Daily Archive: Sunday, September 27, 2015

President David Granger (right) meeting this evening at the United Nations with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (left).

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell has labelled as “disturbing” claims by West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons, of outside interference in the selection of the One-Day International squad for Sri Lanka.

River taxis Captains and Bowmen were honoured for their professional and dedication to safety of their passengers at a ceremony to observe World Maritime Day last Friday in Kingston, a release from the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) said today.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge and his counterpart of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, today signed an agreement, on behalf of their countries, which will facilitate visa free travel for citizens, between the two States, a release from the Ministry of the Presidency said.

The Guyana government says that while there has been a withdrawal of the Venezuelan military gunboat from within its territory and a scaling back of troops in towns close to the border it continues to be vigilant.

President David Granger says that he is convinced that the outcome would be favourable, in terms of the region remaining a zone of peace now that Cuba has been briefed on the territorial threat Guyana faces from Venezuela.

DUBAI, (Reuters) – Iran demanded an apology from Saudi Arabia on Sunday over the deaths of 769 people at the haj pilgrimage and accused it of trying to evade blame, while Riyadh in turn accused Tehran of playing politics with the disaster.

(Trinidad Guardian) In what has been described as gross disrespect to the dead, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi was served an election petition while attending the funeral service of PNM stalwart Errol Mahabir on Friday.

At about 0415h. today, the police say that fish vendor Omar Esau, 49 years, of Providence, EBD, was in his motor vehicle at the Meadow Bank Wharf, Georgetown, when he was held up by two men, one of whom was armed with a firearm.

Engaging a Mines Officer earlier this month, John Spencer became alarmed when the official said that a map of mining blocks obtained by his village, Tasserene, was outdated and from a month ago, 60 new mining blocks now cover land claimed by the indigenous Region Seven community.

Onderneeming on the Essequibo Coast is well known as the home of the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), the institution that houses minors who have been in trouble with the law, but it is gaining more attention now since the establishment of the Rooster Resort and Fun Park.

President of Guyana David Granger and President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro are expected to be in attendance at a meeting today, organised by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Director of Communica-tions Mark Archer said last evening.

If necessary, the government is prepared to take legal action to ensure that the controversial leasing of Red House to a company linked to the former PPP administration is rescinded, according to Minister of State Joseph Harmon, who says the Attorney General has been tasked with looking at all available options.

Over the past five months, the Labour Department of the Ministry of Social Protection has closed some 416 cases brought against employers and over $18 million has been paid to aggrieved workers, according to Junior Minister Simona Broomes.

It was President George H W Bush’s February 1990 Republic Day message to President Desmond Hoyte, expressing the hope that the upcoming elections will be free and fair, that signalled the end of the West’s four decade hostility to the PPP, starting in 1953.

Controversy The experience with the Berbice River Bridge and its relationship with the investment made by the government seem to make people leery about using the public-private partnership investment model in the construction of projects in the future.

Even in the worst of times – and who can doubt that the daily, brutal, unstoppable exploits of uncaught criminals have made this time one of widening and deepening fear and frustration – reading comes to the rescue by revealing other worlds of experience where cruelty and mindlessness and man’s inhumanity to man do not continually have the upper hand.

The Ministry of Citizenship and UNICEF have begun a period of interaction which is expected to assist with Guyana attaining and maintaining universal birth registration.

Five persons including two women are in police custody following the discovery of marijuana in a motor vehicle.

Introduction In the previous two columns, I have sought to make the case that, the major impediments, which are constraining the long-term socio-economic/environmental development, and structural transformation of the Region (and Guyana), can be effectively addressed within the framework of the United Nations (UN), Post-2015 Development Agenda and its related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2015-2030).

An unidentified man died at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) Accident & Emergency Unit after he was injured in a crash that occurred on the Good Hope Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara (ECD) yesterday morning.

An infant was on Friday evening rushed to the Georgetown Public Hos-pital (GPH) after he sustained burns to the upper part of his body when he reportedly pulled a pot containing hot oil from the stove.

There will be a re-birth of the Inter County Softball Cricket competition after the Guyana Softball Cricket League (GSCL) joined forces with sponsors Digicel, Crown Mining and Stag Beer to launch a two-day competition set to bowl off October 24 and 25 at the Everest Cricket Ground.

After weeks of rigorous preparation, a confident national men’s volleyball team winged out for Maceio, Brazil yesterday in a quest to return home champions of the 31st Edition of the CSV Men’s South American tournament which spikes off from September 30 to October 4.

Plans to make St Cuth-bert’s Mission a model for other indigenous communities and a leading attraction for tourists were revealed by Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Sydney Allicock as he addressed hundreds of residents at their annual heritage celebrations yesterday.

In a little over a month’s time negotiators from around the world will gather in Paris to try to reach a final and globally binding agreement on a new treaty on climate change.

A Berbice fisherman who was stabbed to his neck allegedly by his wife over a week ago, is now a patient on life support at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where his condition is listed as critical.

A reader asked me in a recent blog (actually, he asked me twice) why I continue to live in Guyana despite the problems.

It was a bomb waiting to detonate, wreaking more damage to West Indies cricket that, after two decades of collapse, can hardly withstand any more.

Tournament favourites Alpha United and Slingerz FC will resume the hunt for their first win in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Beer Elite League when they oppose Georgetown Football Club (GFC) and Monedderlust FC respectively today at the GFC ground.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – It is high time the United Nations Security Council is reformed to reflect the real distribution of power across the world in the 21st century, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday.

If the recent discussions between the Director of Sports Christopher Jones and the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) bear fruit, the sports of table tennis could receive a massive shot in the arm which could lead to improved player development and better results internationally.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Pope Francis, speaking in America’s birthplace yesterday, offered stout words of support to Hispanic and other immigrants in the United States, telling them not to be discouraged at a time when some prominent politicians are directing hostility toward them.

Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League outfit Fruta Conquerors officially adopted their new constitution on Friday at their Tucville Club, in the process paving the way for their election to be held on October 18th.

Eight months into the year, the strength of Guyana’s player-development invisible programme was in evidence during the Forbes Burnham Memorial Chess Tournament.

Peltophorum, commonly called Pride of India, are fast growing large trees.

Guyana Defence Force troops salute Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Mark Phillips along Irving Street, where they converged after marching from Plaisance and Providence yesterday morning as part of a military exercise in the wake of increased tensions on the western frontier sparked by Venezuelan aggression.

DUBAI (Reuters) – The death toll in a crush at the annual haj pilgrimage outside Mecca rose to 769, Saudi Arabia said yesterday, as arch-rival Iran said Saudi officials should be tried in an international court for what it called a crime.

The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) in collaboration with the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) officially launched the second annual Goodwill/Caribbean Development Boxing championship yesterday at the Olympic House in Kingston.

I got the inspiration for this recipe over the August holidays while dining out with friends.

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland said yesterday it would summon Russia’s envoy after he said Warsaw was partly to blame for the outbreak of World War Two, continuing a spat which has seen the Polish ambassador in Moscow summoned twice in just over a week.

Veteran Sports Journalist Allan La Rose will officially launch a weekly one hour live television show dubbed ‘Real Football Vybz’ tomorrow on the National Communications Network (NCN) from 21:00hrs.

Dear Editor, Guyana’s President David Granger will meet this evening with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro and United Nations Secre-tary General Ban Ki-Moon as efforts continue to find a lasting solution to the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.

(Continued)   The more I research this area of canine smelling, the more intriguing it be-comes; and the more I want to share these new pieces of interesting knowledge and information with you.

Mayor and City Council workers cleaning the drains outside the Bourda Market yesterday.

(Reuters Health) – Men who perceive themselves to be less masculine according to the traditional gender norms of society, and are feeling stressed about it, may be more prone to violent behaviour, according to a US study.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- Newly appointed West Indies Women’s captain, Stafanie Taylor, says she is depending on the support of her teammates to carry her through her first stint as skipper of the regional outfit.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Cuba’s President Raul Castro, speaking at the United Nations for the first time, yesterday hailed renewed diplomatic ties with the United States as “major progress” but slammed a US trade embargo as the top obstacle to Cuba’s economic development.

Thirty-two year-old Marsha Archer’s only dream is to complete her studies to become a lawyer, but while she has no difficulties with the academic requirements her struggle is to pay for those studies.

 Sunday Cartoon

There was no shortage of strange statements on the border last week.

Sonnets from China XVI (sometimes titled The Embassy) As evening fell the day’s oppression lifted; Far peaks came into focus; it had rained; Across wide lawns and cultured flowers drifted The conversation of the highly trained Two gardeners watched them pass and priced their shoes; A chauffer waited, reading in the drive, For them to finish their exchange of views; It seemed a picture of the private life.

 A view of the black water of the Mahaica River from St Cuthbert’s Mission

(Reuters) A rare crested macaque monkey who snapped a well-known, grinning “selfie” should be declared the photo’s owner and receive damages for copyright infringement after it was used in a wildlife book, animal rights activists argued in a federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

Dear Editor, Suppose net migration, and hence remittances, was zero over the past several years.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) says it’s awaiting a report outlining the reasons behind the abandonment of the third Jamaica trial match on the second day at Sabina Park on Wednesday.