On Thursday, representatives from the U.S. Embassy will hand over to the Ministry of Health the keys to a new National Public Health Institute (NPHI). The 1500 square metre structure, located in the compound of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation at Thomas and New Market Streets, will house two components: the National Public Health Reference Laboratory, and the Comprehensive Care and Treatment Center (formerly known as the GUM clinic).  The facility was built at a cost of US$4.4 million.

Representatives of the U.S. Embassy participating in the ceremony will include Chargé d’Affaires  Karen L. Williams and Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, Chief of Party in Guyana for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was the executing agency for this project.  The Ministry of Health will be represented by the Honorable Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.

The NPHI was constructed with funding from the U.S. Government under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and was built to bridge the gap between routine clinical laboratory testing and specialized reference testing. Read the full story

Government’s effort to provide universal education to students throughout Guyana is proving fruitful as the 2008 National Grade Six Assessment results have shown that students in at least six regions have scored in the top 108.
Minister of Education Shaik Baksh said that he is pleased with the results of the regions as they show that, “our policy of providing an equitable standard of education is working. We have put much more resources into the schools in the regions and we have been providing them with lots of resources such as text books and we will try and ensure that more trained teachers move into those regions.”
Minister Baksh noted that there will be concentrated efforts on the hinterland regions of 1, 7, 8, and 9 to increase student performance as these regions have not scored in the top 108.
One hundred and forty seven students from schools in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 are eligible for entry into President’s College.
Guyana has already achieved universal primary education and is working aggressively to attain universal secondary education. Read the full story

President Bharrat Jagdeo today reiterated that Guyana will not sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) until there has been completion of a full national consultation.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 29th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda the President said the European Union (EU) continues to seek to impose tariffs on the country’s exports.
The Head of State noted that the EU is aware that Guyana’s exports into Europe cannot withstand tariffs and is using this as a threat. He said Guyana will sign the EPA after consultations, or “pragmatically earlier if the European Commission continues with its bully boy tactics of seeking to impose tariffs on our exports.”
He said, “I feel we should do only what is necessary to make us World Trade Organisation (WTO) compatible as agreed to in the COTONOU agreement and we should forge greater solidarity with those countries who are initialed partial EPS and those who have not initialed anything so far,” the Head of State said.
The President had long before expressed his dissatisfaction with the agreement and the short time frame which the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries were given to sign the agreement. Read the full story

More Amerindian children are assessing free educational opportunities provided by the Government and this has resulted in some schools outgrowing their population.
The nursery and primary schools in Moraikobai, an Amerindian community in Region Five, can no longer comfortably house their children and as such rehabilitation and extension works are scheduled to begin shortly.
Regional Executive Officer of Region Five, Floyd France said that the extension of the buildings and the furnishings will be completed before the new school term begins in September which will allow more students to attend school.
Moraikobai is the lone Amerindian community of Region Five and one of the more developed Amerindian communities as it benefits from education, health care, electricity, potable water and telephone services.
This is due to the many initiatives the Government has taken to raise the living standard of Amerindians countrywide and to integrate them into every aspect of society.
France said that education and health are two areas that have vastly improved in the community and he is happy that Moraikobai has recorded this significant achievement Read the full story

Angelina Jolie has checked into a hospital in the South of France in anticipation of giving birth to twins, the Associated Press reports. “There’s no urgency,” hospital representative Nadine Bauer tells the AP. “[Jolie's admittance has] been planned for a long time.”Bauer added, “She’s very well. Everything is fine.” Read the full story

A Palestinian man plowed an enormous construction vehicle into cars, buses and pedestrians on a busy street Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding at least 45 before he was shot dead by an off-duty soldier.
Traffic was halted and hundreds of people fled in panic through the streets in the heart of downtown Jerusalem as medics treated the wounded. Read the full story

The long awaited Amaila Falls hydropower station located in the vicinity of the Kuribrong River, a tributary of the Potaro River, will soon become a reality as Government turns its attention to alternative sources of energy.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who is also the Minister responsible for energy said the capital figure for the construction process should be available by September this year and it is hoped that by year-end the ground breaking at the new site would take place signalling the start of the construction phase.
He made this disclosure while addressing members of the National Assembly during the Motion on global food prices increases moved by Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud on Friday last.
Only recently, Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo has committed to building a hydropower station costing about US$450M before he demits office in 2010. The President is of the view that hydropower is the answer to the fuel crisis.
Mr. Hinds in his presentation disclosed that bids for PVC transmission lines and all the necessary equipment needed to facilitate the construction of the station have been extended.
This process he added would enable government to negotiate the price at which electricity would be made available once the station becomes operable.
A well known financing company has been working to develop the Amaila site which has the capacity to provide about 140 megawatts of electricity.
To harness the potential of the vast cascading waterways in Guyana, Government is also considering the Turtruba hydro project in the Mazaruni, River, Region Seven. The site was identified through a feasibility study in 2002 as one with immense potential to supply power to the Caribbean region.
The Turtruba hydropower project has the potential of producing more than 11,000 megawatts of power.
The hydropower technology will allow isolated power sources to be transmitted to Brazil and parts of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica could be beneficiaries of the power supply. Read the full story

The capacity of the Ministry of Health to deliver quality emergency health care continues to be strengthened with the purchase of six ambulances by Government.
The ambulances, which cost almost $34 M, will be attached to new health institutions including the Diamond East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital and the Leonora, Mahaicony and Suddie Diagnostic and Treatment Centres.
Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran said the purchase of the ambulances is in fulfillment of President Jagdeo’s mandate of providing emergency services at these and other facilities.
The vehicles are equipped with basic equipment such as a mobile stretcher, equipment to secure patients, and a hand held military field stretcher. Minister Ramsaran said the Ministry is in possession of other equipment necessary for the functioning of ambulances such as oxygen cylinders, monitors and gauges. He said the purchase of the ambulances is part of the embryonic outline of the ambulance authority that the Ministry of Health is Read the full story

Michael Phelps just missed setting another world record at the U.S. Olympic trials. Natalie Coughlin and Aaron Peirsol showed him how to do it. Racing about 10 minutes apart, Coughlin and Peirsol broke their own marks in the 100-meter backstroke Tuesday on another lightning-quick night at a temporary pool in America’s heartland. Their records were the Read the full story

The Tampa Bay Rays are taking a business-as-usual approach to their position atop the AL East. Matt Garza pitched seven strong innings in his first outing since throwing a one-hitter, and the Rays beat Boston and nemesis Tim Wakefield 3-1 on Tuesday night to extend their lead in the division to a season-best 2½ games over the second-place Red Sox. Read the full story