Daily Archive: Thursday, March 24, 2011

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Haiti’s former  dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who faces charges of  corruption and rights abuses after returning from exile in  January, is being treated in a hospital after falling ill,  aides said today.

AHMEDABAD, India, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka will bank  on their home advantage against an English side grappling with  inconsistency and injuries in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final  in Colombo.

DHAKA, (Reuters) – New Zealand captain Daniel  Vettori is placing his faith in his top-order batting ahead of  Friday’s World Cup quarter-final against South Africa.

AHMEDABAD, (Reuters) – In the end it all paid off  for the 48,000 fans who braved intense heat and fought their way  through heavy security to watch India play Australia at the  Sardar Patel Stadium today.

DERAA, Syria, (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad  made a rare public pledge to look into granting Syrians greater  freedom today as anger mounted following attacks by  security forces on protesters that left at least 37 dead.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Interpol said today it had foiled a militant plot to carry out an attack during the cricket World Cup now being played across South Asia.

Sandspring Resources Limited has announced that it has received a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for development of its 100% owned Toroparu gold-copper Project in Guyana.

(Trinidad Express) Two years after CLICO collapsed and was rescued by the former PNM government, policyholders have finally started getting back the money they invested in the country’s largest insurance company.

Jamaica’s Contractor General Greg Christie has called for the creation of a special agency to fight corruption, asserting official graft on the island has reached “systemic” levels.

(Jamaica Observer) Allegations by a Jamaican woman that she was finger-raped by an immigration officer before being thrown out of Barbados, have brought the spotlight on poor treatment of Jamaicans visiting that eastern Caribbean island.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The United States (US) is still playing hardball in its refusal to amend the extradition treaty between itself and Jamaica, according to Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) says it will continue to push for reform of the UK imposed Air Passenger Duty (APD), even though Britain yesterday announced a freeze on the controversial tax.

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Workers battled to staunch  radiation leaks at a Japanese nuclear plant today, almost  two weeks after it was disabled by an earthquake and tsunami,  but some experts saw signs the crisis was being brought under  control.

TRIPOLI, (Reuters) – Western warplanes hit military  targets deep inside Libya today but failed to prevent  tanks reentering the western town of Misrata overnight and  besieging its main hospital.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The coalition enforcing a  U.N.-backed no-fly zone over Libya fired 14 Tomahawk missiles  at the forces of leader Muammar Gaddafi overnight, the U.S. 

ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – Interpol said today it  had foiled a militant plot to carry out an attack during the  cricket World Cup now being played across South Asia.

(Barbados Nation) STARCOM Network Inc (SNI), a division of One Caribbean Media Ltd, is going regional with the launch of its Caribbean Super Station on Monday, April 4.

(BBC) Authorities in the Cayman Islands are targeting the US as a potential market for medical tourism.

(BBC)44 overs Commentary Ind 232-5Krejza in for his ninth over – the required rate at the start of this over was 5.32.

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – All-rounder Michael Yardy has  been withdrawn from England’s World Cup squad because of  depression, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said today.

(BBC) Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding says his government will be meeting with the main opposition party to determine, by June this year, the country’s final position on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

John Mootooveren is the first ever Guyanese to be picked for the Schenectady, New York council, according to the Times Union.Com.

The Customs and Trade Administration (CTA) has held a man believed to be the shipper of the container of logs in which five bags of cocaine were found in Jamaica last week.

AHMEDABAD, India, (Reuters) – India sparked  jubilant celebrations among its billion plus fans after ending  Australia’s remarkable 12-year reign as World Cup champions with  a thrilling five-wicket win in the quarter-finals today.

Construction of the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric plant is likely to require an average workforce of approximately 700 persons and a peak of about 1,200 workers, but only about 40 per cent of these workers are likely to be Guyanese, the recently released Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) says.

Residents living in communities along the Mahaicony Creek, repeatedly flooded over the last month, are considering moving from the area as some fear that the water may take another month to recede.

The five men accused of the 2008 murder of 12 persons in the Bartica massacre were yesterday committed to stand trial at the High Court after a prima facie case was made out against them at the end of the preliminary inquiry (PI).

The Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) now faces penalties if it fails to respond to customer complaints within a set timeframe under new customer service standards.

The Guyana Elections Com-mission (Gecom) yesterday said the recent postponement of statutory commission meetings has “in no way” affected its work plan.

State-owned sugar company the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is urging striking workers at La Bonne Intention (LBI) to report for duty at their respective locations.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor, whose violet eyes, tumultuous love life and passion for diamonds epitomized Hollywood glamour, died yesterday at age 79.

Local authorities have no evidence yet that 115 kilogrammes of cocaine seized in Suriname on Tuesday originated from Guyana, as Surinamese authorities have reported.

The Ministry of Health presented a quantity of items to the Georgetown Prison in an effort to strengthen ties with the Guyana Prison Service (GPS).

Limited service was restored to the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) network yesterday after lightning disrupted communications equipment but the agency has warned of delays in processing transactions.

Home Affairs minister, Clement Rohee met members of the Advisory Board of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) on Tuesday to discuss ways in which the service could improve its effectiveness.

President Bharrat Jagdeo has promised an additional $5 million for the Matthew’s Ridge Hospital for this year.

Government officials are being trained on budget presentation and implementation through monitoring and evaluation.

City minibus operators yesterday stood by their move to institute higher fares, while saying that there is no authority that can prevent them from doing so.

Truck driver Godfrey Gomes was last Friday sentenced to two years in jail after he was found guilty of the death of a 13-year-old St Rose’s High School student, who he ran over on a pedestrian crossing in 2005.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – West Indies exited the World Cup without so much as a whimper, suffering an appalling batting collapse as they plunged to an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat to Pakistan in a lopsided quarter-final contest here yesterday.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India’s top order batsmen  will need to find an effective counter to Australia’s fast  bowlers in today’s World Cup quarter-final if they are to  sustain a billion dreams.

DHAKA, Bangladesh,  CMC – West Indies coach Ottis Gibson says much of the blame for his side’s failed World Cup campaign must rest on the shoulders of the senior players.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – Darren Sammy is expected to hold onto his job as West Indies captain despite a wretched World Cup where he failed to impress with either bat or ball.

The Mayor and City Council in collaboration with the Implementation Committee will meet stakeholders today to discuss the council’s 2011 budget before it is presented to the public.

The water which flooded the bridge under repair at Friendship, East Bank Demerara has receded and traffic is flowing freely at the location again.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Recent heavy rain have forced a change of venue for the final preliminary round match between Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago in the WICB Regional first-class championship, starting today.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica’s plans to overcome the England Lions in the final round of the WICB Regional first-class championship, starting  today at Sabina Park, have hit a snag.

The preliminary inquiry (PI) into the attempted murder of Police Constable Rajindra Singh with which Colin Jones, Randy Mars, Jafar Simpson and Basil Morgan are accused began yesterday before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant delivered a  sensational performance to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a  roller-coaster 139-137 triple-overtime victory over the Phoenix  Suns on Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO,  (Reuters) – Baseball’s home run  king admitted to using steroids and even complained about the  pain from receiving injections, an old friend of Barry Bonds  testified in the tarnished star’s perjury trial yesterday.Steve

The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) has postponed indefinitely the Banks DIH Sevens tournament, which traditionally marks the official opening of the rugby season, due to the flooding of the National Park Rugby Ground.

A man was on Tuesday remanded to prison after he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on a charge of unlawful wounding.

A taxi driver was on Tuesday remanded to prison when he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on a charge of robbery under arms to which he pleaded not guilty.

In an effort to attract new membership the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Guyana Football Referees Council (GFRC) will run off a three-day referee beginners course this weekend.

Police yesterday issued a bulletin for a man they said is wanted for questioning in relation to a series of break and enter and larceny.

ROME, Italy,  CMC – Asafa Powell has signed to face his compatriot Usain Bolt over 100 metres in the third leg of the Diamond League at the Olympic Stadium here.

Dear Editor, My four-year-old daughter Aishwarya is so fond of nature that she can hardly resist the opportunity to go to the park whenever the temperature is above 50 degrees.

The crème de crème of handgun shooting in Guyana will square off on Sunday when the GuyanaNRA stages its first practical pistol match for 2011 at the Timehri rifle ranges.

Dear Editor, The weather reporting mechanisms and body in Guyana are laughable indeed.

Fairy Landing of the Sheriff Racing Stable won the feature B class event before the curtains came down on the Kennard Memorial Turf Club Phagwah horse race meet on Sunday.

Dear Editor, The youths of the Guyana Congregational Union and the Guyana Presbyterian Church planned and participated in a National Youth retreat on Non-Violent Relationships.

The Kevin Lawrence Memorial Basketball Extravaganza, set for Saturday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, was officially launched yesterday at the Windjammer International Hotel, Kitty.

This year again president of the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) Fiona Harris is lamenting the lack of corporate support for its National Novices and Intermediate championship scheduled for Sunday at the National Cultural Centre.

Dear Editor, My sympathies go to the relatives, friends and colleagues of the security driver, Solomon Burke, who was shot to death at the Trans-Guyana facility at Ogle Airport.

Dear Editor,With respect to the letters by Vassan Ramracha SN, March, 18, and Leyland Roopnarine on March 19, I cannot speak for Stabroek News, but I find it offensive that the same retrograde  mentality has surfaced again, clothing itself with the façade of  “perpetual victim” when found wanting.

The faculties of Natural Sciences and Social Sciences have advanced to the finals of the University of Guyana (UG) Inter-Faculty Basketball Tournament after getting past their semi-final opponents yesterday afternoon at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Dear Editor, CN Sharma’s letter titled ‘Government has been fooling the people for years about introducing broadcast legislation’ (SN, March 21), is a very serious matter.

The Guyana Squash Association (GSA) has scheduled the hosting of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) for tomorrow according to president of the association, Andrew Arjune.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Western warplanes hit Libya for a fifth night, but have so far failed to stop Muammar Gaddafi’s tanks shelling rebel-held towns or dislodge his armour from a strategic junction in the east.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – It is a truism in warfare that has rarely seemed more relevant: there is only so much you can achieve from the air.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Many shops in Japan’s capital ran out of bottled water today after a warning of radiation danger for babies from a damaged nuclear plant where engineers are battling the world’s worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Criss-crossing Venezuela armed with promises of change, opposition leaders are jostling for position to run against President Hugo Chavez, convinced they can end his long rule with a mix of centre-left policies.

Cheryl Thompson was elected the new president of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections last Saturday at the Guyana Olympic Association, High Street.

Dear Editor, As I think of our solid waste management problem in Guyana and the city of Georgetown in particular, I find it difficult to accept that our fate with regard to flooding in the city is one that will be determined only by the weather conditions – including high and low tides – political will and good solid waste management by the authorities.

Interaction: President Bharrat Jagdeo interacts with PNCR leader Robert Corbin, PNCR Vice Chairman Basil Williams and AFC Leader Raphael Trotman at the

The Judo Association of Guyana (JAG) sent a three-man squad to the Dominican Republic to compete in the Senior Caribbean Judo Championships last Saturday and each of them did Guyana proud.

Dear Editor, In response to my letter titled ‘Presidential immunity’ (SN, March 21), a blogger en-quired for which acts a hypothetical president may be sued or prosecuted given my interpretation of Article 182.

“Water in Guyana can be also deemed as a liability instead of an asset,” Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said on Tuesday in an address at an event held to mark International World Water and Meteorological Day.

An undermined section of the bridge

Today’s lead topic is re-cycled from 17 years ago. Why? Because I am utilizing my rarely-used right to be professionally lazy; and also because migration to the USA has been a powerful blight in our national lives for some three decades now.

By Robert SkidelskyLONDON – History has no final verdicts. Major shifts in events and power bring about new subjects for discussion and new interpretations.

Historic charter of rights for Jamaicans In a rare bipartisan vote, Jamaica’s House of Representatives has approved a modern charter of civil, political and social rights.

By Christopher Carrico ‘It was telling that Obama said in his 2010 State of the Union Address that universities would have to make more sacrifices in the current economy.

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