Daily Archive: Sunday, March 15, 2020

(Trinidad Express) The Ministry of Health, Trinidad and Tobago, advises the population of two more confirmed cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

In an address to the nation today, President David Granger says he has proposed to CARICOM Chair, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley that the initiative for the recount of the March 2 votes operate within the legal framework of the constitution and respect the role of GECOM and the rulings of the Supreme Court.

As part of its global cutback because of the coronavirus pandemic, American Airlines yesterday announced that with effect from tomorrow its flights to Guyana from New York and Miami will be suspended through May 6th.

A High Level Team from CARICOM is now in Guyana to supervise the re-counting of ballots from the country’s 2 March 2020 Elections, according to a statement today from CARICOM.

(Jamaica Observer) The Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is urging the pastor accused of sodomising a teenage boy in St Ann, in 2018, to turn himself in to the police.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Doris Fuller bore a distressed look as she pushed a supermarket cart through the chemical aisle at the Walmart Neighbourhood Market in Green Acres, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Relatives of the woman who became Jamaica’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been getting death threats from angry residents in their community, two family members have revealed.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Taxi drivers across Jamaica are being warned by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton that the Government may confiscate their licences if they continue to bar nurses from accessing their services, due to fear that COVID-19 may be transferred to them and other passengers.

(Trinidad Guardian) A 66-year-old man who travelled abroad less than 14 days ago is this country’s second confirmed case of COVID-19.

(Trinidad Express) The Prime Minister is exercising “caution” with respect to coronavirus after his recent travels.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Mexico warned on Saturday that the coronavirus outbreak could last all year as it began rolling out tougher measures to contain the spread, calling for an end to large gatherings and extending Easter school holidays.

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO,  (Reuters) – American Airlines Inc said yesterday it plans to cut 75% of its international flights through May 6 and ground nearly all its widebody fleet, as airlines respond to the global collapse in travel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.

(Trinidad Guardian) All Masses at the Catholic church have been suspended, according to a media release from the Archbishop of Port-of-Spain.

Guyana Jaguars were rolled over for 94 before lunch in pursuit of 330 for victory against Barbados Pride yesterday at the Providence National Stadium on the third day of the West Indies Championships.

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has acted upon the decision by Cricket West Indies (CWI) and  has  suspend its activities on the heels of the Coronavirus pandemic.

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Jamaica Scorpions were closing in on a comprehensive victory over Leeward Islands Hurricanes, following Jermaine Blackwood’s monumental 248 on the penultimate day of their eighth round match in the Regional Four-Day Championship.

HALIFAX/DARTFORD, England, (Reuters) – England’s Premier League and 72-team Football League closed down yesterday due to concerns over the coronavirus but clubs in the fifth tier and below defiantly took to the field — to the delight of football addicts across the country.

Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Guyana rose to four yesterday after three persons, all linked to the 52-year-old woman who died from the illness last week, returned positive tests.

With the completion of the vote count from the March 2 polls prompting claims of fraud, an independent high-level Caribbean Community (CARICOM) team is due to arrive to supervise a full recount of the ballots cast in all ten regions at Guyana’s elections based on an agreement by President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo. 

LONDON, (Reuters) – West Ham United vice-chairman Karen Brady says hopes of re-starting the Premier League in three weeks are “dreamland” and believes this season could be declared null and void.

With another Mash Road March title under her belt, Melissa ‘Vanilla’ Roberts has edged closer to her ultimate goal.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India suspended domestic soccer until the end of this month while domestic cricket was put on hold indefinitely due to the coronavirus yesterday.

The incumbent A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition is “generally satisfied” with the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections (GRE) and has denied involvement in any type of fraud related to the tabulation of votes in Electoral District Four.

It has been announced that Guyana has had its first case of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) which has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Coronavirus pandemic is the trending topic worldwide. Guyana recorded its first case, a 52-year-old woman, who later became a casualty.

With the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) looming on local shores, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF, the nation’s governing body of association football, has suspended all matches and tournaments during the March-April period.

Following his controversial declaration of results, Region Four Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo has denied the requests by eight of the ten parties that contested the March 2 general and regional elections for recounts, while saying that none of their counting agents was properly appointed.

A businessman was shot dead by gunmen on Friday night on the premises of his Rosignol snackette, where he was celebrating his 78th birthday.

Imagine painstakingly planting your yard with fruit trees and celebrating the reward of seeing them bear but just before the fruits ripen, they are stripped from their branches and thrown to the ground.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua,  CMC – Cricket West Indies on Saturday announced it would suspend the last two rounds of the marquee first class championship, along with an entire suite of youth tournaments for the next 30 days, as it braces for the full impact of the deadly coronavirus across the region.

Open letter to: Justice Claudette Singh, Chair of GECOM; Hon David Granger, Leader of APNU; Hon Bharrat Jagdeo, Leader of the PPP; Hon Prime Minister Mia Mottley, CARICOM Chair We are all proud Guyanese wherever we now live.

Amid rising concern about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), from tomorrow until March 27, most public servants will be working on a shift system to avoid clustering at their offices.

A 13-month-old Husky which was stolen on Mash day was safely returned home recently after a social media campaign by its owner paid off.

TAROUBA, Trinidad,  CMC – Speedster Anderson Phillip notched his maiden 10-wicket match haul as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force crushed Windward Islands Volcanoes by an innings and 84 runs inside three days here yesterday to post their second straight win of the Regional Four-Day Championship.

Dear Editor, Of recent, there has been a lot said about the provisions of the Representation of the People Act Ch.

The High Court yesterday held another Saturday sitting to hear an application by the opposition PPP/C for an injunction to restrain the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from declaring the final results of the March 2 polls until a recount is done in Region Four in accordance with the law.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Australia and New Zealand’s limited overs tours have been postponed in the wake of new travel restrictions announced by the New Zealand government yesterday aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus.

The positive reviews for “Onward” have seemed to damn it with faint praise; it’s good but not excellent, they say, or not quite up the level of the best of Pixar.

Dear Editor, People will look back at recent events in Guyana from all over the world.

The Guyana Press Association (GPA) yesterday condemned threats and attempted physical attacks on media workers in recent weeks during elections coverage.

(Reuters) – Frenchman Rudy Gobert, the first NBA player known to have tested positive for the coronavirus, is donating more than $500,000 to support both the employee relief fund at the Utah Jazz’s home arena and COVID-19-related social services relief in Utah, Oklahoma City and the French health care system, the NBA team said yesterday.

Sebastian                                             I remember You did supplant your brother Prospero. Antonio True.

Dear Editor, On behalf of Change Guyana, we herein state that the 160 Statements of Poll (SOP) for Region Four, for the March 2, 2020 elections, which we sourced independently, matched exactly with the related SOP provided by the PPP/C to the public at large.

Former Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee has described the recent transfer of Assistant Commissioner of Police Edgar Thomas as “grossly unfair” and “flagrantly high-handed” and has accused Com-missioner of Police Leslie James of failing to execute his duties.

Forty-one kilometres from Supenaam on the Essequibo Coast is the village of Windsor Castle, home to approximately 650 residents, most of whom do rice farming while some do cattle rearing and fishing.

NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell says he is feeling fine, playing lots of video games and looking forward to getting back on the court.

Dear Editor, I have no doubt that the results as declared reflect the will of the people.

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Donald Trump tested negative for the coronavirus, his doctor said yesterday, as the U.S.

Beepats, the authorized distributor for the Lysol brand of sanitizing products, has limited retail sales of the products to two per person at its retail branch on Regent Street while maintaining the same prices it has always asked.

(Reuters) – An Argentine Superliga Cup match was cancelled yesterday when River Plate refused to let Atletico Tucuman officials into their stadium because of fears over the spread of the corona virus.

“Me, I just want to get more money to support me children, that is all.

The 2020 National Chess Championship has been postponed to a date to be announced in due course.

Dear Editor, I watch and wonder as results come and go, amidst the ongoing rages and willful blindness of a society that has succeeded in tearing itself apart at every joint and limb by limb.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The first batch of 21 specialist nurses from Cuba will arrive in the island on March 24, to boost the capacity of the health system to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19).

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain put its 47 million inhabitants under partial lockdown yesterday as part of a 15-day state of emergency to combat the coronavirus epidemic in Europe’s second worst-affected country by the disease after Italy.

The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has announced a waiver of fees for the use of its Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sale service for the remainder of the month to assist customers in taking precautions against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Australia’s National Rugby League will continue into the second round of the season next week in closed stadiums because of the coronavirus pandemic, Rugby League Commission chief Peter V’landys said yesterday.

(Reuters) – Spain and Norway became the latest countries to impose stringent measures to combat the coronavirus, while the United States extended a travel ban.

Rationality has supervened in the matter of the Region Four election count at last, courtesy of Barbados Prime Minister and CARICOM Chair Mia Mottley.

Investigations are still ongoing into the murder of Cuban butcher Ofredis Duarte Campos, who was shot and killed on Church Street about three weeks ago during an attempted robbery, acting Commander of Region 4(A) Senior Superintendent Phillip Azore has said.

CARACAS/MARACAIBO (Reuters) – Venezuela on Friday confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus amid concerns that the economically struggling South American nation is unprepared to confront a pandemic that is spreading rapidly around the globe.

Dear Editor, Permit me space to openly call out the ABC and EU countries on their lack of a swift response to the violence perpetrated against women during this post-election debacle.

(SCIDEV.Net) – Scientists racing to stop drug-resistant malaria spreading globally are optimistic they can marry the molecules needed to find effective treatments.

BOSTON/LONDON (Reuters) – Climate change commitments by banks, pension funds and asset managers face their first major test as markets reel from the twin shocks of coronavirus and a sliding oil price.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A cheetah strides up to third generation animal trainer Shandor Larenty and lets him stroke its fur while he throws chunks of meat to the rest of the coalition at the Johannesburg Lion & Safari park.

LONDON (Reuters) – A series of six paintings by the Venetian master Titian, commissioned by King Philip II of Spain and inspired by the works of the Roman poet Ovid, have been reunited for the first time in four centuries in an exhibition at London’s National Gallery.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally asked the country’s constitutional court if it is legal for him to change the constitution, the Kremlin said yesterday, a move that could allow him to remain in power until 2036.

HAVANA (Reuters) – Dozens of renowned Cuban artists from across the political spectrum are calling for the release of dissident artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara who was arrested 10 days ago, decrying this as an outdated act of censorship.

TUEBINGEN, Germany (Reuters) – Germany’s CureVac, among the vaccine developers funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), said it could mass-produce a coronavirus immunization from its existing facilities if its low-dose approach proves successful in trials.

(Reuters) – The release of Walt Disney Co’s epic action movie “Mulan” and Universal Pictures’ ninth “Fast and Furious” film were postponed on Thursday as Hollywood scrambled to adjust to the worldwide spread of coronavirus.

It’s with us all day, whether we live in the Caribbean or outside, interacting with it in all sorts of ways, major and minor, and so it becomes a given condition, something we don’t even notice, as a rule, but in the Caribbean region we are a nation of immigrants.

Last Update: 627.31                                  Movement: -0.48% Current Update: 624.29                            YTD Movement 3.02%LUCAS STOCK INDEX The Lucas Stock Index (LSI) fell 0.48% during the second period of trading in March, 2020.

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Millions of children in Asia risk falling behind because of school closures amid the coronavirus outbreak, with unequal access to the internet hurting poorer kids as classes go online, technology and human rights experts warned on Friday.

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As coronavirus sweeps the Seattle area, with more than 20 deaths so far in one of the worst outbreaks in the United States, the University of Washington this week shuttered its classrooms in a bid to contain the spread of the disease.

Introduction Last week’s column had addressed the seeming rationale behind the publication of Guyana’s first Report on Petroleum Production and Revenues (RPPR) by the Ministry of Finance on February 19, 2020.

When I first encountered the issue of rigging of elections in Guyana, I was a student activist.

The fast rising youth dance group in Linden, Epic Dance Group received a timely boost on Friday, when one of the founders of the Centre for Guyanese Progress, Gavin Alleyne, presented the dance instructor with a $50,000 donation.

It seems not a day, and certainly not a week, passes without our stomachs being turned by appalling news of women cruelly abused, beaten and, often enough, murdered in headline – hot, red blood.

(Reuters Health) – Parents may allow kids to eat too much sugary breakfast cereal because the suggested serving size is smaller than they realize, according to a new study.

Brooklyn Nets center DeAndre Jordan told a WFAN radio host that he believes all team members will be tested for coronavirus, or COVID-19, yesterday.