Guyana News

KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan parliament dealt  President Hamid Karzai a painful blow yesterday when it  rejected more than two-thirds of his cabinet nominees, including  several close allies and former guerrilla commander Ismail Khan.

LONDON (Reuters) – The United States and Britain have  agreed to fund a counter-terrorism police unit in Yemen as part  of stepped-up efforts to fight terrorism in Yemen and Somalia  after an attack on a US-bound plane, Britain said today.

HONOLULU,  (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday it appeared the man suspected of trying to bomb a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas was a member of al Qaeda and had been trained and equipped by the Islamic militant network.

– laments failing in antenatal programme The lack of experienced doctors in the healthcare system has had an impact on the quality of care offered at some facilities across the country, Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy admits, and he has identified the antenatal programme as having suffered because of this.

President Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the fact that former army major David Clarke was sentenced to time served in a US court and was not deported does not change his perception of the man since he already knows “what I know.”

Labour Minster Manzoor Nadir continues to defend his Ministry’s handling of the impasse between RUSAL and the bauxite union (GB&GWU) and says that this dispute is different from the recent one in the sugar sector where his Ministry ordered compulsory arbitration.

When well-meaning, law-abiding, innocent Guyanese in Georgetown apply for Visitor Visas to the USA, American Immigration law and policy first view them as “intended immigrants”.

…as three-month promo approved by PUC Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T) subscribers will be able to benefit from reductions in international rates “to all major destinations” during the next three months, following approval from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) According to an advertisement placed by the company , from today customers will “enjoy sweeping reductions in the price of international calls to all major destinations”.

This year there will be aggressive implementation of the laws governing Co-operatives and Friendly Societies, Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir says, even as the Ministry moves to have all credit unions – which hold around $11b in assets – come under the purview of the Bank of Guyana.

-$205m in policy loans written off The Demerara Mutual Life Assurance Ltd has recorded an after tax surplus of $338.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, $78.3 million less than it achieved in 2007.

Sixty students from the final batch trained under the National Training Project for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE) graduated on Wednesday from the Board of Industrial Training’s programme.

The AFC is concerned that though the Copenhagen meeting on climate change did not reap as many returns as expected President Bharrat Jagdeo remains “bullish that Guyana can obtain a substantial cut of the proposed pitiful US$10 billion funds made available.”

A 23-year-old orthopaedic technician of the Georgetown Public Hospital was on Wednesday granted $20,000 bail when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court charged with obtaining money from a man while pretending that he was in the position to have a surgery done for him. 

Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson on Wednesday ordered that a 24-year-old man be remanded to prison when he appeared before her at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court accused of unlawfully being in possession of several rounds of ammunition.

The 60-year-old man, who had appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court last month for allegedly buggering a 14-year-old boy, was on Wednesday further remanded to prison when he made his second appearance and was again cautioned about laughing in court The unrepresented James Spooner of Lot 71 Louisa Row and Bent Street was not required to enter a plea to the indictable charge of buggery when he last appeared in the court.

The Amerindian Affairs Ministry says it has recorded a number of significant developments in 2009 and intends to introduce new services to benefit indigenous persons at the Amerindian hostel in Princes Street.

ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – A suicide bomber blew himself  up in an SUV at a volleyball game in northwest Pakistan today, killing 88 people in a village that opposes al  Qaeda-linked Taliban insurgents, police said.

-veto power suggested for forestry commission The government has floated a proposal that miners give six months notice before mining can commence and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has since called a special meeting where the matter will be debated.

Despite the shocks of the global financial crisis and poor performances in some national sectors, President Bharrat Jagdeo says initial indicators show that the economy grew by around 2% over the past year, while pledging to pursue greater long-term incentives for preserving the country’s forests.

–body found on Mabura Road, but was attacked at home By Cathy Richards On the day he should have been reflecting on his life after being married for three years, the badly mangled body of a 25-year-old Linden taxi driver was discovered along the Mabura Road in Region Ten.