Daily Archive: Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who is currently performing the duties of President and several Ministers of Government this evening attended a reception hosted by the Indian Embassy to commemorate the 67th Republic anniversary of India.

ST.JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC- Four West Indies cricketers have been given permission to play in the inaugural Masters Champions League (MCL) T20 scheduled to start on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates.

Dhanraj Raghubir and Michael Persaud are wanted by the police for questioning in relation to investigations into several counts of Obtaining Money by False Pretence.

KUALA LUMPUR, (Reuters) – Malaysia’s attorney-general cleared Prime Minister Najib Razak of any criminal offences or corruption today, closing investigations into a murky multi-million-dollar funding scandal that his opponents had hoped would bring him down.

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is currently experiencing a critical drug shortage.

Government yesterday unveiled an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded US$15 million plan to reduce the levels of crime and violence here over the next five years.

Two armed bandits, who posed as customers, yesterday robbed the Lands and Surveys Commission at d’Urban Backlands, Georgetown of $1.7 million in what is suspected to be an inside job.

Story and photos by Dhanash Ramroop As rice farmers struggle to cope with an extremely dry season, the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) have been forced to monitor the farmers’ use of the limited water.

PPP members continue to defy traffic laws, parking their vehicles diagonally in front of the party’s headquarters on Robb Street, but when asked about it yesterday General Secretary Clement Rohee could not give an explanation.

A Linden man yesterday walked out the High Court a free man after a jury found him not guilty of raping a girl under the age of 15.

The apparent photocopying of his tax information within the walls of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is of concern to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan who yesterday questioned the timing of the release of this information by outgoing Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur.

As the PPP continued to take the government to task for the planned closure of the Wales sugar estate, General Secretary Clement Rohee yesterday dodged questions on the closures of the estates at Diamond and La Bonne Intention (LBI) while the party was in office.

Three persons, including the ex-girlfriend of University of Guyana (UG) law student Glenfield Dennison, are currently in police custody in connection with the shooting that has left him hospitalised.

The police yesterday arrested a tint shop owner who allegedly provided the false number plates that were placed on the car used by the gang of men who robbed the Bank of Baroda branch at Mon Repos, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said.

A who pleaded guilty to 11 charges involving the use of a gun was yesterday sentenced to a total of 51 years’ imprisonment, though he will only serve five years as the sentences will run concurrently.

A Port Kaituma man died over the weekend, succumbing to a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound he received in neighbouring Venezuela.

To pick out Nicholas Narine as one the men who carried out the violent robbery on her and her family, Land Court Judge Nicola Pierre had asked that he say the word “solid” during the identification (ID) parade, a police officer testified yesterday.

A single mother of six was yesterday remanded to prison after appearing before a city court on a charge of trafficking almost a kilo of cannabis.

A Bagotstown miner, who told a court that he used cannabis for medicinal purposes, was yesterday refused bail on a trafficking charge.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Cricket’s world governing body, the ICC, has praised recently retired West Indies batsman Shiv Chanderpaul as “a role model for millions”.

Despite not informing the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) of his decision to retire from international cricket Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President Drubahadur said the veteran batsman can still play for the Guyana national team if he chooses to.

The Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder charge against Richard Stanton, the man accused of killing businesswoman Patricia Sanasie, began yesterday with the testimonies of two investigators in the case.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Batting legend Brian Lara believes recently retired West Indies batsman Shiv Chanderpaul should have been afforded the time to make a graceful exit from the game.

The PPP/C will today present to the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) 70 lists to contest 550 Constituencies and nine Municipalities in the upcoming Local Government Elections.

An uncle and his nephew were each placed on bail yesterday after being charged with assaulting each other.

Despite being on the ropes battling financial constraints plans are in the pipeline for the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) to host an international schoolboys and juniors event in April.

Brian Dummett was yesterday sentenced to nine months in jail after he pleaded guilty to wounding another man.

Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) president Drubahadur yesterday described 2015 as a good year for the board and its cricket but said that this year’s objective was to build on the progress made both on and off the field.

A Cummings Lodge shopkeeper was remanded to prison yesterday after being charged with selling drugs to an undercover policeman.

Guyana’s Futsal team ended its Caribbean Football Union (CFU) championships on a positive note squeaking past Antigua and Barbuda 3-2 Sunday in their final group fixture in Havana, Cuba.

Team Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson and Team Abassi McPherson battled to a scoreless draw in their Alex Bunbury Charity encounter at the Tucville Community ground on Sunday.

Top cricketers from the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) and a number of former Guyana players will observe the death anniversary of the late Murtland Bagot by playing in a T20match this evening under lights at the club’s ground, Queenstown.

Bel Air Rubis will play Transports Sports Club tonight at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground in a quarter-final match of the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association/Trophy Stall/Demerara Cricket Club U13 competition.

As Guyana continues to take all possible preventative measures against H1N1 and the Zika virus, Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud yesterday announced that 10,000 doses of H1N1 vaccines have been procured and two samples of blood were sent for testing at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

National hockey players Jamarj Assanah and Aroydy Branford have been invited to play for the Bishop’s Stortford Hockey Club in the East Men’s Hockey League.

Mayor Hamilton Green and Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green yesterday lashed out at the City Engineers and Public Health departments, calling them incompetent.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Head coach Gus Logie has appealed for unity in the wake of Trinidad and Tobago Red Force’s capture of the Regional Super50 and has urged the senior players here to become more involved.

A minibus driver was yesterday placed on $30,000 bail after he denied stealing a quantity of electronics.

A medex is expected to be deployed to the Pomeroon River community of Aka-wini by March and Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton has urged villagers to select two persons residing in the area to be trained as medexes.

PRETORIA, (Reuters) – Firebrand fast bowler Kagiso Rabada bagged two wickets as South Africa reduced England to 52 for three at the close of day four of the final test yesterday.

DOUALA, Cameroon (Reuters) – Suicide bombers targeting a town in northern Cameroon killed 32 people and wounded 66 yesterday, one of the worst attacks yet in the Central African nation as it struggles to contain violence blamed on Nigeria’s Boko Haram.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Milos Raonic struck a blow for the next generation of men’stennis by flooring former champion Stan Wawrinka yesterday before China’s Zhang Shuai became the first qualifier to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals in more than 20 years.

GTT employees who are 55 years and over and have served the company for at least ten years were recently offered the option of voluntary retirement, a release from the telephone company said.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Haiti is likely to install an interim government to transfer power to a new president, a senior US official said yesterday, after the Caribbean nation called off an election, days before current President Michel Martelly is due to leave office.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council should place an arms embargo on South Sudan, while the oil-rich country’s President Salva Kiir and a rebel leader qualify to be sanctioned over atrocities committed in a two-year civil war, UN sanctions monitors said in an annual report.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica will play host to this year’s men’s and women’s senior Caribbean Championships, authorities here have announced.

Maurice Bovell, a resident of Good Hope, Essequibo, Region 2 on Friday officially adopted the community’s health centre, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) – The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil, is likely to spread to all countries in the Americas except for Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization said yesterday.

There was a lot of despair in Latin America about a new International Monetary Fund forecast showing that the region’s economy will shrink by 0.3 per cent in 2016, but that’s something that could be reversed relatively soon.

(The Sports Xchange) – Toronto had 51 points from their reserve players and the Los Angeles Clippers had 29 from theirs as the Raptors scored a 112-94 win on Sunday to extend their streak to eight games.

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – By giving scholarships to girls who are virgins, South Africa is trying to control women’s bodies while ignoring the role of men and sexual violence in spreading HIV/AIDS, a campaigner said.

Dear Editor, I wish to commend you for an excellent and well-composed editorial captioned ‘Wales estate’ that was carried in your January 24 edition.

A 24-member contingent of Barbadian manufacturing and services companies will be arriving in Guyana on Thursday, to participate in a series of pre-arranged business to business meetings – the final leg of a multi-country Caricom trade mission.

This article was received from Project Syndicate, an international not-for-profit association of newspapers dedicated to hosting a global debate on the key issues shaping our world.

Dear Editor, The first four games in the World T20 Championship to be played by the West Indies are scheduled for March 16, 21, 25 and 27 respectively.

Three are better than one: Guyana Power and Light Emergency Crew on a pole in King Street, Georgetown yesterday.

Twenty-five trainees last Friday became the latest batch of graduates of the Machinery Corporation of Guyana Limited (Macorp) Excavator Operator Training Programme.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago Red Force head coach Gus Logie says his side’s success in the Regional Super50 has silenced their detractors.

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – The UN yesterday announced a US-financed pilot programme to help fight corruption in El Salvador, a Central American country so torn by drugs and gang warfare that it ranks among the most violent in the world.

School’s out! Pupils of primary schools in Thomas Street releasing some of their youthful exuberance in the avenue yesterday after classes ended.

“The Olympic Games must not be an end in itself, they must be a means of creating a vast programme of physical education and sportscompetitions for young people.”

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) said it is one step closer to achieving its new and improved Georgetown Municipal Wholesale Depot, after overcoming protests and taking firm action to reclaim the produce section of Merriman Mall.

Dear Editor, The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which came into effect in January 2016, now define the development agenda for developing countries over the next fifteen years.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Captain Jason Holder is at a loss to explain Barbados Pride’s poor showing in the final of the Regional Super50 last Saturday.

Dear Editor,   Recently, Demerara Waves and the Guyana Chronicle carried articles which reported on a statutory meeting of the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown and what was said by council officials in relation to the state and future of the Kitty Market.

Dear Editor, There is welcome news that President Granger does not intend that ‘Beating’ be a part of his three B’s initiative for education.

Dear Editor, I would like to personally thank Mr Khurshid Sattaur the past Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority for his invaluable knowledge of taxes which unreservedly he imparted to me, especially during my attachment in the Field Audit Division and Communication Unit.

Dear Editor, The SN article ‘No basis in constitution, law for NICIL holding billions -Goolsarran’s audit’ (January 23) refers.

Dear Editor, I note with renewed optimism President Granger’s concern for the nation’s youths who are being lost to suicide and the will he has demonstrated to tackle this issue.

Dear Editor, I read with astonishment and abhorrence the article in the Kaieteur News about President David Granger’s position of there being no place for corporal punishment in Guyana, and his plans to abolish all forms of corporal punishment in schools and in the home.

Dear Editor, Ronson Gray, Campaign Manager of Team Benschop for Mayor raised a matter that should concern this country (‘Why was the public not consulted over the provision of house lots for City Hall workers?’