Daily Archive: Tuesday, July 3, 2012

OTTAWA, (Reuters) – Canada’s foreign aid minister is resigning from politics after coming under fire for extravagant spending, including a $16 dollar glass of orange juice in a luxury London hotel.

ZURICH, (Reuters) – Traces of the poisonous element polonium have been found in the belongings of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, a Swiss institute said today, and a television report said his widow had demanded his body be exhumed for further tests.

A 51-year-old man was this afternoon found buried in a shallow grave in a yard four corners from his Enmore home with suspected stab wounds and the prime suspect has since vanished.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida,  CMC – Dr. Ernest Hilaire, the outspoken and often controversial Chief Executive Officer of West Indies cricket, is leaving the job.

Police say that at about 0830h today, a woman reported to the police at the Divisional Headquarters at Cove & John, ECD,  that she had been sexually assaulted by a Police Constable at the Enmore Police Outpost during the morning of Sunday July 01, 2012.

Former PPP Executive Member Ralph Ramkarran today declined  to comment on his shock resignation from the party over the weekend.

PARIS, (Reuters) – Police raided the home and offices of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy today as part of a judicial inquiry into financial relations between his political camp and the richest woman in France, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

(Reuters) – Actor Andy Griffith, whose portrayal of a small-town sheriff made “The Andy Griffith Show” one of television’s most enduring shows, died today at his North Carolina home at age 86.

Government has retained Trinidad-based Senior Counsel Seenauth Jairam to help challenge the opposition-led budget cuts.

(Jamaica Observer) ROSE HALL, St James — Three people, including a Bahamian, were yesterday held in an operation by members of the Area One Transnational Crime and Narcotic Division in connection with the seizure of almost 2,700 pounds of compressed ganja, valued at approximately J$27 million.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline Plc has agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges and pay $3 billion to settle what government officials said on Monday is the largest case of healthcare fraud in U.S.

Guyana Water Incorporated today said that due to operational difficulties at the Shelter-Belt Water Treatment Facility, customers in sections of Georgetown are experiencing reduced water quality.

(Jamaica Gleaner) No longer captain, and just back from international cricket wilderness, Jamaica’s explosive opening batsman Chris Gayle is not about to tone down his role as a senior team leader following his return to the West Indies.

(Trinidad Express) Opposition Senator Fitzgerald Hinds on Sunday said National Security Minister Jack Warner used his customary “FIFA ethic” to deal with the illegal occupation of the State lands by the Highway Re-Route Movement.

(Reuters) – Injury-prone paceman Mark Gillespie has been ruled out of New Zealand’s two-test series in West Indies after failing to recover from an ankle injury, the country’s cricket board (NZC) said today.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Barclays Plc Chief Executive Bob Diamond quit today under a barrage of fire from politicians, the highest-profile casualty of an interest rate-rigging scandal that spans more than a dozen major banks across the world.

(Trinidad Express) Emmanuel Gonsalves, president of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), has been sent on six months immediate “administrative leave” by the COSTAATT board of trustees, the Express has learnt.

Ryan ‘Budram’ Ramkarran, who allegedly broke into a bar at Second Avenue, Bartica in a robbery attempt on Sunday evening, was strangled to death by the owner, who is now hospitalised with stab wounds he sustained during the encounter.

Several employees of seafood company Pritipaul Singh Investments (PSI) escaped with minor injuries following an explosion onboard a fuel boat at the company’s Mc Doom, East Bank Demerara (EBD) operations yesterday.

The PPP yesterday maintained that it intends to engage former longstanding executive Ralph Ramkarran on his resignation, in order to reconcile.

Former PNCR Vice-Chairman Vincent Alexander believes the party has managed to improve its internal elections process, but says more has to be done to ensure transparency and fairness.

Twenty-five year old police officer Winston George is literally counting the days to the moment when he will be able to realize the dream of nearly every track and field athlete; that is competing at the Olympics Games.

By Emmerson Campbell Two days after powering to victory in the feature 35-lap event of the Malta Supreme sponsored cycling programme in the National Park, Robin Persaud took his talents to the open road yesterday and sprinted away with the ninth annual NAMILCO Caricom Day winner’s trophy.

The Public Utilities Commission is to meet with top officials of the phone company GT&T today.

By Iva Wharton A second chance is what two young women have been given and according to them they intend to make the best of the opportunity.

Relatives of Ram ‘Jerry’ Ramdeen of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice are worried after receiving conflicting reports last Saturday that he was involved in an accident in Port Kaituma; they were then told that he had died, but later received a phone call from him.

Gopaul Brignandan, one of the survivors of last Monday’s accident at Novar, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, remains a patient of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital while his relatives are reluctant to speak.

Nineteen year-old national squash champion Alex Arjoon will be taking the court this week to put up all the resistance that he possibly can to defend his title at the 2012 Digicel National Championships which begins tomorrow night at the Georgetown Club.

The National School’s Basketball Festival (NSBF) got off to an exciting start last Sunday evening as Queen’s College notched their first win over the Government Technical Institute (GTI) at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Five students from Region Six are among the country’s top students in this year’s National Grade Six Assessment.

The Regma Primary School which produced the country’s number one Grade Six exam student last year, Terron Alleyne, has claimed the six top places for Region 10 at this year’s National Grade Six Assessment.

KINGSTON, Jamaica,  CMC – Yohan Blake shocked Usain Bolt for the second time in three days, producing another sizzling run to whip the World and Olympic champion in the 200 metres final in a world-leading time here Sunday night.

Three important targets on poverty, slums and water have been met three years ahead of 2015, according to this year’s Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), launched yesterday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

By Iva Wharton Bush Lot Secondary School yesterday edged out Mahaicony Technical Institute by a 2-1 margin to win the Region Five final of the Digicel Schools nationwide football competition at the Mahaicony Communty Centre ground.

A 100% pass rate at the National Grade Six Exams was recorded for the Al-Ghazali and Meten-Meer-Zorg Islamic academies operated by the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG).

A 29-year-old man was hospitalised yesterday after he was shot during a robbery at Ekereku in the Cuyuni area on Sunday evening.

The Guyana National team will be seeking revenge tonight when they come up against the Washington DC Jammers basketball team one last time in a rematch which is expected to be very competitive as the National Community Basketball League (NCBL) International All-Star weekend comes to its climax at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida,  CMC – Exciting off-spinner Sunil Narine says he has banished the demons of the England tour and is happy to be back in form for the West Indies side.

The Joint Services yesterday continued to comb the Region Seven area for prisoners Carlton Sampson and Seon Hopkinson who escaped from the Mazaruni Prison on Sunday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,  CMC – Big-hitting opener Chris Gayle has vaulted 12 spots into the top of five of the ICC Twenty20 International batting rankings, less than two weeks after returning to the West Indies colours following a two-year exile.

The National Gallery, Castellani House is currently hosting an exhibition, ‘Donald Locke and the Artists of the Independence Era.’

ROSEAU, Dominica,  CMC – Dominica Football Association president, Patrick John has been suspended for the remainder of his term after an overwhelmingly vote by clubs at the Annual General Conference here Saturday.

SCARBOROUGH, Tobago,  CMC – Heavy early morning rain prevented any play in the opening round of the West Indies Cricket Board Under-17 limited overs championship here Sunday.

Dear Editor, What the PPP should have done when Mr Ramkarran wrote about corruption, was to have trumpeted its agreement with him, affirmed that the Cabinet, Executive Committee and Office of the President recognised its own concerns and determination in Mr Ramkarran’s statements, and just let the matter die out.

A large cat, which was killing livestock on a farm at Herstelling, Abary Creek, was shot and killed by a licenced firearm holder, who was hired by the farmer.

The Disabled People’s Network (DPN) of Region Five has launched the ‘Sweet Sleep Sheet Project’ to produce various sizes of bed sheet sets in an effort to be self-reliant.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian helicopters bombarded a Damascus suburb yesterday and Turkey scrambled warplanes near the border in the north, as the UN human rights chief warned that arms supplies to both the government and rebels were deepening the 16-month conflict.

Dear Editor, I seek to share some thoughts on the Donald Ramotar presidency. 

Dear Editor, I wish to call on the Minister of Home Affairs to act early and clear the environs of the Charity Police Station.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The United States and Pakistan are expected to agree soon on the reopening of land routes crucial to supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan, a Pakistani official said yesterday, a move that could ease a seven-month crisis in the two countries’ ties.

Dear Editor, Loyalty to a cause and loyalty to a party are not necessarily synonymous.

AMAKO (Reuters) – Al Qaeda-linked Islamists in Timbuktu broke down the door to a 15th century mosque yesterday that locals believed had to stay shut until the end of the world, defying international calls to halt the destruction of holy sites in the UNESCO-listed city.

TOURNAI, Belgium,  (Reuters) – A leaner Mark Cavendish showed he was still too talented for the rest of the Tour de France bunch, outpacing his rivals for victory in the 207.5-km second stage in Tournai  yesterday.

(Barbados Nation) – Governments throughout the region have to take some of the blame for the Clico insurance collapse that has left thousands of policyholders high and dry.

Dear Editor, I wish to respond to the letter `Fact, truth detail and evidence should take centre stage when discussing gay rights’ by Roger Williams published in your paper on June 28, 2012. 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A dispute over military draft exemptions exposed cracks in Israel’s ruling coalition yesterday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed a panel charged with drafting reforms of the law on the emotive issue.

Dear Editor, To date, 32 countries have abolished all forms of corporal punishment (CP) of children in homes and in schools.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – Dancehall entertainer Ninja Man, whose real name is Desmond Ballentine, is now free to hit the stage to perform to raise critical funds to fight his murder rap.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Korean-American physician Jim Yong Kim took the reins of the poverty-fighting World Bank yesterday and pledged to protect developing countries at a pivotal moment for a world economy that appears to be losing steam rapidly.

The four month-old Arab League-United Nations diplomatic effort to try to bring an end to the increasingly horrific carnage unfolding in Syria has come to bear a striking resemblance, in at least one important respect, to Cold War diplomacy.

Dear Editor, Ow Dave I think you too tough on the brothers (`Men are such jackasses’—Sunday July 1 `So it Go’).

LONDON, (Reuters) – Maria Sharapova has had better days, Roger Federer more mobile ones and local sun-hat sellers more profitable ones as Wimbledon’s manic yesterday turned into a bit of a damp squib after several days of nerve-shredding drama.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto yesterday pledged to prioritize energy, labour and tax reforms and said he hopes to strike deals with opponents to help push some changes through Congress even before he takes office in December.

Report on AGM The Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) has a new executive as a result of its first Annual General Meeting on 27 April, 2012 which saw the election of a new Board of Directors.

(Jamaica Observer) NEW YORK — Jamaica is to see significant benefits in its health-care programme with assistance from Cuba, following three days of talks between health minister Dr Fenton Ferguson and Cuban officials which ended last Friday.