Daily Archive: Friday, June 19, 2009

By Vishnu Bisram in New York Thousands of Guyanese yesterday bade farewell in New York to Shri Prakash Gossai, the popular Guyanese bhajan singer and interpreter of the Hindu scriptures.

–court hears A 24-year-old teacher, who allegedly told one of his students to pay him $10,000 if she wanted to pass her exams, was yesterday remanded to prison until July 4.

With effect from Monday the government lowered the excise tax on gasoline from 50 to 30 percent while the tax on diesel was lowered from 40 to 30 percent, and there is still no tax on kerosene.

…but health ministry on top of thingsMinister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy is advising anyone with flu-like symptoms to visit their doctor or local health centre and says the ministry will continue to give regular updates as he feels it is only a matter of time before the H1N1 flu reaches Guyana.

A 39-year-old labourer pleaded guilty to using threatening language to a schoolgirl and was yesterday remanded to prison when he appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Up to press time last night, a 66-year-old US-based Guyanese who has been missing since Friday following a visit to a family home in Buxton had still not been found.

Handle of knife found by relatives Relatives of Sharmin McKay, who died on Monday after being stabbed, said the suspect boasted before the attack about how he could `get off for murder’ and questions are being raised about the quality of the police probe as the handle of the knife used was found during a clean-up of the house.

Days after he granted an order approving the sale of Clico (Guyana’s) immovable properties and businesses, Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang has recalled the order in the wake of strong objections by attorneys for Clico (Guyana).

Officials of the Guyana Police Force’s ‘B’ division  yesterday met with residents of the Bagotville community located on the West Bank of Demerara  to listen to their concerns on crime.

The four local swimmers selected to represent Guyana at the FINA World Aquatic Championships in Rome, Italy, next month are severely hampered by lack of adequate pool time at the only short course pool, Castellani Pool.

-Shahid ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi boots S/Africa out of final with bat and ball NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – All-rounder Shahid `Boom Boom’  Afridi uncorked one of his top performances and ignited Pakistan to a seven-run victory over previously unbeaten South Africa in the ICC World Twenty20 Championship yesterday.

The 2008 Annual Report of Demerara Tobacco has trumpeted another year of “solid performance” during which it recorded after tax profits of $928.3m.

Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir has told Stabroek Business that his Ministry is preparing to take legal action against Prime Security, the former employer of a number of security guards who were sent home in the wake of the spectacular collapse of Clico (Guyana) earlier this year.

Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon says plans are in train to build a US$2M home at Onverwagt for street dwellers in order to provide them with medical and material support.

LONDON, England, CMC – Fiery pacer Fidel Edwards, struck down with a back injury on Monday, remains a huge doubt for the West Indies as they get ready to face undefeated Sri Lanka in the second ICC World Twenty20 semi-final today.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Mourners clashed with U.N. troops after a popular priest’s funeral in the Haitian capital yesterday and a demonstrator was killed by gunfire that witnesses blamed on the peacekeepers.

– says Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes“This is my time to shine .

Last week’s terse assessment of the state of the global economy and the prognosis for recovery from the current crisis by World Bank President Robert Zoellick would not have been encouraging for poor countries.

-complainant asked court to be merciful A woman who had stabbed her partner in his chest pleaded guilty yesterday to the charge of unlawful and malicious wounding and was sentenced to two years imprisonment by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Dear Editor, We, the concerned residents of Ninth Street (A) Block (Y) Cummings Lodge wish to make public that our street has not been fixed.

CARACAS (Reuters) – A Spanish cruise ship hit by an outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus among its crew headed for its final stop at the Caribbean island of Aruba yesterday, the ship operator said.

LIMA, (Reuters) – Peru’s Congress overturned two  controversial land laws yesterday that ignited clashes  between police and indigenous protesters in the Amazon rain  forest two weeks ago, killing at least 34 people.

Dear Editor, In a statement made by the Minister of Agriculture (MoA) recently, he said that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and Neighbourhood Demo-cratic Councils (NDC) have been tasked to improve the irrigation system in farming communities in light of the relatively dry conditions experienced over the last few months.

Unpleasant Truth In the global scheme of things, Guyana is not the first choice of most as a place of relaxation or pleasure, even though some aspects of social life, including the pockets of ebullient night life, would make some Guyanese argue differently. 

A 52-year-old businessman yesterday appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court to answer the charge of unlawful assault.

JOHANNESBURG,  (Reuters) – Egypt scored their  greatest ever victory with a thoroughly deserved 1-0 win yesterday over world champions Italy who had never previously  lost to an African team.

EDITORS’ NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject  to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take  pictures in Tehran.

Dear Editor, It takes a taxpayer a long time to pay duties, taxes or administration charges at the Customs and Trade Administration Accounts Department situated at Lot 34 Main and Hope Streets.

With the tragic death of their mother and concerns being raised about their welfare, Child Protection Services yesterday moved to take temporary control of the four young children of accident victim Mary Sandy.

-Chamber President More private sector jobs are likely to be lost in the period ahead as the business community continues to make adjustments to their operations in an effort to stave off the worst effects of the ongoing global economic crisis.

At age 41, James Phillips considers himself the strongest man in Guyana and now he wants to compete in the well-recognized event in strength athletics, the American Strongman Competition and ultimately to become the World’s Strongest Man.

Dear Editor, The debate about the success or otherwise of the development of sport in Guyana (all of which, expectedly, not published in the Daily Chronicle), appears to have widened to involve other group discussions.

A report received by the Stabroek Business from, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on the outcomes of two recently concluded marketing  seminars conducted in Linden and Georgetown by Pace University Marketing Professor Harvey Markovitz has pointed to the timiliness of the intervention given the challenge of shrinking international markets being faced by Guyana’s  business community.

– sponsors national super middleweight title fight Guyana’s leading furniture and appliance store Courts has come on board the June 27 S and S Promotions boxing card entitled ‘The Final Execution’ by sponsoring the national super middleweight  title fight between Lennox ‘Too Sharp’ Allen and Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – The European Union agreed the  basis of its financial contribution to a global climate change  deal on Thursday, but environmentalists said more was needed to  ensure success at global talks in Copenhagen in December.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Wednesday donated over 30,000 seasonal influenza vaccines to the Ministry of Health.

Dear Editor, Indeed, in an earlier letter, I did not name the parties that sought funds from the CIA for its destabilisation campaign against the PPP, but that does not mean that I am not willing to name them.

Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Chandradat Chintamani has issued a call to members of the business community who have been seriously delinquent in remitting employee contributions to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to discharge their obligation to the NIS and to contributors, many of whom may have no other source from which to finance the costs of their medical needs.

-lawyer says he was on ‘lock down’ Twenty-one-year-old Rawle Franklin was granted bail in the sum of $50,000 when he appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson for allegedly wounding an inmate at the Camp Street prison in January  last year.

MOGADISHU, (Reuters) – Hardline Islamist insurgents  killed Somalia’s security minister and at least 30 other people  yesterday in the deadliest suicide bomb attack yet in the Horn  of Africa nation, officials said.

By Tiadi Blair The Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) is seeking to recruit a number of young players to the sport.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A pilot on a Continental Airlines flight died in mid-flight and the plane landed safely near New York City under the control of two co-pilots, authorities said yesterday.

PRETORIA, (Reuters) – Brazil whipped up a storm  against a hapless U.S.

Dear Editor, The acceptance by Mr Chandradat Chintamani, FCCA of a place on the board of Demerara Distillers Limited on the last day of 2008 has highlighted the role of individual accountants and the regulator in ensuring that ethical standards in the accounting profession are maintained.

Grants, interest-free loan requests reach record US$13 billion In the face of a lack of adequate public sector financing to respond to the  current global economic crisis the World Bank has identified encouraging private sector business activity as  critical to  the global recovery effort.

Several Watooka Day Primary School pupils narrowly escaped serious injury yesterday at Half Mile Wismar, Linden when a speeding minibus crashed into the parked maxi school bus they were in.

Former national basketball captain and two-time Caribbean all star point guard Lugard Mohan and local referee Aubrey Young would be looking to add their names to the list of FIBA-certified officials when they embark on a certification today in Colorado, USA.

LONDON, (Reuters) – The Court of Appeal gave the  go-ahead yesterday for first ever criminal trial to be heard  in front of a judge without a jury in England and Wales.

Dear Editor, I refer to a letter from Dr Walter Ramsahoye which appeared in your edition of June 17, under the caption ‘There should be a Barbados bench at the airport.’

Michelle Campbell and the business of Beauty Care Michelle’s Fantasy Hair Care is one of the more recent additions to a growing local beauty care industry that continues to open up opportunities for skilled and enterprising Guyanese seeking to make their way in the world of business.

A Hopetown, West Berbice pensioner who invested in 105 baby chicks as well as over $30,000 in feed since April 28, is distressed since she will not be able to recover her cost as the birds have stopped growing.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 308’s trading results showed consideration of $938,141 from 71,840 shares traded in 10 transactions as compared to session 307 which showed consideration of $323,641 from 30,180 shares traded in 8  transactions. 

A security guard at a lumber yard at Wismar and a Ministry of Agriculture driver appeared at the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man they supposedly were apprehending after he had allegedly stolen some lumber.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The West Indies Youth all-rounder Andre Creary will captain Jamaica for the second year in a row in the TCL Group West Indies Under-19 cricket tournament this summer in Jamaica.

-Guyana as a Colony? Definitely one of my shorter offerings today.

(Trinidad Express) – The discovery of the body of Tecia Henry in John John on Wednesday means there are now only 78 children still missing in this country from January 2006.

Last Friday our cameraman caught this coconut vendor who plied his trade in public road, La Penitence preparing for the trading day.

Regardless of which team wins the ICC World Twenty20 this weekend, the tournament has undoubtedly been a great success, with its exciting brand of cricket, huge global television audiences and grounds packed with fans of all nationalities, ages and genders, clearly having fun – except, of course, when their team is on the losing end.

Dear Editor, It is with profound sadness that I learnt about the passing of Shri Prakash Gossai.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – The Jamaican-born international pastor, who allegedly gave two teenage girls money in exchange for sexual favours, was remanded when he appeared in the Savanna-la-mar Resident Magistrate’s Court late Wednesday afternoon.

GENEVA,  (Reuters) – The woman who killed banker  Edouard Stern, a banking scion and one of France’s richest men,  after sado-masochistic sex and an argument over $1 million was  sentenced yesterday to 8-1/2 years in prison for murder.