Daily Archive: Thursday, January 24, 2013

(Trinidad Express) The man accused of biting off chunks of flesh from the face and leg of his five-day-old daughter was yesterday granted bail by a Port of Spain magistrate after spending more than a month at the St Ann’s Hospital.

(Trinidad Express) Former minister in the Ministry of National Security, Collin Partap, yesterday pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to submit himself to a breathalyser test.

KINGSTON, Jamaica,  CMC-Recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Michael Muirhead has declared an end to the once turbulent relationship between WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).

The Guyana Trades Union Congress and the Guyana Public Service Union today announced that they will be holding a joint press conference tomorrow The press conference will be held at the GPSU’s Headquarters, 160 Regent & Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Bourda at 12:00 hrs.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) today announced that it has tentatively scheduled one of the West Indies v Pakistan Test matches for the Providence stadium in light of progress towards the “normalization” of the cricket situation here.

RIO DE JANEIRO,  (Reuters) – After years of gains against destruction of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil appears to be suffering from an increase in deforestation as farmers, loggers, miners and builders move into previously untouched woodland, according to data compiled by the government and independent researchers.

UNITED NATIONS,  (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council has given a green light for peacekeepers to use surveillance drones in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after weeks of delay over concerns of Russia, China and Rwanda about the use of aerial spy equipment.

(Trinidad Guardian) Former Clico business magnate Lawrence Duprey has written to the commission of enquiry into the collapse of Clico to say he is unwilling to appear before it to give evidence.

Police Commissioner (ag) Leroy Brumell has confirmed the fatal shooting of a man outside the Cool Square Guest House in West Ruimveldt.

The police today said that four bodies have been found following Tuesday’s collision in the Mazaruni River that left nine persons missing.

(Barbados Nation) Get video cameras working in all police stations in Barbados and protect the innocent.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – Victoria Azarenka brought Sloane Stephens’s Melbourne Park fairytale to an end today, setting up an Australian Open final against Li Na, but the defending champion came under fire for taking an injury timeout just as her nerves appeared to desert her.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – China’s Li Na sent a wayward Maria Sharapova crashing out of the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday and says there will be no repeat of her capitulation to Kim Clijsters in the 2011 Melbourne Park final.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic produced some of the best tennis of his career and wasted little time in advancing to his third successive Australian Open final with a 6-2 6-2 6-1 destruction of fourth seed David Ferrer in 89 minutes today.

MADRID,  (Reuters) – Spain’s influential El Pais newspaper withdrew what it said was “false photo of Hugo Chavez” that it had published in its on-line and print editions today.

With no sign yesterday of any of the eight persons missing after Tuesday’s boat collision near Crab Falls, Mazaruni River, authorities have shifted their focus from rescue to recovery and Transport Minister Robeson Benn said plans were being finalised to set up an operations camp near the site of the mishap to locate the bodies.

A three-week-old baby left in the care of a five-year-old perished last night in a Stewartville fire which also left three persons homeless.

Eighteen students living at the Government School dormitory at Waramadong, Region 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) have  tested positive for malaria and a medical team is to visit today.

Government has empanelled a ministerial team to fine-tune the necessary procedures for a national minimum wage in Guyana, the Government Information Agency reported yesterday.

While another suspect was yesterday arrested in Curacao in connection with the US$11.5 million gold heist from a Guyana-registered cargo ship almost two months ago, sources yesterday revealed that the Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) report compiled by its officers will not be presented to the public.

With the University of Guyana (UG) in debt to the tune of around $250M at the end of last year, Bursar John Seeram has indicated that a significant increase in the institution’s budgetary subvention is needed to solve its financial woes.

Over seven decades of the Law Reports of Guyana are now available and President Donald Ramotar yesterday described it as a major initiative in bringing justice to the people.

Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Commodore Gary Best has ordered a Board of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death last Friday of Lance Corporal Eon Blair who had been participating in an annual five-mile fitness run.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon at his post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President yesterday, reiterated Government’s commitment to honouring the undertakings outlined in its agreement with the Region 10 Administration in August last year.

A Port Kaituma miner was killed yesterday morning after the walls of a mining pit he was working in at an Arakaka backdam location, caved in on him.

Relatives of Shemar Miggins yesterday told Stabroek News that they were baffled when the West Demerara Regional Hospital refused to release the boy’s organs for a second autopsy procedure.

Asks Donald Duff The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will have two observers present on Sunday when the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) stages its annual general meeting at the Georgetown Cricket Club pavilion beginning at 10am.

The University of Guyana (UG) yesterday launched the long-delayed World Bank-funded US$10M Science and Technology Support Project (STSP).

Demerara yesterday clinched the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior inter county four-day title when they defeated GT&T Berbice by four wickets at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

Guyana was on January 18th elected to the post of Vice President in the Bureau of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund, a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said.

Mark Austin has promised to teach Gladwin Dorway a lesson when the two meet tomorrow night as   the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) stages its first Guyana Fight Night card for 2013 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) on Monday received 15,000 insecticide-treated bed nets as part of a ramped up Ministry of Health fight against malaria.

Close to one million dollars will be up for grabs in the Unique Entertainment/Banks Premium Beer Futsal knockout tournament which starts tomorrow at the Mackenzie Sports Club Hard-court.

A man who allegedly used threatening language and assaulted his reputed wife during a row over a phone call was yesterday granted bail in the sum of $40,000.

US Ambassador D Brent Hardt says while there has always been intense political rivalry in his country, leaders have managed to set aside differences in the national interest.

Digicel last Saturday handed over a refurbished community centre to the residents of Matthew’s Ridge, Region One.

Director of the Institute of Health Science Education (IHSE), Dr. Madan Rambaran recently spoke about the accomplishments of the local residency post-graduate education in the last seven years in Guyana.

Energy Ministers and senior officials from South American and Arab countries (ASPA) met in Abu Dhabi on January 16, 2013 for an inaugural meeting on the energy sector, held as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

After posing and flexing his chiseled physique to earn a bronze medal at the CAC Championships and the top honours at Guyana’s premier bodybuilding event, The Hugh Ross Classic last year, muscleman Kerwin ‘Chisel’ Clarke is aspiring to secure a pro card in 2013.

Renditions from the Messengers and J4 Inspiration filled the Umana Yana on Tuesday at the award of prizes to the winning choirs in the first ever National Choral Song Festival.

The Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman (GUSIA) extends to the Muslim Community and Guyana, greetings on the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi  or Youman Nabi. 

The Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) will tomorrow mark one year since it came into existence at an anniversary celebration, to be held at the Sea Breeze Hotel, Pere Street, Kitty.

Attorney Ronald Burch-Smith, who served as Secretary of the Linden Commission of Inquiry, has resigned from the post after his request for an increase in remuneration was declined, Attorney General Anil Nandlall says.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said unidentified groups had entered the country with the aim of assassinating him and the head of the National Assembly as President Hugo Chavez recovers from cancer in Cuba.

The Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) will stage its first tournament for 2013 today at the Malteenoes Sports Club.

Ryan Stephney, later adjudged Most Valuable Player of the Jets Basketball Exchange Classic scored the game-high 22 points to lead Ravens Basketball Club to a 65-61 victory over Amelia Ward Jets Saturday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard-court.

HOBART,  (Reuters) – Phil Hughes returned to form with a century before Xavier Doherty and Moises Henriques took three wickets each to lead Australia to a series-levelling 32-run win over Sri Lanka in the final one-day cricket international on Wednesday.

In a preliminary statement, the Caricom Electoral Observer Mission (CEOM) says the Nevis Island Assembly Elections held on Tuesday were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere and in a civil manner that demonstrated respect for the electoral process.

In its Youman Nabi message, the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana yesterday stressed the principle of equality.

The semi-finals and final of Mayor Hamilton Green’s 78th birth anniversary inter-ward knockout football tournament is set to conclude this evening at the Den Amstel Ground.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Serena Williams went down smashing rackets and screaming as she bowed out of the Australian Open quarter-finals  yesterday, hampered by a back injury and beaten in three sets by fellow American Sloane Stephens.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The U.S. military will formally end its ban on women serving in frontline combat roles, officials said yesterday, in a move that could open thousands of fighting jobs to female service members for the first time.

Eid Milad-un-Nabi or Youman Nabi, or the day in observance of the birth of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad over 1400 years ago, is once again being observed worldwide and here by the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex.

(Reuters) – Two California men have sued Lance Armstrong and his book publishers for fraud and false advertising, claiming that the cyclist’s best-selling memoirs, billed as non-fiction, were revealed to be filled with lies after he confessed last week to systematic doping.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday forcefully defended her handling of the Sept.

(Reuters) – Triple London Olympic champion Usain Bolt is injury free and eyeing three gold medals at this year’s world championships in Moscow in August.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC-Head coach Sherwin Campbell says he anticipates an impressive showing from West Indies Women in the ICC Women’s World Cup which begins January 31 in India.

A miner accused of playing his music loudly to the annoyance of his neighbour was yesterday released on self bail when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

(Reuters) – Kevin Durant put on a second-half show to help Oklahoma City overwhelm the Los Angeles Clippers 109-97 on Tuesday in a possible dress rehearsal for this season’s Western Conference finals.

(Jamaica Gleaner) With evidence indicating that Jamaica lottery scammers are continuing to run rampant in at least three American states, two United States (US) legislators are considering bringing the multibillion-dollar industry to the attention of Congress.

Opposition Leader and APNU Chairman David Granger, MP, and a team of shadow ministers along with representatives of the Private Sector Commission agreed to meet early next month to discuss the latter’s proposals, particularly for the 2013 National Budget.

GENEVA,  (Reuters) – Leading judges and jurists from around the world, many from developing countries, yesterday condemned the Sri Lankan government’s sacking of the country’s chief justice, arguing it violated international law.

Dear Editor, I have read the opinions expressed in your newspaper and website on the decision of the Learned Justice Diana Insanally in the application by Joan A Chang, Action No.

AMMAN,  (Reuters) – Around 20,000 Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring Jordan in the last seven days due to escalating violence in southern Syria, the fastest influx since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad two years ago, Jordan’s foreign minister said yesterday.

(BBC) India took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the one-day series against England following a five-wicket win in Mohali yesterday.

Dear Editor, I join with Mr Patrick in his expression of gratitude for the reopening of the Agricola Post Office (SN, January 6).

(Trinidad Express) A MORVANT couple were shot dead as they slept in their bed early Tuesday morning but by 1 p.m.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron promised Britons a vote on quitting the European Union, rattling London’s biggest allies and some investors by raising the prospect of uncertainty and upheaval.

GDF Chief of Staff Commodore Gary Best and Canadian Defence Attaché Colonel Yvan Boilard discussed areas of cooperation between the two armed forces, when Boilard paid a courtesy call at Camp Ayanganna on Tuesday.

Tegucigalpa, (Reuters) – Honduras’ Congress on Tuesday approved a measure that allows senior political officials including the president to be prosecuted and removed from office, lawmakers said.

The Caricom Secretariat said the first of two workshops on the development and use of a Caribbean Harmonised Reporting Template (CHART) started in St Lucia yesterday aimed at raising awareness of the draft template that is used for streamlining reporting in the Region to biodiversity-related MEAs.

(Trinidad Express) Government was on Tuesday accused of using National Security helicopters for campaigning in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election.

Dear Editor, In your news item ‘PNM wins all Tobago seats in historic result’ (SN, Jan 23), I conducted tracking opinion polls for NACTA from January 2011 till last Monday conducting no less than seven polls in as many trips to the island, and did not rule out such an outcome though I thought it would be highly improbable. 

MELBOURNE, Australia,  CMC-An Australian batsman has criticized Cricket Australia for its decision to let West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels off with a reprimand following his ugly on field altercation with Shane Warne.

Against High Court decision: Dozens of protesters yesterday picketed the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs over a High Court decision against the village council of Isseneru as it relates to a mining claim.

The GDF Coast Guard and MARAD on Tuesday detained the fishing trawler, the MV Sujam32 which was observed to be listing heavily while putting out to sea.

Dear Editor, The leaders of Guyana and Suriname recently were invited by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to attend the 12th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) heads of government summit from February 6 to 7 in Cairo.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman stepped behind the camera for his directing debut with the British film “Quartet” about a group of retired opera singers.

A 35-year-old woman accused of maliciously damaging a television set was yesterday released on $35,000 bail when she appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

COUVA, Trinidad, CMC-Trinidad and Tobago have resumed training for the regional four-day and Super50 campaigns after winning the Caribbean T20 tournament for a third straight year.

(Reuters) – Never mind President Barack Obama’s inauguration address or what Michelle Obama was wearing at the ball.

The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) yesterday said power was set be restored to its Bartica customers by last evening, after it was forced to disconnect a malfunctioning Caterpillar Unit to perform diagnostics and repairs.

We could learn two valuable lessons from Jamaica, in fast-tracking our leap into a 21st century society.

Two men, who had been charged with murdering two women in 2006 and 2007, were on Monday allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter and will be sentenced early next month following the presentation of probation reports to the two judges before whom they appeared.

The Neal and Massy Group yesterday presented cash prizes of $20,000 each to 61 winners in its MoneyGram and SurePay promotions.

Dear Editor, The most exciting aspect of the just concluded T-20 regional tournament is the justification of the hype of three young fast bowlers who were being touted by none other than revered cricket columnist Tony Cozier as the real deal.

(Trinidad Express) He may not have paid a price at the polls for his now infamous “Calcutta ship coming” statement, but Hilton Sandy, according to sources, will be relieved of the portfolio of Deputy Chief Secretary at the inauguration of the Tobago House of Assembly.