Day: December 14, 2018

Guyana should fast-track preparations for first oil – Outgoing US Ambassador

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By Vahnu Manikchand With just over one year remaining before US oil giant ExxonMobil commences oil production, the need for Government to fast track preparations for first oil is much more imperative. This is according to former United States Ambassador Perry Holloway, during a recent interview with a group of local journalists; his final media engagement in that post as his three-year tenure culminates. Guyana is now home to the world’s biggest new deep-water oil discovery and with principle explorer ExxonMobil pushing for the development of the oil reserves, production…

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Guyanese man nabbed with 70 live finches in hair rollers at JFK

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A Guyanese man was busted by Federal authorities at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Saturday for trying to smuggle 70 live finches inside hair rollers from Guyana into the US. According to the New York Post, the man, who was not named, had just arrived at the Queens airport on a flight from Georgetown on Saturday when US Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists stopped him. During the course of inspection, the specialists discovered 70 finches concealed in orange hair rollers inside a black duffel bag.…

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Talks ongoing with US authorities to lift catfish ban

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– Guyana’s Agri Minister Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, was on Tuesday questioned about what Government has been doing to secure a lifting of the ban on exportation of catfish to the United States (US). In budget 2019, some G$14.7 million was set aside for the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism as part of Guyana’s contribution to international organisations. In light of this allocation, Opposition Chief Whip Gail Texieira questioned whether Guyana could get help from this very organisation, to which Holder replied in the affirmative. She then questioned what Government…

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Christmas: A time for family and giving

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Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the New Testament says…

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Guyanese Black Cake – an age-old Christmas tradition

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In every part of the world, there is a unique tradition or thing associated with Christmas. It is something that makes Christmas indigenous to that particular region and in the Caribbean, there is the ever-popular black cake that makes our Christmas uniquely ours. Every country puts its own spin on the Christmas staple. Be it the ingredients or the decoration, there are never two same-tasting black cakes, and over here in Guyana, the black cake has been a Christmas tradition at our celebrations. It simply isn’t Christmas without a slice…

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Solidifying ethic blocks

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Volda Lawrence, Chairperson of the PNC, was caught in a dilemma when she candidly responded to her (and the PNC’s traditional) constituency’s complaint that the good life they were promised has not been delivered, three years down the road by the Government they put into office. She was recorded as saying, when it comes to jobs, “The only friends I got is PNC so the only people I gon give wuk to is PNC and right now I looking for a doctor who can talk Spanish or Portuguese and ah…

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Private sector body says takeover of Berbice Bridge sends wrong signal to potential investors

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Underscoring the importance of investments in Guyana, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Deodat Indar has criticised Government’s recent takeover of the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BCCI). Speaking at the GCCI’s 129th Awards Presentation and Gala Dinner on Wednesday evening at the Marriott Hotel, the GCCI President noted that Government should ensure that the appropriate environment is created to facilitate investments in Guyana. “Investments are also driven by the environment which it is executed in and the recent Government takeover of the Berbice Bridge doesn’t augur…

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Degutting…

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…Parliamentary Democracy Parliamentary democracies function as “democracies” only if those in power observe the rules and conventions of the game. And it IS game, isn’t it? Think about the game of cricket we all love so much. Suppose the fella who’s batting refuses to come off when his stumps are sent flying – and he’s backed by the umpire who insists the game must continue? What then? Take this fella Nagamootoo, who was made Prime Minister when the APNU/AFC coalition took office. Because President is ill and had to fly…

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Court should decide if PM ‘squatting’ in National Assembly

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…while acting as President – political analyst While there have been many views shared on whether Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo should or should not be allowed to be present in the National Assembly while acting as President, Political analyst Dr Henry Jeffery feels that the matter should be sanctioned by the court of law. Jeffery, a former Government minister for nearly two decades, said that only a court could decide on the best way forward because both the Government and the Opposition may never come to a compromise in resolving…

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Kuru Kururu couple found dead in home

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The bloody bodies of a woman and her reputed husband were on Tuesday found lying on their bed in their Lot 522 Kuru Kururu, Linden-Soesdyke Highway home. Dead are 36-year-old Naco Malika Hale and 48-year-old Alwin Bleacher. The dead couple were found by their 14-year-old son after he went into their bedroom to check on his mother, since she did not wake them up to prepare for school as was routine. As he entered the bedroom, he saw his mother lying in a pool of blood with several stab wounds…

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