Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 06-12-2022

President Ali arrives in Barbados for CARICOM-Cuba Summit

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has arrived in Bar bados for a meeting of the Regional Security Service (RSS), and the eighth CARICOM-Cuba Summit to be held today at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

Upon arrival at the Grantley Adams Inter national Airport, Presi dent Ali and his high-lev el team had a brief en gagement with the Prime Minister of Belize John Briceño.

This December also marks the 50th Anniver sary of the establishment of diplomatic relations

between CARICOM and Cuba.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd; Guyana’s Ambassador to CARICOM George Tal bot; Director of National Intelligence and Security Administration Col. Omar Khan; Head of the Cus toms Anti-Narcotic Unit, James Singh; and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum are also part of the dele gation in Barbados.

Prime Minister Brig adier (Ret’d) Mark Phil lips has been sworn in to carry out the functions of President.

Regions Three, Four, Six to be sub-divided for elections

— with passage of much-needed ROPA amendments in the National Assembly

By Shamar Meusa

THE Representation of the People Act (ROPA) (Amendment) Bill of 2022 was early Tuesday morn ing passed in the Nation al Assembly, paving the way for electoral districts Three, Four and Six to be divided for the purpose of the tabulation of votes.

The 63-page Bill, which was first read in the Nation al Assembly in November 2022 following extensive consultation, was described as a much-needed amend ment to the legislation by Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall, S.C.

During the second read ing and debates, which be gan on Monday evening and went on to Tuesday morn ing, the Attorney- General stated that the amendments are wide-ranging and cover from top to bottom of the initial ROPA.

Nandlall said that the first component of the Bill deals with various sec tions of the Election Laws Amendment Act (ELA), and places them at convenient places within the ROPA.

He said that there are a series of provisions that are now being inserted into this Bill that were found within the ELA of 2000, even as similar provisions from the National Registration Act (NRA) necessary to ROPA were also added to the Bill.

While he mentioned that the ROPA is nearly 100 years old, he added that due to the passage of time, the Act would have required a review in any case. How ever, the 2020 General and Regional Elections brought to light the way in which the legislation, in that form, could have been subjected to abuse.

Among the significant amendments under the ROPA is the division of electoral districts Three, Four and Six into sub- dis tricts to better tabulate the votes being cast.

Initially, the first recom mendation was for District Four to be divided into these sub- districts, as this region was the subject of is sues highlighted during the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

When proposals for the amendments were put

forward, the Opposition rebelled against this recom mendation, as it believed that the adjustment would cause interference in an area that is widely considered their “stronghold”.

As such, in a bid to demonstrate the govern ment’s commitment to a transparent process, a de cision was made to include two electoral districts, these being Three and Six, by using the rationale of the voting population.

Specifically, Section 6A of the amended ROPA states that Electoral District No. 3 will be divided into three sub-districts, while District No. 4 will be divided into four sub- districts, and Dis trict No. 6 into three.

These sub-districts will have a Supernumerary Re turning Officer, who will perform the duties of what

used to be the functions of the returning officer for the entire district.

As such, ballots and Statements of Poll, along with ballot boxes will go to a centre presided over by this Supernumerary Offi cer, who will now conduct the tabulation which would have been tabulated by a Returning Officer using the same guidelines.

This, in turn, means that instead of having one large tabulation exercise for the district, there will now be three exercises for Districts Three and Six, and four for District Four.

CONSULTATION PROCESS

Adding to the debate, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira stated that several organisations,

including the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), had submitted comments and recommen dations for the amendments to the ROPA.

During this time, the Opposition, according to Minister Teixeira, chose to abdicate their responsibility to their constituency by not making significant recom mendations to this Act.

With that, she stated that it appears that the Op position has no appetite for electoral reform or constitu tional reform.

“This is the agenda of the Opposition; to be ob structionist and to try to ‘mamaguy’ the Guyanese people; to talk about bloat ed list and dead people vot ing,” Minister Teixeira said.

Standing in support of the Bill during the second reading was Minister of Public Service Sonia Parag, who also praised the exten sive consultative process prior to bringing the Bill to the House.

While opposition mem bers Amanza Walton-Desir, Khemraj Ramjattan and Roysdale Forde told the House that they would like to see the Bill taken to a Select committee for fur ther consideration, Minister Parag told the National As sembly that the Opposition has shown no interest in participating in consulta tions on amendments to the Bill that have been held for

the almost one-year period that it was out in the public.

In her address during the national stakeholder fo rum, which was held in late October this year as part of the consultation on the draft legislation, Parag noted that the Opposition also did not utilise that opportunity to make contributions.

“Their response to the Attorney-General’s presen tation… they said nothing; they just walked out, while other stakeholders came and made their contribu tions, in addition to the con tributions that were made Online,” she said.

The minister added that the Opposition should not come to the National As sembly and pretend as if the Bill and its amendments are now being publicised.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Lennox Shuman, in his address to the House, stated that the Bill is not one that restricts GECOM from being innovative in how they conduct the polls, that rather it opens the door for the Commission to ex plore those possibilities.

“This Bill does exactly what it needs to do to en sure that what transpired in 2020 never happens again,” Shuman said.

Minister of Agricul ture Zulfikar Mustapha and Member of Parlia ment Sanjeev Datadin both rose in support of the Bill.

On arrival at the Grantley Adams International Airport on Monday ahead of the CARICOM-Cuba Summit and RSS meeting, President Dr. Irfaan Ali and his high-level team had a brief engagement with the Prime Minister of Belize, John Briceño (Office of the President photo)

Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney- General Anil Nandlall, S.C.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira

Minister of Public Service Sonia Parag

Development continues

–– House clears $47B for transport infrastructure, security, support to electricity companies, other initiatives

By Tamica Garnett

THE National Assembly on Monday cleared $2.9 billion in provisions from the Contingency Fund, and $44.4 billion in supplementary finance to further ad vance development in various economic sectors.

The two financial papers were first presented on November 30 by Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh. On Monday, they were meticu lously scrutinised and debated, with the opposition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) posing a number of questions before the motion was passed.

The Contingency advances, Financial Paper Two of 2022, which covered the period August 15-November 29, 2022, included clearing $1.7 billion in additional resources to support the Linden Electricity Company Inc. (LECI), and $54 million for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs for the provision of additional resources for the hosting of the National Toshao’s Council (NTC) Conference and Amerindian Her itage Month.

It also included $360 million for the Ministry of Natural Resources for the payment of an issuance fee for forest car bon credits, and $50.5 million for a DNA analysis workflow system for the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory.

It was only on Friday last that Guyana became the first country in the world to be issued with carbon credits for forest protection when ART (the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions) issued the world’s first TREES credits to Guyana.

It marked a historic milestone for the country, making it the first time a country has been issued carbon credits specifically

designed for the voluntary and compliance carbon markets for successfully prevent ing forest loss and degradation, a process known as jurisdictional REDD+.

Also related to the Contingency Fund was a $740 million expenditure to cover urgent drainage works, including the re habilitation of drainage channels, access bridges, revetments and dams, along with the installation of stainless steel sluice doors.

Section 220 of the Constitution and Section 41 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA) gives the Minister of Finance the “sole authority” to release money from the Contingency Fund, which sum should not be larger than two per cent of the annual budget from the last fiscal year.

The supplementary budget request, Financial Paper Three of 2022, included another $6.6 billion to provide addition al resources for electricity arrears to the Guyana Power & Light (GPL), $1 billion for operational expenses at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), and $18 billion for the upgrading of roads and bridges.

FUEL PRICES

The $6.6 billion for GPL represents funding from the government to absorb the impact of increased fuel prices on GPL’s operations.

In addition to the $6.6 billion for GPL, a total of $1.393 billion in current expenditure, and $85.8 million in capital expenditure was requested by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) for the Power Utility Upgrade Programme (PUUP), and additional resources to support several electricity companies across the country.

Provisions for electricity include

$927.527 million for Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice); $110.707 million for Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); $106.016 million for Mabaruma, Region One (Bari ma-Waini); $103.238 million for Kwak wani, Region 10; $76.809 million for Port Kaituma, Region One; $49.020 million for Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); and $20 million for Matthew’s Ridge, Region One.

Provision to the PUUP includes addi tional inflows under the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)’s loan operation to facilitate project closure.

The largest component of the provision was allocated to the Ministry of Public Works, which requested $630.4 million for current expenditure, and $28.45 billion for capital expenditure.

Aside from the $18 billion for the roads and drains in communities, there is $2 billion to advance works to support road linkages; $7 billion for the recon struction of roads from Sheriff Street to the railway embankment; and $938.22 million to facilitate civil works on the Linden to Mabura Road Project.

Due to the expanded work programme of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and other security agencies, the Ministry of Home Affairs secured $2.7 billion to ad vance works.

The ministry’s allocation also includes $226 million for drugs, medical supplies and other resources to cater for Guyana’s increased prison population.

For the provision of additional resourc es to offset expenses for the expanded work programme of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), $11.755 million was approved for the agency.

Due to the growing population at the

Night Shelter, the Hugo Chavez Shelter, and children’s homes, the Ministry of Hu man Services and Social Security secured an additional $53 million to meet dietary needs, and to provide additional resources for an increase in security charges.

To complete water supply interven tions in the hinterland areas, and procure a new drilling rig, the Ministry of Housing and Water secured $275.98 million.

In terms of provisions for the re gions, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) was allocated $53 million to cater for increased security charges, and Region Seven and Region Nine secured $99.8 million and $53 million, respectively, to cater for additional resources to meet the needs of the student dorms, due to an increase in enrolment in both regions.

By Trina Williams

NEWLY-elected President of the Univer sity of Guyana Student’s Society (UGSS), Shaquawn Gill has crafted a plan of ac tion which includes the resuscitation of extra-curricular activities and student exchange programmes with regional uni versities.

Gill, who was among three persons vying for the post, recently told the Guyana Chron icle that his mission is to ensure the university produces well-rounded students.

“The main intention and motivation are to ensure that we have the well-rounded students that we should have, and we should be placing into society,” the 20-year-old said.

The young man has taken on the responsi bility of tackling the troubling issues affecting students, while completing his Bachelor of Communication Studies degree.

During the interview with this publication, Gill discussed his plans to better the lives of UG students.

He is all about servant leadership, which was his main slogan during his campaign run.

He said “committed to serve” is the mantra that he and his team want to live by.

Students want their voices to be heard, and have someone who puts their best interests first, and this is what Gill and his colleagues plan on doing. This servant leadership style will focus on the well-being of the entire student population.

Gill has no plans to follow the traditional leadership, which generally involves the hoarding and exercise of power by the one at the “top of the pyramid”.

He explained that he has taken note of

the manner in which the COVID-19 pan demic disrupted many of the university’s activities. However, he believes that the world is currently at a stage where there

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh

New UGSS President Shaquawn Gill (UGSS photo)

New UGSS President promises better ...

is some return to normalcy.

He hopes to capitalise on this and revive some of the things that were put of pause as a result of the pandemic, and at the same time introduce students to new things.

PLAN OF ACTION

The UGSS president has created a plan of action, and he is confident that it has tremendous benefits for all students.

First on his list is the resuscitation of the extra-curricular activities, which were abandoned because of the pandemic.

According to him, there are numerous clubs on campus that have gone dormant, including the environmental club and the biology club.

He believes that these clubs ought to be more active and involve a larger number of students.

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” is a proverb that means without time off from work, and he noted that this can make a person become both bored and boring.

Gill added that not much attention is placed on students’ mental health and how excessive studying without any outlet to relieve pent up stress can be detrimental.

It is for this reason that he believes extracurricular activi ties are essential for students. He explained that it will allow them to learn about themselves and their interests. Character development, academic achievement, social development, and community involvement are just some of the benefits of extracurricular activities, he said.

Moreover, Gill plans to conduct some investigation into the decline of UG student’s mental state, and what can be done to fix this issue.

He also said that UGSS is attempting to establish strong linkages with other Caribbean regional universities, such as the University of the West Indies.

From this, he hopes that students can take part in engage ments such as student exchanges, university competitions and exhibitions, where they can exhibit their skills, talents, and abilities. He said that students can also be introduced to different cultural events and programmes.

The student exchange programmes will provide students with an opportunity to study in a different country and envi ronment, while experiencing the rich history and culture of the host country.

While the new UGSS has not been formally installed, Gill is confident that this will occur by the end of the week, as he is eager to get started since there is much to be done.

Gill and the rest of the elected members have already convened, and have discussed student concerns, and how to put strategic plans into action.

He said that among the things on the to do list is the creation of an online platform or website so that students can access up-to-date information about what the society’s executive is doing for them.

The executive is also looking to implement a mechanism within that operating system, where students can file com plaints.

With that being said, Gill states that the approach to these concerns will be methodically. “I think it is time that a stra tegic approach is taken to the resolution of a lot of issues,” he said.

Gill said that the aforementioned system, will be called the Student Complaint Operating System (SCOS).

He acknowledged that he has heard some of the many complaints about the exorbitant fees and he pledged that the UGSS will find ways to address this concern.

Slower than usual decrease in rainfall predicted for Caribbean region

THE Barbados-based Ca ribbean Institute for Me teorology and Hydrology (CIMH) on Monday said that the first half of the Caribbean dry season is forecast to feature a slow er than usual decrease in rainfall, wet days and wet spells, but an increase in dry spells.

In its latest edition of its Caribbean Climate Outlook Newsletter for the period December to February next year, the CIMH said there is “the likelihood of excessive rainfall with resulting mod erate potential for flash floods and cascading hazards in the Antilles, especially the south ernmost islands and Belize in December.”

It added: “In contrast, drought concerns arise in Cuba and The Bahamas, which may end up even drier than usual. In the Guianas, the secondary wet season comes with a high likelihood of excessive rainfall, result ing in high flood potential, and rising water levels in soils, rivers and reservoirs

through February. No heat discomfort is expected in this season.”

The CIMH said that as of November, moderate or worse short-term drought has developed in much of Cuba, western Haiti, northwestern Martinique, St. Barts and in St. Vincent, while long-term drought has developed in An tigua, western Cuba, south western Hispaniola, south ern Jamaica, Martinique, St. Barts and St. Vincent.

The CIMH is predict ing that over the next three

months, there is high po tential for flooding, flash floods, landslides/ rockfall and soil erosion from very wet and extreme wet spells in the Guianas.

“Potential decreasing from moderate to high in December to mar ginal by February in the islands.

Slower depletion of large water reservoirs in the Greater and Lesser An tilles (and) slowly increas ing wildfire potential by the end of February.” (CMC)

A Guiding Principle

THE People’s Progres sive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has been im plementing strategies and policies that promote and support the development of every Guyanese, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, creed, political persuasion, or any other personal fea tures or preferences. This is done with inclusion as its guiding principle.

As has been shown throughout the previous two years, the Dr. Irfaan Aliled administration’s goal has been to fulfill both the short-term and long-term requirements of each person by creating an inclusive sys tem and agenda, all under the aegis of “One-Guyana”.

In contrast to the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) administra tion’s unsuccessful attempt to promote social cohesion in the local society, the PPP/ C’s efforts have gone beyond rhetoric, as evidenced by its investment in programmes like the education cash grant, the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) schol arship programme, and the creation of part-time jobs, among many other things that target the entire Guya nese populace and not just one segment of society.

In fact, according to President Ali, the main ob jectives of the “One-Guy ana” initiative are to increase

social equality, guarantee that everyone has the oppor tunity to lead fulfilling lives, and reduce inequalities in access to the legal system, employment opportunities, healthcare, and educational opportunities.

“One-Guyana vision, in this regard, aims to ensure that every citizen is accorded a dignified existence, and with due respect for their rights, and with equality before the law,” the Head of State had said.

The development that is taking place in front of us, and the government’s intentions are obviously very different from the portrayal and the lies that some social groups are spreading in an

effort to polarise the Guya nese society and destabilise the nation.

There are, however, many others who have ac knowledged that the gov ernment is working within the confines of a democrati cally-elected administration.

In so doing, the govern ment has, so far, restored the education cash grant and increased it to $30,000; increased old-age pension; disbursed billions of dollars in the form of various grants to cushion the economic conditions influenced by COVID-19 and other factors, and removed VAT on water, electricity and data, among other things.

Further, through its

GOAL initiative, some 6,000 Guyanese in 2021 undertook distance learning in 187 programmes being offered through eight universities. And, this year, over 9,000 persons had applied to be part of the programme that is open to all Guyanese.

The government has gone above and beyond to perform outreaches in vari ous communities, and meet Guyanese directly in order to determine what problems exist, and how they could be properly addressed, in the event that the existing programmes do not directly address the needs of citizens.

To date, the government has travelled to every region and held multiple discus

sions with residents in areas like Buxton and Linden, which are well-known AP NU+AFC strongholds.

President Ali has fre quently stated that his ad ministration takes a stake holder-engagement approach to decision-making; this would help the One-Guyana vision come to fruition.

“Together, we are going to embark on the journey of prosperity with all of you; the achievement of peace and prosperity; this is a golden opportunity to attain that objective. We will succeed and make proud all those whose struggles were important in achieving our indepen dence,” Dr. Ali has said.

APNU+AFC placed a target on Afro-Guyanese professionals in public service

Dear editor,

IT is time that Guyanese confront the dirty washedup wolf seeking to disguise as a sheep which is seeking to uproot our democra cy through race-baiting campaigns to divide our country.

The truth has slapped the detractors in the APNU+AFC in their faces. No longer can they keep up the shenanigans and pretense about caring for the advancement of Af ro-Guyanese when in fact they have worked silently and, in some cases, openly to destroy Afro-Guyanese professionals in the public service and elsewhere.

Fortunately, the Af ro-Guyanese who were rail

roaded and left to perish during the fascistic coali tion’s regime that wanted to grab power by the nefarious means of another PNC-led rigged election are confront ing the baseless lies on race relations from an opposition coalition in extremis.

Dr. Marcel Hutson, an Afro-Guyanese and con summate professional with no political affiliation, to the best of my knowledge, broke his silence on Sunday about his tempestuous removal as Chief Education Officer (CEO) under the spiteful APNU+AFC cabal.

In a letter to the media, Dr. Hutson said: “My career as an educator, and more so as Chief Education Officer (CEO) spanning more than

33 years could have ended disastrously after being sent on extended leave for doing what I do best: Serving the children and people of this nation. There was a deaf ening silence on this matter by those with a penchant for talking.”

It was President Dr. Mo hamed Irfaan Ali, whose caring and compassionate qualities, along with his veneration for professional persons, regardless of eth nicity, who was instrumental in Dr. Hutson’s return to the Ministry of Education, where his immeasurable ex perience was key to Guyana overcoming the challenges to education during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From my count, Dr. Hut

son is not the only Afro-Guy anese who the coalition un ceremoniously dismissed from the Ministry of Edu cation.

Four former senior staff members readily come to mind in Olatocumbo Sam, Mary Luke, Yonette Ed wards, and Melcita Bovell.

We are aware of Af ro-Guyanese professionals in other government posi tions who were targeted and stripped of jobs by a political creature that sought to force fully re-establish the Forbes Burnham philosophy of party paramountcy.

Volda Lawrence articu lated it best for the world to record when she said only PNC members could get jobs under the coalition adminis

tration.

That meant that Af ro-Guyanese who were non-members of the PNC were obviously sidelined for government contracts and jobs.

There was silence then from the wolf gang, the likes of wanted man Rickford Burke, Lincoln Lewis, Nigel Hinds, David Hinds, Lelon Saul, and others who now claim to be champions for Afro-Guyanese.

In light of Dr. Hutson’s revelations, we can certainly expect these dogmatists to rush to the defense of the APNU+AFC while their forked-tongues spit vitriol at Dr. Hutson, with the usual threats and derogatory labels not limited to “sell out”,

“house slave”, and “dunce thugs”.

The scars of the failed APNU+AFC regime are still fresh, and haunt many Af ro-Guyanese professionals who lost their jobs to PNC members.

The truth has exposed the wolf that is the AP NU+AFC and its thirst for power, even if it means shredding our beautiful country apart, using race to spread propaganda in fur therance of a narrow po litical agenda of retaining whatever little remaining relevance it has left.

Respectfully, Kwame McCoy Minister within the Of fice of the Prime Minister

Malicious, contrived and completely misconceived

Dear Editor,

WE the undersigned do hereby wish to dis tance ourselves from, and categorically reject, the comments included in a letter titled: “Who broad cast their quackery and keep quacks?” which was published by the Kaieteur News on Monday, December 5, 2022.

The letter, written under the guise of “con

cerned staffers”, con tains content that is ma licious, contrived, mis leading and completely erroneous as it seeks to bring the management of the State’s newspaper into disrepute, as well as discredit dedicated staff members.

To briefly clarify, the apologies published by the newspaper on De cember 4, 2020 were in accordance with various court orders that had to be followed.

If anything, the apologies, in our view, prove that the company is committed to rec tifying its errors, and maintaining a high lev el of integrity and ac countability as it moves forward with its agenda of providing credible news on issues, events and other social and economic matters across the country and further afield.

It is, therefore, unfor tunate that someone or

persons would go to this extent to falsify claims, and misrepresent the views of GNNL’s edito rial team.

A meeting of edi torial staff members was convened on Monday, December 5, 2022, and it was agreed that we remain united and willing to continuously improve the outlook of the newspaper and, by extension, the com pany. We will not be drawn into the mach-

inations of those who do not wish our team or company well, nor will we sit silent and allow the personal agenda of person(s) to bring into disrepute our professional cred ibility and work.

Yours respectfully, Navendra Seoraj Rabindra Rooplall Derwayne Wills

Clestine Juan Cindy Parkinson Shamar Meusa

Linda

Adrian Narine

Naomi Parris

Samuel Maughn

Cassandra Khan

Mohammed Yamin

Tamica Garnett

Trina Williams Michelle Outridge

Leon Horatio

Samuel Sinclair

Rondell James Kris Kaladeen Sebastian Bisnauth Elvin Croker Yatesh Chowbay

Astute leadership delivers massive carbon credit deal for Guyana

Dear Editor,

ON December 2, 2022, Guyana and Hess Cor poration signed an agreement for Hess to purchase 37.5 million “REDD+ jurisdictional carbon credits” for a minimum of US$750 mil lion, between 2022 and 2032, directly from the Government of Guyana. These high-quality credits make up about 30 per cent of Guyana’s Forestry Credits under the ART (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions) fa cility linked to TREES (REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard).

“ART and TREES have been designed to help ac celerate progress towards national scale account ing and implementation to achieve emissions re ductions and removals at scale, and to achieve Paris

Agreement goals” (https:// www.artredd.org/trees/).

The crux of the deal is that Guyana will be paid for its carbon sink services, a service that is critical to climate change mitigation.

Further, “This agree ment will serve to sup port Guyana’s efforts to protect the country’s vast forests and provide capital to improve the lives of Guyana’s citizens through investments made by the government as part of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.”

Editor, those who fol low our economic strat egy over the long-term will no doubt recall that the foundations for the Guyana-Hess carbon cred it deal goes back to the 2009-2010 LCDS champi oned by the then President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

At the time, crit ics broke new ground in damning the LCDS, and, this notwithstanding, the Guyana-Norway deal on avoided deforestation that yielded US$250 million. Now, the LCDS 2030 un der President Ali is getting the same kinds of baseless criticisms.

Only yesterday, Kai eteur News columnist Peeping Tom heaped scorn on the US$750 million deal. Here is “Tom” on the historic agreement: “The carbon credit deal appears to be a far worse deal than the oil agreement. Not only has the country not been told at what price the credits will be sold, but it appears that, like the agreement with Norway, Guyana will get a fixed sum over a ten-year peri od, regardless of how high the price of carbon crises in the carbon trading mar

kets…”

Nothing could be fur ther from the truth. Con trary to the Kaieteur News columnist, Hess will pay a minimum price for 2016 to 2020 credits (a total of 12.5M credits) at a unit price of US$15 per ton. It will pay a minimum price for 2021 to 2025 credits (a total of 12.5M credits) at a unit price of US$20 per ton. For 2026 to 2030 credits (a total of 12.5M credits), it will pay a minimum unit price of US$25 per ton. But, more than that, and in diamet ric to the misinformation dished out by the Kaieteur News columnist, if pric es go above a respective floor price for that year, as specified under price levels above, Hess will pay Guyana 60 per cent of the price difference of that year’s credits at the higher market price, and

the floor price under con tract. It boggles the mind that a columnist would not consult the information re leased by the government, but instead base their writ ing on rumor, gossip, or willful disinformation.

Peeping Tom also thinks that Hess will resell the credits on the open market, and that would be a big loss for us. In fact, just the opposite is true. Even if Hess does that, the floor price for carbon credits will escalate, and Guyana will then be able to trade the other 70 per cent of credits, starting from a much higher base price.

In terms of inclusive growth and inclusive gov ernance, it is noteworthy that Amerindian commu nities will receive some 15 per cent of the revenues derived from carbon cred it trading. No less than

US$112 million will go to these mostly hinterland communities. It is also noteworthy that we will be receiving Legacy Credits for the period 2016-2020, that for resources that went abegging under the AP NU-AFC administration.

Editor, there is a well-established clique in Guyana that is guar anteed to go against any and everything the PPP/C does. They have full access to the press, and without let or hin drance, preach negativity daily. In fact, we have seen that it took astute leadership and deter mined effort by Pres ident Ali, VP Jagdeo, and their team to yield the substantial resources that have now become available.

Yours sincerely, Dr. Randolph Persaud

Dillon Goring

Rutherford

Loose computer cables among excuses by GECOM

staff to stall vote verification process —COI hears

ALMOST every new wit ness to take the stand at the Presidential Commis sion of Inquiry (COI) into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, has placed the spotlight on varying tactics to highjack those elections.

The COI was informed already of former GECOM’s Information Technology officer, Enrique Livan’s declaration of being tired after working on only a few Statements of Poll (SOPs); about him switching lap tops, presenting a populated spreadsheet and manipulat ing figures.

When Anishaw Moham med took the stand on Mon day, the Commission heard that Livan had tried to stall the tabulation and verifi cation process for District Four when he claimed that there was a technical issue that he couldn’t fix.

Mohammed recalled that a few minutes after Livan started manning the tabula tion process, he said that the system was no longer work

ing. He said that he needed to source someone to fix it, but no one was available and so the process would have had to be put on hold.

Mohammed told the commission that she vol unteered to fix the system. She testified that she only

needed to adjust and secure a few cables and within minutes, the problem, which Livan painted as major, was resolved.

He then began working again. But his productivity in that regard was shortlived. Livan soon declared

that he was tired, armed himself with the laptop he was using and a flash drive then left the room.

Mohammed testified that she waited in the tabulation room for about 15 minutes after Livan left before it was discovered that Livan was in another room “working.”

She related that when she went into the other room, the tired Livan was, “evidently working on the laptop.”

She said he was working on the same laptop with which he left the tabulation room. There were two flash drives in his possession, one of which he had in his

possession when he left the tabulation room, and anoth er she hadn’t seen before.

Mohammed recalled that about an hour later, the po lice arrived. At this point, Livan closed the laptop and placed his head on the desk. The police were told of ev erything that occurred in the presence of Livan who was then given an opportunity to explain himself.

Mohammed said that Livan told the police that he did not take the laptop from the room.

During that confronta tion process, a police officer went into the tabulation room to verify Livan’s claim

that he did not remove the laptop. Surely, when the police got there, he saw a laptop which Livan claimed was the one being used by him all along.

But Mohammed said: “The laptop that we found in the room was a Dell laptop. He still had the Acer laptop which was the one that was used earlier. But he told the police that the acer was his personal laptop.”

Mohammed provided photographic evidence of the different laptops and of her rectifying the “problem” with the com puter. These photos were admitted into evidence.

Anishaw Mohammed

GuySuCo gets $1B to advance reopening of Rose Hall Estate, enhance cultivation

THE Rose Hall Sugar Estate is on track to recommence operations from the second crop next year, with some 2,000 hectares of land having been already cultivated.

This is according to Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha in his response to questions on a fur ther $1 billion allocation to the Guy ana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for operational expenses.

The Agriculture Minister ex plained that the money will be spent on rehabilitating critical areas in the factories, while enhancing and expanding cultivation in the cane fields.

Of the total sum, Albion Sugar Estate will receive $363 million, Blairmont estate $76 million and Rose Hall estate $561 million.

The $1 billion is part of an overall $3 billion requested by the Ministry of Agriculture in the $44.44 billion sup plementary financing that was passed by the National Assembly on Monday.

Minister Mustapha explained that much funding was needed to put new lands back into cultivation as part of the government’s commit ment to returning the sugar industry to viability, given the socio-econom ic benefits that the estates provide.

The minister noted that under the APNU+AFC administration, some 23,000 hectares of the sugar estate’s lands were abandoned, as four es tates were shuttered.

Under the APNU+AFC admin istration also, some 7,000 persons were ‘put on the breadline’ when they closed the Wales, Rose Hall,

Single-Window System Bill presented in the National Assembly

The legislation caters for the estab lishment of a single-window electronic processing system to increase business efficiency, as the housing and construc tion industries continue to expand.

It also seeks to provide for the es tablishment of the Planning Oversight Committee to define the functions of the committee, to centralise functions related to land-use preparation and development, and for matters associated with it.

Back in October, Minister Croal highlighted that the government ac knowledged the increased demands for building permits and other services by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), and Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).

Once the legislation is in place, it will, among other things, standardise appli cation forms and checklists, as well as drastically cut down on the time needed to complete a transaction.

The ministry will also transition from paper-based to computerised records.

The implementation of the single-win dow system forms part of the govern ment’s efforts to create a business-friend

ly environment, and improve the ease of doing business through an electronic portal that allows investors to submit planning and building permits, and check the status of the permits from anywhere in the world.

Extensive consultations were also held with the relevant stakeholders, including the local Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), heads of service agencies, and regulatory bodies. (DPI)

Demerara (Enmore) and Skel don Estates. During the 2020 elec tion campaign, the current adminis tration had promised to re-open the estates due to the socio-economic benefits they provide; Rose Hall was slated as the first to be re-opened.

The once bustling Canje, East Berbice area which was reduced to a ghost town with the estate’s closure is now slowly returning to some level of normalcy, as 1,200 residents from the community are already employed.

With the opening date fast ap proaching, the numbers that are employed will continue to grow, and many are hoping the commu nity can be returned to its former glory days.

HOUSING and Water Minister Collin Croal on Monday presented the Plan ning and Development Single-Window System Bill of 2022 to the National Assembly.

East

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha

–– caters for enhancement of business efficiency amidst increasing activities in the construction sector

Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal

Cuban diplomat honoured for role in building Guyana, Cuba relations

IN honour of Ambas sador Dr. Jose Fer nandez de Cossio, the Cuban diplomat who signed the instru ment establishing diplomatic relations between Guyana and

Cuba fifty years ago, the Guyana Embassy recently hosted a spe cial dinner at the San Cristobal Restaurant in Old Havana.

Dr. de Cossio, now eighty-nine years old,

signed the instrument on December 8, 1972, at the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, with Permanent Secre tary, Neville Selman, of the Guyana Minis try of Foreign Affairs.

Guyana’s Ambas sador to Cuba, Halim Majeed, welcomed the former high-level Cuban diplomat at the dinner, and praised him and his col leagues, Dr. Ricardo

Alarcon, then Cuba’s Permanent Represen tative to the UN, and Dr. Raul Roa, former Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs – both now deceased – for their sterling contribu tions that transformed the hemispheric dip lomatic order with the stroke of their pens.

In a short address at the dinner, Ambassa dor de Cossio recalled the intense, quiet dip lomatic work that was taking place between Guyana and Cuba and the tremendously sig nificant role of then Guyanese Foreign Minister, Sir Shridath Ramphal, and his Cu ban counterpart, Dr. Raul Roa.

Remembering the political tensions at the time, Dr. de Cos sio said there was a moment of great jubi lation after the signing ceremony.

The Dean of the CARICOM Dip lomatic Corps, Her Excellency Annielou Burns, Ambassador of Belize to the Re

public of Cuba, made a stirring presentation recalling the vision and determination of four Caribbean States – Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago – to break the diplomatic block ade imposed by the Kennedy (US) Ad ministration against Cuba.

She paid tribute to Ambassador de Cos sio and the Cuban and Guyanese Govern ments for their vision, which has strength ened the Caribbean Region.

Also attending the Dinner were Cu ban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos de Cossio; Ambassador Eugen io Martinez, Head of MINREX Latin American and Ca ribbean Division; Ambassador Joha na Tablada de la Torre, Deputy Director-General of the US Department of MINIREX, and oth er dignitaries.

Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed hands over a copy of a framed Certificate of Friendship to Dr. Jose Fernandez de Cossio

Success couple found dead after suspected electrocution

husband, who were alleged ly electrocuted when they came into contact with an illegal connection.

Dead is 32-year-old Sorajanie Hansraj and her 39-year-old husband Praha lad Jagnarine. The gruesome discovery was made by the couple’s 11-year-old daughter Trishana.

According to the police, the couple died sometime be tween 19:00 hours on Sunday and 06:00 hours on Monday.

Enquiries disclosed that the couple resided with their daughter in an unpainted

wooden structure on the northern side of the squat ting area.

According to the daugh ter, on Sunday, at approxi mately 19:00 hors, her moth er told her that she was going on the road to pick up her father. The child later retired to bed.

However, when she woke sometime around 06:00 hours the following day, her parents were not at home.

That prompted the child to make checks in the area. The police said that as the child was walking, she ob

served her parents lying mo tionless next to each other in an alleyway.

She immediately alerted neighbours, who came to her assistance. They later notified the police. On arrival at the scene, ranks examined the bodies and discovered burn marks on Jagnarine’s neck, chest, and right wrist. On ex amining Hansraj’s body, burn marks were observed on the left wrist and left side back.

A length of red and black wire was seen next to the two bodies. The wire was connected to an electrical

post leading to their home, the police said.

The Guyana Power and Light and EMT were sum moned to the scene. GPL disconnected the wire from the post, and the bodies were pronounced dead by a doctor.

The bodies were then escorted to the mortuary to await post-mortem exam inations.

Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, visited the tragic scene on Monday.

Investigations are still ongoing.

Appeal Court to rule on murder conviction, 70-year sentence

THE Court of Appeal will, on Wednesday, deliver its ruling in the case brought by Rajesh Guyadeen, who is currently serving 70 years for a 2003 murder.

In 2018, Guyadeen called “Brucksman” was sentenced by Justice Navindra Singh in the Georgetown High Court, after a 12-member jury found him guilty of the capital of fence of murder.

Guyadeen had denied the May 4, 2003 murder of 37-year-old farmer, Nandram Manouar, called “Nanu” of Lancaster, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.

The judge sentenced the accused to 60 years in jail but added 10 more for pre meditation.

In his appeal documents, the convict claimed that the trial judge erred in law and that the sentencing was ex cessive and too severe.

As such, he is asking the court to reserve and/or set aside his conviction and sentence.

According to reports, on May 3, 2003, Manouar walked home from a wed ding house at Unity, East Coast Demerara, in the com pany of four men.

The group was walking because Manouar’s bicycle wheel had a puncture. As he was heading into his yard

around midnight, he shout ed out to his friends that “Brucksman” just stab me,” before he collapsed.

He was later pronounced dead on arrival at George town Public Hospital Corpo ration (GPHC).

A post-mortem report gave the cause of death as perforation of the aorta and left kidney due to a stab wound.

The police subsequently went to the house where the accused was staying. How ever, he had already fled to Suriname. He returned to Guyana in 2014 and was later arrested.

Rajesh Guyadeen called “Brucksman”

RESIDENTS of Success Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara, are in a state of

shock following the discov ery of the lifeless bodies of a maternity nurse and her

Sorajanie Hansraj and her husband Prahalad Jagnarine

UNICEF donates water tanks, other humanitarian supplies to the CDC

IN support of the Civil De fence Commission (CDC)’s response to emergencies, the United Nations Chil dren’s Fund (UNICEF) has donated over 100 water tanks, 10,000 collapsible water containers, and two million water purification tablets.

The supplies were handed over by the UNICEF Rep resentative to Guyana and Suriname Nicholas Prone on Monday.

According to a joint press release, the supplies were procured as part of UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) pro gramme in Guyana, and will also complement support given to local authorities to increase the accessibility and availability of safe water in areas where people are in need.

“Against the backdrop of challenges such as climate change, which has resulted in more intense and increasingly frequent floods and droughts,

UNICEF is committed to strengthening our partnership with the CDC to ensure that no child is left behind,” Prone was quoted as saying.

He noted that the supplies will support the response to disasters such as flooding, and help to address other humanitarian needs of Guya nese as well as migrants.

“We know that access to safe drinking water and re lated sanitation and hygiene services has a direct positive impact on health, nutrition, learning abilities, and sever al other key developmental factors, which can lead to better standards of living and ultimately benefit invest ment, economic growth and sustainable development,” the UNICEF Representative added.

On behalf of the Govern ment and people of Guyana, CDC Director-General Colo nel Nazrul Hussain extended gratitude to UNICEF for the timely donation.

Additionally, he thanked

the local office for partnering with the CDC to bring about awareness, and for contrib uting tangibly to the efforts being made to deliver clean water.

The supplies were pro

cured by UNICEF, with sup port from the US Department of State’s Bureau for Popula tion, Refugees and Migration (USBPRM), at the request of the CDC as part of the long standing cooperation between

the two agencies.

Each water tank has the capacity to hold 450 gallons of water, while the collaps ible water containers are UV-resistant, and each one has the capacity to hold 10

litres of water.

According to the release, they are suitable for the trans port and storage of potable water, especially for domestic and household use in emer gency situations. Further more, the two million water purification tablets can treat 10 million litres of water.

UNICEF’s WASH pro gramme aims to strengthen the capacities of structures and partners at the national and decentralised levels to improve the development and implementation of child-sen sitive climate and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes, and to provide equitable and sustainable access to low-carbon and climate-resilient WASH ser vices.

As part of the compo nent to strengthen partners’ capacities for prepared ness and humanitarian re sponse, in June this year, 20 local WASH personnel were trained to address WASH needs in emergencies.

Some of the water tanks the CDC received to help address humanitarian needs in Guyana (CDC photo)

GDF concludes drivers, construction courses

THIRTY-NINE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ranks are now equipped with capacity-enhanc ing skills following their successful completion of Grade Three ¾ Ton Drivers Course and the Grade Three Construc tion Course.

According to GDF, twenty-eight completed the Grade Three ¾ Ton Drivers Course, and 11 completed the Grade Three Construction Course.

The courses com menced on Monday, Au gust 15, 2022, and Mon day, June 20, 2022 respec tively. They concluded on Friday, December 2, 2022.

The Grade Three ¾ Ton Drivers Course is de signed to produce a driver capable of driving a 3/4 Ton Vehicle in all opera tional conditions by day

or night.

Meanwhile, the Grade Three Construction Course is designed to produce an apprentice with the knowl edge and skills necessary to function efficiently and effectively as a Grade 111 Construction apprentice at the unit level.

Lance Corporal (LCPL) Nicholas Denny was adjudged the Best Graduating Student of the driver course, LCPL Keefe Barlow copped the Run ner-Up spot and Corporal Clifford Garraway earned the Most Improved Stu dent prize.

The Best Graduat ing Student of the con struction course was Private Clifton Johnney, while Orlando Lowen field copped Runner-up Graduating Student.

(Seated) Senior GDF officers with one of the two groups that completed the capacity-enhancing skills course

Minibus passenger arrested with firearm, ammunition

POLICE, acting on information, arrested three persons in a mini bus on Sunday after a passenger was found with an illegal firearm and ammunition at Barnwell Public Road, East Bank Essequibo.

According to the Guyana Police Force, at around 14:30 hours on Sunday, ranks went to Barnwell Public Road, East Bank Essequibo, where contact was made with the 47-year-old driver of a red and white minibus bearing regis tration number BWW 7635.

Police said that the minibus was stopped, and a 37-year-old man in the front passenger seat was seen acting suspi ciously.

“The ranks identified themselves and request

ed to carry out a search on his person. He per mitted the ranks to con duct the search, during which a bulky blue rag was lying at his feet,” police noted.

One policeman took possession of the blue rag and unwrapped it to find a silver and black coloured .38 re volver containing six live matching rounds of

ammunition. Further, a black plastic bag con taining 17 rounds of sus pected live .38 rounds of ammunition was also seen.

Searches were con ducted on the other two occupants of the mini bus. They were all told of the rank’s suspicion, cautioned, arrested and escorted to the Leonora Police Station.

Duo freed of alleged cattle thief’s murder

TWO men were, on Monday, freed of a murder charge after Senior Magistrate Alex Moore upheld a no-case submission made by defence attorney Bernard DaSilva.

Gobin Balram, 62, a farmer, and Jerry Pir tam, 27, a labourer, both of Number 65 Village, Corentyne, were dis charged of the offence following a preliminary inquiry at the Number 51 Magistrate’s Court.

The men were on remand for allegedly murdering Parmanand Lakram called “Bachan” on January 30, 2020, at Number 67 Village, East Berbice, Corentyne.

Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, DaSilva made a no-case submission and argued that there was no evi dence linking his clients to the crime.

The magistrate subse

quently accepted DaSil va’s submission, noting that there was insuffi cient evidence against the men.

According to reports, on the day in question, Lakram’s body was found at Number 67 Village Backdam. The police were contacted and an investigation was launched. Balram and Pirtam were later arrest

ed. Reports are that Lakram’s two friends were hiding in some nearby bushes when they allegedly saw Bal ram and Pirtam shooting Lakram over a stolen cow.

The men then re ported the matter. The firearm and some spent shells were also recovered at the scene.

The seized firearm and ammunition

Gobin Balram (left) and Jerry Pirtam

Parmanand Lakram called “Bachan”

WORLD CUP: Dazzling Brazil dismantle South Korea in last 16

BRAZIL delivered an ominous message to their World Cup rivals with a dazzling display of attack ing brilliance to dismantle South Korea and set up a quarter-final against Cro atia.

Neymar made a goalscor ing return to action after injury at Stadium 974, but Brazil's superstar was only one element of a devastat ing performance that ripped South Korea to shreds and settled this last-16 game well before half-time.

Vinicius Junior set the tone with a composed pen alty-area finish from Ra phinha's cross after seven

minutes, and Neymar dou bled Brazil's advantage from the spot six minutes later for a foul on Richarlison.

It was Neymar's 76th goal for Brazil, leaving him just one behind the legendary Pele's all-time record.

Richarlison then added to his personal showreel of great goals at this World Cup when he followed his spectacular volley against Serbia with a real work of art, controlling the ball three times with his head and foot before moving into position to take Thiago Silva's pass in his stride and score.

Brazil went four up with another gem after 36 minutes,

Uncapped Aussie speedster Morris in selection frame for Adelaide Test

ADELAIDE, Australia, (CMC) – West Indies could face a trial by pace in the Adelaide second Test, after Australia selectors called up uncapped exciting speedster Lance Morris, along with seamer Michael Neser, for the series finale starting here Thursday.

The pacy 24-year-old Morris has been a stand out in the Marsh Sheffield Shield campaign, snatching 27 wickets in five matches for leaders Western Austra lia, to be the tournament’s leading wicket-taker.

He has averaged 18.40 with an outstanding strike rate of 33, and has been clocked consistently at 150 kph.

Fast-bowling captain Pat Cummins is an injury worry for the Adelaide Test.

Neser, meanwhile, has played a single Test – the second of the Ashes exactly a year ago – where he took a couple of wickets.

“Michael has been with the squad on a regular basis in past seasons and was sim ply outstanding in Adelaide last summer,” said selection chair George Bailey.

“He has continued to per form incredibly consistently since and will be warmly welcomed back.

“Lance is another of the

outstanding young fast bowl ers coming through the ranks. He has genuine pace and his ability to create oppor tunities for wickets is a real drawcard.

“It will be great experi ence for him to come into the environment.”

The duo will serve as cover for fast-bowling cap tain Pat Cummins who picked up a “small strain” to his right thigh during the opening Test which finished on Sunday in Perth with a 164-run victory for the hosts on the final day.

However Cummins, who was not fit enough to bowl in the West Indies sec ond innings, said following the game he was confident he would be ready for the second Test, which will be played under lights.

Ironically, Cummins also missed last year’s Adelaide Test against England when he was struck down with COVID-19, Neser replacing him in the side and batsman Steve Smith taking over cap taincy duties.

Australia already have three pacers in their squad – Josh Hazlewood, left-arm er Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland – a 33-year-old who has taken 18 wickets in three Tests but did not fea ture last week in Perth.

Vinicius picking out Lucas Paqueta for West Ham's ex pensive acquisition to score with a well-placed volley.

South Korea, to their great credit, continued to compete and forced several fine saves from Brazil keeper Alisson, before substitute Paik Seung-ho pulled one back with a glorious 30-yard strike to add to the night's collection of special goals.

Brazil set World Cup standard

For 45 minutes at Stadi um 974, Brazil hit heights no other team has reached at this World Cup, demonstrating the level that will be required to overcome Tite's team, pro

ducing a collection of goals constructed in their country's best traditions.

And it was all achieved with the smooth freedom of expression that is Brazil's trademark, a four-goal halftime advantage going some way to demonstrating their supremacy.

Richarlison's goal was a golden moment of the tour nament, followed by a team dance that rather incongru ously included coach Tite.

Neymar eased himself back into action with silky touches and his goal, before being replaced late on after proving his fitness following the ankle injury sustained

against Serbia that forced him out of two group games.

He is part of a potent Brazil attacking triumvirate alongside Richarlison and Vi nicius, both on the scoresheet and both making a serious mark on this World Cup.

Tite was so comfortable with Brazil's position that he was able to give Alisson a rest and send on third-choice keeper Weverton for World Cup action.

Brazil will now be heavy favourites against Croatia after putting down a mark er with the best display - or at least 45 minutes before they eased up - by any team in Qatar so far.

T&T clubs dominate Guyanese

THE curtains fell on the Diamond Mineral Water (DMW) indoor hockey festival on Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) on Home stretch Avenue where the clubs from Trinidad & Tobago took the bulk of the spoils.

Home side, YMCA Old Fort Expandables defeated T&T outfit Queen’s Park Cricket Club 8-6 in the final of the over-35 division but the visitors took top hon ours in the remaining three division finals of the night. Jerazeno Bell’s division high 10 goals counted for nought while Jonathan Roberts of YMCA Old Fort finished the competition with an import ant eight scalps.

In the women’s final, GBTI’s GCC failed in their quest to retain their title after going down 4-3 in a narrow victory to George United of T&T. Brianna Goveia (12 goals) and Savannah de Freitas (nine goals), both of George United, led the goals’ tally in the women’s division.

QPCC got the better of YMCA Old Fort Legends 9-5 in the over-45 division final. Roger Daniel of Old Fort was the top scorer in the division with 11 goals while Jerazeno Bell continued his fine goal scoring form with

nine goals; the second most.

In the men’s final, QPCC dethroned Pepsi Hikers with an enterpris ing 7-3 win. Jordan Vieira

emerged top scorer of the division with a total of nine goals inclusive of six field goals and three penalty cor ners.

American

Uttoxeter 08:25 hrs Inch House 08:55 hrs Pars D’amour 09:25 hrs Doyen For Money 09:55 hrs Camembert Electric 10:25 hrs Kracka Nut 10:55 hrs Sholokjack 11:25 hrs Let’s Have Another Fontwell

08:35 hrs Momhasa 09:05 hrs Harlem Soul 09:35 hrs San Pedro 10:05 hrs Le Camelon 10:35 hrs Credrojava 11:05 hrs Swincombe Flest 11:35 hrs Beat The Heat

Irish Racing Tips Tramore 08:45 hrs Gaelic War rior 09:15 hrs Knockanard Lady 09:45 hrs Robyndeglory 10:15 hrs Artic Ambi tion 10:45 hrs Indie Belle 11:15 hrs Walking The Walk 11:45 hrs Walk Out English Racing Tips

Southwell

12:20 hrs Dreaming Princess 12:50 hrs Wadacre Grace

13:20 hrs Never End ing

13:50 hrs Admiral Jack

14:20 hrs Rattling

14:50 hrs Brazen Idol

15:20 hrs Khabib

15:50 hrs Easy Equa tion

16:20 hrs Infinitive

Ben Stokes' England seal win for the ages in Rawalpindi's dying light

By Valkerie Baynes

A win's a win, right? Nope. England can understand ably be ultra tubthumping in their celebrations of a 74-run victory for the ages on the final evening of a remarkable Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.

On a pitch that yielded 1768 runs for the match, the third-highest aggregate in history, the visitors' bold declaration at tea on the pen ultimate day gave them four sessions in which to claim 10 wickets with Pakistan need ing 343 to win.

It went down to the wire, with five wickets still needed after tea on Monday and a quick-sinking sun making its way ominously towards the horizon.

But Ben Stokes and his men grasped the challenge and two wickets in two overs by Player of the Match Ollie Robinson, followed by two wickets in as many balls to James Anderson gave them the stranglehold they needed.

(Scores):England 657 (Brook 153, Crawley 122, Pope 108, Duckett 107) and 264 for 7 dec (Brook 87, Root 73, Crawley 50) beat Pakistan 579 (Babar 136, Imam 121, Shafique 114, Jacks 6-161) and 268 (Sha keel 76, Anderson 4-36, Rob inson 4-50) by 74 runs Robinson and Anderson

took four wickets each in Pa kistan's second innings but it was spinner Jack Leach who clinched the final one - that of Naseem Shah - with what could only have been minutes remaining to seal victory in England's first Test appear ance in Pakistan for 17 years.

Centuries to newcomer Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett - returning after six years outside the Tests fold - in England's record first innings of 657 were brought into con text on the flattest of tracks as Pakistan produced three of their own in containing the tourists' advantage to 78 runs, Will Jacks claiming six wickets on debut. Then came another Brook star turn, his rapid-fire 87 off 65 balls the highlight of England's second innings, upstaged only by the Stokes' surprise decision to declare.

But it all came down to the last day - and the final 90 minutes of it.

Having finally coaxed an aging ball to reverse after lunch, England were vindi cated in their decision not to take the new one which became available three overs after tea.

With Agha Salman and Azhar Ali having settled into a half-century stand for the fifth wicket and Pakistan needing another 86 runs for victory in the final session,

Robinson trapped Salman without adding to his tea-time score of 30 with an inswinger that pinned him back in his crease and England over turned the initial not-out decision when ball-tracking confirmed he was on target.

On the next ball, Rob inson was left in disbelief when his inswinger shaved the outside of Naseem Shah's off stump about a third of the way up but the bails stayed put. It wasn't long, however, before he had Azhar caught at leg slip by Joe Root trying to flick another inswinger off his hip.

Stokes produced a typ ically gutsy haul with the ball in support of his two main seamers and Anderson capitalised with two quick

wickets late in the day. He dismissed Zahid Mahmood to a wonderful diving catch down the leg side by Pope, standing in as wicketkeeper for Ben Foakes, who had failed to recover from the stomach bug that hit the En gland camp on the eve of the match.

Two balls later, Anderson rapped Haris Rauf on the pads with a full inswinger. Rauf, who will miss the next Test in Multan with a quad strain suffered during this match, called for the DRS in vain, his dismissal upheld on umpire's call.

Naseem rode his luck, edging Stokes between Pope and Root at first slip as he and Mohammad Ali staged critical half-an-hour worth

of resistance with their fi nal-wicket standStokes fi nally took the second new ball with the light fading fast and it was Leach who sealed the win when he pinned Na seem on the front pad, the batter's hopeful review only adding momentary delay to the tourists unleashing their full-blown jubilation.

England claimed just one wicket in the morning ses sion, that of Imam-ul-Haq, who had steadied his side from 25 for 2 on the fourth day but added only five to his overnight 43 before he was strangled down the leg side by Anderson.

Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel took to En gland's spinners during the morning session as Pakistan added 89 runs to their over night 80 for 2 after scoring just 13 in the first hour. So Stokes entered the fray in the first over after lunch and managed to find some reverse swing, which Anderson ex ploited to devastating effect.

Anderson removed the dangerous Rizwan on 46 with one that reversed just enough and found an edge that flew through to Pope, ending an 87-run stand with Shakeel.

The dismissal brought back Azhar, who had retired hurt the previous evening after copping a nasty blow to the finger from Robin son. It was Robinson who

struck again when Shakeel fell after a fine half-century on debut. England had set attacking fields through out and Robinson snared Shakeel with a fuller ball outside off which hooped to short cover where Keaton Jennings, substitute fielder for the injured Liam Liv ingstone, took a mid-air stunner leaping to his right.

England thought Rob inson had another when he struck Salman on the pad lunging forward, but umpire Joel Wilson's not-out deci sion was upheld on review with the ball going down the leg side.

If they hoped that was the breakthrough they need ed, England were convinced when a return to spin saw Salman given out lbw after being struck in the midriff attempting to slog-sweep Leach. But the batter over turned his dismissal when the DRS revealed the ball was going over the stumps. Compounding their woes, Robinson saw Pope drop a tough chance down the leg side off Azhar, on 36, in the over before tea.

In the end, no chances or half-chances mattered as England's patience and new-found faith in themselves under Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum won the day.

(Cricinfo)

Fury vows 2023 will be biggest year of his career after beating Chisora

WBC world heavyweight title holder Tyson Fury says 2023 will be the big gest year of his career as he looks to become undis puted world champion.

Fury, 34, earned a 10thround stoppage victory against Derek Chisora in front of 59,769 people at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening.

At ringside was Olek sandr Usyk, who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts.

"I'm ready and willing to take on Usyk whether it is in Saudi Arabia or back here in the United Kingdom," said Fury.

"Let's give the fans one

champion, one name, one face. He's not an easy boxer to figure out, he's slick, a southpaw, moves well, coming in on good form and I look forward to the challenge.

"But for whatever rea son if we're not able to do that, then we will have Joe Joyce at Wembley.

"I'll do Usyk and then Joyce at Wembley as well. People have been asking me who is the tougher fighter and I think Joyce gives me a tougher fight."

In chaotic scenes af ter the Chisora bout, Fury, Usyk and Joyce were all next to each other, with Fury shouting at Usyk and

Joyce.

All three men are un beaten, while 35-year-old Ukrainian Usyk has twice defeated Britain's Anthony Joshua, firstly in Tottenham and then in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Fury had wanted twotime champion Joshua to fight him on Saturday but after that fell through, Chi sora stepped in and Fury is not expecting a bout with Joshua to ever happen.

"I want to fight real men, real challenges," add ed Fury. "Usyk came over here and got in my face. We [Fury and Joshua] live in the same country but have you ever seen AJ do that after

a fight?

"In the heavyweight rankings you have number one, me and then the next three - Usyk, Joyce and De ontay Wilder - you can put in a hat and pick them.

"If I fight Usyk, maybe Joyce could fight Wilderthat would be fantastic."

Promoter Frank Warren hopes Usyk would be next for Fury and added: "Both Usyk and Joyce are huge fights but the one I want to see for my satisfaction is Usyk.

"I want Tyson to get what he should be - rec ognised as the best heavy weight in the world."

(BBC Sport)

...Minutes away from the game ending, Jack Leach took the last wicket in an extraordinary game of cricket

England celebrate the moment of victory as Jack Leach seals the first Test (AFP/Getty Images)

Oleksandr Usyk (left) and Tyson Fury squared up to each other after Fury's win over Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

French media expect 'explosive' England quarter-final

Explosive, tempting, shocking - the French newspapers have gone heavy on the adjectives as they await a World Cup quarter-final against En gland.

Their excitement is war ranted as the two sides meet on Saturday at 19:00 GMT on top form, fresh from con vincing wins in the last 16.

England boosted fans' hopes of becoming world champions for the first time since 1966 with a 3-0 win over Senegal, while Kylian Mbappe starred as France beat Poland 3-1.

Here is a look at how both sides have been getting on - and what the French public are expecting from the Three Lions.

'GOD SAVE OUR KING'

The front page of L'Equi pe reads 'God Save OUR King', praising 23-year-old Mbappe after his two goals against Poland.

Mbappe had refused to talk to the media before the last-16 game so that he could fully focus on the game and newspaper Le Monde describes him as a "silent saviour".

The paper has gone highbrow with its speculation over gameplans for the last eight, paraphrasing an 18th Century military quotechanging "Englishmen, you shoot first" to "Englishmen, you defend first".

It was newspaper Le Figaro which described the quarter-final as "shocking" and "as explosive as it is tempting", adding that any one who believed France's

path in the World Cup had been easy "may change their minds next Saturday".

Eurosport in France points out that "the stakes have never been so high" for a France-England match, given the two sides have never faced each other in the knockout stages of a men's major competition.

Regional paper Sud Ouest keeps things more simple. "Ready to eat some lion," the front page reads.

HISTORY AND WORLD CUP SO FAR

As mentioned, this is the first men's knockout game between England and France.

The two sides last faced each other in 2017, when France's pacey attack was too much for England and the hosts won 3-2 in Paris.

Mbappe has been central to Les Bleus' success and leads the race for the Golden

Boot with five of France's nine goals - the next best scorers are all on three.

In the group stage, France started with a 4-1 win over Australia, then beat Denmark 2-1, before a shock 1-0 defeat by Tunisia.

England began with a promising 6-2 win against Iran, before the reality check of a 0-0 draw with the Unit ed States - finally capping off the group stage with a 3-0 victory over Wales.

Midfielder Jude Bell ingham has drawn the most praise of England's play ers, with L'Equipe conced ing the 19-year-old has the skill to combat France's Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann.

Bellingham and En gland will face their big gest test yet at this World Cup on Saturday and the view from France suggests they are prepared for their toughest challenge too.

FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Uruguay FA and four players

FIFA has opened disci plinary proceedings against Uruguay's football association and four play ers over their conduct at the end of their final World Cup group game against Ghana.

Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0 but went out on goals scored, finishing third behind South Korea in Group H.

Uruguay's players re acted furiously at full-time, confronting the referee and appearing to manhandle an assistant after they failed to award a penalty after a com ing together between Darwin Nunez and Alidu Seidu.

Jose Maria Gimenez, Edinson Cavani, Fernando Muslera and Diego Godin all face potential punish ments for breaches of FIFA's disciplinary code relating to offensive behaviour and misconduct.

The Uruguayan FA faces action for the same breaches of the code, as well as anoth er relating to discrimination.

Valencia forward Cavani was filmed pushing over the pitchside monitor as he walked down the tunnel after the match, after which ITV pundit Ian Wright called him a "horrible guy".

FIFA has also opened

proceedings against Serbia's FA relating to "incidents" during their 3-2 defeat by Switzerland in their final Group G game.

Football's world gov erning body has not speci fied the incidents, but fans were told during the match to "stop all discriminatory chants and gestures".

Serbia were already under investigation by FIFA after the team hung a controversial flag de picting Kosovo in their dressing room before their defeat by Brazil earlier in the tournament. (BBC Sport)

FIFA's Arsene Wenger criticises performance of protesting nations

ARSENE Wenger has sug gested countries that pro tested at the World Cup before their first matches saw their on-field perfor mances suffer.

Germany players cov ered their mouths before their opening defeat against Japan after FIFA threatened "unlimited" sanctions against players who wore the an ti-discrimination OneLove armband.

"The teams [who per formed well] were mentally ready," Wenger said.

"They had focus on the competition and not on polit ical demonstrations."

Australia's players re leased a protest video ahead of the tournament and lost their first match against France.

Former Arsenal manager Wenger, who is FIFA's head of global football develop ment, was speaking at a me dia briefing on Sunday.

Germany's football fed eration was the most vocal in pressing for the OneLove armbands to be worn by players and said "extreme blackmail" led to Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Nether

lands, Wales, England and Switzerland abandoning plans to wear them.

Protests have taken place against host Qatar's human rights record and its treat ment of migrant workers as well as against Qatar's strict anti-LGBT laws.

England, who came through the group stage with two wins and a draw, have taken the knee before each of their games, continuing a trend of carrying out the an ti-racism gesture before their matches since the death of George Floyd in 2020.

Four times winners Ger many were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage for the second succes sive World Cup.

Denmark, who finished bottom of Group D, were stopped by Fifa from using training kit with slogans in support for human rights and their kits featured toned down logos.

British sports minister Stuart Andrew wore the OneLove armband during England's World Cup game with Wales.

That came after Qatar World Cup chief Hassan Al-Thawadi said the arm bands were sending out a "divisive message".

Football Association chief executive Mark Bull ingham said FIFA threat ened "unlimited" sanctions against players who wore the armband during match es.(BBC Sport)

The front page of L'Equipe reads 'God Save OUR King', praising 23-year-old Mbappe after his two goals against Poland

FIFA’s head of global football Arsene Wenger

Croatia beat Japan 3-1 on penalties to book quarter-final spot

GOALKEEPER Dominik Livakovic was the hero, saving three penalties in the shootout, as Croatia edged past Japan with a 3-1 victory to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

After a 1-1 draw at extra time, Livakovic kept out the first two efforts before stop ping Maya Yoshida's kick, then Mario Pasalic tucked his penalty into the corner to take his side through.

Zlatko Dalic's side, beat en in the final by France four years ago, will face tournament favourites Bra zil or South Korea in the next round on Friday (15:00 GMT).

Japan were the livelier side and took a deserved lead two minutes before half-time when Celtic for ward Daizen Maeda con verted from Yoshida's knock down.

Croatia levelled in the second half courtesy of Ivan Perisic's brilliant bullet header from Dejan Lovren's cross, becoming his coun

try's all-time leading scorer at major tournaments with 10 goals.

Neither side could find a breakthrough and the game ticked into the additional 30 minutes, with Brighton midfielder Kaoru Mitoma's spectacular strike pushed over by Livakovic.

At the other end, Mar ko Livaja's flicked header looked to be looping in, but Shuichi Gonda managed to gather and Lovro Majer dragged a shot in the 120th minute.

The contest went to nerve-shredding penalties, where Livakovic emerged as the man to lead Croatia's celebrations.

Experienced Croatia end Japan's dream Croatia just know how to get it done.

In 2018, when they al most lifted the trophy, they emerged from extra time with a win in each of their knockout games before los ing in the final.

Of their last eight knock

out games at the World Cup and Euros, seven have gone to extra time with the excep tion of their match against France.

They failed to score in two of their three group games but have demonstrat ed their vast experience to progress to the last eight.

It didn't start well though, as Shogo Taniguchi came close to netting for Ja pan in only the third minute but flicked his header wide.

Daichi Kamada was looking to finish off a slick team move but ended up skewing his shot out for a throw-in from six yards out. They got the breakthrough courtesy of Maeda's poach ing effort from close range.

Croatia, though, hit back through Perisic's header as he moved past Davor Suker's nine goals at major tournaments. Only the leg endary striker has scored more international goals for the country, with 45 to Perisic's 33.

The Tottenham player

could have netted when Arsenal defender Takehi ro Tomiyasu's miscued a backpass, which allowed his north London rival to run in on goal, but a shot from the angle was batted out by Shuichi Gonda.

Chelsea's Mateo Kovac

ic hooked wide and Luka Modric's dipping effort was pushed over by Gonda at full stretch.

Croatia needed someone to stand up and Livakovic stopped efforts from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and Yoshida to become just

the third goalkeeper to save three penalties in a shootout at the World Cup.

For Japan, their dream came to end at the round of 16 once more, failing to progress beyond this stage in all four World Cup ap pearances. (BBC Sport)

McLaughlin and Duplantis named world athletes of 2022

SYDNEY McLaughlin and Armand Duplantis have been named world athletes of the year at the World Athletics Awards.

American McLaughlin, 23, broke her own world record by almost three-quar ters of a second as she won

world 400m hurdles gold in July.

She clocked 50.68 sec onds in Oregon, where she also won 4x400m gold.

Sweden's Duplantis won the world pole vault indoor and outdoor double in 2022, in addition to claiming the

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Tuesday, December 6, 2022)

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Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

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Today’s Quiz:

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Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Diamond League and Euro pean crowns.

The 23-year-old, who won the award in 2020, also improved his own world record to 6.21m.

"Going into the year, I had really high expectations of myself and I had some really big goals," said Du plantis.

"I wanted to win the world indoors, the world outdoors, the Europeans, the Diamond League final, and I wanted to break the world record a few times.

"I was able to do that and it was a bonus - the cherry on top - to do be able to do it [break the world record] at the right times, to do it

at world indoors and do it at world outdoors. I can't complain."

McLaughlin said: "All of my goals were accomplished this year.

"We were able to ac complish everything we set out to do. It couldn't have been any better, and I was so grateful that I was able to

produce that performance in front of a home crowd."

Earlier in the week, Great Britain pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw was named joint winner of the fair play award with American Katie Nageotte.

Bradshaw was injured when her pole snapped during her warm-up in Or egon, with eventual gold medallist Nageotte going over to support her.

Knowing she would not be able to contend for a place in the final, Olympic bronze medallist Bradshaw with drew before the competition started, allowing another athlete to advance.

The 31-year-old later received abuse on social media for withdrawing, with Nageotte taking to Twitter to defend her.

Britain's former twotime world 4x400m medal list Donna Fraser won the woman of the year award for her work in champion ing gender equality and the empowerment of women in athletics.(BBC Sport)

Croatia's Dominik Livakovic saves a penalty from Japan's Kaoru Mitoma (Photo: Skysports)

Sydney McLaughlin (left) and Armand Duplantis

Historic Terrence Ali Nat Open C/Ships set for Dec 15-18

By Sean Devers

FOR the first time in Guy ana prize money will be up for grabs in an amateur boxing card when the Guy ana Boxing Association(G BA) holds it final boxing card for the year.

The Terrence Ali Na tional Open Championship will return for the first time since the COVID-19 Pan demic shut down all sports in 2019 with the card set for the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue from De cember 15-18.

Named after the 62-yearold former lightweight box ing stalwart, Ali fought for his first world title in 1985 against Harry Arroyo for the IBF World Lightweight Title but was knocked out.

Ali, famous for his back-flicks and wearing the Guyana Flag proudly on his

trunks, lost to Frank Olsen in the last of his 70 Profes sional fights in 1997 after winning 52, losing 15 and drawing two with 25 KO’s to his name.

“The esteemed event, which is the final statutory competition by the GBA, will provide the perfect culmina tion for an eventful year for the sport.

In an effort to further so lidify the tournament’s emi nence following the aforesaid absence, and to continue the discipline’s developmental thrust, the local governing authority will financially compensate the top three finishers within each weight class of the Elite Division.

The former Americas Box ing Association (AMBC) Vice-President said “Essen tially, the Elite Division, the crème de crème of the local amateur circuit, will receive

…Prize Money for Gold, Silver & Bronze in each division

financial remunerations for finishing in the top three positions: gold, silver, and bronze.

This momentous decision was inspired by and comes on the heels of the historic move by the International Boxing Association (IBA) under the stewardship of Umar Kremlev, to increase the prize pool by a mammoth 50% for the 2023 World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from May 1st14th.

With this decision, Guy ana becomes the first country in the English-speaking Ca ribbean that will financially compensate its Elite ama teur pugilists at the National Championship” explained Ninvalle, who was appointed Guyana’s Director of Sport in May last year.

“Once again, this is in dicative of the GBA’s devel

opmental aim in creating not only an enabling environ ment for the development of the discipline but to maintain the nation’s position as the premier amateur hub in the English-speaking Caribbean region” Ninvalle continued.

Windies Women fall behind in series after heavy defeat

NORTH SOUND, Anti gua, (CMC) – West Indies Women suffered a heavy 142-run crushing in the first One-Day Internation al here Sunday night, to slump to their seventh de feat in their last nine ODIs against England Women.

The Caribbean side were facing a historic run chase once the visitors piled up an imposing 307 for seven from their 50 overs after being sent in at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

And predictably, the re quired run rate of 6-¼ per over proved too demanding and the innings folded meek ly for 165 in the 41st over.

Left-hander Kycia Knight, returning from in jury after eight months on the sidelines, top-scored with 39 from 61 balls while captain Hayley Matthews and Rashada Williams both scored 34.

They were three of only four batsmen to reach double figures as 21-year-old off Charlie Dean dismantled the feeble run chase with four for 35 from nine overs.

“In both facets of the game, we probably didn’t do exactly what we wanted to,” Matthews said.

“We would’ve hoped to

restrict England to a bit less than they did on a decent wicket and I guess with the same decent wicket probably would’ve hoped to score a bit more runs.

“[There were] a lot of learnings for us and we’re looking to go back to the drawing board and see what we can improve on in the next game.”

Player-of-the-match Nat Sciver top-scored with 90 from 96 balls while Danni Wyatt lashed a hasty 68 from 60 deliveries as En gland flourished.

Alice Capsey (17) and Sophia Dunkley (8) fell cheaply to leave England

Women on 39 for two in the seventh over but Sciver arrived to rally the innings, first in a 42-run, third wicket stand with opener Tammy Beaumont (33) and then in a 46-run, fourth wicket part nership with captain Heather Knight (16).

She then paired with Wyatt to add a further 103 for the fifth wicket in a stand which took the game away from West Indies Women.

Sciver punched nine fours while Wyatt struck four fours and three sixes but even then they departed, Amy Jones (30) put on a further 45 with Sophie Ec clestone (19) for the seventh

wicket to inflict more pain on the hosts.

In reply, West Indies Women lost Aaliyah Al leyne in the third over for two with 14 runs on the board, holing out to mid on off seamer Kate Cross and then watched as Matthews retired hurt on eight with the score on 21.

Knight and Williams rebuilt the innings, adding a further 63 to extend the sec ond wicket stand, and frus trating England Women’s quest for further inroads.

While Knight struck four fours, William counted three in her 54-ball stay before perishing via the run out route in the 20th over, af ter indecision over a quick single.

Shemaine Campbelle failed to score and Knight followed in the 26th over but Matthews returned to to hit five fours overall in a breezy 32-ball knock, posting 35 for the fifth wicket with Che dean Nation (17).

By the time Matthews was lbw to 21-year-old seamer Lauren Bell at the start of the 33rd over, West Indies Women were well behind in the run chase and they lost their last six wickets for just 25 runs.

Ninvalle, who is the ar chitect of this novel idea, said, “This is a momentous decision by the local body, a choice which was guid ed and influenced direct ly by IBA’s resolution and eventual pronouncement to increase the prize pool for the 2023 World Champion ship. Amateur boxing at the international level is on the pathway to competitive and financial sustainability given the actions of IBA, and the GBA aims to employ a sim ilar ideology and objective.”

He further said, “This is a first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbe an, a feat that should be recognised and is the initial step on the path of creat ing, and contributing to a financial ecosystem for local pugilists. We are now firmly part and parcel of the fabric and environment that IBA is

aiming to conceptualize for the future direction of the discipline. This is another spectacular day for the dis cipline.”

‘Dynamite’ Desmond Amsterdam, who is the high est ranked local IBA pugilist at #23, following his out standing displays at the Com monwealth Games, as well as bronze medal achievement at the Americas Boxing Con federation (AMBC) Champi onship, and South American Games, will headline the event, alongside 54th ranked Keevin Allicock, who also captured a bronze medal at the South American Games” the GBA Head concluded.

Future details of the tournament, inclusive of the financial compensations that will be afforded to the resulting gold, silver, and bronze medallists, will be disclosed soon.

JUDE Bellingham has been the best young player at the World Cup so far and could make the difference in En gland's bid to capture the trophy, according to Alan Shearer.

The Borussia Dortmund star scored England's first goal of the tournament in a 6-2 thrashing of Iran in the group stage, and produced anoth er masterful midfield display in Sunday's last-16 win over Senegal.

Bellingham leads his teammates for dribbles completed (six) and possessions won (23) in Qatar, while only Luke Shaw (72) has bettered his tally of 48 passes ending in the final third.

The 19-year-old's all-round ability has seen him touted as a contender to be named the young player of the tourna ment, and Shearer believes his presence has improved England considerably.

"England did very well at their past couple of tourna ments, but I think there is a difference this time," the former striker wrote in a column for BBC Sport.

"Four years ago, we were not the most talented side at the World Cup, but we were well-organised, had fantastic team spirit and great character,

and that took us to the semi-fi nals.

"This time we are definitely a better team, ability-wise, than we were at Russia 2018 or last year's European Championship where we lost in the final.

"We still have a plan, and that same togetherness, but we have more experience, more depth – and we have got a very exciting young talent in Jude Bellingham too.

"Bellingham has probably been the young player of this World Cup so far. His perfor mance against Senegal was unbelievably good, and he brings something different to this England team that we didn't have four years ago.

"With him driving forward from midfield, we look more dangerous – we are far more fluid now when we build at tacks, wherever they start."

England will face holders France for a place in the last four on Saturday, when Gareth Southgate's side must find a way to contain Kylian Mbappe – the tournament's top scorer with five goals.

However, Shearer be lieves keeping the Paris Saint-Germain star quiet is no guarantee of success against Les Bleus. (Yahoo Sport)

Former lightweight boxer, Terrence Ali

Charlie Dean starred with 4-35 as West Indies collapsed from 84-1 to 165 all out

Jude Bellingham - the World Cup's best young player, says Shearer

Brazil’s

(Photo: Skysports)

Richarlison scored his third goal of the tournament in the win

(Photo: Skysports)

Women's Champions - George United

Over 35 Champions - Old Old Fort