Daily Archive: Friday, July 6, 2018

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, today, visited the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine) where he charged the Regional Administration to work  with every stakeholder and to utilise every available State resource at its disposal to ensure that they serve the residents affected by flooding.

A team from ExxonMobil today appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources.

(CDEMA press release)  Hurricane Beryl, the second (2nd) named storm of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season, formed over the central Atlantic Ocean on July 05, 2018.

(Reuters) – Belgium used a combination of daring, intelligence, resilience and not a little luck to oust World Cup favourites Brazil 2-1 in a memorable quarter-final tie today that would have made a worthy final.

The Private Sector Commission, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry today called for the government to cut excise taxes to lower the cost of fuel.

ISLAMABAD,  (Reuters) – A Pakistani anti-corruption court today sentenced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to 10 years in prison over the purchase of upscale London flats, prosecution lawyer Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said.

The government and the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) appear to be on a collision course again over the still to be brokered agreement on salary increases and non-salary benefits as State Minister Joseph Harmon yesterday said amidst continuing protests that proposals by a joint task force contained “some very serious financial implications.”

Government yesterday announced that it’s soon to be rolled out solar power plans will see a decrease of 15 percent in fossil fuel use in the first year of implementation and by the third year heavy fuel amounts will be slashed by half.

The US$100m ($20b) Pegasus Suites & Corporate Centre in Kingston is set to commence preparatory works for the foundation and land filling.

The Rose Hall Town man who was found guilty of murdering a New Amsterdam Market vendor during the course of a robbery at his Hampshire, Corentyne home in early 2010 was yesterday sentenced to death at the High Court in Berbice.

In keeping with the government’s commitment to complete severance payments to all retrenched sugar workers, Minister of State Joseph Harmon yesterday said the final amounts will be paid off in the second half of the year.

Assistant Superintendent Simeon Reid, the officer-in-charge of the Guyana Police Force’s Fraud Squad, yesterday testified that after initially identifying himself by another name, fugitive murder accused Troy Thomas did admit his identity and signed to it.

Close to 20 farms in Masakenari, a Wai Wai village in the deep south of Guyana, have been inundated as floods continue to take a toll on communities in Central and South Rupununi, in Region Nine.

Natasha Blair, the cosmetologist who was nabbed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) while trying to smuggle cocaine she swallowed onto a flight to the United States, was yesterday sentenced to three years in jail and fined $1.1 million for the crime.

Ninety percent of the preliminary valuation work for sugar estates to be privatized has been completed and the unit set up by the government to oversee the process also clarified yesterday that $30b in bond financing  for GuySuCo has been backed by a repayment guarantee from the government and not secured by the corporation’s assets.

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Opener Kraigg Brathwaite stroked his first hundred in nearly a year while Shai Hope passed fifty for the first time in 13 innings, but it was speedster Shannon Gabriel’s devastating four-wicket burst which rocked Bangladesh and put West Indies on course for a comprehensive win in the opening Test.

Stafrei Alexander was yesterday afternoon handed a life sentence by Justice Sandil Kissoon following a jury’s finding that he was guilty of attempting to murder Curtis Thom, whom he shot back in 2015.

BECKENHAM, England, CMC – Fit-again stroke-maker Sunil Ambris forced his way back into reckoning for a senior team call-up with his sixth first class hundred but India A fought back courtesy of a Prithvi Shaw century, on the second day of the opening four-day “Test” here Thursday.

As police continue to investigate the daring heist in which millions were stolen from a Stabroek Market jewellery store, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) yesterday announced that security at the municipal markets is being amplified.

Alex Arjoon and Mary Fung-A-Fat retained their respective Senior National Squash titles a few days ago and are keen to continue their careers along entirely different paths.  Arjoon, the number one player in the country, is focused on remaining in Guyana to develop his new business venture, which in the recent past has seen him forgo the opportunity of playing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.   He has also indicated to Stabroek Sport that he would not be participating in the upcoming Central America and Caribbean Games (CAC) scheduled for Columbia from July 19th to August 3rd. 

Jadoo Datt, the man who was wanted by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for questioning about the misappropriation of millions uncovered by a forensic audit of the Guyana Lotteries Commission, is now in custody after surrendering.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Defending Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza suffered a shock defeat in the second round on Thursday, losing 5-7 6-2 6-1 to unseeded Belgian Alison van Uytvanck.

ST PETERSBURG, (Reuters) – When it finally happened, many may not have realised they had just witnessed a moment of World Cup history.

Cabinet recently approved the payment of a state pension to well-known historian Sr Mary Noel Menezes, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said yesterday, while announcing that there will be an increase in the maximum annual rate currently being paid.

The Ministry of Business, Department of Tourism along with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) yesterday hosted a Rum Route Forum with stakeholders at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

The attorney for murder accused Sedley Liverpool, who is one of the men charged with killing mechanic Terrence Lanferman at his Mocha, East Bank Demerara residence in 2015, yesterday argued that the prosecution has so far not supplied evidence for his client to go to trial.

Motor-racing enthusiasts will have a chance to test their skills or view some pulsating action when the first of the 2018 Motocross champion series is held on July 29 at Lower Kara-Kara Spike Land, Linden.

Giftland Mall received eight million visitors since its official opening on July 2, 2015.

Bissan’s Trading has come on board the sponsorship team for this year’s Malteenoes Cricket Academy which commences on July 23.  “This is a great concept and I know how much the youngsters will learn from this and hopefully some players from this Academy will go on to play at the highest level,” said Bissoon Singh, the proprietor of Bissan’s Trading.

President David Granger is likely to meet with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on a number of outstanding matters when he returns from Jamaica, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said yesterday.

Three of the four men arrested with a stolen boat belonging to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) were yesterday charged with theft, while an arrest warrant was issued for the other man, who police say escaped from custody.

In bad weather the long roads leading into Region Nine can seem like another country.

Dellon Henry, called “Nasty Man,” was yesterday afternoon sentenced to 51 years in prison for the murder of East Ruimveldt footballer Dexter Griffith, who was shot and killed in front of his ‘Warlock’ home on September 29th, 2015.

President of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA), David Fernandes has expressed his optimism of Guyana recapturing this year’s Junior CASA Championships which serves off this weekend in Jamaica.   Guyana, after 12 years of dominance, from 2005 – 2016, surrendered the 2017 Title to Barbados in Guyana, and ever since the juniors have been working their traps off to once again return to the apex of squash in the region.   Fernandes, in that regard, is banking on a total team effort from the South Americans, merged with what he describes as the ‘depth in this year’s squad’ to deliver the goods. 

With cross-border access into Guyana having long been relatively easy, protecting the country’s territory must focus not only on keeping undesirable elements out but also on protecting the population from ‘invasion’ by non-human yet harmful elements that could compromise the nation’s security no less seriously than armed invasion.  Part of the responsibility of, as far as possible, keeping undesirable elements out falls to the Quarantine Department that functions under the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) of the Ministry of Agriculture.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia,(Reuters) – Edinson Cavani trained lightly on Thursday, but his coach would not be drawn on whether the Uruguay forward had recovered sufficiently from injury to have a chance of being fit for today’s World Cup quarter-final with France.

The Government of Guyana is seeking to maximize the impact of public spending on the economic well-being of its citizens and the Small Business Procurement Programme is one means of achieving this.

Minibus drivers Mohendra Rambowar and Devon Headley were yesterday granted bail after being arraigned in the Wales Magistrate’s Court on two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING,  (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said yesterday the United States may ultimately impose tariffs on more than a half-trillion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods as the world’s two largest economies hurtled toward the start of a trade war.

HOUSTON,  (Reuters) – ConocoPhillips moved to bring Venezuelan PDVSA’s U.S. refining unit Citgo Petroleum into its legal battles to enforce a $2 billion arbitration award against the South American country’s nationalization of its Venezuelan assets.

One of the world’s leading professional marketing bodies, the United Kingdom-based Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has issued a commendation to the Georgetown-based Business School “for the exceptional performance of its students at the Institute’s July 2017 assessments,” Chief Executive Officer and Principal of the school, James Bovell has told the Stabroek Business.

The body of the second boy who went missing after going swimming at Unity Beach, Mahaica, on Tuesday was found yesterday morning on the Buxton Seawall.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, (Reuters) – American Noah Lyles equalled the year’s best 200 metres time when he stormed home in 19.69 seconds at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting on Thursday.

Caribbean Community Heads of Government must build trust and confidence among themselves, particularly in how they deal with the external community that is challenging the Caribbean region by deliberately imposing actions that are destroying its fragile economies says Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

Your first impression of Joel Harrihar is likely to be that of a ‘bookish’ Guyanese youngster preoccupied with working his way feverishly towards a university degree.

ADDIS ABABA,  (Reuters) – Ethiopia fired its prisons chief and took three opposition groups off its “terrorist” list yesterday, the latest steps in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s bold push to shake the African giant from decades of security-obsessed rule.

-Bartica Zone scheduled for July 13 – 15 With the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Championship slated to kick-off its second edition of the Bartica Zone, the organisers of the National Championships, Three Peat Promotions, have released the official list of teams for this year’s event.   

Reyead Shadeek believes that poor customer service has contributed significantly to undermining the reputation of the motor mechanical industry and he wants to do something about it.

(Reuters) – The United States yesterday sanctioned three Nicaraguan officials, including the country’s police chief and the head of its oil company, for human rights abuses and corruption, the U.S.

Director of the Materials Management Unit (MMU) Ministry of Public Health, Cecil Jacques yesterday said that there is no shortage of insulin in the country. 

(Reuters) – Cricket Australia (CA) has denied reports that former Australia captain Steve Smith and batsman David Warner’s suspensions had been relaxed to allow them to participate in domestic first-class cricket ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

Dear Editor, The opportunity is being taken to publicly commend Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley for leading the way in treating with our Caribbean sisters and brothers of Haiti, with her government’s decision to lift the visa restriction for these nationals’ entry into Barbados. 

Wholesale Liquor and Vehicle Workshop secured convincing victories, when the Michael Pereira Inter-Department Domino Championship continued on Wednesday at the Thirst Park Sports Club.

Seven University of Guyana students pursuing studies in various disciplines will later this month join counterparts from India, China, Myanmar, Guyana, Algeria, Thailand and Japan in an intensive two-week Global Entrepreneurship and Innovation (GE2)  Programme.

The police in Berbice say that due to their vigilance they were able to place four known characters in custody yesterday afternoon.

Dear Editor, I have noticed that the race for Chairmanship of the People’s National Congress is heating up, and the three ‘Old School’ candidates are campaigning aggressively.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, who had been lauded by President Donald Trump for his aggressive efforts to roll back environmental regulations, resigned yesterday under heavy fire for a series of ethics-related controversies.

(Jamaica Observer) A Jamaican woman has complained that she was made to feel like a prisoner after being denied entry into Trinidad and Tobago only days before the 39th regular meeting of the Carib-bean Community (Cari-com) Heads of Govern-ment in Montego Bay, St James.

The top three finishers in the Bartica Football Association (BFA) Independence Cup Football Tournament were presented with their prize monies by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).

OTTAWA,  (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a supporter of feminist causes, yesterday conceded for the first time that he had apologized in 2000 to a woman who accused him of groping her but insisted he did not feel he had done anything wrong.

The police in Berbice have launched an investigation after $120,000 worth of school vouchers were stolen from the Regional Education Department in Region Six sometime last week.

Dear Editor I refer to the claims made in letters to the national newspapers by Rev.

Gold Prices for the three day period ending Thursday July 5, 2018Kitco is a Canadian company that buys and sells precious metals such as gold, copper and silver.

The Guyana Elections Commission is urging all eligible persons who have not yet registered to visit the nearest GECOM office to do so by Sunday, July 8, 2018.

Dear Editor, With great respect, I have read Dr. Henry Jeffrey’s very articulate response in SN of July 5, 2018 to what apparently was conceived to be my personal reaction to his earlier letter on the subject of the structure of the management of the Guyana Elections Commission.

GENEVA,  (Reuters) – Led by Peru, more than 50 countries urged Venezuela yesterday to restore the rule of law and open its doors to humanitarian assistance, as an economic crisis causes shortages of medicine and growing malnutrition.

KAZAN, Russia, July 6 (Reuters) – Brazil right back Danilo has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after suffering ankle ligament damage in training on the eve of Friday’s quarter-final against Belgium, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said in a statement.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Iran should make more effort to ensure stability in the Middle East and get along with its neighbours, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they may block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Dear Editor, Time after time we see some very interesting news appearing in the press related to our resorts, local hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, meat shops and other eating places but we hardly see any details of the kind of foods served and cost of accommodations or special packages offered.

(Barbados Nation) Tropical Storm Beryl has formed between West Africa and the Lesser Antilles. 

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 780’s trading results showed consideration of $623,750 from 648 shares traded in 4 transactions as compared to session 779’s trading results which showed consideration of $10,471,800 from 60,802 shares traded in 5 transaction.

(Prepared by the Guyana Marketing Corporation andpublished by Stabroek Business as a public service)The New Guyana Marketing Corporation has agreed to provide us with the above information which we will publish on a weekly basis subject to receipt.

In Guyana there is neither much thought nor action given towards the idea of the human rights of prisoners – even those on remand who have not yet been given due process through the judicial system.

More vivid World cup joy! Appreciate that this man-in-the-street unlettered columnist A.A.

Introduction Inspired by the May 20, 2015 announcement by ExxonMobil that it had made the largest discovery of petroleum resources for that year off the coast of Guyana, this column with the title Road to First Oil began, coincidentally, on May 26, 2017 and was expected to run for approximately twenty-five weeks.

Whilst the concept of the team is often an important tenet in the pursuit of successful leadership it is not uncommon for some leaders to succeed purely by virtue of the sheer weight of their own personalities and their own particular leadership qualities so that much of what emerges as policy within an organization may well be the result, by and large, of the thinking of one man or woman.

PARIS, (Reuters) – Newton the parrot, the latest prophet of the animal kingdom to give World Cup forecasts, reckons France will beat Uruguay in the first quarter-final of the 2018 World Cup.

FREETOWN,  (Reuters) – Two former top officials in Sierra Leone were arrested yesterday as part of a crackdown on graft by new President Julius Maada Bio’s government.