Daily Archive: Wednesday, January 22, 2014

At about 1115h today, ranks of a police motor cycle Anti-Crime Patrol observed two men walking along Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

The Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) today announced that it is exploring the possibility of embarking on a pilot project in which automatic scanning and tabulation machines could be used in a future election.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – Roger Federer’s revival gathered pace as he edged Andy Murray in a late-night dog fight to set up a blockbuster Australian Open semi-final with world No.1 Rafa Nadal who earlier today had rode his luck to beat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

Beverage giant Banks DIH registered an after-tax profit of $2.543b for last year, marginally down from the $2.558b figure from 2012.

(Reuters) – The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) urged test playing nations on Wednesday to reject the controversial proposals that would effectively place Australia, England and India in charge of the world game.

Guyanese-born security specialist Dr Ivelaw Griffith says he supports the “selective decriminalisation” of marijuana as part of the overall strategy for responding to the wider drug threat facing the region.

The bodies of the two men who perished in Saturday’s crash of a Trans Guyana Airways (TGA) plane in the middle Mazaruni jungle were retrieved and brought to the city yesterday even as company officials expressed concern that the aircraft’s Emer-gency Locator Transmitter (ELT) was not triggered on impact.

The head of the Economic Review Committee, set up to chart a development plan for Region 10 under the agreement struck between the government and the regional administration, has stepped down.

There was no word from the police yesterday as to whether the Office of Professional Responsibi-lity (OPR) had managed to complete its investigations into the alleged baton rape and  beating of Colwyn Harding.

Yesterday morning, the Police say they conducted an operation within Diamond and Providence, EBD; and Ruimveldt and Tucville, Georgetown in which arrests were made and an unlicensed gun found.

A Mario’s Pizza delivery man yesterday died after the motorcycle he was riding crashed head-on into a concrete wall.

Taxi-driver Leron Griffith was yesterday found guilty of causing the death of Chinese restaurateur Feng Xue Fang and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.

Even as uncertainty continues to hover over the industry, the Guyana Sugar Corporation has pushed back the start of the first crop to February.

A man accused of threatening and slapping his wife after she refused to have sex with him was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment when he pleaded guilty to two charges at the city courts yesterday.

The Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) is seeking the public’s help to locate a city resident, Robin Llewlyn Wills.

The Canadian firm Reunion Gold Corporation, which has a manganese mining project in Matthews Ridge, Region One, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago to explore the possibility of building a manganese processing plant there.

Although its crew was left shaken and extensive damage was done to the navigation and radio equipment during an attack by several armed men at Sand Hills, the MT Seven Mako is expected to leave for Grenada tomorrow, according to Jaime Ramroop, the local agent for Coastal Shipping.

An all-round display of cricket from the Rest XI yesterday led them to a 32-run upset win over the National XI in their fourth practice game of the training camp played under lights at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

Suspicion is growing over the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the cargo boat ‘Stollie 1,’ which went down between the entrances of the Pomeroon and Waini rivers last Saturday, after some of the cargo was found on a rescuer’s boat.

BASSETERRE, St.Kitts, CMC – The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is being called upon to strongly resist moves by the England, India and Australia to complete what some officials have labeled a ‘hostile takeover’ of the sport.

Among the issues that the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the United Minibus Union (UMU) agreed to at their meeting on last Saturday, was an immediate reduction in the fares for Zone 32 (Georgetown to Parika), with all short drops being reduced from $100 to $80; and Georgetown to Parika from $500 to $400.

Two weeks after five-year-old Tiffany Seepersaud was struck down on the Woodley Park, West Coast Berbice road she has still not regained consciousness.

ST.JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC-The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) appears to have called an emergency meeting to discuss proposed changes to the International Cricket Council (ICC) which some officials in the region believe could have devastating consequences for West Indies cricket.

A woman was fined and placed on bail yesterday after answering three charges in a Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, including throwing bricks at her neighbours.

The Food and Drug Department is advising the public that a fake 10kg bucket of Golden Cream Margarine is being sold on the market in regions Five and Six.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jan 21, CMC- Combined Campuses and Collegesdefeated Barbados by five wickets in their second 50 over practice match at the 3Ws oval here on Monday.

The government’s apparent reluctance to boost development in Region 10 is politically-motivated, according to APNU leader David Granger, who says there is need for a new development plan for the region.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC- Champion Windward Islands will be forced to defend their Super50 title without captain and all-rounder Darren Sammy who announced yesterday his decision to withdraw as a result of injury.

The late Terry Holder was memorialized as the best Secretary General of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) and a man who agonized over the falling standards here in broadcasting and other areas of national life.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC-The West Indies’ 15-member team selected for the World Cup in the United Arab Emiratesnext month was yesterday scheduled to begin a one-week preparatory camp in Barbados, at the Sagicor High Performance Centre.

A major Islamic conference will be held at the Guyana International Conference Centre from February 9-12, 2014.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC-Promising West Indies batsman Jeremy Solozano says the regional Under-19 team is capable of winning the ICC Youth World Cup in the United Arab Emirates next month.

Four months after its launch, the ‘Weight No More – Fit It!’

Dear Editor, For five years to date, as Registrar of the University of Guyana, I have ensured that our Health Sciences graduates (medical doctors, dentists and nurses) were allowed to take their professional oaths, publicly, at the university’s convocation ceremony.

The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) distributed nine hampers to the relatives of persons who perished in boat accidents last year, even as it continues its nationwide safety promotion to help to stem these incidents.

Inter Corporation teams who have entered the two-week dominoes competition organized by Mark Wiltshire, senior Organising Secretary of the Georgetown Dominoes Association 9GDA) will swing into action this afternoon when play commences at the La Belle Hotel and Bar 54 Norton Street.

MONTREUX, Switzerland,  (Reuters) – Syria’s government and its enemies come face to face today for the first time as world powers try to set aside their own differences and push for an end to three years of civil war that is unsettling the entire Middle East.

Dear Editor, As we enter into the new year of 2014 we are aware that the Cooperative Republic of Guyana has a number of challenges which must be overcome if the citizenry is to be productive and contribute to growth and development across the country.

Suspended Upper Demerara Football Association President Sharma Solomon yesterday said that the association challenges the reckless and unconstitutional decision of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), declaring that the entire process was riddled with violations of the rules.

Ten Venezuelan nationals were yesterday fined $30,000 each with the alternative of two weeks’ imprisonment for entering Guyana illegally.

CASTRIES, St Lucia, (Reuters) – Authorities on the Caribbean island of St.

Dear Editor, I am profoundly grateful to you for publishing a letter sent by me. 

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC-Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 20 women’s team has been showered with praises after placing fourth in the 2014 CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship in the Cayman Islands on Sunday.

Main Opposition group APNU is calling on the PPP/C administration to urgently launch a comprehensive national flood control plan, saying its current response to monthly flooding is not financially or environmentally sustainable.

TORONTO,  (Reuters) – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who pledged last year to go clean after a crack-smoking scandal, admitted yesterday he had been drinking again after a video surfaced of him ranting about police surveillance in a mock Jamaican accent in a suburban eatery.

Dear Editor, We need to understand something so that sports ambassadors with the potential to represent Guyana at any given regional or international competition will not be deterred.

MOSCOW/KIEV, (Reuters) – Russia told European governments yesterday to stop meddling in Ukraine’s political crisis and said events could be spinning out of control in Kiev after violence that left vehicles burning in the streets.

(The Sports Xchange) – Chandler Parsons posted 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Rockets fended off Portland 126-113  in a Western Conference shootout Monday night.

As part of its seventh anniversary celebrations, Digicel Guyana unveiled the Nokia 106 handset touted as ‘simplicity and durability’ for persons on the go.

Dear Editor, I wish to commend your staff for the insightful coverage extended to the issue of poverty and its attendant social ills in Guyana (Sunday Stabroek, January 19). 

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – An overdose of anti-depressant drugs likely killed the wife of a high-profile Indian federal minister, according to an autopsy released days after she accused him of having an extramarital affair.

WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne has been ruled out for at least six weeks after the 21-year-old suffered a torn abdominal muscle in his side’s 24-run victory over India in their first one-day international in Napier on Sunday.

Residents of Malali, Demerara River on Sunday benefited from a medical outreach exercise hosted by the Rotary Club of Demerara in collaboration with the Region 10 health officials.

Dear Editor, Something is seriously off balance when the gift of a bridge for public use in the burial of the deceased is reportedly criticized ‒ for what? 

SAO PAULO,  (Reuters) – A project bringing together thousands of small farmers in western Kenya has become the first to earn carbon credits using a new sustainable farming accounting system, the World Bank said yesterday.

Dear Editor, January 20 marks the day when the American people, indeed the entire world, reflect on the life and work of the late Dr Martin Luther King who was a strong advocate for equal rights and human dignity especially with respect to African-Americans  in the United States.

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal told his supporters to end anti-police protests that erupted in violence yesterday, saying the force had promised to take action over his accusations of negligence by officers.

KINGSTOWN, St.Vincent, CMC- The sport of Rugby is to be introduced to eight primary schools across St.Vincent

(Trinidad Express) The United States’ Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has targeted several local businessmen of interest in their probe into the TT$644 million cocaine drug bust in Norfolk, Virginia, USA in December.

(Barbados Nation) A Guyanese has been charged with a number of drug offences.

Towards the end of last year, the Barbados Minister of Finance, Chris Sinckler indicated to the citizens of the country that it had become clear that the country was faced with a reduced ability to meet its financial commitments.

Politikles

VATICAN CITY, (Reuters) – A former Vatican prelate on trial for an alleged plot to smuggle 20 million euros into Italy was further charged yesterday with laundering millions through the Vatican bank, police said.

Dear Editor, I have noticed that of late the Minister of Housing is a TV star acting in the PPP administration’s housing drive.

(This is Part One of a series of five reviewing the reports of the Guyana Forestry Commission for 2005-12 which were tabled in Parliament on November 7th,  2013) By Janette Bulkan and John Palmer This commentary is a partial analysis of the annual reports for years 2005-2012 from the Guyana Forestry Commission tabled in the National Assembly on 07 November 2013, at the same time as some of the backlog of reports from other government agencies. 

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Stanislas Wawrinka brought a dramatic end to Novak Djokovic’s quest for a fourth successive Australian Open title in the quarter-finals yesterday when he finally found a way to beat the Serbian in a grand slam five-setter.

The worst thing one can do is to misdiagnose what has happened to Mr.

(BASSETERRE, St.Kitts, CMC – The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is being called upon to strongly resist moves by the England, India and Australia to complete what some officials have labeled a ‘hostile takeover’ of the sport.