Daily Archive: Wednesday, January 18, 2017

President David Granger today wrote Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo suggesting that Attorney General, Basil Williams meets a representative of Jagdeo on issues surrounding the controversial GECOM list.

Former New York state Senate leader John Sampson was sentenced to five years in prison today for lying and obstructing justice to cover up his misuse of escrow money, according to Newsday.

MUMBAI,  (Reuters) – An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted Bollywood movie star Salman Khan of possessing an unlicensed weapon nearly two decades ago, ending a case that threatened to derail the career of one of the country’s biggest actors.

(Trinidad Express) Gunmen stormed the home of a couple and shot the pair in bed shortly after midnight on Monday.

Hundreds of rice farmers gathered yesterday outside of the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agriculture Development Authority (MMA-ADA) at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice, where they protested what they dubbed the “draconian” increases for land rental and drainage and irrigation.

President David Granger has a moral obligation to explain his rejection without explanation of the list of nominees submitted for the post of Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom), according to former president Donald Ramotar, who says the head of state’s handling of the process could scare other potential candidates.

United States-based Guyanese Haslyn Thom, who was found with over three pounds of cocaine at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri on Saturday, was yesterday sentenced to three years in jail and fined $4.1 million for drug trafficking.

Convict Calvin Bailey, who is accused of wounding a fellow prison inmate at the Camp Street Prison last year, was yesterday told he would have to serve an extra two years in prison after he was found guilty of the crime.

The prosecution yesterday closed its case against Mark Royden Williams, called “Smallie,” Dennis Williams, called “Anaconda” and Roger Simon, called “Goat Man,” who are accused of murdering 12 men, including three police officers in the 2008 Bartica massacre.

A lone gunman yesterday afternoon assaulted and robbed a cashier attached to the Money Gram outlet located in the Spready’s Supermarket, at Port Mourant, Corentyne and escaped with approximately $800, 000 in cash.

The Civil Defence Com-mission (CDC) and the Region One Regional Democratic Council (RDC) are continuing to closely monitor Almond Beach, which has suffered severe flooding and erosion, while acting Minister of State Raphael Trotman says a team has been dispatched to assess the situation.

New York judge Dora Lizette Irizarry yesterday granted a further postponement in the sentencing of fraud conspiracy convict, US-based Guyanese businessman, Ed Ahmad.

Repair works have commenced at the Harold Wilson Primary School in Ituni, Region Ten following the decision by parents to keep their children at home due to the deplorable infrastructural conditions at the school.

Marketing Manager of Scotiabank, Jennifer Cipriani says the bank is taking the blame for the fire at the Byderabo dumpsite in Bartica last Wednesday.

Bids were opened yesterday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) for works on broken culverts on Vlissengen Road and Carifesta Avenue and the engineer’s estimate for the work is $142m.

A former policeman was arrested and his firearm was seized yesterday after he allegedly opened fire on an East Ruimveldt resident whom he confronted during a surprise visit to his daughter’s home.

The legislatures of Guyana and the Canadian province of British Columbia yesterday signed an agreement described as the framework under which their future engagements would operate.

The Special Constable who was placed under close arrest following the robbery of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) office at Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, last Thursday, has been released and has returned to work.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Venus Williams survived a rocky start to reach the second round of her 17th Australian Open on Monday, putting her 7-6 7-5 victory over Kateryna Kozlova down to hard-earned experience.

A fight over the payment of an electricity bill has landed a 37-year-old man behind bars on a charge that he stabbed his step-brother.

Collin ‘BL’ Aaron, Manager of Slingerz FC said the club has commenced legal proceedings against the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) following a decision from CONCACAF to debar them from participating in the 2017 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship.

An autopsy performed on the remains believed to be those of fisherman Surujpaul Dindyal has revealed the cause of death to be multiple injuries, while DNA samples have been taken for testing to confirm the identity.

By Royston Alkins The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Essequibo Cricket Board (GCB) which was scheduled for Sunday at the ECB Hostel did not take place and president of the North Essequibo Cricket Committee Prince Holder said he believes that the non-staging of the AGM was deliberate.

Eight lives were lost last year due to boating accidents, according to Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) Director Claudette Rogers.

By Royston Alkins The Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) team which participated in the recent University of the West Indies UNICOM T20 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago should hold its head high after a number of impressive performances.

Two months after they were informed that there had been a breach in their qualifying examinations, 250 student nurses are still not sure what is the way forward.

The Stag Nations Cup football tournament will resume today at the Grove Community Centre ground, East Bank Demerara with a doubleheader from 19:00hrs.

January 26 was set for the commencement of the trial into the assault charge against Kwame McCoy.

PORT GENTIL, Gabon, (Reuters) – Defences were on top again on another dour day at the African Nations Cup yesterday when the two games produced a meagre one goal between them, scored by Ghana from the penalty spot.

Two men were on Monday granted bail in a city court on a charge of stealing over $200,000 in raw gold and mining equipment, although the owner of the recovered items has indicated he no longer wished to proceed with the charge.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Ivo Karlovic fired down 75 aces in a record Australian Open marathon against Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos which lasted five hours, 15 minutes and finished in a 6-7(6) 3-6 7-5 6-2 22-20 first-round victory for the Croatian yesterday.

Dear Editor, With keen interest I read a Sunday Stabroek, January15, article under the caption ‘Police Complaints Chairman welcomes more sleuths.’

Dear Editor, I am a frequent user of the National Park and there is a difficulty exiting the car park onto the eastern bound traffic on Carifesta Avenue.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic may have cursed the draw for throwing up Fernando Verdasco as the first opponent in his Australian Open defence yesterday but the tough match-up against the Spanish giant-killer ultimately proved a blessing in disguise.

Dear Editor, I and other former workers of Precision Woodworking Ltd (in receivership) have read your recent editorial titled ‘Logjam in the High Court’ (January 12, 2017) with more than a passing interest.

SYDNEY, Australia, CMC – Sydney Thunder skipper, Shane Watson, has hailed the influence of West Indies all-rounder, Carlos Brathwaite, in the franchise’s recent resurgence during the ongoing Big Bash League.

Dear Editor, Russia where almost half of the population smokes is considering banning tobacco.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain will quit the EU single market when it leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday in a decisive speech that set a course for a clean break with the world’s largest trading bloc.

 BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies players Shai Hope and Jonathan Carter warmed up nicely for Barbados Pride’s upcoming campaign in the Regional Super50 with half-centuries in the final practice game here Monday.

(Reuters) – England batsman Joe Root will not be available to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) this year as he is eager to spend time at home with his newborn son, the 26-year-old has said.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – President Barack Obama yesterday shortened the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the former U.S.

Dear Editor, Lindentown, as I call it, is blessed with creeks and mostly man-made lakes made by the removal of the rich mineral (bauxite), a reminder of our contributions towards our Dear Land of Guyana.

CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – South Africa batsman AB de Villiers has ruled himself out of the team’s three-test series in New Zealand in March, but insists he is not retiring from the longest format of the game.

DAVOS, Switzerland, (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping offered a vigorous defence of globalisation yesterday, pushing back against the “America First” rhetoric of incoming U.S.

Dear Editor, Please allow me to thank the Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder and his team for visiting Region 5 on Thursday January 12. 

“The UK government cannot be allowed to take us out of the EU and the single market, regardless of the impact on our economy, jobs, living standards … without Scotland having the ability to choose between that and a different future,” said Sturgeon after May’s speech.

Dear Editor, While at the Suddie Police Station over the holiday weekend at the invitation of a good friend who was arrested  by a traffic corporal and whose hire car was impounded, there was a wrangling between the officer and the station sergeant in public, with the officer demonstrating insubordination to the sergeant.

(The Sports Xchange) – The Golden State Warriors emphatically snapped a four-game losing streak to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday using a 78-point, first-half explosion to crush the defending NBA champions 126-91.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Outstanding former Trinidad and Tobago striker, Stern John, has questioned the commitment of the current national players, and has urged them to lift their professionalism if the country is to quality for the next year’s World Cup in Russia.

ROME,  (Reuters) – A Rome court yesterday handed down eight life sentences for the murder of 23 Italian citizens in a conspiracy, known as Operation Condor, in which South American dictatorships hunted down and killed thousands of dissidents in the 1970s and 1980s.

Dear Editor, It was a former director of the WICB who told me years ago that what cricket in the Caribbean needed most was management by good business people.

ELDORET, KENYA, (Reuters) – Kenya’s Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge says his ambition to break the two-hour marathon barrier will override all other considerations this year.

In 1974, Erno Rubik, a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, invented the Rubik cube, a three dimensional puzzle with six faces, each one a different colour.  

Two women from the Dominican Republic pleaded guilty on Friday to overstaying their time in Guyana and were fined $30,000 each.

City Location Would Boost Business The Small Businessman MARK MARS, 27, has been in the elec­tronics business for six years now.

OTTAWA, (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday he has been questioned by the country’s ethics watchdog in an unprecedented probe into a Bahamian holiday he took with the Aga Khan.

Temptation to pay little attention to the inscrutability of the governing political elite in its dealings with the selection of a new chairperson for the Guyana Elections Commission gave way to concern as I came to realise that the situation may be somewhat more complicated and possibly detrimental to the body politic.

Dear Editor, I noticed the news report of secret balloting and the election of a General Secretary.