Daily Archive: Monday, November 23, 2020

WILMINGTON, Del./DETROIT,  (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Joe Biden today was formally given the go-ahead by a federal agency to begin his transition to the White House, shortly after the battleground state of Michigan certified him as the winner there.

The services of the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr Vincent Adams were today officially terminated.

Caribbean Airlines is now offering a weekly service between the Cheddi Jagan International Airport,  Guyana and the Jose Marti International, Havana, Cuba, which started on November 21.

Soesdyke businessman Terrence Dickie, 53,  was this morning fatally shot during a home invasion by four armed men.

The police today said that they are probing the murder of Alex Morgow, 20.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – AstraZeneca said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine could be around 90% effective, giving the world another weapon to fight the global pandemic and potentially cheaper to make, easier to distribute and faster to scale-up than rivals.

ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI, (Reuters) – Ethiopian federal forces were encircling the Tigray region’s capital from around 50 km (31 miles) on Monday, the government said, after giving the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) a 72-hour surrender ultimatum.

JERUSALEM,  (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the Saudi crown prince in Saudi Arabia, an Israeli cabinet minister said today, the first publicly confirmed trip to the kingdom by an Israeli leader amid a diplomatic flurry prompted by regional fears of Iran.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Fitzroy Wickham’s selection as the 2021 Rhodes Scholar has put the York Castle High alumnus among prestigious company as he joins a list of outstanding Jamaicans who have been awarded the honour over decades.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The serene community of Tryall Heights in Spanish Town, St Catherine, was torn by terror on Sunday as gunmen targeted a family about 4:30 p.m.,

(Trinidad Express) ALL 250 people detained early yesterday morning at a “zesser party” in Caroni will be charged.

Government’s discussion with The University of the West Indies (UWI) to train at least 20,000 persons here is by no means bypassing UG but is aimed at providing online tertiary education for the many who lobbied for it, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand yesterday said.

NICIL yesterday said that a document in circulation aimed at exculpating its former executive Colvin Heath-London who is currently under police questioning appears to be a forgery and it will report this to the authorities.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips believes there is still a role for state media in the effective communication of the PPP/C government’s developmental plans.

Guyana has recorded three new COVID-19 deaths taking the toll to 146, the Ministry of Health yesterday reported.

Six of Guyana’s elite distance runners joined athletes around the world yesterday to compete in the Asics World Ekiden 2020, a virtual marathon-distance relay race inspired by the Japanese Ekiden.

Chinese-owned Aurora Gold Mines (AGM) yesterday refuted reports of COVID-19 cases at its Region Seven site and its General Manager Victor Wu said Zijin Mining strives to observe and adhere to all the protocols in place.

Elite sprinter, Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams provided a reminder of his pedigree with victory in the men’s Time Trial yesterday.

– WD Masters, West Berbice Masters earn second round wins   Second round action in the Guyana Cricket Board/Tropical Springs over-40 T20 tournament yesterday saw Jai Hind Jaguars defeating Sarjoo Tigers while West Berbice Masters romped to victory over General Marine Masters in the Berbice Zone.

While not going into details of the meetings between President Irfaan Ali and Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Juma Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), government yesterday said that the visit was “extremely successful” and the two sides anticipate cooperation on many fronts.

Following the arrests of 116 persons, the Police Commander of Region Six, Jairam Ramlakhan yesterday stated that it is now time for action against those who transgress COVID-19 regulations.

Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) presidential hopeful Akanni Blair has lauded the decision of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to institute a Covid-19 Task Force to oversee the eventual safe resumption of the discipline.

With over 1000 COVID-19 tests completed on persons entering Guyana since airports reopened on October 12, 11 positive cases have been recorded, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony said in his daily COVID-19 update on Thursday.

Dear Editor, Within the past week, my former school, Bishops’ High School, has made some headlines.

National and international badminton coach, Gokarn Ramdhani, has landed the head coaching gig at the Olds College Broncos Badminton Team in Alberta, Canada.

The Private Sector Com-mission (PSC) yesterday blasted the COVID-19 Task Force for its singling out of the Palm Court Restaurant and Bar for continued breaches of COVID-19 restrictions.

Dear Editor, President Irfaan Ali is about to sign an agreement with UWI (based in Jamaica) to train 20,000 folks in advanced specialized skills to meet the needs of a society on the take-off stage.

West Indies Test vice-captain, Roston Chase has called on his side to produce a better batting performance as they prepare to face New Zealand.

The suspect in the death of Rockey Sawh, the 15-year-old who was allegedly accidentally shot in his head, has been released on a $100,000 station bail, Regional Commander of Region 4 ‘A’ Simon Mc Bean disclosed.

Dear Editor, A few months ago, I met Frank Williams, now 65, a former cane cutter of Herstelling, who had provided me with “pay slips” to show that he worked for Guysuco from 1976 to 2011.

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand, CMC – West Indies got an early sight of the depth of the batting that New Zealand may be able to call upon during their two-Test series next month, before they drew their warm-up match against the Blackcaps’ reserves yesterday.

Dear Editor, I am writing in response to Audreyanna Thomas’s letter `Mr Jagdeo was yesterday’s leader’ dated November 19th of this year.

Exciting national dipper, Leon Seaton is already reaping the benefits of his five-month FINA scholarship in Florida at the high-performance facility – Azura Florida Aquatics.

After devoting 15 years of service to the Amerindian village of Massara, Upper Takutu -Upper Essequibo, Lenny Moses is set to return as a community health worker (CHW), effectively ending an 18-month break.

Aiming for a reopening of the tourism sector in mid-December, Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Carla James said they are currently engaging stakeholders, Interior Lodges, Resorts and Tour Operators.

After a period of deliberation the Big  Man Cricket tournament which was scheduled to commence yesterday has been postponed.

Dear Editor, When I look at Guyana I see two political parties saying the same thing.

(Trinidad Express) Over 150 people, including minors, were detained yesterday morning in Caroni at an illegal party.

(Reuters) – U.S. healthcare workers and others recommended for the nation’s first COVID-19 inoculations could start getting shots within a day or two of regulatory consent next month, a top official of the government’s vaccine development effort said yesterday.

Dear Editor, The excellent UK High Commissioner to Guyana is due to depart GT this week.

(Trinidad Express) A Siparia retiree used his dying breath to give his daughter the registration number of the vehicle which struck him and drove away on Friday evening.

Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt has given Bangladesh hope that they will be touring the country in January 2021 with the “best available” West Indies team, also hinting that the three-Test series might be reduced to two keeping the players’ requirements in mind.

WILMINGTON, DEL., (Reuters) – President-elect Joe Biden will announce the first of his Cabinet picks tomorrow, aides said, including possibly for secretary of state, as he lays the foundation for his administration despite President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede.

The Ministry of Education has taken control of the Yarrowkabra Secondary School construction site from which BK International was booted by the government.

Dear Editor,  I read a paragraph and a few lines written by Lincoln Lewis titled, ‘Vindictive and intolerant politics being pursued by the Ali gov’t’ (SN, November 22,2020). 

(Trinidad Guardian) The latest update from the Ministry of Health is confirming 126 new positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of active cases in the country to 725 patients.

The woman who was injured by a falling tree at Success squatting area on October 23rd, remains hospitalized at the George-town Public Hospital (GPH) in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).

SYDNEY, CMC – Injured West Indies Women’s captain Stafanie Taylor was a non-starter while fellow Windies Women’s all-rounder Hayley Matthews made a minor contribution in the final round of preliminary matches in the Women’s Big Bash League yesterday.

(Reuters) – Britain could give regulatory approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine this week, even before the United States authorises it, the Telegraph news site reported yesterday.

International condemnation of the treatment of Venezuelan nationals, including 16 children, continues to rise as the United Nations Human Rights Office condemned the decision to deport the group over the weekend, the Trinidad Guardian said yesterday.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs,  Anil Nandlall along with Minister of Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy, yesterday met squatters at Sarah Johanna, East Bank Demerara in another bid to resolve a land controversy there.

In our last two articles, we discussed the operations of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd.

By Nadège Compaoré Nadège Compaoré is an incoming Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Toronto.

Yet again, Guyana has been implicated in a major international transshipment of cocaine.

(Trinidad Guardian) Three men are expected to appear before a magistrate today to face multiple charges, after a shootout with Emergency Response Patrol (ERP) police officers on Wednesday 18 November 2020.

Pre-tournament favourites, Gavin Lewis,  Heimraj Resaul and Andre Lopes secured their places in the semi-finals of the Guyana Tennis Association (GTA) Safe Tennis male tournament on the back of clinical performances last weekend at the Le Ressouvenir Tennis Court, East Coast Demerara.

Dear Editor, The PNC/APNU  Opposition could not find anything on which to attack the Government and so they had to resort to saying, Minister of Tourism, Ms Walrond, took her Ministerial Oath three days before she received her certificate of renunciation of her US Nationality and this puts her in the wrong when PNC/APNU Ministers and MP’s who were foreign nationals served for years as Ministers. 

LONDON,  (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Nearly 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be shipped and flown to developing countries next year in a “mammoth operation”, the U.N.