Daily Archive: Friday, October 2, 2015

The Guyana Defence Force today continued its planned series of route marches as part of its training preparations for its upcoming Force Exercise, a release from theGDF said today.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Emphasis will shift from the Barbados-based High Performance Centre and onto the WICB Professional Cricket League for the development of regional players.

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo joined world leaders in New York, as the international community accelerates preparations towards a global climate agreement in Paris in December, a release from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition said today.

NEW YORK/ZURICH, (Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co and McDonald’s, on Friday called for the immediate resignation of FIFA president Sepp Blatter a week after Swiss authorities said they were opening a criminal investigation into the head of the world soccer body.

NASSAU, (Reuters) – The fate of more than 30 crew aboard a cargo ship missing off the Bahamas in heavy seas whipped up by Hurricane Joaquin was unknown today as the powerful storm battered the island chain for a second day.

The new U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway  says the United States stands ready to work with Guyanese  to eliminate impediments to national development.

President David Granger (left) sharing a toast with the new U.S.

Accrediting the new U.S. ambassador today, President David Granger called for Washington’s support to help protect Guyana from threats to its territorial integrity, a clear reference to months of aggression mounted by Venezuela.

Four police officers were charged today in connection with the $6 million cocaine bribe allegation and three were remanded to prison while one was released on $250,000 bail.

(Trinidad Express) THE approval of all new Government contracts is to cease with immediate effect, Finance Minister Colm Imbert has said.

A team of labour inspectors visited the Marriott Hotel yesterday to investigate alleged infractions after complaints were made to the Ministry of Social Protec-tion’s Department of Labour.

Suriname President Desi Bouterse has told that country’s National Assem-bly that the New River Triangle (Tigri) issue will be placed “back on the agenda” as he had no choice but to do so, online media outfit de Ware Tijd has reported.

Just a few months after he arrived in Guyana for a year-long training stint, Belizean Emil Mendez was shot in an armed robbery and was left paralysed from the waist down.

Roberto O’ Selmo, 17, St Cuthbert’s Mission’s top Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) student, is now considering leaving the village to better qualify himself to pursue a career in civil engineering.

Police were called to the Ministry of Social Protect-ion in Brickdam yesterday after a man allegedly threatened to kill Minister within the Ministry Simona Broomes, while venting his anger at being neglected by the ministry.

A move by the city administration to “revitalize and upgrade” the Promenade Gardens has generated confusion among members of the City Council and Republic Bank Limited (RBL), the latter having been responsible for the upkeep of the space for almost a decade.

Despite the efforts of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), the red palm mite is continuing to cause widespread destruction within the local coconut industry.

One hundred and forty-two weapons along with a quantity of live rounds and spent shells had been handed over to the police at the end of the initial gun amnesty programme, the Guyana Police Force announced yesterday.

A monumental clash will highlight the start of the fifth round of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Beer Elite League when point’s leader Pele opposes third-placed Slingerz FC today at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground from 6pm.

After being banned last year, former Region 10 Chairman and ex-Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) chief Sharma Solomon has returned to head the association, winning the presidential post uncontested yesterday during their electoral congress.

Ten more students have graduated from the Ortho-paedic Technician Training Programme that is being administered by the Georgetown Public Hospi-tal Corporation (GPHC), which is interested in expanding the training.

The national men’s volleyball team opened their campaign at the senior South American Volleyball Championship on Wednesday with a loss to the sixth-ranked team in the world, Argentina, in Maceio, Brazil.

A Brazilian man who was arrested on Wednesday with a loaded gun in his possession has confessed to committing two interior murders and according to Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, detectives are checking to see if he is linked to any other crimes committed in `F’ Division.

Dear Editor,   Having read in our local newspapers recently about the deplorable state of the Transport & Harbours Department vessels, the dry docking plans, government’s plan to charter a vessel to ply the North West District Service and build two vessels in India, I wish to make the following comments and suggestions: In relation to the state of the vessels, while admittedly some of these vessels are very old, having been constructed more than sixty years ago in the United Kingdom, the reason for the current state of disrepair has to be as a result of the lack of routine ship husbandry and scheduled dry docking in accordance with well-established principles and practices.

Guyanese consumers continue to be victims of multi-million dollar scams perpetrated by unscrupulous motor vehicle dealers who employ various schemes to cause car buyers to pay hundreds of thousands more for vehicles than was originally agreed.

The fifth annual International Softball Tournament dubbed “Guyana Softball Cup 5” was officially launched yesterday at the Georgetown Cricket Club Pavilion.

A truck driver was yesterday placed on $1 million bail after he denied causing a woman’s death.

Dear Editor, I’m writing in order to get a reduction in the price that I paid for my house lot located in what is popularly known as the Remigrant Scheme in Providence.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has asked the police to do some additional work with regard to the $600 million investigation involving former public service minister Jennifer Westford and Margaret Cummings, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum has confirmed.

Following the adoption of their new constitution, the Berbice Football Association (BFA) has set October 23rd as the tentative date for their electoral congress.

A technical assistance mission to Guyana in January this year by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) designed to determine the country’s state of readiness in aviation safety oversight had determined that the country’s state of readiness was the lowest in the region.

Dear Editor, Flight BW 903 arrived at the Piarco Airport from London just after 5pm on Wednesday, September 30th, 2015.

Dear Editor, The advertisement of the Terms of Reference given to the current Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service mentions, amongst others, the massive task of ‘fixing’ salaries and benefits.

A Joint Task Force assembled to look in to the current operational challenges being experienced with the Linden Water Supply and Rehabilitation Programme (LWSRP) has identified several issues which require immediate attention including difficulties being experienced with its filtration systems.

As the Ministry of Business through its Small Business Bureau presses ahead with arrangements for the November 27-29 Business Exposition, more than 140 requests have been made for participation in the event which replaces the annual GuyExpo event for 2015 and which will feature local small businesses.

Melbourne (Reuters) – Australia have postponed their tour of Bangladesh, saying yesterday they were advised against going ahead with a two-test series that could expose their cricketers to potential militant attacks in the country.

If the recently acquired 19-seater Rayethon Beechcraft 1900 D is to provide optimum service to the country’s aviation sector it will have to benefit from upgraded domestic infrastructure including, particularly, an improved network of airstrips at several interior locations.

Six more persons have been fined for driving under the influence after they were intercepted by police between the period of August 9 and August 17.

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, (CMC) – Recently elected Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley believes West Indies cricket is being badly hampered by a lack of management, and says there was no adequate system in place to ensure the region produced a successful cricketing product.

Member of Parliament Dharamkumar Seeraj was on Thursday placed on $40,000 bail after being charged with dangerous driving in the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court.

Dear Editor, It is something we are used to seeing in Guyana which would be unacceptable elsewhere in the world – bald tyres on vehicles, especially minibuses.

Caricom foreign ministers meeting on the fringes of the UN General Assembly in New York have restated their support for Guyana’s territorial integrity but were non-committal on this country’s call for a juridical settlement of the long-running border controversy with Venezuela.

Dear Editor, In the final paragraph of your article on page 11 of yesterday’s edition of Stabroek News captioned “‘Fresh start” GPSU wants cops, soldiers unionised’ it was reported, “Among the government members present were Minister of State Joseph Harmon, Broomes, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and Minister of Social Cohesion Amna Ally.”

Berlin (Reuters) – UEFA chief Michel Platini must provide more details over a payment of more than US$2 million from football’s ruling body FIFA and its troubled president Sepp Blatter, German football league (DFL) president Reinhard Rauball said yesterday.

Minister in the Ministry of Social Protection Simona Broomes has told the Stabroek Business that she expects to meet with both the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) “as early as possible in October” to deal with matters pertaining to her ongoing interface with workplaces as regards employer/employee relations.

Dear Editor, During my school days, I did history on Christopher Columbus and Sir Walter Ralegh, and many other historical foreigners.

Kester Hutson gives much of the credit for his induction into the world of Information Technology to his two-year stint at the Government Technical Institute (GTI), from 1998-2000, pursuing an Ordin-ary Diploma in Science and to the attention of George H E James, one of his lecturers there.

ROSEBURG, Ore (Reuters) – A gunman opened fire at a community college in southwest Oregon yesterday, killing nine people and wounding seven others before police shot him to death, authorities said, in the latest mass killing to rock an American campus.

Guyana senior men’s outdoor hockey team departed the country on Wednesday to compete in the Pan-American Hockey Challenge in Chiclayo, Peru.

BRASILIA (Reuters) – A group of lawmakers called for the resignation of the speaker of Brazil’s lower house of Congress Eduardo Cunha yesterday after Switzerland provided Brazilian prosecutors with details of Swiss bank accounts in his name.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 635’s trading results showed consideration of $350,450 from 12,100 shares traded in 4 transactions as compared to session 634’s trading results, which showed consideration of $3,894,157 from 198,520 shares traded in 12 transactions.

Dear Editor, The area from Naarstigheid to Plantation Profit on the West Coast of Berbice, comprising three Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) has been without a Justice of the Peace or Commissioner of Oaths and Affidavits for several years.

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – The leader of a short-lived coup in Burkina Faso, General Gilbert Diendere, was handed over to authorities after seeking refuge in the Vatican embassy, sources in the transitional government said yesterday.

Members of the Palms Geriatric Home and other senior citizens enjoying snacks following a church service at the Palms yesterday to launch the Month of the Elderly under the theme, ‘Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment.’

Nyron Joseph (-20) and Reagan Pollard (-14) were amongst the winners on day two of the Lucozade Handicap Squash Championship, defeating Anthony Islam and Lloyd Fung-A-Fat respectively, on Wednesday at the Georgetown Club.

Just over a year after establishing Global Seafood Distributors at Industrial Site, West Ruimveldt, businesswoman Allison Butters-Grant is set to make another eye-catching public statement.

BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, Lebanese sources said yesterday, a sign the civil war is turning still more regional and global in scope.

Dear Editor, I have been without telephone service (220-4153) since September 3, 2015.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, (CMC) – Cricket’s world governing body, the International Cricket Council, yesterday launched its official women’s team rankings, with West Indies installed at number five in the table.

(Jamaica Observer) – Veteran parliamentarian Mike Henry yesterday said that Britain was adding “insult to injury” with its £25 million grant to help construct a new prison in Jamaica and vowed to take his fight for reparation for slavery to the International Court of Justice.

Singapore (Reuters) – World number one Serena Williams has opted against defending the WTA Finals title and decided to end her season early following a roller coaster campaign littered with pains and prizes, the American said yesterday.

(Jamaica Observer) – The Japanese Government says it has been so impressed with the Jamaicans who participate in its annual teaching exchange programme that it has nearly doubled the number of places open to the Caribbean islanders.

Escapist-like, today I veer away from all those current issues of national significance, which too often tend to be stressful, provocative or controversial.

There have always been complaints about underhand goings-on in the world of car dealerships.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A US military transport plane crashed at an airfield in Afghanistan last night, killing all 11 people on board, the US military said, adding there were no reports of enemy fire at the time.

Digicel paid a visit to the nursery and primary schools in Santa Mission to deliver some school packs and other goodies to students and teachers.

Just when we thought that things could not get any worse in West Indies cricket, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) took the unprecedented step, on Monday, of suspending head coach Phil Simmons.

A row could be brewing in the country’s aviation sector over just whose responsibility it is to maintain the country’s many interior airstrips following a pronouncement by former Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Chairman Hugh Denbow last week that it was not central government’s responsibility.

Dear Editor, The Venezuelan border controversy recedes temporarily from threatening escalating territory.

 Business Cartoon

Politikles

There are a lot of ‘invisible’ people in our society – people who, for one reason or another, don’t get the same level of attention as others.

The University of Guyana’s Small Lecture Theatre now has a new look and comfort, compliments of AH&L Kissoon.