Daily Archive: Friday, July 25, 2014

In his address to the 18th biennial delegates’ conference of the PNCR this afternoon, Party leader David Granger urged a One Nation solution for the country and lambasted the PPP/C for not seizing the opportunity for more inclusive governance.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that following the receipt of a request from the Government of the Republic of Portugal, approval was granted by the Government of Guyana for the appointment of a new Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Portugal to the Republic of Guyana.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that following the receipt of a request from the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden, approval was granted by the Government of Guyana for the appointment of a new Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Guyana.

Teachings of Islam, Haji Roshan Khan and spouse were among the invitees of the United States Embassy’s hosting of Iftaar (Breaking of the Fast) and Dinner evening, at the residence of the Charge d’Affaires, Bryan Hunt, on 22nd July, 2014.

(Jamaica Observer) Driven by its commitment to providing air transportation within the Caribbean and to North America, Fly Jamaica Airways has acquired a second aircraft which, the airline says, it intends to put into service as soon as it gets all the regulatory approvals.

Hours before its biennial delegates conference is to convene, the PNCR was still grappling with complaints over membership cards for Region 10 delegates and integrity issues.

The United States Embassy is currently experiencing technical problems with its passport and visa system.

(Trinidad Express) The audit into the LifeSport programme has unearthed enough evidence to warrant a probe by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Darren Bravo smashed a six off the final delivery of the game to lift Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel to a sensational four-wicket victory over Guyana Amazon Warriors, in a thrilling encounter of the Caribbean Premier League here last night.

Trinidadian conglomerate ANSA McAL plans to write the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to find out where in the Ministry of Health’s pre-qualification evaluation for the supply of drugs they failed.

House Speaker Raphael Trotman has ruled in favour of APNU MP Carl Greenidge’s motion to have Finance Minister Ashni Singh referred to the Privileges Committee over the $4.5B spending which has brought the country to the brink of a no-confidence motion against the government.

Even as the Health Ministry awaits results from Trinidad and Tobago, the number of confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus has doubled to 62 within the last two weeks.

The AFC has drafted its no-confidence motion against the government and the party’s leader Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday said that the document will be distributed to the relevant parties to be discussed and reviewed.

Justice Rishi Persaud yesterday sentenced a child sex offender to 30 years in prison after stating that he did not “buy” the man’s remorseful statement.

Bartica is without power after a failed turbo charger caused the No.9 Caterpillar Generating Engine to come offline last evening.

Hopeful for the PNCR leadership, Aubrey Norton says the party’s constitution was not properly followed in dealing with the Vanessa Kissoon – Oscar Clarke dispute.

Two expatriate companies are among six entities from the gold mining and quarrying sectors that will participate in an August 5 – 6 course in explosives blasting being run by the Guyana Mining School Inc.

A year after the Guyana Chapter of the Partners of the Americas shade house cultivation and marketing project commenced its outreach programme across large areas of Guyana delivering education and material resources primarily though not exclusively to rural communities, the organisation’s efforts are already yielding visible and significant results.

The Windward Islands got their West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional U-19 three-day tournament campaign off to a perfect start yesterday, humbling Trinidad and Tobago by an innings and 21 runs at the Enmore ground.

Tears flowed freely in court yesterday as sentences were handed down for the jointly-charged quintet in the July 12, 2011 multi-million-dollar Bel Air Gardens armed robbery committed on Annie Ramsood; they had been found guilty on Wednesday.

Dear Editor,   In June, Blue CAPS carried out its Building Communities Through Leadership Training and Service (BCLTS) programme.

Commanding half-centuries from Romaine Morris and Odain McCatty propelled defending champions Jamaica to a commanding six-wicket win over Barbados yesterday in the first round of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional U-19 three-day tournament being played here.

Kemo Paul and Kemol Savoury’s seventh-wicket stand secured a draw for Guyana against the Leeward Islands as the visitors were yesterday denied a chance at an outright victory on the final day of the opening round of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Under-19 tournament.

Our local craftspeople, including those from Amerindian communities will doubtless appear in their numbers at the upcoming Guyana Festival at the Providence Stadium and later in the year at GuyExpo at the Sophia Exhibition Site.

ALGIERS/BAMAKO, (Reuters) – Authorities said yesterday they located the wreckage of an Air Algerie flight after it crashed in northern Mali carrying 116 passengers and crew, nearly half of them French, en route from Burkina Faso to Algeria.

It will be Region Seven against Region Four and Region Ten against Region Five as the four teams left in the Digicel Secondary Schools U-18 football tourney clash in the semi-finals today, each vying for a spot in the finals and a chance at glory and the million dollar prize.

Dear Editor,   The letter (‘Intolerable noise levels from a wedding celebration,’ SN, July 24) speaks volumes, but I am afraid that Mr T Jadunauth, the writer, is just one of those destined to suffer.

The man accused of killing 70-year-old Osmond Fiedtkou was yesterday remanded to prison after being arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, , CMC – Opener Chrystian Thurton struck a stroke-filled hundred – the first of the tournament – to propel defending champions Trinidad and Tobago to their second straight win of the Regional Under-15 Championship here Thursday.

(Jamaica Observer) – The World Bank expects its ‘Youth in Digital and Animation’ project valued at US$20 million (J$2.2 billion) to benefit 15,000 Jamaican youth directly and indirectly.

The body of a miner who went missing on Monday evening after the boat he was travelling in capsized in the Mazaruni River was discovered yesterday morning.

Dear Editor,   There has been some interesting gaff going around about David Dabydeen’s comments regarding my song ‘Not A Blade O’ Grass’ on a BBC World Service programme, where he declared to have found some very far-reaching and unusual interpretations of the song.

KINGSTON, (Reuters) – Six-times Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt and his coach Glen Mills believe the Jamaican sprinter can run even faster as he targets the 2015 world championships and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

An employee of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) lost his life after being hit by a car on the Number 19 village public road, Corentyne, yesterday.

A great deal is said and written these days about the importance of raising the bar as far as adding value to goods produced locally is concerned in order to make these more competitive on the external market.

Dear Editor, Another great Guyanese has died. My one encounter with Habeeb Khan was in the office of then Managing Director of GTV, Sean Taylor, in 1993.

CARACAS/MIAMI, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s former military intelligence chief, accused of involvement in drug trafficking by the United States, was arrested on a Caribbean island while on diplomatic business, the South American country said in a sternly worded statement yesterday.

Dear Editor, Messrs Mark DaCosta and Tarron Khemraj’s letters (‘PNCR members can choose their leader wisely or foolishly’ and ‘Granger is the best leader to build a multi-ethnic coalition’ SN, July 22) epitomise the politics of window-dressing as against the politics of performance.

Fellow comedians and friends of legendary actor/comedian Habeeb Khan who died on Tuesday, yesterday described him as an icon and expressed regret that he was never properly honoured for his contribution to comedy in Guyana.

GLASGOW, Scotland, CMC – Decorated Jamaican swimmer Alia Atkinson led the Caribbean charge in the pool on the opening day of action at the Commonwealth Games here yesterday.

A taxi driver accused of defrauding three men of more than $0.5 million by promising to get them visas and medical certificates was yesterday remanded to prison.

GLASGOW, (Reuters) – Big names and strong teams from most of rugby’s leading nations are set to offer Rio 2016 a glimpse of things to come in the Commonwealth Games sevens tournament.

Dear Editor, That the political parties in Parliament have reached the precipice of a no-confidence vote is not the triumph of any one party but rather it is the failure of all of them to move this country forward.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by phone with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte yesterday and the White House said both agreed on the need to impose more sanctions on Russia for continuing to arm pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.

(Jamaica Observer) – ReSource BioEnergy Incorporated is now growing Giant King Grass in Jamaica for its bioenergy projects after signing a supply contract with California-based VIASPACE Incorporated.

BULAWAYO, (Reuters) – Off-spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf took three wickets as Afghanistan skittled hosts Zimbabwe for 159 to win the fourth and final one-day international by 100 runs yesterday and draw the series 2-2.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Temperamental fast bowler Tino Best and batsman Shoaib Malik have been hit with hefty fines following an on-field altercation during Wednesday’s Caribbean Premier League match between Barbados Tridents and St Lucia Zouks at Kensington Oval.

Dear Editor, I venture to share a thought or two on Brigadier General (ret) David Granger’s opposition presence, and potential leadership of this nation.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – Gazan authorities said Israeli forces shelled a shelter at a U.N.-run

Businessman Harry Panday is fervently hoping that come August, the Avinash Entertainment Complex will be among the busiest facilities of its kind in the country.

BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – A shooting and bombing attack on a bus near Baghdad killed 52 prisoners and nine policemen yesterday, Ministry of Justice sources said, as politicians faced pressure to form a power-sharing government that can tackle a Sunni insurgency.

A woman who pleaded guilty to assaulting her husband was yesterday ordered to attend counselling with her partner when she appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

(Reuters) – An Alabama man who went in to a hospital last month for a circumcision awoke after surgery to find his penis had been amputated, his lawyer said yesterday.

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Former captain Mahela Jayawardene hit a classy unbeaten century to help Sri Lanka close on 305 for five on the first day of the second test against South Africa yesterday.

Langston Fraser, 25, was yesterday remanded to prison after denying that he robbed another man at gunpoint while receiving a free drop.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc’s fast-growing mobile advertising business helped drive a 61 per cent increase in revenue during the second quarter, beating Wall Street’s financial targets and sending shares to a record-high in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers’ inability to reach an agreement on immigration policy is at least partly to blame for a crisis that has seen thousands of children flee Honduras for the U.S.

Dear Editor, I refer to a letter from Mark DaCosta captioned ‘AFC should have planned, discussed before tossing “no-confidence” into the public domain’ (SN, July 24).

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Cricket’s absence from Commonwealth Games will continue at least until the 2018 Games in Australia after the International Cricket Council (ICC) turned down an invitation from the governing body of the multi-sport event.

The photograph above the name Rayon Jones on the front page of yesterday’s edition of this newspaper is that of a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), according to a press release.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 573’s trading results showed consideration of $1,222,490 from 35,831 shares traded in 24 transactions as compared to session 572’s trading results which showed consideration of $26,830,218 from 844,386 shares traded in 9 transactions.

Dear Editor, To follow up on my letter, ‘Depravity is being imported’ (SN, July 23), I do wish to confirm that the uncensored private party billed for Saturday, July 26 at the Celebs Sports Bar was never approved by the Anna Regina Police Station.

WARSAW, (Reuters) – The CIA ran a secret jail on Polish soil, the European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday, piling pressure on Poland, one of Washington’s closest allies, to break its long silence about the global programme for detaining al Qaeda suspects.

As Guyanese, particularly African Guyanese prepare for the August 1 commemorative rituals and festivities to mark Emancipation Day, Patricia Helwig has long been immersed in her own ritual of creating African costumes and items of craft with which to help mark the occasion.

Before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, most people expected the Brazilian team to be brilliant and the hosting of the event to be fraught with risk if not downright shambolic, given the preceding social tensions and protests and the last minute rush to be ready for kick-off.

HAUTACAM, France, (Reuters) – Vincenzo Nibali proved once again he has no serious rivals in the Tour de France when he powered to victory in the final mountain stage yesterday, all but securing his maiden title in impressive fashion.

Conservation International and the Guyana Tourism Authority partnered with the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to provide training and certification for boat operators in the Annai-Rupununi area on July 17, 2014.

Dear Editor, My first observation about the Guyana Amazon Warriors is that they prefer to bowl first, even on docile pitches and would have done so in all three of their previous matches.

– The Politics of the Seventh Parliament In these Op-Ed pieces one is given to (hopefully) well-thought out analyses and conclusions, strongly-held, truth-and-fact views, sometimes preachy “lectures” and heavily-referenced or endorsed dissertations.

..There has been a significant increase in squatting on Government lands in a number of areas in Region Four, including the Soesdyke-Linden highway, and Port Kaituma in the Turn Basin and into the One Mile area and yesterday the Guyana Lands and Surveys issued a warning that stern action will be taken.

Several contracts were yesterday signed by Officials of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and contractors for the de-silting of several main canals in Georgetown as the date for the massive $500M city clean-up exercise approaches.

The Ministry of Education has invested approximately $14M on expansion work at the Roxanne Burnham Nursery School, to accommodate a larger intake in the new school term.

Darren Bravo maintained his nerve to steer the Trinidad Red Steel to a thrilling four wicket win over the Guyana Amazon Warriors last night in the Caribbean Premier League T20 series.