Daily Archive: Friday, March 5, 2010

When a foul scent started emanating from an Eping Avenue apartment yesterday afternoon the caretaker was forced to break in, only to discover the dead bodies of a Cuban doctor and a woman.

-gunman identified The murder of a Canada-based Guyanese during a robbery at the Cool Square bar on Wednesday night was recorded by surveillance cameras, including the face of one of two gunmen involved.

– as Lall details financial discrepancies Region Four REO Shafdar Ali was released on station bail yesterday shortly after Local Government and Regional Development Minister Kellawan Lall read findings from a report on the region which indicated financial discrepancies amounting to some $100 million.

Republic Bank Guyana Limited yesterday launched the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Toolkit Caribbean at its headquarters in New Market Street and was challenged by the Tourism Minister to develop a report that reflected whether the toolkit contributed to the growth of small and medium entrepreneurs in the country.

Last week, centenarian Cecilia Goddard Hughes was not sure she was going to live to see her next birthday after a bout of illness.

By Marlon Munroe After West Indian cricket fans jumped and pranced for most of the day, their mien was ultimately transformed into utter stupor after their team was again humiliated by Zimbabwe in the first One Day International at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence yesterday.

A high-powered team of academics and administrators from the Arthur Loc Jack Graduate School of Business of the University of the West Indies visited Guyana earlier this week to finalize plans for the launch here of the Graduate School’s Executive Masters in Business Administration.

National senior hockey coach Philip Fernandes departed Guyana yesterday to attend the International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Cup Coaching Course which opened in New Delhi, India today.

Continually declining reliability on the electricity generation service afforded them by the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) an increasing number of Guyanese are beginning to turn their attention to the solar energy option as some the country’s leading merchants seek to provide consumers with an alternative energy source.

– court hears Forty-two-year-old Vernon Barnwell of Leopold Street was yesterday granted bail in the sum of $30,000 when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court accused of using an iron to smack his stepdaughter to her head and back.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Stoke City fans have had  precious little to celebrate in 122 years but victory at Chelsea  on Sunday would put them one game away from reaching the FA Cup  final for the first time while reviving some painful memories.

In a sense the disclosure earlier this week that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) decided to dispense with the services of six of its senior officers including the Deputy Commissioner responsible for the critical Value Added Tax and Excise Department, is probably not altogether surprising.

Four persons were rescued from rough waters in the Essequibo River between Hog Island and Leguan early yesterday morning after the boat they were travelling in capsized midstream.

– Ramsammy says as new PEPFAR partnership launched Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy says Guyana should be on the road to eliminating the AIDS epidemic as a major public health problem in another ten years provided the right strategies are pursued and an increased focus is placed on prevention programmes.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – When Joshua Clottey steps into  the ring against WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao on  March 13 the Ghanaian will imagine he is fighting someone else.

E-book Readers The popularity of the Amazon Kindle, an electronic reading device, provides a glimpse into what is perhaps the future of publishing: e-books, a relatively new form of digital media. 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad & Tobago manager Colin Borde has blamed his side’s poor performance in the just concluded WICB first class tournament on the absence of key players.

Justice Winston Patterson yesterday sentenced Mechel Skeete to 13 years imprisonment for killing her reputed husband by setting him ablaze while he lay in their bed at East Canje, Berbice, on May 14, 2006.

If you happen to drop by Scotia Bank’s Carmichael Street branch you will hear a continual recording of the voice of Branch Manager Matthew Langevine offering mortgages at “rock bottom” interest rates.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Jenson Button was almost a  write-off before he seized the Formula One title with Brawn last  year and he starts the new season with critics again ready to  scrap his chances.

President Bharrat Jagdeo recently met Belgium Ambassador to Guyana Leopold Carrewyn at a brief ceremony held at State House.

Dear Editor, What is really going on in this land of ours?

DENVER, (Reuters) – Carmelo Anthony hit 30 points  as the Denver Nuggets bounced back from two consecutive losses  to thump the in-form Oklahoma City Thunder 119-90 on Wednesday.

– puts Heads of Department through exhaustive budget deliberations If Keith Burrowes insists that his work as Chairman of the 2008 Commission of Enquiry into the operations of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council is done he makes no secret of his intimate involvement in supporting the implementation of a menu of measures which he hopes will extricate the municipality from its present predicament.

The East Coast Pandits and Mandir Leaders group said its Holi Mela at Enmore Blossom Scheme attracted more than 5,000 people and it is encouraged by the response and plans to host the event annually.

Cuban dissident Luis Posada Carilles is again attracting media attention with the release of a new book by a US-based Guyanese journalist which gives fresh insight into his terrorist activities as his trial in an El Paso federal court draws near.

Dear Editor, My attention was drawn to an article which appeared in the Guyana Times of  February 21, in which a senior official of GNIC   appears to be complaining about ship repair operations taking place at Parika (‘Parika entrepreneur/GNIC at odds over ship repair service’).

– former programme director says state endorsement could unlock further EU funding The positive outcomes of the three-year four million euros European Union-funded Guyana Micro Projects Programme have more than made a case for further funding to allow for continuity, according to Jimmy Bhojedat who served as programme director for the project.

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, (Reuters) – England seamer  Ryan Sidebottom has been ruled out of the test series against  Bangladesh because of a thigh injury, coach Andy Flower said.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Africans are getting wealthier more quickly than previously believed, according to a new study that also suggests the poorest continent’s riches are spreading beyond the narrow confines of its elite.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints handed over $1.8 million in equipment to the Corriverton Development Association to support its training sessions and charitable works.

DALLAS, (Reuters) – Dallas Mavericks guard Jason  Terry will have surgery today for facial injuries suffered  in Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the NBA  club said yesterday.

Dear Editor, Permit me to comment on some issues in the article ‘Labour…Drifting further apart,’ Guyana Review (February 25).

Tightening anti-money laundering laws The parliament of Antigua and Barbuda has been debating legislation aimed at strengthening local anti-money laundering laws.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Human rights abuses in Sri Lanka are damaging prospects for reconciliation after 25 years of civil war and a violent crackdown on dissent in Iran is deeply worrying, the top UN human rights official said yesterday.

PARIS, (Reuters) – Girondins Bordeaux host surprise  package Montpellier in a top-of-the-table Ligue 1 clash on  Sunday knowing they must keep up the momentum as they struggle  to cope with the pressure of battling on three fronts.

New sales tax rates approved by Antigua-Barbuda senate ST JOHN’s, Antigua — The Antigua and Barbuda Senate has approved the ABST Amendment Regulations, which are now scheduled to come into effect on March 15.

Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said the mammoth crowd that participated in the IAC’s Rang Barse held at the Bath Settlement Community Centre Ground on Monday is testament to the fact that Holi has truly become a national festival.

Dear Editor, The editorial of Stabroek News March 2, 2010 asks: “What is the point in having a community policing group [in Enmore] if it cannot protect its weakest members?”

(Jamaica Gleaner) – The government is banking on handing over national carrier Air Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago-operated Caribbean Airlines by April 12, says Bruce Nobles, president and chief executive officer of the national airline.

– health care limitations can keep investors away Economic and social development in the vast majority of Caribbean Community (Caricom) may be under threat as a result the chronic shortage of nurses in the region according to a recent World Bank Report.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle yesterday described his team’s performance as rubbish after they crashed to an upset two-run defeat against Zimbabwe in the opening game of the five-match Digicel One Day Series at the Providence National Stadium.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional Democrats made headway on Thursday on their top legislative priority — job creation — when the House of Representatives approved a $15 billion package of tax credits and highway construction.

Dear Editor, I live in South Ruimveldt. Since Guyana Water Incorporated installed water meters over two years ago I have been getting large estimated bills for water consumption.

Cracked and dry:  This trench located at Success, East Coast Demerara would  usually be filled with water but El Nino effect is evident as sheep were actually grazing in it yesterday. 

If all goes according to plan, the 46 children, who were displaced because of the recent fire at the Care Centre for Children in Hadfield Street, will return to this facility within the next two weeks.

America! Oh America! This is my briefest layman’s assessment of Guyana’s attempt – real or cosmetic – to decentralize socio-political, economic authority into the hands, minds and brains of the people who live throughout the length and breadth of our Blighted Republic.

(Trinidad Express) – The longstanding denials by controversial executive chairman of UDecott, Calder Hart, about family links to a firm he awarded a multi-million-dollar government contract to five years ago have effectively been debunked by documents recently obtained from the Malaysian Government.

Dear Editor, I am no economist or politician; just an ordinary Guyanese who is probably voicing the opinion of the public.

Manager of Queenstown A&J Auto Sales, Simone King, called Dianne De Nobrega, appeared on Wednesday at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on four additional charges of obtaining over $1.4 million from four persons by pretending that she could obtain cars for them.

Effects of El Nino: Water in the manatee pond in the Botanical Gardens has receded as this Jules Gibson photo taken yesterday shows.

Why are we here? The University of the West Indies Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business is an internationally accredited school with the Association of MBA’s in the United Kingdom.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Shane Mosley is already  tired of Floyd Mayweather’s pre-fight antics and will knock him  out when the two meet in May, the boxer said Wednesday.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s government yesterday sharply cut the official death toll from a massive weekend earthquake and ensuing tsunamis to 279 identified bodies, from a previously reported 802 victims, without giving an explantation.

Rationing hours extended The water company in St Vincent is considering rationing water for longer hours, because of the ongoing drought.

A man was warned on Wednesday by Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry that should he hit his wife again he would go to jail for a long time but on this occasion he was fined $5,000 or three months in prison for unlawfully assaulting her.

In need of the Three Rs: This bridge at the La Bonne Intention Embankment Road, East Coast Demerara needs to be repaired, rehabilitated or replaced.

President Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister of Culture, Dr Frank Anthony, the Government of Guyana and Professor David Dabydeen are to be heartily congratulated on the establishment of the Caribbean Publishing House and the recent launching of the Guyana Classics Series.

Scotia Bank’s Kiddy Cricket countrywide Primary schools’ tournament winners were awarded their trophies yesterday during the luncheon period of the first ODI against West Indies and Zimbabwe at the Guyana National Stadium.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 345’s trading results showed consideration of $5,686,129 from 485,234 shares traded in 19 transactions as compared to session 344 which showed consideration of $318,396 from 28,564 shares traded in 11 transactions. 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A US congressional panel voted yesterday to label as “genocide” the World War One-era massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces, prompting Turkey to recall its ambassador from Washington.

Dear Editor, Incongruous as it may seem, the nexus, in recent writing in Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News, is erected between a process restorative of our dignity (decolonisation) and a multiform psycho-sexual disorder.

Feisal Amin Rasoul al-Istrabadi, a visiting professor of law at the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University, served as Iraq’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2004-2007 and was principal drafter of its interim constitution of 2004.