Daily Archive: Saturday, March 6, 2010

Labelling the 2010 US State Department International Narcotics Strategy Report (INCSR) on Guyana a falsehood, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee yesterday also knocked the report’s praise of CANU while it rubbished efforts by government to combat drug trafficking.

The Guyana Prison Service is moving to house mentally-unstable inmates separate from the general prison population until a hospital-like facility can be built to hold them, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee has said.

Guyana’s country progress report for the past two years, which will be submitted to UNGASS later this month, cites evidence the AIDS epidemic has been progressively decreasing among the general population, but it also points to the increasing feminization of the disease.

– despite son’s desperate attempt to save him The heroic efforts of a son to rescue his sick father from their burning home yesterday afternoon were not enough as the elderly man perished in the blaze, which destroyed the house at Stewartville, West Coast Demerara.

In biggest anti-narcotic raid in the Berbice River recently, ‘B’ Division police, aided by a helicopter from the army destroyed 10 marijuana fields at Gateroy on an 18-acre plot of land on Thursday.

Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee yesterday declared that he would not “shy away” from leading the PPP slate as its presidential candidate at next year’s general elections, adding that he has informed the ruling party of his desire.

Around noon on Wednesday, more than 24 hours before Usawatie Persaud’s body was discovered at Eping Avenue along with dead Cuban doctor Guillermo Martinez, she told her mother she was visiting a friend.

-suspect arrested In a pre-dawn raid, bandits entered the yard of a Rosignol, West Bank Berbice businessman on Wednesday and stole his minibus and motorcycle and a suspect has since been taken into custody.

-Lall Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall says in-fighting among the political parties is affecting the work of the Region 4 Regional Democratic Council (RDC).

A 16-year-old charged with the murder of a Canal Number Two grandmother during a robbery in 2008, was recaptured on Wednesday, a day after he escaped from the Turkeyen Police Station lock-ups Police said that an internal investigation has since been launched into the circumstances surrounding the teen’s escape.

-co-accused gets 10 years The wife of drug convict David Narine was yesterday sentenced to time serve and five years supervised release while a co-accused was sentenced to ten years in prison by Judge Edward Korman in a New York court.

A mother of five is now hospitalised after she was brutally attacked by her former common-law husband yesterday morning while on her way to work.

A Herstelling, East Bank Demerara taxi-driver is now a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital after he sustained gunshot injuries following a robbery in the city on Monday evening.

Almost three years after the launch of the Crime Stoppers Programme (CSP) that was expected to aid local security, it has been shelved after its implementation was deemed to be too expensive, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee said yesterday.

The two gunmen, who fatally shot a Canada-based Guyanese during a robbery at Cool Square bar on Wednesday night, were still at-large up to press time last evening.

Authorities are being urged to sensitise miners on safer mining practices, following the fatal cave-in of a mining pit at Mahdia, Region 8 on Tuesday.

Two teenaged prisoners on remand for trafficking in narcotics and simple larceny escaped from the Den Amstel police station lock-ups on Tuesday.

Guyana’s Lady Jaguars football team scored a comfortable victory over Suriname in the first round of the World Cup Qualifiers when they went head to head at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Ground, yesterday.

Two men who were found to be driving their vehicles while being over the legal limit of alcohol consumption yesterday appeared before Magistrate Ann McLennon in the Christianburg Magistrates’ Court and were each fined $50,000 with an alternative of six weeks imprisonment after they pleaded guilty.

A former student of Anna Regina Secondary School yesterday became the fifteenth recipient of the Anne Blue Scholarship Award which honours academic as well as extra-curriculum activities.

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is to make changes to its constitution president Colin Klass said yesterday.

Eleven contestants made it through to the quarterfinals in the Cellink KidStage workshop According to a news press release, Amanda David, Alliah Corlette, Aaliyah Rosheuvd, Kyle Archer, Melissa Benjamin and Tiffany McAlmont were selected and they are expected to perform today at the Theatre Guild.

Guyana’s Avinash Persaud occupied the fourth position after the first day’s play of the Ansa Mc Al Trinidad and Tobago Open Amateur Golf Championships at the St.

By Marlon Munroe It is possible that the West Indies cricket team would have heard every conceivable criticism following their one disastrous performance after another.

-cottage industries encouraged Residents of Linden and surrounding communities are being encouraged to invest in cottage industries with the availability of a new $100M loan scheme investment by the Caricom General Insur-ance Company Inc (CGIC).

Preliminary discussions are ongoing between the government and a consortium of US and Brazilian investors to set up an ethanol plant here, according to Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud.

By Orin Davidson These are times when West Indies cricket drives you absolutely nuts with despair.

Recently returned from South Africa, where she represented Guyana on the world stage, the reigning Miss Guyana World Imarah Radix is continuing her charity work and hopes to make an impact in the lives of disadvantaged children in Tiger Bay and Buxton.

Despite the current El Niño conditions, farmers in Region Six are enjoying adequate water for their crops as the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is “working around the clock” on the drainage and irrigation (D&I) systems.

Culture Box What do Salt Fish, Potholes, ‘De Prezzo’ and Folk Songs have in common?

DUBLIN, (Reuters) – Tiger Woods has turned down a  $75 million sponsorship offer from Paddy Power, the Irish  bookmaker said yesterday, adding it would make an improved offer  to the golfer.

Hi Everyone, As I bit into a Pau I made yesterday, I was filled with a range of emotions – happiness because I had successfully re-created something I had loved as a child.

Dear Editor, In connection to the report in SN on March 4, captioned ‘GWI failed to act on request for fence to keep trespassers out,’ we wish to thank you for publishing the article, which give the details of our precautions and the future safety measures planned.

LONDON, (Reuters) – British hurdler Callum Priestley  has been provisionally suspended from athletics after failing an  out-of-competition doping test.

The  Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) has reported that a major mechanical failure at the No.

Dear Editor, The behaviour of Region Four Chairman Clement Corlette is dictatorial and autocratic.

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Juergen Klinsmann said he was  looking forward to getting back into coaching and optimistic  about the right offer coming along after this year’s World Cup.

The Mashramani Secretariat has postponed its awards ceremony for the winners in the recent Mashramani contests until Friday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A Western proposal for fresh UN sanctions on Iran includes a call for restricting new Iranian banks abroad and urges “vigilance” against the Islamic Republic’s central bank, diplomats said yesterday.

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday pledged more US help for Central America’s fight against drug cartels, saying the United States was part of the problem as trafficking and violence spread.

Dear Editor, Guyanese should not take lightly that 154 teachers were barred from entering the classroom last year.

Guyana Model Search/Designers Portfolio is turning three this year and the producers of the show say the years represent staying power, sustainable development and style agenda.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – The Miami Heat overcame a  39-point effort from Kobe Bryant to capture a thrilling 114-111 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

CONCEPCION, Chile (Reuters) – A series of strong aftershocks rattled south-central Chile yesterday, panicking residents nearly a week after one of the most powerful earthquakes on record rocked the area and killed hundreds of people.

A Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) cashier was placed on $150,000 bail on Thursday, after pleading not guilty to charges of stealing over $600,000 from the revenue agency.

Dear Editor, The impasse between the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI) and the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union has entered its fourth month with a seeming determination on the government’s part to continue the violations of the rule of law and the rights of bauxite workers.

– Matthew gets 5 years in prison (BVI Platinum News) – “What you have done is totally wrong and you told the officer that it was a crime passion and that you didn´t mind going to jail.

At age 23, Orlando Primo a self-taught and talented drummer has embarked on a one-man mission to reignite this culture with the opening of his Magic Fingers Drumming School.

(BBC) Plans to buy into a team in the Indian Premier League and bring matches to Lord’s have been abandoned by the MCC.

Levi Kulsum, a naturalised US citizen, was sentenced to four years in jail on Thursday, when he pleaded guilty to a trafficking in narcotics charge, after being arrested at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri with cocaine in his suitcase.

BOGOTA (Reuters) – An aspiring Colombian presidential candidate had a sandal tossed at him yesterday in an incident reminiscent of a protest against former US President George W.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, CMC – World powerhouse Cuba advertised their strength in amateur boxing again last weekend when they swept a remarkable eight of the 11 titles at stake at the American Youth Continental Championships.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) So much is made of the Oscars being the world’s top film honours and because of that, Hollywood watchers traditionally view the best film Academy Award winner as the year’s best film.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama plans to meet next week with Haitian President Rene Preval in their first face-to-face talks since an earthquake devastated Haiti in January.

A man was remanded to prison on Wednesday on a charge of unlawfully setting fire to a building at Farm, East Bank Demerara.

Dear Editor, The spirit of Phagwah has traversed a great distance over the last two decades and is now being celebrated in a grand way in Central Florida, New York, Jersey City, and Toronto with great enthusiasm.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, announced plans yesterday to deploy an army of mothers worldwide as part of an Internet-based network to connect women in need with people ready to help.

The Solid Waste Management Division of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) yesterday conducted a clean up exercise outside of this property at the corner of Norton and John Street in the City.

Where vehicles fear to tread: The state of the main road in ‘C’ Field, Sophia.

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, (Reuters) – Opener Craig Kieswetter struck his maiden one-day century to lift England to  a 45-run victory over Bangladesh on Friday and a clean sweep of their one-day series.

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Don’t mess with a century-old tradition even if it is sexist, Canadians told the Conservative government this week, forcing Ottawa to scrap plans to make the country’s national anthem gender-neutral.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Nearly two months after Haiti’s earthquake a shocking number of people lack shelter because aid groups are slow to deliver tents and tarpaulins, the international medical relief organization Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday.

The bids to build the access roads and other infrastructure to facilitate the development of the Amaila Falls Hydropower project have been evaluated and an announcement on the award is expected to be made shortly.

Dear Editor, The Guyana political spectrum has been dominated by two parties since the fifties, the PPP and the PNC. 

(EUR) Uh oh. Do we have another Tiger Woods type scandal in the making?

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Hollywood is not exactly known for its grip on reality, but the experts have given an “A” for authenticity to the 10 contenders for the best picture Oscar tomorrow.

Long after the logistical snafus, accidents, lack of snow and other let-downs have been forgotten, the Vancouver Olympics will be remembered – at least by Canadians – for a spectacular overtime goal in the final of the men’s ice hockey. 

Caricom finance ministers at the Fourteenth Meeting of Council of Finance and Planning (COFAP) again pledged to support rebuilding efforts in Haiti even as Secretary-General Edwin Carrington urged the region to support Chile in the wake of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake on February 27.

Tax systems hampering investment The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says complex tax systems and widespread evasion are hampering investment decisions by companies in the Caribbean and Latin America.

BERLIN – European leaders expressed confidence yesterday that new austerity measures planned by Greece would be enough to pull the country out of its debt crisis and make any bailout unnecessary.

When the pipes are dry: The only way to get water in Sophia, according to Winston Brown called ‘Bottle Man,’ is to go for it.

The Ocean View Dominoes Club will stage a countrywide one-day tournament tomorrow at the Better Hope Centre Road.

Dear Editor, The PPP is groping in the dark struggling to decide on a real presidential candidate for the 2011 elections, and they have one in their midst whom the party top brass are failing to recognize.