Month: September 2019

Guyanese woman who suffered massive stroke dies in Queens fire

TIMES INT'L

A Dundee, Mahaicony woman, who suffered a massive stroke, died in a fire at her Queens, New York home late Tuesday, the ABC New York news has reported. Firefighters were called to the building on 219th Street in Queens Village as the flames quickly spread, and cell phone video showed the intense flames shortly after 11 p.m. Authorities say 63-year-old Azmin Jaomin, a former security guard who recently suffered a stroke and lived in the home with the help of a home health aid, was found dead after the fire…

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Guyana Embassy in US signs MoU with Diaspora body to enhance cooperation

TIMES INT'L

On August 29, 2019, Guyana’s Ambassador to the United States Dr. Riyad Insanally and President of the United Guyanese Diaspora Global Network, Corp. (UGDGN) Mr. Wayne Forde, signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Embassy of Guyana in Washington, DC. According to a release from the Embassy, the primary aim of this MoU is to enhance cooperation between the Embassy and UGDGN, an umbrella body for Guyanese Diaspora organisations in the USA, aimed at strengthening engagement between the Government of Guyana and the Guyanese Diaspora. In his remarks, Ambassador Insanally…

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The Natural Resources Fund is structurally flawed

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Dear Editor, As ‘first oil’ rapidly approaches, Guyanese are without the comfort of an acceptable Sovereign Wealth Fund to manage our revenues from oil. I posed the question to President David Granger in 2016, asking that the President address the nation to inform us all of exactly what type of SWF his administration would be setting up; where it would be based; who would administer it; who would have oversight; what laws would govern it, and what type of investments it would be limited to making (S.N. July 5, 2016).…

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The DHB: Catering for national emergencies

TIMES INT'L

Earlier this week, a barge crashed into the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), putting it out of operation for over 36 hours. Thousands of commuters, including school children who normally use the facility, were left with no choice but to use water taxis at the old ferry stellings at Vreed-en-Hoop and Georgetown. Chaos ensued and worsened by the fact that the accident occurred on the first day of the new school term. This is not the first time the bridge has been rammed by an oceangoing vessel, resulting in much inconvenience…

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Shifting the narrative…

TIMES INT'L

…on constitutional treachery Lincoln Lewis enjoys running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. But as is inevitable in these matters, when it comes to the time for the kill, he’s forced to show his hand. So with elections now appearing (rather dimly) on the horizon, he came out defending Granger and the PNC with one of the most vicious and lowdown attacks on Opposition Leader. He defends Granger’s delaying elections by shifting the narrative to the “responsibilities” of the Opposition Leader. Using the Constitution, he shows that the…

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Environmental awareness in schools’ curriculum proposed

TIMES INT'L

The Department of Environment on Wednesday handed over a series of proposals to the National Centre for Educational Research Development (NCERD) to introduce environmental topics in the current school curriculum. Since October last year, a team of specialists would have converged to examine the current syllabus used from Grades One to Nine and ways in which these topics can be incorporated into daily lessons. Four areas were mainly targeted, namely: agriculture and forestry, biodiversity, climate and land geography in subject areas: English language, social studies, agricultural science and integrated science.…

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Man charged for wife’s murder 21 years later

TIMES INT'L

A man, who was evading Police for the past 21 years for the murder of his wife, was hauled before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday. Philbert Thomas, 46, appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly and was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on September 5, 1998 at Cubacalli, Waini, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini) he murdered Viola Thomas. According to Police information, Thomas allegedly murdered his then 23-year-old wife, a resident of Cubacalli, Waini, North West District, during a fun day in 1998. It…

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Speed boat handed over to Prison Service

TIMES INT'L

The Guyana Prison Service on Tuesday received a speed boat which will aid in the transportation of inmates from the Mazaruni Prison in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). At the handing over ceremony at the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) wharf on Lombard Street, Georgetown, Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels told the media that the boat will play a critical role in transporting prisoners to and from the prison, especially for medical attention. GNIC constructed the boat which cost just over G$10.9 million. Meanwhile, Samuels added that with the addition of the…

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Old debt lands driver in court for attempted murder

TIMES INT'L

A taxi driver who allegedly stabbed a man who owed him G$2000 was hauled before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday. Morris Carter, of Lot 20 Durban Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse. The charge detailed that on August 27, 2019 at Sandy Babb Street, Kitty, Georgetown, he wounded Matthew Gilbert, with intent to commit murder. Carter was represented by Attorney-at-Law Adrian Thompson, who in a bail application, informed the court that the incident occurred at a wash bay, where his client was washing his car. He claimed…

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Irfaan Ali was right regarding the state of the economy

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, Messrs Rennie Parris and Yonnick David in a missive in another paper (Aug 29) described PPP’s Presidential candidate Irfaan Ali as an “amateur” (?) for his mid-year review of the economy. I do not know the two gentlemen and their backgrounds and whether they study economics. I did doctoral studies in economics and other disciplines and taught economics and the social sciences for some 35 years. I also regularly conduct NACTA surveys in Guyana, most recently in early August to gather peoples’ views on the economy. Irfaan is…

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