Year: 2019

Death in Police-lockups: Woman files G$50M lawsuit against State over brother’s ‘wrongful’ death

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The sister of Kallicharan Sawak, the man who lost his life while in Police custody earlier this year, is suing the State for over G$50 million for the alleged unlawful death in her capacity as representative of his estate. According to the court documents seen by this publication, Shivani Sawak is claiming damages in excess of G$10 million for the death and personal injuries sustained by her brother while in Police custody at the Sparendaam Police Station between January 17 and 21, 2019. Sawak, who was granted a court order…

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Tapirs Can Play Surprising Role in Amazon Forest Restoration

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Lowland tapirs can restore degraded Amazonian forests by spending more time and spreading more tree seeds in areas that had been previously burned. This service provided by tapirs may be among the cheapest and easiest solutions for large-scale forest restoration, according to a new study conducted at Woods Hole Research Center’s research facility at Tanguro Ranch in Brazil. The team collected and studied almost 130,000 seeds representing 24 different species from tapir dung in degraded forests in Mato Grosso Brazil. The study, published in the journal Biotropica, shows that tapirs…

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Guyana’s Private Sector calls on CCJ to give early decision on no-confidence appeal

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One day after the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) filed its No-confidence Motion appeal at the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court (CCJ), the Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Wednesday called for the court to expedite the matter in an effort to put to rest the political uncertainty facing the country. The PSC said on Wednesday it had discussions with local and international businesses which expressed reservations in investing as the uncertainty continues. It claimed that there has been a reduction in Government and Private Sector contracts linked to the uncertainty. “The Commission…

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Mining accounts for 85% of deforestation rates in Guyana – Trotman

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Mining activities are accounting for 85 percent of Guyana’s deforestation and degradation rates while logging is responsible for 2.5 percent. This is according to Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, who noted that despite these numbers, Guyana continues to maintain a low deforestation rate. “It shows that we are striking a good balance between mining and forest operations and rather forest conservation. So under our agreement with Norway in 2017 we certainly recorded the lowest rates which is historic. So Guyana has been pointed out, as recording good figures, good stewardship…

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Guyana, UK ink trade agreement

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With Brexit expected to legally take place on March 29, Guyana has signed a pact with the United Kingdom (UK) to secure its trading relations with the British country after it leaves the European Union (EU). Guyana’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, David Hales, signed the CARIFORUM-United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of the Guyana Government on Friday last. UK’s Minister of State for Trade Policy of the Department of International Trade, George Hollingberry, signed on behalf of his Government. The signing,…

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‘Judicial adventurism’

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The Appellate Court’s panel of three justices: Chancellor Edwards-Cummings, Justice Rishi Persaud and Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes, in a 2-1 split decision — with Justice Persaud dissenting — surprised many objective observers by reversing the holding of the High Court that the 33-32 vote in favour of the NCM in the National Assembly was valid. What occasioned the surprise was the rationale offered by the two justices for their decision. They accepted the arguments offered by the Grenadian attorney for the Government that, unlike the passage of “normal” legislation, that of…

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Preparations in full swing for CARIFESTA XIV

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The experts responsible for advising technical officers and Ministers on the hosting of CARIFESTA are currently meeting in Trinidad and Tobago. The 27th Meeting of the Regional Cultural Committee (RCC) began on Wednesday with an opening ceremony at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Center in Port-of-Spain, and will continue until Friday March 29 2019, according to a release from the CARICOM Secretariat. Preparations for CARIFESTA XIV, which is being held in Trinidad and Tobago 16 – 25 August 2019 will be a major agenda item. Trinidad and Tobago Minister of…

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Guyana Govt promises to regularise squatting communities country-wide

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The Government is working to regularise squatting communities across the country in collaboration with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL). According to the Department of Public information (DPI), During a recent visit to the Durban Backlands squatting community Minister of State, Joseph Harmon highlighted the importance of regularising neighbourhoods such as this. “The Central Housing and Planning Authority has already started to regularise a number of communities but we have a far way to go. This project is…

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Finding ‘Scriptology’, Redefing ‘Leo’

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by Petamber Persaud (Excerpt of an interview with Dr. Manu Chander, Georgetown, Guyana, March 2019. Chander is a Visiting Fulbright Fellow. Chander’s publications include ‘Brown Romantics: Poetry and Nationalism in the Global Nineteenth Century’.) PP: Very often when I’m asked about my Country, Guyana, I would direct the person or persons to our literature because our books since Raleigh’s book [The Discovery of Guyana] in 1596 to Evelyn Waugh’s books to Hudson’s Green Mansions even down to Rahul Bhattacharya [The sly company of people who care] acted as a sort…

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