Daily Archive: Friday, November 17, 2017

President David Granger today told the graduates of the St. Stanislaus College that Guyana needs their skills, expertise and knowledge, particularly in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), according to a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency.

(Trinidad Express) Petrotrin says it now has independent confirmation of the discrepancies between the oil production reported by a contractor and what was actually received by the company, which resulted in an over-payment of an estimated TT$80 million.

The US Embassy has warned its citizens here that it has received multiple reports of late night robberies occurring in the Massy’s grocery store parking lot located in Providence, Georgetown, behind the National Stadium.

The Ministry of Public Health last week signed a contract for the construction of its headquarters at its Lot 1 Brickdam, Stabroek location.

The Ministry of Social Protection’s Labour Department on Thursday hosted a meeting with members of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers’ Union (GB&GWU) and representatives of RUSAL Guyana in order to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) crafted by the government.

The power company says that major sections of the city will see power interrupted between 8 am and 5 pm on Sunday, November 19.

(Trinidad Guardian) A 30-year-old man, on his way to the barbershop in preparation for one of his daughters’ birthday celebration yesterday, was gunned down moments after dropping off the child at school.

Sunset Lakes, the 100-acre Providence, East Bank of Demerara property sold by Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) to Brian Tiwarie, has been repossessed by Citizens Bank and sold to Tamesh Jagmohan of Precious Mining Inc.

Amid growing questions, the Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday said its leader Raphael Trotman had been invited to State House on October 19th where he was advised by President David Granger that retired Justice James Patterson would be named Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

At the first hearing of the opposition’s challenge to President David Granger’s appointment of retired Justice James Patterson as Gecom Chairman, Chief Justice Roxane George issued a stern warning to both sides to refrain from trying the case “in the court of public opinion.”

  The Internal Auditor of the Guyana Gold Board Ajodhia Ramcharan on Wednesday resigned following an investigation into allegations of “millions of dollars” in theft at the agency which has already seen two accountants sent home to facilitate the probe.

Brian Haywood will be spending the next 21 years in jail for killing his sister, whom he set alight, over an argument about missing sandals.

As investigations into the killing of Kescia Branche appear to have stalled, it is unclear if investigators took  DNA samples from her or the men, including the police ranks, who were being questioned to establish if she was sexually assaulted.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Attorney General (AG) Faris Al-Rawi on Wednesday emphasised that Guyana’s implementation of and compliance with anti-money laundering and the countering the financing of terrorism recommendations are critical in light of the expected development of its oil sector, which is projected to see revenues from 2020.

City magistrate Judy Latchman yesterday ruled that a prima facie case has been made out against the three men charged with dousing columnist Freddie Kissoon with human faeces.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has questioned the move by Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) to acquire a natural gas-propelled 50-megawatt (MW) generating plant, saying that no evidence of research has been provided to justify the change from the use of heavy fuel.

Jenny Ann Crawford, the woman who was charged with the possession of a quantity of cocaine that was hidden in the handle of her suitcase at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), was freed yesterday after a city magistrate found that there was insufficient evidence against her.

The pass rate of students in the Nurses State Final exam has leapt to 97% from the dismal 7% recorded last year.

MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) – CONCACAF’s governing council has agreed to launch a new Nations League tournament, for teams in North and Central America and the Caribbean, president Victor Montagliani told Reuters on Thursday.

Trinidadian national Sawak Maraj, who allegedly faked his kidnapping to collect a ransom from his parents, was yesterday once again denied bail.

Health workers in Kaikan Village, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) are in need of an intervention from the relevant authorities in the wake of an influx of sick Venezuelans who travel to the village seeking medical attention.

The attorney for Franz Paul, the former cadet officer accused of shooting a 15-year-old in the mouth in 2014, was yesterday granted an adjournment to have the final defence witness return to court.

The Association do Shotokan Karate (ASK)-Guyana held a grading exercise for 158 karate students last Sunday at the ASK Headquarters Dojo at the YMCA on Thomas Lands.

The inaugural Magnum ‘Tek Charge and Win’, Futsal Christmas Classic will be officially launched today at the Windjammer International Hotel & Cuisine, Queen Street, Kitty at 11:00hrs.

The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), as part of its ongoing developmental agenda, is collaborating with the sport’s world governing body, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) to host an ITTF Level One Coach course and a Course Conductors programme.

What had appeared for several months to have been sharp differences between the Ministry of Natural Resources and representatives of mining syndicates over land allocation that had effectively stalled the commencement of work by the country’s first group of gold-mining cooperatives now appears to have come to an end following an encounter between the miners and Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman.

KOLKATA, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka paceman Suranga Lakmal breathed fire on a green track to rock India on a stop-start opening day of the rain-hit first test on Thursday.

(Reuters) – A loophole that allows national teams to boost their seedings for the World Cup by avoiding friendly matches is likely to disappear after next year’s finals in Russia, with changes due to the international calendar and a FIFA review of their rankings system.

While there are signs that talks on the huge debt owed by the city to Puran Brothers and Cevons Waste Management have been bearing fruit, dissonance continues even as the garbage crisis in the capital may be worsening.

Like so many other institutions and individuals in Guyana the Stabroek Business has been  observing local developments at both the public and private sector levels as well as the contemplations of public commentators in the matter of what now appears to be the imminent commencement of the exploitation of oil and gas in Guyana’s territorial waters beginning in 2020.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Jack Sock became the first American to reach the last four of the ATP Finals for 10 years when he stunned world number three Alexander Zverev in a firecracker of a match on Thursday.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Half-centuries from Paul Palmer, Assad Fudadin and John Campbell highlighted consistent batting down the order from Jamaica Scorpions, giving them a strong start to their Regional 4-Day Championship match against Leeward Islands Hurricanes on Thursday.

The Guyana Mining School and Training Centre Inc.,in partnership with its stakeholders and supporting training partners, has begun training more than thirty five young adults in disciplines relating to the application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and  Mathematics) to the exploration component of  upstream oil and gas operations.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Anthony Alleyne led a strong batting parade from Barbados Pride in their Regional 4-Day Championship match against Windward Islands Volcanoes on Thursday.

Dear Editor, I have been following the public debate on the troubling issue of the alleged sexual abuse of a juvenile who was in the care of the City Constabulary, by a Lance Corporal who was the Subordinate Officer in Charge of the Regent Street Station and rostered to work the 11:00 – 07:00 hours shift on Wednesday 23rd August 2017.

Dear Editor, The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) was set up under the previous administration to fight against money laundering and drug trafficking. 

HARARE,  (Reuters) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s fate hung in the balance yesterday as he apparently resisted efforts to step down in the wake of an audacious seizure of power by the army, until this week a key pillar of his 37-year-rule.

Gold Prices for the three day period ending Thursday November 16, 2017 Kitco is a Canadian company that buys and sells precious metals such as gold, copper and silver.

The East Ruimveldt Community Centre, popularly referred to ‘California Square,’ will come alive tonight from 18:00hrs, when the eagerly anticipated playoff round in the 2017 Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Football Championship kicks-off.

With good grades in English Language and Mathematics increasingly being touted as a critical doorway to higher education and meaningful employment paths in Guyana,” the Georgetown-based JTW Management Institute has launched the City and Guilds of London and English and Mathematics certificates as what the Institute’s Director Jocelyn Williams is describing as a “second chance” for CSEC students and young school leavers.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Congressional Republicans took an important step yesterday toward the biggest U.S.

Dear Editor, Human history is replete with examples where the behaviour of persons in leadership positions can influence those around them.

Defending category-A champion Abosaide Cadogan, Demetrius DeAbreu and Ethan Jonas secured divisional wins, when the Guyana Squash Association  Lucozade Handicap Squash Tournament commenced on Wednesday.

Immigrants of quality! Dammit! And to think I had promised myself not to join real knowledgeables in commenting on People’s National Congress (PNC) leader David Arthur Granger’s remarks to his Party faithful gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA two weeks ago.

Dear Editor, Jamaican entrepreneur Michael Lee Chin, Founder and Chairman of Portland Holdings, Inc.

The Aracari Resort is the latest entity to hop onboard the highly anticipated ‘Stage of Champions’ event scheduled for tomorrow evening at the Theatre Guild.

Stock market updates  GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 747’s trading results showed consideration of $29,974,843 from 820,991 shares traded in 11 transactions as compared to session 746’s trading results which showed consideration of $6,762,950 from 63,504 shares traded in 7 transactions. 

OSLO,  (Reuters) – Norway’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund is proposing to drop oil and gas companies from its benchmark index, which would mean cutting its investments in those companies, the deputy central bank chief supervising the fund told Reuters, sending energy stocks lower.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Donald Trump finds the sexual misconduct allegations against U.S.

Dear Editor, In a letter which appeared in SN on November 10, Albert Rodrigues, Chartered Architect, was of the opinion that generally, the poor performance of consultants and contractors executing Government-funded projects is due primarily to the lack of due diligence by the procurement authorities comprising the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NTPAB), the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI).

The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) says it has been notified by Petrotrin that there was an oil spill on Wednesday six nautical miles off Trinidad in the Soldado North Field, Gulf of Paria.

Winners Connection maintained their grip atop the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) 2017/2018 Senior League, overcoming Silver Shattas 2-1 on Wednesday, at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground, Linden.

(Prepared by the Guyana Marketing Corporation and published by Stabroek Business as a public service)                    The New Guyana Marketing Corporation has agreed to provide us with the above information which we will publish on a weekly basis subject to receipt.

As the power generation challenge that customarily attends the Christmas service provided by the Guyana Power & Light Company begins to rear its head, Chairman of the Giftland Group Roy Beepat has told the Stabroek Business that his offer to support the beleaguered state entity with electricity on the East Coast Demerara remains open.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s sacked former chief prosecutor yesterday asked the International Criminal Court to capture and try President Nicolas Maduro and other top officials for crimes against humanity over murders by police and military officers.

NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – Teams continue to line up to hire West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell when his anti-doping whereabouts violation ban comes to a conclusion next January.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Battle lines are being drawn as the first gene therapy for an inherited condition nears the U.S.

Dear Editor, The headline at the bottom of Stabroek News’ front page was stark: `Mayor prepared to beg for return of Puran, Cevons –says city in crisis’ (SN November 15). 

(Reuters) – List of seeded pots based on the latest FIFA rankings for the 2018 World Cup finals draw, to be held in Moscow on Dec.

Dear Editor, This is a response to a query from Brother Tacuma Ogunseye (Stabroek News, November 16, 2017) about a reference to him in my column in the November 12, 2017 edition of the Guyana Chronicle.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Mexico’s economy minister said yesterday he did not agree with statements made by U.S.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Satellite images taken this month of a North Korean naval shipyard indicate Pyongyang is pursuing an “aggressive schedule” to build its first operational ballistic missile submarine, a U.S.

This past week students from a number of state-run secondary schools have been hosted by the local information technology firm Starr Computers as part of a commitment given by the management of the company to contribute to filling what the company’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Mohan describes as the “critical technology gap” the exists between Guyana and the developed world.

Scientific name: Cannabis, it is also known as hemp, marijuana, ganja and “weed” (particularly in Jamaica and the Caribbean) among a host of other aliases.