Daily Archive: Sunday, June 26, 2011

Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore receives an Outstanding Achievement Award during the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) show in Toronto June 25, 2011.

At about 2000h, last night Malcolm Lancaster, 49 years of D’Urban Street, Georgetown, who was a patient at the GPHC, succumbed to burn injuries he had sustained, according to police.

The police are investigating a fatal accident that occurred at about 0425h.

(WICB) Kingston, Jamaica – The Boards of Directors of the West Indies Cricket Board and the Jamaica Cricket Association met in Kingston Jamaica last Sunday to discuss a number of issues of mutual interest.

(WICB) Bridgetown, Barbados – Dr. Rudi Webster has accepted an invitation to work with the West Indies players as they prepare for the Second Digicel Test match against India at Kensington Oval.

West Berbice resident Ryan Gajadhar died last night after he was run over by a motor vehicle.

Wanted man Vijay Seenarine, who escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison just over two weeks ago, was arrested today after police found him walking along a street in Corentyne, Berbice.

A 61-year-old transport officer attached to  Courtney Benn Contracting Services was found dead in his car in a trench early this morning.

Such men as these walk onto a field of play, or enter a room, and their life-force brings everyone to silence and attention – these were two men who in their very different ways set my mind alight.

Guyanese businessman Desmond ‘DA’ Alphonso did not leave the British Virgin Islands as was expected this morning in line with a deportation order and reports say that he is refusing to leave.

(Trinidad Guardian) Political scientist Dr Selwyn Ryan says this is not “a banana Republic” and that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar should “bite the bullet” and “try to persuade” the embattled Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner to “respond positively to a red card.

(Trinidad Express) At least two Government ministers are expected to be removed from the Cabinet in the first reshuffle during the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration, sources confirmed yesterday.

(Jamaica Observer) As Buju Banton says goodbye to his freedom for what could be at least six years behind US prison walls for a drug conviction, the Rastafarian reggae artiste says he intends to spend his time seeking higher learning.

The Unity, Mahaica teen, who was feared kidnapped after relatives received ransom demands via text messages, was found in a Festival City house early yesterday morning and is now in police custody after admitting she staged her disappearance.

While Guyana assumed the presidency of the South American grouping UNASUR last November at a summit in Georgetown, a senior Ecuadorian official harboured doubts that this country could carry out the task, according to a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.

Trade unionist Gillian Burton sits on the Women and General Equality Commission (WGEC) to “make right the wrongs” being perpetrated against women in the society, and this past year she has seen enough to say that too little is being done for women here.

Police officials said they will continue to investigate the alleged abduction of the two Yarowkabra teens and are hunting for the four masked men, who reportedly snatched the girls last Tuesday, kept them at an unknown location and freed them on Friday night.

Jewellers have signalled their intention to comply with the regulations of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to have the standard quality mark on their products, according to Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad.

The National Volunteering Disability Programme is recruiting volunteers for its year-long pilot project when it launches the programme at the Umana Yana on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Education says it has taken steps to ensure that there is no recurrence of the incident at Golden Grove Primary regarding the 2011 National Grade Four Assessment and noted that the exams were conducted with few hiccups at other schools.

President Bharrat Jagdeo has joined the Board of Directors of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) which aims to pioneer green growth by integrating job creation with environmental sustainability in a manner similar to Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

The gold rush over the past years has not been a glittering one for the environment, with many new miners unaware of proper mining practices and others continuing to operate as they had done in the past.

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has been monitoring recent aircraft incidents—although the agency remains without the services of a flight operations inspector, which is a key post within the aviation sector.

Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy has warned that self-diagnosing malaria is a dangerous practice yet people continue to do it and according to him, the sale of malaria medicines in the private sector has become a thriving business in the hinterland areas and in Regions 2, 4 and 10.

By Colin Benjamin Led by sterling all-round performances by skipper Anthony Adams and Ricardo Adams (no relation), Essequibo scored a morale boasting 54-run victory over Demerara in the opening round of the 2011 Guyana and Trinidad Mutual (GTM) Under 19 limited overs tournament at the Providence Stadium, yesterday.

LONDON, (Reuters) – The mercury was rising at  Wimbledon yesterday as the serial trophy hunters gathered in  the last 16 with defending champions Rafa Nadal and Serena  Williams leading the charge and Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic  not far behind.   

Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud says Guyana remains committed to implementing measures for sustainable development, at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20 Sub Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Caribbean held at the Guyana International Conference Centre recently.

The historic Mocha Methodist Church is currently in a dilapidated state and as a result, members have decided to erect a new building beside it.

Barbadian based Guyanese Revlon Lake exacted his revenge on Mark Austin to claim the local lightweight title when the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) hosted another edition of its Pro-Am Boxing Card.

The final cost of constructing the Amaila hydropower plant will be known by next month, Sithe Global’s Senior Vice President Jim McGowan says.

A beautiful chicken hawk patrols the area behind our house. A vigorous flyer –you know the species – it surveys the territory from a perch high up on a GT&T telephone wire, swooping down occasionally to snatch a kreketeh or some other delicacy.

VALENCIA, Spain, (Reuters) – Formula One world  champion Sebastian Vettel chalked up his seventh pole position  in eight races this year with a blistering lap as Red Bull swept  the front row for today’s European Grand Prix.   

Republicans in Congress have launched a major offensive to force several million undocumented immigrants to leave the United States with a bill that would make it mandatory for US employers to electronically verify workers’ legal status.

According to Virgin Islands News Online (VINO), a Guyanese businessman who was found not guilty of murdering a wanted fugitive will be deported from the island today.

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s political crisis worsened yesterday with lawmakers voting to sack the five most senior judicial officials and international consternation growing after a presidential tribunal threw out a quarter of parliament.

The National AIDS Committee (NAC) says the outcome document of the recently-concluded UN high-level meeting (HLM) on HIV-AIDS does not provide as comprehensive a road-map to “zero death, zero new infections and zero discrimination” as anticipated.

Ever so slowly the Turks and Caicos Islands are on their way back to having an elected government and a full constitution.

Following Guyana’s terrific run in the NACRA 2011 Rugby 15-a-side Championship where they reached all the way to the finals after being off the scene for three years, head coach of the Men’s National Team Theodore Henry believes the future of the team depends entirely on how much input goes into the sport from the union.

KIEV (Reuters) – Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko must stand trial next Wednesday on a charge of abuse of power, a judge ruled in a pre-trial hearing late yesterday.

The Critchlow Labour College (CLC) partnered with the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to host a series of workshops for workers on Occupational Safety and Heath (OSH).

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Embattled football executive Lisle Austin says he has been shut out of CONCACAF’s offices and has accused the organisation of disregarding a court order which should have facilitated his return as its rightful leader.

West Indies cricket has long since become a virtual international television newscast.

PARIS (Reuters) – At least two people suffering from E.coli in the French city of Bordeaux have the strain that caused scores of deaths in Germany, French authorities said, and they halted sales of vegetable seeds from a British gardening firm.

Introduction In last week’s column I had indicated that Guyana’s sugar production, similar to the situation in the rest of Caricom, has been so high cost that it could not survive commercially without the special external marketing arrangements which the region had negotiated under the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement (CSA) and its successor the European Commission – African, Caribbean, Pacific (EC-ACP) Sugar Protocol.

Government is currently making attempts to resuscitate the Morawhanna fish port complex in Region One—a project which never fulfilled its intended purpose since coming on stream in the 1980s.

BEIJING (Reuters) – One of China’s most prominent dissidents, Hu Jia, was reunited with his family in the early hours today after serving three and a half-years in jail on subversion charges, his wife said.

LONDON, (Reuters) – In the vicious infighting in  world soccer’s governing body FIFA, score a hat-trick for  private detectives.   

Introduction Even though auditors sell their services, the profession of auditing – certainly of the financial kind rather than the forensic type – is unlikely to feature in the list of top one hundred most sexy professions in the world.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – NATO missiles hit a site in Libya used by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces to stockpile military supplies and vehicles, the alliance said yesterday, adding it was unaware of 15 civilian deaths reported by state media.

It’s 4 am in the rainforest and you are awakened by the sound of loud eerie roaring; if you are new to the environment it can be a disconcerting sound.

EUGENE, Oregon, CMC – There will be no showdown between Jamaican Usain Bolt and challenger Tyson Gay at the World Championship later this year after the American pulled of the United States trials with an injured hip.

Linden youths were the first in the country to benefit from a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) multimedia training session aimed at equipping the nation’s children to share their knowledge and experiences on issues affecting them.

PPP/C presidential candidate Donald Ramotar has again defended his active involvement in recent government engagements and outreaches saying that as general secretary of the ruling party he has a direct interest in the affairs of the government.

Early on a Monday morning, seated on the pavement in front of Guyana Stores Limited, Daniel Ramiah is already at work patiently sculpting images on calabashes.

NEW YORK, United States,  CMC – Guyanese club Alpha United will help to kick off the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League when they clash with Herediano of Costa Rica next month.  Alpha are one of three Caribbean Football Union clubs including Puerto Rico Islanders and Haiti’s Tempete FC, doing battle in the first round of the tournament.  The Guyanese will travel to San Jose for the July 26 clash before hosting the Costa Ricans in the return leg on August 4.  Meanwhile, Puerto Rico Islanders will head to San Salvador for their first round clash on July 27 with El Salvador’s Isidro Metapán before hosting them in San Juan on August 3.  Haiti’s Tempete will open their campaign away to Mexico’s Monarcas Morelia on July 28 before hosting the Mexicans on August 3.  The winners will advance to the group stage, scheduled to begin on August 16.

Overlooking the Linden/Soesdyke Highway is an Amerindian settlement called Waiakabra. On the surface this community which comprises at least 30 households looks like a dream spot to live.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican John Boehner faces his greatest test yet as the leader of the US House of Representatives, one that may determine his political fate and the country’s fiscal well-being.

Seven-year-old Vijai Ramnauth, who along with his nine-year-old sister, was struck down by a speeding car at Cotton Tree West Coast Berbice, is in a stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies have dropped out-of-form vice-captain Brendan Nash for the second Test against India starting at Kensington Oval here Tuesday.  The 33-year-old left-hander has had a poor run of form of late and has been replaced by Barbadian Kirk Edwards in what is the only change to the 13-man squad.  Nash, appointed as captain Darren Sammy’s deputy last November, has paid the price for his measly returns of 54 runs in his last six Test innings.  He struggled against Pakistan in the recent Test series, producing a highest score of 30 in the second match in St Kitts.

LIMA (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters opposed to mining and energy projects in southern Peru took over a commercial airport yesterday, officials said, as the government struggled to restore calm a day after five died in a clash with police.

There are thousands of women and men in Guyana who take a really great interest in the food that they eat, and I think that most, if not all of them believe that good food starts off with  good, high-quality ingredients.

Dear Editor, There can be no plausible, no decent excuse that I can think of for the failure to host the Guyana Prize for Literature, the ceremony for which was to have been held at least a month ago as advertised earlier this year.  

Dear Editor, Thank you for permitting me the opportunity to respond to the letter penned by Mr R Thompson which appeared in the Stabroek News of June 22 under the caption ‘Exporters experiencing inordinate delays.’

NEW YORK (Reuters) – When New York became the sixth and by far the largest state to legalize same-sex marriage, following a grueling overtime session in the state Legislature on Friday, it immediately transformed the national debate over the issue, legal experts said.

Police need to be more thorough in their investigative work in order to secure more convictions, Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee said as he met residents of Annandale, East Coast Demerara recently.

LONDON, England, CMC – West Indies pinch-hitter Kieron Pollard blasted a scintillating, unbeaten 40 for Somerset but rain ruined their chances of beating Sussex in the Friends Life Twenty20 Championship on Friday.  The right-handed Trinidadian, who played for the Windies in the recent one-day series against India in the Caribbean, put on a whirlwind 68 off 29 balls for the fifth wicket with captain Marcus Trescothick (87) to propel the hosts to 177 for four off their allotted 15 overs.  In reply, Sussex reached 40 for two off 22 balls before the rains ended the game at Taunton.  Sent in to bat, Somerset lost Peter Trego in the first over for two with just as many runs on the board but Trescothick and James Hildreth posted 62 for the fourth wicket to steady the innings.  When Hildreth and Jos Butler (0) fell to leave Somerset on 109 for four in the 11th over, Pollard entered the fray, joining forces with his skipper to decimate the Sussex bowling.  He cracked three fours and three characteristically massive sixes off just 18 balls while the left-handed Trescothick counted 10 fours and four sixes off 39 balls in equally amazing exhibition of hitting.  At Chester-le-Street, meanwhile, former Jamaica and West Indies all-rounder Gareth Breese helped to steer Durham to a convincing 83-run win over Lancashire.  Batting first, the hosts posted an impressive 200 for six with South African Dale Benkenstein top scoring with 60 and Breese chipping in with 14 not out from 12 balls.  Sending down his off-spin, Breese then snatched three for 23, supporting seamer Liam Plunkett who captured five for 31, to send Lancs tumbling for 117 all out off 17 overs.

Leslyn Baptiste, the eight-year-old student of the Agricola Primary School, who was struck down by a speeding car on June 16, was on Friday discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Coughing is a reflex action which is initiated by an irritant in the air passages.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Sprint star Asafa Powell won a close 100 metres at the National Stadium here Friday night to book his spot at the World Championships in South Korea later this year.

The Guyana Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha yesterday opened its

Dear Editor, Has the WICB gone further berserk? Of the 20 playing days of the India/WI ODI’s and Test matches, only 4 or 20% of those days are on weekends.

By Nigel WestmaasContext The New World, the inspiration of Lloyd Best in 1957, was a loosely organized grouping of intellectuals, educators, cultural workers, writers and activists mainly from the anglophone Caribbean or with Caribbean origins and interests. 

This light pole at Norton and Haley Streets has split, causing the street lamp to flip over and pose a danger to road users.

LONDON/SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – The number of adults with diabetes worldwide has more than doubled since 1980 to 347 million, a far larger number than previously thought and one that suggests costs of treating the disease will also balloon.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Three club cricketers have received hefty bans following an ugly incident involving a Barbadian umpire and his Bermudian colleague at the end of a league match.  The Bermuda Cricket Board on Friday announced the suspensions on the Devonshire Recreation Club trio after they were charged with a variety of offences including foul and abusive language towards an umpire, intimidation of an umpire, and physically assaulting an umpire in the wake of last Sunday’s match against Bailey’s Bay.  Dennis Williams, Dean Stephens and Ricardo Brangman have been banned from all cricket for a total of 22 matches after the angry confrontation with umpires James McKirdy, a Bermudian, and his Barbadian colleague, Hector Watson.  Williams, who was at the game as a spectator, received the largest ban, of 10 games, with Stephens getting eight matches and Brangman four.  Devonshire lost the match by 53 runs after they were bowled out for 215, chasing 269 to win.  Four of the last six wickets to fall were lbw decisions, which the Royal Gazette newspaper said is believed to have contributed to the after-match confrontation.

The Mangrove Action Committee will offer complimentary tours to parents and children during the August holidays which include a visit to its new visitor centre.

WARSAW (Reuters) – An Israeli couple ha ve been given suspended jail sentences for the theft of historic artefacts from the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz, Poland’s PAP news agency quoted a prosecutor as saying yesterday.

There have never been many elements underlying Guyana’s modern political drama.

The Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) will be sending a team –Floodlight –  to New York to take part in the Independence/Legend Cup softball tournament next weekend.

This Nostalgia seeks to record the enterprises on Robb Street in the old days, and pays tribute to the Mom and Pop’s businesses, when Georgetown was a thriving, flourishing business community.

Sunday Cartoon

Former Guyana and West Indies cricketer turned coach Roger Harper (at podium) addressing the Guyana Institute of Historical Research’s (GIHR) fourth

PASADENA, California, (Reuters) – Mexico won the  CONCACAF Gold Cup yesterday with a 4-2 victory over the United  States in a hugely entertaining final played in front of 93,000  fans.