Daily Archive: Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The government has allocated $3.2 million for rehabilitation works that will restore the Golden Grove Secondary School to a more conducive state, the Ministry of Education announced today.

(Barbados Nation) The Barbados Meteorological Department is monitoring the progress of Tropical Storm Ophelia which formed over the central tropical Atlantic during the night.

The Joint Opposition Political Parties (JOPP) have called for the revocation of the appointment of the Returning Officer for Region Four citing conduct at a previous election and in a letter to the elections commission they expressed dismay that it was business as usual while this matter was being deliberated on.

TEHRAN, (Reuters) – Two U.S. men who were released  from an Iranian jail after two years left the country today, the official Irna news agency reported. 

A New York police officer is under investigation for allegedly engaging in a traffic ticket fixing operation and associating with a suspected Guyana-born drug dealer.

(Jamaica Observer) The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) boycotted yesterday’s signing and media launch of a Code of Conduct to govern the Partnership for Transformation citing, among other things, a lack of trust and respect by the ruling party.

(Jamaica Observer) MONTEGO BAY, St James — United Kingdom travel agents say the controversial Air Passenger Duty (APD) has made Jamaica a hard sell, even to some persons who are accustomed to visiting the island up to three times a year.

(Jamaica Observer) UC Rusal has inked a deal to acquire the remaining 35 per cent stake in Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart), giving it full ownership of the St Elizabeth-based refinery.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Confessed Jamaican drug lord Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke has written a letter to a New York judge asking for leniency, a report in the New York Times says.

(Barbados Nation) The Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation’s (BEF) drive to have free islandwide Wi-Fi by November 11, 2011 is gaining momentum.

(Barbados Nation) Don’t allow the crime situation to get out of hand!

(Barbados Nation) Customs and Immigration at the Grantley Adams International Airport have come in for criticism from executive chairman of the Four Seasons project, Avinash Persaud.

(Trinidad Express) A United Nations (UN) team will be coming next month to help destroy some of the illegal guns in this country, says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

(Trinidad Express) A series of whistleblower e-mails sent from a former employee of CLICO alleging financial impropriety within CL Financial and its subsidiaries was responsible for the “sudden surge” in withdrawals by depositors.

(Trinidad Express) Strange commissions, exorbitant bonuses and significant weaknesses in internal controls were the order of the day at CL Financial, former group financial director, Michael Carballo, said yesterday.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon yesterday testified that he was unaware of the criteria used to identify and select nominees for ambassadorial postings, and he admitted that some had no prior diplomatic experience.

A 13-year-old student of the Charity Secondary School was found hanging in the washroom of the school’s dormitory yesterday morning, in an apparent suicide.

Education Minister Shaik Baksh yesterday expressed deep concern about what he said was the negligence of the Region Four administration in carrying out critical renovation works at the Golden Grove Secondary School which has been at the centre of an uproar over its poor condition.

Police Corporal Sherwin Smith yesterday appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court charged with the murder of Counsellor Ralph Turpin and was later remanded to prison until October 10 by Magistrate Sueann Lovell.

Seven persons have been left homeless after their 135 Silverballi Street, Meadow Brook home went up in flames around 13:30 hrs while two of the occupants were asleep.

Community leaders and residents of Linden are continuing to highlight the substandard quality of works being done under an ongoing $300 million road and drainage rehabilitation programme.

Five months after their homes were destroyed, victims of the Easter Monday Kingston fire are still at the site awaiting word from the Ministry of Housing for land allocation.

Suriname was genuinely shocked that Guyana referred their maritime dispute to the International Tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and had always tried to ensure that in efforts to resolve the issue the three segments of the boundary – land, river and sea – were not disaggregated but were treated as one in order to get leverage for a settlement, a cable released by WikiLeaks has revealed.

Chief Labour Officer Yoganand Persaud is today expected to meet the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) and the RUSAL subsidiary BCGI, the first such engagement he has had with both parties for months.

Cabinet has approved four contracts which will see improvement in the agriculture and infrastructure areas.

The PPP/C has failed to stimulate sufficient economic growth for more than a decade-and-a-half, according to former finance minister Carl Greenidge, who says that the opposition coalition APNU, once elected, would focus on creating jobs and the development of natural resources to increase output and available markets.

China’s role in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will need to adapt and evolve if it is going to have a lasting, positive impact, a new World Bank report has said.

Farmers have been testing new lines/candidate varieties of rice for this crop and were reminded that they can only achieve good yields if they work hard and have good agronomic practices.

Registration and elections staff are expected to occupy more than 2000 polling stations that will be available at the upcoming general elections.

Chaos broke out at Eccles, East Bank Demerara on Monday, as a swarm of bees stung a mechanic and his relatives, killing him in the process.

The Environmental Community Health Organisation (Echo) has launched its Health Schools Competition at 14 schools in Region Three and plans to start its recycling project and clubs next month end.

The Port Kaituma and Mabaruma Adventist churches collectively donated $110,000 to students in the North West District in monetary forms and also in form of school supplies such as uniforms, footwear and school bags.

Judge James Bovell-Drakes yesterday granted an interim injunction restraining executives of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) from interfering in the management and administration of football in the Georgetown area.

The case against Rajendra ‘Jet Ley’ Gussai was yesterday dismissed in the High Court before Justice Roxane George after members of the jury returned to the court room and announced a unanimous not guilty verdict.

Demerara will clash with defending Champions Berbice in the 2011 El Dorado Inter-County limited-overs final on Sunday at Albion, after both sides secured victory of contrasting difficulties in their respective third round clashes, at Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), Ground, Bourda and Demerara Cricket Club (DCC.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) is observing Fire Prevention Week from October 9 with a church service at the Ministry of Culture’s Sports Complex and number of exhibitions for school children.

COLOMBO,  (Reuters) – Michael Clarke hit his 15th test century to lead Australia to a draw in the third and final test against Sri Lanka  yesterday and a 1-0 win in his first series as captain.

By Iva Wharton The national schools athletics, cycling and swimming championships, one of the biggest sporting events on the schools calendar, also highlight some of the shortcomings competitors face in some disciplines.

Managing Director of the Trophy Stall  Ramesh Sunich on Friday donated three trophies to the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club for a female tournament in Berbice.

The Child Protection Agency on Monday started a week of activities including a grand school rally in Mahdia, and several areas countrywide to raise awareness about child abuse.

International cosmetics brand Garnier has provided sponsorship and is collaborating with organisers for Guyana Fashion Weekend (GFW) 2011 set for this weekend at the GCC Ground.

HYDERABAD, India, CMC-IANS – Trinidad & Tobago captain Daren Ganga said he is confident of a good show in the remainder of the Champions League Twenty20.

One of Guyana’s leading departmental store, Gizmos and  Gadgets last Friday renewed its cricket sponsorship with the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club.

The Shaheed Boys and Girls Orphanages have appointed Counsellor Yernesi Yansen to assist in the administration of the facilities.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Libya’s new flag flew at the United Nations yesterday for the first time since Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow as US President Barack Obama called for the last of the deposed leader’s loyalists to stop fighting.

Cabinet has approved four contracts which will see improvement in the agriculture and infrastructure areas.

HYDERABAD, India, CMC – Ravi Rampaul followed up half-centuries from Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath with an impressive spell of four wickets for 14 runs from four overs to catapult Trinidad & Tobago into the main draw of the Champions League Twenty20 with a convincing, 51-run victory over Leicestershire yesterday.

The Ninth Parliament will soon end with the final sitting of the National Assembly being called on Thursday, September 29, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon said at his post-Cabinet briefing yesterday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – US President Barack Obama will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today to urge him to drop plans to ask the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state despite US and Israeli objections.

Dear Editor, What do our visitors to Guyana think of our taxi drivers and many motor vehicle drivers, who exhibit the minimum of road courtesy, when it comes to the use of their horns?

The National Communications Network (NCN) has banned airplay of Jamaican dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel’s songs, citing their lewd content.

Keiona Crawford defeated Kord Johnson in the final of the table tennis competition when the National Sports Commission (NSC) in partnership with the Region 10 administration kicked off its sixth Day of Interaction with a bang at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground on Sunday.

KABUL (Reuters) – A Taliban suicide bomber yesterday killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, former Afghan president and head of the government’s peace council, a dramatic show of insurgent reach and a heavy blow to hopes of reaching a political end to the war.

Dear Editor, I have been following for some time now the discourse among politicians and members of the public on the progress, or lack thereof, Guyana has made over the past 19 years under the PPP/C administration.

Centenarian Ruby Sydney said she has lived a full life and never let an opportunity pass to learn a new skill, even as she looks forward to her 101st birthday tomorrow.

HYDERABAD, India, CMC-IANS – Auckland Aces were eliminated from the Champions League Twenty20, after they went down to Somerset by four wickets in a thrilling last-ball finish yesterday here.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The bodies of 35 people with suspected links to organized crime were found in two abandoned trucks on a highway underpass in the eastern Mexican city of Veracruz yesterday, the local prosecutor said.

(Barbados Nation) Former Opposition Leader Mia Mottley has signalled her intention to pull out of the race for chairmanship of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in a controversy surrounding changes to the rules of the party’s upcoming annual conference.

Dear Editor, It would be remiss of me not to express my appreciation to the Guyana Power and Light linesmen and crew which finally restored power to residents in the Anna Regina area.

Strikers Sports Club, Meadowbrook Drive, will be the venue for a 21-team dominoes competition this Saturday.

Police are investigating an armed robbery which occurred at about 10.15 am yesterday at Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara, during which three women were robbed at gunpoint of US$10,000 and $80,000 along with a quantity of jewellery.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told US President Barack Obama yesterday that Brazil is working with other emerging markets to provide help for troubled European economies, an official told Reuters.

Among the victims of the Kingston fire are

(Jamaica Gleaner) Dancehall entertainer, Wendel Edwards, popularly known as Gyptian, was yesterday questioned and released by the police in relation to a shooting incident at a recording studio a week ago.

An 18-year-old who was charged with possession of cannabis was yesterday placed on $5,000 bail after he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Liberal Democrats are paying a high price for their place in coalition government, with most voters seeing them as divided and unlikely to keep their promises, a Reuters Ipsos/MORI poll showed today.

Waramadong Secondary and a pee wee group in Lethem will receive football uniforms, compliments of Arts Living Foundation.

Dear Editor, Mr Persaud makes a number of erroneous assumptions about me and my intentions for writing to criticise the way the US conducts foreign policy and how it processes visa applications in Guyana (The US Embassy is fair with applicants’ SN, September 20). 

NEW YORK (Reuters) – US prosecutors made new allegations yesterday in a probe of the Full Tilt Poker website, accusing self-styled “Poker Professor” Howard Lederer and professional poker champion Christopher Ferguson and others of paying themselves more than $440 million while defrauding other players.

(Barbados Nation) – A professor at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus has been awarded $30,000 in damages by a High Court judge after suing one of his colleagues for defamation.

Dear Editor, The US Embassy cable of June 2007 is a humdinger, a big one.

Introduction On September 16 a grand day of appreciation was hosted for President Bharrat Jagdeo.

Attention is being paid to the spanking new, swanky public convenience being set up near the 1763 Monument, but

By Emmerson Campbell The final bell chimed at this year’s Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) National Intermediate Championships on Sunday night at the National Gymnasium.

Dear Editor, Contrary to what the PPP/C would like the Guyanese people to believe about their performance at the upcoming elections as seen in their bogus polls, the likelihood of them being voted out of office this year is a real possibility.

Nearly sixteen months since the People’s Partnership (PP) swept the polls in Trinidad & Tobago with a majority of 29 seats to 12 over the People‘s National Movement (PNM), there is still much discussion in the country as to whether Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s government has settled to smoothly running the country.

The Guyana Relief Council (GRC) yesterday provided assistance to six families who were left homeless as a result of fires at Hadfield Street and Enmore, East Coast Demerara.

St Lucian Prime Minister Stephenson King on Monday said he had asked the island’s diplomats in the United States to probe reports that Washington had revoked the visa of his Housing Minister Richard Frederick, according to the Caribbean Media Corporation.

“The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As the US government grapples to find ways to trim the bloated federal deficit, a new report suggests officials might start with cutting out $16 muffins and $10 cookies.

The nation’s law enforcement officers kicked off their 2011 Police Sports Inter-Division Twenty20 competition last Thursday.