Daily Archive: Wednesday, August 12, 2015

(Reuters) – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said today that recent liver surgery revealed he had cancer that had spread to other parts of his body.

Government has allocated almost a billion dollars for an e-Government network to deliver services which will support initiatives such as a national electronic patient care record.

A female Constable attached to the Traffic Section, Brickdam, was on Monday  caught in a sting operation by ranks from CID Headquarters after she demanded a sum of money from a motorist to forgo prosecution in relation to a traffic offence, the police say today.

(Barbados Nation) The Barbados government has been left with a more than Bds$800 000 bill from its hosting of the three-day Caricom Heads of Government meeting last month.

Former president Bharrat Jagdeo has criticised the size of the proposed national budget, saying that while the APNU+AFC administration has been claiming that the former government left the country bankrupt, it is now planning to spend more than what was spent last year.

The Private Sector Com-mission (PSC) yesterday congratulated Finance Minister Winston Jordan and the new APNU/AFC government on a “comprehensive” budget 2015 but it voiced disappointment at the decision to discontinue work on the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.

With more than 20% of National Insurance Scheme (NIS) monies ensnared in the CLICO debacle and not earning income, the Scheme is in trouble and needs an urgent solution, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan says.

Twelve foreign nationals who arrived on a Copa Airlines flight yesterday were denied entry to Guyana after they failed to satisfy immigration requirements.

Randolph Marques, one of the two men accused of killing Patsan Trading salesman Bharrat Ramcharan during a robbery last year, was committed to stand trial yesterday, while his co-accused was freed.

Government has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to conduct an independent review of Guyana’s financial sector which is likely to be done next year.

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has decided to once again offer property owners in the city an amnesty on the interest accumulated on property rates owed to the council.

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) yesterday chided the APNU+AFC government for not observing collective bargaining in its budget announcement of wage hikes for public servants and it also queried why these increases are effective from July 1st this year and not from January 1st.

Former president Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday maintained that the “incompetence” of UK-based sugar management firm Booker Tate was responsible for the disastrous execution of the Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project (SSMP), including the US$110M factory that is still unable to produce at an adequate rate.

In collaboration with Brazil, government will commence feasibility studies for a large hydropower development in the Mazaruni region, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan says.

The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a Brazilian national, who was found with stab wounds to his chest at Mahdia The deceased was identified as Domingo Rodrigues Santos, 40, of Quamina Street, Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara.

A carjacker was caught on Monday night after he hijacked a taxi and then crashed into a parked vehicle.

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has big plans for the $300 million that has been budgeted for the Georgetown Restora-tion Programme.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Guyana and Trinidad to facilitate hassle-free travel for Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri passengers transiting in the twin island republic took effect from August 5, 2015.

The Bureau of Statistics will be reformed and will have its own headquarters at the old Customs House, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan announced during his Budget 2015 speech on Monday.

Reclaiming reserves and alleyways that are encumbered by businesses and residences is part of the City Council’s push to transform the look of Georgetown, according to new Town Clerk Royston King.

The Guyana Water Inc is operating at a loss and the distribution system in Georgetown will be overhauled, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan says.

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) launched its fitness club yesterday to aid staff members in changing their lifestyles.

A woman was yesterday remanded to prison after she was charged with the possession of an unlicensed pistol that police found in the presence of her and her army officer husband.

The tourism sector is expected to generate over 1500 direct jobs in the next five years, according to Minister of Finance Winston Jordan who noted that a tourism hospitality school is also on the cards.

Government wants to develop a more creative and cost-effective investment model to construct a new fixed bridge across the Demerara River and build a road linking the Ogle and Timehri international airports.

A fisherman has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of threatening and assaulting his neighbour.

The Ministry of Indi-genous People’s Affairs has announced the activities planned for the upcoming Indigenous Heritage Month.

For this year, government has allocated $1.9 billion for the housing sector which will be used primarily to continue infrastructure works in existing housing areas.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Turning to new technology to uncover previously undetected substances, the IAAF has initiated disciplinary action against 28 athletes after retested samples from the 2005 and 2007 World Championships found 32 adverse doping findings.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Cricket Australia’s high performance director Pat Howard has taken the blame for the Ashes capitulation and put himself forward as the first person to be held to account in a post-series review.

A former night shelter resident will be housed by prison authorities for next nine months after he pleaded guilty to stealing from the Malteenoes Sports Bar.

Guyana’s lone FIDE Instructor Wendell Meusa was crowned the inaugural Attorney-at-Law James Bond Invitational Tournament Elite Champion, edging Roy Sharma to clinch the title on Sunday at the People’s National Congress (PNC) Headquarters in Sophia.

In Tuesday’s report, headlined ‘Sufficient evidence against accused in attack on judge,’ it was incorrectly stated that Anthony David was one of the two persons pointed out in an identification parade and that Nicholas Narine had given the police an oral confession.

Government’s tendering and procurement process will be reformed, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan announced during his Budget 2015 speech on Monday.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure yesterday received bids for Consultancy Services for a Road Network Upgrade and Expansion Programme.

Anthony Anand has been sentenced to two weeks in jail after admitting to assaulting his wife during an argument.

A labourer was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail after he admitted to stealing from a grocery.

(Reuters) – Kumar Sangakkara has featured prominently in strategy meetings in rival dressing rooms over the last one-and-half-decades and it is no different even in the final series for the retiring Sri Lankan great.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Aug 11, – Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago remain on course for a spot in the final of the Regional Women’s Super50, following the third round of the championship which concluded Monday.

A Kwakwani resident was on Monday fined $15,000 and ordered to do two weeks of community service after he admitted to possession of a blunt.

Kings, Half Mile Bulls and Amelia’s Ward Jets recorded opening night wins over Bankers Trust Falcons, Victory Valley Royals and Retrieve Raiders respectively when the Linden Amateur basketball Association (LABA) u-23 championship commenced on Sunday.

A repeat offender was on Monday fined $50,000 after admitting he stole a quantity of household articles from an Albouystown home.

Dear Editor, After abstaining for an extended period from submitting letters to the press, I decided to write this letter because, in my view, President David Granger, in his speech to the forum on the state of the African Guyanese, as reported in the Stabroek News, August, 10, ‘Granger calls for revival of village economies,’ has addressed honestly a matter of great sensitivity and utmost importance to all Guyanese.

ZURICH, (Reuters) – Scandal-plagued FIFA have turned to the man who helped the International Olympic Committee (IOC) out of their corruption crisis, appointing Swiss Francois Carrard as chairman of their reform committee.

A year after Marvin Cumbermack, 29, was killed during a robbery, members of his family still hope for justice although they have seen no progress with the matter.

(Trinidad Guardian) Caribbean Airlines yesterday remained non-committal on whether it was withdrawing its London service from next year.

(Trinidad Guardian) The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has summoned Test captain  Denesh Ramdin to a meeting in Barbados today.

Dear Editor, The inability of the police thus far to identify, much less arrest, the murderer of Danrasie Ganesh of Montrose despite the availability of his fingerprints all over the crime scene has caused me once again to think of Gecom’s searchable database of registrants and its possible use to fight crime.

Dear Editor, I think it was unethical for Dr Veerasammy Ramayya to address his petty problem in the press.

Former Public Service Minister Dr Jennifer Westford and the ministry’s Chief Personnel Officer Margaret Cummings, accused of several counts of forgery and attempted larceny, made their second court appearance on Monday before Magistrate Fabayo Azore.

(Reuters) – USA Track & Field (USATF) yesterday released a detailed breakdown of how it spends its money in response to an allegation made by runner Nick Symmonds that the body spends a tiny proportion of its income on athlete support.

(The Sports Xchange) – The ball is in LeBron James’ court.

Dear Editor, It is with great concern that I have to write to you on behalf of the stallholders in the Stabroek Bazaar (Stabroek Market) For years we have been selling in a dirty, smelly Bazaar; complaint after complaint has been made with no action taken.

Dear Editor, The imminent entrance of the PPP to Parliament with Mr Jagdeo as the Opposition Leader will signal the last gasp of the political aspirations of our former president, who, when this parliamentary session is over in 5 years, will seek re-election and lose convincingly, thus closing out a political career which will leave no real legacy, no real accomplishments and certainly, no real admiration and respect from the Guyanese nation as a whole.

Dear Editor, On Friday, 7th August, the University of Guyana’s 2015 Civil Engineering graduating class was required to present their Final Year Project.

(ICC) Sri Lanka and India will face off in the first of a three-Test series at Galle today with one eye on the ICC Test Team Rankings as both teams aim to improve their respective positions.

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – China shocked global markets yesterday by devaluing its currency after a run of poor economic data, a move it billed as a free-market reform but which some experts suspect could be the beginning of a longer-term slide in the exchange rate.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – The biggest threat to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s hold on office may come not from a corruption scandal that has ensnared the country’s business and political elite but from a less-heralded probe into accounting practices led by a computer science graduate turned lawyer.

SYDNEY, Australia, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago were the only Caribbean side to find success as powerhouses Jamaica and minnows Barbados both suffered losses on day five of the Netball World Cup here Tuesday.

Dear Editor, I read a letter published in your daily newspaper dated August 10, 2015 written by Mr Manzoor Nadir where he expressed his views on the Rudisa/CIDI matter.

(Reuters) – World soccer’s scandal-plagued governing body FIFA has been warned by the U.S.

Dear Editor, An early first look at the new budget reveals that the coalition government has addressed 5 of the 21 items identified for prioritization in its first 100 days programme.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A group of mainly U.S.-based stock traders and computer hackers in Ukraine made as much as $100 million in illegal profits over five years by conspiring to use information stolen from thousands of corporate press statements before their public release, U.S.

(Reuters) – Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has left the Ashes tour of England and is returning home, local media said yesterday.

(Reuters) – Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders said yesterday he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, and is undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes recently visited the Guyana Goldfields, Aurora mines in Region Seven.

ATHENS, (Reuters) – Greece and its international lenders reached an 85 billion euro bailout agreement yesterday after nailing down the terms of new loans needed to save the country from financial ruin.

Dear Editor, There are some similarities in political jousting by a former president in Sri Lanka and one in Guyana as each seeks to revive their political fortunes.

On 3 October 1899, the Arbitration Tribunal handed down its decision and immediately thereafter Mr.

LONDON, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Amnesty International voted yesterday to endorse a contentious plan to support the decriminalisation of sex work, a move that will lead to pressure on governments by the prominent rights group not to punish millions of sex workers worldwide.

Budget talk: Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan (right) in discussion at parliament with APNU+AFC MP Charrandas Persaud prior to the reading of Monday’s budget.

Dear Editor, I wish to state that I am very pleased with the 2015 budget so far.

Good, clean fun: `Sal out’ engaging Guyhoc children yesterday. (Keno George photo)

There appears to be a dispute over the size of the deposit the coalition government plans to withdraw from the commercial banks to be quarantined into the Consolidated Funds.

Readers, particularly those interested in regional integration systems, will have been drawn to follow events in and around the European Union in recent times.

Dear Editor, As long as five years ago, I stated that my policy is that I would not reply to anonymous letter-writers and the pen-name columnist in the Kaieteur News, ‘Peeping Tom.’