Daily Archive: Sunday, April 12, 2020

BAKU/DUBAI/LONDON,  (Reuters) – OPEC and allies led by Russia agreed today to a record cut in output to prop up oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic and said they had an unprecedented deal with fellow oil nations, including the United States, to curb global oil supply by 20%.

Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) today said that a COVID-19 test on a six-year-old girl who died after breathing problems came back negative.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Stirling Moss, the British racing driver who ranked as an all-time Formula One great despite never winning the world championship, died today at the age of 90 after a long illness.

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) yesterday said that it had dispatched a letter to Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence expressing concern about the confidentiality of testing for the coronavirus and quarantine procedures.

“When will you make an end?” an impatient Pope Julius II calls up to Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the 1965 film The Agony and the Ecstasy.

The daring absurdity of the 156-day plan for the recounting of the ballots of the March 2 elections begs the question of what exactly goes on at meetings of the Elections Commission.

Now and then in life we become blessed with a singular development that both surprises and delights us. 

By Emmerson Campbell    John Lewis was more than an ex-rugby player and official, he was a mentor, a friend, a father figure to many players and a major contributor to shaping the sport locally. 

By Romario Samaroo  National cyclist, Andrew Hicks, is eager to hear the whistle when competitive cycling returns.

By Romario Samaroo  Former national under-17 captain, Sheldon Charles is progressing with his training in order to excel at both local and regional under-19 tournaments. 

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Australia captain Tim Paine has dismissed the suggestion of his predecessor Michael Clarke that his players went soft on India skipper Virat Kohli in their 2018-19 series for fear of losing lucrative Indian Premier League contracts. 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Chief selector Roger Harper believes West Indies still have “a good shot” at winning this October’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia, even though their recent form has seen them slump in the international rankings. 

LONDON, (Reuters) – England quick Stuart Broad reckons his total domination of Australia opener David Warner in last year’s Ashes series was down to his strategy of denying the batsman any width to play his fierce cut shots and square drives. 

MUMBAI,  (Reuters) – The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is looking at ways to help those most severely affected by the sport’s shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and advises players to claim government support where possible, its chief David Haggerty told Reuters. 

(Reuters) – Golf’s prestigious Memorial tournament is likely to slot into the calendar on the July dates of the cancelled British Open, tournament host Jack Nicklaus said. 

(Reuters) – Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should move to a more ambitious club if he wants to win trophies, according to Gabon football association president Pierre Alain Mounguengui.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Pakistan have offered to host global flagship tournaments after the International Cricket Council (ICC) invited expression of interest from its members for events in the 2023-31 cycle. 

LONDON, (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he owed his life to hospital staff, in his first comments since leaving intensive care for coronavirus treatment, while his government came under mounting pressure to explain why the death toll was rising so fast.

(Trinidad Express) A man and a woman were found shot dead in a car in Trincity yesterday in what police believe is a double homicide.

(Trinidad Guardian) Police have discovered the human remains of what they believe to be of a one-year-old male child.

(Jamaica Observer) A Jamaican woman who returned to the island on March 21 is facing the brunt of COVID-19 fear among residents in her community, even as she has been in self-quarantine for the last 21 days.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Thirty-one-year-old Mark Samuels (real name withheld to protect privacy) is rejoicing today, having recovered from the coronavirus.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Call-centre workers employed to a business process outsourcing (BPO) outfit are now concerned following the announcement that one member of staff has tested positive for COVID-19, triggering fear across its Portmore and Kingston locations.

Staying at home and maintaining rigorous rules of isolation as one must in this time of plague – I find myself spending a lot more time in my library-study.

Over 30 Guyanese have reportedly died from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, according to a “partial” list from the Consulate General of Guyana in New York. 

Introduction  In today’s column I continue my deliberations about the impact of the 2020 global general crisis on Guyana’s infant oil and gas sector.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo yesterday announced that the government has granted permission to private health facilities to conduct testing for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and to treat confirmed cases. 

Guyana is expecting to soon receive some 30,000 masks and other essential equipment, including ventilators, from China to aid in the country’s fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 

Up to last Thursday, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) distributed food hampers to 1,759 households as part of its work to bring relief to citizens during the current month-long emergency curfew instituted by the Ministry of Public Health in response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The battered, decomposing body of a woman, suspected to be that of a Corentyne housewife, was found in a barrel in a trench at R and S Street, Belvedere Village, Corentyne, sometime yesterday morning.

With restrictions in place against public gatherings in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), government officials yesterday continued to appeal to citizens to refrain from traditional Easter activities, including flying kites in public spaces.  

Almost a week after instituting month-long restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including a 6pm to 6 am public curfew, the government last Thursday gazetted revised measures and expanded the list of “essential services” that are permitted to operate during the period.  

Public transport operators seem to be abiding by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) protocols, according to traffic Chief Linden Isles.  

Masked bandits invaded a Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice business and stole a sum of cash, phone cards and television sets during the wee hours of Friday morning.

A fire of unknown origin destroyed the home of a Bent Street, Wortmanville family in the early hours of yesterday morning.  

The police in Region 4(B) are on the hunt for four men who invaded a Republic Park, East Bank Demerara home and robbed a businessman and his family of over $1 million in cash and gold jewellery last Friday morning. 

Dear Editor,    Close to 6 weeks after the 2nd March 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana, the world, in utter bewilderment, watches on, as a cabal, clutching illegally onto the reins of Government, continues to execute their joint enterprise with three Commissioners and a grouping within the GECOM Secretariat, to thwart the democratic process and prevent the declaration of the true results of those elections. 

Dear Editor,    The reality of Good Friday and the restrictions imposed in the interest of mitigating COVID-19 have given me the latitude to pay more than usual attention to comments, in the media, about GECOM and in this instance about Lowenfield, per se, in relation to the “Lowenfield” proposal of 156 days for the recount. 

Dear Editor,    I do not know which party won the March 2 election but when one group is acting as if it didn’t, the odds are it didn’t.

Dear Editor,    The last time I spoke to Comrade Komal Chand was a day or two before he departed for Cuba.

Dear Editor,    Guyana continues to endure the unprecedented General Election impasse and heightened tension as a consequence of hesitancy on the part of the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to adopt the Chief Election Officer’s (CEO) final report for the March 2, 2020 declared election results. 

Dear Editor,     When the news highlights the slow reaction of the Ministry towards the testing of the virus and the lack of hedging in the oil market it becomes clear that there is a problem.

Dear Editor,  The signatories to the letter ‘Mr. Granger no longer entitled to be called President’ (SN April 10), was very clear and explicit that ‘from 21st December 2018 Guyana did not have a president or any ministers’. 

DUBLIN, Calif. (Reu-ters) – Excelso Sabulao delivers groceries for Amazon.com Inc in California so he can help provide his parents an income.

This Easter won’t see the parks, seawalls, cane fields and other wide open outdoor spaces filled—as they typically are—with crowds of Guyanese enjoying picnics and flying kites.

BOGOTA/MEXICO CITY (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The unassuming domestic violence shelter in the Mexican border city of Tapachula has been filled to capacity since January, and manager Elsa Simon already had to refuse three women seeking to escape abusive partners.

Last week, amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, two French doctors appeared on television discussing the possibility of testing experimental treatments against the virus in Africa.

Scrolling through my Instagram timeline recently, I came across a meme with the words: Warning!

As we continue to deal with COVID-19, we have seen health care workers (HCWs), and particularly those who have to make use of public transportation, become victims of stigma and discrimination.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – While making blinis one morning in self-isolation, Natalia Goroshko noticed one in her pan had taken the floppy form of one of Salvador Dali’s melting clocks.

Women’s rights activist Danuta Radzik has called on the government to heed the very recent calls of Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres to increase funding for non-government organisations (NGOs) so they can continue to offer their specialized services and expertise in sexual and gender-based violence especially in light of the COVID-19 lockdowns that are occurring worldwide.

MUNICH (Reuters) – One January lunchtime in a car parts company, a worker turned to a colleague and asked to borrow the salt.

Ornetta Waldron has always loved plants but it is only in recent years that she started a very intimate relationship with them that has now moved from providing a therapeutic outlet for her into a business.

(Reuters) – Mobile-only streaming service Quibi racked up more than 300,000 downloads on its launch day, industry site Sensor Tower said on Tuesday, as stay-at-home viewers lapped up its short films starring Hollywood A-listers.

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp said on Thursday that video calling and educational usage of its Teams productivity software had risen in recent weeks as employees work remotely and some U.S.

Although Guyana has made significant advancements in drama and theatre, in some areas there has been a decline, and the country’s position in a Caribbean and international context is less than favourable.

Although Guyana’s next oil lift is expected in May, around the same time the Department of Energy (DE) projects that maximum production of 120,000 barrels of oil per day will be reached, revenues will likely be far below the US$55 million received for the first million barrels given the current market conditions.

BERLIN (Reuters) – ResearchGate, a social network site for scientists and researchers, has launched a new forum to facilitate collaboration between COVID-19 experts on research into beating the flu-like disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

As we navigate this unusual time, some people are taking the opportunity to learn new things.

Dear Editor,  These are very challenging times for all Guyanese. It has impacted our lives in many ways and has brought out the humanitarian nature in many of our compatriots and some of our business people while it has also brought out the worst in others who have sought to exploit the situation.