Daily Archive: Friday, November 18, 2022

The Guyana Public Service Union today decried the government’s 8% across-the-board pay increase for public servants which was announced yesterday and flayed it for the unilateral imposition.

The 8th CARICOM Ministerial Taskforce (MTF) meeting which was held today has heard of progress towards regional agricultural insurance involving the Jamaican firm GraceKennedy and CCRIF.

Farfan and Mendes signed a partnership agreement with the United Kingdom’s (UK) Concrete Canvas on November 15th, 2022 which allows for the provision of sustainable concrete drainage solutions in Guyana.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. lawmaker Hakeem Jeffries launched a bid today to become Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, a day after the chamber’s speaker, Nancy Pelosi, announced she was stepping down from their party’s leadership role.

(Trinidad Express) Operations have been shut down at the site where employee Gavin Ramoutar was killed at the Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) Mayo quarry on Wednesday morning.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, (Reuters) – Climate negotiators today were mulling a European Union proposal aimed at resolving an impasse over financing for countries hit by climate-fuelled disasters and pushing the U.N.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) are both thrilled about the highly anticipated return of ‘Nationals’ following a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(CMC) – Jamaica Scorpions defeated Guyana Harpy Eagles by three wickets in the second day/night semi-final of the Super50 Cup at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground last night.

Mahaica/Mahaicony and Buxton/Beterverwagting recorded easy wins when the Region Four zone in the ‘One Guyana President’s Cup’ Football Championship continued yesterday at the Buxton Community Centre ground, East Coast Demerara.

President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced an eight percent across-the-board pay increase retroactive to January 1st 2022 for public servants, teachers and members of the Disciplined Services and he also signalled further adjustments to the emoluments of specific categories of workers.

Accusing the United Kingdom of being a “land grabber”, Venezuela yesterday made preliminary objections to Guyana’s application before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to have the 1899 Arbitral Agreement settling the boundary between the two countries confirmed as valid and binding.

Parika crushed Belle West by a 3-0 score-line when the Region #3 zone in the ‘One Guyana President’s Cup’ football tournament commenced on Wednesday evening at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

A fire suspected to have been caused by arson completely destroyed the century-old St.

(CMC) – Captain Kraigg Brathwaite tasted form on the tour of Australia, one of three players with half-centuries on day one of West Indies’ opening tour match against the Combined NSW/ACT XI yesterday.

SB: Your CV suggests that a considerable portion of your career has been spent in training in the private sector.

The Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) yesterday said that it had only had the police file on the arrest of an attorney by SOCU for 10 days.

With the Courts Pee Wee U11 Football Championship scheduled to conclude tomorrow, a pre-match press conference was staged yesterday at the Ministry of Education ground with the competing captains of St Pius and Enterprise Primary, both of whom expressed confidence in securing the title.

Dear Editor, I am Swiss-Guyanese and a non-partisan observer of Guyana’s politics and its economic development.

What would appear to be a concerted attempt to resurrect the so-called PetroCaribe plan through which Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries once received oil from Venezuela on credit and at concessionary prices is beginning to do the rounds in parts of the region even though there is still little evidence, up to this time, of anything resembling region-wide enthusiasm for the idea.

Dear Editor, The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently holding public hearings in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899, on the Guyana- Venezuela border issue.

(Reuters) – Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner can be extradited from his homeland of Trinidad to the United States to face corruption charges, a London court said yesterday.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – British finance minister Jeremy Hunt yesterday unveiled plans to increase a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and extend it to power generation firms in an effort to raise tens of billions of pounds to plug a major hole in public finances.

The Ministry of Agriculture will be embarking on a massive drainage programme within the Alness – Whim/Bloomfield Area before the rainy season to avoid flooding and the loss of cattle as happened in previous years.

At a time when there has been something of a lull in the flow of information regarding the progress being made in what, admittedly, is the opening ‘stanza’ of the implementation of the regional so-called 25×2025 plan to reduce extra regional food imports, the news that St.

(Reuters) – India will play fearless cricket in te limited-overs series in New Zealand while remaining tactically flexible, coach VVS Laxman said yesterday.

Dear Editor, Knowledge is available and anyone can verify that “Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites transmitted to people through the bites of infected female anopheles mosquitoes. 

KYIV, (Reuters) – Russian missiles and shells hit Ukrainian positions in several regions and there was no let up in heavy fighting in Donetsk in the east, the Ukrainian military said last night as Moscow’s occupying forces appeared more active.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to step down from her leadership role after her fellow Democrats lost their majority in last week’s midterm elections positions Hakeem Jeffries – a liberal congressman from New York – as a likely top contender to lead the party for the next two years.

Ahead of his swearing in for his second tilt at the presidency of Brazil,  Luis Ignacio Da Slva Lula arrived in Egypt for the meeting of COP 27 to a welcome that could hardly have been bettered had he already ascended to office.

(Reuters) – South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has been handed a two-game ban from all match-day activities by World Rugby after tweets he posted that were perceived to be critical of referees.

Dear Editor, It will be remiss of me if I fail to publicly express my pleasure and great joy at the admission of Shivnarine Chandarpaul to the ICC’s cricket Hall of Fame.

(Reuters) – The Biden administration has determined that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has legal immunity from a lawsuit filed against him over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the U.S.

At least four new police huts will be established at strategic locations at Anna Regina, Charity as well as Supenaam on the Essequibo coast  to assist with security during the festive season.

Amidst the backdrop of what is being seen as a belated sense of urgency over climate change evinced at the COP27 Summit now winding down in Egypt, some poor countries, unsurprisingly, continue to dig their heels in, over a belated lobby in the west for further ‘emergency’ cuts in the recovery and use of fossil fuels, ostensibly, as a mechanism to reduce global warming. 

(Reuters) – Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka was granted bail in Sydney yesterday, reversing an earlier decision in the case of the alleged sexual assault of a woman while on tour in Australia for the T20 World Cup The now-suspended batsman appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre court via video link from Parklea Correctional Centre, reported the Sydney Morning Herald, where he had been in custody since being refused bail on Nov.

At the now concluded COP 27 climate forum in Egypt, there arose a pattern to the proceedings that  bore something of a resemblance – perhaps much more in tone than in content – to the North/South, rich/poor debate of three decades plus ago. 

The teacher attached to the Skeldon Line Path Secondary School who died on Friday after suddenly collapsing, succumbed to a heart attack, a post-mortem examination done on Tuesday revealed.

Dear Editor, I was gob smacked when I learnt via the press recently, of a motion purportedly moved by the Mayor of Georgetown and supported by a particular group of Councillors, for an officer formerly employed by the Georgetown Municipality, who was dishonourably discharged for several breaches in procurement, accounting and management at the City Council, to be paid what is described as outstanding sums within 72 hours.

(Reuters) – A U.S. agency seeking to restore habitat for endangered fish gave final approval yesterday to decommission four dams straddling the California-Oregon border, the largest dam removal undertaking in U.S.

ASUNCION,  (Reuters) – The United States yesterday said it was offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for the murder of a Paraguayan organized crime prosecutor in May.

(Reuters) – Senegal forward Sadio Mane has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar in a crushing blow to his team’s chances after officials confirmed yesterday he would need surgery on a leg injury sustained in the run-up to the tournament.

The prevailing weather patterns in Trinidad and Tobago are giving some of the country’s farmers what one might call the customary Guyana experience of what the media in the twin-island Republic reports as extensive crop destruction due to what would appear to be heavier than usual levels of the year-end rainfall.

Dear Editor, The positive progress that the newly announced model Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) represents for Guyana cannot be understated.

Three more companies have earned their ‘Made in Guyana’ certification from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).

QUITO, (Reuters) – Ecuadorean state oil company Petroecuador said yesterday five people were injured in a fire caused by a leak in a pipeline that carries gas to a refinery in the South American country’s Amazon region.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry yesterday said Chinese President Xi Jinping was not criticising Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after Xi was seen confronting him at the G20 summit over alleged leaks from an informal meeting they had held on Tuesday.

Tenders for the construction of core houses in Region Four were on Tuesday opened for the Central Planning and House Authority at the National Procurement and Tender Administrative Board (NPTAB).

(Reuters) – Soccer fans attending World Cup matches in Qatar will fork out nearly 40% more for match tickets compared to those who watched the 2018 edition in Russia, with tickets for the final costing an eye-watering 684 pounds ($812) on average, a study shows.

Dear Editor, I refer to Mr. Sherwood Lowe’s letter in the Stabroek News (11/16/2022) on the need to conduct another House-to-House (HtoH) registration to clean up what he perceives to be a bloated voters’ list.

(Trinidad Express) A Glock nine-millimetre pistol was found beneath the body of a fire officer after she and two men were ambushed and shot several times by gunmen in Sangre Gran¬de on Tuesday night.

SYDNEY,  (Reuters) – Australian iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest announced yesterday a $500 million commitment towards the launch of a $25 billion international investment fund designed to help Ukraine rebuild after Russia’s invasion.

The post- mortem examination on the 32-year-old man of Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD) who was stabbed to death on Tuesday around 3 am in a ganja row has revealed that he died as a result of perforated liver due to a stab wound.

(Reuters) – Australia’s top order fired in unison to secure a six-wicket win over England with Dawid Malan’s career-best 134 for the tourists in vain as in the first one-day international yesterday.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 993’s trading results showed consideration of $27,609,835 from 81,104 shares traded in 35 transactions as compared to session 992’s trading results, which showed consideration of $18,738,581 from 76,653 shares traded in 16 transactions.

A report in in US business magazine Forbes, the conclusions from which we published on Sunday, has said that of all sovereign countries with populations of at least 75,000, Guyana accounts for the biggest share of its native-born population – 36.4% − living abroad when compared to the rest of the world.

(Reuters) – A deal aimed at easing global food shortages by helping Ukraine export its agricultural products from Black Sea ports was extended for four months yesterday, though Russia said its own demands were yet to be fully addressed.

Three months of the Christ-Mass? Frankly speaking I’m quite aware that any discussion surrounding the overall socio-economic success of one ethnic group in this challenged land of ours might breed some internal ill-will – or open rancour.

Dear Editor, I am participating in the annual South American 10km road Athletic Championship space, to be held on Sunday 26th inst.

There is a worrying regularity with which unexplained deaths of mothers and their infants occur within both the public and private health systems in Guyana.

By Carl Bildt  COPENHAGEN – It took US President Joe Biden’s administration quite a while to produce its National Security Strategy, which it finally released in October.

President Irfaan Ali’s recent reported calls to the local private sector to capitalise on the “opportunities facilitated by the Government of Guyana” (and arising out of the outcomes of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI) recent Business Development forum) is sound advice though what he had to say about the private sector’s seeming lack of readiness to properly engage visiting Saudi and South Korean business delegations (that the local private sector had no specific business proposals to present to either delegation) is scarcely believable.

The Guyana Police Force’s Military Band playing in the Botanical Gardens, Georgetown yesterday afternoon.

Gold Prices for the three day period ending Thursday November 17, 2022 Kitco is a Canadian company that buys and sells precious metals such as gold, copper and silver.

SAO PAULO,  (Reuters) – Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd 1211.HK002594.SZwill start selling two new electric vehicle models in Brazil this month, betting on favourable political and environmental developments in Latin America’s largest vehicle market, the company said.