A man charged with the burning down of the Ministry of Health seven years ago was caught Monday after he returned from neighbouring Venezuela where he had been hiding, police said. Head of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Guyana Police Force, Senior Superintendent Wendell Blanhum told Demerara Waves Online News that Keith “General” Ferrier was caught by ranks of the ...

The time-frame for the Commission of Inquiry into the recent prison riot that claimed the lives of 17 inmates and left several others injured would now be given one month to complete its work instead of the initial two weeks that had been envisaged, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said Monday. The three Commissioners, who will serve on the Commission ...

Women are the undisputed bedrock and nurturers of our society. The resilience and fortitude of women are the foundation for the forward thrust of our country. It is women who are the quiet engineers of change and social advancement. Under the theme “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”, the United Nations, today, calls on all to ...

As a boy growing up in post-war Korea, I remember asking about a tradition I observed: women going into labour would leave their shoes at the threshold and then look back in fear. “They are wondering if they will ever step into those shoes again,” my mother explained. More than a half-century later, the memory continues to haunt me. In ...

While women’s rights remain the most urgent human rights priority, they remain  subordinated to broader gender concerns as reflected, not least, in the UN International Women’s Day 2016 theme of “Planet 50-50 by 2030 – step It Up For Gender Equality” – a complacent time-frame seemingly unperturbed  by the untold numbers of murdered and disfigured females that can be expected ...

This year’s celebration of International Women’s Day is the first within the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are confidently asserted in that Agenda as intrinsic to progress. The new Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals include a specific goal to achieve gender equality, which aims to end discrimination and violence against women ...

For millions of women and girls around the world, gender equality and the full enjoyment of human rights remain elusive. For instance, nearly 14 million children are forced into marriage every year; that is 37,000 girls being denied their fundamental human rights every single day!Every day, 7.3 million babies in developing countries are born to mothers who are 17 or ...

As we near local government elections on March 18th and Guyana’s 50th anniversary of independence on May 26th, this year’s International Women’s Day takes on added significance.   The contributions of women to Guyana’s rich history are too many to list. The influence of leaders like former President Janet Jagan, former Public Service Minister Dr. Faith Harding, and former Member of ...

A Surinamese woman, who attempted to smuggle cocaine from Guyana to Barbados, was Monday jailed for three years. Damario Cheslie was found guilty for being in possession of 526 grammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. She was found guilty of the offence that was committed on May 17, 2015 at the Ogle International Airport, East Coast Demerara. At ...

A young man who, allegedly stabbed his 18-year old girlfriend 41 times almost one year ago, was Monday arraigned for murder. Appearing before East Coast Demerara Magistrate, Zameena Ally-Seepaul, the accused – Shivanand “Shiv” Roopnarine- was not required to plea to the indictable charge that he murdered Alicia Mc Pherson on April 19, 2015 at 612 ‘C’ Field, Sophia. The 22-year ...