Guyana News

In a visit to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) headquarters, Brickdam yesterday, Finance Minister Winston Jordan floated the possibility of dividing it up and raised whether it should at some stage be providing unemployment benefits.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies head coach Phil Simmons on Friday courted controversy when he slammed “interference from outside” as the reason for the omission of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the one-day squad, for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

During yesterday, police ranks conducted a search on a motor vehicle at Weldaad, WCB, during which five pounds of marijuana were found.

Just days after voicing concern over Venezuela’s deployment of troops on its border with Guyana, President David Granger yesterday urged all nations against resorting to threats or use of force in the resolution of controversies.

Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Mark Philips yesterday told Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ranks that their current task is to “define aggression” on the country’s frontiers in the face of Venezuela’s recent deployment of troops on its border with Guyana.

Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday voiced disapproval of military manoeuvres being undertaken by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in response to Venezuela’s troop build-up near this country’s western border and he stressed the need for President David Granger and the President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro to hold bilateral talks.

Police yesterday recovered in excess of $1 million that was believed to be part of the $6 million allegedly paid over to ranks to release a minibus that was transporting a large quantity of cocaine along the Corentyne Highway at Whim, sources close to the investigation say.

A Colombian national was yesterday sentenced to a total of 10 years in jail after he admitted to stealing almost $3M from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) through the use of a series of fake ATM cards.

Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo is calling for an international probe to determine the origin of the fake Statement of Polls (SoPs) that were discovered during the last elections.

Residents of the Essequibo Coast will now have the benefit of a Child Advocacy Centre—the first of its kind in the region—which is designed to house all the agencies involved in advocacy and protection of children under one roof.

The opposition is willing to support government with any solution that will see a reduction in the Berbice Bridge toll, but it must be fair to all parties involved, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday, while adding that there was money in “private accounts” which could be used to offer a larger subsidy to the bridge company.

The Government of Guy-ana is making efforts to tighten screening at Guyana’s ports so as to stymie what appears to be efforts to use Guyana as a “conduit” to illegally access other countries.

Scotiabank has partnered with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to launch a business plan competition that will see the winner earn a $500,000 start-up business account with the bank.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Guyana has plans to expand and showcase more Chinese culture while integrating it into the education system.

Although Dennis Atwell has taken to the streets in protest close to two dozen times with no seemingly significant results, he is undeterred.

The owner of North West Travel and Tours was yesterday fined $20,000 after he admitted to collecting just under $1 million from a client to get her airline tickets for her family and then failing to pay the airline.

A shoemaker was yesterday freed of a marijuana trafficking charge after the prosecution failed to prove that he knew he had the drug in his possession.

New United States Ambassador-designate Perry Holloway arrived in Guyana on Thursday and he will be shortly presenting his credentials to President David Granger.

President David Granger on Thursday held talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he began the first of a series of bilateral meetings with visiting Heads of Government participating in the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The Government is still reviewing the operations and financial stability of the Marriott Hotel with a view to determining its future role with the entity.