Keeping you updated on current events... ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER
Friday, February 26, 2021
Former Education Minister says the government is dishonest WOMAN GETS FOUR YEARS FOR COCAINE SMUGGLING
NIGERIAN SCAMS TWO WOMEN $6.5M,
MANDELA AVENUE
HEADS TO JAIL
PROJECT AFFECTS
SHERIFF STREET-
SMALL BUSINESSES
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Guyana Post Friday, February 26, 2021
SHERIFF STREET-MANDELA AVENUE PROJECT AFFECTS SMALL BUSINESSES and are already dealing with that factor. The business now sometimes gets 5-10 customers a day and is struggling to keep its doors open. The business owner says that the company depends on the customers having parking that encourages them to come in the store, but as of this moment, there is no parking. The Mandela Avenue/ Sheriff Street four-
Already grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 on their business, the owner of some businesses along Mandela Avenue/ Sheriff Street is facing a drop in income due to the current construction of the fourlane road. With works schedule to complete some months from, businesses
in the area are hoping for an immediate remedy to the situation. One news outlet that spoke with some of the proprietors noted that since construction works were done, there has been a reduction in revenue earned. This is said to be in the range of 40%-60% and as the times go by that
info@guyanapostonline.com
The court heard that Okoye, between October 15 and November 16, 2020, at Georgetown with intent to defraud, obtained from Suruj Dei Balkaran, $6,059,900. He also received $500,000 from another woman by falsely claiming that he was in possession of a package intended to be sent to them. Okoye was immediately remanded to prison until March 17, 2021.
some $2.7 billion of the total funding was already been spent on the project which should have been completed by now but the project had to halt because of safety issues. However, an additional $553 million had to be allocated in last year’s emergency budget by the Government to complete the project and it is hoped that the project will finish in August.
percentage continues to rise. Proprietors added that while they remain grateful for the works that have been done, it is believed that some other mechanism is needed to facilitate their operation. One small business owner has said that in past that they have seen a fall in business activity
POLICE ISSUE BULLETIN FOR SUSPECTED SHOOTER
A Nigerian national, who is accused of running a criminal scheme in Guyana was slapped with ten charges all linked to his collecting over $6.1 million from two women under false pretence. The accused, Uche Raymond Okoye, known as Uche Parker, appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and was not required to plead to the charges.
lane project upgrade is being funded through a US$66 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The project which had been in the hands of the APNU-AFC former Government came in for some heavy criticism over its handling of the project. Now, Minister of Works, Juan Edghill, said that back in 2020
He is accused of running a scamming scheme here in Guyana, as part of a criminal network involving Nigerian nationals who collaborate with other associates and solicit cash from their victims by promising highvalued merchandise to be delivered following the payment. It was noted in this instance that he collected funds from two victims, with the use of a fake facebook profile through which he befriended them. The initial staged set up for the scheme, Okoye would reportedly inform them that they would be receiving a package containing the latest gadgets and electronic devices. The victims would reportedly be told via whatsapp after they money had been paid
that the items would be delivered. However, after the monies were paid through bank transfers and Western Union, Okoye claimed that there was a complication in the transaction which required more cash to be sent. The Women would then never hear from the accused. They would later realize that they were scammed. This time, the authorities were called in and an immediate investigation was launched. This is not the first time Okoye has seen the courtroom on similar offences, as he is currently before the court on two counts of obtaining money by false pretence and demanding money by menace and entering Guyana illegally.
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COVID DEATHS REACH 195
Five COVID-19 victims have died so far this week. Two more died yesterday, taking the total deaths to 195. The latest fatalities are a 38-year-old male
from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazruni) and a 79-year-old female from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica). These persons died while receiving care at our medical facility
Family member prime suspect in rape of 10-year-old
A family member of Northwest District has been suspected of raping his 10-yearold relative and at the same time leaving the victim in an unconscious state after the incident. Reports coming out of the Region-One
area have named a close family member as the suspect in the rapping of a 10-yearold child, who was left in the care of the alleged rapist. According to the statement of the matter, the police, yesterday, received
notice of the allegations and later ventured to the crime scene. During their investigation, it was discovered that the child was left in the care of the suspect sometime around 10:30. During the
alleviating the hardness of the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on the implementation of the Government Project while putting in place the necessary needs for learning during the pandemic. However, Shadow Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, who took to the floor of the National Assembly this morning said that the Government of the day must give credit where
it’s due on the projects the former APNU-AFC implemented. “What I’m saying as a responsible representative of the people, members must seek to give recognition when it is due. Mr. Speaker, Guyana has found itself in the poorest truths era. Ms. Henry added that no amount of Government manipulation of data can change the facts. “Since taking office the PPP has created an environment where objective facts are less influential and less critical and fabrication, emotion, and personal belief have taken precedence. “In this post-truth era fiction, confusion, cherry-picking of data, manipulation of information and public relations control have replaced engagement with the fact,” Ms. Henry said Ms. Henry identified
Guyana Post Friday, February 26, 2021
WOMAN GETS FOUR YEARS FOR COCAINE SMUGGLING
day the accused committed the act. It was noted also that the child not only endured forcible sexual assault but was left in an unconscious state after the act was committed. The child while gaining consciousness recalled that the suspect threatened to kill her if she spoke about it but the child defies those threats and told her grandmother what transpired and immediately the authorities were alerted. Since then the suspect was arrested. The child continues to be medically examined and the matter continues to be investigated.
A young woman, who was nabbed at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, Ogle, with a quantity of Cocaine stashed in her private parts and 73 pellets filled with Cocaine was this morning slapped with a four-year jail sentence and a fine of $798,000. The drug mule, 23-year-old, Tameira
Melville, appeared in the Sparendaam Magistrates Court before Magistrate Roschelle Liverpool and opted to not waste the court’s time. She pleaded guilty to the offence. According to information, Melville was who was a passenger on a Caribbean Airlines flight destined for Barbados, was on Saturday intercepted at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, Ogle and was subjected to a physical search after she was seen acting suspiciously. A search resulted in her excreting from her vagina, a bulky package wrapped in condoms which were suspected to be narcotics. She was questioned and admitted to also swallowing 73 pellets filled with suspected
projects like the new school in Prospect, East Bank Demerara, was a project negotiated by the former Finance Minister through the InterAmerican Development Bank. It was a project that was to be started. She added that this seems to the trend throughout several
projects that APNUAFC Initiated; that is the blended learning initiative with first signing the profuturo deal back in the APNU-AFC Government to support online learning along with the introduction of the Smart Class. Facts of these, Ms. Henry says, are online. The former Minister
of Education as such has asked that Guyanese not be blinded by such nature of the PPP Government. She added that the Government must also focus on the projects it promised in its manifesto—projects like the free tuition promise at the University of Guyana.
Former Education Minister says the government is dishonest
As debates continue into the 2021 National Budget, Former Education Minister in the APNUAFC administration, Nicolette Henry, has criticized the Government for taking credit for the projects implemented by the coalition. Education had seen the largest allocation of funds this year, at $60.3 Billion with Health coming in second with $53.5 B. The Budget allocation is said to be aimed at info@guyanapostonline.com
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Guyana Post Friday, February 26 2021
Give public servants 10% hike–Ramjattan
allocation set aside for public servants, the Opposition APNUAFC is demanding that the government give a 10% wage increase across the board for all public servants. Opposition Member of Parliament and Former Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, With the during the 2021 Budget Government only Debate demanded the noting that there has Government give a been a $10B Budget
10% wage increase for 2020. “As a simple demand of them, I proposed that there be a wage increase of 10% across the board retroactive to January pending the negotiation at all stallholders in Government and at the GPSU…. “It is in recognition of the hardship faced by public servants today, in this COVID period.” Mr. Ramjattan
said. The Coalition since the announcement of the 2021 budget has criticized the People’s Progressive Party Government for failing to increase public servants’ salaries and the minimum wage. “Please if you have any heart ensure that it happens. We would like a lot more but 10% is what we seek at this time,” Mr. Ramjattan added.
The Government had so far denied the APNU+AFC claims and said that persons must not be misled by them in their false claims that there will be no wages and salary increases in 2021 for public servants. As such the G o v e r n m e n t maintained that over $10B has been budgeted in the estimates under the
head, ‘revision of wages and salaries and a huge part of that sum will go towards salary increases for the public sector workers. The Coalition has thus far rejected this move. The allocation will not favour all and as such in order for that to only happen there must be an increase in percentage across the board, the coalition added.
Cuba normalization could AU.S. second–UN term for a champion of causes crucialincrease to the Caribbean production of COVID-19 vaccines By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London By Sir Ronald Sanders and Massey College in the University of Toronto. (The writer is The views expressed are Antigua and Barbuda’s entirely his own) Ambassador to the If U.S. President, Joe U.S. and the OAS. Biden, eases the trade He is also a Senior embargo against Cuba, Fellow at the Institute of one benefit to developing Commonwealth Studies at countries, including the University of London the Caribbean, could and at Massey College in be greater access to the University of Toronto. coronavirus vaccines at an The views expressed are affordable price. entirely his own) Cuban scientists have United Nations been working on four Secretary-General, vaccine candidates to António Guterres, has counter the virus. They announced his availability believe that their most to serve a second term successful candidate, when his current term Sovereign 2, will enter a ends on December 31. final phase of testing next Arguably, Guterres month. is the UN SecretaryVincent Verez, one of General that has paid the the leading scientists on greatest attention to the the Cuban team, says concerns and challenges that clinical tests, in two of the countries of the trial phases so far, have Caribbean Community revealed that Sovereign 2 (CARICOM). Over is “very safe with very few the last four years, the adverse effects”. policies and priorities he The scientific team has vigorously pursued claims that producing the and tirelessly advocated coronavirus vaccine was have aligned with the made more difficult by the interests of the people of sanctions on Cuba. They the Region. were not able to buy all
When three Caribbean countries experienced grave destruction in 2017 and Guterres the 2019, equipment andmade raw itmaterials his business to fly to they needed, them, not only to witness including spectrometers the but to used devastation for quality control. make the world aware of Nonetheless, their work the catastrophes, and to is continuing. They formulate plans to help. have used a 20-yearBarbuda oldVisiting spectrometer that in is 2017, weeks after still powerful enoughthe to ravages Hurricane analyse theofvaccine. Irma, he walked Cuba’s biotech with sectorthe is people who had suffered well developed, making in thevaccines disaster (for thatother left eight no inhabitable house and diseases) administered no functional to children in thebuilding. country Guterres told the and exported to world, more “I in areas thanhave 30 been countries. A torn by conflict. In my successful coronavirus own country, I havewould seen vaccine from Cuba earthquakes, I’ve seen help to break the global storms […] I have never control of the market by seen suchpharmaceutical a high-level the big of devastation the companies in thelike US and one that I witnessed in Europe. Barbuda.” Cuba’s geographical Moving Barbuda location in from the Caribbean to Dominica, which was and its willingness to share worst affected because a successful vaccine with its was world, much the population developing larger, the UN Chief would ease the pressure declared, “thecountries link on CARICOM between climate change which face a twin problem and the devastation we in relation to inoculating are witnessing is clear, their people. The first and thereaccess is a collective is to vaccines responsibility of being produced by the the international community large pharmaceutical to stop thisparticularly, suicidal companies development.” Pfizer and Moderna, and immediately theHe second is getting better launched an agenda on prices. theCARICOM theme of connecting countries climate change to natural have not been able to disasters. Justification vaccinate more than one for and per his centcampaigning of their people advocacy was bolstered despite herculean efforts two years later, to in secure 2019, by governments
when Hurricane Dorian demolished islands of the Bahamas chain. Again, turning up to vaccines. The COVAX focus world attention on facility, established the catastrophe, Guterres by the World Health told global toaudiences, Organization, negotiate “Hurricane both supply andDorian price has classified as with been the major vaccine Category 5. I think it’s suppliers, has encountered Category Hell.” and is major obstacles The Secretary-General yet to deliver any of recognised links the vaccines the for which between disasters Caribbeannatural countries have caused by climate change, already paid. theA rollout accumulation of is scheduled unsustainable debt by to start soon, but it will countries to be less thanstruggling 10 per cent rebuild infrastructure of the quantities that were and economies, and the ordered. crucial need for ofbetter The generosity the debt forgiveness; Indian government debt in rescheduling; and does access donating 570,000 of to theconcessional AstraZenecafinancing vaccines from the International to CARICOM countries Financial Institutions. has helped them to get the He has championed this inoculation programme stance relentlessly. started. But to get to the As of vaccinating recently 80 per as point January 25, he told cent of their populationsa Climate Adaptation so as to achieve herd Summit meeting in immunity, requires access The Netherlands, “We to more vaccines at prices are facing a climate less than the suppliers are emergency. We are already offering. witnessing unprecedented Given that the world’s climate extremes and richest countries have volatility, affecting lives pre-ordered and preand on the all paid livelihoods for supplies, continents. big pharmaceutical Accordingare under to the companies no World Meteorological pressure to reduce prices, Organization, there have or ramp up production, been more than 11,000 even as global demand disasters due to weather, is increasing rapidly. climate and water-related Pfizer expects about $15 hazards overrevenue the past this 50 billion in years at a cost of some year from its COVID-19 US$3.6 vaccine trillion. developed with Extreme weather and BioNTech.
climate-related hazards have also killed more than 410,000 people in the past decade, the vast majority Further, the in low and middlegovernmentslower of countries, income countries”. in which the large And, he of added, “We producers vaccines must the provision are expand located, have of liquidity and debt relief implemented measures, instruments developing restricting toexports of and middle-income COVID-19 vaccines, countries that intellectual lack the citing resources relaunchPfizer their property to rights. economies in a sustainable and Moderna claim the and inclusive way”. rights to vast amounts was ofGuterres intellectual property commanding world that will be useful, if not attention to others issues necessary, for to confronting the Caribbean develop vaccines in the region future. with the authority thatSadly, Caribbean countries the governments alone muster. of thecannot countries in which He has stressed Pfizer and also Moderna are that “The share for Least located have also spurned Developed and urgings to Countries facilitate such Small Island Developing exports. Human rights, States in thetotal including rightclimate to life finance remains and health, have small, been representing disregarded. only 14 per cent 2 per reasons, cent of Forand these flows respectively”. In it would be beneficial that context, he has argued to the Caribbean if the for for regional most“support promising of the adaptation and that resilience four vaccines Cuba initiatives, that would is developing could allow, secure debt-for-adaptation World Health swaps for the Caribbean Organization (WHO) or the Pacific and authorization Islands after provide much needed successful testing. liquidity While to hevulnerable was countries in dire need”. campaigning for the Similarly, since Joe the U.S. Presidency, middle of 2020, he Biden pledged to reverse has been warring for sanctions placed on Cuba developing by former countries, President particularly small instates, Donald Trump his over devastating efforts the to win Florida effects the COVID-19 where aoflarge number of pandemic. In his Cuban exiles reside. unflagging One ofchampionship, the most
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on January 25, he told the World Economic Forum in Davos, “Inclusive and unfounded sustainable measures recovery around the against Cuba is its listing, globe will depend on in the last days of Trump’s the availability as anda administration, effectiveness of vaccines sponsor of terrorism. The for all,ofimmediate critics this listingfiscal have and rightlymonetary pointed outsupport that it in both developed and is unjustified and serves developing countries, no purpose other than to and transformative further cripple the Cuban longer-term stimulus economy. measures”. More particularly, it will Declaring that hamper deals between “Vaccines mustcountries. be seen Cuba and other as global public goods Governments of Cuba’s — people’s vaccines”, closest neighbours, Guterres the world’s including toldCARICOM, leading economic and have called for its reversal. financial “If About 20leaders, churches and developed countries religious organizations think be safe in thethey U.S.will also sent ifa they vaccinate their own letter on 17 February, to people while neglecting President Biden asking the developing world, that the decision to include they Cubaare onwrong”. the list of States He argued that what sponsoring terrorism to be is required is “full revoked. funding for the At the same time,Access others, to COVID-19 including the new Tools Chair Accelerator and its of the U.S. Senate Foreign COVAX led Relations facility Committee, by the World Health Organization (WHO)”. Countries in CARICOM, which now have no vaccines and little prospect of getting sufficient, under the existing COVAX programme of the WTO to inoculate their populations, strongly agree with Guterres’s position. It is significant that he attended CARICOM Heads of Government
Meetings in 2019 and 2020 to hear their concerns first-hand. On January 28, the SecretaryGeneral outlined his priorities. They reflect concerns expressed by CARICOM leaders, including promoting vaccine equity, providing Bob Menendez, continue access for the world’s to demand harder and poorest countries; tougher measures against combatting climate Cuba. The latter represent change andmost biodiversity opposition, of whom loss; conquering want nothing less than the grave of immediateimpacts collapse of the poverty and inequality; Cuban government. andPresident strengthening Biden’s multilateralism to ensure instincts on normalization delivery public health, of U.S. ofrelations with peace and grounded a healthy Cuba are in environment. the successful efforts there’s ofUndoubtedly, the Barack Obama good reason offorwhich all administration CARICOM leaders he was Vice President. to take good leaves from Nothing will come the Antigua from books pursuingofa decadesand Barbuda’s old failed policyPrime that Minister, no one wants, Gaston except Browne, disgruntledwho pledged Cubanhis support by letter to American exiles – a few Guterres on January of whom are in the U.S. 12, and British Prime Congress. Minister, Boris Johnson, who on the same day, “warmly welcomed the secretary-general’s decision to run for a second term and congratulated him on a successful first term”. António Guterres, by just doing his job with fidelity to the countries he represents – including small states – has proven himself very worthy of the unequivocal support of CARICOM countries.
International News
Guyana Post Thursday, February 25, 2021
COVAX VACCIN E-SHAR ING SCHEM E DELIVE RS FIRST DOSES TO GHANA Coast later this week, the Covax alliance says. Vaccinations are expected to start in Ghana next week, and, as well as health workers, those over 60, people with underlying health conditions, and senior officials are due to be prioritised. The vaccines delivered to Accra
Ghana has become the first country to receive coronavirus vaccines through the Covax vaccine-sharing initiative. A delivery of 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Accra on Wednesday. The first recipients are due to
be healthcare workers. The Covax scheme aims to reduce the divide between rich countries and poorer nations unable to buy doses. The programme is planning to deliver about two billion vaccine doses globally by the end of the year.
were produced by the Serum Institute of India and developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The vaccine has been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its roll-out in Ghana is not part of a trial. The doses being sent to lower-income countries such as
Ghana are funded by donations. As well as procuring and delivering the vaccines, Covax partners are supporting local authorities in areas such as training people to administer the jabs and helping provide an adequate cold-chain storage and delivery system.
Ghana, which has a population of over 30m, was chosen as the first recipient of the free vaccines after promising quick distribution and meeting the criteria set by Covax. Further deliveries are expected to neighbouring Ivory
Johnson and Johnson vaccine: FDA finds the single-shot jab safe
A review by US regulators of the singleshot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine has found it is safe and effective. It paves the way for it to become the third Covid-19 vaccine to be authorised in the US, info@guyanapostonline.com
possibly within days. The vaccine would be a cost-effective alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and can be stored in a refrigerator instead of a freezer. Results from trials were released by
Johnson & Johnson last month. The Belgian company Janssen, which is owned by the pharmaceutical giant, said its data showed the product was highly effective against severe disease. It comes as Ghana
became the first country to receive coronavirus vaccines through the Covax vaccine-sharing initiative. The briefing document published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives more detail on
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the data submitted by Janssen to the regulator. The FDA concludes that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has “known benefits” in reducing both symptomatic and severe illness. Results from vaccine trials conducted in the US, South Africa and Brazil found its efficacy against the worst outcomes of the virus was “similarly high” but overall protection was lower in South Africa and Brazil, where virus variants have become dominant. Data showed it was more than 85% effective at preventing serious illness, but only 66% effective overall, when moderate cases were included, when considering cases at least 28 days after vaccination. Notably, there were
no deaths among participants who had received the vaccine and no hospital admissions after 28 days post-vaccine. An external committee of experts will meet on Friday to recommend whether the FDA should authorise the vaccine, possibly adding to a coming surge in vaccine availability in the US. AWhite House official said the administration anticipated distributing at least three million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, should it receive emergency authorisation from the FDA. The company says it plans to deliver 20 million doses in total by late March, in line with an agreement to supply the US with 100m doses by the end of June.
International News
Guyana Post Thursday, February 25, 2021
ECUADO R INCREA SES DEATH TOLL IN PRISON RIOTS TO 79
The number of inmates killed in riots at three separate prisons in Ecuador this week has increased to 79, authorities said on Wednesday, after they regained control of the facilities.Hundreds of police officers and
military personnel were deployed after coordinated fights between rival gangs broke out in the prisons’ maximumsecurity wings on Monday night. Authorities said the gangs began a
battle for leadership within the prison system in December when a leader of Los Choneros, considered the most powerful gang, was killed in a shopping centre several months after being released.
E c u a d o r i a n President Lenin Moreno said Tuesday was a “tragic day for the country” – as dozens of prisoners were first reported dead – and blamed overpopulation within the prison system, as well as a lack of personnel and resources, for the violence. In earlier messages, he expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and pledged to hold those responsible accountable. “What happened yesterday was no coincidence,” Moreno said in a video posted on Twitter. “It was organised from
outside the prison, orchestrated by those who are in dispute over leadership and drug trafficking across our national territory.” The national agency responsible for the prisons (SNAI) said 37 inmates were killed in the Pacific coast city of Guayaquil. Thirtyfour others were killed in Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city and eight were killed in the central city of Latacunga. The detention facilities where the riots took place account for 70 percent of the country’s prison population. On Tuesday, television footage showed some prisoners
jumping from high walls and others forcing open prison doors but police and the military stopped them. SNAI said all those killed during the rioting were prisoners. “Thanks to the actions carried out between this institution and the National Police, the situation … is under control,” the agency said in a statement. Police said inmates in two prisons in Guayaquil tried to continue fighting on Wednesday, but at least 400 officers reinforced security there. Moreno declared a state of emergency in Ecuador’s prison system in 2019 after at least 24 were killed in
Syria torture: German court convicts ex-intelligence officer
A German court has sentenced a former Syrian intelligence officer to four-and-ahalf years in jail for complicity in crimes against humanity. Prosecutors in Koblenz successfully argued that Eyad alGharib, 44, had helped to arrest protesters in 2011 who were later tortured and murdered. The case was unprecedented for its hours of witness testimony describing info@guyanapostonline.com
widespread torture in Syria. Another Syrian Anwar Raslan, 58 remains on trial. Both fled Syria’s civil war and got asylum in Germany - but were arrested in 2019. German prosecutors invoked the principle of “universal jurisdiction” for serious crimes to bring the case. The agency the men worked for played a crucial role in suppressing the peaceful
pro-democracy protests that erupted against President Assad’s regime in 2011. Prosecutors argued that the two men were “cogs in the wheel” enabling a vast state torture machine to operate. Eyad al-Gharib was charged with bringing at least 30 protesters to a notorious Damascus prison to be tortured in 2011, while working for Syria’s most powerful civilian intelligence
agency, the General Intelligence Directorate (GID). His defence lawyers argued that he feared punishment for disobedience if he did not carry out orders, and highlighted his willing co-operation with German authorities and assistance in providing evidence against Anwar Raslan. Al-Gharib says he defected from Mr Assad’s regime to help the opposition and then
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fled Syria in 2013, arriving in Germany in 2018. Eyad al-Gharib was a relatively lowlevel operative among thousands of others in the Syrian regime’s highly developed network of coercion and repression. The verdict is a legal landmark. The prosecution was intended as a test case, to build up a body of evidence about the actions of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad that could be used in other trials, not just in Germany. Al-Gharib’s conviction starts to chip away at any sense of impunity felt by Syrians still working for the regime who might be involved with war crimes and crimes against humanity. The German human rights lawyers behind the case have spent years using the
principle of universal jurisdiction to reach out across borders to pursue other allegations. Their targets have included the former US President George W Bush for crimes including violations of the UN Convention against Torture. line Anwar Raslan is suspected of being involved in the torture of at least 4,000 people in 2011-12. He is charged with 58 counts of murder as well as rape and sexual assault. He is accused of being a high-ranking officer in charge of the GID’s al-Khatib prison in Damascus, known as “Hell On Earth”. If convicted, he faces life in prison. Rare moment of justice For some Syrians the trial, which began in April 2020, was a rare chance for justice after countless atrocities.
International News
Guyana Post Thursday, February 25, 2021
APAN INCREASES PROTECTION FOR US MILITARY AMID ‘SEVERE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT’
Imran Ramsaywack
Hong Kong (CNN) Japan’s military performed 25 missions in 2020 in defense of US ships or planes, a sign of the growing integration of two of Asia’s most powerful armed forces. The number of what Japan calls “asset protection” missions
was up from 14 in 2019 amid a “severe security environment,” according to an announcement from Japan’s Ministry of Defense. The Japanese military said the 25 missions involved Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF)
protecting US Navy ships on four occasions while those ships were gathering information on ballistic missiles or other warning or surveillance activities. In 21 instances, the missions involved protecting US aircraft that were in joint training with their
Japanese counterparts. Japanese authorities would not say when or where the missions took place, only that they “contributed to the defense of Japan.” American and Japanese forces participated in a wide range of exercises last year in and around
Japan and as far away as the Indian Ocean. A US Air Force B-1 Lancer and US F-16 fighters from Misawa Air Base, Japan, conducted bilateral joint training with Japan Air SelfDefense Force F-2s off the coast of northern Japan, April 22, 2020. Defense analysts said if a hostile power took on the United States military in any of the asset protection missions, Japanese forces could hit back at that foe. “If American assets were suddenly attacked then the SDF would be expected to counter attack to prevent follow-up attacks on US vessels or planes,” said Corey Wallace, an assistant professor at Kanagawa University in Japan.
However, Japanese security expert Narushige Michishita, vice president of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo, said it was unlikely the forces faced any real danger of hostilities. “Certainly, some countries’ forces conduct dangerous maneuvers during USJapan exercises, so the Americans and the Japanese might have experienced a few unnerving events on some occasions,” he said. But both experts said the SDF announcement indicates the growing importance of the US-Japan security relationship amid a time of increased threats in the region.
Deadly sea crossings’: 41 migrants drown in the Mediterranea
At least 41 people drowned when their boat capsized in the Central Mediterranean on Saturday, the latest shipwreck involving migrants and refugees fleeing conflict-stricken Libya and seeking a better life in Europe. The United Nations migration and refugee agencies, IOM and UNHCR, said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the drowned people were among at least 120 migrants on a dinghy that left Libya on February 18. According to info@guyanapostonline.com
testimonies gathered by the UNHCR, the dinghy started taking in water after about 15 hours at sea, and eight people died before a merchant vessel came to help. “After about 15 hours the dinghy started to take in water, and the persons on board tried in every way possible to call for help,” a joint statement by the IOM and UNHCR said. “In those hours, six persons died after falling into the water, while two others tried to swim to a boat spotted in the distance and drowned.
“After about three hours, the vessel Vos Triton approached the dinghy to carry out a rescue but in the difficult and delicate operation many persons lost their lives.” The vessel rescued the survivors and took them to the Sicilian port town of Porto Empedocle in Italy. The missing included three children and four women, one of whom left behind a newborn baby currently in Lampedusa. The shipwreck was the latest along the Central Mediterranean migration
route, where about 118 migrants have died this year. Since 2014, more than 20,000 migrants and refugees have died at sea while trying to reach Europe from Africa. More than 17,000 of those have been on the Central Mediterranean which is described by the UN as the most dangerous migration route in the world. In the years since the 2011 uprising that removed and killed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, wartorn Libya has emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants. Human smugglers based in Libya launch vessels, many of them flimsy rubber dinghies or rickety fishing boats, crowded with migrants who hope to reach European shores to seek asylum. The journey – after years of suffering and
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torture in the country of origin, during travel and in Libya – starts with leaving in the middle of the night, often on overcrowded, unseaworthy boats without food and water. Questionable life jackets for the treacherous conditions are only for those who can afford them. In addition to the casualty figures are the ones forcibly returned to Libya, described as “hell” by those who survived the ordeal on their transit. Since February 2017, at least 36,000 people have been intercepted by the Libyan coastguard and returned to the North African country, UN figures show. The European Union has reportedly spent more than 90 million euros ($109m) in funding and training the Libyan coastguard to stop the crossings.
An Associated Press investigation revealed the EU sent more than 327.9 million euros ($397.9m) to Libya, largely channelled through UN agencies. EU nations such as Italy and Malta have often refused docking permission to humanitarian rescue boats. “The duty to rescue people at sea must always be respected, regardless of their nationality and legal status, in line with international obligations,” the UN statement added. “That migrants and refugees should continue to try desperately to reach Europe via the Central Mediterranean is demonstration of the need for an immediate international effort to provide them with viable alternatives to these deadly sea crossings.
SPORTS
TIGER WOODS IS AWAKE AND RECOVERING FROM SURGERY AFTER SERIOUS ACCIDENT
Golf legend Tiger Woods
Los Angeles (CNN) Golf legend Tiger Woods is awake and recovering from surgery, according to a statement posted early Wednesday on his official Twitter account. Woods, who was involved in a serious car accident on Tuesday near Los Angeles, is “responsive, and recovering in his hospital room,” the statement said. Woods suffered serious leg injuries and was trapped but conscious when emergency responders reached the scene of his one-vehicle rollover crash on a stretch of California road known for speeding and accidents, authorities said Tuesday. Woods, 45, was driving shortly after 7 a.m. PT in Rancho Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles, when the SUV he was using crossed a median and went across two lanes of road before hitting a curb, hitting a tree and landing on its side off the roadway in the brush. A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was the first to arrive said he found Woods still in the driver’s seat, wearing his seatbelt, and that the golfer was able to tell him his name was Tiger. The 15-time major champion was lucid and calm, but potentially in shock, and didn’t seem to be concerned with his injuries at the time, Deputy Carlos Gonzalez said. Los Angeles County
Fire Chief Daryl Osby told CNN’s John Berman that Woods was alert and oriented and was trying to “self-extricate” but he was stuck. Firefighters used a pry bar and an ax to free the golfer, who this past weekend hosted a PGA Tour event in the area but didn’t play because of a recent back surgery. They broke the windshield with the ax and used the bar to pry the seats and metal from around Woods’ legs, Osby said. They put Woods in a neck collar, attached leg splints and used a backboard to get him through the giant hole in the windshield to an ambulance. He went to the hospital in serious but stable condition with injuries to both legs, Osby said. Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, said the golfer was in surgery with multiple injuries, according to Golf Digest. How the crash happened The crash, which destroyed the front of the Genesis SUV courtesy vehicle, could have been fatal, but the airbags and seatbelts helped Woods survive, Gonzalez and Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. The sheriff said he thinks Woods was traveling at a high rate of speed down a hilly part of the road when the crash occurred. There were no skid
marks or other indications of braking, Villanueva added. Villanueva said that section of road is “downhill on a curve,” and he and Gonzalez said the area is known as a trouble spot for speeding and accidents. Deputies responding to Woods saw no evidence of impairment, Villanueva said, and they didn’t ask hospital officials to take a blood draw, he said. A Los Angeles law enforcement source told CNN that no field sobriety test was administered because of the seriousness of Woods’ injuries. A tweet from the sheriff’s department earlier said rescuers used the Jaws of Life to get Woods out of the vehicle, but Osby said firefighters in fact used a tool for prying and an ax to remove the windshield and free Woods. Woods was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a trauma center. CNN has reached out to the hospital for his condition. The sheriff’s department said Woods was the only occupant of the car. Another car, not involved in the initial rollover incident, stopped after the crash and was rear-ended, according to Los Angeles County PIO Henry Narvaez. The days leading up to the crash Woods likely was headed for the Rolling Hills Country Club in nearby Rolling HIlls Estates for a shoot with Golf Digest and Golf TV, according to Daniel Rapaport, the Tiger Woods correspondent for Golf Digest. Woods had a 7:30 a.m. call time, with shooting supposed to begin around 8. It was the second day of shooting. Rapaport told CNN’s “Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” that Woods was not playing or
L.A. County sheriff’s deputies investigate an accident involving golfer Tiger Woods on Tuesday along Hawthorne Boulevard on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
hitting, but was giving oncourse playing lessons to celebrities. “He was in good spirits on Monday when he did that,” Rapaport said of the shoot. Woods had hosted the Genesis Invitational over the weekend, and was seen intermittently on Saturday and more often during Sunday’s final round. Woods was at the course Monday with NBA legend Dwyane Wade, actress Jada Pinkett Smith and actor David Spade. “The reason I picked up a golf club. Yesterday was a pretty cool day! Thank you @tigerwoods @golfdigest for this dope opportunity!” Wade wrote on Instagram Tuesday. “Guess who I had the most awesome golf day with yesterdayyyyyy??? Yes! The magnificent @ TigerWoods !!!! Yes ... dreams come true. I can’t wait for you to see my golf journey with Tiger. Stay tuned!” she wrote. Spade joked about Woods’ ability as an instructor. “Golf lesson with this guy today. And you know what? He’s not bad... He picks things up very quickly. Good listener,” he tweeted with a photo of himself and a smiling Woods. Recent injuries Woods, who has won a record-tying 82 PGA Tour events, announced earlier this year that he had a
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recent back operation, the fifth of his professional career. Woods told CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz in video posted Sunday on the PGA Tour’s Twitter feed that he was “feeling fine” but a “little bit stiff” after his most recent procedure. He said he was scheduled to get one more MRI. Woods previously had back surgery -- a spinal fusion -- in 2017 and made his return almost a year later. He went on to launch a remarkable comeback, winning the Masters in 2019. Any progress last year was hampered by yet another back injury and the pandemic, which heavily disrupted the golf calendar. “We have been made aware of Tiger Woods’ car accident today. We are awaiting further information when he comes out of surgery. On behalf of the PGA TOUR and our players, Tiger is in our prayers and will have our full support as he recovers,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said Woods last played competitive golf at the rescheduled Masters in November. He also played golf in a father-son event called the PNC Challenge in December in Florida. Woods was the host of this weekend’s PGA Tour event, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera
Country Club in Pacific Palisades, and some proceeds went to his foundation. World No. 3 golfer and friend Justin Thomas got emotional while talking about Woods ahead of the Workday Championship at The Concession event in Bradenton, Florida. “I’m sick to my stomach,” he told PGA Tour Entertainment. “You know, it hurts to see one of your -- now one of my closest friends get in an accident. Man, I just hope he’s all right. Just worry for his kids, you know. I’m sure they’re struggling.” Jack Nicklaus, whose record of 18 major titles Woods has been chasing, tweeted his well wishes. “Barbara and I just heard about Tiger’s accident, and like everyone else, we are deeply concerned,” he wrote. “We want to offer him our heartfelt support and prayers at this difficult time. Please join us in wishing Tiger a successful surgery and all the best for a full recovery.” Corrections: This story has been updated with the correct status of Woods’ vehicle as well as the correct spelling of the Los Angeles County spokesperson’s last name. Also, the LA County Sheriff’s Department initially said Woods was cut from his vehicle using the Jaws of Life. It has since said that is not the case. This story has been updated to reflect that.