Daily Archive: Sunday, March 28, 2021

The Ministry of Health today said that two more persons who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have died.

(Cricket West Indies) ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was due to start at 10.00am this morning, was adjourned as there was a lack of quorum.

The Guyana Police Force is investigating a report of the murder of Floyd Mc Garrell, a 34-year-old driver of Tuschen (Wrong Turn Squatting Area) on the East Bank of Essequibo at about 4.45 am today.

COX’S BAZAR,  (Reuters) – Hundreds of members of a hardline Islamist group attacked Hindu temples and a train in eastern Bangladesh today, police and a local journalist said, as violence spread across the country in the wake of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

SAN SALVADOR,  (Reuters) – El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele said yesterday that 1 million Sinovac vaccines against COVID-19 would arrive in the Central American country early today, the latest assistance against the pandemic to reach Latin America from China.

(Trinidad Guardian) The AstraZeneca vaccines for T&T from the COVAX facility are being manufactured in South Korea and are still on track despite a recent raid on an Italian warehouse where AstraZeneca vaccines were housed.

Even as plans continue for bringing gas to shore, ExxonMobil is working on amending the existing development plan for the offshore Liza-1 production area as it relates to commercial issues and expects to hand the document to government soon, the company says.

The Bank of Guyana (BoG) is awaiting a formal application for a licence and other documentation from First Citizens Bank (FCB) Limited of Trinidad and Tobago with which Canada’s Scotiabank last month announced it had reached an agreement for the sale of its operations here.

The owner of a Guyanese fishing boat is now counting millions in losses after a large gang of men, suspected to be Venezuelan nationals, attacked and robbed his crew while at sea.

Seeing a light at the end of the tunnel after living with kidney failure for two and a half years, a Kitty man is now seeking the public’s help to cover the cost to determine whether he is a match with a donor he has found.

The $650 million Garden of Eden Batch Mix Asphalt Plant is expected to be operational by April 6 and according to Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill it will be run under separate management from the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC).

When a newly-married Eleanor Phoolmattee Abraham nee Ragnauth left her Whim home on the Corentyne in January 1972 and journeyed to the Rupununi to join her husband, she never expected that almost 50 years later, the Macushi village in Nappi, Central Rupununi would become her lifelong home.

The Golden Jaguars opening match defeat  on Thursday against traditional Caribbean rival Trinidad and Tobago in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in the Dominican Republic, has ignited the debate on various platforms on the tactics employed.

With the influx of Venezuelans and other migrants into Guyana an international organisation has moved to specifically assist women and girls who are exposed to gender-based violence (GBV) and for whom the language barrier makes reporting it even more difficult.

Dr Cecil Boston and Dr Rajini Kurup recently made history as the first two graduates of the University of Guyana’s first doctoral degree programme.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Head coach Kyle Lightbourne has admitted he failed a COVID-19 test after a recent training camp in Florida, but has hit out at the island’s Chief Medical Officer for stopping him travelling to Orlando for Thursday night’s CONCACAF Group B World Cup qualifier which saw a weakened Bermuda humbled 5-1 by Canada.

Four years after first he enrolled at the University of Guyana in 2016, Melvin Pyle completed his Asso-ciate Degree in Civil Engi-neering and walked the virtual stage last Friday.

It was Rohanie Zaman’s aptitude for dressing others that led to the start of her store juju; now a renowned bridal outfitter that has and continues to put smiles on faces with its array of gorgeous, luxurious or simple, classy gowns.

Not many people remember to count their blessings but Varsha Singh does.

I had promised myself for some time now to chronicle my pregnancy experience as a first-time mom so that my daughter can have it as a keepsake if she ever one day wants to know the story of her birth.

After evicting the Dutch, it was the British in 1781 who chose the site of what was later to become this country’s capital, although they did little to translate their vision into reality. 

Young Warriors Cricket Club has named a strong team to participate in the inaugural Guyana Cricket Board/Everest Cricket Club-organised Speaker’s T20 Club Championship.

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Joe Harmon, has lamented the neglect by the Caricom Secretariat and its Chairman, Prime Minister Keith Rowley, of acknowledging his letters requesting their mediation of the current stalemate between the Government and Opposition.

Having completed the online portal for the posting of all government contracts, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) will officially launch it at a seminar for Permanent Secretaries and their procurement support staff in the next two weeks.

The top finishers of the inaugural Assuria General Insurance three-hole tournament were presented with their awards yesterday during a simple ceremony at the NexGen Golf Academy.

Dear Editor, I was absolutely dismayed when I read an article entitled “Financial feasibility of gas-to-shore a “no-brainer” – VP Bharrat Jagdeo” in the Kaieteur News.

Sparks from the central fire – I was lucky to be near enough to feel the blaze these men ignited in the world.

Minister with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh on Friday stressed to Berbicians that a strong non-oil economy, with agriculture among its pillars, is extremely important to his government.

Dear Editor, We Guyanese would have to be the dumbest people on the planet, if we are going to roll over and let other Caribbean companies benefit directly from the protection of our Local Content Policy [LCP].

Learning, or more appropriately, perhaps, “awareness” is the better word, is usually a gradual, inch by inch process, building and building to finally get there as a shape you can put your mind around. 

Dear Editor, This weekend brings with it the beginning of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew).

The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday confirmed 65 additional cases of COVID-19 in Guyana.

Birdshooting Season                           Birdshooting season the men make marriages with their guns My father’s house turns macho as from far the hunters gather   All night long contentless women stir their brews: hot coffee chocolata, cerassie wrap pone and tie-leaf for tomorrow’s sport.

Residents of Jawalla, in Region Seven, are concerned that the community might have a potential COVID-19 outbreak after persons began experiencing symptoms of the virus a few days after a major three-day gathering was held in the community.

(Reuters) – Myanmar security forces killed 114 people, including some children, in a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters on Saturday, the bloodiest day of violence since last month’s military coup, news reports and witnesses said.

Dear Editor, Phagwah has been celebrated in New York in grand style since 1990 because of the large influx of Indo-Guyanese and other Indo-Caribbean people. 

The cricket family of Dominica has thrown its full support behind Tyrone Theophile, the former Dominica captain and Windward Islands batsman.

For long stretches of “Saint Maud”, writer-director Rose Glass’ feature directorial debut, the psychological horror seems to be on the cusp of something.

Dear Editor, The claim that the governing side is trying to dismantle the ‘guardrails of our democracy’ is most ludicrous.

BELGRADE,  (Reuters) – The European Union should help Montenegro repay a 1 billion euro ($1.18 billion) loan to the Export-Import Bank of China for the construction of a motorway linking it with the Serbian border, country’s deputy prime minister said on Friday.

St Ignatius and satellite villages in the North Rupu-nuni, Region Nine, are expected to benefit from the planned construction of a $14 million agro-processing facility to assist farmers with adding value and extending the shelf life of their produce.

Let me tell you some things many people would like to hear and believe: Take this pill and you will lose 15 pounds in a week.

Introduction My long-standing recommendation to establish a National Oil Company, NOC, intentionally rejects the notion of linking this policy recommendation with the establishment of a state-owned (or joint venture, state-private) downstream “oil refinery”.

Dear Editor The first eight months of the new PPP provide irrefutable evidence of the standard that its leaders, ministers, and managers employ, and intend to employ, to govern.

(Trinidad Express) – A landmark High Court order was made on Friday when, for the first time, the use of an electronic motoring device in the form of an ankle bracelet was imposed as a bail condition on a man charged with robbery with aggravation and possession of arms and ammunition.

BRISTOL, England, (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday criticised what he called “disgraceful attacks” on police officers after protests against a new policing bill in the city of Bristol turned violent, resulting in 10 arrests.

With the recent certification of its fiberglass bathtubs and shower units, Fibre Tech Industrial Plastics (FTIP) will now be able to confidently export fibre glass products to countries in the CARICOM region and beyond, its Managing Director Somat Ali has said.

A housewife from Region two is now hospitalised in a serious condition after she was reportedly chopped several times about her body by her common-law husband.

ARAUQUITA MUNICIPALITY, Colombia,  (Reuters) – Venezuelans fleeing to Colombia to escape clashes between the Venezuelan military and irregular armed groups have accused soldiers of abuses, including killing civilians.

Dear Editor, One one duttie a build dam – the longest journey starts with the first step – The University of Guyana (UG) was described as Jagan night school by Forbes Burnham when he was in the opposition in 1963, and Cheddi was Premier.

MAPUTO,  (Reuters) – Suspected Islamist insurgents attacked a convoy of fleeing civilians, including foreign workers, as fighting continued in a northern Mozambique town that is near a number of gas projects, security and diplomatic sources said.

Anish Kumar Giri, 26, a Dutch chess grandmaster, was declared the winner of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational Rapid/Blitz Online Tournament last Sunday and pocketed US$60,000 for his efforts.

Last Update: 704. 37                                         Movement: 1.89% Current Update: 717.69                                    YTD Movement: 3.73%LUCAS STOCK INDEX The Lucas Stock Index rose 1.89% during the fourth period of trading in March 2021.

When a government has it in mind to follow a course of action which is less than defensible, it likes to present its people with a fait accompli.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Facebook has frozen Vene-zuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s page for violating policies against spreading misinformation about COVID-19 by promoting a remedy he claims, without evidence, can cure the disease, a company spokesman said yesterday.

Veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge will sign a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, according to multiple reports yesterday.

(BBC) Dillian Whyte kept alive his hopes of a heavyweight world-title shot by emphatically gaining revenge over Alexander Povetkin with an impressive knockout win in their rematch yesterday in Gibraltar.

Dear Editor, As a Commissioner who would have publicly expressed concerns over what I believe to be ineffectiveness, a lack of consistency and timeliness by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) on aspects of its functions in keeping with its mandate, it is with a sense of compulsion I offer this response to a letter from another Commissioner, Ashton Simon, captioned, “ERC functioned and never lost its way”, and which was carried in your Thursday, March 25, 2021, edition.

From Tuesday, March 30, 2021, persons with disabilities will be allowed to submit and uplift applications for import and/or export licences in a more convenient manner as an extended service offered by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Head coach Phil Simmons believes the sterling final day effort to save the opening Test against Sri Lanka was just as valuable as a victory, as it highlighted the growing maturity in the West Indies batting ranks.

(BBC) Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has tested positive for Covid-19.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil recorded 85,948 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 3,438 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said yesterday, the second day in a row fatalities have exceeded 3,000.

West Indies skipper, Kraigg Brathwaite says he is impressed by the attitude displayed by the players in the first Test against Sri Lanka last week.

LONDON (Reuters) – American musician Jon Batiste says he set out to break the confines of genre in his new album, mixing styles and working with the likes of gospel singer Mavis Staples, guitarist Cory Wong and author Zadie Smith.

LA PAZ (Reuters) – Neydi, a Bolivian primary school student, logs on to virtual classes like many kids around the world during the pandemic.

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Each sport should decide for itself how to fairly regulate transgender women competing in women’s sport, rather than follow the blanket bans proposed in dozens of U.S.

BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As the Green Climate Fund seeks to ramp up its financing for climate action and green recovery in developing nations, it needs the United States to restart contributions halted by its former president, the fund’s executive director said on Friday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) – A digital artwork by humanoid robot Sophia was sold at auction on Thursday for $688,888 in the form of a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), the latest sign of a frenzy in the NFT art world.

(SciDev.Net) – More than half a million people may have died last year as a result of reductions in TB diagnosis and care, setting back progress towards ending the disease by a decade, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.

Washington, (Environmental Working Group) – A food preservative used to prolong the shelf life of Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, Cheez-Its and almost 1,250 other popular processed foods may harm the immune system, according to a new peer-reviewed study by Environmental Working Group (EWG).

(Frontiers) – Deforestation, certain types of reforestation and commercial palm plantations correlate with increasing outbreaks of infectious disease, a new study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science shows.