Daily Archive: Thursday, May 7, 2020

The long-awaited recount of the votes from the March 2 General and Regional Elections in Guyana continues on the second day. 

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Black people and those of Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity have a significantly higher chance of dying from COVID-19 than white people, even when adjusting for deprivation, the British statistics office said today.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Millions more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, suggesting layoffs broadened from consumer-facing industries to other segments of the economy and could remain elevated even as many parts of the country start to reopen.

The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) says it will be fully compliant with regards to the ‘COVID-19 Return To Play Guidelines’ set out by the governing body, World Rugby.

Guyana Chess Federation’s (GCF) Tournament Director, Rashaad Hussain believes the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic could be a blessing in disguise for local chess players.

Only 25 ballot boxes from a total of 2,339 were counted on day one of the long-awaited recount of votes from the March 2 General and Regional Elections and after a late start yesterday,  various hiccups and getting used to the procedures, today will give a  clearer picture of whether the projection of 25 days for completion will have to be drastically revised.

West Indies legend, Deryck Murray believes that having the desire to succeed is one of the integral factors to coming out on top.

No additional case of COVID-19 was recorded yesterday but new information has disclosed that the country’s tenth COVID-19 fatality was only tested for the virus subsequent to passing away at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).

Attorney-at-Law Arudranauth Gossai has filed an injunction in the High Court seeking to declare that the January 26, 2020 elections of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) was unlawful, null, void and in contravention of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act.

The Police have launched a search for seven youths who along with five others assaulted two police officers before escaping the Sophia Juvenile Holding Centre.

Following the announcement of Vurlon Mills’ retirement from national men’s football programme, Golden Jaguars captain Sam Cox, has hailed the contribution of the midfield dynamo, citing him as perfect example for the next generation of locally based players.

Former West Indies seamer, Kenny Benjamin has jumped to the defence of  Rahkeem Cornwall’s bowling action which came under scrutiny recently from former  world record holder for the most test wickets Lance Gibbs.

Six of the country’s latest confirmed COVID-19 cases, who include a one-year-old and a 12-year-old, are residents of Linden, in Region Ten, which has been grappling with a refusal by many residents to abide by the national curfew and distancing measures in place to stem the spread of the virus.

(Reuters) – England all-rounder Ben Stokes says playing in closed stadiums would not dampen the competitive side of matches and that players “would do anything” to get cricket back on television screens for fans to watch during the COVID-19 crisis.

The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) yesterday morning made the decision to temporarily close the Stabroek Market gates after patrons refused to abide by COVID-19 safety regulations.

(Reuters) – The English Premier League season could be cancelled if teams did not agree to play the remaining 92 fixtures in neutral venues amid the COVID-19 pandemic, League Managers Association (LMA) chief executive Richard Bevan said yesterday.

Galton Ivelaw Lyte, 87, better known as Archie Lyte, formerly of Parika, East Bank Essequibo, is among the Guyanese migrants who have succumbed to the deadly novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the United States.

ANKARA, (Reuters) – Turkey plans to host the Champions League final in late August, the head of its football federation said yesterday, and will resume domestic soccer leagues without fans on June 12 after a three-month suspension caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Contending that a March 2nd article published by this newspaper misrepresented a dispute between owner of RNK Investments Inc.,

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – NBA teams are expected to get the go-ahead to reopen practice facilities for limited use as early as tomorrow, less than two months after the coronavirus outbreak forced the suspension of the season.

The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development (Iwokrama) on Monday  announced that it has been confirmed that it has retained its Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) Certification for Forest Management for the Iwokrama Forest.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Former West Indies T20I skipper Carlos Brathwaite is reportedly set to join Jamaica Tallawahs as Chris Gayle’s replacement, after not being retained by the franchise he captained in the last Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The UK Daily Mail yesterday said that a 44-year-old man has been charged with the murder of the niece of singer Eddy Grant.

Dear Editor, An oil spill was discovered yesterday, 2020 May 6 within the compound of the Guyana Power and Light Inc.

LONDON, (Reuters) – England’s World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan says cricket’s 10-overs format would be ideal for a global multi-sport event such as the Olympics as the entire tournament could be squeezed into 10 days.

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) on May 4th signed an agreement to develop an industry database as well as enhance training and capacity building initiatives for its members in the tourism sector.

Dear Editor, As has been feared, based on observations of the layouts and footprints of counting stations at the Counting Centre, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) appears to be making maximum perverse use of the COVID-19 situation to keep stakeholders and observers remote from satisfactory direct observation and verification of the recount process for ballot boxes of the General and Regional Elections, 2020.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said yesterday his coronavirus task force would shift its primary focus to reviving U.S.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Michael Forrester, one of the 115 Jamaicans who were stranded in the United Kingdom and arrived aboard a TUI charter flight yesterday, revealed that his main reason for leaving his homeland was to tend to his elderly mother.

The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) is now using special software to keep track of the public procurement system and the methods used by entities to conduct their procurement activities.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Indigenous groups from nine countries in the Amazon basin called esday for donations to help protect 3 million rainforest inhabitants who are vulnerable to the spread of the novel coronavirus because they lack adequate access to healthcare.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara will be offered a one-year extension as president of the Marylebone Cricket Club in the “extraordinary circumstances” resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the MCC said yesterday.

Dear Editor, As the recount progressed on day one, a realization of what we are engaged in hit home with some force; Guyanese are once again counting votes at a central location as we did during the Burnham era.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil, one of the world’s emerging coronavirus hot spots, registered a record number of cases and deaths yesterday, prompting the health minister to flag the possibility of strict lockdowns in particularly hard-hit areas.

(Jamaica Observer) Millie Small, the Jamaican singer who introduced the world to ska with her hit My Boy Lollipop in the 1960s, died yesterday in England.

(Trinidad Guardian) Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith yesterday announced the investigation into accusations made by Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley benefited from a financial transaction connected to A&V Drilling in Florida was now officially closed.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Staff of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) who have not received salaries since February, are pleading with deposed president William Wallace to end his battle for control of the organisation’s bank accounts, which they say is standing in the way of them being paid.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – A genetic study of samples from more than 7,500 people infected with COVID-19 suggests the new coronavirus spread quickly around the world after it emerged in China sometime between October and December last year, scientists said yesterday.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has been sourcing equipment for the fight against COVID-19 from a number of countries even as it acknowledges that there are manufacturing shortages.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Health and Wellness Ministry is reporting five additional COVID-19 cases in Jamaica, pushing the tally to 478.

Dear Editor, As Guyana continues to grapple with two unfortunate situations, post-election neurosis and the onslaught of a serious biological threat COVID-19, the need to uphold a firm stance on proper electoral procedures and safeguarding ourselves from contracting the virus are of paramount importance to the nation’s overall welfare.

(Trinidad Guardian) National Security Minister Stuart Young yesterday reiterated that Nutrien Ltd was not sending home any workers although it had decided to shut down one of its five plants at the Pt Lisas Industrial Estate.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezue-lan state television broadcast yesterday a video of captured American Luke Denman, in which he said he was contracted by a Florida security firm to seize control of Caracas’ airport and bring in a plane to fly President Nicolas Maduro to the United States.

Dear Editor, As a rule, I try to avoid being personal in public polemics since doing otherwise can open the door to character assassination.

President of the Guyana Nursing Association (GNA), Cleopatra Barkoye, is inviting the public to take part in a one-time event to recognise the achievements of nurses in Guyana.

(Trinidad Express) Trinidad-born Ricardo Babu­lal, who was tested positive for Co­vid-­19 in New York, was determined to survive and not leave his loved ones behind, especially his elderly father.

ROME, (Reuters) – An unidentified player at Serie A club Torino has tested positive for the coronavirus in the first round of testing ahead of the club’s planned return to training tomorrow.

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Financing Facility – Segregated Portfolio Company (CCRIF SPC) is offering undergraduate and post-graduate scholarships valued at about US$150,000 to Caribbean nationals at universities in Canada, the Caribbean, the UK and the USA.

The Mesoamerican Long Count is an ancient, non-repeating calendar used by some pre-Columbian peoples, including the Mayans.

SAN JOSE,  (Reuters) – A coronavirus war of words broke out between Costa Rica and El Salvador after Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele accused the fellow Central American country of massaging its statistics by deliberately carrying out fewer tests for the virus.

For all of the incredulous things that have been happening recently, we could all be characters on a giant movie set.

Dear Editor, Two former Presidents and a current acting PM were once close comrades of Komal Chand.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The International Olympic Committee is considering hosting its 136th session in July via livestream amid social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 outbreak that forced the delay of the 2020 Tokyo Games.

BOGOTA,  (Reuters) – Colombia has declared a second state of emergency to support sectors of the economy that will remain shut down for an extended period to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, President Ivan Duque said on Wednesday.