Daily Archive: Friday, January 29, 2016

Shawn Harris called ‘Shawny’ or ‘Bruk Up’ and Timothy Asher Morrison, 26, are wanted by the police for questioning in relation to the robbery under arms committed on the Bank of Baroda at Mon Repos, ECD, on 2016-01-22.

Dear Editor, President Granger seems to be the consummate professional numismatologist (numismatist) ie, a collector of coins and medals.

Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Rickford Vieira has been dismissed.

Measures 6.1       Mr. Speaker, a range of measures are being proposed in this budget.

Introduction1.1        Mr. Speaker, I rise to move the motion for the approval of the Estimates of the Public Sector and the Budget for the Financial Year 2016 and, in doing so, I wish to indicate that Cabinet has recommended that the National Assembly proceed upon this motion, pursuant to Article 171 Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan is expected to announce a reduction in fuel prices and increases in the income tax threshold and the old age pension during his 2016 national budget presentation this afternoon, Stabroek News has learned.

The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) today said that there has been a further decrease in the level of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC), which supplies the city, due to the prolonged dry season.

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, CMC – Half-centuries from Keemo Paul and Gidron Pope failed to save West Indies Under-19s from a 61-run loss to England Under-19s in their opening game of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup here Friday.

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, and a team, yesterday, toured oil giant ExxonMobil’s storage yard at the Wieting and Richter Wharf to get a closer look at the company’s drilling pipes and other equipment, as it prepares to start drilling its second well here.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Wednesday, January 27th celebrated 16 years as a semi-autonomous organisation.

(Trinidad Guardian) Lockhart Sebastien is expected to be named manager of the West Indies team for the upcoming T20 World Cup in India. Sebastien

Dear Editor, Only in Guyana will anyone come across the kind of flawed and illogical reasoning that we see being put forth in support of corporal punishment in schools.

ATHENS, (Reuters) – The flame for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will pass through a refugee camp in Athens and one refugee will be among the torch bearers, the head of the International Olympic Committee said yesterday.

(The Sports Xchange) – LeBron James had 21 points and nine assists and forward Kevin Love had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 115-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

One of the priorities of the incoming Board of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) will be to oversee a programme to certify miners in the areas of maintenance and construction of mining pits.

Police yesterday issued a wanted bulletin for Gary Mervin Primo, who is being sought for questioning in connection with the disappearance of two men, including a national footballer, who have not been seen since last September.

Robbery accused Daymeion Millington had implicated now dead fugitive Rolston Morrison as one of the men who carried out the home invasion attack on Justice Nicola Pierre and her family, a police witness testified yesterday.

With Trinidad now as its sole fuel provider, Guyana is mulling following sister Caricom countries in search of additional suppliers to ensure fuel security here, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson says.

Pastor Winston Cramer, who was found guilty of causing the death of pedal cyclist Lennox Allicock by dangerous driving, was yesterday fined $100,000 by a city court.

Out of 177,734 acres of rice sown so far, 39,601 acres or 22% have been affected by the current dry weather conditions, according to Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Nizam Hassan.

Two government ministers yesterday told a visiting delegation from Norway that Guyana is committed to continuing a 2009 forest pact with the Scandinavian country.

A drug courier, who was held at the Ogle International Airport, is now a patient under guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he has been excreting pellets filled with the drug.

Despite dry weather conditions faced by rice farmers, the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) is confident that they will have water throughout the current crop cycle as water levels have started to rise.

An ex-convict was yesterday remanded to prison after being charged with chopping off a man’s finger and threatening to kill a couple.

Members of the new board of the Guyana Power and Light Company Incor-porated (GPL) were yesterday appointed and while they were given a series of administrative issues to act upon, they were also charged to ensure proper consumer services are provided.

Shakir Mohamed, who was on trial for the murder of Shewraney Doobay, was yesterday freed after Justice Navindra Singh upheld a no-case submission made by defence attorney Maxwell McKay.

Over 500 residents of Wales, West Bank Demerara and nearby villages joined a march in the community on Wednesday in protest at a decision by GuySuCo/the government to close the sugar estate.

President David Granger on Wednesday called on the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to live up to its pledge to ensure the peaceful settlement of disputes as laid out in the December 2011 Caracas Declaration.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Several West Indies stars are likely to be overlooked for the Tri-Nation tournament in June with the West Indies Cricket Board reiterating yesterday that only players who participated in the Regional Super50 earlier this month would be eligible for selection.

Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin last Wednesday confirmed that there had been a financial shortfall in the returns from last November’s Business Exposition staged by government to create a market opportunity for the small business sector and that prize winners in the Business Pitch competition staged as part of the event were indeed yet to receive their prizes.

The Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder charge against Richard Stanton, who is accused of killing of businesswoman Patricia Sanasie, continued yesterday with a police inspector giving his testimony.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has identified former West Indies master batsman Brian Lara as the most difficult batsmen he has ever bowled to.

The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) is calling for the removal of the Leila Ramson-led Teaching Service Commis-sion (TSC) over what it said is its disregard for an ongoing High Court injunction which bars the commission from approving promotions of senior teachers.

A collision of two cars at the corner of Mandela Avenue and Hadfield Streets left one driver with a broken neck early yesterday morning.

By: Valrie Grant, Managing Director GeoTechVision   This is the third in a series of articles Geographic Information Systems – Bringing it all together.

Police are looking to the results of an autopsy scheduled for today on the body of Drill, Mahaicony farmer Kurt Burke to determine whether he was murdered.

Roraima Airways Inc will launch its eighth annual Wedding Expo this morning at its Duke Lodge, Kingston hospitality facility.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – Four of the candidates for president of FIFA are heading to Qatar for meetings tomorrow, with one of them, South African Tokyo Sexwale, saying “the time for alliances is coming”.

A Cummings Street man was yesterday sentenced to three years in prison after he admitted to trafficking 20 grammes of cannabis.

For Carlos Angel, 15 years in the bauxite industry including nine years with the majority Russian-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI) reached an inglorious end early in January when his Russian bosses dismissed him after they said they had turned up at his work site and found the crew under his supervision not engaged in the pursuit of their duties.

Dear Editor, I was glad to read about the appointment of the Chairman and Board of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and was happier to learn that there was a new Chairman.

ANSA McAL through its Stag Beer brand, yesterday unveiled their second “Crown Your Community” promotion at the 704 Sports Lounge, which kicks off from the first week of February.

Dear Editor, Another of the stalwarts and great champions of the Test match era has called ‒ or rather was forced to call ‒ time on his great career that spanned over two decades.

By Peter Harrell (Peter Harrell is former deputy assistant secretary of state for counter-threat finance and sanctions.

A fisherman who allegedly stole two pairs of shoes was yesterday denied bail after he was unable to provide a valid address to a city court.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India named 20 cities yesterday which it says will be provided with uninterrupted power and water supplies, proper sanitation and public transport in a $7.5 billion makeover to turn them into smart cities with living standards comparable to Europe.

Dear Editor, Since I moved to D’Edward Village near the Berbice Bridge just over a year ago, I have been suffering from chronic low voltage at home.

Joint effort: John Fernandes Limited and Muneshwer’s Limited yesterday joined forces to clean the drain on Robb Street, west of Water Street which borders its properties and that of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry.

In the wake of the country’s offshore oil find announced by Exxon Mobil in May last year, Guyana is beginning to show greater interest in regional discourses on the energy sector.

Dear Editor, I worked as a cane-cutter (1967-70), at Diamond estate when I was 17-20 years old.

Dear Editor, Sometimes a little digging goes a long way, and leads to undesired places.

The Wednesday ‘clinics’ on the premises of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC) hosted by Minister in the Ministry of Natural Resources & the Environment Simona Broomes have positioned her at a juncture between workers and management with which she has become familiar.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, (Reuters) – A vaccine for the Zika virus, which has been linked to severe birth defects in thousands of infants, could be ready for emergency use before year-end, one of its lead developers said yesterday, a timetable well ahead of estimates by U.S.

(The Sports Xchange) – Lessons learned. Statement made. Moving on. The San Antonio Spurs wiped away the hurt from their worst loss of the season with a dominating 130-99 win against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday to remain undefeated at home.

(Trinidad Guardian) – LIAT, the Caribbean Airline, announced yesterday the complete removal of fuel surcharges on all new tickets booked, effective 1st March 2016.

(Trinidad Guardian) Support continues to grow for T&T and West Indies off spinner Sunil Narine, as the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs has given the spinner TT$35,000 to help correct his bowling action in an effort to represent West Indies at the World T20 Tournament in March.

This afternoon’s budget presentation to the National Assembly by Finance Minister Winston Jordan will communicate to the people of Guyana the chosen developmental direction of the APNU-AFC coalition government over the next five years, Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin told Stabroek Business in an interview on Wednesday.

Dear Editor, I make reference to a letter by Mr Tony Vieira captioned ‘A little more time is needed to disclose a plan for the sugar industry’ that was carried in your January 27 edition.

BOGOTA, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Truck drivers are part of the problem in the widespread sexual exploitation of children in Brazil along the nation’s highways but they now are becoming part of the solution, experts say.

With preparation for the 2016/17 CFU Caribbean Cup tournament high on the agenda of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), the proposed international friendly between Guyana and Suriname has been rescheduled from February 7th to February 21st.

ZURICH, (Reuters) – An important witness has offered information to help criminal proceedings against long-time president of the world soccer body FIFA, Sepp Blatter, the Swiss attorney general’s office said yesterday.

The Department of Education, Region Four  will be hosting its Regional Biennial Science, Mathematics and Technology Fair 2016, under the theme, “Enhancing Traditional Technologies to Sustain Modern Societies through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) on March 2nd -3rd, 2016.

Stabroek Business has learnt that the Guyana Forestry Commission is in discussions with the Chinese-owned Demerara Timbers Ltd for the renewal of two timber harvesting leases covering close to 400,000 hectares of forested area and initially granted to the company in June and October 1991, respectively.

Initially slated to be held on Saturday January 30th at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) pavilion, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) has been officially rescheduled.

Dear Editor, Let me say at the outset that it must not be business as usual in any section of the agricultural sector.

A first half Delon Lanferman blitz propelled Alpha ‘the Hammer’ United to a 4-0 drubbing of Mocha- based unit Riddim Squad when the pre-season friendlies continued on Wednesday at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground in Bourda.

SEATTLE, (Reuters) – A massive luxury yacht owned by Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen destroyed most of a protected coral reef during a visit to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean earlier this month, media reported.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic hit some spectacular shots and showed true grit to hold off a Roger Federer fightback as he reached the final of the Australian Open for the fifth time in six years with a 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory yesterday.

DES MOINES, Iowa, (Reuters) – Donald Trump shunned last night’s debate of the Republican presidential candidates hosted by Fox News and instead filled an auditorium a few miles down the road, trying to prove his widespread support only days before Iowa kicks off the nominating voting process.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A U.S. Treasury official’s assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin is corrupt “best reflects the administration’s view,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a daily briefing yesterday.

Dear Editor, I am grateful to Mr Nigel Westmaas for his letter in the Stabroek News (Thursday, January 28), in which he informed readers of the passing of his uncle the late Rory Westmaas on January 24.

Ahead of the anticipated influx of visitors to join in the festivities associated with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Guyana’s independence, some of the country’s prominent hotels have told Stabroek Business that they are already fully booked for the period.

(Trinidad Express) Caribbean Premier League (CPL) cricket operations director Michael Hall has confirmed that the West Indies Test series in Caribbean could coincide with this year’s ‘biggest party in sport’.

(Barbados Nation) Top United States drug fighters have given Barbadian cops high marks for steering clear of corruption.

Dear Editor, The questioning of four top politicians from the opposition PPP/C two weeks ago raised eyebrows and members of the public want to know if there is any merit since one of those being questioned, Gail Teixeira, told a news conference that the move is aimed at threatening and intimidating PPP members of Parliament.

(Reuters) – Dozens of Boston-area residents linked to the Central American-based MS-13 street gang were being rounded up by law enforcement authorities yesterday after their indictments on racketeering conspiracy charges related to murders and other crimes, federal prosecutors said.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 652’s trading results showed consideration of $748,940 from 30,680 shares traded in 11 transactions as compared to session 651’s trading results, which showed consideration of $7,007,008 from 77,841 shares traded in 20 transactions.

LONDON, (Reuters) – IAAF president Sebastian Coe has denied knowing of “bribes being offered or received” in the awarding of the 2017 world athletics championships, a spokesman for the crisis-hit governing body said yesterday.

RECIFE, Brazil, (Reuters) – Children born with abnormally small heads and brain defects linked to the outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil are also suffering serious damage to their eyesight and possibly their hearing, doctors said yesterday.

The closest that this newspaper was able to come to getting anyone in authority to talk about some of the likely features of the APNU-AFC coalition’s first full annual budget came during an extended interview with Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin on Wednesday.

“Trading is not just a sideline for me. It is what I do.

Dear Editor, As we welcome and celebrate a landmark event ‒ our 50th year of Independence ‒ I wish we could strive for a different style of leadership, a kind of new orientation in reinitiating the march towards a more uplifting political approach.

It was back in 2011 that we asked, “What more can one say about Shivnarine Chanderpaul that has not already been said?”

Kitco is a Canadian company that buys and sells precious metals such as gold, copper and silver.

ASUNCION, (Reuters) – The South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL threw its support behind Gianni Infantino’s bid for the presidency of soccer’s crisis-hit governing body FIFA yesterday, days after central American countries pledged to back him.

BURNS, Ore., (Reuters) – The FBI yesterday released a video investigators say shows one of the occupiers of an Oregon wildlife refuge reach for his jacket pocket before he was shot dead by law enforcement after speeding away from a traffic stop where the group’s leader was arrested.

  -We’re 23 today!Strange how one can juxtapose seemingly oblique, or very unrelated events, personalities, reminiscences, when one vivid, even startling bit of drama unfolds.

(Reuters) – The second one-day international between New Zealand and Pakistan in Napier was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to heavy rain and a wet outfield yesterday.