Daily Archive: Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill today maintained that the new asphalt plant constructed last year is still not functioning.

Several sections of Black Bush Polder, Region Six remained under water up to this afternoon as authorities  worked to drain the key agricultural area.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – The former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co has been sentenced to death, a court in the northern city of Tianjin said today, in one of the country’s highest profile corruption cases.

(Trinidad Express) Caribbean Airlines advises that its commercial service to Havana, Cuba is suspended with immediate effect until further notice.

A woman is now set to face just over a dozen charges after she allegedly scammed groups of men in Berbice by pretending to facilitate accredited training courses for would-be seafarers. 

The government-run National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) yesterday said that its termination of the services of 49 workers who were employed by the company at Wales Estate is linked to the establishment of the Wales Development Authority (WDA).

Two more COVID-19 deaths were recorded yesterday, increasing Guyana’s total fatalities to 166 even as some 21 new cases were recorded.

A 19-year-old from East Canje, Berbice was yesterday committed to stand trial for manslaughter at the High Court in Berbice.

A Director of Atlantic Fuels was yesterday granted bail after being charged with  falsifying an invoice for $40 million and declaring it to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The Auditor General has recommended a police investigation into the single-sourcing of 71 legal contracts by the APNU+AFC government.

The Eureka Medical Laboratories says that it is capable of testing for and detecting new strains of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) which have been seen in different parts of the world.

The University of Guyana on Saturday said that it has noted with grave concern the continuous publishing of “un-factual information” concerning the University and several of its officers in specific sections of the media. 

The Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP)  will make renewed efforts to meet with the Ministry of Agriculture this week over the controversial issuing of two seabob trawling licences which could threaten sustainable harvesting in the industry and overturn international certification.

Farfan and Mendes and Canadian company Crosbie yesterday formally announced their partnership.

As the police investigation into the murder of clothes vendor Paul Anthony Smith continues, investigators are currently pursuing the alleged shooter, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed.

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha has established a task force to monitor the effects of increased rainfall and above normal high tides in vulnerable areas.

Minister of Health (MoH) Dr Frank Anthony yesterday announced that several students due to return to public school dormitories have tested positive for COVID-19.

Plans for the Guyana Jaguars’ preparation ahead of the 2021 season have now been pushed back by one week.

Senior Superintendent Khali Pareshram will head police division, Region 4A from this week as Assistant Commissioner of Police Simon McBean proceeds on annual leave.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., is elated that the world’s most popular sport made a safe return here amidst the pandemic.

National all-rounder, Kevin Sinclair, is the latest player to throw his hat in the ring and sponsor a cricket tournament in Berbice.

Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson yesterday said that the Demerara Harbour Bridge’s (DHB) Asphalt plant is “fully functional”.

Two restaurant owners were robbed on Sunday by two masked bandits at their Charity, Essequibo Coast, Region Two, business.

LONDON, (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday ordered England into a new national lockdown to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm parts of the health system before a vaccine programme reaches a critical mass.

The fact that several key players have pulled  out of West Indies’ tour to Bangladesh, is not cause for gloom but rather presents an opportunity for a number of up-and-coming talents.

DUBAI, (Reuters) – Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, the government said yesterday, breaching a 2015 nuclear pact with major powers and possibly complicating efforts by U.S.

A man was arrested last Thursday after he was found with 2.265 kilogrammes of suspected cannabis in his possession.

Two men from Region Six have suffered losses in separate fires. 

A stunning run chase by V-Net Connections, spurred them to a thrilling win over Dream XI in the opening fixture of the “Pure Entertainment Stars on Show” seven-a-side tapeball tournament at D’urban Park last Sunday.

CALGARY, Alberta, (Reuters) – Eight Canadian politicians resigned or were demoted yesterday after travelling internationally over the Christmas holidays despite urgings from government officials to avoid non-essential trips during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Editor, In the Stabroek News’ January 01 edition, the following appeared: “We have now settled on the location which is Wales Estate,” Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told Stabroek News as he explained that “the critical decisions regarding the geotechnical, geophysical and the environmental studies, that will advance the project, have been made.”

The Guyana Squash Association (GSA), like many of its sister sports associations, was hamstrung by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which limited on-court action. 

(Trinidad Guardian) In 2020, Trinidad  recorded its lowest road fatalities figure in 63 years—96 road deaths, according to new figures shared by the Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TPS).

As a number of vaccines have been given approval for use in various countries, Guyana’s “task force”/ committee responsible for the COVID-19 vaccine is expected to meet this week.

Dear Editor, Further to my letter expressing my concern over the public spat with regards to senior level promotions at the Guyana Police Force (GPF), some folks have asked me to elaborate.

BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Brazil made a diplomatic push yesterday to guarantee an Indian-made shipment of British drugmaker AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, hoping to avoid export restrictions that could delay immunizations during the world’s second-deadliest outbreak.

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), at the weekend, began the distribution of cricket gear donated by former West Indies cricketer, Clayton Lambert. 

An investigation has found that a fire that gutted a two-storey house at North Ruimveldt last Tuesday was an act of arson.

(Jamaica Gleaner) It took more than four years, but Jamaica has finally signed off on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States (US) that seeks to stamp out corruption at the ports, which has, for decades, facilitated the inflows of guns, drugs and other illicit items.

Dear Editor, David Granger’s APNU+AFC administration did good for the economy.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from sanctioning human rights lawyers for supporting the work of the world’s war crimes tribunal, the International Criminal Court.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Georgia’s top election official said yetserday that President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, had pushed him to take an “inappropriate” call in which he pressured the state to overturn his November presidential election defeat there.

A major recruitment campaign is among the plans for the International Karate Academy of Guyana.

The recent announcement by President  Irfaan Ali that all workers of the State will benefit from a $25,000 grant has been welcomed by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).

(Trinidad Guardian) The Police Service has confirmed that a male relative is assisting police with enquiries relating to the death of 48-year-old Suzette Sylvester, of Mowlah Road Extension, Preysal.

Dear Editor, Those of us who have spent extended periods in the sugar industry, in some cases before it was nationalised in 1976, and at the highest managerial level, must, not for the first time, look askance at those who glibly proffer such remarks as follows: ‘But much of that cost is loaded with management.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department yesterday issued a new license allowing certain transactions with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido despite U.S.

DHAKA, (Reuters) – All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan returned to Bangladesh’s preliminary squads for the upcoming home series against West Indies after serving a one-year ban but former captain Mashrafe Mortaza has been left out of the ODI mix.

Three children with Special Education Needs from the town of Linden are now in a better position to learn.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – India’s cricketers and staff have been cleared of COVID-19 following reports some of the team’s players breached health protocols while on tour in Australia.

Dear Editor, Permit me to inform your readership of grave developmental erosion that is seeping into the Board of Directors of the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL). 

By Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala LAGOS – The development and approval of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines less than a year after the start of the pandemic is a truly remarkable achievement, offering hope that the end of this devastating crisis may be in sight.

WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Kane Williamson proved why he is currently the top-ranked test batsman with a brilliant 112 not out to keep his country on course for a handy first-innings lead against Pakistan in the second and final test in Christchurch yesterday.

(Trinidad Express) A suspected criminal was killed during a home invasion in Freeport early yesterday.

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne and seamer Vishwa Fernando led a fightback against South Africa on the second day of the second test but the visitors remain precariously placed in a fast-moving contest yesterday.

By Jeffrey D. Sachs NEW YORK – The year 2020 was a harrowing one, with the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide economic reversals, widespread climate-related disasters, pervasive social unrest, and even US President Donald Trump’s phony claims about massive electoral fraud and calls among his backers for martial law.

A great many of us would have, these past few days, been part of the near universal ‘Happy New Year’ ritual knowing only too well that, at best, we would have been, this time around, hedging our bets, going through the motions, acutely aware of the fact that our hopes and our wishes are decidedly at variance with what appears to lie before us.

(Reuters) – England all-rounder Moeen Ali has tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Sri Lanka and will self-isolate for 10 days, as will fast bowler Chris Woakes who was deemed a possible close contact, England’s cricket board said yesterday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies Test captain Jason Holder has been included in a 22-man Barbados Pride provisional squad announced yesterday by the Barbados Cricket Association, in preparation for next month’s Regional Super50 Cup in Antigua.

ATLANTA, (Reuters) – President-elect Joe Biden urged Georgia voters yesterday to send two Democrats to Washington in Tuesday runoffs that will decide control of the U.S.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s ruling socialist party will today install a congress controlled by allies of President Nicolas Maduro, a change in control that many Western nations have assailed as the product of a fraudulent election.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Hotelier Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart has died. Stewart was founder of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, and their parent company Sandals Resorts International, as well as The ATL Group and The Jamaica Observer.