The businessman was abducted three Sundays ago while he was on his way to Manaus. Reports are that men, dressed in Brazilian police uniform, kidnapped the 49-year-old hotel and supermarket owner and President of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).

18-YEAR-OLD KNIFED TO DEATH - An 18-year-old mother of two was last night murdered in a yard in Public Road, Kitty. Her body, covered in blood, was left lying on a concrete strip in an open passage way.

Shevonne Archer, formally of Liliendaal, was brutally knifed to death at about 19:00 hrs by a man, who relatives say is the father of her children. The young woman reportedly received about five wounds, including a gaping one across the neck.

FIGHT BETWEEN BROTHERS ENDS IN DEATH - An altercation between two brothers yesterday morning resulted in one of them being shot dead.

Oswald Paul, 49, of 39 Princess Street in Georgetown was shot dead sometime between 09:30 hrs and 10:00 hours, allegedly by his 43-year-old brother, also of the same address during a heated argument between the two men. The Police have since held Everton Joseph for questioning into the incident.

GUYANA’S DAY IS COMING - United States Ambassador, Mr. Ronald Godard says a legal framework the Government is putting in place will encourage investment and rapid economic growth in Guyana “when things pick up” on the world scale.

In a speech to mark his country’s 227th Independence Anniversary on Friday night, Godard referred to the new investment code and small business act, transparent procurement legislation and tax reform, which are part of the legal framework.

MONDAY
MAN GETS 18 MONTHS FOR KILLING STEPDAUGHTER - A hitherto unblemished record and an excellent Probation report saved stepdaughter killer, Lawrence Modeste, 47, of Kamuni Creek, West Bank Demerara from a long prison term.

After taking all the circumstances into consideration, trial Judge Mr. Justice Winston Moore, on July 04, 2003 sentenced the accused to 18 months’ imprisonment.

SAMANTHA BRIDGELALL IS LINDEN TOWN DAY QUEEN 2003 - Winsome 19-year-old Critchlow Labour College, Linden Branch student, Samantha Bridgelall was Saturday night crowned the Linden Town Day Pageant Queen, beating six other delegates at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground.

The pageant was easily one of the best in the eight years since the Linden Town Day began in 1996.

POLICE DUB PNC/R STATEMENT ON CANU/POLICE OPERATION `IRRESPONSIBLE’ - The Guyana Police Force has deemed as “irresponsible” a statement by the People’s National Congress Reform at its recent press briefing pertaining to a CANU operation on the WBD and subsequent Police involvement.

Among its claims at last Thursday press briefing, the PNCR contended that the Minister of Home Affairs and high ranking Police officials had ordered the release of a man held during the West Dem operations and that firearms and a passport placed in custody had been returned with an apology to the holders.

HEADS MEETING TO DISCUSS GOVERNANCE - MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica - Four Prime Ministers of the Caribbean Community are scheduled to meet in Barbados to discuss new approaches to governance that could include exploration of a new political union.

The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning, said in Montego Bay Thursday that the proposed meeting, to be hosted by Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados, will also include Prime Ministers Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Keith Mitchell of Grenada.

TUESDAY
CANE CUTTER ALLEGEDLY KILLS STEPSON, WOUNDS WIFE - Residents of La Grange on the West Bank of Demerara are still reeling from shock after a man allegedly chopped his stepson to death, wounded his reputed wife and calmly waited for the arrival of the Police to surrender.

Fredrick Hinds, reportedly killed 23-year-old Gavin Adams and wounded his reputed wife Lilowtie Adams in their single flat concrete home on Sunday at about 21:30 hrs.

ANOTHER FATAL ACCIDENT PLUNGES FAMILY INTO MOURNING - A fatal accident plunged yet another family into mourning Sunday afternoon when a man was killed on the spot in La Grange on the West Bank of Demerara (W.B.D). He reportedly was struck by a speeding car.

Thirty-five year old, Hamza Conrad Hunte from Nimes, WBD, was standing at the side of his car, while a mechanic was in front attending to the engine when the accident occurred.

LEONORA TOPS SSEE TWO YEARS IN A ROW - Leonora Primary School, West Coast Demerara, the school that topped the nation’s list at the sitting at the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (SSEE) last year, is again among the nation’s top performing schools this year.

And this time, Leonora’s little miss Keren Dolphin who emerged the nation’s second best performance candidate at the examination written last April, fell just one mark short of tying with the national overall winner - Miss Catherina Gonsalves of St. Margaret’s Primary School.

WEDNESDAY
FOUR INJURED IN OGLE ACCIDENT - Four persons were injured yesterday in a mid-morning accident involving a car and a minibus at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.

Injured are George Grey, 26, of Lot 146 South Sophia, Georgetown, Laurista Oudkerk, 45, of Lancaster, Mahaica, an elderly man who was treated and sent away while the female passenger was still in surgery when this newspaper visited yesterday.

COAST GUARD NABS 3 VENEZ TRAWLERS IN GUYANA’S EEZ - Operation `Seagull’ a joint Coast Guard/Air Corps patrol comprising of the GDFS Essequibo and two motor lifeboats under Commander Floyd Levi netted three Venezuelan registered fishing vessels allegedly fishing in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) last Sunday.

The vessels were among seven sighted with their nets in the water by the Coast Guard Patrol. The others “steamed away”, the Army said in a release yesterday.

VERBAL CONFRONTATION SPARKED DEADLY ATTACK - Lilowtie Adams who sustained multiple chop wounds about her body and witnessed the chopping to death of her 23-year-old son in her La Grange, West Bank Demerara home, on Sunday night said the attack was sudden and unexpected.

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle from her City hospital bed, the woman related that her son, Gavin Adams, did not have a chance to defend himself during the attack, which was swift sudden and deadly.

THURSDAY
STEADY PROGRESS IN COMMUNIQUE IMPLEMENTATION - There has been steady progress in the implementation of agreements contained in the communiqué signed between President Bharrat Jagdeo and Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Robert Corbin.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon at his weekly news conference said that the implementation of the agreements continues to be the focus of Government and Opposition political engagements.

SPANISH INVESTORS HERE FOR OIL EXPLORATION TALKS - A delegation of Spanish investors is in Guyana for talks with local officials on off shore exploration.

The investors are from the Spanish oil company REPSOL. The delegation met with President Bharrat Jagdeo at State House yesterday.

BANKS TO OFFER LOWER INTEREST TO HOME BUILDERS - The housing sector has received a boost with the approval by Cabinet for an increase in the threshold for concessionary housing loans.

At his weekly news conference yesterday, Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon reported that Cabinet considered a recommendation from its sub-committee on finance in relation to loans for housing purposes and approved an increase in the threshold from $1.5M to $2M.

FRIDAY
PARLIAMENT OK’S WIDER PSC UNION INVOLVEMENT - A motion calling for the inclusion of two other trade unions, apart from the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), in the consultation process to arrive at the two nominees to sit on the Public Service Commission (PSC) was approved in the National Assembly with the main opposition party the People’s National Congress (PNC/R) voting against it.

The motion was brought before the National Assembly because the Appointive Committee could not arrive at a consensus on the inclusion of the Public Service Senior Staff Association (PSSA) and the Federation of Unions of Government Employees (FUGE) in the consultation process to identify the two nominees to sit on the PSC along with its Chairman who is appointed by the President after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.

PNC/R DISSATISFIED WITH LINMINE HANDING OVER - The main opposition party, the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R), says it is dissatisfied with the way in which the Government has handled the handing over of LINMINE to Cambior.

PNC/R Central Executive Committee Member Dr. Deryck Bernard said yesterday, during the party’s press conference at Congress Place, Sophia, that the party is not aware that Cambior has issued any guarantees to the Government that it will make good any commitment within a defined time frame.

POLICE BEING TRAINED TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, CHILD ABUSE - Fifteen Sub Divisional Officers and Inspectors of the Guyana Police Force will benefit from a two-day training seminar that began yesterday at the Felix Austin Police College, Eve Leary.

The seminar is geared to minimise alleged inappropriate police responses to report Domestic Violence and Child Abuse.

FAMILY IN DOUBT FOLLOWING AUTOPSY - The family of abducted Lethem businessman Mohammed Khan has raised fresh doubts about his death after an autopsy of the body of a man found in Brazil indicated that it wasn’t that of the Guyanese entrepreneur.

Jeff Ware, the treasurer of the Rupununi Chambers of Commerce, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that Khan’s wife, Linda Khan, of Savannah Inn, Lethem, wishes to advice all of Khan’s relatives, friends and business associates that the Brazilian police are still continuing investigations into his disappearance.

SATURDAY
HUSBAND CHARGED WITH WIFE’S KILLING - The husband of the 18-year-old mother of two found murdered in a Georgetown passageway last weekend has been charged with her murder.

Neil Archer, of Lot 57 Ramhit Road (formerly Public Road), Kitty, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen yesterday and was remanded to prison.

WORKS BEGIN ON US$22M NATIONAL BRIDGE PROJECT - Preparatory works are proceeding on a US$22M project to build 27 bridges from West Berbice to Timehri, and the contractor is confident about starting production this month.

“We are quite sure we will start production in July,” Project Manager, Mr. Uwe Greisbach said yesterday at the Onverwagt, West Berbice site where prefab material is being manufactured.

HIV/AIDS FIGHT TO GET US$3M BY YEAREND - Guyana is expected to receive up to US$3 million from the United States before yearend to help Government finance a number of programmes geared to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.

The money is to come from US$50 million that the US Government has released as part of a multi-year US$15 billion plan to combat the deadly disease in African and Caribbean countries.