Guyana News

A cannabis leaf tattoo and the name ‘Shevon’ inked on his forearm, yesterday led to the positive identification of Devon Simpson, whose decomposing body with a suspected bullet wound to the back of the head was found in a South Sophia trench on Tuesday morning.

The National Assembly unanimously passed legislation last night which allows non-capital punishment for various categories of convicted murderers, but the death penalty remains on the books.

-OAS security expert A number of Caribbean countries which are favoured tourist destinations are now the centre of a growing sex tourism industry, an Organisation of American States security expert said yesterday, and he also  warned about concerns that the Free Movement of Skilled Nationals in Caricom could result in increased human trafficking.

The first tranche of the US$6.7 million grant signed between Japan and Guyana in 2007 for the rehabilitation of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) could possibly be released early next year, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said yesterday.

The Office of the President (OP) has directed the Guyana Elections Commis-sion (GECOM) to submit its advertisements and notices for publication through the new government procurement website.

The World Bank approved yesterday a US$4.2 million credit to advance the quality of teacher education in Guyana.

At June this year, value-added and excise tax collections amounted to G$23.2B, an increase of 9.1% over the corresponding period last year, the government’s mid-year report says.

In a second attempt, hours after she was released from police custody, a woman reportedly managed to set her Victoria Road, Plaisance house ablaze last night before fleeing to the backlands area.

Antiguan police have charged a second man for the August 21 murder of Guyanese butcher Rondel George.

Concerned parents have threatened to “close down” the Ann’s Grove Secondary School next week if immediate action is not taken by the relevant authorities to address the state of the school which they say is unfit for their children.

Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton granted $55,000 bail to a father of two accused of uttering a forged passport to an immigration officer, when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters Life!) – Hosts Whoopi Goldberg  and Joy Behar walked off the set of TV’s “The View” yesterday  after a shouting match with conservative commentator Bill  O’Reilly about the planned mosque near the site of the Sept.

Government passed two bills last night with opposition support which remove whipping from the law books and brings an end to corporal punishment at training schools across the country.

BINT JBEIL, Lebanon, (Reuters) – Iranian President  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking yesterday close to Israel’s  northern border, praised what he called Lebanon’s resistance to  the Jewish state and declared that “Zionists are mortal”.

COPIAPO, Chile,  (Reuters) – The first of Chile’s 33  rescued miners headed home yesterday to recover from their  two-month ordeal, as offers and gifts that go along with their  new celebrity status rolled in, including an invitation to  Graceland.

The Ministry of Housing and Water plans to start building a concrete bridge at Canal Number One and the Parfait Harmonie Housing Scheme to replace one that has become dilapidated.

Twenty-six youths graduated on Wednesday from an Information Technology (IT) programme hosted at the Port Mourant Community Centre under the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) initiative.

HAVANA, (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Paula weakened  further yesterday after blasting through the Cuban capital  with driving rains and high winds that toppled trees, flooded  streets and left large swaths of the city without power.

ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – Pakistan’s floods caused an  estimated $9.7 billion in damage to the country’s  infrastructure, farms and homes, the Asian Development Bank  (ADB) and World Bank said yesterday.

The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce hosted a series of tourism and hospitality training on Sunday at Rockstone, Region Ten ahead of the fifth Annual Rockstone Fish Festival.