Daily Archive: Friday, November 30, 2012

Reports out of Curacao that masked men snatched 476 pounds of gold today from a Guyana fishing boat are sending shock waves through the mining industry and security sectors here tonight.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – A bill to create a permanent visa program for foreigners with advanced science and technical degrees cleared the House of Representatives today, the latest salvo in the broader fight over U.S.

(Trinidad Guardian) China Jiangsu International Economic presented a successful TT$499,513,631. 81 bid to win the contracting job for the UWI, South Campus at Penal, according to information from Science and Technology Minister Fazal Karim.

(Trinidad Guardian) Transparency International is expected to release its latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) next Wednesday and chartered civil and structural engineering consultant Dr Myron Chin is appealing to the Government to consider introducing anti-corruption legislation similar to the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act 2010.

NEW YORK/PARIS,  (Reuters) – Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has reached a preliminary agreement with the hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault last year to settle a civil lawsuit she brought against him, sources familiar with the case said.

While lauding the country for another year of robust growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has added its voice to concerns about ensuring that the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) is economically viable.

A notice from Harbour Master Volton Skeete is advising ship owners/operators and masters that the Guyana Fertilizers Wharf located in the harbours of Georgetown just north of the Muneshwers Limited Wharf  has been deemed unsafe for the mooring of vessels because of its state of disrepair.

(Jamaica Observer) Two of Jamaica’s top cops are urging smartphone owners not to broadcast information on spot-check locations as they are obstructing the police’s crime-fighting efforts.

PERTH,  (Reuters) – Australia dismissed South Africa for 225 despite another dogged rearguard action from Faf du Plessis before moving shakily to 33-2 at the close of play on a thrilling first day of the third test at the WACA today.

KHULNA, Bangladesh, (Reuters) – Off-spinner Sohag Gazi made a memorable one-day debut to help Bangladesh crush West Indies by seven wickets with 58 balls to spare in the opening game of the five-match series in Khulna today.

– shipper, others held Narcotics ranks yesterday morning discovered 350 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in soap power in a container at the John Fernandes container compound, Mandela Avenue and several persons are in custody assisting with investigations, CANU head James Singh has confirmed.

The government yesterday announced that it has approved a 5% across-the-board increase in salaries and wages retroactive to January 1, 2012 for all public servants.

Two men were yesterday charged separately in connection with a quantity of cocaine found in coconut milk tins in a container on a ship bound for Africa.

Councillors who yesterday voted against sitting under the stewardship of acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba, walked out of the meeting, resulting in it coming to an abrupt end as there was no longer a quorum.

CGX yesterday announced that the Company has moved to a new Corentyne petroleum agreement (“Corentyne PA”) and petroleum prospecting licence (“Corentyne PPL”) offshore Guyana effective as of November 27, 2012 under which it is obliged to drill two wells.

An eight-year-old student of Belladrum Primary School had her lower lip clipped with a pair of scissors after an “exchange of words” with a classmate on Wednesday.

The Guyana Power and Light says that at 4.37 am yesterday, the 60hz component of the Demerara Interconnected System suffered a shutdown during the inclement weather then.

With two city hydro pumps and the John Fernandes Ltd sluices inoperable, city officials are pleading with the residents of Georgetown to maintain clean drains so as to allow a free flow of water.

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) yesterday said that the attempts by two Stabroek News reporters to find information on who heads Guyana’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) should be applauded by members of the public.

A fisherman who is alleged to have used threatening behaviour to a man with whom he had a prior matter in court was on Wednesday remanded to prison, after he was arraigned at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court.

EZjet Air Services customers will start to receive their refunds over cancellations within a week’s time after a final list is compiled, a representative from the company said on Tuesday.

-until Bill approved, elections held   By Iva Wharton In an attempt to reach an agreement with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), government has suggested that the Board appoint an agent to address cricket matters in Guyana since it continues to ignore the interim body which had been set up.

The Ministry of Sport yesterday released $54M; the balance of $100 million that had been allocated for the rehabilitation of grounds and community centres countrywide.

Michael Prince, who was one of the two survivors of an accident at Mahdia last week Wednesday that claimed the life of a man, died on Wednesday at Georgetown Hospital, days after he complained of experiencing severe pain.

The leaders of two of Guyana’s private sector bodies have struck a decidedly upbeat note about the likely volume of retail trading during the next few weeks leading to Christmas.

In the wake of frequent armed robberies committed on persons plying the routes between the boundaries of New Market and Quamina and Waterloo and Carmichael streets, the Guyana Police Force will now have police present in these areas.

KHULNA, Bangladesh,  CMC – Boosted by a convincing Test series win, captain Darren Sammy now ambitiously wants to whitewash Bangladesh in the five-match One-Day International starting today.

– multi-million-dollar facility to be completed in 2013 A multi-million-dollar project that will culminate in the creation of Guyana’s first-ever ocean-front resort is to be undertaken by Roraima Airways Inc, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Captain Gerry Gouveia told Stabroek Business in an interview on Tuesday.

…in Diamond Mineral Water hockey The Diamond Mineral Water Indoor Hockey tournament started yesterday at the National Gymnasium and GCC Veterans, YMCA men, GCC Ladies and the Renegades men were the first four winners in the tournament.

Church’s Chicken and two other famous food franchises will have branches in the new Giftland Mall set to be opened early next year, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday.

After years of having their pleas fall on deaf ears, relief may very well be forthcoming for residents of Onion Field, La Bonne Intention (LBI) East Coast Demerara (ECD).

-proper procedures weren’t followed By Yonalla Dalrymple Second place finisher at the just-concluded Pee Wee children’s football competition Tucville Primary School will not be participating in the Kashif and Shanghai Under-13 tournament as the required procedure  was not followed to secure permission from the ministry.

A man who allegedly cut his sister with a knife during a row was yesterday released on self bail when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

The Ministry of Tourism/ Guyana Tourism Authority honoured 11 stakeholders in the tourism sector for their contributions in promoting tourism in Guyana, at its sixth annual Excellence Awards Ceremony on Wednesday.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Former West Indies opener Bryan Davis does not believe West Indies’ Test series victories over minnows Bangladesh and New Zealand should be taken lightly.

PERTH, (Reuters) – Australia’s Ricky Ponting announced his retirement from international cricket yesterday, telling a stunned news conference he would be calling time on his glittering 17-year career after this week’s third test against South Africa.

– spices and  condiments doing well on Caribbean, US markets Peppy’s, arguably, is one of the better examples of a local manufacturing entity on the rise, having survived the ravages of a devastating fire and the many and varied challenges confronting the manufacturing sector as a whole.

Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran met this week with regional health officers and other stakeholders to draft the 2013-2020 health strategy titled ‘Health Vision 2020’ which will see lifestyle diseases being the major focus.

Mittelholzer memorial lecture: Writer Pauline Melville delivering the 2012 Edgar Mittelholzer Memorial Lecture yesterday afternoon at the Umana Yana.

Days after being subjected to brutal beatings at the hand of robbers at his home, Uitvlugt goldsmith Suresh (only name given) continues to be rocked by painful headaches, even as police try to find one of the men responsible for the attack.

Lucas Stock Index

By Iva Wharton National Coach Wencel Thomas said he has the highest confidence that the four amateur boxers scheduled to represent Guyana on the Pro-Am Card will put in a good showing at the bout set for the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall today.

(Reuters) – Brooklyn beat Boston 95-83 in an Eastern Conference clash that turned nasty in the second quarter when three players were ejected after a skirmish on Wednesday.

At 24, Lexton Williams believes that his long-held addiction to creating fashion accoutrements out of leather and fabrics is just about beginning to pay dividends.

President Donald Ramotar on Wednesday welcomed Benny Wenda, a tribal native and independent political leader campaigning for the independence of West Papua.

LONDON, (Reuters) – American Serena Williams has been named WTA Player of the Year after one of the most successful seasons in her career.

Muslims were urged to provide moral and spiritual guidance to the nation when the National Islamic Convention was launched by the Guyana Islamic Trust (GIT) last week.

UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) – The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly yesterday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue “birth certificate.”

Commercial banks in Latin America and the Caribbean are demonstrating increased confidence in the viability of small and medium-sized entrepreneurial pursuits in the region, a development which is likely to see an increase in the level of credit by up to 77 per cent of commercial banks in Latin America and the Caribbean, a recent survey by the Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB) says.

The final quarter of the year is a busy period for Farina Fareed.

Dear Editor, This letter is in response to the news of a mentally ill man attacking a schoolboy on Wednesday morning, November 28, in front of Parliament Building.

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Angelo Mathews’ resilience could not deny New Zealand their first test victory in Sri Lanka in 14 years as the visitors won the second test by 167 runs to level the two-match series  yesterday.

Dr Nainiappan Daniel, a general practitioner who had his surgical practice at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital compound, died yesterday morning at the Balwant Singh Hospital after a brief illness.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron rejected the idea of a law to regulate the British press yesterday, risking a split in his government after an inquiry advised legal backing for a watchdog to police the sometimes outrageous conduct of newspapers.

In recognition of the value of social media to promoting business, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) hosted a workshop to teach stakeholders how to use social and other emerging media to generate interest and excitement about their tourism product and destination Guyana.

Dear Editor, I write to inform you that, as a neighbour of the ongoing construction of a three storey building in front of my two properties situate at 148 and 142 Fabricating Street, Eccles, I have not been consulted about its development by the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) by way of notice under the laws of Guyana laid down for planning permission nor, as I understand it, has planning permission been granted by the NDC or Central Housing and Planning.

President in Peru: President Donald Ramotar arrived at the Lima International Airport, Peru at 6:45 pm yesterday on a Suriname Airways flight along with Surinamese President Desi Bouterse for the VI Meeting of the Council of Heads of State and Government of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

(Trinidad Guardian) President of the Criminal Court of Justice Sir Dennis Byron is calling on T&T’s legal fraternity to let their voices to be heard as to why the country has not yet used the court as its final appellate court.

It is not just the festivities and good cheer that make Christmas ‘the most wonderful time of the year’; the season provides a lucrative windfall for persons engaged in a range of business pursuits.

(Reuters) – Kevin Durant greeted former team mate James Harden with 37 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder blasted Houston Rockets 120-98 on Wednesday to spoil the shooting guard’s return to the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – China’s insatiable appetite for timber is driving a growing illegal trade that is stripping forests in Africa and Asia and fuelling conflict, underscoring the urgency for Beijing to enact laws to crack down, an environment group said yesterday.

Dear Editor, Mr Royston King, the City Council’s Public Relations Officer must be congratulated on his vision for reinventing the Garden City of Georgetown (‘We need to reinvent the city of Georgetown’  SN, November 26).

– UN official at Aspire launch (Trinidad Guardian) Gabrielle Henderson, the United Nations’ Women Programme specialist from the UN’s multi-country office in Barbados, said on Wednesday that three of the top ten rape rates in the world occur in the Caribbean and that 48 per cent of adolescents in nine regional islands said sexual initiation was forced.

BOGOTA,  (Reuters) – Colombia will not apply a U.N. court ruling that shifts some of its resource-rich waters to Nicaragua until the Andean nation is sure that “the rights of Colombians are well defended,” President Juan Manuel Santos said yesterday.

(Reuters) – Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo were named on the shortlist for FIFA’s Ballon d’Or award yesterday at a news conference in Brazil.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 487’s trading results showed consideration of $1,878,612 from 80,165 shares traded in 11 transactions as compared to session 486 which showed consideration of $4,802,161 from 66,627 shares traded in 9 transactions. 

The Business Cartoon

Politikles

(Trinidad Guardian) Aids-Free World, an advocacy NGO, is challenging T&T’s immigration law.

The Tax-Payer Electorate: No Right To know? Greetings! Let’s see whether I can make this the most  brief in weeks. 

Wrong turn! – This  road deterioration has left Cummings Lodge Old Road unusable for motor cars and abandoned to the point where it is being overtaken by grass.

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – The Indian government bowed to intense opposition pressure and agreed yesterday to a vote on its decision to let foreign supermarkets set up shop in India, taking a major step towards ending a deadlock that has paralysed parliament for days.

Dear Editor, I would just like to bring awareness to the issue of HIV and faith as we observe World AIDS Day on December 1.

For some years now, there has been, pretty much on a daily basis, an unrelenting litany of bad news in the local media.

RIO DE JANEIRO,  (Reuters) – Brazilians are proud of their ability to pull improvised solutions out of a hat and Thursday’s appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari as national team coach was a classic case of “jeitinho brasileiro”.

For all the public comments that have been made about the contribution that gold mining continues to make to the country’s economy, it is clear that far less attention than is warranted is being paid to the downside of the highly touted gold rush.

Robyn Williams of Empretec stands

(Trinidad Express) Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran yesterday “appealed” to the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for compassion in the Dr Wayne Kublalsingh issue.