Daily Archive: Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) today commenced its 175th anniversary celebrations with its traditional drum head ceremony and prayer service at its Eve Leary Headquarters.

Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo was the focus of the most recent outreach to schools by Members of Parliament last Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27, 2014.

Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo was the focus of the most recent outreach to schools by Members of Parliament last Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27, 2014.

Yesterday, the Blue CAPS held a closing ceremony at the Duke Lodge Hotel to observe the completion of its inaugural Building Communities through Leadership Training and Service (BCLTS) programme.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Rafael Nadal’s charge towards a third Wimbledon title came to a juddering halt in the fourth round today when he was sensationally beaten by 19-year-old Australian wildcard Nick Kyrgios 7-6(5) 5-7 7-6(5) 6-3.

This year marks the centenary of the First World War, which officially started on July 28, 1914.

Caribbean Airlines today announced that its international and domestic flights have been affected as its pilots have called in sick today.

Boys using a toy to imitate the work of the excavator in the background in Fourth Street, Grandville, Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara yesterday. 

(Trinidad Express) While driving on his way to visit relatives in Beverly Hills, Laventille, on Sunday night, a soldier with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, 32-year-old Lance Corporal Kayode Thomas, was shot dead.

NANTERRE, France, (Reuters) – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was held for questioning today over suspicions that he received leaked details of an inquiry into alleged irregularities in his 2007 election campaign.

Cabinet has intervened to award a US$57.6 million contract for the East Coast Demerara highway project to China Railway First Group, raising concerns over political interference in the work of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

Guyana’s population has dropped to 747,884, according to preliminary results from the 2012 census and Chief Statistician and Census Officer Lennox Benjamin says the “marginal reduction” was mainly influenced by migration.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) says a premature call for elections would not be good for the country and leaders from the business community yesterday said engagement and compromise are what is needed.

A Berbice orphanage caretaker was yesterday placed on $200,000 bail after he was charged with sexually abusing a child.

A week after being charged with trying to smuggle cocaine out of the country aboard a flight to the United States, 19-year-old Darren Harris Jnr was granted $500,000 bail.

Government is seeking shelter for $4.55 billion of extra-budgetary expenditure under an article of the constitution that is not applicable, former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran says and he roasted Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh’s actions as disrespectful and contemptuous of the National Assembly.

PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee yesterday deflected questions on whether the party has had any comprehensive discussions about the possibility of a no-confidence motion proposed by the opposition coalition which if passed would bring down the government.

A Corentyne farmer is thankful that he managed to escape injury after gunmen trying to steal his livestock in the wee hours of Saturday opened fire on him after he raised an alarm.

Beginning today, Dr Vivakeanand Bridgemohan takes the helm at St Joseph Mercy Hospital (SJMH) as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies crashed to a 2-1 series defeat here yesterday after producing another inept batting performance to hand New Zealand a 53-run victory in the decisive third Test at Kensington Oval.

A woman was yesterday fined $150,000 after she admitted to forging birth certificates for herself, her husband and their three children in a bid to obtain passports.

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Reuters) – Germany were pushed all the way by an inspired Algeria yesterday before Andre Schuerrle and Mesut Ozil secured them a 2-1 extra-time victory to send them into a mouth-watering World Cup quarter-final meeting with France.

As part of the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) vision of success plan, the federation will be sending a national male under-17 team to the Dominican Republic later this month to compete in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Championships.

Innovative marketing techniques aimed at utilising social media platforms to address the advertising stagnation that is currently the Guyanese landscape, is the backbone of Market Square.

Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards has struck out an appeal filed on behalf of Carol Sooba with respect to a ruling by Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang that she was unlawfully appointed to the substantive post of Town Clerk by then local government minister Ganga Persaud.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – France ended Nigeria’s hopes of a first World Cup quarter-final appearance when they scored two late goals to beat the Super Eagles 2-0 in a rough and physical second-round match yesterday.

SALVADOR, Brazil, (Reuters) – The future of soccer in the United States has never seemed brighter.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) financial crisis has affected its ability to pay employees on time, as information received by Stabroek News indicated that they were not paid on Friday, the designated as payday for salaried employees.

An outstanding all-round performance from Berbice Under-15 cricketer Kris Ramnarine helped Bush Lot New Generation to secure the full 24 points against D’Edward in their zone ‘A’ preliminary match played at the Blairmont Community Centre thus earning them a place in the quarter final of the 2014 Tenelec Inc.

A worker from the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Region Six was placed on $75,000 bail yesterday after he was charged with exposing his genitals.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next month will mean more to Trinidadian sprinter Richard Thompson than clocking fast times.

Working People’s Alliance (WPA) member Dr Nigel Westmaas yesterday said that the party did not have the power to overthrown the Forbes Burnham-led PNC government and he flatly denied that he and other party members were involved in gathering arms and ammunition.

A man and his wife were yesterday granted bail when they appeared before the Charity Magistrate’s Court charged with assaulting each other.

In the first ever match among deaf footballers, Region Four team Demerara Strikers defeated Region Six team Berbice Rebels by five goals to three on Sunday.

After several weeks of intense negotiations, Sterling Products Limited (SPL) has inked an agreement with the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) and the Labour Ministry that will see improved wages and benefits to its employees.

(Reuters) – Chris Bosh has joined LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in opting out of his contract to become a free agent, the Miami Heat said on Sunday.

A 22-year-old man was sentenced to 56 months in jail after being found guilty of breaking into his friend’s home and stealing $6.5 million worth of property, including raw gold.

The recently established Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Mining School is seeking to raise levels of environmental sensitization across the local mining community by including environmental training as one of the core areas on its curriculum, the School’s Coordinator John Applewhite-Hercules has told Stabroek Business.

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, (Reuters) – Ghana’s World Cup preparations were a nightmare of arguments over cash, flooded hotel rooms and long-haul flights in economy class, according to their suspended midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng.

The decomposed body of a woman discovered in an unfinished building behind the Plaza in North Ruimveldt on Sunday, remained unidentified yesterday, the police said.

FORTALEZA, Brazil, (Reuters) – They were minutes away from elimination against Mexico but having pulled off one of the great escapes of the World Cup, the Dutch are in a strong position to reach the semifinals.

Everything that we have heard about next weekend’s Guyana Festival so far suggests that its primary focus is on trying to create an event that will serve as a kind of seasonal benchmark for visitor arrivals.

Dear Editor,   Much concern has been expressed about the lawlessness of the current administration and its disregard for constitutional and legal obligations.

PRETORIA, (Reuters) – Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter on trial for murder for shooting his girlfriend, was not suffering from a mental condition at the time she was killed, a psychiatric report said yesterday.

Dear Editor,   Guyana’s leading businessman, enterprise developer, entrepreneur who worked most of his life in Guyana’s development is very worried about the future of the sugar industry which employs more than 20,000 workers and shaped the lives of almost fifty per cent of Guyanese.

Matthew Jack, who was stabbed in a row with cousin over missing household items on June 20, continues his recovery at home, meanwhile his attacker was charged and remanded to prison.

FORTALEZA, Brazil, (Reuters) – Mexico yet again dropped out of the World Cup in the round of 16, leaving players and millions of Mexicans frustrated as they watched in horror as their dreams were crushed in the last four minutes of the game on Sunday in Brazil.

A post-mortem examination has confirmed that popular money changer Wendell Liverpool died as a result of shock and haemorrhage and his family said they have heard nothing from the police about the investigation.

Dear Editor,   I offer some comments on a letter by Mr Abu Bakr, (‘An evocation of context is important to an understanding of events surrounding Walter Rodney’s death,’ SN, June 28).

Curbing what Prime Minister Samuel Hinds once described as “the wild west situation” that obtained in the approach to prospecting in the country’s gold-bearing regions is one of the “critical aims” of the training curriculum being delivered by the Guyana Mining School, according to a senior official of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).

LONDON, (Reuters) – Eugenie Bouchard succeeded where Serena Williams failed as she beat Alize Cornet to reach the last eight of Wimbledon on a rain-hit Monday that produced another display of grass mastery by defending men’s champion Andy Murray.

Dear Editor, On Sunday, June 29, I informed GT&T via phone number 0488 that a telephone pole implanted at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets, Patentia West, is leaning and threatening to fall.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi troops battled to dislodge an al Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit yesterday after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swath of Iraq and Syria.

Abdool Rahim, accused of damaging a policeman’s shirt, yesterday denied the charge and his lawyer told a city court that he was drunk, unaware of what he had done but was willing to pay for the shirt.

An appeal of a decision in the magistrates’ courts will in the future no longer mean an automatic stay of execution of the decision under proposed new legislation that seeks to harmonise procedures in the Magistrates’ and High Courts.

SOUTHAMPTON, England, (Reuters) – Spinner Moeen Ali claimed six wickets to inspire England to a crushing 266-run win over India yesterday to level an absorbing series at 1-1 with two matches to play.

Dear Editor, My good friend and ex-Chief Labour Officer, Mr Mohammed Akeel, has written about the Corentyne Highway Stop signs before, but to date it appears that the powers-that-be have not taken note or are reluctant to take corrective action.

KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said today government forces would renew offensive operations against rebels and “free our lands”, hours after a ceasefire to allow for peace talks with the pro-Russian separatists had expired.

(Reuters) – The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) faced bankruptcy and isolation if it did not back the radical changes made by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last week, chairman Najam Sethi said on Monday.

Dear Editor, There is a view that the calls for the PNC to apologise are misplaced.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 574’s trading results showed consideration of $14,233,326 from 145,375 shares traded in 9 transactions as compared to session 573’s trading results which showed consideration of $1,222,490 from 35,831 shares traded in 24 transactions.

RIO DE JANIERO, (Reuters) – Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has finally apologised for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during a World Cup match and vowed there would never be a repeat of the incident.

HEBRON, West Bank (Reuters) – The bodies of three missing Israeli teenagers were found in the occupied West Bank, and Israel vowed to punish Hamas, the Palestinian group it accuses of abducting and killing them.

(Jamaica Observer) – Police estimated that around 25,000 Jamaicans turned out in their black, green and gold to support the Jamaica CAUSE (Churches Action Uniting Society for Emancipation) mass rally in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew on Sunday.

Waramadong Secondary coach Louie Thomas says that preparations for the finals of the Digicel national u-18 football tourney are progressing smoothly and that he is confident his charges will reverse their fortunes against two-time defending titleholders Christianburg/Wismar Secondary.

After suffering through an accident that left her hospitalised, newspaper vendor Lorna Johnson is now battling with a problematic recovery.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Australia and New Zealand have targeted playing a first test match under lights in November, 2015, Cricket Australia (CA) said yesterday.

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian presidential candidate Aecio Neves picked a 69-year-old senator from Sao Paulo as his running mate yesterday, reflecting his party’s belief that the country’s biggest city and business capital will be a key battleground in October.

  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – At least 22 suspected gang members were killed southwest of Mexico City early yesterday, the government said, in one of the bloodiest shootouts with security forces since President Enrique Pena Nieto took power.

Dear Editor,   The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Sport must be commended for the much admired initiative of the community enhancement programme.

Several talking points have arisen out of government’s announcement that it would commit half of the one billion dollar coastal clean-up allocation to rehabilitating the capital.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – Impressive teenage seamer Taskin Ahmed has been named in a 25-man provisional squad for the tour of West Indies starting in August.

Dear Editor, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Albion Cricket Club for doing an excellent job in hosting its 2013 presentation of the award ceremony.

BANGUI (Reuters) – Ugandan troops in Central African Republic (CAR) have killed at least 15 fighters from the mainly Muslim Seleka force, a group that has carved out fiefdoms in the country since leaving power earlier this year, local sources said yesterday.

(Guest Contribution)   Do you sometimes do something or say something and wonder, “What in the world did I just say (or do)?”

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuban prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison term for a Canadian businessman who has been tried on bribery charges, and 20 years for Cuba’s former deputy sugar minister who is accused in the same case, official media reported yesterday.

When we met Karen Pollard on Tuesday evening she appeared amiable and relaxed despite admitting to having had a demanding day.