Guyana News

-Narcotics had been secreted in logs (Barbados Nation) Six Guyanese who have been on a prolonged trial in Barbados on a charge of smuggling ganja and cocaine into that country in 2005 were yesterday found guilty and will be sentenced on June 15.

Local television pioneer Anthony Vieira has sold his station to the Ramroop Group.

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) soldiers who are now in police custody following allegations of armed robbery reportedly demanded work permits and licences from miners at a Brazilian mining camp before robbing them of money and gold last Thursday at Five Star, Barima/Waini, Region One.

Gunmen snatched him from boat Less than a day after being grabbed by five hijackers from a Surinamese “back track” boat, the body of a 44-year-old Guyanese businessman was fished out of the Corentyne River yesterday.

…Luncheon says ‘comprehensive disclosure’ needed A “comprehensive response” to the alleged links between government and jailed Guyanese drug kingpin Roger Khan depends on “comprehensive disclosure,” according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon.

Nineteen more employees of the financially troubled CLICO (Guyana) yesterday had their services terminated.

Distinguished Guyanese linguist Dr Richard Allsopp has died. He passed away on Wednesday evening at a hospital in Barbados following a long illness.

A single blood drive two Saturdays ago netted 240 units to set a new record in Guyana and the English-speaking Caribbean  when  Swami Aksharananda of Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara  spearheaded the activity.

– annual target still doable if plan stuck to, Gopaul says There was a shortfall in sugar production by some 6,000 tonnes during the first crop which recorded just over 83,000 tonnes, largely as a result of poor weather conditions, Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation board Dr Nanda Gopaul said yesterday.

-child protection unit steps in Welfare officers attached to the Child Protection Unit of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MHSS) yesterday met with a 15-year- old girl who was severely beaten by her father at the family’s East Coast Demerara home on Wednesday.

-administration would be able to pick all members of key commission Following criticism by the opposition, the government yesterday tabled two more bills in Parliament for local government reforms and the one catering for the establishment of the local government commission would enable the PPP/C administration to pick all six members.

Man was killed while speaking to friend Ashnie Williams was being taken for a pre-birthday walk while Salim Mohamed was standing on the roadway speaking to a friend who was in a parked motor car when both of them died on the Kilcoy Public Road, Corentyne after a speeding car crashed on Saturday afternoon.

For the first time in the history of the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, ten officers are undergoing local training at the induction stage.

Director of Norway’s Climate and Forest Initiative, Ambassador Hans Brattskar says that recent talks with President Bharrat Jagdeo included trying to advance the memorandum of understanding the two countries have signed on a rainforest deal and the amount of financial aid this country could get for its programme.

CAIRO,  (Reuters) – President Barack Obama sought to  change Muslim perceptions of the United States yesterday in a  speech that urged Arabs and Israelis to declare in public the  realities he said they accept in private.

A Corentyne man won the coveted first place in the senior male category in the semi-finals and is among 28 persons chosen to represent Guyana at the Eighth International Qaseeda Competition.

A 38-year-old man who allegedly had carnal knowledge of a 15-year-old girl was remanded to prison on Wednesday when he appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

LONDON, (Reuters) – A third senior minister quit the  British government yesterday, calling on Prime Minister Gordon  Brown to quit to improve his party’s chances at a general  election due within a year.

-court hears Two security guards who allegedly dealt another man several blows about his body resulting in him being hospitalized were both remanded to prison on Monday when they appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson.

FERNANDO DE NORONHA, Brazil, (Reuters) – Brazilian  search crews fished the first debris from a crashed Air France  flight out of choppy Atlantic waters yesterday amid concern  the plane may have flown through a storm at the wrong speed.