Daily Archive: Sunday, March 25, 2012

SANTIAGO, (Reuters) – A major earthquake hit central Chile today, shaking buildings in the capital of Santiago and prompting residents to run out of their houses, though there were no initial reports of injuries or serious damage.

(Windiescricket.com) GROS-ISLET, St. Lucia – To a cacophony of noise, Darren Sammy treated a capacity crowd packed to the brim with his countryman to a pyrotechnic display, but West Indies narrowly failed to win the rain-affected fifth and final Digicel One-day International against Australia on Sunday, sinking to a 30-run defeat.

(WICB) Gros Islet, St Lucia – The Board of Directors of the West Indies Cricket Board met in St Lucia on Saturday March 24th.

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Sachin Tendulkar, who will turn 39 next month, is in no hurry to retire and the prolific Indian batsman has refused to rule himself out of the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez said today he had started radiation treatment in Cuba, where he could also meet Pope Benedict in the latest high profile development as the president tries to fight off cancer and win re-election.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Seven months after New York prosecutors dropped criminal charges against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, his lawyers will fight a civil lawsuit brought against him in a Bronx courtroom this week.

While the opposition cannot add to the National Budget set to be delivered by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh on Friday, Leader of the Opposition David Granger says with the new dispensation in Parliament an avenue for real debate had been created.

(Trinidad Guardian) United National Congress (UNC) members came out in full support of incumbent chairman Jack Warner and resoundingly voted in his favour.

(Trinidad Express) Two middle-aged men were shot dead in separate incidents between Friday night and yesterday morning, bringing the murder toll for the year so far to 86.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Pan Caribbean Sugar Company (PCSC) is to be conferred with ‘agent’ status, effectively ending the monopoly on the marketing of Jamaicans sugar crystals held by Jamaica Cane Product Sales, but sugar regulators say the status quo will remain for the current crop.

(Barbados Nation) Prime Minister Freundel Stuart says he is prepared to meet with top officials of Barbadian-based REDjet to discuss the way forward for the grounded low-cost carrier.

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Australia captain Michael Clarke left for the Caribbean yesterday confident he would be fit to play in the test series against West Indies.

(Barbados Nation) The Freundel Stuart administration is still seeking a settlement of the near half-billion-dollar CLICO International Life Insurance debacle, which should be announced by June.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was recovering on Saturday after undergoing heart transplant surgery, a once risky procedure whose survival rates have improved over the years.

(Barbados Nation) In less than 24 hours, three men were brutally stabbed to death in three separate incidents.

(Trinidad Express) An elevator has been installed at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s to give Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar easier access to her accommodations at her official residence.

Weed-filled ponds make up the hassar-rearing project at Tobago Hill, in the North West District of Region One, where a community is dwindling as residents struggle to adapt.

Story and photos by Shabna Ullah Although Number 12 Village or Romefield is one of the smallest villages on the West Coast Berbice with a population of just 200, it is well developed in terms of businesses.

Former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran is calling the attempt by APNU and the AFC to change the composition of the Parliamentary Management Committee (PMC) is a backwards step and is asking for them to reconsider the move since it threatens consensus building.

James Hunte, the father of the infant who died after being used as a shield during a violent confrontation between his parents was on Friday charged with murder.

Seven years after he left this country secretly, fearing for his life and under “tremendous stress”, former auditor general Anand Goolsarran has returned; he has no plans to return to his former position but wants to contribute to Guyana employing better accounting practices when dealing with taxpayers’ money.

Head of State Donald Ramotar has said that while problems exist in Caricom, there is no crisis in the movement as was being sensationalised.

Three months after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) recommended that President Advisor on Empowerment Odinga Lumumba, be charged over a polling day incident during which a presiding officer was injured, he is yet to make a court appearance.

The Guyana Revenue Authority will this year vigorously pursue professionals who evade taxes Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Khurshid Sattaur, has said.

GROS ISLET, St Lucia,  CMC – Already assured of at least a share of the spoils in the five-match series, West Indies say they will be going for the jugular against Australia when the final One-Day International bowls off here  today.

The Ministry of Health is defending the close to $40 million losses in expired drugs identified by the Auditor General as an accumulation of drugs over a five-year period, coupled with the inability of the relevant authority to destroy them on time.

The Guyana National Football team secured a 2-0 win over French Guiana in the final match of their -back-to-back fixtures at the Stade de Baduel stadium on Thursday evening.

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand says ministry views the Auditor General’s report as a management tool and will do its best to ensure that the pronouncements made in the report are addressed and that there are no repeats.

By Emmerson Campbell Top veteran cyclist Junior Niles used his experience and superior sprinting ability to surge ahead of two juniors yesterday to capture the feature 30-mile race of the sixth annual George Cumberbatch Memorial 10-race cycling event at the National Park Circuit yesterday.

It happens. It is life. Great contributions are made. Years go by and they are forgotten and those who made them are forgotten too.

A reduction of the value added tax (VAT), an increase in wages for nurses, teachers and police officers and a significant allocation of resources towards the Guyana Police Force are among the features that the Youth Coalition for Transformation (YCT) hopes to find in the upcoming national budget.

It is often the case when popular musical patterns shift – roughly every 15 years or so –  that the adults of the mature generation, who are left behind yearning for their music that is now passé, will generally turn their backs on the new genre or even shut it out completely.

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) is appealing for “appropriate rectification measures” to alleviate a number of conditions which it says constitute the plight of public servants serving in remote areas of the country.

Kieron Pollard’s phenomenal six-hitting capacity has made him among the most sought after cricketers in the newest, shortest and most lucrative format of the game.

Introduction The brouhaha over Financial Papers 7 and 8 in the National Assembly has served to expose the state of the public financial management in Guyana.

The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) is looking to up the competition level to fine tune the national team in time for the 41st edition of the Carifta Games with a developmental meet at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground from 10:00hrs today.

Photos by  Anjuli Persaud The residents of Waiakabra, Linden/Soesdyke Highway are calling on the relevant authorities to regularize the former squatting area so that they can access the basic necessities for survival, which are potable water, electricity and a proper road.

The Ministry of Health in collaboration with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) commemorated World Tuberculosis (TB) Day yesterday under the theme ‘Stop TB in Our Lifetime’ with various events that included a health walk in the National Park and information booths country-wide.

West Indies leg-spinner and 2011 International Cricket Council (ICC) Emerging player of the player  Devendra Bishoo is expected to be available for Guyana’s regional four-day squad for next week’s potential semi-final fixture.

Introduction For now this is my last column in the series considering tax reform, following President Ramotar’s appointment of a Tax Reform Committee ― the first significant policy initiative of his administration.

The national Sevens men’s rugby team lost both of their Pool F games on the second day of the three-day 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC World Sevens Series in Hong  Kong yesterday.

Pope Benedict XVI’s three-day visit to Cuba starting Monday will begin under a cloud: human rights groups are appalled by Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega’s decision to call the police to evict peaceful dissidents who had sought refuge in a church to draw international attention to their demands for civil rights.

Five months after a Foulis, East Coast Demerara businessman was killed during an armed robbery his relatives are still struggling to cope with the loss and are peeved that the police are yet to apprehend the killer.

Sydney Allicock – APNU This is the twelfth in our series on new parliamentarians A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian Sydney Allicock believes that the new dispensation in the National Assembly creates an avenue for politicians to “attack the issues rather than personalities and try to bring back that good name that Guyana really deserves.”

Some years ago, David Dabydeen did a presentation on the close historical relationship between British art and sugar, articulating the association of art with the financial gains of African slavery in the West Indies.

Organisers of the 2012 Novices and Intermediate Bodybuilding competition which will be held at the Theater Guild on March 31 continue to receive  corporate support.

Two Berbice residents last Monday pleaded guilty to illegally transporting fuel and were fined $400,000 bringing the matter which has been before the court since 2007 to a conclusion.

The first Baker’s Memorial Cycle Classic being hosted by the Linden Bauxite Flyers Cycling Club will ride off on April 1 at the Amelia’s Ward Circuit in Linden from 11:00hrs.

Fifteen years after a farmer was found dead in a shallow grave in the Strathavon, Cane Grove, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara backlands, relatives are still waiting on the police to make an arrest.

BRUSSELS/DUBAI (Reuters) – The European Union has imposed sanctions on 17 Iranian officials, including prominent members of the government and the judiciary it says play a key role in serious human rights violations.

National Cycling Coach Hassan Mohamed will pedal off the third and final leg of the Cheddi Jagan Memorial races today.

VIKAB Engineering Consultants is no longer operating in this country, a source has confirmed, even as a report lays some of the blame for the bungled section of the Supenaam stelling at that company’s feet, while advising that it should be called upon to compensate for non-performance.

Sterling Products Limited recorded an after-tax profit of $113 million for 2011 compared to $94 million in the preceding year.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will return to Cuba to begin radiation treatment for cancer today, but said he was in good shape and would be back home in several days.

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada,  CMC – An astonishing 26 wickets fell on the second day as Barbados emerged from a low-scoring slugfest with Windward Islands, with a 71-run victory in their Regional Four-Day match here yesterday.

Most Caribbean Governments and companies have yet to take seriously the threat posed by cyber attack.

Dear Editor, Allow me to share some experiences over the past few days.

The Buff-necked Ibis (Theristicus caudatus) is a large, handsome bird which can be regularly seen in the North Rupununi savannahs, especially at Bina Hill, perched on the thatched roofs, and around the Rock View airstrip foraging in the savannah.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – Jamaica, leading Combined Campuses and Colleges by 63 on first innings, reached 164 for three in their second innings at the close on the second day of their final round Regional Four-Day match at 3Ws Oval here yesterday.

Dear Editor, I would like to share my nightmare with the public and hope it will be of some help to landlords.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkish security forces killed 15 female Kurdish militants in an operation in the southeast province of Bitlis, close to the border with Iraq, the Interior Ministry said yesterday.

GROS ISLET, St Lucia,  CMC – Ace fast bowler Fidel Edwards has been called up for West Indies’ two-match Twenty20 International series against Australia starting here next Tuesday.

Two late local theatre icons, Frank Thomasson and Godfrey Chin, were on Monday remembered at a ceremony held at the Theatre Guild Playhouse.

LONDON (Reuters) – A proposed deal to hold the worldwide Anglican Communion together amid divisions over homosexuality and same-sex unions appeared to be in tatters yesterday after the mother church, the Church of England, voted to reject it.

Wandering Lameness (Eosinophilic Panosteitis) Panosteitis, also called “growing pains” or “wandering lameness”, is a disease of puppies between five  and twelve months of age.

Dear Editor, I am the overseer of a house belonging to my uncle who resides in the United States of America. 

BASSETERRE, St Kitts,  CMC – Left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh claimed match figures of 10 for 94 to engineer Trinidad and Tobago’s nine-wicket win over hapless Leeward Islands, 15 minutes before tea on the second day of their Regional Four-Day match here yesterday.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Under pressure after a string of attacks on diplomats, Venezuela charged four people yesterday, including a former police officer, with kidnapping the Mexican ambassador and his wife in the capital earlier this year.

There is no subject on which we have received more correspondence between the 1980s and the present than noise nuisance, the letter in yesterday’s edition about the Buddy’s Pool Hall being the latest.

DHAKA,  (Reuters) – Bangladesh will ask the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to review an incident in the final over of the Asia Cup final against Pakistan on Thursday which they believe cost them the game.

Dear Editor, Please let the nation know this. The Government of Guyana spent $581 million on a swimming pool, why then can it not spend $20 million on Old Age pensioners who worked hard to develop our country.

Overwatering African violet plants can lead to disease, such as root or crown rot, and can also cause denitrification in the African violet, which occurs when the violet is robbed of nitrogen that is vital for its survival.