Daily Archive: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

The National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) today announced a six phase re-opening of Guyana commencing with Phase 1 starting tomorrow, June 18th and which will last until July 2nd.

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) at the March 2nd general elections today welcomed the CARICOM observer report and says it trusts that GECOM will move expeditiously to conclude the recount process in accordance with data from the recount of votes.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) today congratulated PPP/C presidential candidate Irfaan Ali on his election to the presidency and called on caretaker President David Granger to recognise the result of the March 2nd elections as reflected in the recount.

A Tain, Corentyne woman was this morning found dead in her house located in Tain Settlement, Corentyne.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – China’s capital cancelled scores of flights, shut schools and blocked off some neighbourhoods as it ramped up efforts to contain a coronavirus outbreak that has fanned fears of wider contagion.

 (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc will change the name and brand image of its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup, it said on Wednesday, dropping a mascot criticized for a racist history.

(Trinidad Guardian) Days after T&T students from Barbados and Jamaica were repatriated, T&T medical students who are currently in Cuba are also seeking repatriation as they say life has become “unbearably tough” for them.

More than three months after the March 2 polls, Guyana’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield has been ordered to prepare a declaration of the results of the General and Regional Elections (GRE) using the data generated from the National Recount.

MANCHESTER, England, CMC – Assistant coach Roddy Estwick has urged batting star Shai Hope to rediscover his best red-ball form, if West Indies are to put pressure on England’s bowlers in next month’s three-Test series.

Newly declassified documents emanating from the US Embassy in Guyana in 1980 indicate that evidence at the time, including the aid reportedly given to accused Gregory Smith to leave the country and secure a job with a shrimp company, strongly suggested that head of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Dr.

Guyana has recorded 12 new Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases, including the first for Region Two, Chief Medical Officer Dr.

Following the Cricket West Indies professional players’ draft Monday, Guyana Jaguars rounded out their 15-man unit with the selection of Tevin Imlach and Ramaal Lewis.

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) says it is “extremely happy” with yesterday’s decision of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to direct the Chief Election Officer to prepare a report, using the recount results, in keeping with Section 96 of the Representation of the Act, Chapter 1:03.

MANCHESTER, England, CMC – Captain Jason Holder said West Indies were committed to the global fight for racial justice, and will stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the upcoming series against England.

Coalition campaign manager, Joseph Harmon last evening suggested that the Chief Election Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield can only submit a report for declaration on the votes he has deemed to be valid. 

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Friends in high places may have enabled Kevin Roberts’ surprise ascent to the top job at Cricket Australia in the wake of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, but he had few allies left when the knives came out during the coronavirus crisis.

Having fixed issues with two of its three gas handling systems and now using 85% of associated gas from the reservoir, ExxonMobil has further reduced flaring at its offshore Liza-1 well project and has started to again ramp up production, the company yesterday said. 

Some ninety-three archers from 20 countries competed in last weekend’s 11th stage of the international remote archery competition in the 60X ISOL remote shoot competition.

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Bayern Munich claimed their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title by beating Werder Bremen 1-0 away thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s first-half strike to open up an unassailable lead at the top of the table yesterday.

Residents of Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara, earlier this week shared their concerns with regard to how the pandemic has affected their children’s educational lives and their families’ economic status over the last two months.

The Organization of  American States (OAS) has welcomed the decision yesterday of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to declare the results of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections based on the data compiled by the national recount.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Discarded West Indies batsman, Kyle Hope, will attempt to rekindle a career in shambles by returning to newly crowned domestic first class champions Barbados Pride for the upcoming professional season.

SEOUL, (Reuters) – North Korea yesterday blew up a joint liaison office set up in a border town in 2018 to foster better ties with South Korea after threatening action if defectors continued with a campaign of sending propaganda leaflets into the reclusive North.

The police are still awaiting legal advice on the investigation into the shooting of a teenager who was a part of the violent post-elections protests in Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice earlier this year.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The West Indies team will be sporting new eye-catching training and playing kits during the Sandals Tour of England 2020 as part of a new three-year partnership with Castore,  the  official team kit and merchandise partner of Cricket West Indies (CWI). 

Dear Editor, I refer to the full-page advertisement which was carried in your Tuesday, 16 June 2020 edition on page 15, which, inter alia, reproduced the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM ‘s) Logo.

Giftland Mall has started preparations for its reopening after weeks of being closed following the COVID-19 lockdown.

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR  (Reuters) – India’s army said yesterday 20 of its soldiers had been killed in clashes with Chinese troops at a disputed border site, in a major escalation of a weeks-long standoff between the two Asian giants in the western Himalayas.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts has resigned after months of criticism over his handling of the coronavirus shutdown, having alienated players and state associations over cost-cutting measures.

Dear Editor, The Guyana/Venezuela Border controversy needs to be resolved soonest so that Guyana can further exploit the resources of its maritime space and landmass which is being claimed by Venezuela.

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – China has been invited to host two Formula One races in Shanghai this season but no decision has been reached over whether to accept the offer, the head of the Shanghai Sports Bureau has told local media.

As current Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Patrick West prepares for leave ahead of his retirement next March, the choice for his replacement will be chosen by the elected president of the March 2nd general and regional elections who will also be Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Dear Editor, Meritocracy is defined as the “government or holding of power by people selected based on their ability”.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – A cheap and widely used steroid called dexamethasone has become the first drug shown to be able to save the lives of COVID-19 patients in what scientists said is a “major breakthrough” in the coronavirus pandemic.

Dear Editor, Recently, my colleagues and I noticed that there have been some articles about Hong Kong national security legislation in Guyana’s newspapers and Face-book.

The Small Business Bureau (SBB) has begun disbursing grants to small businesses to help see them through the difficult times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) has shortlisted four candidates for the final stage of the recruitment process for the role of full-time Head Coach for the West Indies Women’s team.

(Reuters) – New coronavirus infections hit record highs in six U.S.

Dear Editor, It is still dawn and dark on Tuesday, June 16, as I take to keyboard and screen to reach my fellow citizens, Guyanese brothers and sisters all. 

RIO DE JANEIRO,  (Reuters) – Brazil reported a record 34,918 new coronavirus cases on yesterday, the same day that one of the senior officials leading the country’s widely criticized response to the crisis said the outbreak was under control.

LAHORE, Pakistan, (Reuters) – Pakistan all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez says he will delay his retirement if this year’s Twenty20 World Cup is postponed because of the coronavirus crisis.

Once approval is given, the MovieTowne Guyana mall will be reopened in phases.

(Trinidad Express) Mall janitor Ramesh Suienarine made a virtual court appearance before a magistrate yesterday morning after he was charged with the murder of Tricia Ramsaran-Ramdass.

(Reuters) – The United States yesterday sued former national security adviser John Bolton, seeking to block him from publishing a book about his time in the White House that it said contained classified information and would compromise national security.

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Australian Nick Kyrgios says the United States Tennis Association is being “selfish” by pressing ahead with the U.S.

Citing overcrowding at schools and the severe financial pressures of implementing changes to make them safer, the Region Ten Regional Health and Emergency Committee (RHEC) is asking the Education Ministry to further delay the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

Dear Editor, On June 13th in Guyana and around the world the assassination of Walter Rodney is commemorated.

(Trinidad Express) On the day he made a policer report about a police officer harassing him, a Carapo may was killed by three men who pulled up outside his home on Monday The deceased has been identified as Roger ‘Wasa’ Cabie of Simon Street, Carapo.

Dear Editor, I write to add my voice to the many that have expressed dismay and concern about our Ministry of Education’s incomprehensible plan to have our young Grade 6 students return to school before sitting the National Grade Six Assessment examination in the midst of one of the most deadly pandemics of all time.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Brazil’s top court yesterday granted police permission to inspect financial and phone records of federal lawmakers allied with President Jair Bolsonaro as part of a probe into anti-democratic rallies, a source with direct knowledge of the ruling said.

More than a month since a reckless driver crashed into his yard at Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara, owner Faizul Razack is yet to have repairs done to his fence and shed as promised.

(Reuters) – The LPGA Tour, the elite women’s professional golf circuit, will return from its COVID-19 shutdown with two tournaments in Ohio, starting with the new Drive On Championship three-day event from July 31 to Aug.

Dear Editor, As an octogenarian with more physical indispositions, including poor vision, with which I can cope, it is not feasible for me to go ‘on line’.

(Trinidad Guardian) While T&T students who were studying at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill campus in Barbados are relieved to be back home, they are unhappy with Caribbean Airlines US$488 fee per ticket to return.

Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone revealed Monday that an antibody test showed he had the coronavirus.

Investigators are in the process of tracing Andy Williams’ last movements before his death, Regional Commander Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean said.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Donald Trump, facing criticism that his policies and inflammatory rhetoric have aggravated a racial divide in the United States, signed an order yesterday that he said would reform police practices even as he pressed for “law and order” nationwide.

It was during the late 1980s, in an interview on one of the BBC Radio international current affairs programmes that the former USA Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, whilst dissecting some developing international crisis, declared, “… that power was the ultimate aphrodisiac…”       What is it about power that drives persons to pursue it with total reckless abandon?