War of the fleas

Satiricus was agog. His alma mater, King’s College, was overrun with fleas. His mind immediately ran to the blurb that began the classic work of guerrilla warfare, “War of the Fleas”: “The guerrilla fights the war of the flea, and his military enemy suffers the dog’s disadvantages: too much to defend; too small, ubiquitous, and agile an enemy to come to grips with.” It was now three weeks and KC (as everyone referred to his old school fondly) was still closed. What was going on??? “Sato me friend, why you…

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Guyana to benefit from US$3.4M initiative to tackle arms trade

The United States announced a US$3.43 million assistance programme to combat illicit trafficking in firearms as part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). This announcement was made at the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) headquarters on the margin of the third Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, which began on Tuesday and concluded on Wednesday. This initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Programme, will combat illicit firearms trafficking in…

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Fathers crucial to strong family units – Webster

Human Services Minister Jennifer Webster on Monday underscored the importance of a father figure in the development of a strong family unit as she relaunched the commission on the family at Cara Lodge, Georgetown. The work programme for the National Family Commission (NFC) was put forward under the slogan “Contributing to the stability of family life”. Webster said that the commission has been mandated to address issues pertaining to the family, particularly issues such as what is the significance of promoting good family life, parenting, leadership, social interaction in the…

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Regulating the Press

After a year of inquiry and taking almost 400 verbal testimonies and 300 written submissions, the Lord Justice Leveson Report and recommendations for the reform of British press oversight was finally delivered. The Inquiry had been precipitated by the outrageous ‘phone-hacking’ scandal of the Murdoch-owned News of the World, which finally broke the back of outrage that had been building up for decades with the growth of ‘tabloid’ journalism. The descent into yellow, gutter journalism was quickly imitated across the world as a section of the press followed the sordid…

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Gov’t announces housing package for young professionals

The Guyana government is building three housing schemes to provide young professionals houses according to Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali. Minister Ali was quoted by the Government Information Agency (GINA) as saying the ministry and the private sector are holding talks about the project. He said the aim is to build three-bedroom houses at Gy$8.5M each for young professionals. On the re-migrant scheme, he announced that more than 600 house-lots have been already allocated and the remaining 400 will be allocated shortly. During the first phase of this project, 1,000 lots…

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Jagdeo conferred with fourth honorary doctorate

Former President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Tuesday received an honorary doctorate from the University of Central Lancashire, in recognition of his global leadership on climate change, low-carbon development and green growth. He was presented with the award by the university’s vice chancellor, Malcolm Mc Arthur. During a citation read by the university’s orator, the former president was described as “one of the first heads of state in the world to grasp the seriousness and urgency of climate change”. The citation added, “Almost uniquely in the world, he also saw…

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Team heading to Curaçao to probe gold heist

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud on Tuesday said teams are likely to be dispatched to some countries, to continue their investigation into the millions of dollars of stolen gold, suspected to have been smuggled from Guyana into Curaçao. Persaud told media operatives that teams are working on the ground, interacting with the related agencies to get to the bottom of the issue. Persaud said, “I don’t want to get into the details”, but the investigation is currently active and making headway. Asked whether teams will be dispatched to…

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Shondell Alfred says she was unaware of pregnancy

By Avenash Ramzan WIBA bantamweight champion, Shondell ‘Mystery Lady’ Alfred, who found out last Friday that she was three weeks pregnant a day before her world title fight with Mexican Zulina Munoz, said it was an opportunity missed and a “slap in my face.” The 31-year-old Alfred made the revelation during a press conference on Tuesday at the Guyana Boxing Board of Control office on Avenue of the Republic after returning from Mexico on Monday afternoon. According to the pugilist, who was scheduled to fight the 25-year-old Munoz for the…

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Emotional Shabazz resigns – – cites family commitment

Jamaal Shabazz cited family commitment and a calling from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) to assist the ‘Soca Warriors’ as reasons for his resignation as Head Coach of Guyana’s Golden Jaguars. The candid Shabazz made the revelation at a lengthy press briefing held at the Radisson Suites in Queenstown on Wednesday to discuss the motive behind his resignation, which was submitted to the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) earlier this week. After talking extensively on his tenure and a variety of issues relating to the game in Guyana, the…

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