Daily Archive: Tuesday, December 4, 2012

GUATEMALA CITY,  (Reuters) – U.S. anti-virus software guru John McAfee, who is on the run from police in Belize seeking to question him in a murder probe, has crossed into Guatemala and said today he will seek political asylum there.

SANTO DOMINGO,  (Reuters) – A man behind a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the U.S.

Following a sting operation today, a Police Constable attached to the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court as an orderly was placed under close arrest after he was caught with money he had accepted to settle a domestic violence matter.

The Ministry of Natural Resources will soon dispatch a team to the Dutch island of Curacao to launch an investigation of its own to ascertain if the over 400lbs of gold stolen during a heist on Friday originated from Guyana.

(WICB) ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board has received and accepted the following Guyana Squad for the Caribbean T20 as provided by the Guyana Cricket Board: Guyana CT20 Squad: 1.           

(Trinidad Express) Highway hunger striker Dr Wayne Kublalsingh has agreed to conditionally accept the draft proposal submitted by the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) and the Works and Infrastructure Ministry.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – British explorer Tullow Oil said today the Zaedyus-2 appraisal well in French Guiana had not found any commercial hydrocarbons, dampening hopes of a large new oil field offshore the South American country.

(Trinidad Guardian) Sir Anthony Colman, chairman of the Clico/Hindu Credit Union (HCU) commission of enquiry, has shot down Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard’s application to suspend the inquiry or change the way it is conducted.

(Trinidad Guardian) Government is reviewing the criminal libel law with a view to weakening the law and enhancing freedom of speech and freedom of the media, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has said.

(Trinidad Guardian) A Chaguanas businessman shot and killed one of two robbers during a robbery yesterday afternoon.

(Jamaica Observer) Efforts to prosecute child sex offenders in State-run children’s homes have been stumped by the soft-touch approach to apprehending men, some of them enjoying high profiles, a discussion yesterday revealed.

While reserving judgement on a stunning gold heist in Curacao on Friday, President Donald Ramotar says he is disturbed at the situation as it suggests that Guyana is being robbed of revenue as a result of smuggling.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton yesterday asked members of the diplomatic corps to assist Jamaica in attracting investment from overseas private- and public-sector interests, in the development of Jamaica’s global transshipment and logistics hub.

(Barbados Nation) Authorities moved in on a weight loss clinic yesterday and took possession of packages of drugs and documents for analysis.

(Barbados Nation) Everyone being admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital should be tested for HIV, in the same way all pregnant mothers are expected to be screened.

(Trinidad Express) In an effort to transform itself into a more democratic and modern political institution, the People’s National Movement (PNM) on Sunday approved several changes at a special convention at the St Augustine Secondary School, Warren Street, St Augustine.

(Trinidad Express) Watchdog groups led by the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) have received and will review all relevant documents possessed by the National Infrastructural Development Company (NIDCO) relating to the Debe to Mon Desir stretch of the Point Fortin Highway.

PERTH,  (Reuters) – With a three-test series against Sri Lanka starting next week, Australia have no time to dwell on what might have been after getting close to beating the best side in the world before being blown away at the end of a hard-fought series.

(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar last night announced there will be some TT$20 billion in investments in the energy industry in South Trinidad as she emphasised the need and importance of the Point Fortin highway.

There is still no confirmation that the gold stolen off a fishing boat in Curaçao last Friday is from Guyana, Natural Resources and the Environment Minister Robert Persaud said yesterday, while disclosing that the government has contacted authorities in the island for information on the heist.

Angry EZjet customers turned up yesterday at the airline’s office to collect refunds, which were given to some persons while others were told to return today.

Almost one month after it was reported that a boy who appeared to be no older than eight was working in a Puruni Backdam mining pit, the child remains in the area, does not attend school and runs “every time he hears a vehicle”, according to President of the Guyana Women’s Miners Organi-sation (GWMO) Simona Broomes.

Prem Misir, Chairman of the National Communications Network (NCN) Board of Directors, says the closure report on financial irregularities at the state-owned broadcaster remains with the Head of State and Minister of Information Donald Ramotar, who is yet to offer his advice.

Chinese bauxite company Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Inc last Saturday handed out 61 bursary awards to top students from across the country, the sixth annual such award ceremony the company has held.

The Guyana Police Force says its Central Immigration and Passport Office will continue to strive to provide a higher standard of service and urges the public to be patient and understanding.

The Ministry of Housing has announced a homeowner’s package targeting young professionals that would see them owning turnkey homes costing $8.5 million each, in one of the housing development schemes.

Guyana and Caricom will commemorate 40 years of diplomatic relations with Cuba with a grand cultural programme planned for December 8, along with other public activities.

Security guard Neal Ramsarran was yesterday charged over the theft of a woman’s purse.

A man was shot in his head by a female passenger who he picked up as he was driving along, New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara, around 20:25 hrs on Sunday.

A man was shot in the leg during a robbery in Albouystown early yesterday morning.

The defence wrapped up its case in the Cyon ‘Picture Boy’ Collier murder trial yesterday.

John Tian Xiang, who was shot two weeks ago by bandits when he rushed to the aid of his employer who was being robbed outside her Regent Street store, is still recovering at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Panwar Dass was placed on $600,000 bail yesterday at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court after he was charged with causing the death of cameraman Ronald Livingstone by dangerous driving.

The National Family Commission (NFC) was re-launched yesterday and new Chairman Reverend Kwame Gilbert said it will seek to develop a quality of life in Guyana that promotes stability in families.

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) yesterday released the names of a 14-man team along with seven standby players to contest the 2013 Caribbean Twenty20 tournament.

General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) Lincoln Lewis has said that government’s imposition of a 5% across-the-board pay hike for public servants is unlawful as it is against the workers’ collective bargaining rights.

The 12-year-old boy who was held overnight by the police yesterday submitted a statement to the Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) but nothing was said about what steps the police intend to take in the matter.

-Broad Street, Leopold Street, West Front Road also advance By Emmerson Campbell Defending champions Back Circle and three other teams shot their way to victory, advancing to the semi-final round of the Guinness Greatest of the Streets Competition set for tonight at the National Cultural Centre tarmac. 

The Ministry of Education and the Peace Corps on Friday launched the Youth Educators Safeguarding Our Workforce HIV/AIDS (YES) education programme which will be conducted in schools.

-says FIFA’s annual US $250,000 not used to advance players, game Golden Jaguars captain Chris Nurse has once again engaged the media to advocate for new blood in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and for negotiations to start for contracts for players for the new year.

PERTH,  (Reuters) – South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes it will take some time for people to fully appreciate his team’s achievement in winning an away series in England followed by a second consecutive triumph in Australia.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said contractors attached to the Amaila Falls Hydropower project who failed to meet agreement terms on the road project will soon be reassessed.

President of the Suriname Bodybuilding and Weightlifting Federation, Mukesh Kanhai says that Mike Tyson once said that in the ring he threw punches “with bad intentions.”

Minister of Natural Re-sources and the Environment Robert Persaud says Guyana will continue discussions with Colombia on collaborating on mutual challenges in the areas of environmental management in the extractive industries.

Between Sunday night and yesterday morning, one or more thieves robbed a Bourda Market grocery store of money and foodstuff and attempted to rob another.

Bush Lot Turf Club in collaboration with the Young Achievers Group has organized a one-day horse racing meet for Guyana-bred horses on Sunday, December 9th at Bush Lot.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,  CMC-West Indies will open against India in the International Cricket Council ( ICC) Women’s World cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on the 31st of January.

CNS Channel 6 transmission signal is still being disrupted as the television station awaits an official response from head of the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) Valmikki Singh to address the issue.

(Reuters) – Ricky Ponting is “one of the true legends of the sport” the International Cricket Council (ICC) said of the former Australia captain who ended his test career on Monday.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment ‘Operations Safe Parks’ initiative was recently boosted with the donation of two golf carts from the G-Star Mining and Exploration Company, which will be used to make security checks.

The country’s leading junior and senior chess players were recently honoured for outstanding performances at the just-concluded National Chess Championships.

Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited said its five-week business programme aimed at improving the skills of a select group of its Berbice customers closed on November 21.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC– Former Barbadian national player, Pat Greenidge, has been named West Indies Women’s Team Manager, the West Indies Cricket Board announced yesterday.

Two men accused of stealing over $600,000 in jewellery and clothing from a boutique in Mahdia, were yesterday arraigned before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, on a break and enter charge.

An East La Ruimveldt clothes vendor was yesterday accused of chopping another man to the head after a misunderstanding.

PERTH,  (Reuters) – South Africa asserted their position as the best team in the world with an emphatic 309-run victory over Australia in the third test to clinch the hard-fought series 1-0 and ruin Ricky Ponting’s farewell yesterday.

Compton Young’s Flower Shop is observing its 44th anniversary floral exhibition for the Christmas season at its Middle Street location.

Dear Editor, A few days ago we made a site visit to the Hope Canal Project to assess construction progress.

Amerindian women is the most-at-risk vulnerable HIV/AIDS group in Guyana because of the gold rush taking place in the interior, according to the National Aids Committee (NAC), which also stated that the country’s progress to getting to zero deaths is hampered by the continued practice of not recording AIDS-related deaths out of regard for the virulent stigma still surrounding the virus.

SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Brazil must not repeat the “national tragedy” of losing the 2014 World Cup as it did when it hosted the event in 1950, the country’s Minister of Sport Aldo Rebelo said.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Three times Tour de France champion Greg LeMond is to run for president of the International Cycling Union (UCI) after a series of doping scandals in the sport.

JERUSALEM  (Reuters) – Israel rejected concerted criticism from the United States and Europe yesterday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expand settlement building after the United Nations’ de facto recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Hot day? – This homeless man

Dear Editor, With respect to the National Insurance Scheme Actuarial Review that was recently performed and published, based on my profession, which involves insurance and investments practice, I can clearly see the reason for great concern by Mr Derek Osborne, the Chief Actuary of Horizonow consultants Ltd.

The Guyana Power and Light (GPL)  is deploying four new feeders on the West Coast of Demerara which will improve electricity supply but there will be a number of outages to facilitate work.

All I want for Christmas is a cleaner street! – This is the state of the drains and roadside where these children reside amid dirty, stagnant,

CAIRO/BEIRUT  (Reuters) – A Syrian foreign ministry spokesman, who was the most public face of Bashar al-Assad’s government as it battled a 20-month-old uprising, has fled the country, a diplomat in the region said yesterday.

A book of condolence will be opened tomorrow at the Indian High Commission, 307 Church and Peter Rose streets in honour of the late,

Dear Editor, I note that the highly promoted ‘Guinness Greatest in the Streets’ football competition is on in earnest.

PERTH, (Reuters) – Ricky Ponting was moved to tears after his celebrated test career came to a close with a whimper rather than a bang yesterday when his beloved Australia side suffered a series defeat against South Africa.

Clean me now! – The tall grass and garbage in this trench at Sussex Street  hamper the flow of water and is one of the causes for flooding along Sussex and at St Steven streets.

(Reuters) – The Orlando Magic caught fire in the fourth quarter to stun the Los Angeles Lakers 113-103 and get the better of former player Dwight Howard on Sunday.

Dear Editor, In the space of one week you have devoted two editorials exclusively to local government issues and made reference to it in a third (SN, Nov 25).

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez will travel to Brazil for a regional summit at the end of this week despite cancer-related medical treatment in Cuba, Brazil’s ambassador said yesterday.

HANOI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has declared itself ready to deploy naval vessels to the South China Sea to protect its oil-exploration interests there, a potential new escalation of tensions in a disputed area where fears of armed conflict have been growing steadily.

High Commissioner of Zambia to Guyana Cynthia Jangulo yesterday presented her letters of Credence to President Donald Ramotar at the Office of the President.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – US anti-virus software guru John McAfee said yesterday he has left the tropical paradise of Belize, where police want to question him in connection with his neighbour’s murder.

Dear Editor, According to SN (Dec 1) it is reported that thieves have stolen 70 bars of gold estimated to be worth US$11.5 million ($2.3 billion) from a fishing boat moored in Curaçao.

SOFIA, (Reuters) – Prize money for the 2013 World Match Play Championship will rise to 3 million euros ($3.90 million), Per Ericsson, president of event management for sponsors Volvo said yesterday.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Former US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday joined the board of US hotel company Marriott International Inc, in one of his first public moves since his unsuccessful bid to unseat Democratic President Barack Obama.

DHAKA,  (Reuters) – Bangladesh pace bowler Abul Hasan has been ruled out of the remaining three one-day internationals of a five-match series against West Indies due to a side strain, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said yesterday.

Dear Editor, A few weeks ago a letter from me appeared in both the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News in which I commented on the good quality of rip-rap sea defence work executed at Johanna section Aurora Village coast by Mr Samaroo.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain summoned Argentina’s ambassador to London yesterday after masked men ransacked the offices of a shipping company in Buenos Aires, a move the Foreign Office alleged was aimed at deterring ships from visiting the disputed Falkland Islands.

Wild life sanctuary? It’s either this occupant has never heard of a cutlass, or is keeping a safe haven for all sorts of wild animals in this Queen Street shack,

MOSCOW/BEIJING (Reuters) – Russia and China urged North Korea yesterday not to go ahead with a plan for its second rocket launch of 2012, with Moscow saying any such move would violate restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council.

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian forces have killed at least 20 Marxist FARC guerrillas in an air and ground raid near the border with Ecuador, an army general said yesterday, the deadliest strike against rebels since a peace process started.

The statement by the Chinese Association seemingly in response to an article in another section of the media regarding the presence of Chinese entrepreneurs in Guyana is, in several respects, an interesting one.

Dear Editor, At a time when man is free and society liberal, the focus is on women’s rights, gender equity and the Domestic Violence Act, one would have expected a decrease in violence against women; instead the opposite is true.

PERTH,  (Reuters) – South Africa captain Graeme Smith thinks home advantage will give England the edge in the first of two Ashes series against Australia next year.

LONDON  (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince William and his wife Catherine are expecting a baby, destined to be the country’s future monarch, although the mother-to-be is in hospital with a type of very acute morning sickness that sometimes indicates twins.

Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Georgia to Guyana Otar Berdzenishvili and President Donald Ramotar toast at the Office of the President after the ambassador had presented his credentials (GINA photo)