Editorial

Two very important statistics in assessing the overall health of a society are the number of maternal deaths – that is, the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of the termination of pregnancy ‒ and the rate of infant mortality, defined as the number of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births.

The availability of land for housing has allowed many citizens to move from squatting in shacks, overcrowding their parents’ or relatives’ homes or from being homeless to becoming home owners.

Hugh Hefner, the founder and publisher of Playboy magazine passed away last week at the age of ninety-one. 

There is a school of thought that frowns violently on points of view that are critical of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), asserting in defence of the police that their job is a challenging one and that persistent criticism only serves to demoralize the men and women whose task it is to get the job done.

Procurement rectitude was one of the areas the APNU+AFC government was expected to be light years ahead of the former PPP/C government.

There seems to be no end to the constant regurgitating of select portions of Guyana’s past by one or another of the denizens of Freedom House or Congress Place.

The political philosopher Michael Sandel recently described the Trump administration as the most serious “stress test” the US constitution has yet faced.

The world today is beset by many calamities, both man-made and naturally occurring.

Leonard Archibald did not have to die. He was just 13 years old and attending high school.

Last weekend, for the first time, Guyana hosted the Commonwealth Games Federation (GCF) Annual Americas Regional Conference.

Once you decide to pursue a career in teaching in Guyana, moreso in the state school system, you automatically forfeit any chance of material fulfilment at the end of that career, except you simultaneously pursue some other more lucrative moonlighting option.

A debt of gratitude is owed to all those here and abroad who have risen up to provide relief to the hurricane-stricken islands of the Caribbean, whether it be the first responders, householders gathering clothing and batteries, the business community mobilising food and building materials, institutions providing cash or friendly governments availing inter-island transport.

This is a contradictory government.  President David Granger goes to the United Nations and delivers an impressive address, once again putting the case to the world body as to why the commitment given by former Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and subsequently the present incumbent of that office, António Guterres, should be adhered to.

When six members of the New England Patriots declined to celebrate their historic Super Bowl win at the White House in February, the US media quickly rehashed familiar talking points about the separation of politics and sport.

Guyana has a history based on European intrusion into the land of the indigenous peoples, their enslavement of African peoples brought forcefully to these parts, and finally, the luring of indentured labour from India, China and Madeira to work under very poor conditions and for minimal pay.

It is noteworthy that the government and non-governmental organisations in Guyana have come together and done a study on child neglect.

Last Friday, the Minister of Security Khemraj Ramjattan broached the topic of raising the age limit from eighteen years to twenty-one years for purchasers of alcohol.

Up until now, relations between the incumbent political administration and the private sector have not exactly been characterized by an abundance of warmth and eagerness to work together.

Since the historic March 2016 Local Government Elections, one of the principles underlying Stabroek News’s coverage of any story is to determine whether it pertained in the slightest to any local government authority and if it did, then a valiant effort must be made to engage with that authority and to canvas its views on the matter being reported.

The Freemasons Hall in Company Path, Georgetown, the largest and oldest of the buildings owned by Freemasons in general in the city and possibly the country, is in a disreputable state.