Daily Archive: Thursday, June 18, 2020

Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield today failed to submit the report of the valid votes cast in the March 2 General and Regional Elections (GRE) in direct contravention of a directive from GECOM Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud today reported 12 new cases of the Coronavirus in Region One.

Attorney Anil Nandlall this afternoon said that no Injunction or Order of Court has been granted against the Chief Election Officer (CEO) or GECOM.

The opposition PPP says that even if the Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield subverts the electoral process by not submitting the correct results today for the March 2nd general elections, GECOM can act on its own.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – China has found the trading sections for meat and seafood in Beijing’s wholesale food market to be severely contaminated with the new coronavirus and suspects the area’s low temperature and high humidity may have been contributing factors, officials said today.

BANGKOK,  (Reuters) – International health organisations on Thursday praised Laos’ early response and countrywide networks for containing the novel coronavirus after the Southeast Asian nation declared itself free of the virus earlier this month.

(Trinidad Express) MERCY! That was the last plea that relatives of Geeta Newman heard from her.

(Trinidad Guardian) A woman who claimed she was waiting for two months to get the promised rental assistance from the government, was on Wednesday kicked out of their rented home in San Fernando.

(Jamaica Star) When Prime Minister Andrew Holness ordered that all persons should wear a mask in public as one of the COVID-19 measures, one taxi driver believes a brand new pack of G-string panties is enough to provide him with all the protection he needs.

(Jamaica Star) Dr. L’Antoinette Stines, founder, artistic director and principal choreographer of L’Acadco: A United Caribbean Dance Force, is the latest Jamaican creative to file a lawsuit against an international superstar. 

(Jamaica Gleaner) For the first time in 48 years, George Williams had his day in a court of law yesterday.

(Reuters) – World 100 metres champion Christian Coleman, who narrowly escaped a ban last year for missing three doping tests, was provisionally suspended yesterday and could miss next year’s Tokyo Olympics after again breaching whereabouts rules.

Opening batsman, Kriagg Brathwaite has stated he is not under any pressure ahead of West Indies three-Test series versus England and is keenly focused on the job ahead.

Following the observation of the World Blood Donor Day on June 14th, President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde donated one unit of blood to the National Blood Transfusion Service, as part of the day’s significance.

With the covid-19 pandemic continuing to halt international football matches the Golden Jaguars remain ranked 166th in the world on the official International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) standings, following the release of the updated points system June 11th.

West Indies batsman Shai Hope reckons the upcoming test series against England as the perfect opportunity for his side to come out with a series win.

MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) – Raheem Sterling scored the first goal of the Premier League’s return to action after the coronavirus lockdown as Manchester City defeated Arsenal 3-0 behind closed doors at the Etihad stadium yesterday.

Embattled Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield  is to present his declaration of results today to the Elections Commission for final certification of a winner of the March 2nd general elections though there are doubts about whether he will comply with the specific instructions from the Chair, Claudette Singh.

Residents of Tain Settlement, Corentyne were left in a state of shock yester-day morning, after a well-known pensioner was found murdered in her house. 

The government of Guyana is about to change. But will there by a change in the governance of sports in Guyana?

LONDON,  (Reuters) – The re-scheduled French Open has been pushed back a further week and the ATP Tour and WTA Tour have both issued revised calendars as professional tennis gears up to emerge from the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) has opted to keep the 6pm to 6am curfew in place even as a new phased re-opening plan was announced yesterday.

The probe into the fatal shooting of Devon Hansraj, the teenager who was a part of the violent post-elections protests in Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice in early March was “poorly” conducted and as such the police were asked to conduct further investigations, the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) yesterday said.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Jonny Bairstow says he wants to return to the England test squad for next month’s home series against West Indies as the designated wicketkeeper, not a specialist batsman.

Sir Shridath Ramphal yesterday lauded the decision on Tuesday of GECOM Chair Claudette Singh to use the recount of votes for the certification of the final result of the March 2nd general elections.

PAMPLONA, Spain, (Reuters) – Atletico Madrid hammered Osasuna 5-0 away from home in La Liga yesterday to secure their biggest win of the season and give a huge boost to their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

Dear Editor, The Rigging Cabal, even at this late stage, is refusing to concede that they have lost the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

LONDON, (Reuters) – It was a long wait but former Glamorgan batsman Alan Jones has finally got his hands on an England cap, 50 years to the day after his sole appearance.

Zorie De Mattos is now a local legend after beating the novel coronavirus at the age of 105 and she and two other survivors were feted yesterday.

Dear Editor, Over the past five years the media has seen significant gains in press freedom.

(Reuters) – The European players who opted not to travel to the United States for the PGA Tour’s restart after a three-month COVID-19 break should not complain about losing out on world ranking points, world number one Rory McIlroy said yesterday The Official World Golf Ranking decided to unfreeze the ranking with last week’s resumption of the PGA Tour even though competitors on the European Tour cannot preserve their ranking at home since action remains on hold.

Parents are already calling out Grade Six teachers for slacking off on implementing COVID-19 measures for schools after children and teachers were seen without masks or not wearing them properly on their first day back on Monday.

Dear Editor, With the way now cleared for a new administration, I write to support and reiterate the call made in a letter by Omchand Madhu titled `Incoming Minister of Education should postpone National Grade Six Assessment’ that appeared in our newspapers.

Investigators probing the murder of a, the construction worker whose partially decomposed body was discovered floating in a trench at Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara more than a week ago believe that they are closer to solving the crime following the arrest of two suspects on Tuesday night.

ROME, (Reuters) – Napoli stunned Juventus 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to claim the Coppa Italia yesterday and bring their fiery coach Gennaro Gattuso the first major trophy of his managerial career.

Dear Editor, I write in response to Mr. Christopher Ram‘s letter published in the Stabroek News, edition dated June 13, 2020: captioned, `A movement once famous for its values and Rodneyite principles is now deeply involved in attempts to rig the 2020 elections.’

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – England’s premier ball manufacturer has some advice for bowlers worried about being unable to generate swing due to a ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball: “Carry a cotton towel.”

Officials in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region are urging residents to brace themselves for more rainfall and possible flooding.

Dear Editor, A Stabroek News article on  June 7, 2020  stated inter alia that “This newspaper had last month reported that  glitches during production startup saw flaring of over 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas; a figure subsequently confirmed by the EPA to be over 9 billion cubic feet, as ExxonMobil (XOM) assured that it would have from that week begin transitioning to using the gas for well injection purposes”.

(Trinidad Guardian) Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday launched a scathing attack on T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce CEO Gabriel Faria, saying he had a “disrespectful mouth” and an “acid tongue.”

Although cattle rustling has always been a prevalent issue in the South Rupununi, a group of small-scale ranchers say rustling has increased since the coronavirus pandemic began and are calling on the relevant authorities to launch an investigation into the matter.

CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – Cricket South Africa will trial a new format that will see three teams compete in a single 36-over match as they look to re-start the game with the Solidarity Cup at SuperSport Park in Centurion on June 27.

(Reuters) – The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) yesterday approved an additional financial package of 35.7 million pounds ($44.71 million) to support the professional and recreational game which have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

No new case of the Coronavirus was recorded yesterday even as new tests were done.

Dear Editor, Now that the March 2 elections are finally over, it is time for all Guyanese to put whatever political differences they may have behind them and begin in earnest the task of nation building.

LIMA,  (Reuters) – Peru topped 240,000 total cases of coronavirus yesterday, surpassing hard-hit Italy, government data showed, even as the pace of infections has begun to moderate in the South American nation.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – In a withering behind-the-scenes portrayal, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton accused him of sweeping misdeeds that included explicitly seeking Chinese President Xi Jinping’s help to win re-election.

Dear Editor, Phew! At long last what passes for an electoral process in Guyana is drawing to a close.

A 26-year-old man was taken into police custody and a number of firearms which belong to a private security firm were seized yesterday following the circulation of a video on social media threatening violence.

(Reuters) – England all-rounder Moeen Ali has been included in a 30-member group that will begin training at the Ageas Bowl from June 23 ahead of their first test against the West Indies on July 8, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said yesterday.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Brazil’s indigenous people lost one of their pioneering leaders to COVID-19 yesterday with the death of Paulinho Payakan, a Kayapó chief who led protests against the Belo Monte hydro-electric dam in the 1980s.

ATLANTA,  (Reuters) – An Atlanta police officer was charged yesterday with murder for the shooting death last week of Rayshard Brooks in a fast-food parking lot, while a fellow officer facing lesser charges has agreed to testify against his colleague.

From the moment GECOM called on the police to investigate allegations of migrants and dead persons voting, I saw three possible outcomes to the current elections dispute: (1) the evidence presented to the Commission did not taint the majority of votes in the boxes going to the party that won the majority, so the PPP/C has won; (2) the Commission finds it impossible to declare a winner given the weight of the ‘evidence’, so the elections are annulled, and (3) having been able to separate tainted from untainted ballots, the majority in the boxes cannot be sustained, so the Coalition has won.

Silvie’s Industrial Solutions continues to suffer from the effects of flooding at their High and Hadfield streets location.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Scotland’s Twenty20 international against Australia scheduled for June 29 has been cancelled because ongoing restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Cricket Scotland said yesterday.

Dear Editor, In my letter “What new Gov’t should do” (SN, 9th June 2020) I mentioned some things that I feel the next Government should consider doing.

Installment 2020-5 Q:  When will the Consular Section reopen? A:  Since early April, the U.S.

In a short time, Guyana will begin a fresh cycle of the political tug of war falsely proclaimed as governance that at this point could well be never ending.

(Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department said yesterday it fined Panama’s Copa Airlines $450,000 for unlawfully transporting passengers between the United States and Venezuela via a stopover point, and ordered the airline to avoid future similar violations.