Daily Archive: Thursday, December 24, 2009

Residents of the quiet community of Foulmouth situated on the right bank of the Essequibo River, were last evening living in fear as a 20-year-old man, who is wanted by the police in connection with the murder of a 50-year-old woman, remained at large.

A US$5.9 million economic and technical co-operation grant agreement signed yesterday will see China partnering  Guyana along its development path, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh says.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg last night announced that he will initiate a climate group consisting of the most important rain forest countries, to discuss measures against deforestation.

The boost to air travel between Georgetown and Toronto which was announced earlier this month will not be as significant as expected since the year round service is no longer on the cards.

By Tiffny Rhodius The festive season ended for the family and relatives of Alwyn Jordan called John when they received the news that he had perished in a collision on Tuesday night.

Dear Editor, I was saddened to learn of the death of my close friend and colleague, Colin Wiltshire.

After a quick run to the shop a young mother returned home on Tuesday night to find her baby lying on a mattress partially engulfed in flames.

-sponsors, journalist receive awards for contributions to the sport The Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA) honoured two of its major sponsors during the presentation of prizes to the outstanding players of the just-concluded Tropical Mist Banks Masters Invitational Tournament Tuesday evening at the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel.

An Anna Catherina grocery was on Wednesday night robbed by two men, one of whom was armed with a gun, according to a police release.

Dear Editor, I am absolutely fed up and perpetually nonplussed every time I read an article in a major newspaper and get an entire story with great detail but no names or identities.

Dear Editor, December 25, 2009 will mark nine months since many Guyanese artists submitted their entries of paintings relating to the Cubana Air Disaster to the Ministry of Local Government.

The St John Bosco Orphanage, which has been providing a home for orphaned boys since 1879, recently moved into a spanking new and more homely facility.

ATLANTA,  (Reuters Life!) – Acclaimed trumpeter Wynton  Marsalis, arguably the world’s most prominent jazz musician, is  set to premiere a major new project — composing a Blues  Symphony for orchestra.

Dear Editor, I recently travelled along the GT-Lethem road and was pleasantly surprised to discover that almost the entire stretch of road from Lethem to Linden is in excellent condition, with various sections having been recently upgraded.

The Chambers English Dictionary describes the word ‘Alpha’ as “The Beginning” so, one can safely say that today marks the beginning of a long controversy between the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation and Guyana’s top football club, Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United.

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is calling for the money scheduled to be paid out to sugar workers as their 3 percent retroactive wage increase to be exempted from  tax.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – Director James Cameron’s  new movie “Avatar,” considered one of the most expensive movies  ever made, on Monday saw its initial weekend ticket sales  raised to $77 million in the United States and Canada.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters Life!) – Oscar winning actors  Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have split up after more than  two decades together, Sarandon’s representative said yesterday.

Dear Editor, First, I wish to thank Ms Gaskin for the clarification she provided on the inaccurate data submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture that was inadvertently published by the Bank of Guyana in her letter captioned, ‘Agricultural production, especially other crops, is not declining,’ (SN, December 20).

ROSEAU, Dominica,  CMC – Dominica’s former West Indies fast bowler Grayson Shillingford died early yesterday at age 65.

PNCR Leader Robert Corbin and the party’s Region 10 regional committee hosted a Christmas luncheon for 175 senior citizens at the Christianburg Primary School on Sunday.

Dear Editor, The local frenzy over global warming cools, Copenhagen returns blissfully to the heavier suds of Tuborg and Carlsberg, and Guyana waits for the foam of dreaded Januaries. 

SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Brazil’s government will turn  its focus to investment and away from stimulus measures,  President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said yesterday, as the  country’s economy makes a robust exit from recession.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant scored 40  points and shook off a knee scare to help the Los Angeles  Lakers survive a nail-biting finish and defeat the Oklahoma  City Thunder 111-108 on Tuesday.

The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) on Thursday launched its 2010 calendar featuring the winning entries from children who participated in a recent competition.

–file went missing, judge rules secondary evidence inadequate The longstanding fraud case against Dr Abu Bakr Bari failed to make it to trial in the High Court after Justice James Bovell Drakes ruled yesterday that the secondary evidence before the court was not satisfactory for a jury trial.

-Pacquiao rejects blood test demands NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – The WBO welterweight title bout  between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao next March will not go ahead due to the American’s demands for Olympic-style dope testing procedures, promoter Bob Arum said yesterday.

Dear Editor, I refer to a report captioned ‘Tobacco standard stalled at Tourism Ministry’  that was published in the Kaieteur News, dated Saturday, December 12, 2009, which seems to misinform the general public  about the status of the tobacco standard in Guyana.

TEHRAN, (Reuters) – Iranian security forces armed  with batons and tear gas clashed with supporters of the late  dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri in two  cities yesterday, opposition websites said.

FORT COLLINS, Colo., (Reuters) – A Colorado couple  who riveted America with a bogus claim their son had floated  away in a balloon received a 90-day jail term for the father yesterday, and both face thousands of dollars in restitution.

WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand’s injury-ravaged  fast bowler Shane Bond will retire from test cricket to  concentrate on the shorter forms of the game, in a bid to  prolong his international career.

Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson yesterday ordered that a 31-year-old Brazilian be remanded to prison when he appeared before her at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court for allegedly being found with a gun cartridge.

Dear Editor, The letter in Stabroek News of Saturday, December 19 is a most absurd one from a contributor named Michael Maxwell and which the editor chose to caption, ‘Guyana should not have brokered a deal with Norway before Copenhagen.’

Minister of Education Shaik Baksh urged graduates at the University of Guyana’s Tain Campus to pursue higher education to make themselves more marketable, at its recent convocation exercise.

By Marlon Munroe Trevor Benn was not raised with a gold spoon in his mouth.

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – A Brazilian family said  they will return a 9-year-old boy at the centre of a  cross-border custody battle to his American father by today,  ending a legal saga that strained ties between the countries.

Dear Editor, I refer to the article captioned ‘Businessman suffers as a result of GRA corruption – purchased unregistered vehicle,’ which was published in KN dated Thursday, December 17, 2009.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said  yesterday he has terminated trade benefits for Guinea,  Madagascar and Niger, three African countries where democratic  progress is threatened by political turmoil.

The Pacific Clipper has been loaded and will set sail for Venezuela with the first consignment of paddy under a landmark US$18.8M deal.

Dear Editor, In a season of goodwill and peace, one would expect to experience just that.

PERTH, Australia,  CMC – West Indies captain Chris Gayle and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo headed the West Indies averages in their three-Test series against Australia, which ended this past weekend.

GuySuCo has found temporary relief to its cash flow problems and is expected to pay sugar workers their outstanding salaries for this week, on Monday. 

Dear Editor, She stood in her little food shop, her apron worn but clean and that perpetual smile that brought back memories of the days when as secondary school boys, we would come up short, but still got our ‘bellyful’ of her delicacies. 

Casio Crawford was yesterday ordered to pay a fine of $25,000 or spend three months in prison when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court for smashing the glass windows of a man’s house for the second time in four months.

This man was lugging his Xmas carpet home on two wheels.

FLORENCIA, Colombia,  (Reuters) – The murder of a  Colombian governor by suspected Marxist rebels drew  international condemnation yesterday and raised doubts about  the success of the government’s U.S.-backed

Digicel, the largest mobile telecommunications operator in the Caribbean yesterday commenced its maiden voyage with the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club by handing over a cheque worth $275,000 for the Boxing Day Race Meet.

On Monday 266 early school leavers and single parents graduated in various fields from the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) programme.

Off-spinner Veera-sammy Permaul spun webs around the Rest Team as the three-day trial ended in a draw yesterday at the Guyana Police Force Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said  yesterday that disappointment over the outcome of the  Copenhagen climate change summit was justified, hardening a  widespread verdict that the conference had been a failure.

Shopping in full swing yesterday on Regent Street

Dear Editor, As the carnage of road fatalities continues in Guyana, no one seems to be held accountable for the lives maimed and lost.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Senate Democrats cleared the  last 60-vote hurdle on U.S.

Dear Editor, I cannot recall a gridlock of motor vehicles like that encountered in the city during the Xmas season.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies spinner Sulieman Benn has declared himself satisfied with his personal accomplishments but frustrated that the Windies came up empty-handed on the just-concluded Australia tour.

The Rotary Club of Georgetown recently held its annual senior citizens’ party during which 150 citizens from 12 homes in the city were treated to music, dance, lunch and Christmas gifts.

The Jamaica Gleaner reported on Monday last that in the face of endless criticism and threats of street demonstrations Prime Minister Bruce Golding withdrew a planned J$21 billion tax package.

Australia is giving AUS$1M to the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF). A release on Tuesday from the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown said that the money is intended for the CDF’s capital fund.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – One hundred and forty-five passengers aboard American Airlines flight 331 from Miami narrowly missed death as the aircraft overran the Norman Manley International Airport runway in Kingston, ending inches away from the sea along the Port Royal main road on Tuesday night.

– Georgetown to Mahaica (Part 6) History this week By Shammane Joseph This is the sixth and final instalment in a series of articles which gives a brief overview of the History of the British Guiana railway with particular reference to the Georgetown-Mahaica link.