Daily Archive: Wednesday, March 21, 2012

AMMAN, (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council, including Russia and China, threw its weight today behind efforts by Kofi Annan to end the bloody conflict in Syria, providing a rare moment of global unity in the face of the year-long crisis.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has released a statement outlining their version of the events which resulted in the death of 16-year-old Vanessa Kirkland last night.

Police say that further to a press release made yesterday in relation to an alleged abduction and robbery committed on Joel Ali, a clerk attached to H.

Police say that at about 1330h today Rasheed Haniff, 15 years of Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice, is reported to have been electrocuted while assisting to carry out repairs to a combine with an arc welding plant. 

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh today announced that the national budget for 2012 will be presented next Friday, March 30.

(CMC) KINGSTOWN, St Vincent – West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson has labeled yesterday’s dramatic tie with Australia in the third One-Day International as “a sickening blow” but says the team’s valiant fightback from a near hopeless position was testimony to their growing character.

 President of the Republic of Suriname Desire Delano Bouterse today received the credentials accrediting Keith Linden George as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Guyana to the Republic of Suriname.

(WICB) KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Adrian Barath was chosen to replace fellow opener Kieran Powell in the West Indies 13-member squad for the last two Digicel One Day Internationals against Australia in St.

A 45-year-old woman was brutally stabbed to death in her Canefield, East Canje home last night and the prime suspect, her reputed husband is on the run.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO/THE HAGUE – The state of Suriname risks being brought before an international tribunal in case Parliament approves a statutory change granting amnesty for the so-called December murders of 1982.

(Jamaica Observer) International recording artiste Sean Kingston is again in hot water.

(Jamaica Observer) Multinational oil giant Chevron is challenging the validity of Jamaica’s Customs user fee, calling it a tax and contending, in a J$600-million lawsuit, that it is unconstitutional and therefore not binding.

(Jamaica Observer) The failure of the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing to provide the Office of the Contractor General with relevant information related to the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP) resulted yesterday in a raid by the OCG on the ministry’s premises, which houses the secretariat.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The country’s newest carrier, FlyJamaica, is now sitting on the ramp at the Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, after several months at the Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida.

(Barbados Nation) Almond Resorts Inc. was warned about its high debt but did not heed the caution, a former director disclosed yesterday.

(Barbados Nation) President of the Barbados Hotel& Tourism Association, Colin Jordan, is predicting higher fares for intra-regional Caribbean travel with the grounding of the Barbadian-based low-cost carrier REDjet.

(Barbados Nation) Government has been issued with an official copy of the controversial forensic audit report into the operations of CLICO International Life (CIL).

A mother is in custody as the police search for her partner to assist in the investigation of the death of their two-month old son, who died as a result of injuries sustained during a fight between his parents.

Leonaka Natasha Johnson’s fiancé was yesterday charged with murdering her and dumping her body in a canal near her Nismes, West Bank Demerara home.

The police say that Lawrence Leroy Semple, 33 years of West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was yesterday charged with the murder of Venezuelan national Jose Lamon Valenzuela whose body was

The alleged kidnapper of a 16-year-old girl and the taxi driver that transported her to the homes where she was kept were yesterday arrested and taken into custody at the Whim Police Station.

A clerk attached to H. Nauth and Sons Construction Company was up to press time being questioned by police after he was reportedly abducted and robbed on Monday of $4 million in cash.

The two men held in relation to last Friday’s execution of businessman Leonard Mahadeo have been released from custody and according to Crime Chief Seelall Persaud a third man is still being questioned by investigators.

President Donald Ramotar said that the new configuration of the parliamentary committees where the Opposition is in the majority as a reflection of the House is a reversal of all that Cheddi Jagan struggled for all his life.

President Donald Ramotar and Leader of the Opposition David Granger are still to agree on methods to settle constitutional and statutory appointments.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall yesterday argued that the Supreme Court’s role as the guardian of the constitution gives it automatic jurisdiction to hear his motion challenging the numerical composition of several key parliamentary committees.

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) says it expects that the salaries and wages of the Public Sector will feature prominently  on the agenda of the Ministry of Finance in the 2012 Budget.

A 41-year-old man was injured to his left hand on Monday evening when he was confronted by two men in his Last Entrance, North Ruimveldt yard and one fired a bullet.

The Region Two administration did not engage the police on the alleged theft of a quantity of fuel by two workers, after they requested dismissal rather than face criminal charges.

Domestic elections observer, the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) says that its report on last year’s general and regional elections will be released before the end of the week.

Fire, suspected to be electrical in origin, yesterday gutted a Bartica home and confectionery shop, leaving seven persons without a home and millions in losses.

The Ministry of Natural Resources on Monday presented a cheque valued over $49M in royalties it collected from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to the Amerindian Affairs Ministry for Amerindian communities – six years after the relevant Act was passed in Parliament.

Guyana Goldfields Inc. has announced the impending departure of Claude Lemasson as its President and Chief Operating Officer, even as the company moves ahead with plans for its Aurora Gold Project on the Cuyuni River.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) are in talks to decide on an opposition nominee to fill the now vacant seat on the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) left by the demise of commissioner Robert Williams some weeks ago.

The Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board recently seized over $4M illegal agriculture and household pesticides and products during a two-month exercise conducted across the country.

A member of the Community Development Council (CDC) of Aranaputa, in Region Nine, is accusing the government of interfering in the preparations of the community’s upcoming elections.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai said Campbelltown and Micobie are prepared for village elections, when she visited the two Region Eight communities over the weekend to conduct financial audits and address other concerns.

The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has fired 77 workers in Linden, following a verification exercise that is part of a nationwide campaign by the agency.

The current Cheddi Jagan International Airport, (CJIA) Timehri terminal building cannot meet peak traffic demand, according to the contract for the US$138M airport expansion project, which says that a modern facility is crucial to support the development of the tourism industry.

Giovanni Leitch, one of two men who were shot multiple times by gunmen at Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara two Saturdays ago, on Monday succumbed to his injuries and police say that the attack is being investigated as an act of reprisal.

A post-mortem examination performed on the body of Ganesh Rattan by Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh on Monday revealed that he died as a result of a fractured spine, according to the police.

Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry yesterday ordered a psychiatric observation for 30-year-old Mark Bishop following a request by his brother Paul Bishop.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent,  CMC – West Indies and Australia played to a dramatic tie in the third One-Day International, in a thrilling finish to a riveting contest at Arnos Vale here yesterday.

Kenrick McGowan was placed on $50,000 bail when he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court accused of  simple larceny of a Blackberry cellular phone.

The national men’s Sevens rugby team is currently in Hong Kong to take part in the 24-team Cathay Pacific/HSBC Sevens World Series which will kick off on Friday and end on Sunday.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Ganga Persaud is urging the Mahdia police to take aggressive measures to curb squatting, on noticing that an area that had been earmarked to become a commercial zone had become a squatter settlement.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) is  demanding that the relevant authorities immediately get the rice mill owner in Cane Grove on the  East Coast to rectify the dust pollution that has been affecting residents for over a decade.

MADRID,  (Reuters) – Lionel Messi’s stunning hat-trick set a Barcelona scoring record of 234 goals as the La Liga champions won an action-packed home game against Granada 5-3 to close within five points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid  yesterday.

Dear Editor, Mr. Nigel Hinds’ letter `Ashni is in the best and brightest category’ (Stabroek News, March 15, 2012) has drawn sharp comments on the meaning and intent of the term “best and brightest”, particularly from those who felt that Mr.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – The Premier League will review its medical procedures in the wake of Fabrice Muamba’s cardiac arrest while playing for Bolton Wanderers against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Dear Editor, In finalizing my travel arrangements to New York, USA to complete my February 2012 New York State Bar Examination, I foolishly opted to give EZjet a try.

The Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) yesterday said it would respond to concerns raised in the findings of APNU from its examination of the Statements of Poll (SoPs) for the 2011 elections.

At the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry sentenced an office assistant to seven days imprisonment when he appeared before her for unlawfully  assaulting his reputed wife.

Dear Editor, We write with regard to Minister Jennifer Webster’s letter (`Gov’t has a good track record in dealing with child abuse’) published in the Chronicle and Stabroek News last month in response to ours (`The Ministers of Education and Human Services should say what they are doing about the sexual abuse of students by teachers’).

Twenty-year-old striker Sheldon Holder put on an impressive performance on his debut for his club Neal and Massy Caledonia AIA during the latest round of fixtures in the Trinidad and Tobago Professional League (TTPL) last weekend.

(Reuters) – The Chicago Bulls continue to thrive in the absence of league MVP Derrick Rose and cemented their place at the top of the Eastern Conference with a suffocating 85-59 road win over the Orlando Magic on Monday.

BAGHDAD,  (Reuters) – More than 30 bombs struck cities and towns across Iraq yesterday, killing at least 52 people and wounding about 250, despite a massive security clampdown ahead of next week’s Arab League summit in Baghdad.

A man who was convicted for the unlawful possession of firearms has escaped from prison and is now being sought by the police.

Dear Editor, For years  T&HD had their ferries built by Sprostons in Guyana or in the UK and they have all been designed to moor sideways.

DHAKA, (Reuters)- Tamim Iqbal celebrated his 23rd birthday with a half-century and Shakib Al Hasan also made fifty as Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by five wickets yesterday to get to the Asia Cup final for the first time.

Dear Editor, We write on the above with much annoyance and frustration towards the Region 3 Administration. 

(Jamaica Observer) Embattled former premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands Michael Misick yesterday announced he had gone into hiding and had sought asylum from criminal prosecution by Britain in an unnamed country.

The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) in collaboration with several UN agencies will air a special panel discussion on conserving freshwater resources tonight on NCN Channel 11, in observance of World Water Day 2012.

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Republican Mitt Romney cruised to an easy victory over top rival Rick Santorum in Illinois yesterday, moving him one step closer to clinching the party’s volatile battle for the presidential nomination.

Dear Editor, One final piece of advice to Karen DeSouza; so long as you follow the pack there is a strong possibility that you may lose your sense of objectivity.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Attention will be centred especially on two games this weekend when the final round of the Regional Four-Day Championship bowls off across the region.

Halfway through the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association’s (GABA) league, Banks DIH by way of its Powerade hydration drink and an undisclosed sum of money pledged its support to boost the league yesterday at Banks DIH headquarters, Thirst Park.

ORLANDO, Fla.,  (Reuters) – The case of an unarmed black teenager shot dead by a white neighbourhood watch captain who police have failed to arrest will go before a grand jury, Florida prosecutors said yesterday.

Nigeria story: UG student Sandy Bowen (right) telling a story from

Dear Editor, I would like to draw attention to a water problem some of us are experiencing in Guyhoc Park, Georgetown.

Dear Editor, I felt compelled to write this letter to commend Assistant Commissioner Ramnarine for taking the risk to air his concerns publicly. 

Guitar story: Tradewinds frontman Dave Martins performing yesterday at

It is a sign of the still very much closed character of China’s communist governance and political structure, that much of the world will have been surprised by the sudden dismissal from its ranks of one of its senior political operatives. 

Politikles

Overnight and early morning rain, as well as seepage combined to prematurely end the latest round of matches in the Carib Beer and Friends of Cricket first and second divisions two day competitions over the weekend.

In 1649 Charles 1 King of England was beheaded largely because he tried to raise taxes without the authority of parliament.

MEXICO CITY,  (Reuters) – A major earthquake struck Mexico yesterday, unleashing panic as it damaged hundreds of buildings and caused homes in the capital to bounce like “trampolines”.

(Trinidad Express) Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs makes TT$108,992 a month (TT$1,307, 900 million a year) while Deputy Commissioner Jack Ewatski makes TT$104,000 a month (TT$1, 248,000 million annually), National Security Minister John Sandy disclosed yesterday.