Daily Archive: Wednesday, September 23, 2020

(Trinidad Express) National Security Minister Stuart Young said the investigation into the multi-million dollar pyramid scheme will be a complex one and issued a warning for persons to stay away from this fraud.

(Jamaica Observer) Mastercard today announced that it is partnering exclusively with Grammy winning reggae artiste, Koffee, as its official brand ambassador in Jamaica.

(Jamaica Star) Judith and Leighton Sharras had plans to celebrate their daughter Xanthe’s success in Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) when the portal opened last night.

The St Joseph Mercy Hospital is observing its 75th anniversary. A statement today from the hospital follows: GEORGETOWN, Guyana, September 23, 2020: The St.

SYDNEY,  (Reuters) – The majority of a 470-strong pod of pilot whales found stranded off Australia’s remote southern coast has died, officials said on Wednesday, as rescuers struggled in freezing waters and fading light to free those still alive.

MINSK, (Reuters) – Ignoring calls for an end to his 26-year grip on power, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus was sworn in for a sixth term today  after an election that the opposition and several foreign governments say was rigged.

At approximately 1.30 am today, remanded prisoner Leroy Graham, 23,  escaped from the Lusignan Prison, the Guyana Prison Service said.

(Trinidad Express) The “pyramid scheme” is crumbling. Nine people, including a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, were held yesterday morning during a police operation in La Horquetta where police seized a large quantity of money estimated to be in the millions.

(Trinidad Express) A 35-year-old female police officer was granted $250,000 bail when she appeared before Justice of the Peace Stephen Young to answer five fraud charges.

(Jamaica Observer) Investigators are hot on the heels of the adults behind a video circulating on social media, which features a child, not older than five years old, who is being encouraged to drink and smoke as part of an apparent birthday celebration.

As he announced that rehiring of sugar workers at Rose Hall estate began yesterday, President Irfaan Ali said government is now focused on redeveloping farmlands in order to deliver on its campaign promise to reopen shuttered estates since the former administration left the industry in ruins. 

The current criminal proceedings and the elections petitions stemming from the March 2nd polls appear to have led government to shelve its plans to proceed with an independent inquiry into the attempt to manipulate the results.

Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn yesterday stated that while the loss of lives during last Saturday’s Lusignan Prison riot was regrettable and sad, the actions taken were necessary to prevent a jailbreak.

Three more persons who were infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have died, taking the country’s death toll to 70.

Government’s immediate focus in the oil and gas sector is on the review of ExxonMobil’s Payara project, local content, and a natural gas to shore project, President Irfaan Ali said yesterday.

After all estimates for the Ministry of Agriculture were approved yesterday in the National Assembly, the opposition and government clashed on a sum of $3 billion that was allocated to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) under capital expenses for the remainder of the year.

With the number of COVID-19 deaths rapidly increasing in Region One, Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley yesterday revealed that officials will commence mass screening of all senior citizens in the region.

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch says that the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week reaffirmed that the US honours its commitments.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has disputed claims made by former Sports Director Christopher Jones that Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum was present during the controversial operation at his home that saw the police remove barbershop equipment and arrest him.

A new Diaspora and Remigration Unit has been established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A 12-year-old student from the Sapodilla School of Excellence secured the top position at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) for Region Five with a total of 513 marks.

A pump attendant at a New Amsterdam gas station was shot in his back yesterday during a robbery that was carried out by two men.

The relatives of slain Corentyne fisherman Alexander Yhap staged a protest along the Albion Main Road yesterday after the man who is accused of fatally stabbing him was granted $250,000 bail on Monday when he was arraigned on a manslaughter charge. 

The Court of Appeal yesterday discharged the order suspending certain parts of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act paving the way for elections of the Demerara and Guyana Cricket Boards.

(Reuters) – Investors slashed $50 billion from Tesla Inc’s market value yesterday  despite CEO Elon Musk’s promise to cut electric vehicle costs so radically that a $25,000 car that drives itself will be possible, but not for at least three years.

Although Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations have been cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Regional Chairman of Region Nine Bryan Allicock yesterday revealed that persons in communities affected by the disease have still been hosting celebratory activities and this has resulted in the increase of cases within the region.

Dear Editor, In an Opinion Piece published on September 6, 2020, we stated that at the current rate of gas flaring at the Liza-1 well, 6,053 million tonnes/CO2eq will be released in 2020.

West Indies Women will look to level the five-match T20I series against England with a win in the second match today.

A sixty-eight-year-old man is dead following an accident yesterday morning at Wash Clothes, Mahaicony in which the bicycle he was riding collided with a lorry.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Senate Republicans including Mitt Romney yesterday lined up behind President Donald Trump’s push to widen the U.S.

Dear Editor, Capt. A Mazahar Ally of Air Services Ltd. in a letter published in the last Sunday Stabroek (20th September), represented himself as a “substantial shareholder” of Ogle Airport Inc.

Dear Editor, On Monday, Guyana held its annual celebration of the greatest malpractice in Education – that of announcing the names of 4% of children obtaining top marks in the annual horse race among sixth graders called the NGSA (National Grade Six Assessment).

The Guyana Revenue Authority is reminding accountants, tax preparers and the general public that the extended due date for the submission of Income Tax, Property Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax Returns for the Year of Assessment 2020 (Year of Income 2019) is Wednesday, September 30, 2020.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on Venezuelan lawmakers it accused of supporting the country’s leftist leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his planned legislative elections that Washington has said will likely be rigged.

Dear Editor, I notice that Mr Vincent Alexander (SN 9-22-20 `Let the Beacon be of the Truth’) has cited me in a  disagreement he has with an “Eyewitness” column in the Guyana Times.

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, (Reuters) – Ecuador’s navy said yesterday that Chinese fishing vessels have gradually left the area near the Galapagos Islands and are now operating in international waters off Peru, following months of fishing that spurred criticism from environmental groups.

An overseas-based Guyanese man was killed last Friday by an out-of-control SUV as he stood on a Brooklyn, New York sidewalk waiting for a bus to get home.

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has selected a 48-member provisional Golden Jaguars training squad for the Concaf World Cup Qualifiers next year.

Dear Editor, At Blossom Inc. we understand that childcare and protection is a common responsibility of communities.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – The Nicolas Maduro-backed Venezuelan central bank launched a landmark appeal in London on Tuesday over $1 billion of gold reserves held in the Bank of England’s underground vaults.

Opposition Member of Parliament Dawn Hastings last week  called on the government to extend projects started by the former coalition government  so as to benefit the people of the hinterland communities.

Cricket West Indies’ Commercial and Marketing Director, Dominic Warne, is “sitting on the fence” when it comes to the idea of having a second Caribbean T20 tournament to go alongside the Caribbean Premier Leauge.

Dear Editor, The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) has read a letter published in the Stabroek News on September 12, 2020 and titled, ‘Soot from Uitvlugt Estate chimney unbearable’, by one Jake Mangal.

Three bandits robbed a Demerara Crystal Water worker in an attack at Kaneville, East Bank Demerara last Thursday as he was making a delivery.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly yesterday that China must be held accountable for having “unleashed” COVID-19 on the world, prompting Beijing to accuse him of “lies” and abusing the U.N.

The 2020-21 NBA season is unlikely to start until January, commissioner Adam Silver said yesterday during a panel discussion on CNN.

Dear Editor, I want to share so many things but will limit myself to the promise of the future and the threat of today.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro told the United Nations yesterday that indigenous people in the Amazon were to blame for fires in the rainforest this year and attacked the media for spreading panic about the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, September 17, 2020, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand met with contractors who usually do or have done work for the Ministry.

(Barbados Nation) Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda, have started operating the CARICOM Travel Bubble, with the hope of resuscitating the travel and tourism sectors.

(Reuters) – Australian all-rounder Mitch Marsh was forced from the pitch with a potentially serious ankle injury as Sunrisers Hyderabad lost their Indian Premier League opener to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai on Monday.

(Reuters) – Simona Halep said she had found inner calm during tennis’s coronavius shutdown and that she had returned to the courts with more maturity and perspective on the game.

(Reuters) – Basketball great Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin have partnered to form a new single-car NASCAR Cup Series team that will feature Bubba Wallace as its driver, the trio said on Monday.

Over the last few weeks the major political parties have been speaking again of the need for constitutional reform, and generally the pace of change is so rapid that the only way to keep abreast is to consistently collaborate and change.

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Irrepressible fast bowler Jofra Archer smashed a late cameo before returning to prise out top-scorer Faf du Plessis in a miserly spell as he helped propel Rajasthan Royals to a convincing 16-run victory over Chennai Super Kings in a high-scoring contest in the Indian Premier League here yesterday.

(Reuters) – England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) CEO Bill Sweeney painted a bleak picture for the sport as he asked the British government for financial support after its U-turn on allowing fans in limited numbers at stadiums amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

LONDON, (Reuters) – British sport faces a bleak winter, and for some a fight for survival in the cold months ahead, after the postponement of plans to allow a limited number of fans back into stadiums from October.

(Reuters) – Organisers of the Italian Open and the tennis Tours came under fire on social media after it emerged that Rome men’s champion Novak Djokovic was paid 10 euros ($11.74) more than women’s winner Simona Halep.

(Reuters) – NBA participation at the Tokyo Olympics may be limited as the league’s next season, which has been pushed back due to the COVID-19 outbreak, would likely be ongoing at the time of the Games, Commissioner Adam Silver told CNN yesterday.

(Reuters) – The Jockey Club yesterday backed British sports bodies in their call for financial support from the government following its U-turn on allowing a limited number of spectators to attend events from October amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

PARIS,  (Reuters) – Cycling has been thrown into fresh turmoil after French judicial authorities opened a preliminary investigation into potential doping at French team Arkea-Samsic on Monday, a day after the Tour de France ended in Paris.

PARIS, (Reuters) – Bosnian player Damir Dzumhur is taking legal action against the organisers of the French Open after he was barred from entering the qualification round as his coach Petar Popovic tested positive for COVID-19.

Dear Editor, Catfish, that unsalted but sumptuous,  tasty and delicious fresh water life synonymous with our native land, banned some years ago up north, is now the subject of ridicule and tasteless reference.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the British people yesterday to work from home where possible and ordered restaurants and bars to close early to tackle a fast-spreading second wave of COVID-19, with new restrictions lasting probably six months.

“We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations – one that is killing people, spreading human suffering, and upending people’s lives.