Monday 27
Education Minister commends Berbice teachers for rising to the occasion
HUNDREDS of Guyanese residing in Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) came out to receive their ‘Because We Care’ grant as the Education Ministry undertook a hectic distribution calendar at numerous locations where an estimated $19M was distributed.  President Donald Ramotar emphasised that the programme was launched so that the government can assist parents in sending their children to school regularly. He reminded parents that providing money is only one way of assisting their children to achieve a good education, and advised that finding the time to sit with them when they are doing their homework or getting involved with the school and following their progress are other important ways of assisting.

‘Jane Doe’ killed attempting to cross road at Happy Acres
AN unidentified woman became the latest road fatality when she was struck down while attempting to cross the public road at Happy Acres, East Coast Demerara. Police reported that the unidentified woman of Amerindian descent allegedly attempted to cross the roadway and was struck down by a motor vehicle. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. The driver of the motor vehicle is in police custody.

Fallen tree during Issano thunderstorm leaves one dead, three injured
ONE man is dead and three are injured after a tree fell on a mining camp at 11 Miles Issano during a thunderstorm. The name of the dead man was only given as ‘Rosco.’ Those injured and hospitalised at the Guyana Public Hospital Corporation are Ralph Stephens, 60; Sonnel Persaud and a male Amerindian whose name could not be ascertained. Stephens recalled that they were all in camp and it was raining heavily with lightning and claps of thunder when a tree fell on the camp. They had no transportation, some of the men were forced to get out of the camp and brave the trail on foot, walking a distance of three miles through rough terrain to 14 Miles Landing. They were eventually picked up at the Ogle International Airport and transported to the GPHC by ambulance.

Dilma Rousseff re-elected Brazilian President
DILMA Rousseff has been re-elected President of Brazil, after securing more than 51% of votes in the closest election race in many years. An official count showed her rival, centrist candidate Aecio Neves, taking just over 48% of the vote. In her victory speech, Ms Rousseff said she wanted to be “a much better president than I have been until now.” She faced protests last year against corruption, record spending on the football World Cup, and poor services. Ms Rousseff, who has been in power since 2010, is popular with poor Brazilians, thanks to her government’s welfare programmes. She also thanked her supporters, especially her political mentor and predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart, our Number One militant, President Lula.”

Tuesday 28
Gov’t condemns Kaieteur News
THE Government of Guyana condemns in the strongest possible language the despicable act of a national newspaper to distort and manipulate a private conversation of a Government Minister whose conversation was illegally recorded, and distorted and broadcast. The Government of Guyana cherishes freedom of the press, but when private media operatives use the power of the mass media to manipulate public opinion, the nation suffers from the negativity. The public listened to a voice recording and was shocked at what the nation heard. Broadcast on social media, the recording contains a distorted, manipulated conversation between a Minister and Leonard Gildarie, a reporter from the Kaieteur News. Fortunately, the Government’s priorities will continue to be the further development of Guyana and the people. The Government will not be distracted from this agenda by Kaieteur News or anyone else.

Speaker proposes November 6 as date for house sitting
SPEAKER of the National Assembly Trotman, has proposed November 6, 2014 as the date for the next sitting of the House. This disclosure was made in a letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Sherlock Isaacs, which was copied to the House’s Chief Whips – A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Amna Ally and Government’s Gail Teixeira. A similar letter has also been sent to other relevant officials. House Speaker, Raphael Trotman is of the firm belief that at the last sitting of the House on July 10, the fact that the House was adjourned to meet on a “date to be fixed” was an erroneous move. He has, however, accepted responsibility for this error.

Dr Norton claims 95% of GPHC staffers don’t know to properly wash their hands
CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Michael Khan has responded to claims by Shadow Minister of Health and APNU Member of Parliament that 95 per cent of the staff members at the hospital do not know how to properly wash their hands. According to the APNU Parliamentarian, this situation poses a serious problem at Guyana’s premier public health institution. But Khan noted that he was not aware that a survey was conducted to investigate the issue raised by Norton. He is calling for the survey to be brought to him directly.

Wednesday 29
Glenn Lall, Adam Harris, KNews sued by AG for over $30M
A LAWSUIT of over $30M has been levelled against the publisher of Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall; the Editor of the newspaper Mr. Adam Harris; and the National Media and Publishing Company Ltd. Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, through his legal representative Sase Gunraj, moved to the courts to file a Writ of Summons and the Statement of Claim. The lawsuit follows Monday’s public disclosure of an illegally recorded 19-minuute private conversation that allegedly occurred last Saturday October 25, between the AG and a senior reporter at the Kaieteur News.

E/bo farmer ploughing field stung by ‘killer bees’
RICE farmer Goberdhan Polastray of WestBury, Essequibo Coast had to abandon his tractor in a rice field at D9 Better Success backdam and run for his life after hundreds of angry African bees swooped down on him. The farmer and his nephew, “Coney”, were reportedly ploughing and levelling their ten-acre rice field with a tractor when the swarm of angry bees swooped down on them and began stinging. He said he was severely stung on his head, face, neck and arms, and quickly stopped the tractor and ran for his life, with hundreds of bees in hot pursuit. The farmer said the bees would not abandon the chase although he fell down several times in the muddy rice field. He said he escaped after he reached the bank of the field and took cover under some huge mango trees. The farmer said his nephew had run to another bank of the field and so escaped the killer bees. The farmer said he had sustained numerous stings in similar fashion several years ago while ploughing the same rice field.

Veteran politician cum academician, Navin Chandarpal, passes away
AFTER a long fight with stomach cancer, veteran politician and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) stalwart, Navin Chandarpal, 63, passed away at his East Coast Demerara home. The PPP, in a statement said: “…The PPP wishes to express its deepest condolences to his wife, Comrade Indra; his two children, Geeta and Robin; and relatives, friends and the entire Party membership on his passing. This is indeed a great loss to the party, but his sterling contributions; his dedication, commitment and loyalty to the party will no doubt serve to inspire others in the struggle for a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Guyana.”

PPP alleges security breach at GECOM
THE ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has alleged that it is in possession of information to the effect that a security breach has been committed at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
That party’s General Secretary, Mr. Clement Rohee said: “The PPP has been reliably informed that 25 cartons of the indelible electoral ink and dozens of black tanks have gone missing or unaccounted for within GECOM.” According to him, even more alarming is GECOM’s apparent effort to keep the security breach under wraps. “The PPP calls on the Chairman to provide to the parties and the public the full details of these breaches of security, as well as assurances that appropriate action(s) will be taken against person(s) found to be negligent.”

Thursday 30

Clerk refuses Speaker’s request for November 6 House sitting
THE Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs has refused the request from the House Speaker Raphael Trotman to call a sitting of the Assembly on November 6. “I was formally notified by the Clerk of the National Assembly that after consideration, my request for the National Assembly to be convened on Thursday November 6, 2014, cannot be given effect to by him because he is of the view that the Speaker lacks the authority to convene sittings of [the] National Assembly under Standing Order 8 (1) and (2),” the Speaker said. “This is a most unfortunate position arrived at, and obviously arises out of a very narrow interpretation of the Standing Orders, and of the prevailing circumstances whereby the National Assembly entered into recess and has emerged from that recess, and a majority of members desire to meet.”

Toronto Chapter of St. Joseph High refurbishes playfield
THANKS to the Toronto Chapter of the St. Joseph High School, the students now have a newly-refurbished playground to engage in a variety of physical disciplines. St. Joseph High School officially cut the ribbon to declare the reopening of their ground after a rehabilitation project that lasted four years. Students assembled on the ground to witness the cutting of the ribbon ceremony.
Present at the ceremony were President of the Board of Directors of St. Joseph High, Wazim Khan, officials from the Ministry of Education, members of the Canadian Chapter and teachers and students of the school.

Home Affairs launches Strategic Plan programme
THE Ministry of Home Affairs has launched its Strategic Plan Seminar Programme with a one-day session at the Ministry’s boardroom, Brickdam, Georgetown, in an effort to implement the strategic plan 2014-2019. Programme Manager, Donna Todd in opening remarks said employees were selected to be a part of the Strategic Management Department (SMD) to assist the ministry in realising the seven goals identified in the Strategic Plan. She added that the Ministry’s commitment in changing its culture and the way we expect to do business with our stakeholders will be seen in the forthcoming years as they take steps to ensure that the strategic plan is implemented swiftly and applied effectively. Todd stated that the group was selected within the ministry to implement the strategic plan.

Friday 31
Opposition Parties a no-show as…President continues Ebola talks with stakeholders
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar met with representatives of sectors including, diplomats, security, aviation, medical, private sector, umbrella religious groups, non-governmental organisations, trade union bodies, and civil society to discuss Guyana’s preparedness for any possible Ebola outbreak. Despite invitations, representatives of parliamentary Opposition political parties failed to attend. Invitations attracted over 100 stakeholders. About 5,000 people have already died from the disease, with thousands of other cases being reported according to the WHO.