Guyana News

The body of a 53-year-old watchman of Limlair, Corentyne was discovered at around 8:30 am on Thursday at Fort Ordnance, Canje where he was employed with a contracting firm.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – The U.S. government and Swiss  bank UBS AG struck an 11th-hour deal to settle a dispute over  tax evasion and Switzerland’s bank secrecy yesterday, heading  off a showdown that had threatened to sour relations between the United States and Switzerland.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, (Reuters) – Nigerian authorities  collected hundreds of bodies from the streets of the northern  city of Maiduguri yesterday following days of clashes with  members of a radical Islamic sect.

DALLAS, (Reuters) – A U.S. judge said yesterday the receiver  overseeing the assets of Allen Stanford may sue to recover  almost $1 billion from 600 investors who bought certificates of  deposit in the accused swindler’s Antigua bank.

ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Supreme Court  ruled yesterday that former president Pervez Musharraf trampled  the constitution when he imposed emergency rule two years ago  and all actions taken by him then were illegal.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s court of appeal ruled  on Friday that Russian entrepreneur Michael Cherney may sue  Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska in Britain over a disputed  stake in Russian aluminium company UC RUSAL, Cherney said.

MANILA, (Reuters) – Former President Corazon Aquino, whose “people power” revolution swept dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power in the Philippines, died yesterday after a 16-month  battle against colon cancer, her family said.

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuban President Raul Castro has postponed what was to have been the ruling Communist Party’s first congress in 12 years, saying it may be the last under the aging “historic leadership of the revolution” and must be done right, state-run media reported yesterday.

-company official testifies in US court The Co-director of UK firm Smith Myers yesterday testified in a New York court that the cellular intercept equipment used by drug kingpin Roger Khan had been sold to the Government of Guyana (GoG), a contention that officials here have repeatedly denied.

-Selwyn Vaughn tells US court Roger Khan’s gang had plotted to kidnap the wife of a high-ranking US Embassy official in Guyana in retaliation for the drug kingpin’s arrest and handing over to the US.

US-based Guyanese Aubrey Boyce has won New York’s second-largest lottery jackpot, the US$133 million Mega Millions Lottery and received a cheque of US$55 million, his lump sum less taxes on Tuesday.

De Santos concerned at apparent breach of committee procedure Amid strong opposition objections to its second reading, the government yesterday passed a Bill that sets a new system for local government elections that includes first-past-the-post voting for the first time in decades.

-gov’t slams ‘diversionary’ tactics Backed by a noisy protest on Brickdam, new allegations in a US court of links between the government and drug trafficker Roger Khan sparked an exodus of the opposition from Parliament after PNCR Leader Robert Corbin was unable to raise the matter for urgent debate and government MPs later condemned the walkout as an attempt to create a diversion.

Former chief magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen, who was being sought by police in connection with the July 17 Ministry of Health fire investigation, was arrested early yesterday morning at her home and released late last evening on station bail.

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) said on Wednesday that if the government was really serious about getting to the truth of the Health Ministry fire it would have moved to ensure a comprehensive forensic audit of the scene.

–slams strategy to ‘shift attention’ from ministry fire President Bharrat Jagdeo says his human rights record is secure should anyone take a look at it, as he lashed out at sections of the media for what he described as a clever strategy to shift attention from the Ministry of Health fire to “the so-called human rights issue”.

-contractors want extension The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) says civil works on the construction of two $600M water treatment plants at Central Ruimveldt and Sophia are almost complete and complementary works for the facilities are also on schedule.

Supplying residents of Lethem and neighbouring villages with potable water from the remnants of the hydro dam in the Kanuku Mountains is not feasible at this time, Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali said in a written response in the National Assembly yesterday.

Terrence DaSilva, the man who allegedly killed another as a result of driving in a dangerous manner while under the influence of alcohol, was on Wednesday remanded to prison when he appeared before Acting Chief Magis-trate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Two fishing crews were attacked and robbed of two outboard engines and fuel tanks at the Albion foreshore, Corentyne on Wednesday by three gunmen who escaped in one of the fishing boats.