News

The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has described the decision to rescind permits for river bank mining as “harsh and unreasonable.”

Consultations have been concluded on new amendments to anti-money laundering law and its passage will see employees of licensed financial institutions liable to at least a $5 million fine and jail time of up to three years if they breach requirements to ensure originator information for all wire transfers.

Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman said that although the task force set up to investigate gold smuggling has not been meeting regularly, work is being done.

When Minister of Education Dr Rupert Roopnaraine stood to address the first public consultation for the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the education system on Friday, he was addressing a gathering of less than 30 persons.

Weeks after four men, including former presidential press officer Kwame McCoy, were arrested in connection with the murder of political activist Courtney Crum Ewing, police are still receiving advice as to how to proceed with the investigation.

The young woman who was stabbed about her body less than four days ago, allegedly by her reputed husband who is still to be apprehended, is severely traumatized, even as she is physically recovering from the attack.

The Guyana Police Force has issued wanted bulletins for four persons who are being sought for questioning in relation to a series of fraudulent activities.

Local coconut farmers and processors are looking for support from the government, including the setting-up of a development fund, to make the industry more viable.

During his visit to Berbice yesterday for a ‘Meet the Public Day’ in Corentyne, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, announced that he was donating $250,000 to the expansion of the Whim burial ground after being informed of its current state.

The ability of the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC) to properly carry out its mandate specifically in the interest of Amerindian land titling is being impeded by a lack of financing, according to Vice Chairman Lenox Shuman.

The Ogle International Airport (OIA) will be renamed the Eugene F Correia International Airport (EFCIA) and plans are under way for the unveiling of the name to coincide with Guyana’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations.

No contact has been made with self-confessed drug trafficker Barry Dataram with respect to testifying before a Board of Inquiry (BoI) set up to investigate his claims that the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) is involved in the drug trade and corruption, sources say.

GAZIANTEP, TURKEY (Reuters) – Germany is seeking the creation of “safe zones” to shelter refugees in Syria, Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday, an idea Turkey has long championed in the face of UN caution.

LONDON (Reuters) – US President Barack Obama implored young British people yesterday not to pull back from the world, a day after sparking a row by bluntly telling Britain it should remain in the European Union to preserve its remaining global clout.

The Giftland Mall yesterday opened its fresh ‘Brand Name’ wing as a bazaar setting for local tradesmen and businesses as works to introduce retailers of high-end clothing began.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s Liberal government is prepared to overhaul the country’s laws governing broadcasting, media and cultural industries to support local content, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly told the Globe and Mail in a report yesterday, announcing a new policy direction in what she called a broken system.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – The people of Sudan’s Darfur have voted not to reunite the states of the conflict-torn region, the commission overseeing a referendum said yesterday, but opposition groups said the poll was rigged by the central government in Khartoum.

QUITO (Reuters) – The death toll from Ecuador’s devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake last week has risen to 646 people, President Rafael Correa said during a TV broadcast yesterday.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said yesterday that Mozambique has admitted to having over one billion dollars of undisclosed debt and the two sides were now evaluating the implications of this disclosure.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Longer prison sentences for non-violent criminals and crowded prisons are hurting the American economy more than they are helping it, economists in US President Barack Obama’s administration said in a report released yesterday.