Daily Archive: Friday, January 7, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Former West Indies stroke-maker, Ramnaresh Sarwan, was today named as the last West Indies men’s selector, joining new chairman Desmond Haynes and head coach Phil Simmons in a new-look panel which will serve for the next two-and-a-half years.

The PNCR wants its party leader to also be the  Opposition Leader and Representative of the List.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Sidney Poitier, who broke through racial barriers as the first Black winner of the best actor Oscar for his role in “Lilies of the Field,” and inspired a generation during the civil rights movement, has died at age 94, an official from the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.

ALMATY,  (Reuters) – Kazakhstan’s president said today he had ordered his forces to shoot-to-kill to deal with disturbances from those he called bandits and terrorists, a day after Russia sent troops to put down a countrywide uprising.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Hospitals across the United States are postponing elective surgeries to free up staff and beds due to a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

(Trinidad Express) A three-year feud between neighbours in La Romaine is said to have led to the killing of a man and the burning-down of a house on Tuesday night.

(Trinidad Guardian) Another police officer has succumbed to COVID-19.   In a statement, the TTPS said PC Saied Ali passed away on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Joe Biden yesterday accused his predecessor Donald Trump of spreading a “web of lies” to undermine U.S.

With opposition MPs calling for greater transparency in handling surging COVID-19 cases among teachers and students, Education Minister Priya Manickchand yesterday defended the reopening of schools for the new term and said that administrators have flexibility with seating and other arrangements to ensure safety.

The Ministry of Labour’s National Tripartite Committee (NTC) has agreed to $60,000 being the monthly national minimum wage and this matter is now to be taken to Cabinet.

A doctor has been questioned by police as the probe into the fire which destroyed the echocardiography (ECG) laboratory at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) continues, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum yesterday confirmed to Stabroek News.

One of two men wanted by police over  the murder of two miners at the Nassano Backdam, North West District, on Christmas Eve, has surrendered.

The Georgetown City Hall restoration project is currently in its demolition phase with rebuilding expected to commence in the next two weeks.

The probe into the landing of an Air Services Limited helicopter in a residential area of the city during the Christmas Season, found that the pilot and officer at the air traffic control centre were in breach of aviation regulations, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill said yesterday.

New Leader of the People’s National Con-gress Reform (PNCR) Aubrey Norton has appointed former magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond as General Secretary of the Party.

So accustomed have Guyanese become to continual disclosures by ExxonMobil of successive ‘world class’ oil discoveries in the Guyana/Suriname Basin that this week’s disclosure by the largest US oil producer on Wednesday January 5, that it had made two further oil discoveries in the Stabroek Block, off Guyana’s coast, an area described as one of the company’s “top bets” for production growth in the decade ahead, evoked no notable response amongst the Guyanese public as a whole.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Batting legend Desmond Haynes was yesterday appointed the new men’s chairman of selectors on a two-and-a-half year contract, as Cricket West Indies’ overhaul of its selection system continued in the wake of last October’s Twenty20 World Cup fiasco.

A 63-year-old taxi driver disappeared from his Soesdyke-Linden Highway home more than a week ago and his family is fearful that he is a victim of foul play.

The name Manari is associated with one of Guyana’s best-known cattle ranches in Guyana.

West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer and his former West Indies under-19 teammate, Tevin Imlach, were among the runs on the second day of the ongoing Guyana Harpy Eagles Best v Best four-day match at Albion Community Center Ground, Berbice yesterday.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 26-year-old man whose decomposed body was discovered at his Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home just after midday on Wednesday.

With Guyana currently bathed in the spotlight created by the onset of oil production and the impact that this has had on investor interest in the country, neighbouring Suriname would appear to be chomping at the bit, awaiting its turn to be bathed in the glare of its own oil wealth.

Young gun, Jayden Seales is standing firm behind West Indies to make a positive start to the new year as they prepare to face Ireland in thee One-Day Internationals and one T20I from tomorrow.

Swabrien Khan-Jodhan, the Head Teacher (ag) of Hope Secondary School has refuted allegations in a letter titled ‘Hope Secondary School is infested with mosquitoes’ which was published in yesterday’s edition of Stabroek News.

Dear Editor, It was reported in December 2021 that President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, in response to the Auditor General’s Reports of 2019 and 2020, had issued a call to all contractors to “ensure that works assigned to them are not only done in a timely manner but that they are done in keeping with the required standards and within the parameters of cost.”

As United States pressure mounts on the Maduro administration, Venezuela is investing more in relations with Iran in what is likely to be seen by Washington as a signal that the administration in Caracas will be seeking in the new year to protect itself from further US economic pressures.

President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle has praised the prize structure that has been put in place by the American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) for the Elite Continental Championships, set for Guayaquil, Ecuador in March.

 The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) is investigating the cause of a fire which destroyed a Prashad Nagar, Georgetown house early yesterday morning.

One indicator of the extent to which Guyana is increasingly becoming a ‘destination of choice’ amongst assorted travellers, particularly potential investors, is the frequency with which, these days, an assortment of air travel service providers are seeking to engage the authorities here on extending their services into the local market.

Dear Editor, There should be a new role for the Guyana Labour Movement in the Guyana oil economy.

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – South Africa captain Dean Elgar produced a heroic unbeaten innings of 96 runs to lead his team to a seven-wicket victory over India in the second test at the Wanderers yesterday.

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Usman Khawaja celebrated his recall to the test arena after two years in the wilderness with a stylish 137 to drive Australia to a declaration on 416 for eight shortly before the close of play on the second day of the fourth Ashes test yesterday.

The Judiciary has announced the temporary closure of the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court and its office as of Wednesday January 5th until Monday January 10th to effect sanitization “as a precautionary measure given exposure to the Covid-19 virus.”

Even more daunting survival-related challenges than presently obtain are likely to lie ahead for countries that are now battling with food security if the alarming picture of a continual loss of scarce resources, painted in a recently released Report by the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) persists.

Dear Editor, A report from the PNC-R chastises the Government for management of the COVID crisis.

CALIFORNIA, CMC – The United States’ Women’s Under-19 team will travel to the Caribbean to play their first international tour with a four-match Twenty20 (T20 series) later this month, USA Cricket has announced.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Rovman Powell warmed up for upcoming assignments against Ireland and England with a stunning half-century as Jamaica Scorpions thrashed Ireland by five wickets in a 50-over warm-up here Wednesday.

India, with an estimated oil consumption level of an estimated 4,480,000 barrels per day ranks third behind the United States and China and is among the elite insofar as national oil consumption is concerned.

A new Board of Directors has been appointed for the George-town Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), for the period January 1st, 2022 to December 31st, 2022.

Dear Editor, I am one year and two months older than Professor Joycelynne Loncke.

Close to 1,000 new COVID-19 infections were reported yesterday as health authorities have warned about a continuous rise in cases as the country is in its suspected Omicron surge.

A vagrant who was chopped on Tuesday at the Leonora Market, West Coast Demerara, succumbed to his injuries while being treated at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

Four decades ago, in the wake of the drying up of wheaten flour imports into Guyana, a function of our foreign exchange travails and amidst a surfeit of political uproar and public grumbling, a government-invoked ‘buy local’ mantra spawned an outbreak of ‘inventiveness’ that spawned a new cooking culture that gave rise to the pursuits of a new culinary culture resulting in the emergence of a host of substitute ‘flours,’ two of the best-known of which were breadfruit ‘flour’ and rice ‘flour.’

Dear Editor, Keeping schools opened should be Guyana’s top priority. In December 2021, just last month, a report published by the World Bank titled “The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery” estimated that globally this generation of students risk losing $17 trillion of collective lifetime earnings due to the closure of schools because of COVID-19.

MELBOURNE, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic faced at least 72 hours holed up in a Melbourne hotel for immigration detainees after he was denied entry into Australia on Thursday amid a political firestorm over his medical exemption https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/djokovic-will-defend-australian-open-title-after-exemption-vaccination-2022-01-04

ALMATY,  (Reuters) – Fresh violence erupted in Kazakhstan’s main city of Almaty yesterday as Russia sent in paratroopers to put down a countrywide uprising in one of Moscow’s closest former Soviet allies.

In marked contrast to the protestations of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) over what it said were government-imposed wages and salary increases that were devoid of consultations with the union, Jamaica is reporting that more than thirty of the country’s trade unions representing Public Servants have accepted the government’s four per cent salary increase offer for the period April 2021 to March 2022, apparently without murmur.

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – South Africa captain Dean Elgar looked to play down praise for his match-winning performance but said beating India to win the second test yesterday was a significant step forward for his young team.

In an interview with this newspaper at the end of last year PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton said that the reality was that the PPP/C was the Government of Guyana. 

Three years ago, the reality that we are currently living in only seemed possible in dystopian films and novels.

For all the ‘notable achievements’ of the country’s tourism industry recorded in 2021 as outlined by the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) in its yearend review, there can still be no disputing the fact that insofar as the national ambition of developing the key sectors of the country’s economy is concerned, the ‘tourism industry’ occupies a less than prominent position on the ‘food chain’.

Dear Editor, When (and if) the new London High Commissioner comes out of his/her sugar-coated bubble, might I suggest we evolve a programme of post pandemic events at the High Commission for the very active UK Diaspora.

One week into a “Happy”(?) New Year? It has to be one major historical misfortune of this country’s political existence.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Two Haitian journalists were killed yesterday on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince after suspected gang members opened fire on a group of reporters who had arrived to interview the leader of a rival gang, according to a police official and local media.