Daily Archive: Thursday, August 3, 2017

The Ministry of the Presidency today rebuffed a raft of allegations against the government made by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo at a public meeting at Leonora on Sunday.

At about 11:45 am today, two identifiable males armed with handguns entered E-Networks Inc.

Three workers of Cevons Waste Management Inc were this morning held for allegedly attempting to smuggle marijuana and cigarettes into the Lusignan Prison, Prison Director (ag) Gladwin Samuels has confirmed.

(Trinidad Guardian) A 25-year-old Arouca man died on Tuesday after being chased and knocked down by a man driving a car, moments after he was forced to flee his girlfriend’s home following an argument with her former boyfriend.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association announced they had agreed a new pay deal “in principle” on Thursday, finally ending an acrimonious dispute that threatened a tour of Bangladesh and this year’s Ashes series.

In a last ditch effort to have their voices heard, a group of Media Owners and Operators yesterday delivered a letter to the office of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, seeking an audience with him to discuss their concerns ahead of today’s planned debate of the Broadcast (Amendment) Bill 2017.

With an input of $4 billion into Guyana’s economy last year, the Demerara Tobacco Company (Demtoco) is of the opinion that if the Tobacco Control Bill 2017 is signed into law in its current form without being reviewed by a select committee of Parliament, the country stands to lose billions in revenue from the tobacco industry.

The School of Medicine at the University of Guyana (UG) was recently “accorded Accreditation for four years from 2017-2021 by the Caribbean Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP).”

The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) probing the alleged plot to assassinate President David Granger yesterday heard a statement from a witness that the accuser, Andrif Gillard had told her that it was his intention to fabricate such a plan and pin it on Nizam Khan.

Government is seeking $116 million for the establishment and operation of the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA).

Bhojnarine Bhola, 29, manager of Double Day Hotel at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo and his driver, Leyland Johnson, 26, walked free yesterday following the conclusion of the trial for the 2012 murder of Sideek Juman.

The national U15 boys and U17 girls’ teams commenced their respective final encampment process Tuesday ahead of their upcoming CONCACAF U15 and U17 qualifying tournaments.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Infra-structure (MPI), Geoffrey Vaughn said that they will be examining the holes which have been slowly developing on Carifesta Avenue, to ensure that they are not as a result of a major issue.

In an effort to prepare for the hosting of the 2017 Indoor Pan American Cup, the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) following consent from the Ministry of Sport, has imported an indoor plastic tile surface for the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

CHELMSFORD, England,  CMC – Fast bowler Kemar Roach erased any doubt about his form and fitness with a brilliant spell which brightened an otherwise dour second day of the West Indies three-day tour game against Essex here yesterday.

Despite citizens’ outcry over the spate of blackouts over the weekend and the last two days, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is yet to give an explanation for the problem which has been plaguing residents all around the country for months.

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – India captain Virat Kohli has confirmed that fit-again opening batsman KL Rahul will return to the side for the second test against Sri Lanka, with Abhinav Mukund appearing the player most likely to lose his spot.

Though awaiting full legal advice, the Guyana Press Association (GPA) yesterday rapped the government over its proposed amendment to the broadcast law which would require all licensees to carry one hour of “public service programmes” each day.

WELLINGTON,  (Reuters) – The first day-night test in New Zealand remains in doubt with New Zealand Cricket yet to receive council approval to stage the pink-ball contest against England at Eden Park in March.

Efforts are afoot to have Mabaruma become a model town in Guyana’s hinterland with a focus on a green economy and youth development.

MELBOURNE,  (Reuters) – Cricket Australia is on the verge of agreeing a new pay deal with the players’ union, ending a long impasse and avoiding the need for arbitration.

Dear Editor, I write this letter from the perspective of a former inmate of both the Camp Street and Mazaruni prisons in the 1980s who, after having served a 3 year sentence in both of these institutions has acquired in the process, a firsthand experience of the conditions – including the horrors, brutalities and degradation – of Guyana prison life.

Over the last 12 years, the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) has removed in excess of 80,000 illegal connections across Guyana and will apply new tactics to address and eradicate this scourge.

Two unmasked bandits yesterday afternoon stormed the E-Networks store located in the Mon Repos mall where they held the employees and customers at gunpoint before carting off  an undisclosed amount of cash and five cell phones.

Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix has refuted the allegations made by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, who was quoted in the August 1, 2017 edition of the Guyana Times as accusing the Government of engaging in “people smuggling”.

MANCHESTER, (Reuters) – Opening bowler Vernon Philander is over the viral infection that South Africa say cost them the third test against England earlier this week and looking forward to trying to level the series when the final test starts tomorrow.

Dear Editor, Just on eve of the APNU taking power here in Guyana, oil was found in commercial quantities.

To describe Guyana’s ‘colourful’ sporting landscape often evokes adjectives and phrases such as, mismanagement, visionless, myopic and politically driven.

Dear Editor,  The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) has been carefully studying the responses to the prison incidents over the last three weeks and holds the view the problems are those of a national emergency which necessitate a bipartisan approach through debates and engagements in and out of the National Assembly.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, (Reuters) – After a crackdown on illegal immigration that has sharply reduced the number of unauthorized border crossings from Mexico, U.S.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil’s lower house of Congress voted yesterday to reject a corruption charge against President Michel Temer for allegedly taking bribes, saving him from facing a possible Supreme Court trial that could have ousted him from office.

Dear Editor, There was an interesting discourse in a Stabroek News letter of Thursday, July 20, 2017 on the subject if ethanol, remarkable for its disconnected reasoning, and admitted assumptions (Why did GuySuCo not pursue the ethanol option?’).

(Reuters) – Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Stanford Classic ahead of her second round match yesterday due to soreness in her left arm, the former world number one said.

Dear Editor, The new broadcast bill comes across not so much as an attempt to protect the public interest as is being presented by government, but as the intent to intimidate and control broadcasters.

An Albouystown resident was yesterday granted his release on $10,000 bail after denying a charge of simple larceny.

CHELMSFORD, England, CMC – Resurgent West Indies seamer Kemar Roach believes the hard work during his recent protracted layoff from international cricket is set to pay dividends.

The children living at the Guyana Red Cross Society Children Convalescent Home received a visit from the Caribbean Award Sub-Regional Council (CASC) participants yesterday, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said yesterday.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump grudgingly signed into law new sanctions against Russia yesterday, a move Moscow said amounted to a full-scale trade war and an end to hopes for better ties with the Trump administration.

Dear Editor, Over the past six months the quality of the GTT telephone and internet service has been very poor in the entire Berbice area.

LONDON/CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela inflated the turnout figures for its constituent assembly election by at least 1 million votes, the company that provides the country’s voting machines said yesterday, an accusation the government quickly dismissed as “irresponsible.”

An 18-year-old youth, who blamed bad influences for him stealing over $500,000 in items, was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail for the crime.

(Reuters) – Wayde van Niekerk, the athlete identified by Usain Bolt as the next trailblazer for global athletics, was adamant yesterday that he was not afraid to take over the responsibility of being the face of his sport.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Three top Democratic senators, in a rare show of bipartisanship, yesterday urged U.S.

MADRID,  (Reuters) – Neymar’s record-breaking 222 million euros ($263 million) transfer from Barcelona to French side Paris Saint-Germain appeared close to completion yesterday, when his agent predicted he could be unveiled by the weekend.

A 35-year-old man was yesterday remanded to prison after he was charged with the possession of several grammes of cannabis.

Dear Editor, GTT has been a noted partner in the area of communication for many decades in this country.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over the 22,000 mark for the first time yesterday, but investor fears about the sustainability of the gains took the shine off the round number milestone.

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Barbados snatched two key wickets to hold the edge against Guyana heading into today’s final day of their second round match in the Regional Under-19 Championship at Verchilds.

The board of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) held its 500th meeting on July 24th.

Dear Editor, The previous administration was heavily criticized following audit reports on substandard work undertaken by many contractors in Region 2, that it condoned.

United States of America (USA) based sprinters, Brenessa Thompson and Kadecia Baird will miss this year’s World Track and Field Championships which starts tomorrow in London owing to visa issues.

Staff of the High Commission of Canada enjoyed a friendly eight overs-a-side softball cricket match among themselves on Friday at the Everest Cricket Club.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Prince Philip, the 96-year-old husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, bowed out of public life yesterday with his final solo appearance at an official event, ending a royal career marked by occasional gaffes that landed him in hot water.

The annual Republic Bank Pan Minors Music Literacy Programme 2017 saw 83 youths from Regions 3, 4 and 5 developing their skills in the steel pan art form a release from the bank said yesterday.

Dear Editor, After reading the missive captioned ‘There is need for affirmative action to correct structural changes facing African Guyanese’ by David Hinds (SN, August 1), one may ask, will there come a time when the African is perceived as truly emancipated?

(Reuters) – The Baltimore Police Department suspended seven officers after body camera video emerged that the city’s public defender said appeared to show them planting drugs in a car during a traffic stop, the second such episode in the city in two weeks.

The old jest goes that you can always tell someone is a true Guyanese by their frugal request to the vendor “to pass a single” from the tray or for the bigger order of two cigarettes instead of purchasing the whole pack, like the rest of the world with money to burn.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Only 39.4 overs were possible in the Regional Under-15 Championship here  yesterday, as heavy rain across the island wrecked the fourth round of the competition.

Dear Editor, As a little boy growing up in the island of Wakenaam, I often listened to the gaff of my late nana (grandfather) and his friend, the late David of Great Troolie Island, while they drank a cut-down or flattie Russian Bear rum, rolling and smoking their Capstan cigarettes in the late ʼ50s.

Tobacco smoke clings to hair, clothing, carpets, curtains, even furniture; it lingers in a room like an unwanted guest long after its host, the smoker, extinguishes the offending cigarette or cigar and stays after the host leaves.