Daily Archive: Saturday, March 31, 2012

Citing the PPP’s manifesto, Finance Minister Ashni Singh told Parliament in yesterday’s budget speech that the next five years would bring the “first major wave of large scale diversification of our economy” and he cited information and communication technology (ICT) among the key prospects.

(Barbados Nation) Police are looking for four men who are wanted separately for questioning in connection with a number of serious crimes.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Romano Meriba, who was recently controversially pardoned by president Desi Bouterse has been arrested by the police after getting into a fight in a dancing where two groups started a brawl.

The Government Information Agency says that former President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo has become a patron of the World Sustainable Development Forum.

Police say that investigations are being conducted into a fatal accident that occurred at about 1300h yesterday at Triumph Access Road, ECD, and which resulted in the death of Shahabudeen Deepan, 46 years of Martyrsville, Mon Repos, ECD.

The police say they are investigating the murder of Michael Williams, 50 years of Moruca, NWD, who was reported to have been fatally chopped to his neck during an argument with a male relative at Kariabo Backdam, NWD, at about 1830h on March 29, 2012.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – It is important to take social circumstances into consideration in the debates on the Amnesty issue.

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Delano Bart has described the New York police officer’s treatment of his St.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Acting Chief of Police Humphrey Tjin Liep Shie guarantees community need not doubt the police.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – The European Union (EU) is closely monitoring developments in Suriname involving the upcoming amendment to the 1989 Amnesty Act, and will issue a joint statement on its official position once the amendment has been approved, Dutch Foreign Affairs minister Uri Rosenthal said after the cabinet meeting Friday.

Rarely, in the last decade, have West Indian cricket fans found themselves with so much reason for cheer.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Police are reporting that Richard Hylton alias ‘Hunk-a-gold’ and ‘Ritchie’ was fatally shot about 5:45 yesterday afternoon during a shoot out with cops along Dumbarton Avenue in St.

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh yesterday unveiled a $192.8B budget that included gigantic allocations totalling $10B to support the cash-strapped GuySuCo, GPL along with a hike in the income tax threshold to $50,000 and modest rises in public assistance and old age pensions.

A bail-out budget was how the opposition parties de-scribed the Donald Ramotar administration’s $192.8 billion budget yesterday and Opposition Leader David Granger said it lacks vision and does not cater to the needs of the poor.

Government will inject $4 billion into sugar this year since although there was an increase in production last year output continues to lag in comparison to projections and industry finances are being negatively affected.

VAT and Excise Tax raked in $53 billion in 2011, an increase of 9.7 percent over the takings of 2010, in a year when the Guyana economy recorded 5.4 percent growth, with the non-sugar economy achieving even more rapid growth at 5.6 percent.

Gold continues to lead Guyana’s economy, raking in US$517.1 million from exports last year and the industry is projected to expand this year.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – For the second time in as many weeks, West Indies walked away with a share of the spoils after they beat Australia by 14 runs to tie their two-match Twenty20 International series here yesterday.

The Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) yesterday pledged its support to the Interim Management Committee (IMC) to end the current crisis facing Guyana’s cricket, a decision that IMC chairman Clive Lloyd called a landmark move.

Even as the Guyana School of Nursing prepares to more students come early next month, many are expressing concern at the staggering 80.5% failure rate among its last batch.

Cellphone Giants Digicel yesterday renewed its commitment to the Norman Singh Memorial Turf Club by sponsoring the four-year horses race of tomorrow’s Jumbo Jet meeting at the club’s racetrack.

Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang’s decision to quash the Director of Public Prosecutions’ advice to charge Police Commissioner Henry Greene with rape yesterday drew protests.

Nezaam Ali, the Muslim scholar who was charged with sexually molesting three boys, yesterday faced two new charges.

A Cane Grove rice mill, which has been at the centre of a dust pollution row for years, was yesterday given a one-month ultimatum by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to remedy the problem or face being closed down.

Long-awaited arbitration involving RUSAL-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) and the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU) slated for next week has been stalled because the company has taken the matter to the high court.

A section of the railway line embankment at Foulis/ Paradise, on the East Coast of Demerara, caved in last night and residents accused authorities of failing to take action.

Construction of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) is anticipated to commence by the end of the third quarter of this year, with government proposing to provide US$80 million of equity to the project from money earned from the forest partnership with Norway.

Government has allocated $16.2 billion to the continued modernisation of the security sector in this year’s budget and the Joint Services will receive a large percentage of this sum to purchase equipment.

Some $4.5 billion has been set aside in this year’s budget for the upgrade of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri (CJIA) as part of the government’s modernisation plan.

President’s College defeated Mae’s Secondary School in the final of GT&T’s ‘Know your stuff’ quiz.

In what has turned out to be a massive recycling effort, Marian Academy students have collected over 396 lbs of plastic bottles for recycling over the past three months.

The Ministry of Health yesterday coordinated a health fair at the Enmore Polyclinic on the East Coast Demerara (ECD), which was observed under the theme ‘Good Health Adds Life to Years’.

Guyana stands a good chance of moving up from its current number three ranking at the annual Caribbean junior table tennis championships which commences in Cuba next week.

The Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) says the restrictions on vessels that can traverse under the bridge’s high span are intended to ensure public safety and avoid damage to the facility.

The Teaching Service Commission (TSC) has said it dismissed 164 teachers last year for breaches of conduct, including sexual and verbal abuse and indulging in improper relationships with students.

Dear Editor, Please permit me to express my disappointment in relation to the turn of events in the case of the Commissioner of Police and the woman who was allegedly raped.

KINGSTON, Jamaica,  CMC – Donovan Pagon and captain Tamar Lambert hit half-centuries but Jamaica suffered a batting collapse after Guyana’s spinners struck telling blows on the opening day of their Regional Four-Day semi-final here yesterday.

A teenager, who was on trial for rape at the Berbice Assizes, was freed yesterday after the mixed jury returned a majority verdict in favour of his acquittal.

The Theatre Guild Playhouse, synonymous with theatre in Guyana for over four decades, will tonight be transformed into a serious battleground for chiseled physiques when the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding Fitness Federation (GABBFF) hosts their Muscle Madness 2012 Novice and Intermediate Bodybuilding Competition.

Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry yesterday in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court delivered an 18-month jail sentence to repeat offender Sheldon Forde, who admitted to stealing telephone cable belonging to the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T).

By Jairo Rodrigues No strange face in theatre, Nirmala Narine has also expanded her repertoire to film, scoring a role in the recently released local effort, A Jasmine for a Gardener, which she said she was very excited about.

The Scotia Bank/Pepsi School Football Academy matches scheduled for today has been postponed, according to the organisers of the competition.

The seventh anniversary of the Universal DVD Club and Universal Solutions sponsored twenty/20 tournament is expected to bring some life to the Blairmont ground when the tournament bowls off next weekend.

Dear Editor, The Stabroek News editor’s note to my letter published in its March 23, 2012 edition is a most unimpressive defence of its outdated editorial policy.

Kitty resident Norman Sadichar, guilty of using abusive language to, yesterday received a three-month suspended sentence from the acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

This week the Caribbean Round of the GT&T Feel the Beat Dance Competition was featured.

Dear Editor, In my capacity as a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG) I was present at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on March 29, 2012 at the ICAG office.

Dear Editor, On the front page of the Kaieteur News of March 25 is a photograph of some scrapped locomotives which have been scrapped at Matthews Ridge.

Five athletes and two officials have so far been  confirmed  for the 41st Carifta Games which runs from April 7-9 in Bermuda.

Hi Everyone, last week my broadcast students and I were discussing programming plans for the College’s radio station, for Holy Week – the week from Palm Sunday leading up to Easter Sunday.

Shomari Wiltshire secured his second upset victory of the Kool-Aid Junior Easter squash tournament on day three of the competition at the Georgetown Club Courts last Thursday.

New Amsterdam prison inmate Kenneth Richardson, who is currently serving a 21-year sentence for manslaughter, escaping from lawful custody and larceny, was jailed for an additional three years after he pleaded guilty yesterday to narcotics trafficking.

Twenty-year-old Jemison Williams was remanded to prison by Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court yesterday after he was charged with carnal knowledge of a girl under 15.

A lucrative T20 cricket tournament with some six ounces of gold in prizes will get underway this weekend in Bartica.

Dear Editor, The Guyana Chronicle editorial of March 30 dealt with alleged corruption in the City Engineer’s Department.

Feel the beat

Guyana Model Search and Designer Portfolio return this year with a series of televised events leading up to the finale on July 1.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Syrian artillery hit parts of Homs city and at least 37 people were killed in clashes around Syria yesterday, opposition activists said, as peace envoy Kofi Annan told President Bashar al-Assad his forces must be first to cease fire and withdraw.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Barbados squandered a great opportunity to make good progress on the opening day of their Regional Four-Day semi-final against Trinidad and Tobago here yesterday, when their batting faltered badly at Queen’s Park Oval.

Dear Editor, Ms Joan Ward-Mars has misinformed herself as a result of her poor interpretation of Minister Priya Manickchand’s comprehensive explanation of the government’s contribution to legal aid in Guyana, in the face of distorted accounts (‘Funding from UNICEF for legal aid in Region 10 has not been continuous’ SN, March 30).

Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry yesterday in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court refused bail to a porkknocker who was charged with assault and unlawful possession of an unlicensed shotgun with matching cartridges.

Dear Editor, The decision by Justice Ian Chang in the Henry Greene case is correct, of “landmark” quality, and a major contribution to legal history in the Commonwealth.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – The scandal shaking China’s ruling Communist Party just as it readies for leadership change was triggered by claims that the wife of one ambitious candidate was involved in the death of a British businessman, said a source with close ties to key individuals involved.

A slate of regional and local gospel artistes is set to perform on Easter Monday when the annual Real Easter Jam is held at the Malteenoes Sports Club Ground.

HAVANA, (Reuters) – This week’s three-day visit to Cuba by Pope Benedict marked another milestone in the Roman Catholic Church’s cautious efforts to expand its role in the communist-run island.

Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali gave Mahdia arcade vendors six weeks to regularise their businesses, in accordance with the specified construction agreement, at a meeting in the Regional Democratic Council office on Monday.

LONDON/PARIS, (Reuters) – Total repeatedly assured workers on its North Sea Elgin platform that a leak was impossible until just hours before evacuating them as potentially explosive gas spread, a senior union official said yesterday.

You don’t have to be a British royal or look like Kate Middleton.

Dear Editor, I refer to the letter by SASOD captioned ‘LGBT community must take centre stage in consultations on sexual orientation, gender identity laws‘ (SN, March 26).

(Trinidad Express) The people of this country can expect better times ahead as State- owned Petrotrin has struck “black gold” with the discovery of 48 million barrels of crude oil, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said on Thursday.

Residents of Number 3 Village, West Coast Berbice are concerned that the main drainage canal is hardly being cleared and that the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary/ Agricultural-Development-Authority (MMA/ADA) does not remove weeds after chopping them.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the international press freedom watchdog, is strongly against the proposed amendment to the 1989 Amnesty Act.

ROME, (Reuters) – The Italian professor who led an experiment which initially appeared to challenge one of the fundaments of modern physics by showing particles moving faster than the speed of light, has resigned after the finding was overturned earlier this month.

Dear Editor, On very many occasions, I’m caught in serious verbal confrontation with some of my intellectual friends on various subjects.

By Neil Barry Three First Division encounters in the Carib Beer and Friends of Cricket Heroes Cup two-day competition and the final round of preliminary matches in the Noble House Seafoods Second Division Competition are set to take place in the city from today.

(EUR) Since her mother’s untimely death, Bobbi Kristina has been the focus for many.

As 27 new ranks recently graduated from the Richard Faikall Police College in Essequibo, Region Two, even as government continues to support the Guyana Police Force’s review of its operations to decentralise its recruitment and training sessions.

Is anyone really surprised by the decision by acting Chief Justice Ian Chang to throw out the Director of Public Prosecutions’ advice that Police Commissioner Henry Greene—who has faced similar allegations in 1974 and 1994—be charged with rape?

Several University of Guyana (UG) students are set to undergo training through a partnership with One World Youth Project (OWYP) to facilitate a global competence curriculum in Georgetown secondary schools and to link grade schools with classrooms abroad via the use of technology platforms.

LONDON, (Reuters) – The extradition to South Africa of a British man accused of conspiring to kill his wife in a fake car-jacking during the couple’s honeymoon in Cape Town was temporarily halted by London’s High Court yesterday over concerns for his mental health.

A fatal shooting of a black teenager in a gated neighbourhood in Sanford, Florida has renewed doubts about the systemic flaws of American criminal justice, especially when it involves black victims.

Dear Editor, I appreciate Mr Alfred Bhulai’s response in the Thursday March 22 of the Stabroek News concerning the signals or lack thereof of 98.1 FM in Berbice (‘Out of range of FM signal’).

Personal income tax – The personal income tax allowance will be increased to $600,000 annually or $50,000 monthly, representing a rise in the threshold of $10,000.

Guyana Liquor Consumers Society

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Court of Appeal has sentenced convicted killer Jeffrey Perry to life imprisonment for the 2005 murders of three children in Killancholly, St Mary.

(Billboard) – Thanks no doubt to her unrelentingly active online audience, Rihanna once again tops Billboard’s Social 50 chart.

(Barbados Nation) The Ministry of Finance and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) only received the controversial Deloitte Forensic Audit Report on CLICO International Life two weeks ago – four weeks after its contents were published in the media.

(Trinidad Express) Southern Division Homicide are investigating the shooting deaths of two men in separate incidents in South Trinidad on Thursday night.

(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is standing firm and does not intend to accede to the demands of Prakash Ramadhar, political leader of the Congress of the People (COP), to appoint a member of his party to be the Mayor of San Fernando.

(Trinidad Express) REDjet airline licence to fly has been revoked by the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA), Transport Minister Devant Maharaj disclosed yesterday.