March 2014 – Page 2 – Guyana Times International

75-year-old woman found murdered in home

March 31, 2014 TIMES INT'L

A former staff of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council was on Wednesday morning found dead in the bedroom of her North Ruimveldt, Georgetown home. Joyce Lewis, 75, of Lot 3630 Christiani Street, North Ruimveldt, is suspected to have been robbed, raped and strangled. Relatives of the woman broke down as her body was being removed from her residence by undertakers. The woman’s lifeless body was discovered about 08:30h by a sister, who went to the house after she failed to make telephone contact with the woman. She was found…

Brumell urges SWAT team to uphold human rights of citizens

March 31, 2014 TIMES INT'L

Outgoing Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell has urged members of the newly-trained Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit to uphold basic human rights and not sully the image of the Guyana Police force as they discharge their duties. He made the comments as 27 ranks graduated from the SWAT training conducted by The Emergence Group (TEG).The unit is Guyana’s first SWAT Team. Urging the ranks to maintain self-discipline, Brumell said their new role requires commitment and adherence to basic human rights. “Nobody must speak of this unit of committing heinous things,”…

Hardt commits U.S. support for Caribbean security

March 31, 2014 TIMES INT'L

United States Ambassador to Guyana D Brent Hardt has said that while the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) programme has yielded overwhelming successes since its implementation in 2010, Washington will continue to work with the Caribbean region as there is much more work to be done. Ambassador Hardt was at the time speaking at the handing over ceremony of three vessels to the Coast Guard on Friday last. He stated that the handing over was also a part of the CBSI programme which seeks to combat the drug trade and…

Digital generation

March 31, 2014 TIMES INT'L

There is a generation of people, mostly the younger, who are completely different from the preceding one. A lot of today’s people are living in the digital age. Technology has become a way of life and people today just automatically absorb all things automated. Now it is nigh impossible for many to imagine a world that existed without all of the gadgets, electronics and numberless operations that computer technology provides. Children now devote some 40 hours per week to television, video games and the Internet. Researchers are very concerned about…

OAS says Guyana should develop anti-corruption strategy

March 31, 2014 TIMES INT'L

The Organisation of American States (OAS) said Guyana should develop an anti-corruption strategy, which could include the establishment of specialised units in the police force and in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to root out alleged graft in the Government system. The body also spoke of the many incomplete investigations into state fraud and the authorities’ inability to prosecute alleged offenders of corruption. The call is contained in a menu of recommendations which form part of the OAS-anti-corruption watchdog, the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the…

“Apologise or I’ll take you to court”

March 24, 2014 TIMES INT'L

– Nandlall tells Christopher Ram, Stabroek News Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has threatened legal action against Christopher Ram and the Stabroek News if they do not apologise for what he has deemed “libellous” claims written by the former in a letter. The AG is referring to a letter written by Ram and published in the Stabroek News on Tuesday under the headline, “It is the President’s duty alone to appoint three members of the Judicial Service Commission”. According to Nandlall, the letter made several allegations, which…

Chairman pours cold water on Opposition’s objection to Jairam’s involvement

March 24, 2014 TIMES INT'L

Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry Chairman, Sir Richard Cheltenham said any change to the Terms of Reference (ToR) has to be made by President Donald Ramotar even as he dismissed concerns raised about the impartiality of Commissioner, Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam. Both the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) have objected to Jairam on the panel, owing to his appearance in court for the Guyana Government in the recently concluded budget cuts case. For its part too, the WPA has called on Government to remove…

“Understand the importance of your role in dealing with domestic violence”

March 24, 2014 TIMES INT'L

– Trinidadian Clinical Psychologist tells Guyanese stakeholders Local Police Prosecutors, Probation, Welfare and Child Care Officers and civil society groups on Tuesday converged in the conference room at the Pegasus Hotel to discuss the prevalence of and proper courses of action that could be taken to address the rising incidence of domestic abuse in Guyana. The event, which was organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat, in collaboration with the Judiciary of Guyana, drew participants from organisations across the country. Mark Guthrie, a legal and constitutional consultant from the Commonwealth Secretariat, told…

Suicide

March 24, 2014 TIMES INT'L

It would appear that the department in the Health Ministry that had been tasked with the responsibility for tackling the scourge of suicide in Guyana has itself committed suicide. While Guyana always had a very high rate of suicide, after some sensitisation and studies on the issue at the turn of the century showed conclusively that Guyana had a consistent rate of around 200 (or 25 per 100,000) self−inflicted deaths annually, the Health Ministry gradually became involved. A preponderant number of those persons were males from the rural, Indian-Guyanese communities.…

PPP/C could win majority if Jagdeo heads elections slate

March 24, 2014March 24, 2014 TIMES INT'L

– Opposition poll finds Former President Bharrat Jagdeo would be the most formidable candidate that the Opposition parties, A Party for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC), could face in any upcoming general elections. This was revealed in a poll conducted by the combined Opposition earlier this month, according to highly placed sources in the party. Evidently worried that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) would call snap elections in the trail of their controversial stance on a host of issues, the combined Opposition rushed through their polling exercise…