Oluatoyin Alleyne

-says never had personal contact with him President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said that Guyanese drug trafficker Shaheed Roger Khan would have to “face the music” having pleaded guilty to several offences in the US adding that he has never had any personal contact with Khan and does not know of anyone in the government who had.

While Roger Khan’s guilty plea has likely closed the door on more explosive revelations, Alliance For Change (AFC) leader Raphael Trotman yesterday said enough evidence has emerged to warrant a full-scale investigation into the drug kingpin’s involvement with the government and the unsolved murders that piled up during his activities here.

Policemen searching for a murder accused were fired at yesterday morning as they were surrounding a Laing Avenue house and a 21-year-old was shot in his right arm after the cops said he opened fire at them.

-as US-funded HIV programme winds down Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy yesterday urged HIV programme donors to avoid duplication and opt for sector-wide implementation so that beneficiaries could be treated not only for HIV but all other diseases prevalent in Guyana.

A Guyana Defence Force (GDF) corporal died on Saturday night when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car on the Friendship, East Bank Public Road.

It was 1955 when a then struggling Guyanese promoter met a young Trinidadian by the name of Francisco Slinger and on a whim decided to include him in his group that was about to tour the interior.

There is a trio seeking a foothold in the local music industry and it is not difficult to imagine that it could become a force to reckon with in the near future; Reflections has a trump card that many of its counterparts in the music arena would love to have.

– DDL in moves to stamp out underage drinking Recognising that the abuse of alcohol is high among some sections of its employees, which in turn affects the company’s performance, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) recently launched an alcohol awareness programme which focuses on moderation.

– Ramsammy says outbreak fear real The Ministry of Health is investigating a recent suspected dengue death at a private hospital, Minister of Health Dr Ramsammy disclosed yesterday and he said the fear of an outbreak in Guyana is “real.”

… but CMO says there’s no ‘outbreak’ One hundred and fifteen persons have been diagnosed with dengue for the year but there is no outbreak of the infection, according to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Shamdeo Persaud who said the Ministry of Health has been monitoring the situation closely. 

–Jagdeo rescinds dismissals, to meet them shortly Almost a week off the job, striking air traffic controllers returned to work yesterday after a promise by President Bharrat Jagdeo to meet them in “a week’s time”.

– hopes air traffic controllers return Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said yesterday that he did not believe government had reached the point of firing the striking aircraft traffic controllers, though Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn maintained that they would be sacked for not turning up.

Air traffic controllers defiant Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn yesterday issued an ultimatum to striking air traffic controllers to immediately return to their jobs or be considered voluntarily separated but at press time last night the workers were refusing to budge until outstanding wage and other issues are addressed.

Doctors yesterday successfully performed a second kidney transplant here and up to press time the 47-year-old recipient and his daughter who donated the kidney were recovering in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).

A 47-year-old ex-army officer is the next kidney transplant patient and according to a source close to his family he will receive a kidney from his 25-year-old daughter.

– family calls for assailants arrest The family of a 29-year-old man, who was badly beaten after being accused of stealing a hammer and a water pump, is questioning why the police have not arrested the couple reportedly responsible for brutalising him last Monday evening.

Another prisoner has escaped; this time from in front of the Camp Street prison, where he was at work, sprucing up its environs.

A Trinidadian may be involved in the multi-million-dollar fraud committed at Republic Bank (Guyana) Ltd and more staffers are expected to be sent home as the investigation continues.

Months after a fraud of almost $900,000 was discovered in the Pensions Department of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) no one has been placed before the court although all the evidence reportedly points to the involvement of four former employees.

Three gun and cutlass-wielding men yesterday morning shot and killed a Mahaicony coconut estate caretaker and assaulted his wife in front of their one-year-old son before escaping with a shotgun, cash and jewellery.