Daily Archive: Thursday, March 2, 2017

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – One of Hollywood’s most famous rivalries is taking centre stage in a new television series, as “Feud” explores a salacious battle between Golden Age screen legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.

The Ministry of Public Health’s Permanent Secretary (PS) Trevor Thomas has been relieved of his duties, with effect from March 1, 2017.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – New West Indies head coach, Stuart Law, has underscored the value of the three-match one-day series against England staring here Friday, especially with the regional side already setting their sights on the 2019 World Cup.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign on Wednesday after the Washington Post reported he failed to disclose two meetings he had with Russia’s ambassador before Donald Trump was inaugurated as president.

– Skeldon first on market Government on Tuesday decided that the sugar industry is not sustainable and cannot be saved as is; it will soon roll out a plan for the ailing sector that includes keeping only three estates and privatizing the others, sources say.

The 14% VAT on private education will remain in place for the time being, President David Granger said yesterday, while stating that only eight out of 57 local private institutions are tax compliant, a situation which government is looking to correct.

While he awaits a report from a panel on candidates shortlisted to fill the positions of Chancellor and Chief Justice respectively, President David Granger yesterday appointed Justices Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Roxane George-Wiltshire SC to act in the respective positons in the interim.

Several members of the Guyana Police Force including an Assistant Superinten-dent of Police (ASP) and a Corporal, who allegedly smuggled an AK-47 rifle out of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) Com-pound, Eve Leary Tuesday morning, are currently under close arrest.

Special Lance Corporal in the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Marlon Washing-ton, who was charged with causing death by dangerous driving of Linden teenager, Denilson Rose, in 2015, was yesterday sentenced to five years for the crime, and fined for two other offences.

President David Granger yesterday met with the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center’s Country Representative, Jason Calder, who updated him on the status of the US$297,000  Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) project, which is being spearheaded by the Centre.

A businessman was yesterday granted bail after he was accused of defrauding his friend, of over 10 years, of items totaling over $7 million.

It is almost a month since the Bank of Guyana (BoG) implemented a limit of $3 on the spread of the buying and selling rates for foreign currency and several cambio dealers say they are recording a slight decrease in business and still believe the decision should be rescinded.

The Town Clerk of Georgetown, Royston King wrote to the Auditor General on Tuesday, 28th February, requesting that an audit of the Council’s stock and financial systems be done.

Rights activist Mark Benschop last Friday testified that although he was assaulted and his vehicle was vandalized after an encounter with former presidential press officer Kwame McCoy in 2011, he was the one who ended up being arrested by police.

The partially decomposed body of a man found floating in a trench at Met-en-Meerzorg, West Coast Demerara on Monday was yesterday identified by his brother and the police are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine what resulted in his death.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said that he raised issues he found critical, pertaining to the economy, with President David Granger at State House last evening when they met to consult on appointments to the judiciary.

President David Granger yesterday met with China’s Ambassador to Guyana, Cui Jianchun at State House to discuss the strengthening of co-operation between the two countries.

For the past two years when the calendar flips to March the nation’s fittest gladiators lock in to do battle for supremacy in the National Park.

The Mayor and City Council yesterday announced that it has received its twenty percent takings from Smart City Solutions (SCS) for metered parking but did not disclose the sum.

The third annual Faye Joseph International Dominoes competition was launched yesterday at Joseph’s residence 1222 Gaulding Place, South Ruimveldt with the organisers announcing that the tournament has attracted teams from abroad.

A review of a status report on equipment belonging to Insel Air is currently underway, says Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Captain Egbert Field.

The Department of the Environment plays an integral role in helping Guyana achieve the objectives of a ‘green’ state, says President David Granger.

Following national trials on Sunday at the Michael Parris Fitness Centre, the Guyana Amateur Weightlifting Association (GAWA) has selected three athletes to represent Guyana at the Manuel Suarez Weightlifting tournament in Cuba.

Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan has confirmed that Lelon Saul will replace Myrna Pitt, who stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) in June 2016.

Western Tigers head-coach Calvin ‘Flu’ Allen has declared that he is confident his charges can win the Petra Organization/Limacol football championships when they battle the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in the final on Saturday.

City Hall has collected over $2 million from the vendor’s registration drive which has been extended to tomorrow.

By Royston Alkins   Director of Sports, Christopher Jones, said that government plans to upgrade both the National Gymnasium, the main venue for the just-concluded Forbes Burnham Memorial competitions and the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).

(Reuters) – Martin Guptill underlined his importance to the New Zealand one-day side with a blistering match-winning century as he guided his side to a seven-wicket victory over South Africa in their fourth one-day international in Hamilton yesterday.

A Venezuelan national was yesterday sentenced to three years in jail, and fined, after admitting to being in possession of almost a pound of cannabis.

A court yesterday granted bail to the Canadian woman, who was caught with more than four kilogrammes of cocaine in her suitcase, in January, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri after she was deemed unfit to stand trial.

(The Sports Xchange) – Bradley Beal scored 25 points and the Washington Wizards fended off the Golden State Warriors in the final minute for a 112-108 victory Tuesday night.

The Guyana national U17 boys football team secured wins over the Berbice Football Association (BFA) U20 unit and Rosignol United ahead of their participation in the eighth annual Tournoi International Paul Chillan in Martinique.

Government holding company NICIL will be proceeding with a trial to recover money which it says the Guyana National Industrial Company Inc (GNIC) owes for leased land.

The Mayor and City Council met with members of the Guyana Scrap Metals Dealers Association (GSMDA) on Tuesday, and held discussions on the way forward, as the city moves to regularise scrap metal collectors.

(Reuters) – Several overseas players have decided not to play in Sunday’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty 20 final after the country’s cricket board said the game would be held on home soil despite a wave of deadly attacks across the country.

Dear Editor, The Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority has issued a notice entitled ‘VAT and computers, computer printers’ via its Facebook page (see https://www.facebook.com/guyanarevenue/posts/1292746520817578).

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee will investigate allegations of collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia, the top Democrat on the panel said yesterday.

Dear Editor, A recent, emblematic Stabroek News photograph of two floats, captioned ‘Old habits die hard’ caught my attention.

Accused of stealing over $200,000  in items from the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT), two men were yesterday granted bail after being read the charge by a city Magistrate.

(Reuters) – The Dow yesterday blasted through the 21,000 mark for the first time after U.S.

Dear Editor, Permit me to laud the Guyanese school system on adopting the STEM Mathematics app in its school curriculum (Stabroek News, February 28). 

A second half offensive explosion propelled New Amsterdam (NA) Warriors to a 55-45 win over Hopetown Steelers, when the Berbice Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) sanctioned Anamayah Championship continued Tuesday.

Three families from the Corentyne on Tuesday had their dreams come true, as they each received a brand new, well-painted wooden house, with basic necessities, from Food for the Poor (Guyana) Inc.,

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s promise to use existing funds to begin immediate construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – The region’s new director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, believes this year’s expanded Regional Super50, was a major stepping stone in helping players to set new standards of achievement.

Dear Editor, I am somewhat baffled; your article on page 11 of yesterday’s edition ‘Airport cop arrested for stealing passenger’s phone’ states the perpetrator of the act on further interrogation told the police she handed the phone to her boyfriend who is a member of the GDF.

The Rotaract Club of George-town will be hosting its inaugural “Recycle Fair,” on March 25th, aimed at not only helping the environment, but also the less fortunate.

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – South African lawmakers on Tuesday approved an anti-money-laundering bill that will increase scrutiny of the bank accounts of “politically exposed people”, three months after President Jacob Zuma sent it back to parliament over concerns of its constitutionality.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – A new film exploring the partition of India will offer audiences a poignant reminder, 70 years on, that using politics to divide communities is nothing new, its British director says.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Carnival revelers were still dancing in the streets of Brazilian cities yesterday but for President Michel Temer’s government it was back to the reality of mounting corruption allegations that threaten its survival.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Australian actor Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine in “Logan”, playing the clawed mutant one last time after 17 years in the popular “X-Men” franchise.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump showed a different side in his first address to Congress.

The work of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Guyana has paved the way for other initiatives that will heighten efforts to further modernise the healthcare system in Guyana.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Kieran Powell is revelling in his second chance at international cricket and says he intends to make the most of it and fight his way back into the Test and Twenty20 squads.

Dear Editor, I have been following with interest the exchange of ideas on the issue of national unity which is so vital for a prosperous Guyana.

LA PAZ, (Reuters) – Bolivian President Evo Morales took an “emergency trip” to Cuba yesterday to seek treatment for a throat condition, presidential minister Rene Martinez said, adding that the president would receive a “routine evaluation.”

Two tickets to Chile are up for grabs in a promotion between that country’s embassy here and Copa Airlines.

OTTAWA,  (Reuters) – Canadian and U.S. officials are working on a plan to tackle asylum seekers crossing into Canada illegally, with American officials keen to discover how they entered the United States in the first place, said a source familiar with the matter.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.   Late actor Heston’s insult of judge helps upend murder conviction A decades-old feud between a Philadelphia judge and the late actor Charlton Heston may have helped a Pennsylvania man get his 1998 murder conviction overturned on Tuesday.

A silver Toyota Premio car was stolen from the Corentyne, sometime during the course of last evening, and the owner of the car is now pleading for the public’s help in locating the stolen vehicle.

Dear Editor, I think that that announced gathering slated for several months hence, and to be held at UG involving the diaspora is a good thing; and that the opportunity should be used to clear some air. 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – England’s Tymal Mills, who recently became the most expensive specialist bowler in Indian Premier League history, is one of 253 players entered for the 2017 Caribbean Premier League draft scheduled to be staged here on March 10.

Gaping mouths and ghastly sockets scream silently of nothingness, as the phantom heads float high, trailing suckered tentacles in all ghostly white swathes, sardonic symbols of a post-apocalyptic grim world titled “Sailors on an Exotic Isle.”

Clothing Manufacturers Face Closure By SHARIEF KHAN   SMALL garment manufacturers say they face imminent closure be­cause Sanata Textiles Limited is no longer selling them its cotton fab­rics.

(Trinidad Express) The three-year reign of Soca superstar Machel Montano is over.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – The two accountants found at fault for botching the climactic announcement of the winner for best picture at the Academy Awards have been officially declared unfit for any future Oscar duty, organizers of the ceremony said yesterday.

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Neither Chris Gayle nor Kieron Pollard fired but Karachi Kings still managed to stay alive in the Pakistan Super League with a convincing 44-run victory over Dwayne Smith’s Islamabad United in the first qualifier here yesterday.

Dear Editor, I felt extremely proud as a Guyanese to participate in one of the most colourful celebrations in Region 2 during our 47th Republican Anniversary.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. authorities on Wednesday charged 19 people with taking part in a complex international fraud and money laundering ring that tricked companies and consumers out of millions of dollars.

The United States Embassy is happy to answer some common questions about immigrant visas.

Years ago, when anyone wanted to get at (or get back at) someone for a perceived wrong or as a result of envy, the trick was to find whoever the worst gossip in the community was and start a rumour.