Daily Archive: Monday, May 2, 2016

Serious flooding was avoided after the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and City Hall took action to clear two culverts in Queenstown, Georgetown this morning, GINA said.

About 1415h. today, the police say that Rawle Adams, 45 years, of Mackenzie, Linden, was driving a motor car along the roadway at Bamia on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, allegedly at a fast rate, when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed.

BANGALORE, India, CMC – Chris Gayle’s batting failures continued as Jamaica and West Indies teammate, Andre Russell, upstaged him with an electrifying cameo to fire Kolkata Knight Riders to an important win in the Indian Premier League here today.

On April 27, 2016, the Ministry of Natural Resources commenced the second initiative under its “A Clean Environment” Project by providing support to Bartica, Essequibo, Region 7.

(Trinidad Guardian) Government has begun statistical groundwork for decriminalising of marijuana possession, says Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi.

United for the first time in decades, trade union leaders yesterday blasted the David Granger administration for its failure to keep several promises but Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said that work is being done even as he urged that the criticism of government be fair.

As investigations into the Ramada Princess Casino robbery continue, police last night swooped on a house at Vreed-en-Hoop on the West Coast of Demerara and arrested a man who had over $900,000 in his possession.

Youth and women’s representatives yesterday blasted union leaders for not giving them opportunities at the leadership level and called for their inclusion and for succession planning.

A massive clean-up campaign was yesterday rolled out by the Mayor and City Council at the Stabroek Market square.

In response to attacks by political commentator and WPA activist, David Hinds, the Alliance for Change (AFC) yesterday said that it was  “neither opportunistic nor have we lost our political conviction”.

With approval granted by government, coupled with its signalled intent to pass the long-awaited telecommunications liberalisation legislation, the country’s two mobile carriers GTT and Digicel have announced that they will roll out 4G service in time for Guyana’s 50th Anniversary celebrations.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) yesterday said that it has completed over 30 percent of works on stands during its first week of management of the D’Urban Park Development Project.

Hundreds of workers from different unions across the country braved the weather to march together as a historic Labour Day saw the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana  (FITUG) and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) rally together for the first time in over two decades.

Government continues to maintain the Amaila Falls Access Road while it mulls options for recovering the maintenance costs incurred yearly.

Release De Beast captured a gate-to-pole victory at the Bush Lot United Turf Club to win the feature event of the Labour Day Classic, justifying the favourite tag given at the start of the race.

Speaking in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Minister of State Joseph Harmon on Saturday urged Guyanese to return home and be part of the country’s development.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Caribbean Premier League organisers say they are close to striking a deal with the Barbados government, for the support of the embattled franchise Barbados Tridents.

The Ministry of Communities is seeking to address concerns over the resources available to the office of mayors and deputy mayors across the country, according to Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green.

SOCHI, Russia,  (Reuters) – Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg chalked up his seventh win in a row at the Russian Grand Prix yesterday with team mate LewisHamilton fighting back from 10th on the grid to seal a Mercedes one-two finish.

The Guyana Revenue Authority says an extension has been granted for the submission of tax returns.

(The Sports Xchange) – Klay Thompson bombed in a game-high 37 points and Draymond Green recorded his first career postseason triple-double as the Golden State Warriors ran off early from the Portland Trail Blazers en route to a 118-106 victory in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series in Oakland, California, yesterday.

LONDON,  CMC – Leeward Islands Hurricanes batsman Chesney Hughes got a start but failed to carry on as Derbyshire kept Northamptonshire in the field for the entire first day of their English County Championship game here yesterday.

Dear Editor, Between 18th and 20th April the various media houses carried extracts from a US State Department report which claimed that overcrowding at the various prisons in Guyana was a result of the presence of high numbers of persons on remand.

(The Sports Xchange) – Miami point guard Goran Dragic had a game-high 25 points as the Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals by routing the Charlotte Hornets 106-73 in a deciding Game 7 yesterday.

Dear Editor, I drove around town early yesterday morning and realized that, of the wards of Central Georgetown, only East Queenstown was still experiencing severe flooding. 

Solidarity forever: Government and trade union reps sing the Solidarity song during the May Day rally at the National Park yesterday.

(The Sports Xchange) – LeBron James scored 27 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers made a record 25 three-pointers to pound the Atlanta Hawks 123-98 on Wednesday to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Dear Editor, I like to listen to or read great speeches.

Vice-President of the Demerara Volleyball Association (DVA) Ian Wills said some of the performances during the recent Secondary School’s tournament, though thoroughly unexpected was encouraging nonetheless as the association seeks to blood players for the future.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday night increased the country’s minimum wage 30 percent, amid rampant inflation that has destroyed purchasing power in the crisis-hit country.

BAIMAJING, China, (Reuters) – The fishing fleet based in this tiny port town on Hainan island is getting everything from military training and subsidies to even fuel and ice as China creates an increasingly sophisticated fishing militia to sail into the disputed South China Sea.

MELBOURNE, Australia, CMC – All-rounder Mitchell Marsh is a doubt for next month’s Tri-Nations Series involving West Indies and South Africa, after being ruled out of the Indian Premier League with a side strain.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The body of an American missionary was found in bushes in Albion Mountain, St Mary on Saturday with its hands bound to the back.

Dear Editor, Writing to the letters column of your newspaper is my last resort after one year of complaints to the Environmental Protection Agency, Guyana Human Rights Association and the relevant government ministries.

The Guyana Teachers’ Union contingent

(Barbados Nation) Stamping out smoking will take more than a legal ban on cigarette advertisements.

SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – Nearly a decade after a spike in global food prices sent shockwaves around the world, Asia’s top rice producers are suffering from a blistering drought that threatens to cut output and boost prices of a staple for half the world’s population.

In a groundbreaking development for the nation’s youth footballers the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has joined with the National Milling Company (NAMILCO) to stage a countrywide U17 football tournament which will last for approximately one year.

Dear Editor, Guyana stamped its mark on the international circuit at the Expo 1967 in Canada, and from reading, I understand that the cultural aspects of our nation were well displayed and represented at that event.

DHAKA,  (Reuters) – Three assailants sped up to a Bangladeshi tailor’s shop by motorcycle on Saturday, dragged out the Hindu owner and hacked him to death, police said, in an attack claimed by Islamic State.

BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Colombian police have captured alleged Peruvian drug kingpin Gerson Aldair Galvez Calle, known by his alias ‘Caracol,’ Colombia’s defense minister, Luis Carlos Villegas, said yesterday.

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – A Brazilian judge yesterday ratified the settlement Samarco and its owners, BHP Billiton and Vale SA, signed with the Brazilian government in March to cover damages for a deadly dam spill last year, Vale said in a statement.

Dear Editor, Saturday was supposed to be the final day for the submission of income tax returns, yet when a number of people visited the Diamond branch of the GRA in the morning to submit their returns, it was not open.

Guyana’s male U16 basketball team has been placed in Zone-A and the female team in Zone-B following the draw for the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) championships which will be staged here in July.

May day: No to the closure of Wales estate

By Cynthia Barrow-Giles   Cynthia Barrow-Giles is Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.

(Trinidad Express) Trinidad-born Tamika Gibson has won the 2016 Canadian Organization for Development through Education (CODE) Burt Award for Caribbean literature.

Three matters that made the news in recent days deserve brief commentaries.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Almost half of the world’s top 500 investors are doing nothing to address climate change through their investments, a study showed yesterday.

Dear Editor, I refer to the news report “Government will not undermine media workers’ professionalism – Granger” (SN, 30 April 2016) in which President David Granger is reported to have said “The Government of Guyana is committed to the promotion of a high degree of media professionalism.

On April 8, the Ministry of Business issued a statement in which it said that the government had given the green light to a proposal from the Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin for a ‘Trusted Trader’ programme to benefit legitimate businesses.

 Politikles

RAJKOT, India, CMC – Dwayne Smith flattered to deceive while Dwayne Bravo suffered the indignity of a first ball ‘duck’, as leaders Gujarat Lions suffered a batting collapse to slide to a 23-run defeat to Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League here yesterday.