set for May 19 at the National Park.

(Jamaica Gleaner) A local businessman involved in the trade of toilet paper has reportedly gone into hiding after it was discovered that his company had been packaging substandard products under the guise that they were imported from China.

ISLAMABAD,  (Reuters) – Pakistani police arrested former president Pervez Musharraf yesterday to face allegations he overstepped his powers while in office, marking a dramatic break with a political culture in which military rulers have remained untouchable.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – At least 13 people drowned when an overcrowded boat capsized early on Friday on a tributary near the mouth of the Amazon River, police said.

Dear Editor, When a columnist makes a charge of racism, if you do not particularly like his writings or his political credo you can simply dismiss his postulations as vacuous ramblings, but when the immediate past president of a nation makes those charges the entire nation should take note and ask some hard questions.

The Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) is set to make its second international appearance for this season at the 15th FINA World Championship in July.

DAKAR, (Reuters) – A U.S. drugs sting targeting Guinea-Bissau’s top military brass may freeze cocaine smuggling through the tiny West African state in the short term but could jeopardise efforts to restore order after a 2012 coup.

NEW YORK/LONDON, (Reuters) – Documents obtained by U.S. authorities investigating mining corruption in Guinea show Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz’s mining company promised to pay millions of dollars in Africa to win valuable mining concessions.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Nicolas Maduro was sworn in as Venezuela’s president yesterday at a ceremony attended by leaders from Iran to Brazil after a decision to widen an electronic audit of the vote took some of the heat out of a dispute over his election.

Last Friday, over 150 persons, including children and senior citizens benefited from a Health Ministry’s outreach clinic at the St.

Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, known for his award winning songs in films like Paap, Dabaang, Dabaang 2, My Name is Khan, Bodyguard and Singh is King, is set to perform at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday June 9.

Some nine teams are set to participate in tomorrow’s Hikers Hockey Club inaugural seven-a-side mixed hockey festival at the St.

Dear Editor, Minister Clement Rohee has found his voice. Since Mr Rohee feels that the no confidence motion passed against him in the National Assembly can be dishonoured, he has decided to emerge from his slumber and once again write drivel to the press.

Do you think you are entitled to women and their time?

Dear Editor, With reference to the letter in Stabroek News captioned ‘Can’t get pension from NIS’ (April 9) by Mr Grafton Bernard-Jones, requesting the payment of an Old Age Pension, please be informed that his appeal against the award of an Old Age Grant is not yet concluded.

This evening, the Indian Cultural Centre screens Chak De! India at its Lot 67 New Haven, Bel Air location.

  Two scarecrows used by Essequibo farmers to symbolise their plight

(Trinidad Express) Former CL Financial (CLF) chairman Lawrence Duprey and its former financial director Andre Monteil must testify at the Commission of Enquiry into the failure of CLICO and several CLF companies when the Enquiry resumes on April 29.

Mrs Thatcher’s success in moving British politics decisively to the right now seems unquestionable, and is perhaps best summed up in the ironic remark that her greatest legacy was the politics of Tony Blair and New Labour.

SHANGHAI,  (Reuters) – About 100 people could have died or been injured in a 6.6 magnitude earthquake which struck near Ya’an city in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan yesterday, close to where a massive temblor struck in 2008, killing almost 70,000.

Local conglomerate Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) under its Gatorade and Pepsi brands will continue to replenish pugilists competing in the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Under 16 tournaments after renewing their sponsorship deal Wednesady.

Anthony Alexander Collymore, 39, is wanted by the police for questioning in relation to fraud, the police force said yesterday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – Windward Islands produced a measured run chase to beat title-holders Jamaica by five wickets with an over to spare here Friday night, and book a place in Sunday’s Super50 final against Combined Campuses and Colleges.