Daily Archive: Thursday, August 27, 2015

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) today said it is disturbed by reports in the media about an organised gold smuggling racket.

LONDON, (Reuters) – The piano used to play the glissando that kicks off ABBA’s disco hit “Dancing Queen” will be one of the star attractions at a rock and pop auction at Sotheby’s next month where it is expected to sell for up to 800,000 pounds ($1.24 million).

MIAMI, (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Erika strengthened as it dumped torrential rain on islands in the Eastern Caribbean and appeared to be headed for the U.S.

The 2015 National Budget was approved at 03:16 hours this morning, GINA said.

After government took up office in May it found evidence of rampant gold smuggling particularly to Brazil, Suriname and the United States and has made tackling it a priority, Raphael Trotman, Minister of Governance with responsibility for natural resources management said last evening.

Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Colin Welch arrived at the company in 2012 without any experience at a utility.

Up to press time this morning, the estimates of the 2015 budget were still being considered in what will go do down as one of the more grueling examinations of the annual presentation.

While some pensioners will be seeing a 30% hike, the government was yesterday criticised for giving only $363 more per month to those who had been benefiting from utility subsidies in what PPP/C MP Juan Edghill charged was a `bait and switch’.

The police yesterday issued a bulletin for a man wanted in connection with the April 4th murder of Antonio Perreira De Sena at Arau Landing, Wenamu River.

A 25-year-old Pomeroon resident was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail after admitting to stealing a quantity of gold from his employer and fleeing to the city.

Parliament’s Committee of Supply on Tuesday passed the Ministry of Agriculture’s 2015 Budget of $20.89B inclusive of the $52M price tag attached to the Commission of Inquiry into the sugar industry which will be providing an interim report on its findings sometime next month.

Despite placing fifth in the 400m heats at the ongoing IAAF World Championships in China, Winston George lowered his national record, a testament to his progression on the track.

Two men were yesterday arraigned on separate charges of breaking and entering at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

West Demerara units Raiders and Patentia Street Ballers recorded the biggest upsets to date in the inaugural RDE Vibes and Sparta Boss ‘King of the Streets’ Football Tourney, downing hosts Sparta Boss and Sophia respectively on Tuesday.

Four hundred and two youths from all across Guyana have now graduated from the United States Agency for International Development’s Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) Project.

A premium will be placed on the safety of turfites at the President’s Cup Horse Race Meet on Sunday at the Rising Sun Turf Club.

The group stage round in the inaugural GT Beer Futsal Championship will continue today at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue with four matchups.

After pending for more than two years, the trial of the case where former Justice Jainarayan Singh Jnr is suing the government for pension and gratuity recommenced yesterday before Justice Nareshwar Harnanan.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Olympic champion and high hurdles world record holder Aries Merritt will have a kidney transplant next week after competing in the world athletics championships in Beijing, the 30-year-old American said yesterday.

After a period of intense questioning the budget estimates for Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) and Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) were cleared in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

BEIJING, China, CMC/Reuters – Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada was stunned by South African Wayde van Niekerk in the men’s 400 metres final and was forced to settle for bronze at the IAAF World Championships here yesterday.

Guyana Goldfields Incorporated (AGM Inc) yesterday presented Simeon Browne, the winner of its songwriting competition with a cheque for $250,000.

ASUNCION, (Reuters) – The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has cast doubt on the location of next year’s centenary Copa America by refusing to confirm it will be held in the United States as originally planned.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Cuba’s Yarisley Silva needed a jump of 4.90 metres to win a thrilling women’s pole vault contest and claim her first major global title at the world championships yesterday.

Dear Editor, I write to correct the misrepresentations made by the Mrs Gillian Burton Persaud during her contribution to the 2015 Budget debate.

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) successfully delivered 3,075 babies between January 1st this year and July 31st, a release from the hospital said yesterday.

No decision on the future of the controversial $600M High Street building has been communicated to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), head of the entity Rickford Vieira says.

Dear Editor, It was not without some ambivalence that we read in Stabroek, August 25, another story on suicide in Guyana ‒ ‘NGOs craft suicide action plan’.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Kenyan athletes Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary have been handed provisional bans after failing doping tests at the world championships, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said yesterday.

Five more cases of driving under the influence (DUI) on the Corentyne have led to fines of $7,500 for each of the offenders.

Dear Editor, It is with some sadness that I learned of the death of my former Sacred Heart teacher Francis Arokium in Canada this week.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin looked in fine form as they ran the fastest times of the 200 metres semi-finals yesterday to set up a mouthwatering second sprint showdown at the world championships.

Dear Editor, The Soesdyke/ Coverden Neighbourhood Democratic Council through its Chairman Mr Aaron Grant-Stuart placed a disposal bin at the northern end of Soesdyke with the concurrence of the Overseer.

Expansion of the maternity ward at the Guyana Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is scheduled for completion by February 2016 says Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton.

DURBAN, (Reuters) – AB de Villiers returned to form with a brisk half-century which helped South Africa to complete a 62-run win and a 2-1 series victory over New Zealand yesterday.

Dear Editor, Africa again has caught the attention of hungry investors from China, India, Brazil, Arabia and Turkey.

Prior to Parliament’s Committee of Supply continuing the consideration of the budget estimates yesterday, Finance Minister Winston Jordan addressed the House and read the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill for the first time, a day after he made an announcement that he would be moving forward with his budget speech promises.

MONETA, Va., (Reuters) – Two television journalists were shot to death during a live broadcast in Virginia yesterday, slain by a former employee of the TV station and who called himself a “powder keg” of anger over what he saw as racial discrimination at work and elsewhere in the United States.

Dear Editor, The sudden rise of crime in our country is now a concern for all Guyanese citizens, and the re-introduction of long hours of daily blackouts makes it easier for thieves and criminals to escape from the police and citizens.

The Ministry of Education yesterday issued a reminder to the public of the Monday, August 31 commencement of the new school year 2015-2016.

BOGOTA, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A severe drought in Haiti has led to acute water shortages, shrivelled harvests and raised food prices, weakening the fragile food supply and worsening hunger among the poor, the U.N.

BEIJING, China, CMC – Usain Bolt’s coach, Glen Mills, says the World champion had not been at his best for the 100 metres earlier this week but the fact he managed to successfully defend his title was all that mattered.

ZURICH, (Reuters) – FIFA presidential candidate Michael Platini will publish his manifesto in the next six to eight weeks and wants to bring football back into the spotlight during the campaign, a source close to the Frenchman said yesterday.

Dear Editor, From casual observers to serious analysts recent months have provided lessons in the deconstruction of some organisations; the reconstruction of others; then again the creation of semblances of organization ‒ and possibly beyond.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India’s Hindus have dropped below 80 percent of the population for the first time since independence and media had speculated the previous government deliberately delayed the release of the data because it showed a rise in the Muslim population.

As the 2015 batch of the Burnham Education Scholarship Trust, (B.E.S.T)

Dear Editor, It is with great pleasure I express my congratulations to the students of the Hindu College, Cove and John, ECD, who sat the May/June CSEC examinations, and to all the hard-working and dedicated teachers and cooperative parents.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil’s highest accounting court gave another 15 days for President Dilma Rousseff to respond to accusations she doctored the government accounts last year to hide the deterioration of the country’s finances.

The Guyana Bar Association welcomes the announcement of the establishment of a Steering Committee for Constitutional Reform.

At the end of July this year, the Guyana Police Force had recorded 243 reports of rape.

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – Former Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti will be held in jail throughout her trial over an alleged customs racket, a judge ruled yesterday.

Dear Editor, I write this letter to put another side, (my side, which the public might have been expecting) on the dissensions at the top of GPL, which were being disclosed and discussed in the media.

ERNESTO GUEVARA, Venezuela, (Reuters) – Hundreds of Colombians waded across a border river with fridges, chickens and mattresses on their backs as goats and children followed under the scorching tropical sun, victims of an escalating dispute with Venezuela’s government.