Daily Archive: Saturday, December 15, 2012

NEWTOWN, Conn.,  (Reuters) – The 20 children killed at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S.

President Donald Ramotar has called for the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) to be more proactive in seeking out opportunities and not to make excuses of impediments as the country seeks to attract investment in both traditional and new sectors.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua,  CMC – Trinidad and Tobago edged Martinique on penalties in a dramatic semi-final to book their spot in Sunday’s final of the CFU Caribbean Cup.

SYDNEY, Australia,  CMC – West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels both failed, but Samuels’s Melbourne Renegades snatched a five-wicket in a low-scoring encounter in the Australia Big Bash here Friday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The trial of President Desi Bouterse and others implicated in the deaths of 15 prominent people who were opposed to the then military government in Suriname in 1982, has been postponed.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) yesterday dismissed government’s written appeal to regional and international bodies for support saying it was “very dishonest, alarmist, absurd and infantile” and done only in response to a document the main opposition had dispatched to some of the same organisations the day before.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who canceled a planned overseas trip last weekend because of illness, is recovering at home after fainting due to dehydration and sustaining a concussion, a U.S.

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – The funds the government needs to finish the road Meerzorg-Albina have been made available by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

(Trinidad Guardian) The co-pilot of CAL’s flight BW 523, which crash-landed in Guyana last year, has resigned and the captain of the flight is currently employed at another CAL division, the airline has said.

The Dutch Caribbean island of Saba has become increasingly popular with gay couples after legislators legalised same-sex marriages in a region still openly hostile to gays and lesbians, the Associated Press says.

(Reuters) – In the aftermath of Friday’s elementary school shooting, a shattered New England town searched for clues to why a young man would commit so heinous an act.

JOHANNESBURG,  (Reuters) – Nelson Mandela, the 94-year-old former South African president and Nobel Peace laureate hospitalised with a lung infection, has successfully undergone a procedure to have gall stones removed, the government said today.

(Jamaica Gleaner) National selection panel chairman, Courtnay Daley, says Jamaica will miss the services of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels at next month’s Caribbean Twenty20 (T20) tournament, but it presents an opportunity for other players to step up and show their worth.

Canada is to construct a new Chancery at its Kingston location.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Beleaguered Premier of the Cayman Islands, William McKeeva Bush, says his attempt to improve the immigration status of Jamaicans caused a “bang up” between himself and the governor – Duncan Taylor – of the British territory.

(BBC) England took four wickets in the last hour of the third day to fight back against India in the final Test.

Get your house in order before imposing further burdens on employees and employers was the message that the Private Sector Com-mission (PSC) had yesterday for the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and it declared that it will not support recent actuarial recommendations to hike the contribution rate and raise the pensionable age unless the Scheme is more efficiently run.

Guyana’s gold production for 2012 has surpassed 400,000 ounces, amounting to earnings of over US$.5 billion.

By Chevy Devonish w/ photos by Arian Browne Sport betting in Guyana yesterday entered a completely different epoch after Guyana Holdings Incorporated announced the launching of its Superbet Sport Betting Brand.

A man is now fighting for his life after he was stabbed and had his throat slit by a mentally unstable man last evening, in the vicinity of the Astor Cinema on Church and Waterloo streets.

Over 1,000 Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) customers are currently experiencing low water pressure owing to electricity disruptions at production sites in areas on the West Coast and the East Bank Demerara.

Paul Anthony Lo Hing, the man accused of strangling his wife, Shoala Gilgeous, in Sophia, in August, was yesterday committed to stand trial for murder in the High Court.

Two Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) nurses who were recently dismissed after being implicated in the larceny of morphine injections will be reinstated, the hospital announced yesterday.

Dredging of the Demerara Harbour and the Amaila Falls hydropower project are the two infrastructural projects that the Private Sector Commission (PSC) has declared as absolute priorities and it also wants the garbage crisis to be tackled and environmental standards raised generally.

The Youth Coalition for Transformation (YCT) is dissatisfied that a year has passed with no significant development on the issues to convince the public that the political system is effectively working.

Economic Partnership Agreements are of dubious value for poverty eradication and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett has called on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) grouping to seriously reflect on and probe deeply into the extent to which poverty eradication as well as sustainable development and integration into the global economy have been achieved.

The ending of European Union (EU) sugar quotas and increased duty-free imports from October 2015 will have a “devastating” impact on African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) sugar-producing countries, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett has warned.

Head of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) Senior Superintendent Lyndon Alves has denounced claims published by a website, including that he is plotting with main opposition APNU to destabilise the PPP/C administration.

Police have wrapped up their investigations into why a 12-year-old boy was detained overnight and are to seek advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) but the child’s mother says she is not confident she will get justice.

Stall holders within the Stabroek and Bourda markets say they are certain that thefts are being carried out by vendors operating in the very markets and some are fearful of making reports since they themselves may fall victim to sabotage.

The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) on Thursday presented a number of stop signs to the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) to boost its campaign for road safety.

Under the theme ‘New Frontiers’, Banks DIH Ltd yesterday launched its costume band for Mashramani 2013, which it said would be 300 strong and costumes would be provided free to the public from as early as January.

Vice Chairman of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Systems (CASSOS) Oscar Derby says the commendable performance of the 2012 graduating students of the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School (AWHWAES) showed that the investment made by the Aircraft Owners’ Association of Guyana was worth it.

By Iva Wharton Sponsorship for the continued and sustained development of sport is being viewed as a long term commitment by Digicel, says its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gregory Dean.

LEICESTER, England,  CMC – Out-of-favour West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been appointed Leicestershire’s four-day captain for the upcoming English county season.

Barama Company Limited (BCL) has been able keep profit levels constant for the last two to three years, despite man-made and natural challenges to the forestry sector and to the company itself, according to Mohindra Chand, Head of Corporate Affairs and Forest Planning for BCL.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Jamaica’s football chief Captain Horace Burrell says the Reggae Boyz’s elimination from the CFU Caribbean Cup has made the country the “laughing stock of the Caribbean”.

Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Clinton Urling says the Education Ministry must provide more resources to vocational and tertiary institutions to enable them to develop or adapt their programmes to meet new labour demands in the private sector.

The Youth Coalition for Transformation (YCT) yesterday expressed its discontent with the meagre 5 per cent pay increase given to public servants.

By Iva Wharton President’s Beer winner Guyana Defence Force (GDF) yesterday collected their $500,000 cash prize and trophy from the sponsors Banks DIH Limited at Thirst Park.

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) on Thursday launched its Child Protection Policy to guide its activists in reporting cases of child physical and sexual abuse.

The rollicking action in the Malta Supreme Christmas Magnificent Seven basketball championship will change gears this weekend and overflow into the new week as teams battle today, tomorrow and Monday in what should help indicate the teams to advance to the final four from the lot of seven.

Dear Editor, In an SN letter of Dec 11, joint venture consultants CEMCO and SRKN’gineering expressed the view that the report on our observations regarding sub-standard work being performed at the Hope Canal Project which was published in SN on December 4 should have been dealt with discreetly among the engineering fraternity and the competent authority (NDIA) since as a result of our indiscretion and unethical discourse as claimed, they have had to address the inaccuracies as were detailed in our missive.

One of the longest serving sports administrators on Thursday decided to call it a day.

Banks DIH Limited recently inducted 32 more employees into its 20-year Club at the annual Long Service Award Luncheon, held at the Banks DIH Sports Club, at Thirst Park.

Over 200 children from the lower East Bank Demerara were entertained at Eccles Primary School, where the Demerara Oxygen Company (DOCOL) recently hosted its Annual Children’s Christmas party.

For the very first time in the existence of the Kashif and Shanghai Tournament, no matches will be played in Linden – the place where it all began – but one team; the Amelia’s Ward United, is hoping to carry the mining community on their shoulders, to put a smile on the faces of the disheartened people of the area.

Dear Editor, In my article ‘The PPP and the challenges ahead,’ which was recently published in SN, I regretfully made an omission which I should like to correct.

Dear Editor, Mr Sultan  Mohammed published a letter in the Stabroek News on December 12, apparently taking on Dr Clive Thomas’s analysis of the sugar industry.

By Jairo Rodrigues Colleen Humphrey, a dramatist for 15 years, is not afraid to speak her mind.

By Cosmo Hamilton Despite the embarrassing three to two loss in the ODI series against Bangladesh recently, the West Indies ended an eventful year on a high note.

Taxi driver Fenton Jarvis, who police say was held with over 50 grammes of cocaine and marijuana, was yesterday remanded to prison on drug possession charges.

Mass hysteria, new religions, blockbuster films, scientific explorations, studies of ancient cultures and lost studies – all centre around the Mayan Prophecy of the ending of the world on December 21, 2012.

By Yonalla Dalrymple This year’s fifth annual national schools chess championships is expected to bring to an end the activities of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF).

A man was arrested at Big Creek, North West District on Thursday for the unlawful possession of a 12-gauge shotgun.

Dear Editor, The news was neither a shock nor a surprise, just another in the series of disappointments that we have grown accustomed to.

HOBART,  (Reuters) – Phil Hughes made a solid 86 on his return to test cricket before Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey took up the running and steered Australia to 299 for four at close of play on the first day of the first test against Sri Lanka yesterday.

Dear Editor, It is very sad and distressing to read about the plight of a mother in Enmore, who was turned away after two days of pointless waiting to see the doctor at the Enmore Clinic (SN, December 13).

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai, whilst on a visit to Kato, Region 8, on December 8, 2012, delivered on a commitment made to invest in the construction of a new bridge at Arrow Creek to link Kato to Chiung Mouth and Kurukubaru and which is crucial to the transportation needs of the residents of the Region, the Government Information Agency (GINA) has reported.

Hi Everyone, Cooking for the holidays can be a royal pain.

Dear Editor, I thought those large power squibs were banned. It seems to me that our authorities have a style of flaring up like an old stove whenever, and not sticking diligently to a position – like loud music in vehicles, and a truckload of other traffic violations.

She slipped and landed on the floor but Miss Guyana Universe Ruqayyah Boyer sprang up back with such agility one could believe that her slip and slide was choreographed into her walk across the Miss Universe stage in Las Vegas as she modelled her evening gown in the   Preliminary Competition on Thursday night.

NEWTOWN, Conn., (Reuters) – Twenty schoolchildren were slaughtered by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a suburban elementary school in Connecticut yesterday, ultimately killing at least 27 people including himself in the one of the worst mass shootings in U.S.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds last Saturday visited Region Eight to inspect the site where the Kato Secondary School will be constructed and he was briefed on the status of the project, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA).

DURBAN,  (Reuters) – New Zealand will not be distracted by the axing of former captain Ross Taylor ahead of their cricket tour of South Africa, new skipper Brendon McCullum said yesterday.

Guyanese-American poet, Raa’id Khan, 27, found new fame in Guyana when he captivated his audience with his powerful words at the three-day National Islamic Convention hosted by the Guyana Islamic Trust at the International Conference Centre at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.

Caricom staffer Sharon Khan-Persaud an outfit from the Year 2000 at the Caricom Secretariat’s recent ‘Back in Time’ show, which was held as part of its an annual cultural extravaganza.

(BBC)  James Anderson took three wickets to put England in control after day two of the final Test against India in Nagpur yesterday.

(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not those of Thomson Reuters) By Shilpa Jamkhandikar(Reuters) This is what it all comes down to — a year of watching movies and writing about them distilled into one post.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuelans vote for state governors tomorrow in an election that will decide if the opposition stays united behind youthful leader Henrique Capriles amid signs that President Hugo Chavez’s cancer could force him to step down.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in collaboration with the Guyana Musical Arts Festival launched the 2013 National Musical Arts Festival at the Ministry’s Boardroom, Main Street on Monday.

Dear Editor, As we commemorated another death anniversary of our late National Poet Martin Carter on December 13, I was reminded that his poetry should be taught in our schools.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Barack Obama yesterday signed a bill that brings U.S.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s approval rating is at an all-time high, despite a stalled economy and political scandals that have tarnished the reputation of her ruling Workers’ Party, an opinion poll published yesterday showed.

Sonia Noel’s new Black and White collection proved a big hit with the French patrons at the show ‘Kreyol Fashion Days’ in Guadeloupe, where she also had the opportunity to meet and dialogue with the illustrious French designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – An auction of film legend Greta Garbo’s belongings got off to a roaring start yesterday, with her clothing, jewelry and other memorabilia fetching more than ten times pre-sale estimates in many cases.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) yesterday dismissed government’s written appeal to regional and international bodies for support saying it was “very dishonest, alarmist, absurd and infantile” and done only in response to a document the main opposition had dispatched to some of the same organisations the day before.

A masquerade band during a ‘flounce down’ from the Umana Yana at Kingston to National Museum, where a mural was unveiled in honour of masquerading.

Caricom staffer Dinorah Balthazar models an outfit from Year 2000 at the Caricom Secretariat’s recent ‘Back in Time’ show.

(Billboard) At first glance, the 2012 year-end R&B/hip-hop charts mirror those of 2011.

What happens when – after being hit, punched, kicked, slapped or even raped – a victim of domestic violence decides to defend her life?

A mural celebrating “Masquerade” in Guyana was yesterday unveiled at the National Museum.

DUBAI,  (Reuters) – An international telecommunications treaty signed by 89 countries out of a possible 144 yesterday will have little impact on how carriers operate or how consumers surf the web or make calls around the world when it comes into effect in 2015.

Berbice cyclists will tomorrow compete in the Flying Ace Cycle Club/ Banks DIH Limited inaugural Banks Malta Supreme 40-mile cycle road race.

Politikles

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez is recovering “satisfactorily” from his cancer surgery in Cuba although the process remains slow, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said yesterday.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, (Reuters) – Embattled Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush faced growing pressure to resign yesterday after his arrest on suspicion of theft and corruption in the offshore Caribbean financial center.

Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green said yesterday that the city’s plans to establish a recycling plant have been dashed by government, which recently granted land promised to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to the National Sports Council.

The Guyana Tennis Association (GTA) will this morning commence its staging of the twice yearly inter schools 10s lawn tennis tournament.

Dear Editor, The late Pandit Arjun Doobay of the East Coast was remembered last week at a special ceremony in Richmond Hill on the occasion of his 10th death anniversary.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – Newcomer British boy band One Direction joined R&B diva Rihanna and British singer Adele to top Billboard’s year-end music charts, released yesterday.

The apparent suicide of a nurse in London, a few days after she had been hoaxed by Australian radio DJs who pretended to be members of the royal family, has highlighted the difficulty of effectively regulating the media in a digital age.

Caricom staffer Odetta Young models an outfit from the Year 2000 at the Caricom Secretariat’s recent ‘Back in Time’ show which was held as part of its an annual cultural extravaganza.

(Barbados Nation) Bleak economic prospects in the region may put the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) at risk for further downgrades in its credit rating, says president Dr Warren Smith.

(Trinidad Express) Former chief magistrate Sherman McNicolls, who gave a police statement five years ago that led to a criminal charge being laid against Chief Justice Sat Sharma died on Thursday.

(Trinidad Express) Three men allowed to plead guilty to murder for the first time in local legal history will spend the rest of their lives in prison.

LEICESTER, England,  CMC – Out-of-favour West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been appointed Leicestershire’s four-day captain for the upcoming English county season.