Guyana News

TEHRAN/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Mahmoud  Ahmadinejad said yesterday Iran was close to enriching  uranium nearly pure enough for atomic bombs but the United  States was dismissive, saying he spoke to rally government  supporters on the Islamic revolution’s 31st anniversary.

A customer  and a grocery store owner were each charged with abusive language and threatening language yesterday after a row broke out between the two over a $500 bill.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazilian police arrested yesterday a key opposition party district governor on bribery  charges, potentially hurting the right wing’s chances in the  general election this year.

The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) announced a pilot project yesterday aimed at changing its approach to customer service by addressing queries at the community level and which, when implemented, would result in people not having to visit a commercial office.

LONDON, (Reuters) – British fashion designer  Alexander McQueen, whose provocative collections made him a  global star, was found dead at his London home yesterday in  what media said appeared to be suicide.

A Guyanese man who was facing money laundering and conspiracy charges in the US has been found guilty of three counts of money laundering, while up to late yesterday the jury in a North Dakota court was deliberating on the conspiracy charge, according to the Bismarck Tribune.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – A British woman who murdered her  former lover in a revenge attack by spiking his curry with  poison was jailed for life yesterday.

A 31-year-old minibus driver was yesterday remanded to jail on the indictable charge of carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 15.

-softening seen on mining notice President Bharrat Jagdeo and miners are set for a key meeting today on tough new forest protection regulations and the committee which was set up to address the matter has softened it stance on the controversial notice requirement particularly for pork-knockers but key grouses remain.

The Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Khurshid Sattaur has said that effective from Monday, February 8, all commercial goods imported into the country are being examined while the GRA’s cameras are recording.

Over the past three years, the average annual expenditure for the entire government on travel has been $200M, according to Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh who lambasted a claim by the Alliance For Change (AFC) that President Bharrat Jagdeo alone incurred expenses of $1b over two years.

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) says it is concerned  about  the government’s decision  to establish a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and it also warns against any attempt to force the Guyana Defence Force in a new direction in violation of the constitution.

Media personality Mondale Smith who was charged with unlawfully assaulting a man on January 3 had the charge dismissed after the Virtual Complainant was absent from court yesterday.

A 39-year-old carpenter-mason was yesterday remanded after he pleaded not guilty to stealing items worth a total of $270,000 when he broke and entered the house of Vijay Jagnandan.

A 35-year-old man who appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson was yesterday placed on $75,000 bail for allegedly stealing a $98,000 Blackberry cell phone.

A plantain chip vendor yesterday pleaded not guilty to converting one silver band valued $18,000 to his own use after it was placed in his care for safe keeping.

Last year, visitor arrivals to Guyana increased by nine per cent totalling 141,281 persons — the highest in the country’s history, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said.

– but industrial action of that magnitude unlikely again Ten years after Guyana suffered its worst public service strike in more than 40 years, many of the issues fought for remain unresolved, but the high level of disenchantment with the 57-day industrial action has made the likelihood of a recurrence slim.

Striking part-time Government Technical Institute (GTI) lecturers and technicians last evening agreed to return to work next Monday after another meeting with chairman of the institute’s board, Norman McLean who assured them that they would hear from Minister of Education Shaik Baksh by month-end.

CLICO (Guyana) will plead its case before High Court judge Justice Diana Insanally later this month when the constitutional writ it filed blocking a final ruling on the wind-up of the company is set for a hearing.