TIMES INT'L

CARICOM reiterates position on Venezuela

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping has reiterated its commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the political and economic crisis in Venezuela, where opposition forces have renewed their call for the removal of President Nicolas Maduro from office. A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, said that a four-member CARICOM delegation, including Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, as well as the CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin La Rocque met last weekend in Mexico to discuss the crisis in the South American country. “We reiterate our…

Man found guilty of murdering pensioner appeals 100-year sentence

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

After being sentenced to a total of 100 years in prison for the murder of Danrasie Ganesh, a Montrose, East Coast Demerara (ECD) pensioner, in February of this year, 26-year-old Collin Allen is now asking the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision made by the High Court to impose the aforementioned sentence on him. In his appeal, Allen is maintaining that his trial was executed in a biased manner and as such, the number of years given is unreasonable. However, with the aid of video evidence, State Prosecutors Tuanna…

Cop among 4 charged with Matthews Ridge gold heist

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Four persons were on Tuesday jointly charged for an armed robbery, where a businessman was relieved of several containers of fuel and a quantity of raw gold at Matthews Ridge Airstrip, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini). Baldeo Francis, 37; Ramesh Singh, 45; Leon Campbell, 26 and 27-year-old Kurt Nedd; a police officer appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and were not required to plead to the charges. It is alleged that the quartet on November 11, 2019, at Matthews Ridge, North West District, being…

Barbados looking to expand categories of people who can become citizens

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Citing a declining population, a growing elderly group that imperils National Insurance Scheme funds, and a need for economic growth, Cabinet is to expand the categories of people who can become Barbadians, Home Affairs Minister Edmund Hinkson has revealed. By January, a new bill to amend the Immigration Act will go before ministers that on passage in Parliament would bring into law the most sweeping changes in the pathway to citizenship since Independence in 1966. At a ceremony to formally induct new citizens in the Horatio Cooke Auditorium of the…

Killing them…

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

…not so softly The Stabroek News did yeoman service to the nation in publishing a list of 420 persons murdered as a result of the “troubles” after the Mash Day Jailbreak of Feb 23, 2002 and after Sept 2006. According to their analysis, which came out of their records, 151 of those persons had been murdered by bandits; 239 were killed during confrontations with Police and in unexplained circumstances, while 30 were security officers who lost their lives. These figures obviously didn’t include the garden variety murders which hover around…

Sugar workers have been left behind, and far behind for that matter

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, The GAWU saw media reports regarding responses of officials from the PNC and the AFC in regard to questions posed by the media about the wage freeze imposed on sugar workers since the coalition took office in 2015. While the responses by the leading officials are not identical, they are very similar. If a person were reading about the state of the sugar industry for the first time, they would no doubt believe the caretaker Government was an angel and had ‘clean hands’. This, of course, we know…

Completion of national oil spill plan delayed

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

By Jarryl Bryan The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) was supposed to be completed by early November but that has not materialised. According to a top official from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), a number of factors have caused the plan’s completion to be pushed back. In an interview with this publication, CDC Director Major Kester Craig explained that one major factor in the delay was the additional comments they got from various stakeholders. Another factor was the manpower and resources that were diverted by the CDC to combat…

GECOM, broadcast authority meet to discuss media monitoring partnership

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Executives from the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) met last Thursday to discuss collaboration for the upcoming March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections. Attending the meeting on behalf of the GNBA were Board Chairman Leslie Sobers, Board Member and Chair of the Monitoring and Compliance Committee Jocelyne Josiah, Board Secretary Violet Boyal, Head of the Monitoring and Compliance Department Christina Bianchini, and Public Relations Officer Joel Ally. On GECOM’s side were Chairman Justice Claudette Singh, Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, and Public Relations…

Granger must dissolve Parliament by proclamation on or before December 4, 2019

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor, I read with utter disgust the words of former Minister of State and now Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency that, “the President has not yet signalled when he plans to issue a proclamation in this regard” ie to dissolve Parliament. Well, Mr Director General, the time to dissolve Parliament was since December 2018 and your caretaker Government has the temerity to tell the Guyanese people after one year that the caretaker President would dissolve Parliament at his time of choosing, supposedly of eventualities and neither…

Marine Ball marks 244th birthday of US Marine Corps

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 TIMES INT'L

The US Marine Security Guards marked the occasion of the 244th anniversary of the forming of the United States Marine Corps at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch was the guest of honour and the guest speaker was Retired Colonel Brian Chin. Ambassador Lynch hailed the Marine Security Guards for their dedication to protecting US Embassies around the world and their role in ensuring the safe and secure conduct of US diplomacy. Currently, 182 US Embassies are guarded by US Marines. The Ambassador read a greeting from…