Daily Archive: Sunday, June 14, 2020

The highly-anticipated report from the CARICOM team which observed the recount of the March 2nd General and Regional Elections has been completed and will be delivered to GECOM Chairperson Claudette Singh very soon.

Summary Statement of Recount Report: The Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) national recount exercise commenced on May 6, 2020, after the Order appeared in a special edition of the Official Gazette on May 4, at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), where the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI), an accredited Local Observer, collaborated with other accredited Local Observers to observe the exercise.

(CAL) Piarco, Trinidad & Tobago, June 14 2020: Caribbean Airlines advises that the airline has held talks with the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority regarding proposed operations to repatriate Guyana nationals who have been stranded across the region since the closure of borders due COVID-19.

 (Reuters) – Protesters shut down a major highway in Atlanta yesterday and burned down a Wendy’s restaurant where a black man was shot dead by police as he tried to escape arrest, an incident likely to fuel more nationwide tensions over race and police tactics.

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – India’s federal government said today it will provide New Delhi’s city authorities with 500 railway coaches that will be equipped to care for coronavirus patients, after a surge in the number of cases led to a shortage of hospital beds.

MUMBAI,  (Reuters) – Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who won acclaim for his role in the 2016 biopic of then Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was found dead at his home in Mumbai on Sunday, police said.

(Jamaica Observer) A Jamaican educator who is set to return from the J-1 Teacher Exchange Programme is bemoaning aspects of his experience, likening it to a pimp with prostitutes.

While confirming that the PPP/C won the majority of votes at the March 2nd polls, Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield yesterday reported to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) that the results of the process that he oversaw do not meet the standard of fair and credible elections.

In its quest to invalidate the March 2, 2020 elections, the APNU+AFC coalition has once again published “evidence” which has fallen apart under scrutiny.

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) yesterday accused Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield of overstepping his authority by discrediting the results of the March 2nd polls in his report on the national recount. 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – Former interim West Indies head coach Floyd Reifer says he is thrilled to be back in the Caribbean side’s coaching set-up, and is hoping he can contribute to an historic series win over England next month.

A New and United Guyana (ANUG) has formally asked Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson Claudette Singh to investigate the discrepancies in the votes tallied for Region Four at the March 2nd polls by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo as well as the elections body’s Secretariat due to fears that it may be compromised.

As she awaits an opportunity to return home, one Guyanese woman has been sleeping at a train station in the United States because she has no money to pay for proper accommodations.

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons yesterday reckoned that his side has what it takes to retain the Wisden Trophy but will have to consistently hit the 400-run mark to give themselves a chance.

Dear Editor, Jurisdiction is conferred on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by the last recital in Order No.60 of 2020 which derives its authority from article 162 (1) (b) and section 22 of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act No.15 of 2000 to resolve irregularities, discrepancies and anomalies occurring in the elections process.

Having spent 88 days so far in isolation after testing positive multiple times for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a 33-year-old patient is anxious to go home so he can provide for his family, which he says is being discriminated against.

Last week she created history when she became the first woman to be appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana and while she feels sad that it took some 57 years for such an appointment to be made, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin says she must now honour the contributions and challenges of the many women who have served the university in acting positions but did not manage to shatter the glass ceiling.

The academic and athletic fallout of the ongoing Covid-19 situation has regrettably affected rising star and Golden Jaguar international Curtez Kellman, who unfortunately lost his ongoing full scholarship at Eastern Florida State College of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Dear Editor, As we grow older, we sometimes tend to over-react.

Dear Editor, Forty years and one day ago, the people of Guyana witnessed the assassination of one of the country’s greatest sons, Dr.

In the quiet village of Wakenaam many, many years ago, two teachers gave their eleven-year-old son a book as a birthday gift.

Guyana Jaguars will need only two players to complete the 15-man contracted players ahead of Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) professional players’ draft tomorrow.

As ExxonMobil is still experiencing compressor problems offshore and the flaring of natural gas continues, attorney and civil society activist Melinda Janki has called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shut down the company’s operations and investigate if it using the most appropriate technology as is required in its contract.

Dear Editor,’ Chief Election Officer Mr. Keith Lowenfield has submitted “his” report on the deadline.

(Reuters) – Atlanta’s police chief resigned yesterday, the city’s mayor said, as protesters took to the streets hours after the fatal shooting by police of a black man who had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant drive-thru line.

The son of Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was arrested earlier this week after allegedly stabbing his neighbor multiple times.

The National Toshaos Council (NTC), the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) and the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) are calling for the postponement of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations as they say little or no attention was paid to hinterland students during  the almost three-month period in which schools were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With many lives impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous Guyanese have since united to make lives easier for the less fortunate through donations of food hampers, medical supplies and other necessities.

Dear Editor, It has been reported that Keith Lowenfield, the Chief Election Officer of GECOM, has taken the liberty to pronounce on the credibility of the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

It’s anyone’s guess what the film industry, local and international, will look like whenever the world comes out on the other side of the current pandemic.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned “racist thuggery” after far-right protesters clashed in London yesterday with anti-racist demonstrators and police trying to keep the two sides apart.

BELGRADE, (Reuters) – World number one Novak Djokovic lost one of his two opening singles matches yesterday at the charity tournament he organised, and his day got worse when news broke that one of the event’s four legs has been scrapped due to coronavirus concerns.

A 105-year-old woman is among three Palms Geriatric Home residents who have fully recovered after testing positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Dear Editor, I was chatting with my friend Dubya the other night when, with a heavy sigh, he remarked that GECOM will have to annul the elections result and order new elections.

Sattie Bekharry, the businesswoman who was murdered in her Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara home earlier this month, was laid to rest in Canada yesterday.

ROME, (Reuters) – AstraZeneca Plc has signed a contract with European governments to supply the region with its potential vaccine against the coronavirus, the British drugmaker’s latest deal to pledge its drug to help combat the pandemic.

“I was molested when I was 12 years old and you know what was the worst part of it?

MALLORCA, (Reuters) – Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca yesterday, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football’s three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After managing to elude law enforcers for almost two years, Farok Baksh, who was wanted by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) for allegedly trafficking almost 325 pounds of cannabis and cocaine in a boat at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara in 2018, was arrested by the police on Friday.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido yesterday said the opposition would not recognize a “false” electoral body named by the government-friendly Supreme Court, while his allies pledged to extend the term of the current legislature.

Dear Editor, The first batch of stranded Guyanese were repatriated on Saturday June 6 on a flight from Miami USA.

This week we return to notation to allow readers a better understanding of how the pieces move and capture, how to react when the King is in check and how to bring a chess game to its conclusion.

SANTIAGO,  (Reuters) – Chile President Sebastian Pinera yesterday replaced Health Minister Jaime Manalich amid controversy over the country’s figures for deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.

(Reuters) – The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has acknowledged that the sport is not immune to systemic racism and says it will address the issue and try to bring “meaningful and long-term change” to the game.

For many Guyanese, there is just something satisfying about opening a cold Banks Beer after a hard day.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan families on the outskirts of Caracas are expanding a settlement of mud-and-bamboo homes lacking running water, power and sewer services, in another sign of declining living standards amid a six-year economic crisis.

Introduction In last week’s column I started an evaluation of the likely future impacts of the 2020 global general crisis, as I have portrayed this in recent columns, on Guyana’s infant oil and gas sector.

Up to the middle of last week, the Small Business Bureau (SBB) said only 10% of applicants for COVID-19 relief had met the criteria to receive financial aid and urged the remainder to submit all the required information in order to speed up the processing of their applications.

RIO DE JANEIRO,  (Reuters) – Brazil has registered 850,514 confirmed cases of new coronavirus and the total death toll reached 42,720, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.

By John Seeram I am motivated to write this article since, over my years of practice, the view has been expressed that there is no need for internal auditors since the external auditors are more recognised and qualified, and will perform an audit in accordance with the existing International Standards on Auditors (ISA).

There is an important monument at the University of Guyana (UG) that was established years ago to honour historian Walter Rodney, who was assassinated on Friday, June 13, 1980 by a planted bomb in Georgetown.

(Reuters) – Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi yesterday said he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Dear Editor,  The Civil Defence Commission has shared that it is organising a voucher system to deliver food aid as part of the COVID relief efforts.

My wife, Annette, who most people know from her dedication to environmental matters and Guyanese culture over the years, will occasionally rope me into some project she has going, and one of current ones involves her brainwave to do a video where she shows me a photograph from my life and gets me talking about it. 

I do not like reminiscing about the old days – that immediately marks you as entering your dotage.

Guyana, and indeed the world, has moved on in significant ways since June 13, 1980, when Walter Rodney was assassinated.

Creating storms in teacups seems to have become a speciality of APNU+AFC in recent times.