Daily Archive: Monday, May 21, 2018

Former Finance Minister, Saisnarine Kowlessar  was questioned for about two hours today by ranks of the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) about several land sales that were made while he held office.

Minister of State and executive member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Joseph Harmon has announced his candidature for the position of Chair of the party, for which elections will be held at Congress in August 2018.

In the aftermath of the questioning of investment deals struck years ago and charges against former officials over them, several investors mulling major agreements here have begun expressing reservations that these may not be upheld if the government changes.

Although lauding the three-year-old APNU+AFC government for strides in the areas of human rights and indigenous peoples’ outreach and development, political scientist David Hinds says it has been visionless with few tangible achievements to show Guyana’s citizenry.

President David Granger has referred to challenges faced by the governing APNU+AFC coalition from sections of the media.

Guyana and Grenada are among CARICOM countries that stand to benefit from the export of honey to Trinidad and Tobago once the twin-island republic enacts legislation to facilitate trade in honey, says Antigua and Barbuda Minister of Trade, Commerce and Industry Chet Greene. 

Amidst concerns among miners of the presence of “Sindicatos” gangs operating in the Cuyuni River, Divisional Commander Kevin Adonis says that the Guyana Police Force has not found any evidence of such in a recent reported attack on a mining camp and questioned the motives of the miners.

DELHI, India, CMC – Chris Gayle’s involvement in this year’s Indian Premier League came to an unflattering end yesterday, when he failed yet again as Kings XI Punjab crashed to a five-wicket defeat to Dwayne Bravo’s Chennai Super Kings.

A security guard of R. Maye Guyana International Inc was tied up and held at gunpoint with another employee after two men invaded the company’s premises yesterday morning.

Joel Alleyne produced the biggest upset of the Open men’s singles division of the Guyana Table Tennis Association national championships yesterday when he defeated US-based Matthew Khan in the opening round of the last eight round robin finals.

Brothers, Brian Joseph and Dequan Small, who are accused of attempting to murder their fellow villager, are likely to know their fate early this week after a jury deliberates on the case against them.

Dear Editor, It seems the political backlash of a terrible contract with Exxon is now spreading its ugly head on one of Guyana’s best managed, most accountable and transparent companies that provides more revenue to the country than sugar and indeed is the largest contributor to the Government of Guyana in terms of employment, taxes paid (corporate and payroll etc) and duties. 

Etched among the outstanding moments of the Royal wedding joining Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, was the performance of The Kingdom Choir, which sang a rendition of the Ben E King classic “Stand by Me”, led by conductor Karen Gibson.

National female table tennis player Natalie Cummings yesterday captured the vacant women’s Open title of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) senior national championships, played at the National Gymnasium.

Dear Editor, It is the private business of the Patterson family on how they deal with their personal situation with regards to an allegation of trafficking of a controlled drug (cocaine) against one of their members.

(Reuters) – Rafa Nadal made the best of a rain delay to come from behind in the deciding set and beat defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-1 1-6 6-3 in the Italian Open final yesterday.

The search of the sawmill allegedly used to pack cocaine into pieces of dressed lumber was delayed as a result of concerns for the safety of the CANU officers and the security of the narcotics which had been discovered.

(Reuters) – Fourth seed Elina Svitolina successfully defended her Italian Open title yesterday with a dominant 6-0 6-4 victory over an out-of-sorts Simona Halep.

In Guyana treatment is available for HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS,  however stigma associated with the disease continues to prevent persons from accessing this help.

Dear Editor, Travelling to Bartica by speedboat at night is a great way to release stress, relax and enjoy the beauty of the river.

Dear Editor, Politics, it is said, makes for strange bedfellows. There is no such thing as permanent friends insofar as political alliances are concerned.

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – Individual brilliance notwithstanding, cricket remains a team sport and the fancied Royal Challengers Bangalore discovered that the hard way as they exited the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoff race after yet another middle-order meltdown.

The Regional Democratic Council of Region Four has issued thirty-three contractors with drainage and irrigation contracts accompanied by a warning about substandard work.

CARACAS, Venezuela,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro won a new six-year term yesterday, but his main rivals disavowed the election alleging massive irregularities in a process critics decried as a farce propping up a dictatorship.

Paul DeNobrega has a knack for winning big money races. A multiple champion in Guyana’s most lucrative cycle events, the Ounce of Gold and the Digicel Breast Cancer road races, DeNobrega added to his bank account one again yesterday by carting off the spoils of the inaugural Team Alanis-organized Pre-Independence fixture to his resume.

Dear Editor, On my recent visit to the National Communications Network Inc at the Cotton Field government compound, I noticed that this place has turned into a grazing ground for animals.

Two men were on Friday remanded to prison after they answered to two counts of armed robbery in a city court.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – Chinese state media yesterday praised a significant dialling back of trade tension with the United States, saying China had stood its ground and the two countries had huge potential for win-win business cooperation.

(Barbados Nation) Once the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is returned to office, Barbados will be withdrawing from the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as its final Court of Appeal.

Dear Editor, I look at relations between the two races in this country and ask: where do I see things standing in this country? 

President David Granger on Thursday received a courtesy call from the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi (right), who he assured that Guyana remains open to Indonesian investment, especially in value-added manufacturing, agro-processing and within the sugar industry.

SANTA FE, Texas,  (Reuters) – A teenaged boy who shot and killed eight students and two teachers in Texas had been spurned by one of his victims after making aggressive advances, her mother told the Los Angeles Times.

A massive pre-independence cleanup took place yesterday across Georgetown, spearheaded by the Mayor and City Council.

Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Boss Wayne Forde, remains tight-lipped on the status of the investigation launched into the behavior of Executive Committee Member Keith O’Jeer.

Dear Editor,  The recent conversation on the relevance of Creolese at the University of Guyana was interesting – especially in view of my doctoral thesis.

A 30-year-old labourer was on Friday charged with forging a vehicle registration certificate and a licence plate.

PAHOA, Hawaii,  (Reuters) – Hawaii residents coping with Kilauea’s volcanic eruption faced a potentially deadly new hazard on Sunday as authorities warned that lava flows reaching the Pacific Ocean could produce noxious clouds of acid fumes, steam and tiny, glass-like particles.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Cricket West Indies chief executive, Johnny Grave, says no decision has been taken to reduce matches for Sri Lanka’s three-Test tour of the Caribbean.

HAVANA,  (Reuters) – Cubans in eastern Holguin province held a funeral yesterday for an art instructor and her small child, the first of 67 Holguin residents to be brought home for burial out of 110 people who died Friday in Cuba’s worst plane crash since 1989.

(Reuters) LeBron James finished with 27 points and 12 assists as the host Cleveland Cavaliers sprung to life with a 116-86 win against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.

In off the cuff remarks on Wednesday at State House about the third anniversary of his government in office, President Granger said  “Sometimes commentators tend to underestimate the difficulties we face in terms of our finance… international relations… crime and security but I think [a] sober analysis will see that we have made tremendous progress”.

By D. Alissa Trotz D. Alissa Trotz is editor of the In the Diaspora Column This Wednesday May 23rd, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Guyana (UG), will be hosting a solemn ceremony at the George Walcott Lecture Theatre in memory of Harold ‘Harry’ Drayton, who died in March of this year.

(Barbados Nation) Two men are dead after an early-morning collision along Black Rock main road near its junction with St Stephens Hill Road, St Michael, between a Transport Board Bus and a Suzuki Vitara.

KUALA LUMPUR,  (Reuters) – In early 2015, as Malaysians were protesting over government plans to introduce a consumption tax, the then first lady was complaining about the rising costs of her hairdresser.

Dear Editor, In every endeavour, whether it is politics, business, the military, the police, the church or  the university,  except West Indies cricket, the responsibility for performance failures rests on the shoulders of management.

Last Wednesday’s lead article in the Guyana Times newspaper carried the headline “NICIL under APNU/AFC Govt still retains billions in dividends – source”.