Daily Archive: Monday, November 27, 2017

Download the Budget 2018 speech. https://www.stabroeknews.com/images/2017/11/speech2018.pdf

Finance Minister Winston Jordan today proposed an amnesty for delinquent taxpayers in today’s 2018 budget.

Following protests against the imposition of Value-added Tax on private tuition in the 2017 budget, Finance Minister Winston Jordan today announced that the tax will be removed effective from the first day next year.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan today announced a halving of the tributor’s tax of 20% by half.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan today announced that private sector employees will enjoy a tax-free vacation allowance.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry and his U.S. actress girlfriend Meghan Markle announced today they were engaged and would get married in the spring of next year.

The Alliance for Change (AFC) has not lost credibility and remains a strong, influential party in the Guyana political arena and will ignore “nonsensical” criticisms and continue to be a servant of all of the people, the party’s Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan says.

The Trinidad and Tobago Queen’s Park Hockey Club exacted a measure of revenge for their 2016 defeat to Pepsi Hikers by winning their showdown yesterday defeating their arch rivals 8 – 3 in this year’s final of the Diamond Mineral Water indoor hockey festival when the curtain came down at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall last evening.

Two men have been held following the discovery of a submersible vessel in a creek at Annbisi River, Port Kaituma, North West District and a team of Joint Services investigators will be deployed to the area today to commence an investigation.

District 11’s Rickie Williams and Margaret Augusto of District Nine emerged winners of the male and female Open 10k road race of this years’ 57th National Schools Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships which got underway yesterday.

Rice exports to the Latin American market this year, including Venezuela, have increased significantly and the country has earned more foreign exchange despite a sharp drop in shipments to the European market.

Back Circle, Bad-A-Yard, West Front Road, Rising Stars, Leopold Street and North Ruimveldt won their matches  when the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Georgetown Zone continued on Saturday.

A Canadian citizen died yesterday morning after the vehicle he was in plunged into the water below the Manari Trail bridge in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo).

After yesterday’s colorful parade of districts for this year’s National Schools Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships at the National Track and Field Centre, Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr.

A five-year-old girl and her fifty-two-year-old grandmother were wounded yesterday after a former neighbour invaded their home and discharged several rounds of pellets in their direction.

The national men’s sevens rugby team fell just short of clinching the 2017 RAN 7s championship in Mexico City yesterday, losing 24-28 in the final to a game Jamaican outfit.

LINCOLN, New Zealand,  CMC – West Indies were in an excellent position to push for a win on today’s final day after their bowlers earned them a healthy first innings lead on the second day of their three-day match against New Zealand A.

A 38-year-old West Coast Berbice (WCB) resident was pronounced dead on arrival at the Fort Wellington Hospital after the motor pickup he was travelling in, crashed into a utility pole yesterday.

LINCOLN, New Zealand, CMC – Assistant coach Roddy Estwick believes West Indies fast bowlers will have a critical role to play if the Caribbean side are to make an impact in the two-Test series against the Black Caps starting next month.

A family of five is now homeless after an early morning fire gutted their two-storey, La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara home yesterday.

President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Ching-Kuo Wu has agreed to step down as head of the world amateur boxing association.

The timber industry has declined by 18% in the first half of 2017, according to Mohindra Chand, General Manager of Barama Company Limited (BCL), who also says a rebound is expected by next year.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro yesterday tapped a National Guard major general to lead state oil company PDVSA and the Oil Ministry as the OPEC member labors under near 30-year lows in oil production.

Dear Editor, Over the last few weeks, a number of events have placed the Council in the spotlight in certain sections of the media.

Permanent Secretary, Department of the Public Service, Ministry of the Presidency, Reginald Brotherson, on Saturday afternoon told the 409 recipients of 2017/2018 University of Guyana (UG) and Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) scholarships that the Government’s investment in their education is a demonstration of its commitment to transforming Guyana into an “education nation”.

Young Achievers Volleyball club and new kids on the block, Eagles, completed solid wins in the Demerara Volleyball Association (DVA) male ‘A’ division championship Saturday at the National Gymnasium.

The Bagotville Bridge is almost complete and residents who traverse the West Bank of Demerara say they are counting the days until its completion.

(Reuters) – Virat Kohli coasted to his fifth double century as India’s frontline batsmen crushed Sri Lanka’s toothless attack to stay on course for an innings victory in the second test in Nagpur yesterday.

Dear Editor, The Procurement Act 2003 contains regulations for the procurement of goods, services and the execution of works, with a view to promoting competition among suppliers and contractors and fairness and transparency in the procurement process.

BERLIN,  (Reuters) – Leaders of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party agreed yesterday to pursue a “grand coalition” with the Social Democrats (SPD) to break the political deadlock in Europe’s biggest economy.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is the next in line to be questioned about funds spent on the rental of houses for government ministers.

EGUCIGALPA, (Reuters) – Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, a center-right U.S.

BRISBANE, (Reuters) – A pulsating Ashes opener that had promised a grandstand finish will more than likely end early with a handsome win to Australia after Steve Smith’s side pushed within 56 runs of victory at the close of day four yesterday.

Dear Editor,                                       On Tuesday, 21st November, 2017, a group of Mayor and City Council workers led by a Treasurer’s Department staffer, informed regular and potential vendors that the Council has authorised vending on the Eastern side of the road, in front of Stabroek Market (the ‘No’, ‘No’ area) and on Regent street.

 (Trinidad Guardian) Hindu devotees and followers of a well-known Pundit in central Trinidad, Head Pujarie Sunil Ragbirsingh were yesterday left in shock and indescribable grief after learning that their beloved leader was killed during a home invasion at his home at Five Rivers in Arouca on Saturday night.

KATHMANDU,  (Reuters) – A state-owned Nepali power company will develop the Himalayan country’s biggest hydroelectric plant after the government scrapped a deal with a Chinese company, a government official said yesterday.

(Reuters) – The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have discussed a reported bar-room incident involving Johnny Bairstow with the Ashes tour wicket-keeper, the board said in a statement.

Dear Editor, The aptness of the theme for observance in 2017 for International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women cannot be over emphasized.

Failing to file documentary evidence in support of his claim, an application by former Mayor, Hamilton Green, to recover in excess of $5M from an occupant of his land, whom he wants off, was last month dismissed.

Dear Editor, It is clear to everyone with an objective mind that the President is stacking the deck with likeminded stagnated thinkers to achieve a desired result that has nothing to do with Guyanese or even the followers of APNU.

Police are still on the hunt for the two persons who carried out an attack on Rose Hall Town businessman Rajendra Prasad on Saturday afternoon which left him nursing gunshot wounds at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital.

This is adapted from a longer interview carried on The Real News Network on November 18, 2017: http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20494:Turmoil-in-Zimbabwe-May-Present-New-Opportunities.

JAKARTA, (Reuters) – Implicated in five corruption scandals since the 1990s but never convicted, the speaker of Indonesia’s parliament Setya Novanto is a political survivor.

(Jamaica Observer) BRIGHTON, Westmoreland — The Savanna-la-Mar police were up to late Saturday afternoon probing the bizarre death of four people who were burnt beyond recognition in a house here Friday evening.

HAVANA,  (Reuters) – Cuba took another step yesterday toward the end of the Castro era, with millions of residents placing paper ballots in cardboard boxes for ward delegates to municipal assemblies.

Last week, we began a discussion of the report of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) on the procurement of pharmaceuticals for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Dear Editor, I commend the Ministry of Education on the roll-out of its Smart Classroom at the National Centre for Education and Resource Development in Kingston, Georgetown as reported in the editorial ‘The Smart Classroom’ (SN, November 24).

Police  at Leguan, Region 3 (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara) are investigating reports of a shooting from the home of an AFC official on Saturday.

LILLE, France, (Reuters) – France won their 10th Davis Cup title when Lucas Pouille crushed Steve Darcis 6-3 6-1 6-0 to give the hosts a 3-2 victory in the final against neighbours Belgium yesterday.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. Representative John Conyers is stepping down as senior Democrat on the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, while lawmakers investigate allegations of sexual harassment against him, Conyers said in an emailed statement yesterday.

(Barbados Nation) Political insensitivity. That’s how economist Professor Michael Howard has described the proposal of former Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell for an immediate restructuring of the Barbados economy.

This week we asked the man/woman in the street if they are making big plans for Christmas? 

While the AFC’s capitulation to APNU/PNCR on the GECOM Chairmanship and constitutional reform has left it divided and struggling to stay relevant, an even bigger loss to national politics and public life is the cynicism that will now attend attempts by any political force or civil society group to carve out space to expand dialogue and representation.

NEW DELHI/ KOCHI, India  (Reuters) – India’s Supreme Court will begin hearing a case on Monday that prosecutors say shows how Islamic State sympathisers are using “Love Jihad” – marrying Hindu women and converting them to Islam – to win recruits and spread their message.

ABU DHABI, (Reuters) – Valtteri Bottas won Formula One’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position in a Mercedes one-two finish with four-time champion Lewis Hamilton yesterday.

Dear Editor, It has been said and written that this country suffers from a crisis of confidence. 

Eleven registered nurses of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) are now qualified as Post-Anaesthetic Care (PACU) nurses following their graduation from a training programme.