Daily Archive: Sunday, August 15, 2021

PORT-AU-PRINCE,  (Reuters) – The death toll from a devastating earthquake in Haiti rose to 724 today as rescue workers scrambled to find survivors buried under buildings a day after the 7.2 magnitude quake and as a tropical storm bore down on the Caribbean nation.

PORT-AU-PRINCE,  (Reuters) – Haitians laboured overnight to pick through shattered buildings in search of friends and relatives trapped in the rubble after a devastating earthquake struck the Caribbean country yesterday, killing more than 300 people and injuring many more.

KABUL,  (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents entered Afghanistan’s capital Kabul today and said they expected to take power within days, promising to moderate their earlier hardline Islamist rule even as foreign diplomats and many locals tried to leave.

(Trinidad Guardian) The Ministry of Health is witnessing an uptick in the number of paediatric COVID-19 cases, three of which are currently warded at hospital and are “severely ill.”

BEIRUT,  (Reuters) – At least 28 people were killed and 79 injured when a fuel tank exploded in northern Lebanon early on Sunday, the health ministry said.

TriStar Inc has announced that it has received all the regulatory approvals to move ahead with a planned state- of-the-art shorebase facility, which it says will be operated to international safety, security, and environmental standards.

Five persons, including a toddler, escaped with minor injuries yesterday after a Roraima Airways aircraft crash-landed in the vicinity of the Haags Bosch Sanitary landfill facility, on the East Bank of Demerara, after experiencing mechanical problems.

The legal challenge initiated by the Georgetown Mayor and City Councillors for the removal of acting Town Clerk Candace Nelson is contending that her appointment is unlawful, while accusing her of disruptive actions that could affect the Council’s ability to meet its obligations.

The Guyana Shore Base Inc (GYSBI) is seeking Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) financing to expand its Houston facility to potentially provide support for up to five floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units, among other upgrades.

The Ministry of Health yesterday disclosed that three more persons who were infected with COVID-19 have died.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has assured Haiti that it stands ready to assist in wake of the major earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday.

Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi is due to arrive in Guyana on Tuesday for a four-day official visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced.

The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) has announced that it will be implementing new visitation rules for its offices countrywide, including the requirement that visitors provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

After serving the United States Navy for 23 years, Michelle Simmons decided it was time to retire and give back to society, especially to the land she once called home, Guyana.

The South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS) is currently conducting a population assessment of two critically endangered species of birds, having been awarded funding from Re-wild and Conservation International Guyana.

Although she says Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the Caribbean have a variety of medicinal plants that could support the body in the treatment of COVID-19, integrative medicine specialist Dr Asante Le Blanc adds that vaccines remain the best protection.

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), through its Oil and Gas Department, has been monitoring the transfer of Guyana’s crude from the Liza Destiny FPSO oil platform to oil tankers.

PORT-AU-PRINCE/HAVANA (Reuters) – At least 304 people died and hundreds were injured after a major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, authorities said, reducing churches, hotels, schools and homes to rubble in the latest tragedy to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation.

ExxonMobil’s local affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has submitted an application for environmental authorisation for a 12-well Exploration and Appraisal (E&A) Drilling Programme in the Canje Block, offshore Guyana.

When artist Tammy Lavern Walker started experimenting with making dessert pies last year, she had no intention of turning it into a business, but in June this year, Walker’s Pie Company was formally established.

For those like me who find it difficult to keep track, or have lost track, of political and judicial events since the no confidence motion of December 21, 2018, was passed against the APNU+AFC Government in the National Assembly, Anand Goolsarran’s newly published book, “Triumph of Democracy and the Rule of Law: Guyana 2020 Elections and their Aftermath,” has come to the rescue.

The government has enacted the recently passed bill to allow a person to acquire the estate of a spouse who has died without leaving a will.

Dear Editor, On July 30, 2021, I wrote “In our multiethnic society, all must play an inclusive role in our national defence”, refuting Hamilton Green’s antagonistic position against creating a balanced (or inclusive) disciplinary force.

Introduction This week’s column wraps up my consideration of the US Energy Information Administration, EIA’s, International Energy Outlook 2019 with projections to 2050.

President Irfaan Ali has given his assent to the recently passed bill to decriminalise cross-dressing, in line with a more that two-year-old Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) judgment.

Dear Editor, In response to questions from journalist Neil Marks on News Room’s Insider, Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo said the fact that a person does not know about the feasibility studies does not mean that they do not exist.

Vehicular traffic to several parts of the hinterland has been cut off after culverts along the Linden to Lethem trail were washed away in torrential rains on Friday.

Over the weekend Guyana said goodbye to one of its premier citizens.

The title I gave to one of my collections of poems is Between Silence and Silence. 

Dear Editor, Permit me to comment on an article I read recently in the August 6, 2021 Edition of Oil Now.

In an effort to implement a structured system for emergency medical air transportation services, the Ministry of Health (MoH) is seeking to prequalify suppliers and has invited bids.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – A brace of wickets from seamers Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales gave West Indies the edge but captain Babar Azam’s 17th Test half-century, coupled with rain, aided Pakistan’s resistance on the third day of the opening Test here yesterday.

KABUL, (Reuters) – The territory controlled by the crumbling Afghan government shrank to little more than Kabul on Sunday after the Taliban captured the major northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif while the United States sent more troops to help evacuate its civilians.

Dear Editor, It came as quite a shock that there were many nurses in Linden and Region 10 who were unvaccinated and a large number of teachers nationwide who were not vaccinated.

Although the death of Seafield, West Coast Berbice resident Clyde Benjamin has been ruled a drowning, his family remains suspicious that he was a victim of foul play since he was found on dry land and without his wallet.

When Alfred Mohamed entered the lemonade business in the 1930s, all aspects of the process (bottle washing, syrup boiling, carbonation, filling, crowning [corking or capping], and packing) were manual.

The acronym CODA – child of deaf adults – is, perhaps, an unusual name for the new Apple TV+ family drama.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – A second young woman abducted seven years ago from the town of Chibok by Boko Haram militants was freed this week, Borno state’s governor said on Saturday.

Dear Editor, Guyanese should be allowed to speak freely. Their voting rights must be preserved and respected by everyone, after speaking at polling places on Elections Day.

Through the intervention of the Maritime Administration (MARAD), three Trinidadian nationals have gotten help to return home after being stranded in Guyana for three months on board a vessel.

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit Governor General Mary Simon today, when he is expected to seek a federal election next month, two years ahead of schedule.

A family is seeking help to locate an Aurora Estate, Region Two man, who has not been heard from for nine months since he travelled to the interior.

In last week’s column, I wrote about adopting positive traits of elite athletes to achieve fitness goals and I mentioned gymnast Simone Biles, sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah and swimmer Katie Ledecky.

Dear Editor, If President Irfaan Ali could not have spoken with Leader of the Opposition Joe Harmon last Wednesday evening to resolve the impasse in Linden where healthcare workers and those seeking care, who have not had the COVID-19 vaccine, were prevented from entering their place of work and accessing care, then it shows his unconstitutional plea to be publicly recognised by Harmon before engagement is a matter of political convenience.

BEIRUT, Aug 15 (Reuters) – At least 20 people were killed in a fuel tanker explosion in Akkar in northern Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross said on its verified Twitter account.

Ten of the world’s top chess players are currently competing in the St Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, the fourth and final of the 2021 Grand Chess Tour (GCT), which ends tomorrow.

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill on Saturday commissioned over a dozen roads, costing over $250 million, on the West Coast Demerara.

Dear Editor, The 2020 general elections manipulations and attempts at rigging when condensed and filtered down could have been stopped in its track if two specific officials of GECOM, namely the Chairperson and Chief Elections Officer (CEO) had acted as officers befitting their office.

(Trinidad Express) – With the arrival of 305,000 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines in Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says schools will finally be able to reopen after almost a year and a half of closure if parents consent to have their children vaccinated.

A 24-year-old United States-based Guyanese man was shot and killed in Queens, New York, on Friday during a confrontation with a driver, who allegedly crashed into his car.

Warning: The following article contains content about sexual abuse that may trigger an anxiety response in some readers.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Australia lack depth in their squad but will be a title contender at this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when several frontline players return to the side, former captain Ricky Ponting said.

LONDON, (Reuters) – British sprinter CJ Ujah said he was “shocked and devastated” after a positive drugs test that could see his country stripped of their Olympic silver medal in the 4x100m relay.

MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) – Bruno Fernandes scored his first hat-trick in English football in front of a raucous Old Trafford as Manchester United thrashed Leeds United 5-1 to get their Premier League season off to a flying start yesterday.

(Trinidad Guardian) – Jamaica currently is seeing a third wave of COVID-19 infections across the island, leading to all large hospitals there being over their capacity for admissions.

LONDON, (Reuters) – In-form India opener KL Rahul backed his struggling team mates Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane to come out of their slump in form in the ongoing test series against England.

Lasy Update: 823.37                                    Movement:-0.02% Current Update:823.20                                YTD Movement: 18.98%                                 LUCAS STOCK INDEX (LSI) The Lucas Stock Index fell 0.02% during the second period of trading in August, 2021.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) yesterday announced that the Barbados Women’s team will participate at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, England.

Dear Editor, Swift intervention, it seems, has resulted in the agreed rate being paid to tractor operators, whose services were engaged in the recent flooding in Region Six.

Motorists travelling along the East and West Banks of Demerara corridor yesterday were forced to endure traffic jams after a vehicle stalled and blocked traffic on the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

A total of 111 business owners in Region Two applied last week to access grants through the Small Business Bureau (SBB).

West Indies captain, Kraigg Brathwaite toiled through the second day of the opening Test against Pakistan but was disappointed to be run out on 97.

(Reuters) – Nicaraguan police on Saturday arrested the general manager of newspaper La Prensa, a day after raiding its offices and accusing the publication, which is a trenchant critic of President Daniel Ortega, of customs fraud and money laundering.

President Irfaan Ali has committed Guyana to providing assistance to aid the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti in the wake of the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked the nation on Saturday.

LONDON, (Reuters) – England captain Joe Root smashed an unbeaten 180 for his second hundred of the series to help his team eclipse India’s first innings total of 364 on day three of the second test yesterday.

Last week President Irfaan Ali entertained the diplomatic corps to lunch in the Baridi Benab at State House.

(Wildlife Conservation Society) – A team of scientists has discovered a new marmoset species in the Brazilian Amazon.

(University of Otago) – A University of Otago study has revealed new evidence of rapid evolution in New Zealand’s native insect species in response to increased exposure to wind from the loss of shelter due to deforestation.

(Duke Today) – Most of us remember a time when we could eat anything we wanted and not gain weight.