Family seeks public assistance for woman to undergo brain surgery

The once-normal life of 47-year-old Sharmila Rampersaud of Lot 9 South, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD), has taken another turn after she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm last December, damaging her vision and causing other serious health conditions. Today, her family is pleading with the public for assistance for her to have much needed medical attention so as to bring about some normalcy. Doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC) after conducting a computerised tomography (CT) scan and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) found that Rampersaud was…

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Guyana records 18 maternal deaths for 2019

Guyana has recorded some 18 cases of maternal deaths during the course of 2019, according to Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud. On the sidelines of a quarterly meeting of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO)-funded Maternal and Child Health/Expanded Immunisation Programme on Wednesday, Persaud told reporters that they have recorded the death of a total of 26 pregnant women. However, eight of these are indirect causes such as vehicular accidents. According to the CMO, they are required to collect any death of a woman while she is pregnant…

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Guyanese must ask questions in relation to the oil contracts

Dear Editor, The recent report released by Global Witness shows the urgent need for Guyanese to consider claims made by international “experts” with greater scrutiny. The report received great interest across Guyana, and many readers have been willing to take its conclusions as gospel. Yet at the same time, a great many experts and officials have rejected the report. As was widely reported, Global Witness accused the Government of shoddy negotiations in 2016, causing some G$55 billion in lost revenue for the people of Guyana. They also recommended that Guyana…

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Cop charged for sexually assaulting woman

A serving member of the Guyana Police Force was on Wednesday granted bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on a sexual assault charge. The Policeman, 27-year-old Shane Tobin denied that he inappropriately fingered a woman without her consent earlier this month. The matter was held in-camera inside the Chief Magistrate’s courtroom. The defendant was released on G$50,000 bail. The case will continue on February 28, 2020.

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MORE CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE ACQUIRING A CAT AS A PET – Pet Care by Dr. Steve Surujbally

Well, since we were reprimanded for not sharing some thoughts about choosing a cat as a family member, we have done some more searching for things that the prospective caregiver must be able to cope with, if the decision is to acquire a cat as a pet. So, here goes. Cats (like dogs) do make mistakes in the house and even outside the house. You remember me saying last week that cats are essentially “house” animals but they are often enough outside to do themselves harm. Consequently, you have to…

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Cops accused of assisting civilians to traffic cocaine being probed

Four ranks attached to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are under investigation for allegedly collaborating with civilians to smuggle cocaine out of the country. This was according to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Monday, who stated that depending on the outcome of the investigations, the ranks could face criminal charges. “It will have a negative impact once you have misconduct in the Force. That is why I have zero tolerance for that. They are elements about the gravity of it. Certain things are so grave that you have to…

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Decision to slash number of polling places to be reviewed – Gunraj

The decision of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to drastically slash polling places for the upcoming General and Regional Elections is being described as a bad one, one which the Elections Secretariat will now have to review. This is according to Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj, who confirmed that following a statutory meeting on Tuesday, the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, has agreed to look into the concerns raised over the issue. “What this has resulted in in some areas is concentration of polling stations in one location. Concentration…

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Bilingual education programme in Wapichan communities promising

By Lakhram Bhagirat Our cultural identity is one thing we should all be proud of. It is the very fibre of our being that shapes us to go on and do tremendous things with our lives. The absence of our cultural identity leaves us feeling disconnected and forever wanting, so when we are taught to embrace that culture then we are forever in tune with our identity. It is this very principle and the fact that the Wapichan people are losing their sense of culture that led to the development…

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Revenues earned from oil will be used to strengthen traditional sectors

…Ali tells thousands at Bath rally PPP/C’s Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday said that the revenues Guyana will earn from its budding oil and gas industry will have to be used to strengthen other traditional economic sectors such as agriculture. He was emphasising what has been described as the “Dutch Disease” which has stagnated growth in other petroleum-producing countries that neglected other sectors. Addressing thousands of supporters during a massive rally at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, Ali gave a bravura performance as he succinctly outlined plans of…

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Meagre salary increase offered to sugar workers insulting

Dear Editor, With elections on the horizon, sugar workers, for the first time since 2014, have been offered a raise in pay. The timing of the increase is very suspicious, though the sugar workers, over the last few years, have been fighting tooth and nail for an improvement in their pay. Undoubtedly, the substantial increase in the cost of living has eroded workers’ living standards. Just consider that at the current increase offered, a sugar worker would be required to cut approximately two (2) tonnes of cane to carry home…

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