Daily Archive: Saturday, December 31, 2016

Homicides detectives probing the murder of pensioner Bibi Keneiz of Cornelia Ida, W.C.D,

ISTANBUL/ANKARA, (Reuters) – A gunman shot his way into an Istanbul nightclub packed with New Year’s revellers early on Sunday, killing at least 35 people and wounding more than 40 in what the provincial governor described as a terrorist attack.

A high- level consultation meeting that had broad representation took place today, to determine the way forward for the ailing sugar industry, a release from GINA said.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – A joint memorial service and side-by-side burial are being planned for mother-and-daughter Hollywood stars Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, who died a day apart earlier this week in Los Angeles, the family said on Friday.

President David Granger today announced the appointment of the following persons as Senior Counsel “on account of their exemplary experience, erudition, excellence and diligence in the practice of the law, with effect from January 1, 2017”.

(Trinidad Guardian) Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) President General Ancel Roget yesterday announced that the union will serve strike notice on State-owned Petrotrin on Wednesday.

Red House was the scene of high drama yesterday after the private group running it secured a conservatory order from the court against the government’s revocation of its lease and a candlelight vigil by the PPP/C last evening attracted a counter-protest led by Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence.

A 3-year-old girl is now dead and her family is homeless after a fire suspected to be electrical in origin gutted their two-storey Vigilance South Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara home early yesterday morning.

The National Industrial and Commercial Invest-ments Limited (NICIL) is preparing to begin arbitration to recover the outstanding, mystery-riddled US$5 million for the sale of government shares in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT).

Sugar production will end the year at 183,000 tonnes, roughly 56,000 tonnes less than the figure which had originally been set for 2016.

There are about 30 government entities and companies that owe government holding company, National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) money and according to Officer in Charge, Horace James every effort is being made to get these outstanding sums.

A man was yesterday read two separate charges by a city magistrate, one of murder and the other of unlawful wounding that occurred three years ago.

The Marriott Hotel is still making attempts to secure funding to build an entertainment centre which may help to service its debt, Horace James, the Officer in Charge of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), the hotel’s lone shareholder said yesterday.

The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) yesterday announced a hike in some benefits and an increase in the insurable income ceiling by 10% In a statement, the NIS said the minimum rate for Old Age and Invalidity Pensions will rise from $25,000 to $27,500 per month.

Five persons were injured last night in a three-vehicle accident on the Annandale, East Coast Demerara public road after a bus lost control while it was attempting to overtake another bus.

Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin walked along Regent Street yesterday and visited several businesses where he received mixed reviews about the holiday shopping season.

Minster of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally, last evening, announced Government’s allocation of $10M towards the advancement of the work of the Salvation Army in Guyana’s Rehabilitation Programme for 2017.

Continuous judicial education is needed to ensure that the competence of the judiciary is maintained and that the public receives the highest standard of service, acting Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards said on Thursday, moments before launching the Justice Education Institute–Guyana (JEI).

With effect from tomorrow, January 1, 2017, the security fee per departing passenger via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri will rise from $1,500 to $2,500.

Eagles Thursday night ended the reign of three time defending champions Winners Connections defeating the latter 5-4 on sudden death penalty kicks to seal their berth to the final of the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) GT Beer Championship.

The depositions of two deceased witnesses, were yesterday read into evidence at the trial of Dennis Williams, called ‘Anaconda,’ Mark Royden Williams, called ‘Smallie’ and Roger Simon, called ‘Goat Man’ who have been indicted for the massacre of the 12 persons at Bartica in 2008.

Conde Riley is tired. He has worked for 30-odd years as a banker with Barclays Bank in Barbados and the United Kingdom but what the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Director and Chairman of the Barbados Pride cricket franchise is really tired of is the negative reports on West Indies cricket.

The Police in B Division are currently looking for two men for questioning in connection with the body of a forty-nine year old man that was discovered in a trench at Williamsburg, Corentyne, on Thursday, with several marks of violence. 

Move over Santa Claus. You are not the only one who made a list this time of year.

According to the Chief City Engineer Colvern Venture, the city, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI), will be taking on the works to repair the sinkhole that appeared more than a week ago at the eastern end of the Seawall Road, near Carifesta Avenue.

A La Penitence man was yesterday remanded to prison by a city magistrate for allegedly harming a little girl with a sharp object.

National badminton player Narayan Ramdhani, preparing for a series of tournaments come 2017, attended the National Coaching Certification Programme Shuttle Time workshop on December 27 at the Shuttlesport Badminton Academy in Port Coquitlam.

PORT ELIZABETH,  (Reuters) – South Africa’s bowlers needed a little more than an hour of the final day’s play to dismiss Sri Lanka for 281 in their second innings and claim a 206-run victory in the first test yesterday.

The two Berbice constables who were remanded to prison on December 22, on the charge of having narcotics in their possession for the purpose of trafficking, once again were denied bail yesterday.

PALM BEACH, Fla./ MOSCOW, (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for refraining from retaliation in a dispute over spying and cyber attacks, in another sign that the Republican plans to patch up badly frayed relations with Moscow.

The huge forestry concession in the north west of Guyana relinquished by Barama Company Limited (BCL) has been quartered and one portion will be set aside for conservation.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Mitchell Starc shone with bat and ball as Australia dismissed Pakistan for 163 to secure an innings and 18-run victory in the second test yesterday, the win giving the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Dear Editor, Last week, the Leader of the Opposition submitted to the President, a list of six persons from which the President is entitled to choose one, in accordance with article 161 (2) of the Constitution, to fill the vacant position of Chairman of the Elections Commission.

Dear Editor, It is very sad that the Rice Producers Association representatives are misleading farmers in Region 5, when this association claims that it has the farmers’ interest at heart.

Two pump attendants employed by the Mayor and City Council were suspended for three days after they were found guilty of neglecting their duties at their pump stations during heavy flooding two Fridays ago. 

KINSHASA,  (Reuters) – Congolese President Joseph Kabila will step down after elections to be held by the end of 2017 under a last-minute deal struck by political parties yesterday, the lead mediator of the talks said.

MELBOURNE, Australia, CMC – West Indies all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, will require surgery on his injured hamstring, ruling him out of the remainder of Melbourne Renegades’ campaign in the Big Bash League here.

The woman whose hand was severed by her ex-boyfriend on Christmas Eve, at Number 70 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, along with her mother who was also chopped, will be spending New Year’s in the Hospital.

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks slumped on the last trading day of the year yesterday, led down by Apple and other big tech stocks, but major indexes still posted solid gains in 2016.

Professional boxer and fitness trainer Kishawn Simon is fast approaching the third anniversary of him strutting his stuff on stage as a model but tongues continue to wag about the way he owns the stage and his physique which was on display at the recently concluded Guyana Fashion Week.

Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton on Thursday visited the family of Lonette Nicholson-Prince, 22, the hairdresser of Lot 11 Levi Dam, Angoy’s Avenue, who was brutally stabbed some fifteen times by her estranged husband, in the compound of the National Psychiatric Hospital, New Amsterdam on Wednesday.

Dear Editor, 2016 was a consequential year for Constituency 14: South Ruimveldt/ Industrial Estate.

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday criticised a government plan to grant 15,000 acres for Chinese investment in his constituency, saying it will deprive people of agricultural land.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq will contemplate his playing future prior to the third test against Australia and is not ruling out retirement after leading Pakistan to an innings and 18-run defeat yesterday.

Hi Everyone, As we say goodbye to 2016 it is normal to engage in reflection.

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – A Rio de Janeiro policeman confessed to murdering Greece’s ambassador to Brazil in what investigators yesterday called a “cowardly act” carried out at the direction of the diplomat’s Brazilian wife with whom the officer was romantically involved.

Dear Editor, Ordinary Guyanese folk, especially those who have been involved in the country’s community service sector in some formal way over the decades, should support and embrace the concept of the El Dorado Awards founded by Caribbean Voice.

A teenager was yesterday granted bail after being charged with breaking and entering, and stealing over $200,000 in items.

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, (Reuters) – As India’s biggest corporate showdown heads from the boardroom to the courtroom and brings in a Who’s Who of the country’s legal profession, ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry vows a multi-layered battle for governance reforms at the $100 billion conglomerate, people close to him say.

There are not too many occasions that I deem necessary to warrant me devoting all my energies to looking spectacular.

A youth was yesterday placed on $50,000 bail by a city magistrate after he denied being involved in a robbery.

I do not usually make New Year’s resolutions. What I do throughout the year is make notes on what I want to accomplish both in the short and long term.

Dear Editor, In light of the fact that so many West Indian cricketers are being excluded from the region’s teams ostensibly because of conflicts with management, and that such exclusions most likely result in the weakening of the teams, why can’t there be an attempt made by those who care about the game in the region and have some influence, to isolate this issue from the much broader structural problems that have been dealt with in many commission reports, but seem intractable.

As the new year approaches, the buyer’s remorse of the post-Brexit UK and the widespread anxieties of the pre-Trump US suggest that the clash between disruptive populism and established political elites is far from over.

Responding to the entertainment needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Guyanese, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is hosting its first Old Year’s Night party dubbed Mardi Gras: The Masquerade Ball this evening at the Triumph Lounge, located at 8 Barrack Street, Kingston, Georgetown.

Eminent jurist Passes On… GUYANA’S lead­ing jurist, J.O.F. Haynes, S.C., Profes­sor of Law at the University of Guy­ana and President of the Grenadian Court of Appeal, [died last Wednesday at the Georgetown Hospital, after a “short illness.

NEW YORK, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The United Nations criticized the government of Ecuador yesterday for ordering the closure of a land rights advocacy group that supports an indigenous community protesting mining plans in land they claim as their ancestral home.

(The Sports Xchange) – Kyrie Irving scored 32 points to allow the Cleveland Cavaliers to hold on for a 124-118 victory on Thursday against the Boston Celtics.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela yesterday said it was formally ceding the rotating presidency of Mercosur to Argentina, citing the end of its term as the head of the trade bloc, a move that follows acrimonious dispute over its suspension from the group.