Guyana Post Newspapers

Keeping you updated on current events...

Thursday February 11, 2021

ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER

THE SAME PRINCIPLE THAT APPLIED FOR THE GRB WHARF WAS APPLIED FOR DUKE LODGE

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COVID-19 vaccines Gary Best walks donated by on DUI charge Barbados Pg2

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82 year old woman latest COVID-19 victim Pg3

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Foreign Minister Manchester City sweep reach Swansea aside toPg3 FA Cup quarter-finals

Guyana Post Thursday February 11, 2021

THE SAME PRINCIPLE THAT APPLIED FOR THE GRB WHARF WAS APPLIED FOR DUKE LODGE

Dear Editor: Reference is being made to Kaieteur News’ article “Kingston Wharf purchased by BK days before the election” (2nd April 2020).

Some years ago, I was the trade union representative on the Privatisation Board- the only black person- when the property in question was put up by the Bharrat

Jagdeo government for sale. That property which is located in Water Street was the former Guyana Rice Board (GRB) wharf which was burnt down through questionable circumstances during the life of the PPP government.

Among the bids for that property was one from BK International.

Winston Brassington,

Executive Director of NICIL, recommended at the meeting the property would be best given to a Company he was proposing which was registered at Phagoo Store in Regent Street. The proposed company had no track record with any business. I objected!

I objected because I looked at the proposal of that company, BK International, and others, and found BK’s proposal to be superior, satisfying the many requirements demanded by the PPP/C government.

In as much as Brassington represented the company registered at Phagoo, the CAGI representative and Consumer representative on the Board supported my justification for BK to be given the property. The entire Board, appointed by the PPP/C government, agreed we will

recommend to Cabinet the property will go to BK. Let me make it very clear, I never knew Brian Tiwari at the time, but met him subsequently at the funeral of Mr. Christiani Lewis, the original owner of Waterchris.

What is instructive is that the PPP government took time in making sure the final and legal transfer of this and some other properties were never brought to finality.

The reason behind this behavior is one of control over the intended Leasee/ owner. So if for any reason said person /persons or company wants to approach the bank or third party to be involved in any business it will require permission from the government to do so.

As such, if the person to whom the property is given should take a position that conflicts with

Gary Best walks on DUI charge

Gary Best

Retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Rear Admiral Gary Best today walked free of his charge of driving under the influence of alcohol info@guyanapostonline.com

in the Former National Cycle, Jude Bentley Matter.

Best, who walked free of causing death by dangerous driving back in December is now

free of both causing the death of Jude Bentley

by Dangerous Driving and driving under the influence.

Likewise, in the causing death matter, the

Magistrate has upheld and no-case submission, which essentially argued that the prosecution did not have enough evidence to convict Best.

As such, the matter was dismissed back in December and Best walked a free man of both charges.

Best back then offered an apology over the incident, but however, admitted no guilt in the matter.

Shortly after, the Director of Public Prosecution has since signaled their intentions to appeal the decision of the Magistrate in the cause of death charge.

It was back in March 2020, on the Rupert Craig Highway, when Best, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol caused the death of Bentley during his morning ride.

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the government the owner will never be able to get the support or comfort to do any business with a bank or third party because the government can exercise leverage to keep the party in check.

The property has been in the possession of Brian Tiwari and for all intended purposes was intended for transfer. The coalition government has done what the PPP initiated but failed to complete for whatever reason. This is a final and legal transfer to the owner. The same principle that applied for the GRB wharf was applied for the BIDCO house which was also transferred to Capt.

Gerry Gouveia, currently Chairman of the Private Sector Commission. Said property situated in Duke Street Kingston is now converted into a business called Duke Lodge.

This is not a simple

case of disposal of state assets for if it is so then both governments would be held responsible and have questionable intent in starting this deal and/ or completing it. In my opinion, the completion of the transfer of the GRB wharf is just that, completion of one deal that started under a government and which another government has taken the responsibility to execute. The timing unfortunately like everything in Guyana right now, given the climate, is an opportunity for political advantage.

If in the presence of the worst pandemic in years COVID-19 response and support are used for political ends what else must we in Guyana expect?

Regards Lincoln Lewis

COVID-19 vaccines donated by Barbados Frontline workers are set to be the first who will get COVID-19 vaccines.

The Government of Barbados donated 1500 vaccines. Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony was on hand to receive the vaccines which arrived at Ogle Airport on Wednesday.

President Irfaan Ali confirmed that 1400 vaccines will go “exclusively” to frontline workers, these are mainly nurses and doctors, while 100 dosages would be given to Caricom Secretariat.

President Ali said that

the government is working to ensure that Guyanese are vaccinated by year-end as he said more donations are expected within the coming weeks. Earlier this week, Barbados received a donation of OxfordAstrazeneca vaccines.

The OxfordAstrazeneca vaccine is said to be 62% effective.

However, it is also reportedly 90 percent effective with a lower dose than the required two doses.

Guyana expected donations of vaccines from India, China, and Russia.

Guyana Post Thursday February 11, 2021

Delay in CSEC results still Three brothers charged affecting students with murdering youth

The Education Ministry is still unable to make full disclosure of the CSEC results from the July-August 2020 examinations.

The Ministry of Education has announced that due to the ongoing review of CSEC and CAPE Grade by the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) disclosing the results may not be possible now.

With expectations that results would have been announced on Wednesday, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand expressed some level of disappointment.

“We believe it would be reckless at this time to announce the usual announcement Guyana makes,” Manickchand said, “if we do make an announcement it would be very clumsy, it would something like this student A, B and C received the highest amount of grade

ones in this amount, someone got 20 someones got 19 but this picture could change because student D currently has an outstanding review,” the Minister said.

After the July/ August examination, students were geared to view these results in September, however, many students demanded that their grades be reviewed after they had doubts about the grades they received.

Out of 20 schools, 21,000 of entries were affected but most of them were settled, leaving some 6261 entries being officially asked for a review by CXC in some 1258 subject areas.

However, with the ongoing delay by the CXC, students are yet to receive their results, as CXC has announced that they have completed some 90 % of the review leaving some 128 reviews still being processed.

This Minister feels this is unacceptable as many students want closure to finalise their applications to universities and other programmes.

“You would think in ordinary circumstances they would have taken just a few weeks to finish the four per cent outstanding and to give us our entire 100 per cent result,” Minister Manickchand said, “they are affected by the lockdown that is happening there and it is not something we can be unsympathetic to. The world is in this pandemic right now so that is what is being uncertain, so I can’t say when and they can’t say when they are going to finish,” Minister maintained.

She, however, remains optimistic and said she hopes that we will not go into the May/2021 exams and students from last year have not had their results.

Three Brothers were today charged after they appeared in court this morning for the murder Belle West Youth.

The three appeared in the courtroom of the Magistrate Zamina Ali Seepaul and were not required to enter a plea to charges.

According to the charge sheet, it read that 26-year-old, Kayle Roberts, A miner along with his brother 23-yearold, Kurlsen Roberts both Canal # 2 Belle West, West Bank Demerara on the 5th February both murdered Emmanuel Solomon by stabbing him to death.

On the other hand, it was also alleged that on the same day, their 17-year-old, Brother

Emmanuel Solomon

also acting in the crime.

However, because of him being a juvenile, he was charged separately.

The first two brothers were immediately remanded to prison, while the younger teenage brother was remanded to the juvenile holding facility, as their matter will be set to come up again on March 4th in the Wales Magistrate Court.

Reports are that it was

just after 6 PM on the day in question, when the 17-year-old, Suspect approached Emmanuel while being armed with a sharp object, over an 8-month-old feud from a football game.

The three suspects, later then, in front of the mother of the dead youth reportedly stabbed him several times, with the final wound being a stab wound to the heart.

They all escaped, as Solomon was later picked and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The Mother of the three suspects later turned her Sons over to the police where they were later charged for the murder.

82 year old woman latest COVID-19 victim COVID -19 related deaths have now moved up to 182. The Ministry of Health announced this latest death on Wednesday.

The latest victim was an 82-year-old woman from Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

The woman would have said to have passed away at her home and was later tested for the virus. After being swabbed it was confirmed that she had died from the coronavirus.

With the passing elderly woman, the Ministry

of Health expressed condolences to the family of the deceased as it said it will make every effort to provide all the necessary support during this difficult time to render any assistance needed.

old son. The boy told authorities that his mother contacted him and said she was on her way to Guyana from Suriname via the backtrack route.

She related that she was dropped off in an unknown spot at the #63 beach where the water remained very high to her waist.

Since then the

young man said that he has not heard from his mother.

Search by family remembers turned up empty-han ded .

The search, however, continued with the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, where they have now located two members of the crew with one missing.

Two found dead at 63 Beach after taking Guyana/ Suriname “Backtrack

Dead:Sharida Hussain info@guyanapostonline.com

Two Persons, who are part of a three-member crew feared dead after taking the Suriname/ Guyana “backtrack” route have been found dead along the #63 Beach.

The two dead individuals who have so far been found are identified as 77-yearold Baboni Harihar, Dead:Baboni Hariha a Pensioner of Percy

Smith Street, Palmyra Village, and Alwin Joseph.

48-year-old Sharida Hussain known as ‘Sherry’, of Pilot Street, New Amsterdam is now said to be the only one missing.

In a tragic situation that was reported to the authorities by Hussain’s 19-year-

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Regional News T&T TOPS THE REGION ON 2020 DEMOCRACY INDEX From Jamaica Loop Majority of the Caribbean nations assessed in the 2020 Democracy Index have been described as having flawed democracies.

The countries were assessed on their Electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, Political participation, Political culture and Civil liberties.

Trinidad and Tobago ranked 41 on the index, which was two places better than in 2019.

The twin-island nation received an overall score

of 7.16 out of 10.

T&T received 9.58 in the Electoral process and pluralism category, 7.14 in Functioning of government, 6.11 in Political participation, 5.63 in Political culture and 7.35 in Civil liberties Jamaica was one spot behind, which was an improvement of eight places.

Jamaica was given an overall score of 7.13 to tie with the European nation of Lithuania. The island was given 8.75 in Electoral process and pluralism, 7.14 in Functioning of

government, 5.00 in Political participation, 6.25 in Political culture and 8.53 in Civil liberties Suriname fell two places to 51 with an overall score of 6.82.

The Dominican Republic placed 63 with a score of 6.32.

Guyana fell four places to 75, which is just above being declared a hybrid regime, which combines features of autocracy and democracy.

The country received 6.50 in Electoral process and pluralism, 5.36 in Functioning of

government, 6.11 in Political participation, 5.00 in Political culture and 7.06 in Civil liberties.

Haiti was the lowest ranked Caribbean nation at 106 receiving a score of 4.22.

The island received 4.75 in Electoral process and pluralism, 1.71 in Functioning of government, 2.78 in Political participation, 6.25 in Political culture and 5.59 in Civil liberties.

Norway, Iceland, Sweden and New Zealand copped the top four spots.

In this thirteenth

edition of the index, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) focused on the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on democracy and freedom around the world.

“It looks at how the pandemic resulted in the withdrawal of civil liberties on a massive scale and fuelled an existing trend of intolerance and censorship of dissenting opinion,” EIU reported.

“In 2020 a large majority of countries, 116 of a total of 167 (almost 70 percent), recorded a decline in their total score

compared with 2019. Only 38 (22.6 percent) recorded an improvement and the other 13 stagnated, with their scores remaining unchanged compared with 2019.”

Some highlights of the report include Japan, South Korea and Taiwan moving from the “flawed democracy” category to be classified as “full democracies”.

France and Portugal experienced a reversal, losing the “full democracy” designation and re-joining the ranks of “flawed democracies”.

OAS concern about the situation in Haiti

By Caribbean News Global contributor WA S H I N G T O N , USA – The OAS General Secretariat says it is closely monitoring the current situation in Haiti, with respect for human rights and the independence of powers.

In a statement Tuesday the OAS General Secretariat said it “has an info@guyanapostonline.com

essential interest in the protection of democratic institutions and the political rights of its citizens. It is fundamental that state institutions work together to resolve the problems afflicting Haiti.

We call for democratic structural changes in Haiti through the discussion of a new Constitution and effective participation

in general elections this year.”

The OAS General Secretariat renews its support for the electoral process as the only option consistent with the Democratic Charter to replace the current constitutional president with another resident on February 7, 2022.

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Regional News St Lucia parliament toggles COVID-19 legislation amidst more infections and deaths

By Caribbean News Global contributor CASTRIES, St Lucia (CNG Health) – While the parliament of Saint Lucia approved the State of Emergency (SOE), a change to the country’s arrival protocols for international visitors and toggled on the debate over COVID-19 vaccines and procedural matters, February 9, 2021 – the Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 110 new cases of COVID-19 and three related deaths.

“The total number of deaths recorded in the country to date to is 22.

Death #20 is a 69-year-old male from Anse La Raye with underlying medical conditions.

He was admitted on January 22, 2021, and was in critical care when he passed away on February 9, 2021.

“Death #21 is an 85-year-old female from Babonneau with underlying medical conditions. She was admitted into care on January 19, 2021, and

passed away on February 8, 2021.

“Death #22 is a 63-yearold male from Castries with underlying medical conditions. This individual was admitted into care on February 1, 2021, and passed away on February 7, 2021,” the MOH said in a press release February 9, 2021.

According to the MOH formulation and statistics, “there are currently 712 active cases with three being in critical care at the respiratory hospital.

All of the other cases are presently stable. The new cases which have been confirmed now bring the total number of cases diagnosed in the country to date to 2137.”

The debate in parliament lead by prime minister Allen Chastanet his servants and agents were at there lowestebb, at odds to reflect the reality of COVID-19 and “putting people first”. A concept the prime minister is at odds to understand.

The alternative reality

espoused in parliament proffers the people of Saint Lucia as “collateral damage”.

“I believe our children are safer at school that some of the homes they are at,” said Guy Joseph, minister for economic development, housing, urban renewal, transport and civil aviation.

Fabricating the truth is a natural manifestation of the government of Saint

Lucia that coincides with “we are on the right track … Saint Lucia will succeed to bring this virus under control” is committed to “co-exist with COVID-19”.

In a related article St Lucia: SOE – Curfew to restrict opposition campaign ahead of general elections CNG stated that this is a ridiculous narrative.

Dominica PM says receipt of COVID-19 vaccine signals start of fightback (CMC) – The donation of several batches of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by the Government of India to Barbados and Dominica has been hailed as the start of the region’s fightback against the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic.

Dominica’s Prime

Minister Roosevelt Skerrit emphasised that Tuesday night as he joined his Barbadian counterpart Mia Mottley via Zoom at a press conference that saw them expressing gratitude to the government and people of India for the first-ever donation of the vaccine to the region.

Both countries received shipments of the vaccines earlier that day.

Addressing nationals of both countries, Skerrit said: “Guided by the results of the latest studies, this vaccine will reduce the likelihood of transmission to others; this means that Dominica

as a country will soon be empowered to achieve a crucial objective, which is to further minimise and eventually stamp out the impact of the various strains of COVID-19.

The vaccine will not be mandatory, but I would encourage all citizens to consider the danger

of passing up such an opportunity as this to safeguard the health of yourself and your loved ones.

“I am happy that our brothers and sisters in Barbados have also succeeded in their efforts to procure that

an immediate rescue, but food, water and a radio were dropped to them so they could communicate.

“Unfortunately we didn’t have any fluent Spanish speakers but in my broken Spanish I was able to discern that they were from Cuba and that they needed

medical assistance.

They made sure to stress that they had been on the island for 33 days,” Lt Beecher said.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

View original tweet on Twitter 1px transparent line The group of two men and one woman told Coast Guard officials that they swam to the island after their boat sank.

Justin Dougherty said the group later told him they were “able to get nourishment from coconuts”.

“At first glance the island doesn’t seem to have much, but there is some shrubbery there and some trees so they were able to

country’s own batch of the vaccine for the benefit of all Barbadians. Tonight signifies the start of the fight back by the Caribbean islands against the virus that has threatened the livelihood of every CARICOM national.

Three people believed to have been stranded on an uninhabited island in the Bahamas for 33 days have been rescued, the US Coast Guard says

From BBC: An aircrew was on a routine patrol when it spotted the group frantically waving a makeshift flag on Anguilla Cay. The Cuban nationals told officials they had survived largely on coconuts. info@guyanapostonline.com

One of the crew members involved in the rescue efforts told the BBC he was “amazed that they were able to survive for so long”.

The group was first spotted on the island located between the Florida Keys and Cuba on Monday.

Coast Guard official Riley Beecher told the BBC that he was out on patrol when “something caught the attention of my eye”. When he came back round at a lower altitude, he realised that there were people on the island in distress.

The crew was not equipped to carry out

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stay out of the elements somewhat,” he said.

US media reports say they also survived on rats and conchs.

The trio were finally airlifted from the island by helicopter on Tuesday and taken to a medical centre in Florida, though they have no reported major injuries.

They have since been transferred to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Coast Guard says.

Members of the rescue team told the BBC they had never witnessed a situation like it before.

“I’ve never come across anyone who’s been [stranded] for anywhere like that length of time before,” Lt Dougherty said.

International News

Guyana Post Thursday February 11, 2021

Loujain al-Hathloul: Saudi women’s rights activist released from prison

PROSECUTORS IN GEORGIA OPEN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP’S ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE ELECTION RESULTS

Former President Donald Trump

Loujain al-Hathloul

The prominent Saudi women’s right activist Loujain al-Hathloul has been released from prison, her family says.

Ms Hathloul, 31, was instrumental in the movement to allow women to drive in the kingdom. She was detained in 2018, just weeks before the ban was lifted.

In December a court found her guilty of seeking to change the political system and damage public order.

She was sentenced to nearly six years in a maximum-security prison, but two years and 10 months were suspended.

Her family have warned that she is “not free” and will face numerous restrictions while on probation, including a five-year travel ban.

1px transparent line “Loujain is at home!!!!!!”

Ms Hathloul’s sister Lina tweeted on Wednesday, breaking the news that she had been released after 1,001 days in prison.

Another sister, Alia, wrote that “this is the best day of my life”.

Ms Hathloul became a symbol of the suppression of dissent in info@guyanapostonline.com

Saudi Arabia following her detention in May 2018 along with about a dozen other female activists who had also campaigned for women to be allowed to drive.

Her family said she was initially held incommunicado for three months, and that she was subjected to electric shocks, whippings, and sexual harassment. They also alleged that she was offered freedom if she agreed to say she was not tortured.

The Saudi government denied the allegations of torture, which her family said were recently dismissed by an appeals court.

Officials also insisted that she was not detained because of her activism, but rather her contacts with foreign diplomats, media and other organisations.

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Loujain Al-Hathloul has become the face of dissent in the kingdom - a symbol of Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on any form of protest.

More than any other female activist languishing in prison, her case has gained global prominence. Her outspoken family and a persistent campaign

by human rights groups have kept the spotlight on her.

That’s thrown a long dark shadow on the kingdom’s efforts to publicise its new economic and social reforms.

Saudi officials say they aren’t bowing to outside pressure. But it’s also clear they want this issue off the agenda now that there’s a new team in the White House emphasising human rights.

This week also saw the announcement of reforms to the Saudi legal system. But there are other issues in this file, including the even longer shadow of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi officials insist their strategic importance in the region will outweigh all other issues.

Ms Hathloul and 10 other women were put on trial at a criminal court in Riyadh in March 2019.

However, the case was adjourned several times.

At the end of October 2020, Ms Hathloul started a hunger strike to protest against the conditions of her detention, including not being allowed regular contact with her family.

Washington (CNN) A prosecutor in Fulton County, Georgia, has opened a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump for his “attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia general election.”

In a letter sent Wednesday to numerous Georgia state election officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested that they preserve documents related to Trump’s phone call last month in which he pushed Raffensperger to “find” votes to reverse his election loss.

The investigation comes as Raffensperger’s office has launched its own probe into Trump’s attempts to overturn the election, an inquiry that includes a review of both that call and another phone call the then-President made to a Georgia election official.

Willis said her “investigation includes but is not limited to, potential violations of Georgia election law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local government bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office, and any involvement in

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violence of threats related to the election’s administration.”

“This matter is of high priority, and I am confident that as fellow law enforcement officers sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States and Georgia, our acquisition of information and evidence of potential crimes via interviews, documents, videos and electronic records will be cooperative,” the letter reads.

Trump himself is not named in the letter, but Willis’ office confirmed to CNN that the probe concerns his phone call with Raffensperger. The letter also says Fulton County authorities currently “have no reason to believe that any Georgia official is a target” in the probe.

The investigation was earlier reported by The New York Times.

The criminal probe adds to a growing list of significant legal pressures facing Trump, including a Senate impeachment trial in which House Democrats are pushing to convict him for inciting the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, and the investigation launched

by Raffensperger’s office into Trump’s election conduct.

In that probe, Raffensperger, the state’s

top election official, is also investigating Trump’s one-hour phone call, in which Trump lambasted his fellow Republican for refusing to falsely say that he won the election in Georgia and repeatedly touted baseless claims of election fraud.

Another call occurred on December 23 between Trump and a Georgia election investigator in the secretary of state’s office who was leading an investigation into allegations of ballot fraud in Cobb County.

In that call, Trump asked the investigator to “find the fraud,” saying the official would be a “national hero,” according to a source with direct knowledge of the call.

There were 18 attempted calls from the White House to the Georgia secretary of state’s office between the election and the January 2 phone call between Trump and Raffensperger, a Georgia state official has confirmed to CNN. There have been no credible allegations of any issues with voting that would have impacted the election, as affirmed by dozens of judges, governors, election officials, the Electoral College, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the US Supreme Court.

Michael J. Moore, the former US attorney for the Middle District of Georgia between 2010 and 2015 under President Barack Obama, told CNN the multiple calls “sort of start to tell the story that this was not an official trying to talk to another official about problems that he or she might see in an election.”

International Sports

Guyana Post Thursday February 11, 2021

Manchester City sweep Swansea aside to reach FA Cup quarter-finals From the Guardian:

The Manchester City machine rolls on unparalleled. Pep Guardiola’s side cruised to a record-breaking 15th consecutive win and, from the moment Raheem Sterling doubled City’s advantage, it was clear Swansea would become their latest prey. It was not a perfect night – Rodri limped off and Morgan Whittaker pulled a goal back on debut for the Championship side – but City nevertheless strolled into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, with Gabriel Jesus’s superbly taken strike perhaps the pick of the bunch.

City played with an air of invincibility and single-

mindedness, dominating the ball and shuffling possession from left to right at will, as they did for Kyle Walker’s opener when his teasing cross inadvertently dribbled into the far corner.

City, who have already booked their place in the Carabao Cup final, are five points clear at the top of the Premier League and continue to fight on four fronts after extending their unbeaten streak to 22 matches. In that time they have scored 52 goals, conceding just six along the way, one of which came here when Whittaker fired in smartly after swivelling in the box.

“It means a lot, in this

toughest period, during the Christmas time, during the wintertime to do what we have done is quite remarkable,” said Guardiola, who celebrated his 200th win as City manager by watching his side surpass a winning record previously held by Preston and Arsenal.

Advertisement “It shows how special these players are. The important thing is the way we are still playing and our consistency. We have an incredibly tough week ahead of us.”

Swansea pride themselves on solid foundations – they have the best defensive record in the Football League –

but allowed City to pull clear after the break. “We were very naive in the way we started the second half and a really tough challenge became a lot tougher after that,” Steve Cooper said. “To be 3-0 down after 55 minutes is a real test of character but we didn’t hide. The goals were really soft – and that’s not us. That’s a kick in the side for the lads.”

City would have taken the lead before the halfhour but for the Swansea goalkeeper Freddie Woodman. Swansea, not for the first time, failed to make the ball stick in attack and Jesus slipped in Ferran Torres, a familiar foe for Joel Latibeaudiere

and Marc Guehi in the hosts’ defence.

Torres lined up for Spain in the Under-17 World Cup final in India, which England, propelled

by Phil Foden, a secondhalf substitute here, won under Cooper four years ago.

City made seven changes from the team that beat Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday and Swansea also freshened up personnel, with Cooper making five changes. He named a youthful team – at 26, Jay Fulton was the eldest player in the starting lineup – and Swansea’s back three were all under the age of 21, including the former City defender Latibeaudiere.

With 72 seconds of the second half gone, Sterling rolled in City’s all‑important second goal.

Rodri won possession, slid the ball into space behind the wing-back Connor Roberts, where Sterling applied a cool finish.

Moments later Torres hooked a volley on to the roof of the Swansea net but it was not long before City added a third.

Swansea was punished for a loose pass after playing out from the back and Jesus superbly controlled Bernardo Silva’s knockdown with his right

foot before hammering home with his left.

Eric García occasionally offered Swansea encouragement, running into trouble before making amends to deny Jamal Lowe a shot on goal and it was the Spaniard who allowed Whittaker space to arrow a strike into the far corner with 13 minutes remaining. But City could have been out of sight had Latibeaudiere not stopped Sterling meeting Jesus’s cross at the back post.

In the previous round at Cheltenham, Guardiola had to turn to his substitutes to spare embarrassment but here he had the luxury of being able to give Ilkay Gündogan and Sterling a breather before the hour mark. Ten minutes later Cooper made a quadruple change that, in effect, admitted defeat, withdrawing regular starters with Saturday’s league trip to Sheffield Wednesday in mind.

“We’ve got to play against and see one of the best teams in the world live,” Cooper added. “We will look to take it into our game going forward.”

Facebook says it is “horrified” at the continued

online abuse of footballers and has announced what is says are tougher measures to tackle the issue The social media platform is changing the rules governing direct messaging on Instagram, a platform it also owns.

It will disable the accounts of those found to have repeatedly sent abusive private messages on Instagram.

UK head of content policy Fadzai Madzingira said it was “saddening” to

info@guyanapostonline.com

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see continued abuse on the platforms.

Madzingira told BBC Sport: “I’m horrified at the type of abuse that people, especially these footballers, have to deal with on the basis of who they are, whether it’s their race or their religion or their gender, and as a company, we’re disappointed to see that

sort of behaviour that plays out offline also playing out on our platform.

“It’s why we’re making the announcements today about taking tougher measures to go after accounts that are violating our community standards and our goals within Instagram direct messages.”

A number of Premier

Guyana Post Saturday February 30, 2021

Facebook says it is “horrified”.........

League footballers including Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Axel Tuanzebe, West Brom’s Romaine Sawyers and Chelsea fullback Reece James - have

info@guyanapostonline.com

been subjected to abusive online messages in recent weeks.

The Football Association has called for action from the government, which has

since stated social media companies could face “large fines” potentially amounting to “billions of pounds” if they fail to tackle abuse on their platforms.

Asked by BBC sports editor Dan Roan whether Facebook was enabling such abuse, Madzingira said: “No, to imply that it’s about enabling I think would be inaccurate.

“I think that platforms like ours allow communities of people to connect on the things that they love. If we need to have a conversation about hate, it really needs to be not what is just happening on the platform.”

What will change on Instagram?

Footballers past and present have called for users of social media platforms to be required to provide verification documents when creating accounts so that they can be traced more effectively if they breach rules.

Facebook says this measure would prove challenging in communities where such documents would not be readily available.

“If we were to insist on using government ID or passport details we would be barring access to the very people who use our platforms to build communities, so we are very conscious we allow for that access,” added Madzingira.

The company claims it “took action” on 6.5 million pieces of hate speech on Instagram between July and September last year, including within direct messages which are

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harder to police because of privacy rules.“To date, if someone violated the rules in Instagram direct messages, we would set a specific ban or a block for a certain amount of time and extend that period, should they continue to violate,” Madzingira explained.

“Today we’re announcing that we will now be removing those accounts, should they continue to violate within Instagram direct messaging.”

Facebook said it would not spell out how many offences would trigger removal as offenders could use the information to “game the system”.

We are a small part in fixing this’ Facebook said it was “doing everything we can to fight hate and racism on our platform” but added the “problems are bigger than us”.

Some users have sought a ban on specific emojis commonly used in racist messages but Madzingira argued against banning symbols that could be used innocently in other contexts.

She also said filters could be used to prevent others from leaving offensive comments on posts, and that work was also being done to prevent banned users from opening new accounts.

Asked whether Facebook has prioritised profits over clamping down on abuse, Madzingira said: “I think that would be an inaccurate assessment.

“Because if people didn’t feel safe on the platform they wouldn’t be able to be there.

“We accept that being able to deal with this issue is everyone’s responsibility and we want to play our part.

The frustration that these players have is right - it is horrifying the abuse they are receiving.”

‘The police need more help from social media platforms’

Bristol Rovers full-back Mark Little - the target of a racist message on social media that is being investigated by police - said he was surprised that those in charge of the platforms were only reacting now.

He said: “I welcome that they’re making a change but it’s quite confusing for me, as what they have announced is what I assumed was happening before.

“They’ve jumped to a standard rather than getting anywhere near what I would think would be acceptable for what is going on.”

Little, 32, added that “a big corporation like Facebook should be able to set the precedent for what is going on in wider society” and that “the police need more help from the social media platforms”.

He added: “I don’t think it would be that difficult to identify the people who are doing this.

“Everyone should have some form of identification to use these platforms and I think that would eradicate a very large portion of the abuse.”

‘More has to be done to stamp out abuse’ Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden welcomed the tougher measures but insisted “racist abuse is still a fact of life for too many people and more has to be done across the board to stamp it out”.

He added: “For too long, the world’s most popular and powerful social media companies have failed to tackle the stream of horrific racist attacks on their platforms.

“We’re introducing a new age of accountability for these companies through our upcoming Online Safety Bill and this could see huge fines for firms which fail to clearly and transparently protect their users.”