Daily Archive: Sunday, April 11, 2021

(CWI) ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Ricky Skerritt and Dr Kishore Shallow have been re-elected unopposed to the posts of President and Vice President respectively, of Cricket West Indies (CWI).

A radio DJ was yesterday stabbed during an argument with a colleague at the HJ 94.1 FM studio located on Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown.

KINGSTOWN, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,  (Reuters) – The Caribbean Saint Vincent island was hit by another explosive event from the La Soufriere volcano early today, triggering power cuts and water outages in some areas, while ash clouds began to blanket parts of the island of Barbados.

The Ministry of Health today said that three women who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have died.

A 50-foot section on the southern end of the Pirara Bridge in the Rupununi has collapsed as a truck heading from Lethem was crossing last night.

BRUSSELS,  (Reuters) – The European Union’s top diplomat said today Russia and China were hampering a united international response to Myanmar’s military coup and that the EU could offer more economic incentives if democracy returns to the country.

(Trinidad Guardian) The family of a medical student who died days after she was administered a powerful painkiller for mild fever and pain plans to approach the Medical Board to initiate an investigation into a Caroni doctor.

(Trinidad Guardian) Although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected economic growth of 2.1 per cent for T&T this year, economist Dr Roger Hosein yesterday warned that the economy is in dire straits.

 (Barbados Nation) KINGSTOWN – The new dome that was forming in the crater of La Soufriere for months was blown off in the explosive eruptions, sending at least 13 million cubic metres of material into the atmosphere.

Patrice Douglas is a doctor, but she has not worn her white coat since she completed her internship some years ago.

When a then teenage Leola Agatha Marslow née Wilson began to teach, very much intending to use the experience as a stepping stone to some other profession, she could not have imagined that 42 years later she would be retiring from a fulfilling career as an educator.

The quote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you,” has been attributed to the late Maya Angelou and it is one that Reminiscence Bio, established last August, firmly agrees with.

      By Eusi Kwayana [Baytoram Ramharack, Jung Bahadur Singh of Guyana (1886-1956): Politician, ship doctor, labor leader and protector of Indians, San Juan, Chakra Press, 2019.

As continuing explosions and ash fall following the eruption of St Vincent’s La Soufrière volcano ratcheted up emergency responses, the Guyana government on Saturday signalled that it was working towards dispatching relief supplies within 48 hours.

In 2010, I wrote an article on the overseas vote in which I argued that the Constitution of Guyana permitted all Guyanese citizens over the age of 18 to vote.

Friday’s eruption of La Soufrière volcano in St Vincent has left some Guyanese in thrall and shock at the ash that has carpeted the island and they hope to ride out the crisis having stocked up on food, water and other supplies.

The previous column (April 4: ‘The government’s overdraft at BoG, the fiscal deficit and corruption’) explained that the government’s fiscal deficit — which must not be confused with current account deficit as one online commenter did — has to be financed by (i) borrowing, (ii) seeking foreign grants, (iii) using previous savings, and/or (iv) creating money from its deposit at the Bank of Guyana (BoG).

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 190/3 (Shikhar Dhawan 85, Prithvi Shaw 72, Shardul Thakur 2-53) beat Chennai Super Kings 188/7 (Suresh Raina 54, Moeen Ali 36, Chris Woakes 2/18) by 7 wickets Delhi Capitals (DC) started their VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign with a seven-wicket victory against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday.

Border patrols have been stepped up in Region Nine to minimise persistent illegal cross-border travel between Guyana and Brazil, according to Regional Chairman Bryan Allicock, who says authorities there are worried about importing a deadlier variant of the virus from the neighbouring country.

I interrupt my series on Extraordinary People to reflect on the concept of excellence which is involved, one way or another, with any life which is exceptional or exemplary.

Following the Lady Jaguars decision to solicit government intervention into the unequivocal allocation of resources by the federation, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has acknowledged the issues and said that it is committed to resolving all matters plaguing the programme.

Two days ago, out of the blue, I had an awful experience with the sudden death of a friend here, Colin Ming, in a traffic accident (he was on a motorbike) that just shattered me. 

By Stanley Greaves Hylton Lewis is among those I refer to as a Guyanist.

Dear Editor, Subsequent to the hearing of the Election Petition number 88 on Wed, April 7, sections of the media reported that GECOM proposed that the Petition be thrown out.

A teenage mother was arrested on Friday after her child was found dead in a drain at Parika Backdam.

Structure is everything in the Emma Seligman’s feature directorial debut, “Shiva Baby”.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), have thrown their support behind the senior men’s basketball team in its bid to qualify for the second round of  the FIBA 2023 World Cup Americas Pre-qualifiers.

Fezal Mohammed was elected chairman of the executive committee when the South Essequibo Cricket Committee held elections recently.

Introduction Last week’s column explained the enigma of, on the one hand, repeated striking downward revisions to Guyana’s expected real GDP growth for 2020 (initially set at 85% by the IMF and Government of Guyana, GoG in Q4, 2019).

Dear Editor, I had not yet completed digesting the sad news that businessman, Colin Ming, had suffered “severe” injuries from a traffic accident, when the more shocking news of his passing came through.

The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited (GBTI) has set up a disaster relief fund to aid St Vincent and the Grenadines as the island group grapples with the effects of the eruption of La Soufrière.

Dear Editor, The recent tributes for a Guyanese sister Mahadai Das has brought a dark, sinister side of our Guyanese past to light once more.

Canada-based Guyanese Omkaar Sharma will be investing around $75 million (CDN$450,000) in a Region Five plant to bottle farmers’ milk for sale across the country.

The Lusignan Golf Club will host a memorial tournament dubbed “Colin’s Life Celebration” today at the East Coast Demerara facility.

Ulysses It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Match’d with an aged wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race, That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.

(Reuters) – Myanmar security forces fired rifle grenades at protesters in a town near Yangon yesterday, killing more than 80 people, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group and a domestic news outlet said.

The University of Guyana (UG) has launched 18 Zoom Rooms to enhance virtual classroom experiences for its students and staff. 

Dear Editor, On Thursday, April 8, I got a Whatsapp message from my good friend, playwright Harold Bascom, who asked me to confirm that his close friend, Neville Williams, had died last Monday in an accident.

Classes will resume virtually when the new school term starts on Monday.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband who died on Friday aged 99, will have a ceremonial funeral on Saturday April 17 without any public access or public procession, Buckingham Palace said.

KYIV, (Reuters) – Ukraine’s defence minister said yesterday his country could be provoked by Russian aggravation of the situation in the conflict area of Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday reported that 86 more COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, taking the country’s total number of recorded cases over 11,000.

Most regular gym goers, including myself, typically work out for 45 minutes to an hour, three to four days a week.

Dear Editor, The Guyana chapter of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) — the global effort to promote transparency and accountability in the extractive sector — was recently complaining (again) about the reluctance of several government agencies to divulge information for public consumption.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India’s daily coronavirus cases yesterday rose to a new record for the fifth time this week and deaths surged to the highest in more than five months, with hospitals and crematoriums overflowing in parts of the country.

Last month, March, represented 110 years since the suave Cuban chess player Jose Raul Capablanca won the great San Sebastian Chess Tournament.

The Women and Gender Equality Commission has voiced its solidarity with nurses at the Linden Hospital Complex in their ongoing dispute with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), calling for his replacement as it urged both the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Health to take appropriate action.

HAVANA, (Reuters) – A striking image is circulating this week on social media in Cuba: a dissident pumping his fist in the air, handcuffs dangling from one wrist, after friends and neighbours helped him evade arrest by police in Havana.

Dear Editor, Nine months ago, 750,000 Guyanese lived for a single reason only: victory. 

NORTHAMPTON, England, CMC – West Indies pacer Miguel Cummins struck late to break a threatening opening stand after earlier flourishing with the bat, to give Kent a strong finish to day two of their Group 3 County Championship contest against Northamptonshire here Friday.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuelan forces detained members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel during clashes with armed groups near its western border with Colombia, a top Venezuelan military official said on Friday.

Jayson Tatum scored 35 of his career-high 53 points after halftime as the Boston Celtics erased a 17-point deficit to outlast the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 145-136 in overtime Friday night.

CHENNAI, India, (Reuters) – Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli believes Harshal Patel has solved the team’s death-overs woes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) following the seamer’s bowling masterclass in Friday’s victory against champions Mumbai Indians.

It is hardly surprising that the Opposition feels isolated.  Leaving aside its disreputable attempt to rig the 2020 election, since it went out of office on August 2nd it has played the few cards left in its hand extraordinarily badly. 

Last Update: 712. 39                                Movement: -0.093% Current Update: 711.73                           YTD Movement: 2.87%LUCAS STOCK INDEX The Lucas Stock Index fell 0.093% during the first period of trading in April, 2021.

Dear Editor, Given CARICOM-led formation of the Constitution Reform Commission in 1999 (Chapter 1:14) brought about genuine results thus far on constitutional reform, even though five years earlier the Special Select Committee on Constitutional Reform was established in accordance with a Resolution of the National Assembly of December 1, 1994.

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Brazil yesterday recorded 2,616 new COVID-19 deaths and 71,832 new coronavirus cases, the Health Ministry said.

Persons travelling to Suriname will now have to quarantine at approved hotels or guest houses for seven days upon arrival, according to new COVID-19 travel protocols issued by the Surinamese government.

(European Society of Cardiology) – Sophia Antipolis, 9 April 2021: The first large study showing that leisure time physical activity and occupational physical activity have opposite, and independent, associations with cardiovascular disease risk and longevity is published today in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 “We adjusted for multiple factors in our analysis, indicating that the relationships were not explained by lifestyle, health conditions or socioeconomic status,” said study author Professor Andreas Holtermann of the National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.

(University of Edinburgh) – Sunnier areas are associated with fewer deaths from COVID-19, an observational study suggests.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Europe’s drug regulator on Wednesday said it had found a possible link between AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and very rare blood clots in adults who received the shot.

The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security on Saturday distributed 155 pairs of spectacles to residents of Region Three who had their eyes screened and tested during a recent community outreach. 

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A joint China-World Health Organization (WHO) study into COVID-19 has provided no credible answers about how the pandemic began, and more rigorous investigations are required – with or without Beijing’s involvement, a group of international scientists and researchers said on Wednesday.

(University of Ottawa) – Video games offer students obvious respite from the stresses of studies and, now, a study from a University of Ottawa medical student has found they could benefit surgical skills training.

By Dr. Paulo Verardi (theconversation.com) – Spring has sprung, and there is a sense of relief in the air.

(SciDev.Net) – Immediate action is required to preserve safe maternity care worldwide, as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens global maternal and perinatal outcomes, especially in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), a study warns.

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The unequal global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines could spur the trade in fake doses in Africa – a hotspot for counterfeit medicines, analysts warned on Friday, citing the seizure of falsified vaccination shots in South Africa.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Paramount Pictures has pushed the release Tom Cruise movie “Top Gun: Maverick” to November from July, the studio said on Friday, a move that deprives theaters of what was expected to be one of the biggest releases of the summer blockbuster season.

LONDON (Reuters) – American music star Taylor Swift released a re-recording of her 2008 hit album “Fearless” last Friday, as the Grammy Award winner seeks to take back control of her early catalogue.

(North Carolina State University) – A recent study finds that unhealthy eating behaviors at night can make people less helpful and more withdrawn the next day at work.