Daily Archive: Saturday, July 6, 2013

(Reuters) – An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 with 307 people on board crashed and burst into flames as it landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday after a flight from Seoul, and initial reports said two people were killed and more than 130 sent to hospitals.

Guyana and the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) today signed a country assistance programme agreement that will inject US$7.32M ($1.5b) into Guyana’s agriculture sector.

(Reuters) – Liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei was chosen as Egypt’s interim Prime Minister on Saturday as the transitional administration fought to restore calm after at least 35 people were killed in Islamist protests that swept the country.

MORELIA, Mexico,  CMC – Guyana’s teenage sprinter Kadecia Baird ran a season’s best 51.32 seconds to win the Women’s 400 metres at the XXIV Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Athletics Championships today.

DUBAI, UAE,  CMC – West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo will miss tomorrow’s crucial match in the Celkon Mobile Cup tri-nation One Day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka in Port of Spain following his suspension for one match after his team was fined for an over-rate offence during Friday’s match against India.

(Reuters) – Marion Bartoli would not have been high on any list of likely Wimbledon champions a fortnight ago but today the quirky Frenchwoman overwhelmed Sabine Lisicki 6-1 6-4 to claim her first grand slam title.

Leader of main opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) David Granger says the coalition has no qualms with the move yesterday by the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) to vent its dissatisfaction with the coalition as a separate political party.

(Trinidad Express) President of the Dominican Republic Danilo Medina has appealed to regional leaders to allow his country to join Caricom.

(Trinidad Express) Jack Warner has formed a new political party—the Independent Liberal Party (ILP)—to bring down the People’s Partnership Government, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said last night.

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) yesterday demanded that any further dialogue by APNU with the government be tied to the consideration of several proposals, including the setting up of the Public Procurement Commission.

By Shakisa Harvey An American woman was yesterday sentenced to four years in jail after she confessed to having over 4.130 kilos of cocaine in a false bottom of her suitcase while being an outbound passenger at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, destined for the United States.

The newly-elected head of the local corruption watchdog group says it is not too late for Guyana to put mechanisms in place for a better ranking on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which is due to be released later this year.

The Guyana Sugar Corpora-tion (GuySuCo) is expected to harvest just over 1,000 tonnes of cane for the first week of its second crop which began this week.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – A commanding century from captain Virat Kohli and incisive seam-bowling propelled India to a convincing 102-run victory over West Indies in the fourth match of the Celkon Mobile Cup tri-nation ODI series at Queen’s Park Oval yesterday.

Customs officials yesterday morning discovered some 640 kilogrammes of compressed marijuana stashed in a container full of cars at the John Fernandes Terminal at Industrial Site, Back Road.

LAHORE, Pakistan,  CMC- Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore says his team intends to put their poor performance in the Champions Trophy behind them and strive for better results on their tour of the Caribbean.

Police handwriting experts are poring over contracts from an IDB security programme to ascertain whether fake signatures were affixed.

Guyana’s record-breaking power lifters Randolph ‘The Accomplisher’ Morgan and Anis Ade Thomas copped gold, silver and bronze medals on day three of the Caribbean and Pan American Powerlifting Championships yesterday in Orlando, Florida, USA.

The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) believes that government concessions are urgently needed to help maintain viability in the mining sector.

It took a great team effort from Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) yesterday to edge out a strong Lodge Secondary 2-1 in a crucial match as play continued in the Digicel’s Schools Football Championship at Eve Leary Sport Club ground.

An investigation carried out by the Ministry of Education has determined that the children from the Kato Primary School, who were allegedly made to fetch logs for their meals, were only asked to do it twice, Minister Priya Manickchand said on Thursday.

There have been mixed reactions from the retail business community to the mandatory five-day work week and new $35,000 per month minimum wage, though generally employers said they would abide by the new regulation.

Chairman of the Private Sector Commission Ron Webster yesterday praised the construction sector for its contribution to the national economy and he called for a body to oversee it to ensure that there are high standards maintained.

Fourteen youths yesterday graduated from a training programme, which aims to tackle the issues of uneducated youths, underemployment and the growing needs of the forestry sector, at the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) Multiplex building in Kingston.

Leandre Perez, the 17-year-old who died after a truck toppled while trying to climb a hill at Farm End, Matthews Ridge, North West District on Wednesday, took his last breath pinned under the wheel of a truck as his older brother tried desperately to free him.

Mark Assing, called ‘Jesse’, who was wanted by police for fatally shooting a woman last year after she intervened in a row he had with her son over a game bird, was yesterday read a murder charge in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

A Campbellville resident was shot and left for dead when gunmen opened fire on him at Cummings Street, Alberttown early yesterday morning.

A police team has returned to the North West District after receiving information about a suspect in the fatal ambush that left a Brazilian miner dead on Tuesday.

A gritty Nikkoloi Smith performance powered Plaisance Secondary to a 51-47 upset victory over the highly favoured Christianburg/Wismar Secondary as action in the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) continued at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue on Thursday.

Ricky Shakes, one of Guyana’s renowned national players will be off the football scene for a few months after rupturing his Achilles tendon on Tuesday while training with his Boreham Wood team in England.

The first local projects under the 7th cycle of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)-sponsored US$7.1 million Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) are likely to be initiated by the latter half of 2014, says Michael Singh, Project Manager of BNTF, Guyana.

Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang yesterday stayed the proceedings in government’s challenge to last year’s budget cuts until the determination of an appeal filed by lawyers for Opposition Leader David Granger, who was recently struck out as a defendant in the case.

Pastry Chef Kester Robinson says he was born to be a chef.

Director of the Child Protection Agency Ann Greene on Thursday implored members of the media to play their part in helping to protect children.

From the inception of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) in 1973, economic integration and a viable trading bloc were the incentives behind the regional integration.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC- The members of ICC World T20 champions West Indies have received special awards for their accomplishment.

Ticket sales for the upcoming West Indies/Pakistan fixtures commencing on July 14 and 16 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, began yesterday at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) office after technical difficulties over the last two days.

A batch of 50 students who benefited from scholarships to study at the secondary, technical and tertiary levels under the Hinterland Scholarship Programme graduated on Wednesday at a ceremony held at the Amerindian Village, Sophia Exhibition Complex.

The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA), after a Captain’s Workshop held last weekend, will now host another session for potential and current cricket match scorers, today at 9:00hrs at the Muslim Youth Organisation Club (MYO), Woolford Avenue.

Hi Everyone, I always say, if you’re going to have a cookie, then have a cookie.

Cartoon

A confident 22-man outfit departed Guyana yesterday to compete in the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) under-19 15s tournament which kicks off today in Trinidad at the Fatima College Ground, Mucurapo.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – In the end, an exhausted, sweat-soaked Novak Djokovic could not stop himself from joining 15,000 hollering fans in giving Argentine warrior Juan Martin Del Potro a standing ovation after an epic display of courage and endurance at Wimbledon on Friday.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said yesterday he had decided to offer asylum to former U.S.

Dear Editor, It would appear that the new Order imposing a 40- hour work week has raised some concerns, especially as it relates to overtime.

Ryan Hoppie and Bibi Halima Khan are each $1 million richer and the proud owners of two new Toyota Raum cars after they emerged the winners of the GT&T Guyana Star Jingle and Song Competition English and Bollywood segments respectively.

Several volunteers and staff of the Guyana Red Cross Society have successfully completed five days of training in psychosocial support which was facilitated by Coralee Cambridge.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Unintelligible to most beyond Britain and its former colonies and under threat from an upstart short form of the game, the battle for “the Ashes” with Australia is a rare chance for English cricket to prove its financial worth.

LOUIS D’OR, Tobago, CMC- Opener Ross Powell struck a powerful half century to help set up a 20 run victory for the Leewards over Guyana, their first win as the Regional Under 17 Tournament entered its third round on Thursday.

CAIRO, (Reuters) – At least 24 people died across Egypt yesterday as Islamists opposed to the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi took to the streets to vent their fury at what they say was a military coup.

Witness

The Guyana Police Force(GPF) has issued a wanted bulletin for Satish Neil Ramcharitar,  who is wanted by the police for questioning in relation to the murder of Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara electrician Jagdeo Thakurdeen.

Dear Editor, Sexual harassment is an offence that is totally under-legislated though it is all too prevalent.

SHAW PARK, Tobago, CMC- Barbados defeated the Windward Islands by 45 runs to continue their unbeaten run in the Regional Under 17 tournament which entered its third round on Thursday.

Dear Editor, I read with great interest Ralph Ramkarran’s column, ‘The Kleptocratic Republic of Guyana’ in Stabroek News of Sunday, June 23.

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – A nocturnal Australian parrot that hops like a kangaroo and had not been seen alive for more than a century has not only been seen but has been photographed, a naturalist said yesterday, but he is keeping the whereabouts a secret.

A man was arraigned yesterday on a drug trafficking charge after police found 6.860 kilos of cannabis in a room that he was allegedly renting.

SANTIAGO,  (Reuters) – Massive protests in Brazil, Egypt and Turkey should jolt governments across the globe into ensuring they are providing crucial public services and opportunities to their citizens, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in an interview yesterday.

A group of local fashion designers are now members of a new ‘Guyana Fashion Designers Council’, launched last Sunday at the Umana Yana under the auspices of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA).

(Jamaica Gleaner) A businesswoman was shot dead as she left her home near Weymouth Drive in Washington Gardens, south St Andrew yesterday morning.

A man was yesterday denied bail and remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry after he was arraigned on three counts of armed robbery.

Dear Editor, In a country which has no services available for persons whose lives have been destroyed by alcohol consumption, there is a certain irony in how the Caribbean Premier League deals with the Guyanese branding of alcohol.

SAN JOSE,  (Reuters) – Suffering a potentially fatal swelling in the brain, Costa Rican grandmother Floribeth Mora says a voice spoke to her through a photograph of the late Pope John Paul II, miraculously curing her and sealing the late pontiff’s sainthood.

(Billboard) – Rapper Wale claims his first number one album on the Billboard 200 chart this week, as his new release ‘The Gifted’ debuts in the top position.

BON ACCORD, Tobago,  CMC- A die-hard half century by Shahid Crooks pulled Jamaica from the brink of defeat against Trinidad and Tobago in their third Round match of the Regional Under 17 tournament here on Thursday.

RIO DE JANEIRO,  (Reuters) – Brazilian government figures released yesterday indicated further rise in deforestation in the Amazon, a trend that could soon amount to a full year’s reversal from recent progress in the battle against destruction of the world’s largest rainforest.

ALBI, France, (Reuters) – Peter Sagan thrashed his rivals in the fight for the green jersey when he won the seventh stage of the Tour de France after a fine tactical move by his Cannondale team yesterday.

(Billboard) –  It’s not often that an album climbs to number one on the Billboard 200 chart, but that’s just what might happen next week.

During the month of June 2013, twenty-two persons were charged before the courts for littering in several Georgetown wards. 

Dear Editor, I want to respond to Ruel Johnson’s letter titled ‘What is the number of books printed, shipped, delivered and distributed by the Caribbean Press?’

ZURICH, Switzerland, CMC- Caribbean football champions Cuba have made significant gains to remain inside the top 100 of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, according to the July edition.

The story of a South Sophia woman who is a victim of domestic violence hit me hard this week when it was apparent that she and her children had no place to go after the father of her child brutally beat her.

A man charged with damaging his cousin’s property yesterday told a court that the accusation stemmed from his removing a chair from their shared residence because of his daughter’s asthma.

The saga of Edward Snowden, trapped in an airport lounge while trying to escape the long hand of an aggrieved superpower, has obscured the enormity of his disclosures.

Dear Editor, Last night (July 4), I was in the midst of reading GHK Lall’s book, and was enthusiastic about posting the following on my Facebook page and in my e-mails: In his book Sitting on a Racial Volcano (Guyana Uncensored), author GHK Lall has written the obituaries of both the PPP and PNC.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela named a female admiral who had been a close aide to Hugo Chavez as its first woman defence minister yesterday in a ceremony at the military museum that houses the late socialist leader’s remains.

(Trinidad Express) A defiant Jack Warner last night launched his counter-attack, announcing a new party as part of his plan to regain the Chaguanas West seat.