Daily Archive: Thursday, January 17, 2013

GROS ISLET, St Lucia,  CMC – Windward Islands defeated Barbados by four wickets in the 19th game of the Caribbean Twenty20 at the Beausejour Cricket Stadium here last night.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Non-U.S. pension funds and mutual funds were spared the full brunt of new U.S.

GROS ISLET, St Lucia, CMC – Guyana withstood a late charge from Leeward Islands to carve out a 14-run win and take a huge stride towards a spot in the playoffs of the Caribbean Twenty20 here Thursday night.

DHAKA,  (Reuters) – The growing popularity of Twenty20 internationals will not harm test cricket because the two formats of the game can thrive together, former West Indies captain Brian Lara said today.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman has ruled against amendments proposed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall to a motion in the name of Opposition Leader David Granger calling for a probe of criminal violence from 2004 to 2010.

GROS ISLET, St Lucia,  CMC – Talismanic opener Chris Gayle is set to join Jamaica’s squad for the Caribbean Twenty20.

(Trinidad Express) Magistrate Maureen Baboolal-Gafoor intends to sentence soca superstar Machel Montano on five criminal charges on February 25.

ADELAIDE, Australia,  CMC-Former West Indies cricket captain Carl Hooper says he has no interest in becoming the next head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team.

(Jamaica Observer) The assets of former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke were yesterday ordered forfeited to the State.

The police conducted an early morning raid today, in the areas of East and West Ruimveldt and East La Penitence, Georgetown, during which ten buildings were cordoned and searched.

The Labour Ministry today said that it is hosting a sensitization meeting for the Chinese business community operating in Guyana at 4 this afternoon.

ALGIERS, (Reuters) – Algeria said several hostages were killed today when its forces stormed a remote desert gas plant occupied by Islamist militants in retaliation for French intervention in Mali, and local sources said six foreigners were among the dead.

The local protected areas system received a boost yesterday with the exchange of notes to  initiate a grant from the German Government to the Guyana Government via the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Government Information Agency reported.

The Ministry of Health is upping its fight against malaria via the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets in areas where the disease is prevalent.

New Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Zhang Limin on Tuesday paid his first visit to the Office of Chief of Staff, Commodore Gary Best, during which the two took the opportunity to sign a protocol for the delivery of  5 Million RMB (approximately US$80,000) in military equipment to the Guyana Defence Force, a press release from the army said.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport yesterday handed over tennis tables and racquets to various Regional Executive Officers (REOs) at the Ministry’s compound, Main Street.

(Trinidad Express) A 28-year-old Guyanese national with no known enemies was gunned down outside his Freeport apartment on Tuesday.

(Trinidad Express) The Tobago Council of the People’s National Movement (PNM) has received reports that a State security agency acquired and shipped 10,000 cellphones to Tobago in the past week, in a bid to steal Monday’s Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election.

TOKYO/SEATTLE,  (Reuters) – Airlines scrambled today to rearrange flights as Europe, Japan, Qatar and India joined the United States in grounding Boeing Co’s 787 Dreamliner passenger jets while battery-related problems are investigated.

GROS ISLET, St Lucia,  CMC – Leeward Islands held their nerve in a tense finish to beat Combined Campuses and Colleges and gather their first win of the Caribbean Twenty20 here Wednesday.

GROS ISLET, St Lucia,  CMC – Defending champions Trinidad and Tobago cruised into the final of the Caribbean Twenty20 after nonchalantly dismissing a timid challenge from Barbados here last night.

Two brothers, who have been on death row for almost two decades, had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment by acting Chief Justice Ian Chang in the High Court yesterday.

A New Amsterdam, Berbice woman was yesterday hacked to death by her former partner, who died hours later from ingesting poison.

President Donald Ramotar yesterday briefly met Leader of the Opposition David Granger who later described the discussions as “talks about talks”.

A woman and her sister were chopped multiple times on Tuesday night at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, in an attack carried out by her drunken common-law husband.

A US District Court has ruled out bail for Sonny Ramdeo, the founder of the now defunct airline EZjet, deeming him a flight risk, while noting that the weight of evidence against him is strong.

Incumbent Vernon Burnett and Coordinator of the University of Guyana Sports Department Lavern Fraser will Saturday contest the presidency of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA).

Opposition party AFC yesterday called for a wide-ranging probe into the award of multi-million dollar contracts to the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC) for the supply of drugs to the health sector.

The US Embassy says Florida National Guard Major General, Emmett R Titshaw (the Adjutant General of Florida) is visiting Guyana to assess the current status of the State Partnership Programme with Guyana.

The body of a Corentyne fisherman missing since Monday was found yesterday afternoon near to the Berbice Bridge, another suspected victim of the treacherous seas off the coast of Guyana over the last few days.

A man, described as being of an unsound mind, was on Tuesday evening beaten to death by villagers at Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara, after he attacked a policeman with a cutlass.

Strong winds and unusually high tides swamped Cornelia Ida and Anna Catherina, on the West Coast of Demerara on Monday afternoon.

Rain once again limited play in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior Inter County four-day match between Demerara and the President’s XI at the Demerara Cricket Club ground, Queenstown.

The six persons implicated in the snatching of US$11.5 million worth of gold bars from a Guyana-registered cargo vessel in Curacao almost two months ago must now spend 60 days behind bars pending an ongoing probe on the Dutch Caribbean Island.

Winners of the inaugural Courts Pee Wee football tournament Marian Academy on Tuesday received the prizes from the Petra Organization yesterday afternoon at the school’s Carifesta Avenue location.

Linden residents have been urged to stand up to the government and demand that their rights are respected and that the commitments made to them and the region in the August 21, 2012 agreement with the Donald Ramotar administration are honoured.

Earl Fraser, accused of threatening and assaulting his brother-in-law over his alleged failure to clean their surroundings, was on Tuesday refused bail when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

GROS ISLET, St Lucia, CMC – The Bravo brothers underlined Trinidad and Tobago’s championship credentials when they pummelled high quality unbeaten half-centuries to inspire a comfortable eight-wicket win over Windward Islands here Tuesday night.

A contractor was on Tuesday charged with assaulting the mother of his children and another woman.

More than two dozen cash crop farmers of Cotton Tree, West Bank Berbice have moved to the High Court seeking damages in excess of $10 million for losses, saying that the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) was negligent in management of drainage and irrigation, which caused persistent flooding of their farmlands.

Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and Everest Cricket Club (ECC) earned outright victories when the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) in conjunction with Noble House Seafoods second division two-day cricket competition resumed last weekend.

Chairman of the parliamentary Special Select Committee on Local Government, Basil Williams, says that the Committee met yesterday afternoon as planned and agreed upon a methodology on how the meetings are to proceed.

Anil Beharry produced a fine all-round effort to spur New Amsterdam/ Canje to  a 28-run victory  over Lower Corentyne in the final of the inaugural Lennox Allicock T20 tournament played on Sunday at the Port Mourant Cricket Club ground.

A minibus driver was yesterday fined $7,000 after he admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol.

Dear Editor, I am unsure of precisely where to begin in addressing Dr David Dabydeen’s letter, but I shall try my level best (‘Minister Anthony paid the printing and shipping costs of his daughter’s book’ SN, January 15).

Dear Editor, The recurring incidences of overtopping along the sea and river defences, the recent reports of scarcity of irrigation water, and the historical approach of discharging excess fresh water into our rivers and the Atlantic Ocean prompted me to write this letter.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- Wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh has been included in a 13-man Jamaica squad announced for their opening game against Barbados next month in the Regional Super50 tournament.

With an increase in resources this year, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has expanded its overall Mashramani programme, adding a Hip Hop dance contest for boys in the children’s category and an international artist to tramp along with revellers on Mash Day.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC-About 200 legitimate ticket holders were denied entry into the Queen’s Park Oval last Saturday for the climax of the Trinidad and Tobago leg of the Caribbean T 20 tournament, officials have reported.

Dear Editor, Within recent times there have been encouraging signs, albeit fleeting, that the government is changing their ways in dealing with the governing of our country.

DERBYSHIRE, United Kingdom, CMC-Head coach, Karl Krikken, has described West Indies cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul as a batting legend whose experience can help transform Derbyshire into one of the top four Clubs in English County Cricket.

Cecil Kennard was on Sunday elected president of the Guyana Horse racing Authority when that body held its annual general meeting at the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club pavilion.

Professional Guard Services (PGS) presented cash prizes to select staff members at its Fourth Quarterly Presentation and Annual Awards, held on Saturday at Kirkpatrick’s Garden Room.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua,  CMC – West Indies selectors have recalled experienced batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for next month’s limited overs tour of Australia, ending the stylish right-hander’s protracted exile from the regional squad.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, called yesterday for a proof of life from ailing President Hugo Chavez, who has not been seen publicly since cancer surgery in Cuba five weeks ago.

HARARE, Zimbabwe, CMC- Coach Alan Butcher says he is anticipating a tough series when Zimbabwe cricketers arrive in the Caribbean for their four- week tour next month.

Dear Editor, I admit that I am an enthusiast when it comes to American football.

Cash crop farmers of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice who are “affected by poor access to water and poor drainage,” have asked for the trench close to their farms to be cleaned.

(Reuters) – Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova scorched into the third round of the Australian Open with displays of ruthless dominance  yesterday to bring some much-needed pizzazz to the main showcourts.

(Jamaica Observer) A Japanese aluminium company believes that there’s big money to be made from red mud deposits here and has put up US$3 million for a pilot project that could result in Jamaica earning billions in foreign exchange.

(BBC) Shane Warne faces a ban for not naming himself captain for Melbourne Stars’ Big Bash League defeat in Perth.

Dear Editor, As you travel around Guyana and share views with persons of every walk of life, social class, religious persuasion, ethnic affinity and age, you hear expressed concerns about the opposition, and more specifically, the APNU leadership, that they are not doing enough.

Members of the Private Sector Commission met with representatives of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) yesterday at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Hadfield Street, Georgetown, a release from APNU said.

(BBC) American legend Roy Jones Jr says he is in talks to fight the Republic of Ireland’s former world champion Steve Collins, 48, in England in April.

Haiti will host the Intersessional Meeting of the conference of heads of government of the Carib-bean Community (Caricom) for the first time on February 18-19, 2013. 

ALGIERS/BAMAKO,  (Reuters) – Islamist fighters have opened an international front in Mali’s civil war by taking dozens of Western hostages at a gas plant in the Algerian desert just as French troops launched an offensive against rebels in neighbouring Mali.

Dear Editor, A letter by W P George in the SN under the caption, ‘GPL should not be placing more burden on the hard-pressed consumers’ instantly brought back thoughts of the Linden electricity increase protest and made me wonder aloud: what if we (Linden/Region 10) were tied in to the insidious and oppressive national grid (GPL)?

(Trinidad Guardian) Criticisms are mounting over plans by National Security Minister Jack Warner to set up five army bases around T&T, immediately after granting powers of arrest to 1,000 precepted soldiers.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment in a release on Tuesday said that Esso Exploration and Production Guyana/ Shell Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd through CGG Veritas will be conducting a 3D seismic survey offshore of Guyana.

MELBOURNE, Australia, CMC – West Indies pacer Kemar Roach went wicketless but his Brisbane Heat still stormed into the final of the Australian Big Bash with a convincing 15-run win over Melbourne Renegades on Tuesday night.

Dear Editor, The straw men have been dragged out for flogging and every girl in town is projecting her own anxieties and opinions or fantasies onto the exchange we have had about dress and rape.

(Barbados Nation) The Barbados economy had a dismal performance in 2012, registering no growth, and the Central Bank is predicting hardly any increased economic activity in the country this year.

A vendor was on Tuesday accused of stealing a quantity of toilet seats from another vendor.

Electing leaders for villages, towns and the city offers Guyanese exciting prospects.

A man who was nabbed with half a gramme of cannabis in his possession was on Monday fined $3,000 and ordered to perform six months’ community service by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

LONDON, (Reuters) – A helicopter crashed into a crane on top of one of Europe’s tallest residential blocks yesterday, killing two people as it burst into flames and spiralled down into rush-hour traffic close to the Houses of Parliament in central London.

 Dear Editor, Firstly I wish to extend my gratitude to you, for publishing my letter in your Wednesday, January 9 edition (‘There is no excuse for the violence committed against our women’).

A very serious allegation has been made that, if true, points to a major deficiency in a sector that should be serving/protecting our young and vulnerable.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has described as unacceptable the protracted delays by the Public Defender, Earl Witter, to present the report into the 2010 operations into Tivoli Gardens, West Kingston.

(Barbados Nation) Thirty-three-year-old Kari Cumberbatch, a line chef at the upscale CinCin By The Sea Restaurant at Prospect, St James, was gunned down yesterday morning in the restaurant’s car park while dropping off his girlfriend to work.