Daily Archive: Wednesday, January 22, 2020

For the second day running, teachers gathered outside of the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court in solidarity with one of their number who was charged with assault following an incident at Winfer Gardens Primary that also saw a parent facing a similar count.

KINGSTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said today the United States is not seeking to divide Caribbean bloc Caricom after some governments voiced discontent that only certain countries had been invited to meetings with him in Jamaica.

DAVOS, Switzerland, (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said today that an allegation the kingdom’s crown prince had been involved in a plot to hack the phone of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was “absurd”.

Ninety-one thousand entries on the Revised Voters List (RVL) require address changes stemming from the controversial house-to-house (HtH) enumeration last year, posing a major headache for GECOM with just a few more days before the final voters list has to be published.

The Private Sector Commission last evening condemned as “a direct threat to the peaceful conduct of the elections” calls by members of the governing coalition for their supporters to remain outside polling places until the Statement of Poll is posted.

Natram Lall, the construction worker who is accused of fatally stabbing his wife, Bibi Zameena Ally at their Crane, West Coast Demerara home one week ago was yesterday remanded to prison after being charged with murder.

A Kaneville, East Bank Demerara teenager was yesterday morning discovered dead in a trench at Craig, hours after he was reportedly attacked by persons in his community.

Indigenous rights activist and presidential candidate for the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Lenox Shuman has been struck off the List of Candidates for the March 2, 2020 elections after the seven-member Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) concluded that he still held Canadian citizenship on Nomination Day.

The Strathspey septuagenarian, who was brutally beaten during an attack on his family on Sunday morning by a businessman and his relatives yesterday succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Cuban medical specialists have confirmed that President David Granger’s medical examination shows that he has improved to their satisfaction and that he is in good health, according to a statement yesterday from the Ministry of the Presidency.

The Guyana Football Federation [GFF] has selected a provisional squad of 47 players to prepare for the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championship in the Dominican Republic from February 22nd-March 8th.

Change Guyana Presidential Candidate Robert Badal is promising to double the old age pension from $20,500 to $41,000 on his first day in office, and to implement a US$5 royalty on every tonne of bauxite shipped from Guyana if his party wins the coming election on 2nd March 2020. 

Minister within the Ministry of Communities Annette Ferguson has  filed a $60M lawsuit against Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and the Guyana Times newspaper, over what she said are libelous statements made by the two, calculated to damage her character and reputation.

Orein Angoy was returned unopposed as president of the Diamond United Football Club when the entity officially staged its Electoral Congress on Monday.

In his home village of Whim, Corentyne, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo last evening defended his government’s decision to close several sugar estates by saying that these were “absolutely useless as producing sugar estates.”

Golden Jaguars Men’s U20 Head-coach Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover, is optimistic his team can progress from group A in the CONCACAF Qualifying Championship, which is to be staged from February 15th-23rd at the National Stadium, Managua, Nicaragua.

With just weeks to go before the March 2 general election, the caretaker APNU+AFC government is continuing to invite interest in major projects – this time for hydropower facilities to be financed by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to the tune of US$14.6m.

The 2020 cycling season is set to commence on Saturday with the 27th Ricks and Sari Agro Industry Limited 11-race programme.

Two persons remain in custody as the police probe into the murder of newspaper vendor Shawn Mannilall continues and investigators are working to wrap up their investigation by tomorrow, Crime Chief (ag) Michael Kingston said.

Junior Hercules, the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation [GABF] 3×3 Coordinator, has confirmed that Guyana will commence preparation from next week for the 2020 International Basketball Foundation [IBF] 3×3 Championship in Guadeloupe February 28th-March 2nd.

Schoolchildren have been found loitering at the Stabroek Market and the Ministry of Education has been taking steps to ensure that they get to their schools.

Businessman and Presidential Candidate for the Change Guyana party, Robert Badal, says discussions with other new parties about coalescing were frustrated by the lateness of talks, which left a narrow, insufficient window for discussion and agreement before Nomination Day.

After more than two decades, the CARIFTA Boxing Championship is set for a comeback and Guyana is scheduled to play host.

Twenty-two employees from several government agencies and the disciplined services are now certified to conduct safety and health inspections onboard Floating Production and Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessels.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, CMC – West Indies will clash with Sri Lanka in a white-ball series for the first time in nearly 4-½ years when they arrive here next month for five limited overs matches.

Dear Editor, In the course of my political life I have lived though all general and local government elections and one referendum held between 1968 to 2015.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – Former West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson has signed a two-year deal to become the new Bangladesh bowling coach, replacing South African Charl Langeveldt who resigned last month.

The Bartica Mayor and Town Council has been presented with two trailers to boost their solid waste collection efforts, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said on Monday.

A 37-year-old man who claimed that someone placed a small parcel of cannabis in his pants pocket while exiting a boat at the Bartica Stelling was granted bail yesterday after he denied the charge that was read to him at a city court.

Dear Editor,  In a recent conversation with an industry expert we discussed some key aspects of the offshore drilling operations which have not been clearly expressed in public by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – West Indies have made a special donation to the Pediatrics Assistance League of St Kitts & Nevis (PALS), a long-standing charity which oversees the well-being of children on the island here.

HARARE,  (Reuters) – Captain Angelo Mathews struck an unbeaten 92 as Sri Lanka posted 295 for four at the close of the third day of the first test against Zimbabwe yesterday, putting his side in the driving seat at the Harare Sports Club.

A youth facing three theft charges was yesterday released on bail moments after he denied the allegations.

Dear Editor, As the country prepares for General and Regional Elections on March 2, the issue uppermost in the minds of Guyanese is whether or not the elections will be free and fair and free from fear.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate rejected Democratic efforts yesterday to obtain evidence and call witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, an early sign the proceeding could advance along lines favourable to Trump.

CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – Quinton de Kock has been named as the new captain of the South Africa One-Day International side, taking over from Faf du Plessis, who is dropped altogether for the three-match series against England next month.

Dear Editor, I am saddened at the state of affairs that has resulted in a teacher and parents being before the court.

ABUJA,  (Reuters) – Nigeria’s financial crimes watchdog charged a former attorney general suspected of taking bribes to facilitate a $1.3 billion oil block sale, the agency said yesterday, in the latest twist in one of the industry’s biggest alleged corruption scandals.

PORT ELIZABETH, (Reuters) – South Africa paceman Kagiso Rabada says he was surprised to be sanctioned for his exuberant celebration of Joe Root’s dismissal in the third test against England but knows he cannot keep letting his team mates, and himself, down.

Dear Editor, The call by the APNU+AFC Coalition for supporters to assemble outside polling stations after voting ends will undermine the electoral process and invite disturbances.

(Trinidad Express) Shane Ramjattan, the man who lied about being kidnapped, has been fined $600.

(Trinidad Express) Vincent Panchoo has been identified as the man whose headless body was found in Santa Flora on Saturday night.

In a letter last Saturday, Dr. Vishnu Bisram argued more or less successfully for the formation of alliances by small political parties and for the Guyana Elections Commission to give them as much space as possible to achieve this goal (SN:18/01/2020).

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has been warned against becoming a pawn in Washington’s bid to solicit votes in its diplomatic war with the Maduro regime in Venezuela.

BEIJING/SHANGHAI,  (Reuters) – The death toll from a new flu-like coronavirus in China rose to nine yesterday with 440 confirmed cases, Chinese health officials said as authorities stepped up efforts to control the outbreak by discouraging public gatherings in Hubei province.

Dear Editor, One of the things I wish to clear with my fellow Guyanese is that I had in fact been instrumental in the formation of the APNU+AFC coalition in February 2015. 

Damian Lillard broke his own franchise records by scoring 61 points and making 11 3-pointers to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 129-124 overtime victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

The preliminary conclusions of a French Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (COI) released in late November, 2019, have found that the state is “the first person responsible” for the Chlordecone pollution on the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe.