Daily Archive: Saturday, December 20, 2014

On December 16, something quite extraordinary happened. President Obama and President Castro spoke on the phone for nearly an hour.

With only a few more days before the year ends, gold declaration has dropped by 22.61% compared to the same period last year.

The Guyana Elections Commission is advising the public that the current 7th Cycle of Continuous Registration will end on Wednesday December 31, 2014.

(Barbados Nation) Standard & Poor’s yesterday delivered the type of Christmas present Barbados least wants.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment’s Protected Areas Commission held its first ever Christmas Family Festival and the National Park’s second Christmas Tree Lighting.

The Cyril Potter College of Education held its annual graduation yesterday at which 359 teachers graduated.

At its 80th graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre yesterday, 359 more persons were certified as trained teachers by the Cyril Potter College of Education.

The Board of Industrial Training (BIT) on Thursday drew the curtains on graduations for the 2,736 persons trained during the year.

(Trinidad Express) A senior police officer was thrown off a Caribbean Airlines flight to Tobago on Thursday night when he refused to switch off his cellular telephone and became hostile when the flight attendant asked him several times.

PRETORIA,(Reuters) – Dale Steyn ripped through the West Indies top order to claim his 25th five-wicket haul in test cricket and give South Africa an innings and 220-run victory on the fourth morning of the first test today.

(Reuters) – Australia made a meal of it but successfully chased down 128 for a four-wicket victory and an unassailable 2-0 series lead after dismissing India for 224 on the fourth day of the second test at the Gabba in Brisbane today.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Alastair Cook has been dropped from the England squad for next year’s 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with Eoin Morgan taking over as captain, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Saturday.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) yesterday announced approval of a US$15M ($3B) security loan for Guyana citing the nearly doubled homicide rate since 2000 among other problems.

A Crabwood Creek mother of one was found dead on Thursday evening with stab wounds to her neck, sometime after she was involved in an argument with her reputed husband.

By Jeff Trotman   Two unidentified men died on the spot when a truck transporting logs got into an accident at Four Mile on the Mabura-Linden road around 8.00 am yesterday.

Even as two of the three victims in the Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo triple murder have been laid to rest following post-mortem examinations performed yesterday, the suspect has still not been caught.

Another Guyanese has been nabbed in the US attempting to smuggle drugs into that country, this time in curry and rice.

A building contractor was on Wednesday night brutally chopped after he fled from a hit-and-run accident.

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has approved a US$1.7M ($340M) grant for Guyana which will be used for early childhood education in the hinterland.

Rice farmers have produced a record 633,000 tonnes this year, far surpassing last year’s figures and putting the country on track to obtain US$250M in export earnings.

The Salvation Army’s Drug Rehabilitation/Men’s Social Service Centre can now accommodate 45 residential addicts undergoing treatment for substance abuse with its newly constructed wing, which was commissioned yesterday.

Christmas came early for three Windsor Forest siblings yesterday when they were freed of the 2009 murder of their stepfather Motilall Singh at Windsor Forest, after a jury of their peers returned a unanimous not-guilty verdict, at the end of their High Court trial.

So far for this year a total of 26 motor cyclists have lost their lives due to fatal accidents, compared to 16 for the same period last year and the police are urging more caution and care by this group of road users.

The Drainage and Irrigation sub-sector of the Agriculture Ministry expanded its drainage capacity this year, adding 1650 cubic feet per second (cu.ft/sec)

Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday remanded a prisoner charged with having a quantity of cocaine but not before his lawyer said that the drug was in trousers that the accused had borrowed.

US Embassy Chargé d’ Affaires Bryan Hunt yesterday presented Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Brigadier Mark Phillips with the second shipment of a communications package to the Guyana Defence Force at Camp Ayan-ganna.

Opposition Leader David Granger says APNU is willing to sit and talk with the AFC about its pro-democracy alliance but to date the party is still in the dark about the details of it.

Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday refused bail for an East La Penitence man who appeared before her on four separate charges, including discharging a loaded firearm with intent to commit murder and armed robbery.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) yesterday gave the Donald Ramotar-led government a Grade F for its performance over the past three years, stating that it has failed on several fronts.

Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday remanded to prison a Houston Housing Scheme man after he was read five separate indictable charges of armed robbery.

A small wooden house on Sideline Dam, Middle Road La Penitence went up in flames yesterday afternoon after suspected illegal wires caught fire.

CENTURION, South Africa, CMC – Embattled West Indies were staring at yet another defeat inside five days, after their chronically weak batting imploded again here yesterday, to leave South Africa in complete command of the first Test.

A 48-year-old Alberttown man, who pleaded guilty to one of five separate charges, read to him, including armed robbery, was remanded to prison when he appeared before Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

CENTURION, South Africa, CMC – Rookie left-hander Leon Johnson yesterday lamented the West Indies’ wastefulness, after their batsmen wasted good starts to be knocked over cheaply on the third day of the opening Test against South Africa.

— says Emmerson Campbell   Guyana’s rugby in 2014 saw a 360 degree turn around from 2013 as the national men’s team’s fortunes became historic and monumental after the team won both the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 15s and Sevens championships, the former after 43 years.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport on Monday presented awards to the winners in its second National Choral Festival on December 15 at the National School of Music, Brickdam.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) on Thursday congratulated the US and Cuba for the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Dear Editor, The shortage of irrigation water has taken its toll on Region Two, involving some 35,500 acres of rice which were cultivated for the first spring crop of 2014.

By Rae Wiltshire   Great works of art always inspire other great works of art.

Winning and standing atop the podium is what all athletes train for.

  An all-round performance by the Chris Barnwell led XI was enough to overcome the defiant Vishaul Singh XI by two wickets in the first of two one day practice matches played at the Everest Cricket Ground yesterday.

Dear Editor, As one of the persons nominated for the GNCCP-initiated civil society council, I attended the initial event and was impressed by the process in which the council was selected.

Yes it is. By the time the next publication of The Scene hits newsstands, Christmas Day would have passed and we will all be looking to the coming of the New Year and all that it brings, or all we hope it will bring.

Hi Everyone, With the holiday season now in full swing and the family starting to gather, keep your cool and don’t get flustered in the kitchen.

With places in the finale up for grabs, an exciting semi-final section is expected when the Vitamalt/Aqua Mist sponsored West Demerara Football Association (WDFA) Knockout Cup continues today at the Den Amstel Community Centre ground.

Dear Editor, Only this evening, time allowed me to read your esteemed daily paper and see the letter penned by Minister Norman Whittaker.

Team Guyana suffered its first loss on their tour of Trinidad and Tobago, going down to the host nation by a 4-1 score line in their final fixture on Thursday.

  The fish is the centre of attention but it is juxtaposed by clouds streaking across a dark sky, signifying a time lapse.

Dear Editor, We the members of the Cotton Field, Essequibo Coast, Vedic Mandir are calling on the relevant authorities to remove two lorries which are blocking the entrance to our mandir during prayer time.

Top Berbice club Albion snatched three of the top awards when the Guyana Cricket Board held its annual awards ceremony Thursday night at the Georgetown Cricket Club pavilion.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed yesterday to respond to a devastating cyberattack on Sony Pictures that he blamed on North Korea, and scolded the Hollywood studio for caving in to what he described as a foreign dictator imposing censorship in America.

Dear Editor, Could someone explain the disparity between the traffic fine for driving under the influence of $7500.00 as reported in yesterday’s SN and that of littering which is $50,000 and $100,000.

Dear Editor, While the President’s proclamation on November 10, may have introduced the word ‘prorogation’ to many Guyanese, the suspension of parliamentary democracy did not happen overnight.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Phillip Hughes’s tragic death cast a shadow over an eventful year that saw Ashes rivals Australia and England brawl on the field and bond off it, joining India to pull off a bloodless coup and take charge of the game.

SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – A year which was supposed to showcase the virtues of modern sport was instead smeared by a series of scandals that exposed the ugly underbelly of the games people love.

(The Sports Xchange) – – – – –   Bulls 103, Knicks 97 Jimmy Butler scored a career-high 35 points and added seven assists to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 103-97 points win over the New York Knicks.

Dear Editor,   The Administration’s annual bonus for the police and other members of the Joint Services is most disappointing.

By now Beres Hammond probably has honorary Guyanese citizenship and so his concert, ‘More Beres’, billed for January 3, 2015 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence will be a homecoming of sorts.

OTTAWA, (Reuters) – Canada announced new sanctions against Russia yesterday, including additional restrictions on the export of technology used in the oil and gas industry, saying it was important to speak truth to power.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Stepping out of his legendary brother’s shadow, President Raul Castro has scored a diplomatic triumph and a surge in popular support with the deal that ends decades of open hostility with the United States.

(Reuters) – Skipper Steve Smith scored a controlled 133, Mitchell Johnson a game-changing 88 and Australia’s tail wagged vigorously as the hosts barged their way back into the second test against India on day three in Brisbane yesterday.

Dear Editor,   One of the issues that has been on my mind for more than a couple of months is our perception of the vendors who crowd our pavements and ‘walk and sell’ in Georgetown and around the country.

If you’re Christian, not white, easily offended or all of the above, Exodus: Gods and Kings is probably not the movie for you.

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – The 37-year-old mother of most of the eight children found dead in a mass stabbing in Australia’s tropical northern city of Cairns was arrested yesterday for murder.

VATICAN CITY, (Reuters) – Argentine Pope Francis and a trio of top Vatican officials who helped broker the historic deal between the United States and Cuba represent an unprecedented brain trust in Latin American affairs at the Holy See.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Basse-Terre island of the France’s Guadeloupe archipelago in the Antilles yesterday, the U.S.

Dear Editor,   An opinion poll conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (Nacta) in late November showed a general lack of interest among the population in elections at this juncture.

Whatever battles lie ahead with Congressional hardliners who still believe in the Cuban embargo, the Obama administration’s initial steps towards a ’normalization’ of US-Cuba relations are a triumph of common sense after decades of political posturing.

(Reuters) – New Zealand won the series against Pakistan 3-2 after skipper Kane Williamson’s brilliant 97 and Matt Henry’s maiden five-wicket haul secured a comprehensive 68-run victory in the final one-dayer in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

As a fashion enthusiast, I am really drawn to persons who embrace their own fashion identity.