Daily Archive: Wednesday, March 18, 2009

-lack of funds may have led to plea, says former lawyer United States District Court Judge Dora L Irizarry on Monday accepted the guilty plea entered by Guyanese businessman Shaheed Roger Khan for trafficking in 150 kilos of cocaine, witness tampering and gun running, and she has ordered a probation report on him before sentencing.

While Roger Khan’s guilty plea has likely closed the door on more explosive revelations, Alliance For Change (AFC) leader Raphael Trotman yesterday said enough evidence has emerged to warrant a full-scale investigation into the drug kingpin’s involvement with the government and the unsolved murders that piled up during his activities here.

GECOM to be ready for local gov’t polls before year end Charles Corbin has been appointed as a commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), which yesterday indicated that it would be ready to run off overdue local government polls before year end.

Three men yesterday pleaded not guilty to two counts of simple larceny when they appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

…says held against her will The teenager who went missing from her Bagotsville, West Demerara home last Thursday was on Monday night found shivering on the Providence Public Road and according to her relatives she said she was held against her will by four persons and the middle of her head shaven.

Construction work on the new government complex which is to house several agencies including the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security has been moving at snail’s pace and despite several deadline extensions the work is far from half-complete nearly a year after it started.

The front of a route 42 minibus was heavily damaged after its driver lost control of it last night along the Providence, East Bank Demerara Public Road.

A 26-year-old mason was yesterday not required to plead to the indictable offence of robbery under arms when he appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Commissioner of Insurance and Judicial Manager of CLICO (Guyana) Maria van Beek says that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the local company Geeta Singh-Knight is still playing an integral part in its present operations.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and his wife Yvonne Hinds on Sunday attended a church service at St George’s Cathedral to commemorate 15 years of service by the Guyana Relief Council (GRC).

Parliament has approved the deployment of army personnel to support the security detail during the Fifth Summit of Americas in Trinidad next month.

The West Indies team had their first net session at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground yesterday afternoon and all rounder Darren Sammy yesterday took some time out to state that the Regional team has the opportunity to grind their opponents down.

A 50-year-old Dutch citizen yesterday pleaded guilty to the charges of uttering a forged document and conspiracy to commit a felony when they were read to him by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Members of the West Indies rugby team was due to arrive  in Vancouver, Canada last evening to begin a four-day camp today with the Canadian national team before heading to Hong Kong on March 22 for the IRB World Rugby Sevens.

– court hears A 19-year-old security guard attached to the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) yesterday pleaded not guilty to the charge of simple larceny when he appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Guyana’s middle order batsman Narsingh Deonarine is looking forward to wearing the maroon cap of the West Indies team again, as early as the Regional team’s return tour to England.

PARIS, (Reuters) – A French government move to  legalise statistics on ethnic origin has caused an uproar that  reveals deep divisions on how to tackle discrimination.

Barama opens outlet at Land of Canaan Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud says the government  remains concerned about the high prices that local home-builders are being charged for plywood by Barama Company Ltd (BCL) and he warned the company that the extended deadline for a veneer plant must be met.

By Rawle Toney Even though Alpha “The Hammer” United lost to Pele via penalty in the recently-completed Mayor’s Cup tournament, club president Odinga Lumumba believes that his side will come out victorious in the upcoming Caribbean Football Union (CFU) club championship against Temptee Football Club of Haiti on Saturday.

A 36-year-old father of three was yesterday not required to plead to the indictable charge of carnal knowledge when he appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – American International Group  Inc, which has received $180 billion in taxpayer money to stay  in business, created 73 millionaires with bonuses of $1 million  or more in 2008, New York’s top legal officer said yesterday.

The president and executive members of the Berbice Cricket Board of Control (BCBC) would like to offer congratulations to umpire Dhieraindranauth Somwaru on his appointment as the fourth umpire for the upcoming two One Day Internationals (ODI) at the National Stadium between England and the West Indies this weekend.

Dear Editor, In your newspaper (‘Guyana and the wider world,’ Sunday Stabroek March 15, page13), Dr Clive Thomas in an article entitled ‘A crisis of credibility’ stated, “It does not augur well that the central bank let senior management of the Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation plead that several other depositors in the Stanford Financial Group got burnt, as if this was justification for their failure to do ‘due diligence.’”

MIAMI, (Reuters) – A Venezuelan was sentenced to  four years in a U.S.

-GPL to meet with earmarked communities The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) says customers are set to benefit from its prepaid metering system which will allow them to manage their consumption of electricity.

ICC Cricketer-of-the-Year urges athlete to remain disciplined By Rawle Toney Guyana’s 2009 Sportswoman-of-the-Year track queen Alika Morgan said that meeting West Indies star batsman and 2009 Sportsman-of-the-Year Shivnarine Chanderpaul in person is a dream come through and she is elated to know that her name will be mentioned in the same breath as the world-renowned cricketer.

$20M bridge for Pigeon IslandThe Region Four council has unveiled a $2.427B budget with the bulk of the money going to develop the education sector.

Master Frank Woon-A-Tai, an 8th dan black belt karateka of the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF), conducted a grading examination last Sunday at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) dojo, where all the students were successful.

Dear Editor, I can empathise with Roshan Khan and residents around the Starlite Drive-in (‘Noisy shows are affecting residents,’ SN March 14). 

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – U.S. stocks surged on  Tuesday as an unexpected leap in housing starts pushed Home  Depot and other retailers higher while bullish comments from a  broker on Cisco Systems helped technology shares rebound.

Dear Editor, I wish to commend you for your publication of a most relevant article ‘Jamaica Senator’s offices searched in e-mail probe’ in your March 16 edition, taken from the Jamaica Observer.

SYDNEY, Australia,CMC – West Indies offered very little resistance and plunged to a heavy 146-run loss to England in their ICC Women’s World Cup Super Six match at Drummoyne Oval yesterday.

DUBLIN, (Reuters) – Ireland said on Tuesday it  would ban banks from promoting their chief executives to  chairmen and put a stop to directors holding multiple positions  as part of an overhaul of its corporate governance rules.

Zambian High Commissioner to Guyana Albert Munchanga committed to rejuvenating his country’s relations with Guyana when he presented his credentials on Monday to President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Office of the President.

(BBC) – The US government is chasing at least $226.6m (£161m) in taxes, penalties and interest it says billionaire American financier Sir Allen Stanford owes.

YAOUNDE, (Reuters) – Pope Benedict arrived in  Africa yesterday, where he said the continent’s people were  suffering disproportionately due to the global challenges of  food shortages, financial crises and climate change.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Former champions W Connection, of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), will tackle Dominica’s Centre Bath in one of two matches when the 2009 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Champions Cup kicks off today.

Office of the President (OP) Press Officer Kwame McCoy has accused two parliamentary opposition parties of racial attacks on him as an Afro-Guyanese supporter of the ruling party, a charge they deny as baseless.

Dear Editor, It is really frustrating to use Digicel’s ‘Free After 3,’ and get cut off after a few minutes; You call again and you’re cut off again.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Cricket’s World governing body expects next year’s World Twenty20 Championship in the Caribbean to be far more successful than the 2007 World Cup.

ANTANANARIVO, (Reuters) – Madagascar’s military  chiefs gave opposition leader Andry Rajoelina full powers yesterday to run the Indian Ocean island, ending a months-long  power struggle that has killed 135 people.

(Jamaica Observer) – Cases of fraud have developed in the area of pharmaceutical drug prescriptions locally as demand for medicines increase, Finance Minister Audley Shaw said on Monday.

Dear Editor, Mr Oliver Hinckson is innocent. That is, he is innocent unless a court in Guyana says otherwise.

Minister Irfaan Ali says he is unhappy about the slothful pace at which the Central Ruimveldt and Sophia Water Treatment facilities are being completed and was emphatic that there would be no further extension of the August deadline.

Dear Editor, President Jagdeo has proclaimed that he had “confidential information” indicating that retired army major David Clarke was not serving the army’s best interests. Mr Jagdeo stated

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended international cricket at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and lashed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), following the second Test debacle last month.

One week after a father of four was badly burnt during a fire that destroyed his two-bedroom house at Bath Settlement, West Berbice he is still unable to walk and is suffering from severe pain.

(Trinidad Guardian) – High-ranking government officials have said that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will not be granting permission to any country to land fighter jets on local territory as part of the security arrangements for the Summit of the Americas.

SAN SALVADOR, (Reuters) – Scrubbed clean and  wearing long sleeves to hide their tattoos, members of El Salvador’s internationally feared street gangs blended in with  the general public to vote in Sunday’s presidential election.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s government will restore democracy  quickly in its biggest and politically most important province  as part of reconciliation efforts, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza  Gilani said yesterday.

– Mehdi Khalaji, who studied for 14 years in seminaries in Qom, Iran, is a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East policy.

(Reuters) – After hitting the seventh fastest century in one-day cricket, Virender Sehwag goes into India’s test series against New Zealand carrying a reputation as the world’s most destructive batsman.

The recent dismissals from the Cuban government of Vice President Carlos Lage and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque have caught observers by surprise.

Dear Editor, Hands up all those who had a feeling of déjà vu when reading Wayne  Brown’s ‘In the Obama era’ feature of Sunday, March 15. 

Dominica police seize drugs Police in Dominica have reported the arrest of one man after they seized cocaine and marijuana worth a combined value of EC$1.78 million (US$681,956) last weekend.A

Over 50 patients were treated two Sundays ago during a medical outreach at Number 11 Village, West Coast Berbice, bringing an end to activities conducted in observance of Islam Awareness Week (IAW).