Guyana News

(Jamaica Gleaner) A date for the swearing in of Andrew Holness as the ninth prime minister of Jamaica has not yet been set, but well-placed government sources indicate that the event could take place shortly.

(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – The organizers of Suriname’s first National Coming Out Day and the manifestation at Independence Square yesterday say that a start has been made with this activity and it can only become bigger.

YANGON, (Reuters) – Myanmar freed at least 300  political prisoners including several prominent dissidents today, leaving an estimated 1,800 behind bars, as one of the  world’s most reclusive states begins to open up after half a  century of iron-fisted rule.

A 34-year old food vendor last evening went berserk and fatally chopped two of his three children as the trio lay asleep at their Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara home.

The government feels that certain media houses are posing a threat to the holding of peaceful elections and intends to alert the United Nations on the matter, Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira said last evening.

The Guyana Elections Com-mission (GECOM) Media Monitoring Unit has found “pervasive” breaches of the principles of the media code for the upcoming polls, saying that some media houses are indulging in “opinionated news-reporting” that are not in line with basic journalistic standards.

Stealing of electricity has been a significant cause of fires this year while 16 percent of fires in the country resulted from  children playing with matches after being left unattended at home by their parents, according to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee.

In light of the most recent interior robbery at Piari Landing, Puruni, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has highlighted two measures it wants to see taken by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) – one of these being to eradicate the “floating shops” present in the mining areas.

A 31-year-old labourer who allegedly held a visitor from the United States at gunpoint and robbed him of articles valued in excess of $900,000 was yesterday placed on $250,000 bail after he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

A project which started here in August and which uses the arts in the battle to stop violence against women and children, has received a major boost that could see the work of Guyanese children highlighted the world over.

A dredge owner was attacked and robbed at gunpoint of raw gold at Mahdia on Sunday and police later acting on a tip-off arrested a suspect with what is believed to be part of the loot.

The US Embassy has presented to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud the results of a study conducted by USAID on Guyana’s Legality Assurance System which outlines mechanisms that can be used to enhance the country’s forestry industry to meet international standards.

The trial of Keith Doris, who is charged with the murder of elderly shop owner Rambarran Singh, began yesterday with a voir dire.

An Albouystown mother who allegedly tried to take cannabis into the Georgetown Prison was yesterday placed on $25,000 bail after she appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry to answer the charge of possession of narcotics.

An 18-year-old labourer who allegedly robbed a woman at knifepoint near the fire station next to Stabroek Market was on Monday remanded to prison by Magistrate Sueanna Lovell after he appeared before her in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

A Lethem businessman who was charged with fraudulently converting US$1,700 to his own personal use appeared yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

Several dredge operations, blamed for polluting the Kaituma Creek, in the North West District, were operating in a “prohibited” zone, according to Region One Chairman Fermin Singh.

A 34-year-old Meadowbank man was last evening stabbed to the left abdomen after a business deal went sour.

At the Blairmont Court yesterday, Keshwar Ragunandan of No. 11 Village was granted his pre-trial freedom on a charge

Oma Devi Persaud who was struck down by a speeding car at Annandale, East Coast Demerara last Wednesday is showing signs of improvement but remains in a critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Hospital.