Daily Archive: Thursday, December 1, 2011

Although celebrating securing the presidency, the PPP/C this evening blamed voter apathy for the party’s loss of its parliamentary majority.

The Alliance For Change tonight said it is pleased that Guyana has entered into a new political dispensation following the declaration of results for the General and Regional Elections 2011.

Paul Hardy, Leader of the Guyana Action Party, and its members have expressed deep condolences at the passing of Everall Franklin, Co-leader and MP of GAP/ROAR.

Amid tensions in the city this evening and the gathering of persons in various parts of Georgetown, the four presidential candidates are preparing to issue a joint statement.

PPP/C presidential candidate Donald Ramotar is to be the country’s next president, the Guyana Elections Commission announced at around 4.20 pm.

(Trinidad Guardian) Investigators probing the alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and three of her cabinet colleagues have revealed there was a well-orchestrated plan to create a major distraction in the country and immediately after, kill Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the three Cabinet members. A

(Barbados Nation) The ‘Talk That Talk’ singer says her year keeps on getting better, after being nominated for four Grammy awards at the industry event yesterday.

The declaration of the official results of the 2011 General and Regional Elections will be made by Gocool Boodoo, Chief Election Officer, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) today at 2 pm.

Opposition coalition, APNU this morning called for all the parties to sit together and verify the Statements of Polls, particularly for Region Four, after saying that it has evidence of manipulation of results.

For the first time since it began contesting general elections in 1964 as the party of businessman, Peter D’Aguiar, The United Force is unlikely to win a seat at this year’s general elections.

With 62% of votes already counted, the Alliance For Change has already surpassed its tally from 2006 based on partial results today from the Guyana Elections Commission.

Partial results released by GECOM early this morning show that the PPP/C is ahead in six regions, APNU in three and the AFC in one.

A family of seven is homeless after a fire of unknown origin destroyed their Lot 24 John Street, Werk-en-Rust home.

(Barbados Nation) Prime Minister Freundel Stuart collapsed in the reportedly crowded sergeants’ mess of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) headquarters at St Ann’s Fort around 2 p.m

(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – The mortality rate among HIV infected people in Suriname is dropping.

(Trinidad Express) Police, who found several weapons in and outside the home of a Central businessman, up to late yesterday, were trying to determine if the weapons are linked to an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and three Government ministers.

(Trinidad Express) A man described by police as an ex-United States of America soldier was one of four other persons served with detention orders signed by National Security Minister John Sandy yesterday.

The presidential candidates at Monday’s general elections have called for calm even as chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Dr.

Below is a table showing the preliminary 2011 elections results as they are released by GECOM.

President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday announced that the security forces are fully mobilised and on alert in the city to prevent any violence, while sounding a warning against attempts to mislead people into taking to the streets over the elections results.

Guyana has received a lower ranking for public sector corruption, which the local transparency watchdog said does not bode well for investor confidence as it urged reforms to ensure greater accountability by public officials.

The script had already been written. The two Berbice teams would clash in the final.

The decomposing body of a woman with a wound to the neck was last evening found aback of the Bedford Methodist Church at Camp Street and North Road.

Chairman of the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) Fr Malcolm Rodrigues yesterday said that Monday’s attack on an EAB observer and a Presiding Officer by a PPP/C candidate was “quite disturbing” and warrants a lawyer’s letter.

(BBC) Crystal Palace pulled off a stunning extra-time victory at Old Trafford to reach the Carling Cup semi-finals and send Manchester United crashing out yesterday.

Rumours yesterday effectively transformed Georgetown into what most people described as a ‘ghost town’ as stores everywhere closed and persons could hardly be seen around the city, while results of the general and regional elections were yet to be disclosed.

(BBC) England cricket coach Andy Flower was the big winner at the 2011 UK Coaching Awards in London on Tuesday.

By Johann Earle Head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Electoral Observer Mission, Professor Gordon Shirley called the 2011 polls an improvement over past elections and lauded the Guyana Elections Commission’s “significant” preparations ahead of voting, although he pointed out areas of concern such as the slothfulness of results and polling place irregularities.

By Johann Earle Head of the Commonwealth Observer Mission Denis Marshall says the group has concluded that Monday’s general elections represented a further strengthening of the democratic processes but the playing field for the poll campaign was not level, given that state resources, including state media, were used in the interest of the ruling party.

Captain Virender Sehwag expects a lot better from his team the next time around after India limped to a one-wicket win over the West Indies in Tuesday’s first ODI in Cuttack.

A convoy through the city by supporters of opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) saw increased police presence along the streets of the capital yesterday.

Opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) yesterday said it will not accept the results unless several anomalies in the process were explained by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

(BBC) Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel has withdrawn from the Indian Premier League auction to focus his efforts on winning a place in England’s Test side.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday said that it will hold the balance of power in the next parliament saying that no party is likely to win a majority when GECOM makes the official announcement about the winner of Monday’s poll.

(Reuters) – Injury-weakened Australia return to test action on home soil this week for the first time since their humiliating Ashes defeat, taking on a New Zealand team convinced conditions might just be right for an upset.

Police yesterday said that the body of the man who was fatally shot during an armed confrontation with police ranks carrying ballot boxes at Maripa Dukwari Landing, Cuyuni River, on November 27, 2011, was identified by his mother to be that of Dwayne Little known as “Tattoo Man”.

(Reuters) – The National Basketball Association (NBA) began stirring back to life yesterday with player agents and team officials formally allowed to begin discussions about free agents in anticipation of next month’s start of the delayed season.

Everall Franklin, the leader of the Guyana Action Party (GAP) and Member of Parliament died yesterday morning at a city hospital following a period of illness.

The 22nd edition of the Kashif and Shanghai football tournament got another shot in the arm with the contribution the organizers received from Giftland Office Max yesterday.

Employees of Giftland OfficeMax as they “prepared to

Guyana Elections Commis-sion (GECOM) Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally said yesterday that the recent discovery of a broken seal in the compound of the East Ruimveldt School was no big deal as there are multiple seals on ballot boxes to prevent the likelihood of tampering.

Defending champion Taffin Khan remains unbeaten in his quest to defend his national title  following last weekend’s matches of the Geddes Grant/Seven Seas 2011 National senior chess championships being played at the Ocean Spray Hotel in Kitty.

Results for 12 polling stations in Skeldon and Crabwood Creek, Corentyne show solid voting for the PPP/C.

VISAKHAPATNAM, India, CMC – West Indies arrived here yesterday for their second One-Day International against India, following their heart-breaking loss in the first game in Cuttack.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Paceman Mitchell Johnson is likely to be sidelined for up to five months with a foot injury, Cricket Australia said yesterday, almost certainly ruling him out of upcoming test series against New Zealand and India.

The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) said yesterday that the delayed release of the results of the general and regional elections held on Monday “mars any perception that  the poll can be considered successfully conducted, since the process of elections is not concluded until the results are finalized and published.”

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo  Chavez hosts a regional summit this week that puts his recovery  from cancer at center stage as he begins his toughest election  campaign yet.

Shoppers at Stabroek Market Square yesterday at

Dear Editor, It is an utter shame and disgrace to the voting population and Guyanese elsewhere to have 24 hours pass and no announcement of substantial results of the 2011 General and Regional Elections.

Every stall in the Bourda Market was

KINGSTON, Jamaica,  CMC – Injury-prone West Indies pacer Jerome Taylor has been omitted from a Jamaican 25-man squad to prepare for the upcoming Caribbean Twenty20 Championship.

THE HAGUE, (Reuters) – Former Ivory Coast  President Laurent Gbagbo was arrested and flown to The Hague  overnight to face charges of crimes against humanity at the  International Criminal Court, the first former head of state to  be tried by the ICC since its inception in 2002.

Dear Editor, I am indeed pleased that Mr Netram at Friendship East Bank Demerara is finding use for plastic bottles and containers, and naturally, since he alone cannot collect plastic bottles etc to feed his pulverising machine, it means others will make some money collecting plastic to sell to him.

The IDB became a signatory to the Inter-national Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) yesterday, at a ceremony hosted at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea.

Caricom Electoral Observers have found that Guyanese were given the opportunity under good conditions to elect a government on Election Day.

Dear Editor, I’m a Lindener, and my main focus is on our education, social and economic situation in Linden town.

ZURICH (Reuters) – FIFA needs to bring its member associations into line as well as cleaning up its own act, the man called in to head its new independent watchdog said yesterday.

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – India’s parliament has  always been a boisterous and chaotic place that, like the  country itself, still somehow worked: these days, it’s not even  muddling through.

The Caricom Electoral Observer Mission has concluded that the St Lucia General Elections held on Monday can be considered by any objective standard to have been free and fair and that the results represented the will of the people.

Closed stalls in

LIMA, (Reuters) – Opponents of Newmont Mining’s $4.8  billion Conga project refused to end their rallies yesterday, saying Peru must permanently cancel the proposed  mine after temporarily halting work on it to avert violence.

Most businesses along

(Jamaica Gleaner) The final straw has broken the camel’s back. Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry last night submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Andrew Holness as the flood of concerns over the management of projects by the National Works Agency (NWA) continued.

ZURICH (Reuters) – FIFA should keep a close eye on its elected officials and limit their mandates, an independent report into soccer’s governing body said  yesterday.

A cellular phone store at Grove, East Bank Demerara was yesterday invaded by armed men, who carted off computers and a few cellular phones.

Dear Editor, It would be a public service if you could print from the laws of Guyana and from the GECOM procedures the official procedure for managing the ballot papers after the close of poll and the counting of votes at the place of poll. 

(Trinidad Express) Eight more people have been served with detention orders signed by National Security Minister John Sandy, bringing the total number of detainees to 12.

(Reuters) – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) does not have the jurisdiction to rule on an appeal by the Swiss Anti-Doping agency that could lead to a life ban for former cyclist Jan Ullrich, the body said yesterday.

The scene on Croal Street, Stabroek yesterday where

Dear Editor, I am a retiree now, but while I was in active employment, I travelled and lived almost throughout the entire coastland and even parts of the hinterland, and because I was obliged to make frequent contacts home during my absence in those days, I had to turn to the Post Office.

LUSAKA,  (Reuters) – Zambian police charged a  former labour minister with receiving stolen property after 2.1  billion kwacha ($414,000) was found buried at his farm, in the  first high-profile case in a graft crackdown under new President  Michael Sata.

Port Kaituma bustles with taxis shuttling people to and from the small airport, a hyper-busy commercial centre crammed with pickup trucks, SUVs, cars and ATVs, and boats traversing the calm, brown Barima and Kaituma rivers.

Cartoon

MADRID (Reuters) – Barcelona fullback Adriano Correia has pulled a thigh muscle and will be out of action for up to seven days, the Spanish champions said yesterday.

Today is World AIDS Day around the world and it is being commemorated under the theme ‘Getting to Zero: Zero New HIV Infections.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – When Vikram Akula came  to speak at the World Economic Forum’s India Summit in New Delhi  last year, it was clear that the once-thriving banker to the  poor was beginning to lose his sheen.

Regent Street yesterday afternoon

(Jamaica Observer) Pan Caribbean Sugar plans to build a US$150-million ($13-billion), state-of-the-art sugar factory at its Monymusk estate in Clarendon to open in 2015.

Dear Editor, A close relative of mine had to attend the government health clinic yesterday, Wednesday November 30 at Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara, and to her disappointment and an element of chagrin she was informed by a nearby resident that the Government Health Centre was closed because the workers were afraid to come to work because of the election tension.