Daily Archive: Tuesday, July 16, 2013

PANAMA CITY,  (Reuters) – Panama seized a North Korean cargo ship it suspects was hiding missile equipment in a shipment of brown sugar from Cuba, after a standoff in which the ship’s captain tried to slit his own throat.

(Reuters) – Rhythm and blues singer Stevie Wonder said he will not perform in Florida until the state discards a “stand your ground” law that played a prominent role in the defense of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman who was acquitted in a racially charged murder trial.

(Reuters) – Half-brothers Darren and Dwayne Bravo provided the foundation for success as West Indies beat Pakistan by 37 runs today to win the second one-day international in Guyana and tie the five-match series.

Amid months of controversy over whether his contract should be renewed, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) today took a majority vote not to renew the contract of embattled Chief Election Officer (CEO) Gocool Boodoo.

Amid a spate of armed robberies yesterday that included murder, the main opposition APNU today again demanded that President Donald Ramotar revoke the appointment of Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee.

GPL says that 37,000 consumers in Demerara, particularly in Georgetown, will see a significant decrease in blackouts as well as shorter periods of outages dues to “extensive infrastructural work conducted at the Sophia 69 kv Substation” last Sunday.

(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said last night that former government minister Jack Warner should be investigated for criminal conduct as it relates to an exclusive Sunday Express investigation which found that he solicited millions from businesses using ministerial office.

An Air Services Limited (ASL) aircraft crashed into thick vegetation about a mile from the airstrip at Matthews Ridge, North West District, Region One yesterday morning and Minister of Transport Robeson Benn said bad weather appears to have been a factor.

Armed bandits invaded a shop in Guyhoc Park last evening with the intention to rob but abandoned their plan and discharged rounds after customers began pelting them with bottles; in the end a 37-year-old man was killed and a suspected bandit shot and wounded.

The owners of two business establishments were counting their losses yesterday afternoon after bandits relieved them both of undisclosed sums of cash and escaped with ease.

With former world 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell and four other Jamaicans facing certain bans for failing drug tests, the spotlight has fallen on his Canadian trainer Chris Xuereb amid conflicting reports yesterday from Italy that police searches had found drugs in several rooms where the athletes are now encamped.

A suspected bandit was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) last evening after he was shot to the groin during an attempted robbery at Agricola, on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) Dr Steve Surujbally said yesterday that the Gecom Board will discuss today, among its agenda items, the revelations by Opposition Commissioner Vincent Alexander.

The Guyana Karate College (GKC) represented its country proudly by placing second behind Barbados in the tenth annual Caribbean Karate Championships this past weekend at the Barbados Community College Gymnasium in Barbados.

Gunmen yesterday committed a daring mid-morning robbery at a Laluni Street, Queenstown dental clinic where they posed as customers.

The West Indies will be seeking to bounce back after their atrocious 126- run loss to Pakistan in the first one day international of the five-match series at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence on Sunday.

Marlon Ganesh, who fatally stabbed his father-in-law Roopnarine Singh after an argument, was yesterday sentenced to 8 years in jail after he was found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

(Caribbean Premier League) Georgetown, Guyana – Just weeks before the inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League T20 Tournament gets underway, the Guyana Amazon Warriors have had to make some changes to their team as young Ronsford Beaton, one of the team’s under-23 players, has been placed on the injured list, and will be unable to participate.

Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran yesterday an-nounced that he has instructed that a multi-agency committee-made up of women’s rights groups and others-to inspect the maternity wards at public hospitals in an effort to address the troubling issue of maternal death.

After finishing fifth in the feature 35-lap event of the 2nd annual Malta Supreme 11-race programme on Saturday in the National Park, Robin Persaud took his talents to the open roads of Berbice on Sunday and was victorious.

A burst sewerage line caused a huge stink at the corner of Hadfield and Smyth streets yesterday, flooding the area just behind the Brickdam Police Station with sewage and inflicting discomfort.

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) and cane cutters are denying that there was a strike on Sunday following a turf dispute fuelled by a decision to allow Skeldon estate workers to harvest cane at Albion estate.

A mixed jury was empanelled yesterday to preside over the murder trial of the two men accused of the Lusignan massacre after a voir dire was held for the selection of the jurors.

Inexperience was the main ingredient that caused the national under-19 ruggers’ cookie to crumble at the eight-day North America and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 15s tournament which concluded in Trinidad on Saturday.

Miner Neon Howard, who was allegedly held with a sub-machine gun during a confrontation where his companion was shot by police, was remanded to prison on weapons charges yesterday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Authorities have arrested 255 alleged child predators in the United States and eight other countries in an operation led by a US agency that illustrated a growing trend called “sextortion” in which children are blackmailed into providing pornographic images of themselves, officials said yesterday.

In a letter appearing in our edition of Saturday, July 13, 2013 captioned ‘Paddy prices paid to farmers are not the same as last year’ there was a typographical error in one of the figures quoted.

In an effort to educate individuals on the art of steelpan making, the Tina Insanally Foundation yesterday officially opened the Chapman Steelpan Workshop.

AVIGNON, France, (Reuters) – Alberto Contador has already won the Tour de France twice and the Spaniard is not ready to settle for second this time even though he enters the final week of the race trailing overall leader Chris Froome by more than four minutes.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday called the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin “unnecessary,” raising questions about whether he believed the shooter, George Zimmerman, acted in self-defence.

Dear Editor, In two recent front-page stories in the local press, it was interesting to read of the sterling efforts being made by government to ensure the continuance of “business” for our music cart vendors.

The man who was fatally stabbed last Friday night at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara died as a result of perforation of the lungs due to stab wounds, police say.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Russian teenager Sergey Sirotkin could become Formula One’s youngest ever driver next season as part of a financial lifeline keeping the Swiss Sauber team in the sport.

Dear Editor, During a recent visit to the Hope Canal Project (HCP) by the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee (PSC) on Natural Resources and reported by SN of July 13, Minister Ramsammy revealed that HCP will need an extension of the completion deadline of August 31.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – Cricket’s decision review system and the continuing struggles of Australia’s brittle batting order bore the brunt of frustrations Down Under yesterday after the tourists’ heart-breaking 14-run defeat in the first Ashes test.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The Mexican government said yesterday it had captured the leader of the Zetas drug cartel, delivering a boost to President Enrique Pena Nieto in his fight against violent crime.

(Reuters) – Mexico booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Martinique, while Panama also advanced from Group A after a goalless draw with Canada.

NEW HAMPSHIRE (Reuters) – A Rwandan woman living in New Hampshire was sentenced to 10 years in jail yesterday for obtaining her US citizenship unlawfully by lying about her role in the 1994 genocide in her central African homeland.

Dear Editor, Permit me a few column inches to respond to an article, which appeared in the Sunday July 7, 2013 edition of the Kaieteur News captioned ‘Is the Guyana Govt charging tourists a tax on their pets?’

FRANKFURT, (Reuters) – Adidas AG has suspended its contract with Tyson Gay after the former double world sprint champion failed an out-of-competition dope test, the German sportswear company said yesterday.

Dear Editor, I’m glad I did not go to cricket on Sunday nor I was invited (for free).

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian police and protesters clashed in central Cairo early today after fights broke out between supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and locals angered when they tried to block major thoroughfares crossing the River Nile.

KARACHI,  (Reuters) – Former captain Moin Khan has been appointed as Pakistan’s chief selector replacing Iqbal Qasim, who resigned after the team’s dismal performance in the Champions Trophy, the country’s cricket board (PCB) said yesterday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – R&B singer Chris Brown had his probation revoked yesterday by a judge in Los Angeles after he was charged in a hit-and-run traffic accident last month.

Dear Editor, England won the first Test of the Ashes series by a mere 14 runs.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – England named an unchanged 13-man squad for the second Ashes test against Australia starting at Lord’s on Thursday after their knife-edge 14-run victory in the opening match of the series at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – A US Army general pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that he sexually assaulted a subordinate, the latest in a string of sexual misconduct allegations in the US military.

(Barbados Nation) – A family was yesterday mourning the loss of a son and brother after the usual quiet of Carrington Village, St Thomas, was shattered by gunfire shortly before 9.30 pm.

Dear Editor, I do not believe that education should be a gift to the rich and a dream for the poor.

From whatever angle one views the current political crisis in Egypt, the spectre of an unchanging United States foreign policy returns an unflinching stare.

Dear Editor, I have followed some of Ruel Johnson’s articulations on the Caribbean Press, and the conduct of the principals. 

GULLANE, Scotland, (Reuters) – World number one Tiger Woods has been drawn to play alongside former U.S.

On 9 July 2013, Transparency International (TI), a global organisation devoted to fighting and eradicating corruption, released its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB).

(Trinidad Express) – Senior Magistrate Debra Quintyne sitting in the Princes Town First Magistrates’ Court has ruled that a prima facie case has been made against Acting Sergeant Khemraj Sahadeo and Constables Renaldo Reviero, Glenn Singh, Roger Nicholas, Safraz Juman and Antonio Ramadin.