Daily Archive: Saturday, December 3, 2016

Britain’s Prince Harry today visited the world famous Kaieteur Falls.(GINA photo)  

The Office of the Leader of the Opposition today said that it is estimated that proposed changes to the VAT regime will yield a further $25b in taxes to the government.

With the 2017 budget coming under withering criticism, the government is continuing to mount a defence of it, contending today that new tax measures will pump $9.5b into the economy.

Bharrat Jagdeo, Leader of the Opposition today undertook a walkabout along Regent Street, Georgetown where he interacted with vendors, store owners and other citizens on budget 2017, among other issues negatively affecting the country, a release from his office said.

Staff of the Ministry of the Presidency got a photograph with Prince Harry (left) after he visited President David Granger.

Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday called on President David Granger to convene his Cabinet and withdraw the proposed 2017 budget or examine the concerns of society and remove some of the most oppressive measures, which he said would devastate the lives of many poor people and will cause the productive sector to regress.

Britain’s Prince Henry arrived yesterday for a three-day visit that began with a hectic schedule of events, which included laying a wreath at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in Kingston to pay homage to those who died in World Wars I and II.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Nico Rosberg stunned Formula One on Friday with the shock announcement that he was retiring only days after achieving a lifetime ambition by winning his first world championship with Mercedes.

In the early 2000s, it cost US$500,000 for 10 patients to receive cardiac treatment overseas.

Guyana has been granted a US$9 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan to help strengthen the economy and stimulate exports and investments.

MONACO,  CMC – Sprint superstar Usain Bolt captured the men’s IAAF World Athlete-of-the-Year award for a record sixth time here Friday, as he was rewarded for his outstanding exploits at the summer Olympics in Rio.

More than six month after skeletal remains were unearthed at the Campbellville residence of Babita Sarjou’s estranged husband, DNA tests have confirmed that they are indeed hers.

In what can be described as the biggest upset in the history of the tournament, Stevedore Ballers overcame West Front Road-Gold is Money 2-1, when the 7th Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Georgetown Zone continued on Thursday.

Two men, known to the police as serial robbers, were caught early yesterday morning after they robbed the Wild Caught Fresh Fish Depot at the Meadow Bank Wharf, Ruimveldt, East Bank Demerara.

Guyana Jaguars ace spinner Veerasammy Permaul said he’s satisfied with his form after the first three rounds of the 2016/17 Digicel Professional Cricket League (PCL) 4-Day tournament, but is looking to improve his performance with the Pink Ball in the upcoming round.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – West Indies Under-19s will gather in Grenada next week to begin preparation for the Regional Super50 which bowls off next January.

Licensed guns belonging to Siddique Rasul, owner of RSS Security Services, have undergone ballistic testing that have cleared them of any link to the fatal shooting outside the Rio Inn nightclub, according to his attorney Nigel Hughes.

Incumbent Steve Ninvalle was re-elected unopposed as President when the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday last at Olympic House, in Kingston.

Even as he called the blaming of magistrates for the overcrowding in the prison system unfair, acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Carl Singh yesterday urged judicial officers to take into consideration all circumstances before making a decision on bail.

Local sculptor Winslow Craig and social activist Dr Christopher Arif Bulkan are among four people in the region who will receive the Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence (ANSCAFE) in 2017 for their stellar contributions in the arts and civil society.

The second Guyana Cycling News (GCN) gala will be held tomorrow at the Bunker 80 Bar on Lime and Hadfield streets from 6pm.

As it increases its visibility, the Epilepsy Foundation of Guyana (EFG) has started a support group and it has also been able to procure a donation of epilepsy drugs for the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).

Matchday two in the 3rd Annual Smalta Girls Pee Wee Football Championship group stage commences today at the Ministry of Education ground with eight fixtures.

The Guyana Creative Business Society, an umbrella organisation established as a representative body of all art forms in Guyana, was launched last evening at the Umana Yana.

MONACO, (Reuters) – Japanese sportswear giant Asics Corp will take over from Adidas as the official sponsor of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), a source with knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Friday.

Dear Editor, Having observed the successful demonization of a US presidential candidate who spent the majority of her adult life in public service by the self-serving millionaire Trump and his trumpets, and closer to home, the attempted character assassination and actual assassination of Ronald Waddell, my late partner and political activist, I am moved to speak on a similar matter that came up recently.

DHAKA, Bangladesh,  CMC – Marlon Samuels struck his second straight half-century and third in four innings to fire Comilla Victorians to their third straight victory in the Bangladesh Premier League here Friday.

Tired of being alerted to all that was negative in Guyana on the worldwide web, a couple decided to fight the bad with the good and created a space specifically designed to showcase all that was positive in the Land of Many Waters, giving birth to the Visit Guyana Facebook page.

Dear Editor, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, during his 2017 Budget speech, announced that the government will be reintroducing the environmental tax on plastic bottles, which would be $10 per bottle.

Government plans to inject $31.2 billion into the health sector next year in hopes of furthering its plans to achieve universal coverage.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago FA president, David John Williams, says there has been an overwhelming response to the national head coach position, made vacant by the recent sacking of Stephen Hart, and expects the replacement to be named by next week.

Dear Editor, In spite of the billions allocated for medicines and medical supplies in the 2017 budget, there is little hope that shortages of medicines and medical supplies will be reduced in the public health sector.

The two major mining groups, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) and the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO), are calling on the government to reexamine proposed budgetary measures that they say will lead to further decline of local mining.

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Joe Root expects Alastair Cook to continue to lead England for “a few years to come” amid rising speculation on the future of the 31-year-old as test captain.

Dear Editor, Permit me to address your editorial ‘Youth and politics’ first from the perspective of its primary fallacy, the almost caricaturist representation of Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan as a lone heroic figure who “steadfastly tries to break the glass ceiling that seems to be affecting young politicians.”

A guard was shot yesterday during an attempt by a bandit to steal the payroll for E.C.

(Reuters) – Tiger Woods, in his second round of competitive golf since returning from a chronic back injury that kept him out for almost 16 months, shot a flawless seven-under 65 at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on Friday.

Kenny Hercules was one of the up and coming models given the opportunity to walk the runway at the Pegasus Hotel during Guyana Fashion Week three weeks ago and from all accounts he made the stage his and really sold the designs he wore.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens… – “My Favourite Things” (1959) by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein – The Sound of Music Not everyone will agree with legendary musicians Rodgers and Hammerstein about their favourite things.

Dear Editor, The Finance Minister on the TV programme, ‘Budget in Focus’, December 1, stated that the movement of a range of household items from a zero rating to exempt status would reduce the price charged to consumers.

MADRID,  (Reuters) – Spanish police arrested 34 people with alleged links to a tennis match-fixing ring suspected of manipulating bets in tournaments across Spain and Portugal, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

A man is now a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was shot to his back late Thursday night after being robbed by three men.

BANJUL, (Reuters) – Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, who once vowed to rule the tiny West African nation for “a billion years”, said he had accepted his shock election defeat yesterday, 22 years after seizing power in a coup.

A Brazilian national has been arrested after his workmate was found dead in a pit on Wednesday morning.

Waking up at 4 am to get to remote locations before sunrise might not be your idea of fun, but for local wildlife photographer, Kester Clarke, it’s a great way to spend his weekends.

Seven little beauties will be vying for the Miss St Ambrose Primary title and according to the coordinator the girls will display what it means to be a student of the school.

Hi Everyone, What’s Cooking is a series in which I address questions you may have about food and cooking but are too shy to ask.

Dear Editor, As the judiciary continues to haemorrhage because of judicial vacancies, and the consequent sloth which afflicts the machinery of justice continues to magnify, Attorney General Basil Williams continues his campaign in the press to defend and justify the President abdicating his responsibility to appoint persons as and to promote judges recommended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), as mandated by the constitution.

THE HAGUE, (Reuters) – The Dutch government yesterday backed a multi-year inquiry into the end of its colonial period in Indonesia in the 1940s, when troops from the Netherlands are accused of massacres in Southeast Asia’s largest nation.

Mark Thompson, who is charged with murdering Brazilian miner, Jose Rodriguez De Oliveira, has been called upon to a lead a defence.

Plumbing the depths: Scores of persons gathered around the canal along Avenue of the Republic on Thursday after the police used a homeless man to search the waterway for a gun.

It all happens tomorrow night when the LARAMADE Musical Theatre Troupe brings joie de vivre, French for ‘The Joy of Life’ to the National Cultural Centre.

NEW YORK,(Reuters) – A former head of the Peruvian soccer federation pleaded not guilty on Friday to U.S.

Dear Editor, Enough has been written already about the far-reaching effects of that 14% electricity hike. 

We eat every day, but for some of us, preparing and tasting the same food every week, month and year can get boring.

If you asked an international group of enthusiasts what was the greatest boxing match of all time, there would be no consensus.

 Earlier this week, my husband and I hosted one of his colleagues for dinner.

Dear Editor, Guyanese are known to be hospitable and helping people.

First Published: December 3, 1988. A friend remembered ROSEMARY KEMPADOO, friend, sister, co-mother, comrade to many died in England on Tuesday November 15.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.,  (Reuters) – Norway yesterday urged U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to enunciate a clear and predictable policy on Russia as soon as possible, amid growing concerns in Oslo about increasing Russian military activities in the “High North” or Arctic region.

The Golden Arrowhead was flown at half-mast yesterday across the country to honour the late President of Cuba Fidel Castro.

Fidel Castro remained a paradox up to end of his life.

The average Guyanese will probably not pry into every detail of the budget.

  Rockets 132, Warriors 127 (double overtime) (The Sports Xchange)  James Harden propelled the Houston Rockets (12-7) to a 132-127 double-overtime road victory that ended the Warriors’ 12-game winning streak.

An arrest warrant was on Thursday issued for Somal Sharma, the network administrator for Kaieteur News, who was a no-show for the third time for the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the charges against Alfie Garraway, Janiel Howard and Leroy Williams, the three men accused of throwing a grenade outside the newspaper.

A reception was held last evening for Britan’s Prince Harry (right) at the residence of the British High Commissioner.