Daily Archive: Wednesday, June 5, 2013

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denied today rumors that he was preparing another adjustment of the local bolivar currency, which has been devalued five times in the last decade.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – Paris Jackson, the 15-year-old daughter of late pop star Michael Jackson, was rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital yesterday after an apparent suicide attempt, her mother said, but her family later reported she is “physically fine.”

(Trinidad Express) A 28-YEAR-old Siparia woman was found dead in her house on Tuesday afternoon.

The Government of Guyana has granted its approval for Fly Jamaica to operate the Georgetown/New York and the Georgetown/Toronto routes from Guyana.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon today reported that Cabinet has offered its ‘no objection’ to several contracts in various sectors totalling more than $2B.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Syrian forces and their Hezbollah militant allies seized control on Wednesday of the border town of Qusair, dealing a strategic defeat to rebel fighters battling for two years to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

(Trinidad Express) Trinidad and Tobago may soon join the growing list of countries to restrict the production, sale and use of plastic bags, following a suggestion to that effect by President Anthony Carmona in his World Environment Day message yesterday.

An expectant mother and her baby died at the Georgetown Public Hospital yesterday morning, triggering an internal probe as well as a demand for answers by her devastated husband.

Opposition leader David Granger yesterday denied the claim that he had ruled out the appointment of either the acting Chief Justice Ian Chang or acting Chancellor Carl Singh, while saying that he only asked for a transparent process to be used to fill the posts.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack says her office is seeing more requests for advice on cases from police but there is still a long way to go.

Cabinet has approved tougher regulations in relation to garbage in the city which will be signed today under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act, the Government Information Agency reported last evening.

Lawyers for both the government and the applicants seeking to have the laws against cross-dressing invalidated yesterday completed their arguments and acting Chief Justice Ian Chang is now expected to rule on the case at a later date.

Police yesterday midday found over two kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in a suitcase at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and a Canada-based Guyanese man has been detained.

A husband and wife recently blamed tensions over their daughter’s impending nuptials as the reason they ended up in court charged with assaulting each other.

A man who said that he escaped from the custody of police because he did not want to leave his mother alone and that frustration over not having money led him to robbing a woman was yesterday handed a four-year prison term when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

In two weeks, the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) Secreta-riat distributed 3,200 more systems across Region Four, including to several persons with disabilities in Georgetown.

The three clerks on duty were no match for the throngs of pensioners who lined up at the Georgetown Post Office Corporation yesterday.

APNU MP Basil Williams says the parliamentary review of the local government reform legislation should be completed within the next two weeks, and he has defended proposed amendments which will see a major change in the way the Local Government Commission is composed and in the hiring and dismissal of staff of local government organs.

Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, on Monday met the Women’s Miners Association (WMA) as part of efforts towards a strategic partnership with stakeholders.

The Guyana Association of Optometrists (GAO) held its first continuing education (CE) optometry seminar on June 1, 2013 at the Georgetown Club.

Guyana Football Federation (GFF) president Christopher Matthias following his return from the 63rd FIFA Congress which was held on May 30th -31st in the island of Mauritius stated that the approach and advancements taken by the GFF is in line with fundamental guidelines of the world governing body.

Minister within the Ministry of Local Government Norman Whittaker on Monday shared that two of the four senior vacant positions within the Georgetown municipality have been filled.

Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran says government will be requesting additional specialist doctors from China to serve in areas such as gynaecology as the country aims to achieve two Millennium Development Goals related to child mortality and maternal health.

Mackeson ‘Keep Your Five Alive’ Champions Sparta Boss at a simple presentation ceremony yesterday at the Ansa McAl Headquarters, Beterverwagting (BV) East Coast Demerara was officially presented with the championship trophy and prizes.

The Ministry of Housing and Water last week launched the Fourth International Building and Construction Exposition and outlined plans to unveil Silica City which it says will take residential housing to higher grounds.

Although there is talk of the joint opposition in Parliament, David Patterson, General Secretary of the Alliance For Change (AFC) says the party is sidelined on important national issues by the main opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

Despite encountering a few challenges in Kazakhstan, Golden Jaguars International  Walter `Boyd’ Moore said the experience is one of a life-time in his football career.

BIRMINGHAM, England, CMC – West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by 17 runs in a warm-up match yesterday to sign-off their preparations for the Champions Trophy .

The agriculture ministry is embarking on a test cultivation of corn and black eye peas which Guyana imports from Belize, with the hope of cultivating these crops locally.

CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn is doubtful for the opening match of the Champions Trophy against India in Cardiff  tomorrow after being diagnosed with a mild left side strain.

A week after fire destroyed two hearses and the exterior of the Merriman’s Funeral Home, the business remains in operation though the company has yet to start repairs and no leads have been unearthed in the suspected arson attempt.

LONDON, (Reuters) – While the first two Champions Trophies were intended to raise the profile of cricket in host nations Bangladesh and Kenya, the seventh and last edition starting in England tomorrow will be a straight shootout between the sport’s eight heavyweight nations.

Empretec Guyana and Republic Bank Guyana are again partnering on the “Venture Out!”

MIAMI,  (Reuters) – When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the Miami Heat in 2010, teaming up with Dwyane Wade to form the ‘Big Three’, James famously promised “not one, not two, not three” NBA championships.

PARIS, (Reuters) – Roger Federer calls Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a “great friend” but received no mercy from the Frenchman who swept him aside in devastating fashion yesterday to boost hopes of a first home men’s winner at Roland Garros since 1983.

Officials from the Region Nine administration and the police recently held a meeting with a delegation from Bom Fim, State of Roraima, Brazil in an attempt to deepen cooperation on security.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC- West Indies offspinner Sunil Narine has shot to number one for the first time in his short career, according to the latest ICC ODI bowling rankings.

ROME, (Reuters) – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt aims to preserve his sprint dominance and add to his collection of six Olympic gold medals before he ends his glittering athletics career after the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.

Caricom Secretary-General, Irwin LaRocque has welcomes the judgment of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal (ECCA) with respect to the process to be followed by St Lucia in making the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) its final court of appeal.

Charges are expected to be laid soon against Ramesh Tarachand, the Albion, Corentyne man who allegedly strangled his wife on Sunday night.

Kishan Ramdat, the Unity, Mahaica fisherman and his two-year-old niece who were injured in a gas explosion on Sunday night are still in critical condition in the Burn Care Unit of the Georgetown Hospital.

The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) says that investigations into the spilt oil which caused two separate accidents on the Rupert Craig Highway last month is still underway and promised to make public the results of this investigate once completed.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC- The eagerly anticipated draft of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be streamed live from Jamaica on  today, organizers have announced.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC-Telecommun-icatioms Company Digicel yesterday announced that it was extending its sponsorship of the West Indies cricket team for another three years until September 2016.

The Wismar Post Office remained closed yesterday following the daring daylight robbery on Monday  in which an undisclosed sum of money was stolen along with a rifle from the uniformed police sentry.

BRASILIA/SAO PAULO,  (Reuters) – Lawmakers from the Brazilian farm state of Mato Grosso do Sul asked President Dilma Rousseff’s government yesterday to send troops to end land invasions by Indians claiming their ancestral territory.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC- Trinidad and Tobago national player Evin Lewis continued his good form by smashing a century in a domestic T20 cricket tournament here on the weekend.

CHICAGO/KANSAS CITY  (Reuters) – The Oregon field in which a farmer found sprouts of unauthorized genetically modified wheat was never used to study altered varieties, a lawyer for the grower said on Tuesday.

The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) secured three convictions from the 13 cases that were disposed of during Demerara April Criminal Assizes, which concluded on Monday.

AMMAN,  (Reuters) – France said yesterday it had performed tests that proved President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had used nerve gas in Syria’s civil war, a “red line” that the United States and other countries have repeatedly said would demand a response.

ATLANTA, United States, CMC- A typically aggressive half century from West Indies women star all-rounder Stafanie Taylor highlighted the finals of the Atlanta Women’s T20 tournament over the weekend.

Two men were on Monday remanded to prison after being charged with the larceny of a gold chain, valued $300,000.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A global network of private companies were blacklisted by the United States yesterday for providing revenue to the Iranian government’s leadership and helping it evade the pinch from international sanctions on Tehran’s nuclear program, the U.S.

Dear Editor, It is astounding to realize that the minimum insurance permitted for minibuses, hire cars, lorries ‒ even heavy duty ones ‒ for collision (Full Third Party) is a mere $25,000, and for injuries and death $20,000. 

HAMILTON, Bermuda,  CMC — Teenage cricketer Kamau Leverock has been chosen to bowl against the Australian and England teams in the lead-up to next month’s second Ashes Test at Lord’s in London.

A dog-food vendor was yesterday remanded to prison when he was taken before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing a woman’s gold chain.

Dear Editor, I refer to an article in the June 3 edition of Stabroek News captioned ‘Prospective cable operator calls for fair allocation of spectrum.’

MIAMI, (Reuters) – LeBron James top-scored with 32 points as the Miami Heat reached their third straight NBA Finals with a 99-76 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday, but it was Dwyane Wade’s return to form that gave coach Erik Spoelstra the most pleasure.

DHAKA, (Reuters) – Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful confessed to match-fixing yesterday, after being suspended by his national cricket board (BCB) pending an investigation.

(Barbados Nation) The President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) has described as alarming the level of unoccupied or unsold properties in prime Bridgetown locations.

A father of two was yesterday charged after allegedly stealing $81,420 worth in items from Roti Express Snackette.

Dear Editor, Instead of addressing what I’ve raised about the management of the Caribbean Press, the Minister of Culture, Dr Frank Anthony continues to present misrepresentations and half-truths, completely hides from journalists asking hard questions, or is content to let the PPP’s idiotic phantom letter writers and ‘columnists’ engage in the ad hominem and pathetically ineffective attacks against me.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – A Republican U.S. senator was under fire yesterday after blaming youthful hormones, at least in part, for sexual assaults in the military.

The notion that states should seek to increase the happiness of their citizens dates back to before the British philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) told us that: “The necessity of pursuing happiness [is] the foundation of liberty. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn., (Reuters) – No subject is taboo for country singer LeAnn Rimes as she digs deep into her soul on her new album “Spitfire.”

Helping a friend

Over the median: A collision yesterday along the western lane of the East Bank public road, a stone’s throw away from Two Brothers’ Gas Station, landed this car over the median and onto its side after it was brushed by a speeding truck which failed to stop following the impact.

Hamilton Green, mayor of Georgetown, is encouraging residents to engage in urban farming and plant food crops where space is available, instead of giving the environmental health inspectors reasons to serve notices for overgrown, bushy yards.

Roraima Airways and Kabalebo Nature Resort of Suriname have agreed to offer joint tour packages between Guyana and Suriname.

The Caricom arena will certainly have obtained some international notoriety last week, with the visits of US Vice President Biden, and then China’s President Xi Jinping to Trinidad & Tobago.

Dear Editor, The New Building Society must be commended for consistently bringing down the mortgage interest rates.