Daily Archive: Friday, December 20, 2013

As is customary, all members of the Joint Services, in addition to receiving their five percent increase, will also benefit from a one-month tax-free Christmas bonus.

The police today said that at about 0830h. today, Rajiv Singh, 21 years, a clerk attached to a city store, was about to enter a commercial bank on Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown, with a carton box containing $17.2M, when he was held up by two men armed with handguns.

The police say they are investigating a fatal accident that occurred at about 0005h today  December 20, 2013, on the Liliendaal Railway Embankment and which resulted in the death of Osnah Jordan, 39 years, of Industry, ECD.

The United States Embassy yesterday announced that the $300M Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project will continue with or without government’s participation, while denying the Donald Ramotar administration’s claim that it had no input.

The Ministry of Public Works was yesterday robbed of over $7M when employees returning from the bank were pounced on by two men who were staking out its Kingston office.

The body of a man of East Indian descent was found in the vicinity of the Ruby Koker, West Bank Demerara, yesterday afternoon with suspected gunshot wounds, police say.

By Dacia Whaul Sections of five communities in Agricola; Princes, Victor and Norton streets in Lodge; Alexander Village; Ramp Road, Riverview and First to Sixth streets, Cummings Lodge have been targeted in a Ministry of Local Government clean-up programme for Georgetown, which started last week Wednesday.

  The Police Force last evening said  that permission has been given to the Guyana Public Service Union to hold a march around the streets of Georgetown today, Friday December 20, 2013, commencing at 1100h.

A construction worker was shot dead at Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara on Wednesday evening, minutes after a heated argument with his neighbour and his family is alleging that he was killed by a group of neighbourhood police.

The National Assembly last night took the decision to defer the second reading of the Procurement (Amendment) Bill for up to six months so as to give time for the parties to reach agreement on a number of points including the setting up of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC).

While acknowledging the country’s fiscal progress over the years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Government to ensure that hydro power remains financially and economically viable as a means of more stable and reliable energy and to address the remaining gaps in the anti-money laundering regime.

(Reuters) – Off-spinner Sunil Narine was already indicating he would be a factor later in the game as he put New Zealand’s batsmen under immense pressure on the second day of the third test on Friday before the hosts finished on 156 for three at the close of play.

Annandale Secondary and St. George’s High School booked quarterfinal spots in the Chico/Kashif & Shanghai Elite Next Generation Football Tournament following 5-2 and 4-1 wins over Queen’s College and East Ruimveldt yesterday.

An exciting doubleheader will be on display when the Georgetown Football Association (GFA)/Banks Beer Knockout Cup round of 16 matches continues today at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground in Bourda.

Minister of Natural Resources Robert Persaud says that 32 applications were received in 2010 for Prospecting Permits (Medium Scale) in the New River Triangle but none was granted.

Dear Editor,   When the US Embassy donated health supplies and sporting equipment to Guyanese, the Government of Guyana (GOG) gladly accepted them.

The contract for the construction of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded US$24 million Sheriff Street- Mandela Avenue Expansion Project is likely to be tendered by August next year.

The Bureau of Statistics has implemented a new web-based information portal that allows users to access and share up-to-date human development national statistics that play a key role in planning and policy making.

Aniki Jones was yesterday charged with the murder of his fiancé’s ex, who went to his home to confront him with fatal results.

Prime Minister Sam Hinds yesterday informed the National Assembly that the government has no current plans to establish a parliamentary committee to specifically address border issues.

While the Ministry of Labour has been unable to establish actual unemployment levels in Guyana, Labour Minister Nanda Gopaul says that whatever unemployment levels exist is a result of persons not possessing the skill sets that are in high demand.

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) – The World Bank took a bold stance on fighting corruption yesterday, with President Jim Yong Kim saying that corruption at both the public and private level is the scourge of the developing world.

Information on actions and procedures put in place by the government in the wake of a visit to Eteringbang by members of the Venezuela opposition is restricted, Prime Minister Sam Hinds told the National Assembly yesterday.

A key outcome of a recently completed three-day training workshop was the recommendation from participants that Guyana should accede to the Nagoya Protocol, an international legal instrument which covers access to genetic resources and fair and equitable benefit sharing.

The re-tabled Anti Money Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill was last night sent to a select committee of Parliament which will begin deliberating in detail on its contents in the new year.

Fifteen sporting bodies received early Christmas and New Year’s tokens on Wednesday night when president of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), K.A

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – U.S. scientists have discovered the basic mechanisms that allow HIV to wipe out the body’s immune system and cause AIDS, which could lead to new approaches to treatment and research for a cure for the disease that affects 35 million people around the world.

The Government of Guyana has said that it is attempting to improve the level of transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, particularly in mining by eventually adopting the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) that involves the disclosure of payments to the government from private companies, and the disclosure of receipts from the government.

Six educational establishments are now the beneficiaries of five million dollars thanks to the contributions of CGX Energy Inc.

A resident of the East La Penitence Night Shelter was yesterday fined by a city magistrate after assaulting another resident in what he claimed was an attempt to wake the man up.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed 368,644 illegal immigrants in fiscal 2013, down from 409,849 the previous year, the agency said yesterday.

A realtor was yesterday brought to a city court after she allegedly converted the funds given to her for rent to her own use.

  LONDON,  (Reuters) – Emergency services said nearly 90 people were injured yesterday when part of the ceiling collapsed during a performance at a packed London theatre, bringing the city’s West End entertainment district to a standstill.

Twenty-one-year-old Keron Perreira, accused of the knifepoint hold-up of a teacher of the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, was remanded to prison yesterday Perreira was not required to plead when he was brought to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts yesterday.

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – South Africa’s government dismissed criticisms yesterday that a $21 million state-funded security upgrade of President Jacob Zuma’s private home was extravagant, saying features such as a chicken coop and cattle pen were more than “nice to haves”.

By Jeff Trotman A youthful Vasco FC will meet take on Hi- Stars in the first match of a double header tomorrow at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground for a berth in the quarter finals of the inaugural UDFA GT Beer Cup.

Dear Editor, I have noted that sections of the media have been carrying statements attributed to me in relation to the issue of natural resources extractive activities in the geographic area in south-eastern Guyana referred to as the New River Triangle.

BUENOS AIRES,  (Reuters) – Argentina yesterday threatened to nationalize utility companies Edenor and Edesur after power outages blanketed large swaths of the capital and surrounding suburbs just ahead of the South American summer.

 Dear Editor, The National Community Policing Executive (NCPE) is also conducting a probe into the circumstances leading up to the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Godfrey Jaggroo of BelleVue, West Bank Demerara at about 19:00hrs on Wednesday, December,18, 2013 at Belle Vue, WBD.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – A teary-eyed Sachin Tendulkar ended his cricketing journey in glorious Mumbai sunshine and as the sport bade farewell to its favourite son, the dark side of the “gentleman’s game” was once again exposed.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – The New York City Council voted to add electronic cigarettes to the city’s strict smoking ban yesterday, in what could be the latest of many anti-tobacco measures put in place by outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica’s Tessanne Chin appeared on the American show ‘Today’ yesterday morning and shared the advice she received after a stunning duet with her “idol” Celine Dion.

HAVANA,  (Reuters) – Fidel Castro praised his brother, Cuban President Raul Castro, yesterday for shaking hands with U.S.

WELLINGTON,  (Reuters) – Aggressive batsman Jesse Ryder has returned to the New Zealand side after a doping suspension and an absence of nearly two years when he was included yesterday in the limited overs squad for matches against West Indies later this month.

Dear Editor, The statement attributed to the Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Brigadier Mark Phillips in relation to survey rights to 2,200,000 acres granted to a company with powerful Brazilian ties raises a number of issues.

 Dear Editor,   Seeing allegations by the opposition in the media that the Private Sector Commission behaves more like an arm of the government rather than a non-governmental organization, and that they recently voted down PSC’s anti-money laundering motion, I decided to examine its structure to see what the private sector stands for and who its corporate members and functionaries are, that could give credibility to the opposition’s allegation that this is not a private sector organisation which caters to the needs of the private sector.

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – A spectacular top-order batting collapse left South Africa floundering on 213 for six on the second day of the first test against India yesterday.

HAVANA,  (Reuters) – For the first time since the 1959 revolution, Cubans will have the right to buy new and used vehicles from the state without government permission, official media announced yesterday, another step toward greater economic freedom on the communist-led island.

MARRAKECH, Morocco, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Ronaldinho’s hopes that a good performance at the Club World Cup might earn a Brazil recall have been dashed by Atletico Mineiro’s shock elimination at the hands of Raja Casablanca.

Dear Editor,   I write concerning the issue of the ‘Telecoms pensioners’.

(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Wednesday’s National Basketball Association games.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica will make its first shipment of cement products to Venezuela as part of a deal to repay its PetroCaribe loan.

Even though I’m edging towards seventy it cannot be “old age” that is responsible for my increasing intolerance or cynicism with respect to the once–beautiful festival of Christmas.

Michelle Bachelet, the centre-left candidate, was re-elected president of Chile on Sunday, ending the country’s brief flirtation with the centre-right, since its return to democracy in 1990, after Sebastián Piñera was elected four years ago.

Dear Editor, On Saturday, November 9, five of us departed Linden town to join with the people of the Island of Leguan to celebrate Leguan Day.

(Reuters) – The frosty relationship between two of Australia’s most senior cricketers seems to have finally thawed with captain Michael Clarke hailing Shane Watson’s team spirit and citing the all-rounder as an example for all young players.

(Trinidad Express) Government’s Christmas “gift to the nation” is a 20 per cent reduction for two days in the price of rice, flour and soya bean oil.