Daily Archive: Friday, August 12, 2011

At about 1100h. today,  police say that members of a mobile patrol at Vigilance, ECD, saw Dwayne Critchlow, 28 years of North Vigilance, ECD, who was wanted for questioning in relation to the investigation of an incident during May 2011 where, while armed with a firearm, he had threatened a policeman at Plaisance, ECD.

RIO DE JANEIRO,  (Reuters) – Gunmen today  ambushed and killed a Brazilian judge known for taking a hard  line against criminals, including corrupt police officers.

Robert Simels, one-time lawyer for Roger Khan,  has failed to have his convictions for conspiracy and other offences overturned.

(Trinidad Guardian) Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh says laptops, expected to be delivered to new secondary school students in September, will cost US$150 less than last year. He

(Trinidad Exress) The ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago was shut down last night after a Virgin Atlantic plane entered a closed-off section of the runway and blew a tyre which left the aircraft disabled.

A mother of four was early this morning shot in her shoulder allegedly by her reputed husband who is on the run.

(Trinidad Express) Claiming neglect by the People’s Partnership Government, residents set up burning barricades along every road leading to Point Fortin yesterday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Police investigators say more investors in the unregistered investment scheme Nipon Farms are coming forward following the arrest of its principal, businessman Carl Ranglin.

(Jamaica Gleaner) “What I did was inexcusable (but) I am not a terrible person,” convicted Olint Ponzi scheme operator David Smith told the United States District Court in Orlando yesterday while he awaited sentencing.

(Barbados Nation) FIFA’S big bribery scandal simply won’t go away. The sport’s world governing body has started an official investigation involving 16 Caribbean officials who attended a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting in Trinidad in May to which FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam ­– since banned by FIFA for involvement in a votes-for-bribery scandal – was invited.

By Abigail Semple, Frances Abraham and Roxanne Clarke Queen’s College student Anuradha Dev and New Amsterdam Multilateral student Shalita Appadu each gained 15 Grade One passes to share the top spot at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

A man died after being involved in an accident which occurred at 1 am yesterday at David and Lamaha streets, Kitty.

Controversial football head Colin Klass faced the greatest challenge yet to his career when FIFA suspended him yesterday as part of an ethics probe of a bribery scandal that has shaken regional associations.

Upbeat over their commendable performance at the recently concluded Pan American Challenge in Brazil, members of the Guyana’s female hockey believe that the availability of an artificial turf is key to their continued improvement.

Guyanese archaeologist George Simon and a team of scientists are on the verge of making key discoveries on human settlements which may have existed in the Berbice area as long as 5000 years ago.

A teenager was beaten to death during an argument at Monessee Backdam, Port Kaituma, North West District on Tuesday and a suspect has been arrested.

BIRMINGHAM, England, (Reuters) – Alastair Cook  stroked his 19th test century as England’s ruthless batsmen  amassed 456 for three on the second day of the third test  against a weary-looking India yesterday.

With a string of strong performances, including running the fastest 400 metres by a Guyanese in over a decade, national   sprinter Winston George can lay claim to being the country’s most dominant sprinter this season.

A fire of unknown origin early yesterday morning destroyed the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) storage bond at Urquhart Street, South Cummingsburg, while also severely damaging the neighbouring Mings Products and Services Ltd boat building facility.

Candidates who wrote the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams in May/June can now access their results online.

JOHNS CREEK, Georgia,  (Reuters) – Steve Stricker  equalled the lowest round in a major to take control of the PGA  Championship on Thursday while fellow American Tiger Woods  spectacularly self-destructed after making a red-hot start.

President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said young people need to look back at the country’s history, in order to defend its current progress.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidadian bowlers Kevon Cooper and Sunil Narine have been sent to Australia to have their actions assessed, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Champions League campaign in September.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – West Indies Under-19s will do battle alongside two-time champions India in Group C of next year’s ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Australia.

The government yesterday sent the two pieces of legislation aimed at liberalizing the country’s telecommunications sector to a special select committee, and pledged that when the bills are passed and implemented, they will lead to GT&T’s monopoly on international calls being immediately broken.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Every time she leaps to shoot,  21-year-old basketball player Pratima Singh considers herself  lucky that all she has to defy is gravity.

Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton remanded to prison a man accused of using threatening language to his mother, when he yesterday appeared in court to answer the charges.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – A brutal 135 from Deandra Dottin powered hosts Barbados to a 267-run victory over St.

 Dear Editor, The location of my residence is adjacent to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital and is virtually a part of their compound.

Queen’s College students Youni Abdool and Kelly Ann Persaud, who both secured grade one passes in five units, are the country’s top performers at this year’s Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Brazilian Army yesterday signed a Protocol that covers assistance in the areas of training, doctrine and operations, intelligence, logistics engineering and international affairs at the conclusion of the VI Bilateral Staff Conference at the Pegasus Hotel.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – The London riots will not  undermine confidence in the city’s ability to stage a  trouble-free Olympics next year, organising committee chairman  Sebastian Coe said yesterday.

Dear Editor, The August 5, 2011 Stabroek News carried an article headlined ‘Students cannot be debarred for non- payment of registration fees.’ 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaican officials have remained tight-lipped, following revelations that sprinter Steve Mullings have tested positive for a banned substance, according to a report in the Jamaica Gleaner yesterday.

MONTREAL,  (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal fluffed his lines on  the return from five-week break when the Spanish world number  two was stunned 1-6 7-6 7-6 by unheralded Croatian Ivan Dodig in  his opening match of the Montreal Masters on Wednesday.

Construction industry claims that the lumber sector is failing to satisfy local demand for high-quality products are being disputed by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud.

The paving of the Linden/ Lethem road remains high on the agendas of both the Brazilian and Guyanese governments, but there is still no indication as to when this project will actually begin.

Dear Editor, A significant characteristic of human beings is their ability to communicate effectively.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron  risks his government’s austerity drive, particularly its plans  to cut police funding, becoming the focus of Britons’ fears  about the future after the worst looting and rioting in decades  hit English cities.

The Government of Guyana is donating US$25,000 in response to the UN’s Consolidated Appeal for Somalia to provide aid in the wake of a severe famine that

Dear Editor, Upon reading the letters section of SN, August 10, 2011, one thing is clear: Guyanese are not aloof from the plight of animals in Guyana.

SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – Every athlete competing in  this year’s World Athletics Championships will be blood-tested  in an unprecedented anti-doping programme, the sports governing  body said yesterday.

Against the backdrop of the worsening problem of the illegal copying of published school texts, one of the few established bookstores remaining in Guyana has slashed its imports by around 50 per cent ahead of the start of the new academic year.

JOHANNESBURG,  (Reuters) – World women’s 800 metres  champion Caster Semenya has withdrawn from the World Student  Games this month because of a back injury.

Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton granted $10,000 bail each to a newspaper vendor and a clothes vendor charged with causing damage to property and using threatening behaviour when they appeared in court.

 AMMAN/HAMA, Syria – Syrian forces killed at least 19 people  in raids near the Lebanon border and in the country’s Sunni  tribal heartland, activists said, pursuing a military campaign  to crush street protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

Dear Editor, I refer to two articles: SN, August 8 ‘Middle Rd family shot at, robbed after returning from airport,’ and KN, August 9, ‘Customer accuses bank guard in $1.5M heist.’

Appearance While income in the construction and engineering sector of the Guyana economy has been growing at the rate of 12 percent per annum over the last five years, there is an increasing lack of attention to a critical aspect of Guyana’s infrastructure. 

LONDON,  (Reuters) –  With social media brutally  accelerating the news cycle and allowing rumours from riots to  bank failures to spread at lightning speed, politicians,  businesses and governments must adapt fast.

Dear Editor, I write concerning the filthy condition of the bus park at Port Kaituma.

Scotiabank customers and children in two schools areas where the bank operates are set to benefit from the company’s ‘Back to School’ campaign which started on August 1.

From home-seekers exploring construction financing options to commercial banks, building contractors and hardware merchants offering their various sector-related services, Guyana’s Second Annual International Building Expo attracted an estimated thousands of visitors and scores of service providers over the July 29-31, 2011 weekend.

The Florida-based international air cargo service, AMERIJET which  provides freight forwarding facilities to all CARICOM member states is currently celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its scheduled all-cargo service to Trinidad and Tobago.

Dear Editor, I am not sure that Mr Timothy Austin’s comments ‘GWI’s policy is not related to whether a property is fully paid for but to ensure a person has a legal right to contract services’ SN, August 11, where he quotes GWI’s National Revenue Manager Earle Aaron, supports my contention that the residents of Paradise Housing Scheme can justifiably expect to be given a document by the Paradise Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (PMCS) stating that they have been allocated land in the Paradise/Dazzell Housing Scheme without the precondition that all monies must be paid up.

The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs says despite the challenges it will continue to foster partnerships with local indigenous communities for their economic advancement, as indigenous peoples worldwide celebrate their 17th International Day.

(Jamaica Observer) David Smith, the former head of the failed investment scheme, Olint, is reportedly in good spirits despite receiving a 30-year sentence from the United States District Court in Orlando, Florida yesterday.

NEW YORK, (Reuters Life!) – A high degree of pain  does not make it any more likely that someone coming into the  emergency room with chest pains is having a heart attack,  according to a study.

Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton yesterday remanded a teenager accused of using a pair of scissors to rob a man of his blackberry cell phone, Travis Anthony, 18, was not required to plead to the indictable charge of robbery under arms which stated that on August 8 at Georgetown, being armed with

 Dear Editor, I write this letter in response to the Federation of Indian Americans (FIA) executive member Mr Nirav Mehta’s one (‘India Day Parade invited President Jagdeo to participate’ SN, August 10) in which he sought to repudiate my contention that one of President Jagdeo’s staff sent an email asking that Mr Jagdeo be invited to the India Day Parade and other events.

HAVANA, (Reuters) – Revolutionary legend Fidel  Castro turns 85 tomorrow, still an important figure in his  communist-ruled Cuba, but increasingly a fading presence in the  life of the country he ran for 49 years.

Jamaican-born United States citizen Fred Hylton is beginning to see light at the end of an investment tunnel in which he and his wife have dwelt here in Guyana for more than five years.

HOUSTON,  (Reuters) – Texas Governor Rick Perry, a  staunch conservative with a Washington outsider’s resume, will  seek the 2012 Republican nomination for U.S.

Last week’s first Colombia-Brazil Investment Forum in Bogota featured a level of private sector discourse on trade, investment and economic cooperation between South America’s two largest economies that put into sharp perspective the strategy underpinning Brazil’s strategic pursuits in the hemisphere.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters Life!) – An Indian film over  caste discrimination against “untouchables” has been mired in  controversy with protests from caste groups forcing the  producers to cut parts of the film, highlighting deep-seated  social tensions in the rising economic power.

TOLUCA, Mexico,  (Reuters) – The alleged leader of an  extremely violent breakaway Mexican drug cartel who ordered the  shootings and beheadings of 600 people has been arrested,  authorities said yesterday.

Dear Editor, Reports of the Mandela Avenue accident on the dreadful eve of Monday, July 18, 2011 flooded the press.

Politikles

Business Cartoons

Dear Editor, There is a tendency among some opposition letter writers to blame both the PPP and the PNC for the economic and social problems that the country experienced during the course of its post-colonial history.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 420’s trading results showed consideration of $1,765,625 from 44,350 shares traded in 7 transactions as compared to session 419 which showed consideration of $705,696 from 24,423 shares traded in 19 transactions. 

(Jamaica Observer) Political ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair wants a year of reconciliation for politicians to confess their contribution to the destabilisation of the society ahead of next year’s general election.

RALEIGH, North Carolina, (Reuters Life!) – Since  director James Cameron’s “Avatar” raked in $2.8 billion at  global box offices, Hollywood has flooded theaters with wave  after wave of 3D movies, but some industry watchers wonder if  theatergoers are now drowning in it.

For several years now the Food and Drug Analyst Department has been complaining about the paucity of resources with which to carry out its functions which functions include the monitoring of food and drug imports with a view to determining their safety and fitness or otherwise for human consumption and ensuring, as far as possible, that expired foodstuff is removed from the shelves of supermarkets and outlets rather than sold to consumers at risk to their health.

As Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Caricom’s new secretary general, assumes office next Monday, he could do no worse than read, if he has not done so already, Sir Shridath Ramphal’s magisterial lecture, delivered at the Bank of Jamaica, on July 22 last.

I suppose, nay I know, that it is easy for me to sit at a desk and offer commentary and advisories to victims or would- be victims of crime.