Daily Archive: Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had the opportunity yesterday to meet with students from Arapaima Primary School in Region 9, GINA said.

Several local customs officers, as well as stakeholders in the public and private sector benefitted from a customs and trade facilitation capacity workshop, at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), GINA said.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure will be undertaking remedial works to the Supenaam stelling in Essequibo, which is currently in a deplorable state, GINA said.

KOLKATA, India, CMC – West Indies captain Darren Sammy said today the contracts impasse with the West Indies Cricket Board was a thing of the past and stressed the squad was now fully focused on winning the Twenty20 World Cup.

PETERSBURG, Fla., (Reuters) – Hulk Hogan told a Florida jury on Monday he was “completely humiliated” by a secretly recorded sex tape published online by Gawker, as he seeks $100 million in damages from the website in a case testing celebrity privacy rights and freedom of the press in the digital age.

US oil giant ExxonMobil has donated $20m to the  National Protected Areas Commission for work on the Botanical Gardens, Vlissengen Road.

The police are conducting investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of Cuban national Joel Perez Laffita, 47 years, whose body was found on the roadway at Providence, EBD, at about 0130h.

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 title defence suffered a jolt on the day the tournament gets underway with Lasith Malinga’s slow recovery from a knee injury forcing the fast bowler to hand over captaincy to Angelo Mathews.

While the PPP yesterday said “heads must roll” for the fatal fire at the Camp Street prison, which resulted in the deaths of 17 inmates last Thursday, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan dismissed the call for his sacking as “ridiculous.”

The members of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) that will probe last Thursday’s fiery revolt at the Georgetown Prison, which claimed 17 lives, were sworn in yesterday and have been given additional time to complete their final report.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has advised that a murder charge be levelled against Dennis Marks who allegedly stabbed and killed Police Sergeant Leonard LaRose last week Tuesday.

Former home affairs minister Clement Rohee yesterday said that embattled Deputy Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels who was accused of killing a prisoner in 2008 was reinstated after the case against him was dismissed.

Post-mortem examinations of almost half of the 17 prisoners who died at the Georgetown Prison last Thursday during a fiery protest, were yesterday conducted during which some family members viewing the remains for the first time, broke down in tears.

Surinamese national Damaris Chaslie, who attempted to smuggle cocaine hidden in her privates onto an outgoing flight at the Ogle Airport last year, has been jailed for three years.

Two sitting councillors are running for the Lodge North/Meadow Brook Gardens constituency seat at the March 18 elections and they are facing competition from independents in a seven-person race.

Salt and Pepper Restaurant and Bakery reopened its doors to the public on Thursday last, following renovations and under new management.

Nand Persaud and Company is urging the Ministry of Agriculture to reconsider granting the approval for the aerial spraying of pesticides as it states that the rice that has been reaped so far is showing an unusually high percentage of damage.

Dear Editor, In principle, it was a positive initiative of the Under the Tamarind Tree company to sponsor the Georgetown Debate 2016 featuring representatives from 6 parties contesting the local government elections, which was held on Saturday, March 5 at the Theatre Guild.

Forty participants from Caricom member states, the Caricom Secretariat, the United Nations as well as other regional and intergovernmental organisations are currently being trained in how best to conduct electoral observations.

Accused of robbing a University of Guyana (UG) guard, a man yesterday told a court that he was drunk and could not remember what he had done on the day in question.

It was a night of upset wins as the Guyana Defence Force and Buxton United defeated Pele and Georgetown Football Club respectively when the League Finale section of the GFF Stag Beer Elite League continued on Sunday.

Dear Editor, With the historic local government elections looming there was a historic debate on Saturday night last.

Dear Editor, All over this nation election fever is catching on; the enthusiasm of those running for office is as bright as the sun and the nation is abuzz as we set to overthrow old local regimes and install new ones via the ballot box.

Defending champs Pacesetters as well as inaugural winner Ravens stormed their way into the quarterfinal round when the 3rd Annual GABF Road to Mecca National Club Championship continued on Sunday.

KOLKATA, India, CMC – West Indies arrived here early yesterday from Dubai to begin their final preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup set to bowl off here today.

A Pomeroon boat captain was yesterday placed on $50,000 bail after he denied fraudulently converting more than $1 million in items that he was supposed to keep safe for his employer.

Dear Editor, In Guyana we have been trying for 19 years to have local government elections, and finally these are set for March 18, thanks to the APNU+AFC coalition government.

Says Emmerson Campbell The Running Brave Athletic Club (RBAC) can safely be called a breeding ground for talent and champions.

An Eccles mason was yesterday fined and had his licence suspended after he admitted to charges of driving under the influence (DUI) at a city court.

Dear Editor, Lawlessness in Guyana seems to be the order of the day in spite of the new government’s commitment to aggressively pursue corruption in all its forms.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Barack Obama will be accompanied on his historic visit to Cuba this month by up to 20 members of the Senate and House of Representatives, US congressional sources said yesterday.

A Guyhoc Park youth who pleaded guilty to cannabis possession has been given the opportunity by the Chief Magistrate to work in the police force as a means of turning his life around.

Guyana’s FIFA Referee Assessor Roy McArthur will depart local shores shortly for the Jamaica to assess a 2018 World Cup Qualifier between the home side and Costa Rica.

Dear Editor, My critique of state violence against citizens since Independence, including those who oppose the government has understandably enraged opinion on both sides of our ethno-political divide.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Cricket’s world governing body (ICC) said on Monday that its anti-corruption unit was probing the Hong Kong team but ruled out any match-fixing angle to its investigation.

Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield has appealed the decision of former acting Chief Justice Ian Chang to overrule his summons to have the elections petition filed by the opposition PPP/C parliamentarian Ganga Persaud struck out.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – West Indies will enter the Twenty20 World Cup in India second in the ICC rankings, with the hosts installed as the top-ranked side heading into the March 8 to April 3 global event.

A teen, who was accused of stealing about $200,000 in cash and valuables during a break-in, was yesterday cleared of the charge a court raised doubt over whether he was identified during the crime.

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean and US troops began large-scale military exercises yesterday in an annual test of their defences against North Korea, which called the drills “nuclear war moves” and threatened to respond with an all-out offensive.

Dear Editor, After reading a letter penned by Mr Charles Ramson Jr regarding his reasons for the deaths of the 17 prisoners last week, I wish to state that he is somewhat oblivious of the facts that surround this entire unfortunate occurrence.

Dear Editor, All rape cases tried in Georgetown at present are conducted in camera, whether or not the victim is a child or an adult.

Almost seven years after the Ministry of Health main building located at Brickdam was gutted by a fire, the police yesterday arrested the third suspect, who had managed to flee the jurisdiction after being released on bail.

BRASILIA (Reuters) – A friend of Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrested in November for allegedly taking out a fraudulent loan for the ruling Workers’ Party is negotiating a plea bargain deal with prosecutors, newspaper Valor Economico reported yesterday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Off-spinner Ashley Nurse says the preparation camp which ended here Sunday has left West Indies in high spirits, heading into the Twenty20 World Cup starting in India next week.

Dear Editor, In a letter by Mr Mohabir Anil Nandlall published in the Stabroek News of 27th February, headlined: ‘Hearsay evidence inadmissible in a court can be received in an inquiry,’ Mr Nandlall stated: “Regarding the evidence it is trite law that the rules of evidence applicable to a court of law in litigation do not apply to Commissions of Inquiry.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s president has said his country will not pay for White House hopeful Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the US-Mexico border, and likened his “strident tone” to the ascent of dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Dear Editor, I learnt with much grief about the death of Police Sergeant 16934 Leonard La Rose.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders welcomed Turkey’s offer yesterday to take back all migrants who cross into Europe from its soil and agreed in principle to Ankara’s demands for more money, faster EU membership talks and quicker visa-free travel in return.

(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Sunday’s National Basketball Association games.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Under-19 World Cup star Jyd Goolie is now targeting a spot in the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force side.

Dear Editor,   Could the relevant authority alert the driving public as to when motor vehicle fitness will be issued?

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, the highest-paid woman in sports, said yesterday that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she has been taking for 10 years for health issues.

Dear Editor, Recently I read of another unnecessary road death – Trem Williams driving his car on Aubrey Barker Road who was killed by yet another speeding minibus.

BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Access to potentially life-saving contraception and abortion can be a lottery for women and girls in Latin America, often depending on their ability to pay or the personal and religious views of a health worker, Amnesty Inter-national said yesterday.

(Reuters) – Officials with the nonprofit Simon Wiesenthal Center praised Twitter Inc yesterday for increasing efforts to thwart Islamic State’s use of its platform for recruitment and propaganda.

Pupils of the South Road Nursery School clad in gold and the colours of the flag of Guyana in their school yard yesterday as they celebrated ‘Guyana Day’.

Dear Editor, The new Prime Minister of Jamaica, young Andrew Holness made a very mature call for partnership minutes after he was sworn in as the new head of government of the most populated English-speaking country in the Caribbean.

Brightly dressed devotees heading to the Guyana Sevashram Sangha at Cove and John, East Coast Demerara for Maha Shivaratri observances (Photo by Keno George)

It ought to have come as no surprise that the APNU-AFC administration has taken this long to announce the names of its heads of mission – ambassadors and high commissioners – to those countries with which Guyana has resident diplomatic relations, even though the very names that were eventually made public last week were being bandied about for many months.

(Reuters) – Denver Broncos quarterback  Peyton Manning bid an emotional farewell to the National Football League yesterday after an 18-year career that established him as one of the game’s greatest quarterbacks.