Daily Archive: Saturday, May 16, 2020

(Jamaica Observer Editorial May 15) It’s no secret that the discovery of oil — estimated at more than eight billion barrels — off Guyana’s Atlantic coast is the big prize in the general election that is still undecided after two months.

PARIS/KAMPALA (Reuters) – Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga, who is accused of funding militias that massacred about 800,000 people, was arrested on Saturday near Paris after 26 years on the run, the French justice ministry said.

(Jamaica Star) From as early as 6 a.m., early childhood teacher Tandeka McKoy-Phipps can be seen making rounds in several St Andrew South communities, writing schoolwork on community notice boards or walls.

(Trinidad Express) Businessman Derek Chin says he is disappointed and hurt over distasteful comments that he is receiving special treatment at Cascadia Hotel and there was an “ulterior motive” in him picking up cancer patient Krissa Bissoon to return to Trinidad.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Maxine Reyes grew up in the community of Marley Hill in South Manchester with her great-grandmother.

-no word from gov’t task force on increasing work stations After 10 days of counting the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has processed 479 of 2,339 ballot boxes, 58 of which were recounted yesterday but it is still awaiting word from the COVID-19 task force on increasing the number of workstations to meet its deadline. 

The APNU+AFC administration has refused a renewed United States diplomatic push for the Carter Center to be allowed to return to observe the recount of the votes cast at the March 2 polls, citing CARICOM’s ongoing role in the process and the closure of the airports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guyanese trio Keemo Paul, Shimron Hetmyer and Veerasammy Permaul have been named in a provisional Windies 30-man training squad to prepare for the upcoming three-match test tour of England, tentatively set for July. 

After it was publicly disavowed by President David Granger, United States lobbying firm JJ&B LLC has submitted a brief contract document to the United States government in which it now states that it has been employed by Joseph Harmon and David Patterson on behalf of the APNU+AFC coalition.

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) yesterday announced that it had reached an interim agreement for salary increases for sugar workers with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), although the two sides remain at odds over whether the increases would be retroactive to the start of last year.

There is great anticipation that international cricket will resume soon and with it some unusual changes. 

Imagine being an ambassador for your country but you are left stranded in a foreign island for months without basic necessities.

Attorney and accountant Christopher Ram has threatened legal action against five government functionaries who are currently participating in the national recount as party agents for the incumbent APNU+AFC Coalition for potentially receiving payment while not performing public service functions.

Dear Editor, The Private Sector Commission (PSC) is extremely perturbed at the most recent statements reported in the media attributed to GECOM’s Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, and AFC’s General Secretary, David Patterson, with regard to the ongoing National Recount of the General and Regional Elections.

Linden Junior Isaacs, the man who is accused of fatally stabbing his mother-in-law at Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara (ECD) on Monday, was charged with murder and remanded to prison yesterday.

Level Two coach, Ryan Hercules, believes cricketers can still find positives amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic restrictions.

Dear Editor, The Mayor and Councillors of Georgetown’s COVID-19 task force committee urges citizens to comply with the regulatory guidelines set by the task force.

Veteran West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has escaped sanction from the Caribbean Premier League after tendering an apology yesterday.

BOGOTA,  (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Haiti has so far reported fewer than 20 deaths due to the new coronavirus but medical student Johane Josema fears that the low toll is what makes COVID-19 so dangerous in the Caribbean nation.

Guyana has recorded new COVID-19 cases, raising the total to 116.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Brazil lost its second health minister in a month yesterday after President Jair Bolsonaro demanded wider use of unproven anti-malarial drugs to fight the coronavirus outbreak, adding to turmoil in one of the pandemic’s worst global hotspots.

Dear Editor,  I join the numerous persons and organisations which have called for the APNU+AFC-led caretaker government to grant approval immediately for the Carter Center which has been duly accredited as an election observer to be allowed to return to Guyana so that they could complete their electoral observation mission.

(Trinidad Guardian) Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is insisting he did not know what portfolio Asdrubal Chavez held when he met with him and Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on March 27th.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday narrowly approved a $3 trillion bill crafted by Democrats to provide more aid for battling the coronavirus and stimulating a faltering economy rocked by the pandemic.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India captain Virat Kohli and his team will be open to playing the entire test series against Australia in a ‘bio-secure’ Adelaide Oval if the situation demands, a top official of the Indian cricket board told Reuters.

A 27-year-old seaman who is accused of fatally stabbing Friendship, East Bank Demerara (EBD) resident Marlon Peters during a quarrel over a cellular phone last weekend was charged with murder yesterday and remanded to prison.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Jamaica Tourist Board has partnered with DestinationWeddings.com to host a virtual, symbolic ceremony for couples who had to postpone or cancel their Jamaican and other warm-weather destination weddings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty-four-year-old aircraft maintenance engineer Kristoff Azariel Sauns, who goes by the stage name Lawless Boss, recently dropped his first studio album ‘Lwlss’ consisting of 14 Dancehall and Soca songs.

Dear Editor, The ongoing recount process at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre has been couched as a battle between the incumbent APNU+AFC coalition, and the opposition PPP/Civic coalition.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The RJRGLEANER Communications Group has laid off 93 workers and implemented salary cuts for others amid the economic impact of the coronavirus in Jamaica.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The Trump administration yesterday moved to block global chip supplies to blacklisted telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies, spurring fears of Chinese retaliation and hammering shares of U.S.

ROME, (Reuters) – Italian football leaders have asked the government to re-consider the medical protocol it has authorised as a condition for allowing Serie A to re-start after the coronavirus stoppage.

Nine persons were on Thursday charged after they were allegedly found in breach of the countywide COVID-19 curfew in Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo).

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Cricket West Indies has not received any recommendations for the award of new central contracts for the coming year, chief executive Johnny Grave has said Attempting to put to rest speculation on social media that West Indies Test vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite had not been issued a retainer, Grave said CWI had not yet approved a list for the new period starting July 1.

(Jamaica Observer) KINGSTON, Jamaica — The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday Jamaica’s request for access to the Fund Rapid Financing Instrument in the amount of approximately US$520 million.

SANTIAGO,  (Reuters) – LATAM Airlines Group, the region’s largest carrier, will lay off 1,400 employees, the company said yesterday, marking the first instance of a major Latin American airline laying off staff because of the coronavirus crisis.

A convicted prisoner was recaptured within minutes after he escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison yesterday morning.

What’s Cooking is a series in which I answer questions and share advice about food and cooking that you have but may be too shy to ask.

Dear Editor, In response to Kissoon’s Furniture Store Co-CEO, Nicholas Roberts `Race of a customer is never taken into consideration at Kissoon’s’ (SN May 15), I would like to make a few clarifications for clarity sake.

(Reuters) – Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster says it would be wrong for Premier League players to be tested for the coronavirus ahead of medical workers as plans for Project Restart continue.

SAN JOSE, (Reuters) – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said yesterday its 37 members had approved Costa Rica’s application to join the group and that a formal membership agreement will be signed in the coming days.

 (Reuters) – Air Canada said yesterday it has decided to reduce its workforce by up to 60% as the airline tries to save cash amid the COVID-19 pandemic and right size its operations to the level of traffic expected in the mid-to-longer term.

Donald Sheriff, of New Amsterdam, Berbice, is wanted for questioning about the murder of Keron Nicholson, who succumbed in March to head injuries he received during a beating.

Dear Editor, With the COVID-19 emergency measures taking effect for at least the rest of this month, children, and in some cases parents, will remain at home.

Forced to cancel the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant (MGTSP) owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Imperial House has announced the launch of what it calls a digital university for this year’s participants.

BERN, (Reuters) – The hosts for the 2023 women’s World Cup will be chosen at an online meeting of the FIFA Council on June 25, the global soccer body said yesterday.

In September 2001, two days after the terror attacks on New York and Washington, the evangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson explained why God had allowed such an outrage in America.

MEXICO CITY,  (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Lawmakers in Puerto Rico this week approved a new set of civil laws that enshrine rights for LGBT+ people, even as opponents say gaps in the code could fuel discrimination toward trans people in the U.S.

SYDNEY,  (Reuters) – Beijing has hosted a teleconference with its Pacific island nation allies to discuss COVID-19 aid and publicised their pledge to support the “One China” principle and “oppose any attempt” to politicise the coronavirus pandemic.

Disturbing occurrences like the interracial conflicts of the 1960s, the Rupununi rebellion, the assassination of Walter Rodney, local terrorism in the form of massacres and assassinations, systematic oppression, the drug trade and corruption in government are all part of Guyana’s history.

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has expressed concern about reports of a possible full lockdown to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its deleterious effects on the poor.

Dear Editor, It must have been excruciatingly painful, highly embarrassing, for Dr Riyad Insanally, Guyana’s Ambassador to Washington and Permanent Representative to the OAS, to listen to a former Jamaican Prime Minister’s, Mr Bruce Golding’s, stunning presentation at the recent meeting of the   Permanent Council of the OAS on the fiddling of Guyana’s election  results in favour of the APNU+AFC incumbent.

I ventured this past week to the high street in my city to do a bit of spring browsing.