Daily Archive: Saturday, June 15, 2013

CAIRO,  (Reuters) – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said he had cut all diplomatic ties with Damascus today and backed a no-fly zone over Syria, pitching the most populous Arab state more firmly against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Ministry of Education today stated that there will be no transfers for students who wish to move to a school that requires higher marks than the student secured at the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

DUBAI, (Reuters) – Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani won Iran’s presidential election today, the interior ministry said, scoring a surprising landslide victory over conservative hardliners without the need for a second round run-off.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaicans have been left in shock after confirmation came last night that track star Veronica Campbell-Brown has been tested positive for a banned substance.

President Donald Ramotar announced yesterday that he had instructed the board and management of the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) to stand down the proposed 26.7% tariff increase until the government can look at ways of restoring the $5.2b subsidy for the company cut from the budget.

Two fishermen from the No. 66 Fisheries are feared dead after they were tortured and thrown overboard on Tuesday evening by five armed pirates who burnt their boat.

A parliamentary team yesterday found expired drugs and poor delivery of health care among a host of problems during a tour of two West Demerara hospitals and the emergency room at one was described as a junkyard.

Ten market tarmacs which cost over $3 billion to develop are grossly underutilised—where they are used at all—and citizens are of the view that government has carelessly spent taxpayers’ money on these white elephants.

A businessman, who thought cocaine given to him to take to New York was baked into his suitcase, received a three-year jail sentence after he admitted to trafficking in the illegal drug when the matter was heard at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

A seemingly catatonic Shameer Ali, accused of murdering his common-law wife and then slitting his own throat at Kuru Kururu Squatting Area on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, was yesterday arraigned on the capital charge.

Noel Adonis, who was charged with murdering Ishroutie Deonarine at the Queen’s College compound in 2007, was sentence to 30 years imprisonment by Justice Navindra Singh after a jury found him guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter yesterday.

Two technicians from Guyana are among a group to undergo intensive training in managing the Black Sigatoka, disease which the United nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says led to the end of plantain exports from this country.

With nary a word on Thursday night, the opposition voted against the second reading of a bill intended to change name of the Guyana Police Force to the Guyana Police Service.

A miner was yesterday chopped to death at Big Creek Backdam, in the North West District (NWD) of Region One and the suspect has been detained.

The decomposing remains of a Guyana Defence Force corporal was early yesterday morning found in his home at Lamaha Springs, two days after he was not heard from or seen; foul play has not been ruled out.

The National Assembly on Thursday voted to set up a Commission of Inquiry to be appointed to investigate the gastro-like illness in the North West District, since there are several outstanding questions, including how many children actually died.

CARDIFF, Wales,  CMC – Gutsy West Indies were eliminated from the Champions Trophy in remarkable and unfortunate circumstances after their rain-marred Group B match against South Africa ended in a tie on the Duckworth Lewis method.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC-Jamaica’s football chief, Captain Horace Burrell, says results of World Cup Qualifying matches were too poor for Theodore Whitmore to stay on as coach of the Reggae Boyz for the rest of the Brazil 2014 campaign.

Region Eight councillor Neim Mohammed Gafoor, who publicised that Kato primary school children were made to carry logs for meals, is insisting that this has been a regular occurrence and that the distance travelled by the pupils was more than the half mile stated by the Regional Education Officer (ReDO).

President Donald Ramotar yesterday called for level heads among the country’s political leaders as he once more appealed for support for large infrastructure projects, such as the Amaila Falls Hydropower Station, the Marriott Hotel and the Cheddi Jagan airport expansion, saying they are necessary to make the country competitive.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC- Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, whose coaching skills helped Trinidad and Tobago to the 2006 FIFA Men’s World Cup, will take up a two-month assignment with the senior national football team for the 2006 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Despite the dearth of firepower in the bowling department, Team Guyana’s Head Coach Roger Harper is optimistic about doing well in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when the competition gets underway  next month.

The Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) says it is working to speed up the processing of payments to pensioners.

ARNOS VALE, St.Vincent, CMC –Kraigg Braithwaite and Narsingh Deonarine scored half centuries to lead a West Indies A response against Sri Lanka A at stumps on the third day of their rain affected second four-day “test” at Arnos Vale yesterday.

Although surprised at the timing of the decision to set up an international inquiry into the death of renowned academic and political activist Dr Walter Rodney, the main opposition APNU has welcomed the move.

A strategic draft plan dubbed ‘Road to Rio’ will be revised by the executives of the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) this weekend and subsequently presented to the Minister of Sport, Dr.

A single interview is hardly enough to really impart the mastery of Ronald Hollingsworth.

Some Aishalton residents who stopped an excavator owned by mining company Romanex from passing through the South Rupununi community on Wednesday are linked to illegal mining, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment—a claim rejected by the residents.

With the first shipment of paddy en route to Venezuela, Minister of Agriculture Dr Leslie Ramsammy is anticipating that over 40,000 tonnes will be sent to Venezuela by the end of August.

I had been to numerous drama shows but never a musical in Guyana, until the Georgetown International Academy’s (GIA) production of The Lion King.

Nathan Persaud’s 33 and Navindra Persaud’s three wicket haul steered Essequibo to a six wicket win over Demerara in the first match of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Inter-County Under-17 50 overs-a-side competition played at the Everest Sports Club ground, yesterday.

European Union (EU) Ambassador to Guyana Robert Kopecky will meet Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh next Thursday to sign the financial agreement on sugar for 2013.

CARDIFF, Wales, CMC – West Indies have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their rain affected Group B match against South Africa in the Champions Trophy here yesterday.

Hi Everyone, I hung around my aunt Betty’s kitchen a lot when I was growing up.

The Scene Cartoon

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – David Warner is lucky to be available for Ashes selection and the batsman’s attack on England’s Joe Root was “despicable”, according to Australian cricket board chief James Sutherland.

The Guyanese diaspora in the city of East Orange, New Jersey honoured Soca Monarch Jumo Primo with several awards as part of the celebration of Guyana’s 47th Independence Anniversary.

Uree Varswyk, accused of robbing the Post Mistress of the Wismar Post Office of more than $3M to be used for old age pension and national insurance payouts, was yesterday released on $300,000 bail.

Dear Editor, As grassroots mothers, some of us single mothers, we can hardly afford to pay our present electricity bills,  which range from $6,000 to $12,000 on average (with some of us paying much more because of faulty wiring landlords refuse to fix), much less find money we don’t have to pay an increase of 26.7 per cent.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Six batsmen made ducks as visiting Lancashire bowled Essex out for 20 in a second division game at Chelmsford yesterday, their lowest score in a first-class fixture.

From Georgetown to St Lucia, Tobago, and Barbados, Atlanta, New Jersey and New York, fashion designer and entrepreneur Sonia Noel has been making the rounds with her magazine makin style, and her new line First Resort.

ANKARA/BEIRUT, (Reuters) – The United States is considering a no-fly zone in Syria as it weighs options for intervention into the 2-year-old civil war, Western diplomats said yesterday, after the White House said Syria had crossed a “red line” by using nerve gas.

This year’s Miss Guyana Talented Teen is scheduled for August 31 with a series of activities prior to celebrate the pageant’s twelfth staging.

Dear Editor, I refer to the letter ‘Deferred Tax was not included in GPL’s rate computation’ (SN, June 13) written by Mr Nizam Ali of Nizam Ali & Company, the firm which audited the 2012 financial statements of Guyana Power and Light and which signed the Final Return Certificate (FRC) for GPL’s proposed tariff increase of 26.7%.

KINGSTON, Jamaica,  CMC- Jamaica is proceeding with plans to introduce a National Insurance and Retirement Benefits Plan for athletes The plan is expected to provide basic health coverage for all qualified national athletes, who represent Jamaica or have attained the specified professional level in their various sporting disciplines.

How $4M has disappeared without a trace from an account of the Region Ten Regional Democratic Council (RDC).

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – A Mexican judge yesterday ordered the detention of a former Mexican governor suspected of embezzling millions in public funds, deepening a scandal that will test President Enrique Pena Nieto’s anti-corruption agenda.

DUBAI,  (Reuters) – Millions of Iranians voted to choose a new president yesterday, urged by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to turn out in force to discredit suggestions by arch foe the United States that the election would be a sham.

Drama Queens Productions, which is a new production company in Guyana, will stage ‘Love and Madness’ at the Theatre Guild Playhouse on June 22.

Two men wanted in connection with a recent cocaine bust were yesterday arrested when police conducted raids in Georgetown.

After weeks of speculations and hundreds of suggestions via social media, the much-anticipated Caribbean Premier League franchise team names have been announced and their logos revealed.

Dear Editor, To one who knows about the sugar industry, and who, along with other experts, has been monitoring its (under) performance for several years, it makes absolutely no sense to get ‘involved’ except after obtaining full comprehension of the nature of the involvement.

Bonny Alves, Charmaine Blackman, Gerard Gilkes, Colin ‘Karaoke King’ Ambrose, Sonia Yarde, Sheron Cadogan-Taylor, Simone Dowding, Abigail Brower, Max Massiah and many other local artistes will take to the stage tomorrow for the fifth annual father’s night production of To Dad with Love under the theme “Stand Tall Daddy” at the Theatre Guild Playhouse from 20:00 hrs sharp.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC-Assistant coach of the Trinidad and Tobago franchise David Williams is predicting victory for his outfit in the first ever Caribbean Premier League (CPL) which begins next month.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is directing federal agencies to look for ways to eventually share more of their radio airwaves with the private sector as the growing use of smartphones and tablets ratchets up the demand for spectrum, according to a memo released yesterday.

Brazilian national Maria Jose Assis Bazerra, 47, whose bloodied body was found at a mining camp at Tiger Creek Backdam, Mahdia, died as a result of to blunt trauma to the head, a fractured skull and brain hemorrhaging.

Dear Editor, There is a commercial twist to most activities and observances especially Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Secretary’s Day, not to mention Christmas and Thanksgiving in the United States.

Dear Editor, Mr Ruel Johnson is right to assume that I am unaware of my inclusion in an anthology of resident writers, which he states is “yet to make an appearance” (‘None of Mair’s “facts” are correct,’ SN, June 13).

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Losing the first match of a tournament is terrible, said Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari on the eve of the Confederations Cup opener against Japan.

SAO PAULO,  (Reuters) – Small but violent protests in several Brazilian cities this week have added to a sense of growing unrest in Brazil at a time when inflation, crime and President Dilma Rousseff’s popularity are all taking a turn for the worse.

Digicel has launched the BlackBerry Q10 on the local market to coincide with the introduction of the Smartphone across the Caribbean.

CAIRO,  (Reuters) – Syria’s president and his Shi’ite allies were denounced by leading Sunni Arab voices yesterday, including Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood, which had reached out across Islam’s sectarian divide but has now called for jihad.

Painting the Spectrum 9: SASOD’s LGBT Film Festival continues next week with Gun Hill Road, Mosquita Y Mari and the documentary Fagbug.

Dear Editor, The prospect of a highly successful maiden T20 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in July looms, given the uniqueness of the Caribbean and the fact that the diverse talent will be playing for different franchises instead in some cases for their own country.

Protest against proposed hike in electricity tariff: Activist Mark Benschop yesterday organised a protest outside the Office of the Prime Minister on Wight’s Lane, Kingston to protest the proposed 26.7% increase in the Guyana Power and Light Inc’s electricity tariff.

LONDON, (Reuters) – English champion racehorse trainer Henry Cecil, who triumphed a record 75 times at Royal Ascot, died of cancer on Tuesday at the age of 70.

A speedboat captain died yesterday afternoon after another boat collided with his in Supenaam Creek, Essequibo River, where he had stopped to fix his malfunctioning engine.

QUITO, (Reuters) – Ecuador’s Congress yesterday passed a law creating a state watchdog to regulate newspaper and television content, a move critics called a blow to free speech but the government hailed as a step toward more balanced media.

The Indian Cultural Centre screens the classic film Mother India today from 5.30 pm at its Lot 67 New Haven, Bel Air, location.

MUMBAI,  (Reuters) – Bollywood actor Suraj Pancholi who was arrested after the suicide of his actress girlfriend Jiah Khan will spend at least another week in jail after a Mumbai court on Friday adjourned his bail hearing until June 21.

Dear Editor, Tributes are in order for three categories of men who, over the years, have definitely fulfilled their roles as fathers in their own special ways.

Guyana’s strength for the upcoming Caribbean Karate Championships in Barbados next month lies with the technique of the younger karatekas says Sensei Jeffrey Wong who added that the team was on a mission to bring home as many medals as possible.

The furore occasioned by the PRISM surveillance programme which collects phone call logs and Internet communication speaks directly to the confusion at the heart of America’s response to the 9/11 attacks, particularly its willingness to embrace the intrusive provisions of the Patriot Act.

Canal or jungle?The main canal that drains the Tuschen Housing Scheme is covered with thick vegetation hampering drainage in the community. 

Politikles

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s Congress will discuss legislation next week that would prohibit bottle feeding of infants to try to encourage breast feeding and reduce the use of baby formula, said a lawmaker of the ruling Socialist Party.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron will press its overseas tax havens to sign up to an international transparency treaty in London today, hoping to bolster British credibility ahead of next week’s G8 summit.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaican track star Veronica Campbell-Brown has been tested positive for a banned substance.

(Trinidad Express) Once again, the Integrity Commission finds itself mired in controversy, as Government yesterday suggested that its chairman, Ken Gordon, had been compromised.