...AFC leader, others say premature for President to rule out ‘forced drowning’ in Adriana’s death, ... ...cite absence of toxicology report
Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Nigel Hughes has said that the declaration made by President IrfaanAli that 11year-oldAdrianaYoungedid not die from forcible drowning is “completely premature”intheabsenceof atoxicologyreport.
The AFC leader made these remarks while speaking at joint opposition press conference which was heldoutsidetheDoubleDay HotelatTuschen,EastBank Essequibo on Wednesday When asked by the media about the President’s statements on Adriana’s
post-mortem report, Hughes said, “Let me start off by sayingthePresident,asfaras I know, is not a pathologist, neither is he a forensic expert, nor is he a qualified investigator The only thing we know for certain, based onthereportthatcamefrom Darren Wade (attorney-at-
law)isthatthecauseofdeath was drowning. The finding ofdrowningdoesnotruleout itbeingahomicide,whichis anunlawfulkilling.”
Hughesaddedthatoneof theobviousissuesthatarises as a result of drowning as a cause of death is where the drowning took place. He
noted that the only way to begintonarrowthelocations for drowning would be a result of the toxicology reports. “And just to give you an obvious example, if the water in the pool has chlorine, and any water that was found in her lungs or elsewhere in her body is not consistent with chlorine. It reduces significantly the possibility that she drowned in the pool. So I think it’s completely premature in the absence of a toxicology report,”heexplained.
The post-mortem examination was conducted on the body of Younge on Monday at the Georgetown P u b l i c H o s p i t a l
Corporation’s mortuary by
three highly trained pathologists. Regarding the medical report from the pathologists, Hughes pointed out that it is unfortunate that the
President would make an expert’s call that rules out forcible drowning when the nationhasnothadthebenefit of seeing the professional report of any of the pathologists. “In relation to thefindingswehavenotseen a single report from any pathologist not one, we are getting reports from people whosaidtheyspoketothem and as far as I know the President has not spoken to themandthereforewherehe sits to rule out forced drowning until and unless that is specifically set out in
the pathologists’ report we do not seek to rely on it and unfortunately given his p o s i t i o n n o w, w e unfortunately do not accept it,” Hughes said at the press conference.
Kaieteur News had reported that following the PME, President Ali, in a press briefing on Monday evening,informedthenation that the autopsy was conducted to identify signs of trauma or injuries to the body, detect signs of sexual violence and collect appropriateforensicsamples to determine the cause of death. He said, “Due to the stateofthedecompositionof Miss Younge’s body, the pathologists were unable to provide an exact time of death.”Moreover,Alistated, “The relatives were also informed that the pathologists ruled out theories of forcible drowningoranyothermeans of killing followed by disposal of the body in water.”
Notso
However, the child’s family and their lawyer, DarrenWade,saidtherewas nosuchdiscussionaboutthe ruling out of forcible downing. Another official who was briefed by the pathologists following the autopsy also said there was n
Adriana’s aunt, Amika Lewis,whowasbriefedby Continued on page 8
Adriana Younge Leader of the Alliance For Change, Nigel Hughes
Hess rakes in US$430 million in 3 months on the back of Guyana’s oil
American oil company, Hess Corporation, has reported a net income of US$430 million for the first quarter of 2025, thanks in part to its oil production in Guyana’s Stabroek Block.
The American energy company,whichownsa30% stakeintheblock,continues to benefit from Guyana’s boomingoilsector
According to Hess, oil andgasproductionremained steady at 476,000 barrels of oilequivalentperdayduring the quarter However, the company’s profit was lower than the US$972 million earned in the same period lastyear,mainlyduetolower oilpricesandsalesvolumes. On an adjusted basis, Hess earned US$559 million for thequarter
Amajordevelopmentfor the company is the progress oftheYellowtailproject,the fourth and largest oil developmentintheStabroek
GuyanaonApril15.
Guyana’s Stabroek Block remains a key part of Hess’s global operations The 6.6-million-acre block, located about 120 miles offshore,isestimatedtohold 11.6 billion barrels of oil.
ExxonMobi
ana Limited (EMGL) operates the block with a 45% interest, while China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) owns25%.
CEO of Hess Corporation, John Hess
Block. Hess said Yellowtail is on track to begin production in the third quarter of 2025, with the potential to produce about 250,000 barrels of oil per day.The project will use the ONE GUYANA floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which arrived offshore
10-day workers should not be forced to attend political - Jagdeo rallies, protest
Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, has stated that he is unaware of any part-time government workers being forced to attend the PPP rallies or risk losing their jobs. At a recent press conference, Jagdeo was asked about certain reports that part-time workers are being forced to do things outside of what they were hiredfor.Heresponded,“So Idon’tknowofanybodywho has been forced to come to any meeting or alternately who will be fired because of apoliticalpurposebutalotof people in this country when they don’t perform and they get (fired) they claim politicaldiscrimination.”
Vice President Jagdeo explained that the government employs about 15,000 part-time workers who help in schools, hospitals, and local governmentagencies.Tothis end,headmittedthatwhileit is difficult to monitor everyone, workers are expected to deliver on the job. “If you’re not working and delivering on the job then you should lose it.” He
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
said, “People cannot just show up and just collect the money.” “That was not the purpose, it was to build a workethicandithelpalotof women, a lot of single parents,”Jagdeosaid. Further, he also highlighted an instance where he intervened on behalf of a pregnant woman whowasatriskoflosingher part-time job due to her condition, urging local officials to act with compassion “So sometimes you have people callously removingpeople,no,theyjust thinkyouhavetoshowupso theyhavetohaveaheartmore and listen to people, that’s whatweaskthemtodoalotin theseareas,”hesaid
company’s 2024 Annual Report, Guyana’s crude is Hess’ top-selling crude for 2024, fetching the highest average price among all its globaloperations.
Crude oil from Guyana averaged US$80 04 per barrel, maintaining the lead in the company’s portfolio despite a marginal dip from US$80 72 in 2023 and US$89.72 in 2022. When excluding hedging, a strategy used to stabilise prices, Guyana’s oil still
stoodoutwithanaverageof US$80 04, outperforming barrels from the United StatesandMalaysia.
Production in the Stabroek Block began in December 2019, and so far, six projects have been a p p r o v e d b y t h e government, including Liza Phase 1 and 2, Payara, Yellowtail, Uaru, and Whiptail. Applications for two more projects, Hammerhead and Longtail, areawaitingapproval.
Meanwhile, Hess is also in the middle of a US$53 billion acquisition deal with American oil company Chevron While Hess shareholders have approved the deal, ExxonMobil and CNOOC have filed for arbitration, claiming they have the right to buy Hess’ stakefirst.Acourthearingon the matter is expected in May Despite the challenge, Hess says it remains confident that the merger withChevronwillgoahead.
Officially,GuyaneseworkerscelebrateanotherLabour Day, and we wish all of them a joyful day Unfortunately, the celebrations of local workers, on this day of tribute to their toil and their gifts, are several shades on the muted side. Our workers should be on top of the world, but they find themselves frequently hustling along the margins, scrapingthebottomofthebarrel,justtogetby Workers from around the regions cast an eye on developments in Guyana, compared to their domestic circumstances,andforthem,Guyanaistheplaceforthem to be. Like migrant workers from time immemorial, they will take what they get, for it will still be more than from wheretheycame. Thus,therearesomealternativestothose Guyanesedemandingawagethatisfair,whichcorresponds totheireducation,experience,andskills. Therehavebeen complaints, and with too much of what is troubling about themtolooktheotherway
RepresentativesofGuyana'sworkforceshouldbeupin arms, in the face, even outside the growing number of foreignbusinesscomplexesoperatingdomestically Tothe detriment of Guyanese workers, too many of their unions andassociatedleadershavebeenconvertedtonothingbut mouthpieces for political manipulators, dice to be rolled aroundatwill.TheGuyaneseworkerhassufferedfromthe lack of intensity, and as is perceived in some circles, an absenceofauthenticity,inthetypeofstrongrepresentation that should be automatically theirs. The losses of the Guyaneseworkerinatimeofhighcorporateprosperityare particularly galling and should be denounced across Guyana.Lossoftherightlevelofpay,lossoftheessentials, whataretakenasthenorm,insuchareasascomprehensive coverage,equitabletreatment,andthelossofthedegreeof dignitythatisdue.Theirunionshavebeenpacified,orput out to pasture, or pushed over into ineffectual corners. Theseareafewoftheconsequencesofpoliticsandbusiness mixing in the wrong way for the wrong objectives: the workerspayharshprices,beartheburdensofleaderswho havelosttheirguts,theirfeet,andtheirpride.
The Ministry of Labour has not been that official sanctuary to which Guyanese workers and local union leaders can bring their grievances and get the kind of resolutions they deserve. There is too much pussyfooting around what is beneficial to the visions of foreign commercial enterprises. There is a deep and spreading sensethatinsteadoftheMinistryofLabourbeingthereto give a much-needed hand to distressed Guyanese, there is moreofaninclinationtohandthemovertotheexploitsand excesses of those who come here to grab every dollar that theycangetfromourboomingwealthsectors. Ifandwhen Guyaneseworkershavetobetheoneslosingoutonadollar properly earned and rightfully due, then it is too bad that theyhavetobeamongtheranksofcollateraldamage.
Toaddtothisalreadyunhealthy,unhappy,andpathetic environment,thereisagovernmentandleadershipthatare notjustinbedwithforeignbusinessinterests,butarepartof thebed. Thatis,thetopforeigngroupsdoingbusinesshere have seized every opportunity to jump all over them, and renderbothleadersandgovernmentintonothingbutputty undertheirfeet. Guyanesebusinesseswerefirstlefttofight ontheirown,butareslowlycomingintotheirown. Meanwhile, the rank-and-file Guyanese worker is still left to fend for his own. He is an ignored and inconsequentialcasualtyofGuyana'sresourcewars. Whyisitthatinacountryendowedwiththeseresource giftsthatworkersendurewithaminimumwagethathasno relation to reality? How come in a nation with such quantities of nature's bounty that the quantity of food on Guyanese workers' tables is of the scratch-and-snatch variety? Meaning, the pickings are bare, and who grabs firstgets. OnthisLabourDay,Guyaneseworkersshouldbe walking on the world. Instead, it is the world that comes heretojoinwithlocalstotakeadvantageofthem,andwith that,theymustlearntomanage,tosurvive.
To use legitimate protest for violent, destructive agenda is to defeat the purpose we set out to achieve
DearEditor,
RedThreadstandsinsolidaritywith the family, relatives and friends of eleven-year-old Adriana Younge. The outpouring that this child's death has generated shows how deeply this has affectedus. Wecameout-andwemust continue to come out - peacefully and vociferously in our numbers across race,gender,geography,class,age,and religion to demand justice forAdriana, toinsistonanswers,tovoiceourdistrust oftheGuyanaPoliceForceandtohold them accountable - and not only in relationtothismostrecenttragedy
Adriana'sdeathhashitthecoreofall of us, and it has forced us into immediate action. This has shown us howpowerfulwecanbewhenwestand together with one voice against wrongdoing, and when we stand together for justice and for a caring society in which our children can be safe. Together, we can ensure the necessary changes to make a system
that has no respect for the ordinary citizenworkforus.
Whilewesupportandparticipatein peacefulprotests(mostrecentlyoutside the office of the police commissioner this past Monday), we categorically reject and condemn the horrific and cowardly acts of violence meted out to the children and teachers on the East Coast and the attacks in other communities.
We categorically reject and condemn every act of looting and destructionthathastakenplace.
Let us be absolutely clear You cannot support justice and honour Adriana Younge by attacking children, women and men and by looting and robbing. This is a disgrace. This is against and not for life Those responsible for these vicious and disgusting attacks must be found and mustalsofacejustice.
To use the occasion of legitimate protest for a violent and destructive
agenda is to defeat the purpose we set out to achieve, which is to ensure that justice is served for Adriana, and therefore for all of us across race and community Wecalloneveryonetobe vigilant. Let us keep our focus on demanding answers and accountability fromthepowersthatbe.
Wewantjustice!Andourpathtoget itmustmodelthekindofsocietywecan only build together, in which no one is above the law, and in which all our children know they are safe and cared forandloved.WeoweAdrianaYounge nothing less. We weep with her family and loved ones. We will continue to standwiththem.
Sincerely,
JoyMarcus
SusanCollymore
WintressWhite
HalimaKhan
RoshawanaPilgrim
MaeveRamsay ForRedThread
We support all calls for an independent and thorough investigation into the death of Adriana
DearEditor,
We express our condolences to the family and community of 11-yearoldAdriannaYounge;andto thefamilyandcommunityof Maline LaCruz, Waveney LaCruz and 16-year-old SueAnnLaCruz.Wesupport all calls for an independent and thorough investigation into the death of Adrianna Younge.
W e d e c r y t h e compromised p
e handlingofthecasefromthe
time Adrianna Younge was reported missing to the events after her body was found.
We condemn the violence against citizens, includingtheacidattackona teacherandthreestudentsin ChateauMargot.
We repeat our calls for a transformation of the GuyanaPoliceForcefromits currentdysfunctionalstateto one which is committed to protecting and serving the citizens with accountability
Wecallontheleaderstostop nurturingtheenvironmentin which violence continues, and to lead in healing from t h e v i o l e n c e We recognise, regrettably, that there is fertile ground right now for the rage and frustrationandcriminalityto bemanifested.
We call on all citizens at thistimetobeincommunity with each other as we work for justice for Adrianna Youngeandallothervictims of violence, a justice which
includes healing from the violence and committing to the systemic changes so that allofuscanthriveinGuyana Yourssincerely, Dr Sara Scott, SRHR Adventures
Christine Samwaroo, TheBreadfruitCollective
Omattie Madray, ChildlinkInc
VandaRadzik
R e v . P a t r i c i a Sheerattan-Bisnauth
DanutaRadzik
VidyarathaKissoon
Consistent growth in rice sector for past four years
DearEditor, In a letter to the editor dated27thApril,2025,under the headline, “The suffering for the small rice farmers is real”
Once again, Mrs Lorrimerisnotbeingtrueto h e r s e l f a n d i s misrepresentingthefacts.
Underthestewardshipof Hon Zulfikar Mustapha, MP, Minister ofAgriculture, Guyana'sAgriculture sector, and in particular the rice sector, is on the uptake. There was a steady increase in rice production as seen in the table below For Mrs. Lorrimer, I will further explainthetable.
As of 2024, Guyana had thehighestpaddyproduction since1960.
Let me further lament thatMrs.Lorrimerseemsnot to be familiar with the M M A - A D A S e e d
Production 2020 to 2025
Year Acres Sown Paddy prod (bags) Paddy production (t) Rice (t) Yield (t/h)
2020 461,18216,652,041 1,057,752 687,5395 7
2021 395,42013,557,970 861,214559,7895 5
2022 404,30314,478,229 939,377610,5955 9
2023 397,53615,500,456 1,005,701 653,7066 3
2024 433,94517,197,648 1,115,818 725,2826 6
2025 477,57219,182,426 1,244,595 808,9866 6
Processing Plant being r e h a b i l i t a t e d a n d modernized, increasing production from 9,000 bags per crop to 50,000 bags per crop in 2025. The Black Bush Polder seed plant produces over 80,000 bags percrop.
What is also very important to note is the release of 3 new varieties of rice – GRDB 16, GRDB 18 and Bio-fortified Rice (GRDB 17). All have yield
potential between 7- 9 tons/ha.Some$3.6billionin fertilizer, flood relief and seed paddy were distributed toricefarmers.
Acreage to be sown in 2025 is expected to exceed thatof2024by43,630acres, oranincreaseof10%.Paddy production in 2025 is expected to exceed that of 2024. Further, the national average yields have moved from 5.5 tons per hectare or 35.3bagsperacrein2021to
6 6 tons per hectare or 41 bags peracrein2024.Thetrendis continuinginthefirstcropof 2025.
Rice production in 2024 reached a record high of 725,282 tons, exceeding the 2023 figure by 71,756 tons. As of the year-to-date, January to March 2025, exports have reached a total of91,518metrictons,valued at US$49,030,712 This represents an increase of 19,113 metric tons (26%) in tonnage and US$9,912,566 (25%) in value compared to the same period in 2024. In Region 2, there was a 5.5 % increase in the acreage cultivatedforthefirstcropof
The Pool! The Rule! & The Ridicule The
DearEditor,
Firstly, permit me to extend my condolences to the grieving parents, siblingsandbyextension,therelatives and friends of the deceased Adriana Younge.
With no malice aforethought, let it beknownthatnotimewouldbewasted on characterizing the perpetrator of such a dastardly act, nor the representatives of the police who knowinglyaddedfiretofury,exposing the flaw in the long arm of the law via the submission of a false vehicle seeminglyusedtoabductthevictim.
While the tension rises, with displayed acts of violence, rioting and arson,allofwhichmiserablyfailedmy litmustestofacceptance,onemustbear in mind that when anger takes hold, reasontakesflight,andemotionsmake for reckless leaders. It is my sincere hopethatwhenthe"true"perpetrator/s is/are found, that the punishment remains etched in the annals of Guyanese history as being the most severe ever served to a human being. Needless to say, the entire chronicle of
events, including the journalistic reports, only serves to confirm that Guyana is truly a Third if not Fourth World Country, that the police are as corruptasthenativesandthatreporters need to hone their journalistic skills. However,whileIremainunsubmerged and striving my best to cope with the swirling madness that now surrounds the country, here are a few questions that need to be answered to better "situate the situation”, or more plainly stated,“putthemesstothetest".
Wastherealifeguardondutyatthe pool,asisuniversallymandatedinFirst World countries whenever a pool is open?
Do hotels issue pool passes, permits,etc.toanyoneintheabsenceof theregisteredpatron/guest/client?
Why was Adrianna allowed in the poolareawithoutapoolpass?
Whywasshesentunaccompanied to buy a pool pass? It is said that she wasvisitingthehotelinthecompanyof relatives.
When was the victim declared missing?Whenwerethepollssearched bywhomandinwhatmanner?
An independent post-mortem examination (PME) conducted on the bodyof11-year-oldAdrianaYoungeon Monday concluded that the child died from drowning. That is not what is underquestion,asshewasfoundinthe pool and not breathing. Let us rise above that and address the questions thatwillbringthetruthtothesurface.
Regards,
Y.Sam
Rastafari community calls for independent investigation and police reform
DearEditor,
TheRastafaricommunitytakesthis opportunity to extend our condolences totheYoungefamilyontheunfortunate loss of the life of Ms.AdrianaYounge on Thursday, April 24 at the Double Day Hotel under questionable circumstances.
We also take this opportunity to standinsolidaritywiththeinternational call for justice led by an independent andimpartialinvestigativeentity,anda comprehensive reform of the Guyana PoliceForce,sinceGuyanesehavelost completetrustandconfidenceinit.
We are deeply concernedabout the psychological well-being of the membersoftheYounge'sfamily,notto mention friends and classmates of Adriana Since this tragic alleged murder occurred and everything that has happened subsequently, we've not seen any type of psychosocial support offeredtohelpthefamilyprocesstheir traumaandgrief.
The country was traumatized too, since this entire tragedy played out on social media, and is grieving together withthefamily Allofuswilltherefore need to go through some form of psychological processing, however, healingmustbeginwiththefamily
Regardless of the outcome of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Adriana, all
GuyaneseagreethattheGuyanaPolice Force failed miserably to properly and effectively handle the matter from the momenttheyarrivedatthecrimescene. The failure to treat the scene as an official crime scene, the attempt by police to mislead the family and the nation, video evidence of members of the police force that suggest they may haveactivelyparticipatedintampering with the crime scene and then started the fire that eventually consumed the buildings and destroyed much of the evidence, and the failure of the CommissionerofPolicetoholdapress conference on the matter, are some of the main issues that have incensed Guyanese.
Consequently, we are calling for comprehensive reform of the Guyana Police Force, beginning with the immediate resignation of the Commissioner of Police, Mr Clifton Hicken, and the arrest of Assistant Commissioner Khalid Mandall and Officer Wayne Leroy Smith. We will accept nothing less than a show of goodwillonthepartoftheGovernment indealingwiththematter
Finally, we say to Guyanese that this is a process, and we must give the process a chance to work.This doesn't mean that we take our foot off of the accelerator and sit and wait, it means that we continue to press forward by
circumstances surrounding the death of this child still befuddle us
DearEditor,
We, the members of the Georgetown Ministers' Fellowship,standaghastand heartbroken by the tragic death of little Adrianna Younge. The circumstances surrounding the death of this child still befuddle us. We stand with her family and every right-thinking Guyaneseseekinganswersto thispainfullossoflife.There seem to be more questions than answers While we understand that the cause of death is by drowning, we implore the authorities to spare no effort to determine what criminal activities, if any,ledtothischild'sdemise, andbywhom.
families and all the loved ones who are affected. We mournwithyou.“TheLordis close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
We understand that such paincaneruptintoanger But eveninouranguish,wemust not allow chaos to replace compassion or violence to silence justice The destruction of lives and property through burning, beatings, and robbery only deepens the wounds we are alltryingtoheal.
We, therefore, call on all leaders and influencers to committothefollowing:-
speaking out and speaking up for justice and reform, that we continue to mobilize and demonstrate peacefully and orderly, and that we continue to denounce and disassociate ourselves fromtheillegaldestructionofproperty, robberyandviolencethatwewitnessed lastnight.Theseactionsdonotbenefit our struggle for justice. The postmortem by the group of independent international pathologists to determine the cause of death was the first step in theprocess.
The second step is to have an independentinternationalinvestigative entitycomeintodeterminethemanner ofdeath.Let'sstayfocusedonjustice.
The Rastafari community will be adding our collective voice to the call for justice for Guyana's adopted daughter and beloved princess, Ms. AdrianaYounge, with a rally and vigil at the Square of the Revolution on Thursday,May1,2025,from3pm.We inviteallGuyanesetocomeandjoinus as we drum, chant, pray and express messagesofcondolences.
Sincerely,
BinghiTrugs
AncientHouseofNyahbinghi
Bro.Reuben1st
Overseerof12TribesofIsrael
RasSimeon
President, Guyana Rastafari Council
Therefore, no stone should be left unturned to help bring closure to this matter Moreover, in what appears to be a growing culture of death, we also expressourangstatthedeath of those who were recently shot and killed by police in Linden, as well as those murderedalongtheSoesdyke Linden Highway who were murdered by a family member, who subsequently tookhisownlife
The pain occasioned by these deaths is unbearable and has touched the collective consciousness of ournation.Thequestionsare many,andthecriesforjustice are loud, for Adrianna and everyone else in this country who was killed. As a fellowship, we extend our deepest condolences to the
Peaceful mourning and notviolentretaliation. Provide safe spaces for grieving and healing, which we as a fellowship are also committed to doing. Engage in urgent prayers and united efforts across denominations andcommunities.
Letusnotallowdarkness to define our responses. Let thismomentnotendinashes, but in actions that restore love, dignity, and brotherliness. Let us seek to upholdjusticeandreflectthe heart of Christ As a fellowship,westandreadyto walk with every grieving heart, advocate for justice, and work toward healing. “Donotbeovercomebyevil, but overcome evil with good.”–Romans12:21
Regards, Georgetown Ministers' Fellowship
Labour Day in Guyana holds deep significance- GPSU Labour Day messages
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) extends warm and respectful greetingstoallourmembers, Public Servants across the country,andworkersinevery sector This is a day of reflection,remembrance,and renewed resilience We gather not just to celebrate a holiday, but to reignite the spirit of solidarity that has carried generations through oppression, hardship, and resistance.
Let us not forget, it is we who built the cities, laid the railroads, bridges and roads, ploughed the fields, and drove the engines of progress This beautiful country we live in and its wealth, its infrastructure, its function were shaped by workers' hands, guided by workers'minds.
Labour Day in Guyana holds deep significance. It remindsusofthepains,tears, bloodshedandlossoflivesof our forefathers who fought relentlessly for justice, security of tenure, decent wages, and dignity at work. Their sacrifices gave rise to rightsthatarenowembedded in our Constitution and enshrined in our Labour Laws. But let it be known: those rights are not to be taken for granted A generation that forgets the historyoforganizedlabouris doomed to repeat the cycles of exploitation and injustice.
As we reflect on the journeyofworkandworkers inGuyana,wemustcelebrate the crucial role played by Public Servants in every stage of our Nation's Development Whether in
h
, o
administration, it is the unwavering commitment, skills, and knowledge of workers that power this nation.
Stakeholdersina BoomingOilEconomy
Goal 1 of the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agendaisto“endpovertyin all its forms everywhere.” Guyana has accepted the responsibility to eradicate povertybasedonthisagenda. Everygovernment'sdesireis to report progress where citizenscanlivewithdignity and provide for their families. By accepting this goal, the Government acknowledges that too many
citizens continue to live in povertyandstruggletomake ends meet. Each national budget presents optimistic images of economic t
ormat
o
, often highlighting how billions will improve lives Yet workers, especially in the public service, are still underpaid, undervalued, and excluded from key decisionmaking processes, with inadequate wages, rising costs of living, insecure contracts, and limited representation Many still struggle to make ends meet, while the promises of national prosperity remain elusive.Workersarenotmere recipients of policy; they are stakeholders in National Development. Guyana's economic transformation,drivenbythe oil and gas sector, should t
improvements in the lives of all citizens. Our voices must beheardinshapingthefuture of this country Inclusive governance, transparent dialogue, and a genuine commitment to social justice are not optional; they are imperative.
AThreattoDecentWork
A disturbing trend has takenholdinPublicService, the widespread use of contractemploymentinroles that are clearly permanent and pensionable This practice undermines job security, limits access to union representation, and strips workers of benefits they rightly deserve. Even more concerning is that contract workers are often misled into believing they cannotjoinorberepresented by a union, and this is a blatant violation of the Constitution of Guyana, whichguaranteesFreedomof Association and the Right to beOrganized.
GPSU has repeatedly intervened to address these injustices and continues to demand that all Public Service Workers be treated with fairness, equity and dignity.
Stakeholdersina BoomingEconomy
ThepeopleofGuyanaare notspectatorsinthecountry's development, they are stakeholders The Public Service has long been the bedrock of good governance and quality service delivery As the economy grows, so too must investments in
humancapital.Workersmust be prioritized, included in decision-making,andoffered a standard of living that reflects the nation's economicgains.
TheRoleandResolve oftheGPSU
Asthelegallyrecognized representative of Public Service Workers, the GPSU has worked tirelessly to defendtherightsofworkers. From resolving cases of harassment and abuse of authority to fighting for permanentappointmentsand equal treatment, we have remained at the forefront of thelabourmovement.Yetwe face growing resistance of political interference, disregard for Collective Agreements, and attempts to silencethevoiceoforganized labour
Let us be reminded that the GPSU is not a political organization,butourstruggle for justice continues to be impacted by political decisionsthatviolatethevery principles of fairness, justice anddecency CalltoUnityandAction
Ourstrengthliesinunity Too often, free riders benefit fromthemembers'sacrifices andvictorieswithoutplaying an active role in their struggles. Some undermine leadership during critical negotiations, forgetting that the union's success depends on collective strength and discipline.
LetLabourDay2025be a rallying point for action, unity,andjustice.Wemust:
- Reject the erosion of secure employment and defend the right to stable, pensionable jobs for all workers.
-Standfirmlyforthefull enforcementoftheILOCore Conventions to protect and promote International Labour Standards across all sectors.
- D e m a n d t h e fundamentallabourrightsby upholding the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
- Press for the urgent ratification of ILO Convention C190 on Violence and Harassment, a l o n g w i t h i t s Recommendation 206, to guaranteedignity,safety,and protection in every workplace.
- Insist on inclusive (Continuedonpage23)
GAWU calls for immediate equalisation of the national and public sector minimum wage
On this occasion of Labour Day 2025, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) extends solidarity and warm greetings to all workers across Guyana. As we celebrate the struggles, achievements, and continued resilience of the working class, we do so in the shadow of national mourningandrisingconcern overrecentevents.
GAWU wishes to begin by expressing its deepest sympathies to the family, relatives, and friends of Adriana Younge, whose tragic and untimely death has shaken the nation. Her passinghasignitedgriefand reflection throughout society,andourthoughtsand prayers are with her loved onesduringthismostpainful time.
We note the ongoing effortsbytheauthoritiesand independent experts to ensure transparency and uncover the whole truth surroundingAdriana'sdeath. These efforts especially the engagement of international expertise—are crucial steps toward accountability and justice. We await the final toxicology report with the hope that it will provide greaterclarityandcontribute to a fair and conclusive resolutionofthematter
Whilewesupportthecall forjustice,wemustalsotake
this moment to strongly condemnallactsofviolence, aggression, looting, and public disorder that have taken place in recent days. Such actions not only undermine the cause of justice but also endanger innocent lives and livelihoods We further denounce those individuals and groups who have deliberately misled and incited Guyanese to act irresponsibly, risking the safety and well-being of others. Our citizens must reject those who manipulate tragedy for division and gain.
In contrast, we celebrate t
Guyanese working class—those who continue tobuild,serve,andmoveour countryforward.Whetherin the fields and factories, in schools and hospitals, in offices and construction sites, the working men and women of Guyana remain the foundation of our nation's progress We applaud their tireless efforts a n d r e a f f i r m o u r commitment to defending their rights and improving theirlives.
We also recognise that Guyana's economy is undergoing a significant transformation. The rapid growth,drivenbytheenergy sector and expanded public andprivateinvestments,has
resulted in several positive developments We commendongoingeffortsto u p g r a d e n a t i o n a l infrastructure, expand educational and health facilities, improve access to housing, and roll out social support systems that benefit thousandsofGuyanese.
Importantly, we acknowledge several proworker policies that have been introduced or expanded, including job creation programmes, skills training initiatives, and improved access to benefits and services These measures are welcome, and we encourage continued collaborationwiththelabour movement to ensure their successful and equitable implementation.
However,evenamidthis progress,wemustreiteratea fundamental truth: the Guyanese working class must be at the centre of our country's development. The prosperity unfolding around us must not be for all. We t h e r e f o r e c a l l o n policymakersandemployers to engage the trade union movement in taking meaningful action to ensure that workers share fully and fairlyinthegainsofnational growth.
In this regard, GAWU calls for an immediate equalisation of the national and public sector minimum (Continuedonpage23)
Consistent growth in rice sector...
Frompage4
2025over2024.Itisfundamentaltonotethat since taking office, Minister of Agriculture Hon Zulfikar Mustapha, MP, has spearheaded several initiatives aimed at revitalizing and modernizing Guyana's agriculturalsector
Underhisleadership,thesectorhasseen significantgrowth,particularlyintheexport of non-traditional crops. In the first half of 2024 alone, Guyana earned over $919 million from the export of such crops, marking a 12.7% increase compared to the previous year Additionally, Mustapha has focused on enhancing infrastructure, including the construction of agroprocessing facilities in rural areas like Regions1,2,7,9and10toenablefarmersto addvaluetotheirproduce.Hehasalsobeen instrumental in promoting climate-resilient farmingpracticesandintegratingtechnology into agriculture, such as the use of hydroponics, the largest in the Caribbean, anddigitaltoolsforfarmmanagement.
Beyond national efforts, Minister Mustapha has represented Guyana on
regional and international platforms. In March 2024, he was elected as Chairman of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's38thRegionalConferencefor LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, where he emphasized the importance of technology, youth,andwomenintransformingagri-food systems He is currently chairing the CARICOMMinisterialTaskForce.
When compared to his predecessor, APNU+AFC Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, there is a deafening silence on any form of development within the sector He wasliketheostrichthatburieditsheadinthe sand and was completely oblivious of what was happening in Guyana's agriculture sector.Mrs.Lorrimer,asuspectedpaidhand, must be honest with herself about the numerous achievements, such as the settlement of the Panama payment. $1.5 billion to rice millers so that farmers could have been paid. Also, the payment of the Petro-Caribedebtwassettledwithfarmers.
CNN - TheUnitedStates and Ukraine have signed an “economic partnership agreement” that will give WashingtonaccesstoKyiv’s rare earth minerals in exchangeforestablishingan investmentfundinUkraine.
The US and Ukraine have been trying to hammer out the natural resources
agreement since US
President Donald Trump returned to theWhite House inJanuary
The deal comes after w e e k s o f i n t e n s e negotiations that at times turnedbitterandtemporarily derailedWashington’saidto Ukraine.
The US
Department on Wednesday
agreement.“AsthePresident hassaid,theUnitedStatesis committed to helping facilitatetheendofthiscruel andsenselesswar,”Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said inastatement.
“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committedtoapeaceprocess centeredonafree,sovereign, andprosperousUkraineover thelongterm,”Bessentsaid. “And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to b e n e f i t f r o m t h e reconstructionofUkraine.”
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wasinWashingtontosignon behalf of the Ukrainian government
Among the terms of the agreement are “full ownership and control” staying with Ukraine, she postedtoXonWednesday
“All resources on our territory and in territorial waters belong to Ukraine,” she said, adding: “It is the Ukrainian state that determines what and where to extract. Subsoil remains under Ukrainian ownership — this is clearly established intheAgreement.”
Thesigningcomeshours after a last-minute disagreement over which documents to sign Wednesday threatened to derailthedeal.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was
expected to strike the deal duringhistriptoWashington in February – but the agreementwasleftunsigned whenthatvisitwascutshort following the contentious OvalOfficemeeting.
Previousstickingpoints
Among the key sticking pointofthenegotiationswas the question of security guarantees–andwhetherthe US would provide them as part of the deal Trump initially refused that, saying hewantsUkrainetosignthe agreement first and talk aboutguaranteeslater
At that time, Zelensky described the draft agreement as asking him to “sell”hiscountry Ukrainian officialshavesinceindicated they believed that US
investment and the presence of American companies in Ukraine will make the US moreinterestedinUkraine’s security
Shortlyafterthedoomed White House visit, Trump orderedUSaidtoUkraineto besuspended.
While the assistance has since been restored, the episode became a major wakeup call for Ukraine’s European allies, who have pledgedtostepuptheirhelp tothecountry
Trump has largely billed the agreement as Ukraine “payingback”fortheaidthe US has provided to Ukraine since Russia launched its unprovoked full-scale invasion of the country in February2022.
The details of the agreement have not been made public However, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday that the deal “will not include assistance providedbeforeitssigning.”
SpeakingonWednesday, Shmyhal described the deal as “a strategic agreement on the establishment of an investment partnership fund.”
“It is truly an equal and beneficial international agreement on joint investments in the development and recovery of Ukraine between the US a n d U k r a i n i a n governments,”headded.
Under the deal, the US and Ukraine will create a
Workers at the bottom
joint investment fund in Ukraine with an equal contributions from both and equal distribution of managementsharesbetween them,Shmyhalsaid.
“TheAmericansidemay also count new, I emphasize new, military aid to Ukraine as a contribution to this fund,”Shmyhalsaid.
Mineralriches
Kyiv’s allies have long eyed the country’s mineral riches. Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 50 materials classed as critical by the US GeologicalSurvey
These include rare earth mineralsandothermaterials that are critical to the production of electronics, clean energy technologies andsomeweaponsystems.
The global production of rare earth minerals and other strategically important materials has long been dominated by China, leaving Western countries desperate for other alternative sources –includingUkraine
A memorandum of understanding prepared u n d e r t h e B i d e n administration last year said the US would promote investment opportunities in Ukraine’sminingprojectsto American companies in exchange for Kyiv creating economic incentives and implementinggoodbusiness andenvironmentalpractices. Ukraine already has a similar agreement with the European Union, signed in 2021.
Earth and minerals are loaded onto trucks at an open-pit mine near the frontline on February 26, 2025 in Donetsk Region, Ukraine. Pierre Crom/Getty Images
‘Notsofast,Mr. President’
Frompage2
the pathology team at the GeorgetownPublicHospital Corporation (GPHC) following the PME, made it clear that murder was not ruled out by the three specialists.
In an interview with Kaieteur News on Tuesday, she explained, “The three pathologists said that my niece died from drowning. Of course, the pathologists can only tell you the cause, they cannot say where she drowned ” The woman added, “They did not rule out that she was murdered. They explained that to us, thattheyarenotgoingtorule o u t t h a t s h e w a s murdered…we the citizens, wethefamily,wethepeople who were there, know for a factshedidnotdrowninthe pool.”
To this end, Lewis discounted remarks shared by President Irfaan Ali that there was no ‘forceful drowning’of her niece. She said,“Idon’tknow ifitwas
Mr Ali or Mr Jagdeo who had a conference and said something that the pathologists said that she wasn’t forcefully (drown). The pathologist did not say that. They did not say that. They said other things: she didn’t have any broken bones; she was not raped. Theydidnotsaythatshewas not murdered. They did not say that she drowned in the pool,andtheyexplainedthat they couldn’t tell us that.
They would need a toxicology report and some otherstuffdone.”
Hesaidalaboratorywas identified to send body fluidstakenfromthechild’s bodytobetested. Thesewillbethoroughly examined and tested to assess whether she was injected with a tranquilizer that may have been the reason for no marks of violenceofthebody
Younge was reported missing on April 23 during an outing with family membersattheDoubleDay International Hotel and Bar, Tu
sequib
S
was discovereddeadinthehotel pool the next day It should be noted that after the child was discovered missing, an alarm was raised and checks were made around the hotel premises, though notthorough
The family is, however, certainthatthepoolareawas searched several times by multiple individuals in hopesoffindingthechild.
Dr CalebMcMcloggan, a Guyanese medical professional, who observed Adriana’s autopsy in a live statement on Monday evening said the manner in which the 11-year-old died is still to be investigated. Accordingtohim,“Wehave the cause, now we have to determine the manner in which she succumbed. We know that it was due to drowning, now we got to knowhowshedrowned.We gottowaitonthetoxicology reportalso.”
Norton wants Int’l probe of GPF
international investigation intotheGuyanaPoliceForce (GPF), which he said has been failing the people of Guyanamiserably
NortonsaidtheForcehas shownitsincompetenceand, like the PPP Government, hasshownthatitiscomplicit in crime. The opposition leader,inalivebroadcaston Wednesday, continued his advocacy for justice for 11year-old Adriana Younge, whose body was discovered floating in the pool of the Double Day Hotel at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, some 20 hours aftersheandrelativesvisited there to swim.While a postmortem examination ruled that the child died by drowning, family members are adamant that she did not drown in the pool and that there had to have been foul play They said that had the policetakentheirreportsand the investigation more seriously, their child could havebeenalivetoday
Norton said everything hastobedonetoensurethat “this particular crime is not thrownunderthecarpet.”
“Whenyouhaveapolice forceinwhichthepeopledo
not believe that they will investigate or they have the capacity to solve crimes, we are in deep trouble,” Norton noted, repeating calls for an internationalinquiryintothe force.
The APNU leader also took aim at the government, whichhesaidisoperatingas if all is well. “But all Guyanese know all is not well. Every Guyanese know there has not been a proper investigationintothiscrime.
To tell us the child drowned isinadequate.Itdoesnottell us how the child drowned, who committed the act, and no one has been brought to justice.”
He said no one knows if the persons the Force claimed to have arrested are
still in police custody “We saythistoyou,wedemanda proper investigation into the death of Adriana Younge. Thisinvestigationmusthave respectable, international investigators We cannot allow the Guyana Police Force to investigate itself. It’s like charging Caesar to betriedbyCaesar.”
Meanwhile, in efforts to reform the Police Force, Norton said an APNU Government will appoint a newcommissionerofpolice, since the current top cop is neither certified nor qualifiedforthejob.Hesaid G u y a n e s e w a n t a professional Police Force and his government will ensureareformtoachieve
Continued on page 22
Opposition leader, Aubrey Norton
Nothing to celebrate on May Day
The last time I went to a gathering of workers at a unionhallonMayDay,Iwas saddened. There, instead of feeling the power and might of the working class, I saw workers turning the event intoasocial,seekingoutthe free drinks and food that were on offer Some of the retired workers came too to getonthefreeness.
There was a time, long vanished into distant memory, when things were different. The first day of May, May Day or Workers' Day stirred the heart in the clamorous streets of St Petersburg, in the cobblestone squares of Chicago, on the factory floorsofManchesterandthe waterfront and sugar fields ofDemerara.
May Day, then, bore the promise of redemptive rage, of workers shaking off their chains and standing upright in the dignity of labour It was a day when solidarity wasnotaroaringdemand.
But in Guyana, as in muchoftheworldtoday,the red banner flaps not with conviction, but with parody. The first of May no longer reflects the liveliness of the workingclass.Ithasbecome a requiem, a shallow ritual that mourns the ghost of a movement too proud to admitithasdied.
Trade unionism in Guyana, that once-potent force,nowtotterslikeanold man clutching a rusted placard,shoutingintoavoid he helped to create.There is no longer even the pretence of unity The fragmentation o f t h e l a b o u r
movement along the familiar and ever-poisonous
lines of political affiliation—haslongdrained thewellofpower
In place of the old slogans of struggle and emancipation, one hears partisan sniping and union presidents reciting the talking points of their preferredpoliticaloverlords.
The once-sacred compact between worker andunionhasbeenreplaced by a farcical brokerage system, where the union leader functions as an agent not of the proletariat, but of politicalpatrons,servingfor favours, not for the faithful. What little remains of collective power is bartered bymenwhobearlittleofthe grime of labour on their hands, only the scent of accessandentitlement.
Neo-liberalism came, as it always does, disguised in the costume of reform and opportunity Its apostles spoke of efficiency and market discipline, and they gutted the labour movement with surgical precision. The free market, we were told, would lift all boats; instead, it sank the trade unions b e n e a t h w a v e s o f privatization, contract labour, and deregulation Guyana'sunions,ratherthan resisting this tide, too often rolled over, exchanging militancy for consultative quietude.Inthegreattheatre of global capital, they became chorus members in someoneelse'stragedy
Perhaps the most grievous wound, however, has been self-inflicted. The
leadership of too many unions, in Guyana and elsewhere, came under the control of the comfortable class Middle-class functionaries now speak in thenameofworkers.Onthe podium, they deliver speeches about the “dignity of labour” without the faintest idea of what indignity smells like in a crowded minibus or on an 18-hourshift.
To speak of renewal in thetradeunionmovementis now to risk laughter These institutions have ossified Leadership is often not a term of service but a tenure for life Many unions resemble gerontocracies, fossilized in both ideology and personne
The young those who will inherit this society, whether we like it or not are a
movement They see no relevance, no place for their aspirations or energy And rightly so. Why would one enlistinacrusadeledbymen who have not relinquished the microphone in forty years?
Trade union unity is rumoured to exist, but impossible to find. With its disappearance has gone working-class solidarity Today's worker is atomized, isolated, commodified— in agigeconomywherelabour laws are optional and benefits are a rumour Even thosewhoworkintheformal sectorfindthemselvesadrift, their interests not defended, theirdignitynotrespected.
The traditional workingclassparties,inGuyanaasin
DEM BOYS SEH
Vendors getting parking; business people getting licks
Dem boys seh is business people who doespaydemosttaxindecity Bigtax,small tax, tax when yuh blink, tax when yuh breathe. But wha dem gettin in return? Potholes,blockeddrains,flooding,garbage, congestion,andnow—noparking!
Dem boys seh yuh cud leave yuh house fouro'clockindemorningandstillcyahfind a parkin spot when yuh reach town. Not because all de business open early—nah, is because vendors done reach since before de cock crow and seize up all de parkin like is landtheyinherit.
Some of dem even got dem big canter park sideways pun de road, and instead of movin'goods,demsellin'demrightfromde tray like is a travelling supermarket. Dem mobile caravans now turnin' into mobile malls.Onlythinglefnowisfuhdemhookup a music system and start playin' DJ while sellin'boraandboxer Meanwhile, de poor businessman who got to pay rent, light bill, VAT, NIS, fire
much of the post-colonial world, have been hollowed out by the very forces they once pledged to resist. The People's Progressive Party (PPP),bornofworking-class dreams,nowwalkshand-inhand with the extractive giants and neo-liberal financiers Ever since it succumbed to structural adjustment, the People's NationalCongress(PNC)no longer speaks the language of socialism and workers' power
May Day, then, is no celebration It is a pantomime performed for camerasanddignitarieswho once saw the workers as comrades and now view them as variables in an economic spreadsheet. The
marching bands still play The tired speeches are still given. But no one listens. Andwhyshouldthey?There is nothing left to hear but echoes.
To be clear, this is not a eulogy for labour itself. The workingclasshasnotdied.It continues, suffering and producing, waiting for a moment of relevance. What has perished—or at least entered its twilight—is the m a c h i n e r y o f i t s organization The labour movement, as it currently stands, cannot reclaim power because it no longer remembers what power lookslikewhenitiswielded bythemanyandnothoarded bythefew
If May Day is to mean
anything again, it must first confrontthedishonestyofits modern incarnation. It must rejectthecelebratorylieand embrace the uncomfortable truth: that the working class stands alone, and the institutionsbuilttodefendit now serve other gods. Until thatreckoningarrives,letus call the day what it is: not a festival of solidarity, but a funeral procession for a dreambetrayed.
(Theviewsexpressedin this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the o p i n i o n s o f t h i s newspaper.)
inspection, and probably mosquito inspection too, he sit down inside de shop watchin' flies fly in and out—but no customer Why?Becausecustomercyahfind noparkin.Alldepark-upspottekbyvendors who ain't payin' a cent in property tax, or incometax,orevencommoncentstax.
Dem boys seh de playin' field nah level—it slant more than de LeaningTower ofPisa.Vendorstekkinoverdepavement,de roadside, even de middle of de road sometimes. Is like a street fair every day—butfuhsome,isnotfairatall.
Businessmen crying. But when business suffer, dem boys seh is not just profits disappear Is workers get send home, man cyah pay he rent, and government end up collectin'lesstax.
So dem boys got one solution: give de vendorsaparkinlot—andletdempayfuhit like everybody else. Till then, is chaos and cantankerousness. Talkhalf, Leffhalf!
Thecompassandclimateofcynicism
Guyanese have seen this cyclebefore. Itbeginswitha tragedy, which fuels peacefulprotests,whichthen spiral uncontrollably The larger the protests get, the greater the opportunities for infiltrating for criminal purposes. Protests over one tragedy degrade into that other regular Guyana tragedy Looting and burning, intimidating and robbing, took over and c
complexion of the protests. Finally, the conclusions flourish, such as who are tricksters and authors, standing code words for political orchestrators and instigators.
Achild namedAdrianna Y o u n g e d i e s i n circumstances that leave Guyanese groping for answers. I look at that picture making the rounds, and two things register First,howinnocencesuffers,
and how heartaches will linger for a lifetime. Gone and already forgotten, other than for her loved ones. Forgotten, because hoary, ugly Guyana politics has stepped into the story, with hertragedyallbutbanished. I read that PresidentAli was blandly calling for her name to become a launchpad for unity and harmony This leader is either hysterical, hallucinatory, or a first-rate formulator of the
hypocritical Because President Ali is such a clever-as-a-spanner leader, he could be labouring under all three: the hysterical, hallucinatory, and hypocrisy atitsshoddiest.
WasPresidentAlinotthe one speaking so brightly recently about the protests being “politically instigated?” But there he is today, as if that record has been wiped clean, and now drooling charm and leadership bonhomie with unity and harmony The problem for Excellency Ali is that he now thinks that he is a man without a shadow, onewhowalksandleavesno prints. More Guyanese see through his empty constructions, recognize a leader who is a brainwasher andamindmanipulator Ina phrase, the fewest trust him. Itiswhy thereisaschoolof thought in Guyana that believes the PPP of Ali started out with its back to thewall,whenMs.Adrianna Younge disappeared. When the police came up with a poorlybrandedpieceoffake news,andthechildwasthen foundlifelessinaswimming pool, some of the life went outofthePPP Thewindthat it had sown came back with the scything power of the whirlwind Family and citizens are not trusting the answers given, nor those recruited,norwhatthelatter reported.
In such situations, as the pressures built, and the president wilted, the cynical believethatthePPPdugdeep foranoldcard,andstuckitin the face of Guyanese Looting and burning and attacking. Notonlydoesthe
much-maligned ‘criminal element’ benefit from the booty snatched The sentiment is that ruling politiciansdo,fortheygetto point a finger at opponents and say ‘they did it.’ It is their people, and it is their history From the jaws of defeat,thereistheecstasyof victory, a sneaky one eked out.
Foritspart,thePNChas made its position unambiguous:nosupportfor looting. No looter coddled, andnolooterowned. Isthat believable? I s t h e Opposition Leader credible? Thecynicsask,justlikethey do for President Ali, since “politically instigated” and “no support for looting” are now both orphans. If the lootersareneitherofPPPnor PNC vintage, then to whom do they belong? It is unimaginablethatitcouldbe thefamilyorthecommunity, sothatleavesonlyfatherless criminalelements.
I think that this mystery is best addressed by who benefits the most from thuggeryandbanditry? The PNC’s name gets another dunkingindirtywater,butof what value is that to it? Meanwhile, the PPP, having setthestagewith“politically instigated”, gets to look like awinner Forwhenprotests are infiltrated and the peaceful descends into the gutter of looting and intimidating, snatching and sending everybody running for safe cover, the PPP’s wavering support base is brought back into the centre of the fold. I put this differently: ayuh see fuh yu’all self wah wee seh? Is dem peeple, and is suh deh
stay Plundering and harming commerce and citizens. Ah, but Guyanese are not that stupid; not like before Nowadays, the doubters ask: Who has a history of playing that trick before? Whowasallowedto get away with it, under the cover that such belongs to the PNC, the thinkers and deepdiversquestion? There is another benefit from mayhem and mob madness. The rattled foreign investor community gets to absorb the heavy hand of the PPP Government,andhowmuch itmattersundertightcontrol. A test case that the PPP Govern
ubdued a
i t a t i v e l y , conclusively. Didit,really? Or, what Guyanese saw was how skillfully domestic mercenaries and phantoms could be used to infiltrate anddevastate.
ItwasOppositionLeader Nortonwhohadtheforesight to ring that bell: protests are out, for that falls right into the PPP tarpit. So, the question now is this: did he change his mind, or did the PPPofAlimakeitlookasif hedid? TheUSGovernment knows the true substance of the PPP Government. The Yanks get to decide if the PPP is the kind of government that comforts American investors. Thisis the compass and climate of cynicism now prevalent in Guyana.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinionsofthisnewspaper.)
Man arrested for Bagotstown murder
A28-year-oldmanwasarrestedbypolice onWednesdayafterheallegedlyshotaman dead at Norton Street, Bagotstown, East BankDemerara(EBD).
Dead is MarkAnthony Benjamin, a 37year-old who resided at Bagotstown, EBD. The arrested man has been identified as HoseaFraser,alsoknownasHoseaSelmon, aresidentofNortonStreet,Bagotstown.
Fraserwasarrestedatabout02:45h.
Preliminaryinvestigationsrevealthatthe victim and the suspect were known to each other,andtheyhadanaltercation,whichled tothesuspectshootingthevictimtohishead, thereafter,makinggoodhisescape.
Thevictimwaspronounceddead,andhis body is currently at the Memorial Gardens
examination.
Arrested: Hosea Fraser
Teen critical after shot in back
ByShaniaWilliams
A 19-year-old man from Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo, is in critical condition after being shot in the back last Friday at the frontoftheTuschenHousing Scheme.
The teenager, identified as Garvelle Hyman, is currentlybeingtreatedatthe West Demerara Regional Hospital with serious injuries, including two broken ribs, a punctured lung, and internal bleeding. Thebulletremainslodgedin his back, and doctors have determined he is not stable enoughforsurgery
In an interview with Kaieteur News, members of Garvelle’s family his siblings Abiola and Dexter Hyman, and sister-in-law Collette Hyman shared details of the shooting and voiced frustration over the slow pace of the police investigation.
“Garvelle is in a critical state The bullet is still lodged in his back, and he cannot undergo surgery becauseheisnotstable,”the family said The family complainedthatfromtheday oftheincidenttothepresent, no proper investigation has been conducted On Tuesday, Kaieteur News
spoke with Assistant
Commissioner and Commander of Region Three,MahendraSiwnarine, who confirmed the shooting andtoldthispublicationthat the suspect is in hiding.
“Whilst the suspect is known, he is in hiding. I spoke to both parents yesterday (Monday) and theywereinformedofsame. With all these things going on, we are really tied down
the lam; family laments sloth in police probe
right now But will make contact with CID and look intothecase.”
When asked if a wanted bulletin was issued for the suspect, Siwnarine stated, “Not as yet.” According to Garvelle’s brother, Dexter, he was present when the shooting occurred around 22:30hrsonFriday “Icame out on the road to get something to eat. People wereburningstuffandsoon. My brother came and we weretalkingaboutmegoing into the interior to work. That’s when he told me that this boy [the suspect] violated him,” Dexter recounted.
“I looked to see who the
person was, and within that moment, Garvelle threw his bicycleattheboybecausehe noticedtheboycomingwith a firearm in his hand ” Following the altercation, a gunshot was heard, hitting Garvelleonceintheleftside of his back. The wounded teen fled into the scheme with the suspect following him.“Mybrothergetupand ran into the scheme and the boywasrunningbehindhim. The boy fired two shots in the air and my brother continue running to find a hidingplace.Whenhewasin hiding he became unconscious and he was taken by a taxi to the hospital,”Abiolaexplained.
Dexter related to this publicationthatGarvelleand the suspect had an argument before the shooting. He also stated that several individuals were present at the scene and witnessed the shooting. The family claims the suspect has a criminal history,includinganincident in 2023 involving an unlicensed firearm. Collette Hyman added, “He [the suspect] was engaging in a shooting with an unlicensed firearmin2023.”
Garvelle was initially treated at Leonora Hospital before being transferred to theWestDemeraraRegional Hospital. His sister shared further details about his deteriorating condition “They said he is not stable forsurgery Hehastobeable to move around first before surgery The bullet needs to comeoutbeforehecanfully recover.”
“His 5th and 6th ribs are broken. He has a punctured lung and internal bleeding. They had to insert a chest tube to drain the blood. On Tuesday morning, he was vomitingblood.Thedoctors said his lung collapsed, and his body cannot withstand anaesthesia right now to get the bullet out ” The followingday,Dexterfileda report at the Leonora Police Station the day after the incident. However, attempts to collect a statement from Garvelle were repeatedly postponed Collette recounted: “The officer said to call her when we reached thehospitalsoshecouldtake
a statement. But then she said she couldn’t come because of a protest in Tuschen on April 26. But I told her that my brother-inlaw has to go to Sheriff Hospital to get a CT scan. She said okay I will send somebody there. When my brother-in-law reach there, shetoldmethatshecan’tget anybody to come and get a statementfromhim.”
Eventually, the family said that a statement was writtenforGarvelle.
On April 27, the family returnedtothestation,where anotherofficertookoverthe case.
Theywereshockedwhen the officer asked them to help locate the suspect themselves. “He told me if wecouldlocatetheshooter I became upset and cried. My husband said that’s not our job,”Collettesaid.“Weeven showedthemapictureofthe suspect, but nothing happened.”
Despiterepeatedvisitsto the station, the family says they were told only that the suspectisbeingsought.“Up
to Monday, I saw one of the menwhowastherewhenthe shooting happened. He was lockingupabarinTuschen, but the police keep saying they’re looking for him,” Colletteaddedinfrustration.
The family also related that yesterday, when they returned to the station for some answers, efforts proved futile “It was a whole run around with the police. They are dragging their feet on the matter,” Abiola stated. As such, the emotionalfamilyispleading forjustice.“Mybrothertells meeverything.Toknowheis in this situation—it’s not easy I cry every day I am trying my best to get justice forwhathappenedthatnight. Hedidn’thavetoshoothim. Iwantjusticeformybrother I want the police to find this boy and investigate everyone who was involved ” The family continues to call on the Guyana Police Force for urgent action and justice for Garvelle, who remains hospitalised in critical condition.
Garvelle Hyman
Garvelle battling for his life at the West Demerara Regional Hospital
Police silent on whether Double Day Hotel owner still in custody
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Wednesday that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) must provide information on whether Bhojnauth Bhola, the owner of Double Day Hotel, remains in custody in relation to the death of 11year-old Adriana Younge at his East Bank Essequibo establishment.
Bhola and several of his staff members were arrested lastThursdayafterAdriana’s bodywasfoundinthehotel’s poolatTuschen.
While the 72 hours have passedsincetheirarrest,and despiterepeatedinquiriesby journalists, including questionsposedinthepolice media WhatsApp group, which includes Home Affairs Minister Robeson
B e n n a n d P o l i c e Commissioner Clifton Hicken, the GPF has yet to provide an update on the hotelownerandhisstaffwho werearrested.
At a press conference, Jagdeo made it clear that operationalupdatesfromthe police are not for the politicianstodo.“So,Idon’t know who they are, I don’t
interfere in police negotiations, I think politicians should stay away from police investigations. Butthisisaquestionthatyou should pose to the Commissioner of Police or thePRunit,”hesaid.
He noted that media houses are part of the p o l i c e ’s o f f i c i a l communication channels and urged them to press for answers there, rather than
- Jagdeo says Hicken, Police PR must answer
Owner of Double Day Hotel, Bhojnauth Bhola
Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken
expect political figures to provide operational details.
“Why don’t you pose the questioninthatgroup,rather than ask a politician to tell you?”Jagdeoasked. Pressed further on the lack of response from the police PR unit despite multiple requests, Jagdeo acknowledged the gap and called on the force to improve its public communication “The PR
groupmustdealwithit…the police have their own PR group and they must deal with these matters too and p r o v i d e t i m e l y information… they have to step up on the PR front,” he asserted.
HealsourgedtheGPFto provide clear and timely updates.
The vice president’s responsecameamidgrowing public and media concerns
over the handling of the investigation Bhola, who previously faced a murder charge in 2012, was reportedlytakenintocustody on the morning of April 24. His staff was detained the same day after Adriana’s body was recovered However, nearly a week later, the police have remained silent on whether the suspects are still being heldorhavebeenreleased.
No commitment to independent probe into Adriana Younge’s death
- VP says president promised thorough inquiry
There has been no commitment to an independent investigation into the death of Adriana Younge by the Government of Guyana, but Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said President IrfaanAli has promised to ensure a thoroughprobe.
During his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Jagdeo was asked whether the government is open to facilitating an independent investigation, as Younge’s family and the public have beencallingforit.
Jagdeo said, “On that matter, the president has madeitcleartherewouldbe a thorough investigation… we have to leave that to be determined, but a thorough investigation is what he promised.” He said further that he does not want to second-guess the president, who already made it clear thattheinvestigationwillbe thorough. He said anything further will be left to him as well.
“I have great faith that the investigation will be thorough. We want to find out the truth, we in the PPP too,”Jagdeoadded.
An independent postmortem examination (PME) conductedonthebodyof11year-oldAdrianaYounge on Monday concluded that the childdiedfromdrowning.
Thiswasrevealedbyher father, Subrian Younge, following a four-hour-long autopsy at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) This was later confirmed by the family’s lawyer, Darren Wade and laterPresidentIrfaanAliata newsconference.Beforethe PM, which commenced around 12:30pm, a series of scans, including X-rays and a full-body CT, was conducted to assess for fractures and other injuries, includinginternalbleeding.
While Younge’s mother declined to comment on the findings of the autopsy, the child’sfather,whopulledher lifeless body from the Double Day Hotel pool on April 24, told reporters, “Thisisnoresulttome.”The child’s family has not accepted the findings of the PME, conducted by a three-
member pathology team
The specialists included Dr Shubhakar Karra Paul from Barbados Dr Gary Collins, Chief Medical Examiner of Delaware, United States of America and Dr Glenn Rudner of Mount Sinai Hospital.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, family members disputed claims made by President Ali,whoinformedthenation that the pathology team had concluded that the child did not die from forcible drowning.
In an interview with Kaieteur News on Tuesday, the child’s aunt, Amika Lewis,explained,“Thethree pathologists said that my niece died from drowning. Of course, the pathologists can only tell you the cause, they cannot say where she drowned.”
The woman added,
“They did not rule out that she was murdered They explainedthattous,thatthey arenotgoingtoruleoutthat she was murdered…we the citizens, we the family, we the people who were there, know for a fact she did not drowninthepool.”
To this end, Lewis discounted remarks shared by President Irfaan Ali that there was no ‘forceful drowning’ofherniece.
Shesaid,“Idon’tknowif it was Mr Ali or Mr Jagdeo who had a conference and said something that the pathologists said that she wasn’t forcefully (drown). The pathologist did not say that. They did not say that. They said other things: she didn’t have any broken bones; she was not raped. Theydidnotsaythatshewas not murdered. They did not say that she drowned in the pool and they explained that they couldn’t tell us that. They would need a toxicology report and some otherstuffdone.”
During a press briefing on Monday evening, the Head of State told reporters, “The relatives were also informed that the pathologists ruled out theories of forcible drowningoranyothermeans of killing followed by disposal of the body in water.”
Man sentenced to 18 months for robbing cop
A23-year-old
m a n w a s sentenced to 18 months in prison on
Wednesday when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for robbingapoliceofficer
Videsh Persaud, of Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, appeared before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore who read the charge, which stated that on April 29, 2025, at Quamina Street, Georgetown, he armed himself with a knife and robbed police officer
Abigail Valentine of a Samsung Galaxy smart phone valued $35,500 and one purse valued $7,500; withatotalvalueof$43,000. Persaudpleadedguiltyto thecharge.
He told the court that he did rob the officer, but later returnedtheitems.
“Me did steal it but me
give she back everything,” Persaudtoldthecourt. Valentinesaidshewason her way to work when
Defendant Videsh Persaud at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday
Serial bandits nabbed
after terrorising West Dem residents
Ryan Badadal Amos Moore
Kevin Thomas called ‘Romel’ Vishul Persaud
FourpersonswerearrestedbypoliceonTuesdayafternoon after they were involved in multiple robberies within the communities of Meten- Meer- Zorg and De Willem, West CoastDemerara(WCD).
Those arrested have been identified as; 31-year-old Ryan Badadal, 17-year-old Amos Moore, 18-year-old Vishul PersaudandKevinThomascalled‘Romel.’ Police said that one knife, a mask and a quantity of suspected cannabis were recovered from the suspects. The suspectsareincustodyattheLeonoraPoliceStation.
Persaud stole her phone and purse. She added that he returned the items after he was made aware of who she was.
“ S o m e p e r s o n apprehended him and took the stuff from him, when he realised I was a police officer, he give me back everything,”shesaid. Hewasthensentencedto 18 months in prison, and when asked by the Magistrate what his last wordswere,heresponded,“I amsorry.”
ClassroomsremainemptydespiteGovt’sassurances
Despite assurances from the Ministry of Home Affairs that the national situation is “returning to normalcy,” schools across Guyana remained largely empty again on Wednesday, with many classrooms abandoned.
Thelowturnoutfollowsviolent protests that erupted Monday evening, after the autopsy conducted on 11-year-old Adriana Younge concluded she died by drowning a finding strongly contested by her family and membersofthepublic.Theprotests escalated into clashes with riot police, who fired rubber pellets at demonstrators who also responded
with bricks, bottles, and burning debris. Looting occurred at several businesses, particularly along Regent,Camp,andLamahaStreets. There were also attempts to break intotheCityMall.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, onTuesday,assuredcitizensthatthe situation was under control. “The Minister of Home Affairs, Honourable Robeson Benn, has advised that the Joint Services, comprising of the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Fire Service, Guyana Defence Force and other agencies, have been actively engagedtoensurethecontinued
Continued on page 22
An empty classroom at Carmel Secondary School
The New Central High School
Dolphin Secondary School compound, empty classroom, doors closed
Scores of Guyanese united their voices in prayers and songs for Adriana Younge at the Kitty City Seawall as they called for justice
42 on terrorism, robbery charges
ByFrancwaFortune
Forty-two men and one woman were hauled before various courts on Wednesday on charges of break and enter, larceny and inciting public terror stemming from Monday’s riot, which resulted in two men being shot and killed, several others injured, and close to a dozen Chinese supermarketsburglarised.
Some 29 of the 42 men appeared before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore at t h e G e o r g e t o w n Magistrates’Court,whilethe others were arraigned at courts outside of the capital.
Ei
Emmanuel James of Independence Boulevard, Alboystown, Georgetown and25-year-oldJamalSmall
o f J a m e s S t r e e t , Alboystown, Georgetown, were jointly charged with terrorism and break and enterandlarceny
ItisallegedthatonApril 28, 2025, at Hunter Street between West Front Road and Mandela Avenue, Georgetown James and SmallbrokeintoJinBaoLin and stole a quantity of groceries, phone cards, household items, hardware items, alcohol and snacks valuedat$500,000.Itisalso allegedthatonthesameday at the said address, the accused committed a terroristactbyplacingwood and other items on the roadwayandsettingfireina manner that caused destruction of property James and Small were not required to plead to the indictablecharge.
Nineteen-year-old Alex Atkinson of Lot 85 Guyhoc, Georgetown, 22 years-old DevonLewisofLot14West La Penitence Housing Scheme, Georgetown, 26-
years-old Randy Denjamin
of Phase Two East Ruimveldt,Georgetown,21year-oldAidan Cuffy of Lot 85 Guyhoc Gardens, Georgetown, 25-year-old Jason Hardy of Lot 209 Sideline Dam, East La Penitence Georgetown, 39years-old Kerwyn Baksh of Lot 74 St. Stevens Street Charlestown, Georgetown, 21-year-old Tyrese HassaanahofLot43Nismes West Bank Demerara (WBD), 33-year-old Faizal Kennedy of Lot 71 East La Penitence, Georgetown, and 25-year-old Jamaul singh of Lot636ProvidenceHousing
Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD), were also jointly charged with terrorism and break and enterandlarceny
ItisallegedthatonApril 28, 2025, at Cemetery Road between Toucan Street and Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown,theybrokeinto Jin Bao Lin and stole a
quantity of groceries, phone cards, household items, hardware items, alcohol and snacks valued at $6 million. It is also alleged that on the samedayatthesaidaddress, the accused committed a terroristactbyplacingwood and other items in a manner that caused or was likely to cause destruction of property They were not required to plead to the indictablecharge.
Twenty-year-old
Sherwain Nelson of Lot 75
West Front Road, Georgetown, 20-year-old Desafio Harvey of Lot 135
King Edward Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, 53-year-oldOulientElginof Lot 11 ‘D’ Hogg Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, 18-year-oldLeonAlbert,34year-old Kevin Rodney of ‘D’ Field Sophia, Georgetown, 31-year-old KeonAkeemHope,53-yearoldRonMitchellof‘C’Field Sophia Squatting area, 18-
year-oldHassanMuhammed of ‘C’ Field Sophia, 49year-old Omadath Bridgemohan of First Street Pattensen,Turkeyenand19year-old Shem Howard of ‘B’ Field Sophia, Georgetown, were jointly charged with terrorism. It is alleged that on April 28, 2025, at Sussex and Hill Street, Georgetown, they committed a terrorist act by placing wood and other items on the roadway and setting fire in a manner that caused destruction of property
They were not required to plead to the indictable charge Nineteen-year-old AntonioLawrence,34-yearold Kevin James and 27year-old Vincent Trim of Durban Backland Squatting Area, Georgetown, were jointly charged with terrorism.
ItisallegedthatonApril 28,2025,atDurban
Continued on page 21
Teen arrested for murder of Soesdyke man
More than seven
months after a w a n t e d bulletin was issued for a 19year-oldman,policearrested him on Tuesday for questioning in the murder of AubreyRichardson.
Richardson died after being shot on September 5, 2024, during a robbery at ‘Sattie Shop’ located at Soesdyke-Linden Highway
The arrested man has been identified as Antwan Sampson, a gold miner of Yarrowkabra, Circuit Ville, Soesdyke- Linden Highway
A wanted bulletin was also issued for 23-year-old Samuel Browne, whose last known address is at Kaneville,Grove,EastBank Demerara(EBD).Heisyetto bearrested.
Kaieteur News had reported that on August 24, 2024, Richardson was shot during an alleged robbery at ‘SattieShop’. Hehadlefthis Kuru Kururu, SoesdykeLindenHighwayresidenceat approximately 20:30hrs in the company of someone known to be his friend to go totheshop.Hewasrushedto the hospital, where he spent almost two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beforehediedonSeptember 5, 2024 A post-mortem examination done on Richardson’s body revealed that he died of septic shock due to injuries caused by a singlegunshot.
T o r e a d m o r e ; https://www.kaieteurnewson line com/2024/10/14/family -members-of-kuru-kururuman-fatally-shot-duringrobbery-make-appeal-forpolice-to-find-his-killers/
Dead: Aubrey Richardson
Antwan Sampson
Samuel Browne
Six men who were remanded for terrorism and break and enter
GPLfailedtoachieve7of8performancetargetsin2024
The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has given the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) a low score for its operating standards and performance targets for 2024, but noted that it will not impose any penalty on the power company, but will continue to closely monitor and scrutinise its quarterlyoperationsin2025.
Thecommissionhelditsannual publichearingonMarch13,last,at H e r d s m a n s t o n L o d g e , Georgetown, where it reviewed GPL’s performance and operations targets for 2024. The commission said it was dissatisfied with GPL’s non-compliance and apparent passiveapproachtothetargets.The review was measured using eight standards: customer interruptions, voltage regulation, meter reading, issuing of bills, accounts payable, accountsreceivable,systemlosses, andaverageavailability
For customer interruptions, the PUC said GPL exceeded its target of 85 customer interruptions for 2024. At the end of the year, customers experienced an average of123interruptions.GPLindicated at the hearing that there were several reasons for the nonachievement of this target, including feeder trips, reduction in generation capacity due to unavailability and planned maintenance of generator sets, public and private sector construction eq
The GPL Kingston plant has had several problems in recent times.
-
PUC concludes
interruptingtransmissionlines,and an increase in vehicular accidents affecting the transmission and distributioninfrastructure.
For its system average interruption duration index (SAIDI), a standard used to define an acceptable duration of outages experienced by consumers during theyear,GPLagainexceededits90 hours of power interruptions, reachingsome122hoursattheend oflastyear
Under the voltage regulation target, the company is obligated to maintain a voltage within ±5% of
the nominal value under stable conditions and ±10% following systemdisturbances.Thecompany had increased the number of feeders on which it monitors the voltage performance from one in 2023tofourin2024,includingthe Onverwagt F4 feeder, Good Hope F3 feeder, New Georgetown F2 feeder and the Vreed-en-Hoop F3 feeder However,despitetheefforts by the power company, including the installation at various intervals along the feeders to record the voltage levels received by consumers,thetargetwasnotmet.
2024. The target for maximum demand bills was set at 7 days and non-maximum demand bills at 10 days.AccordingtoGPL,maximum demand bills were issued within 7 days, and non-maximum demand bills within 8 days after meter readings. The company indicated that several measures will be promoted to maintain and improve thistarget,includingthedispatchof electronic bills via WhatsApp for consumerswhopreferthismodeof delivery
The 2024 target for meter reading for maximum demand (commercial and industrial users) meters was 97 per cent and 90 per cent for non-maximum demand (residential and small businesses) meters. At the public hearing, the company reported that their meter reading performance for the year 2024 was 91 per cent for MD customersand85percentfornonMDcustomers.AccordingtoPUC, GPLfailedtoachievethesetargets fortheyear GPL was able to achieve its target of issuing bills for the year
For its accounts payable target, GPL is required to settle its debts withcreditorswithin26days.GPL reportedthatonaverage,ittook35 days to settle its obligations, primarily due to cash flow challengespromptedbyissueswith the receivable payments The company indicated that during the year, they were assisted with supplemental funding from the government, but at the end of the year, the company still had several outstanding payables, which contributed to its inability to achievethetarget.
The power company was also unable to meet its accounts receivable target, which requires that bill payments be received within a 30-day period. The PUC learned that payments were received at an average of 37 days. GPL explained that it took a more ‘consumer-friendly’stanceon Continued on page 22
Linden man shot in eye by police
A 38-year-old man was shot in his right eye with a rubber bullet on Tuesday night by a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) whowaspursuingtwoother suspects at One Mile Wismar,LindenRegionTen.
The injured man has been identified as Shirlon Hollingsworth, a resident of One Mile Wismar, Linden. The incident reportedly occurred between 22:00h and 23:00h Region Ten Commander and Assistant Commissioner Kurleigh Simon told this publication that on Tuesday, between 17:00h and 00:00h, police weredispatchedtoalocation in Linden where persons were blocking the road, burningdebrisandthrowing missiles at police, as ranks cleared the streets. “Rubber pelletswereusedtodisperse them,”Simonsaid.
However,inaninterview with Kaieteur News, the victim’s wife, 35-year-old Nikkisha Hollingsworth, clarified that she and her husband live in a shared compound where two separate houses are located, oneatthefrontandtheother at the back. She explained thatherhusbandhadstepped outsidetolockuptheirshop, which is located in their yard, and to check on their vehicle.Duringaliveonher Facebook page, the injured man recounted, “When I locktheshop,Ihearsomelil boys running by the street andthepolicewasshooting, anyway I finish off locking theshop.”
A f t e r w a r d s , Hollingsworth rushed to the front house on the property where his brother lives
However, upon reaching inside, he said, “Soon as I turn around fuh push in the door… the police was right at the door by the fence,
aimedhisgunstraightinme yardstraighttomyface,and shoot.” The rank reportedly fired five more shots and thenleftthescene.
Hollingsworth was then rushed to the McKenzie Hospitalfortreatmentbefore being transferred to the GeorgetownHospitalPublic The victim was scheduled to undergo surgery at the hospital, however, doctors were unable to operate becausetherubberpelletwas too deep. The man’s wife stressed, “Whatever the police used, was actually bigger than a pellet, the doctor said its bigger than a pellet, I don’t know is what they used and as such whateveritisitactuallywent deep and they cannot perform the surgery, so they wantustowaittwoweeks beforethatisfixed.”
Meanwhile, during a joint news conference by a number of political parties, Lindener andsocialactivist Nigel London raised concerns about the manner inwhichthepolicehadbeen enforcing the law. “I don’t want to be in anyway insensitivebutitseemstome likemembersoftheGuyana Police Force are given an order to shoot in the eye, because another Lindener wasshotinhiseye,whilehe wasinanapartmentseeking to evade the policemen gunshots, reckless gunshots ” He continued, “Weareheretodemandthat the officer be made known, his identity to be made known and there should be justiceaswell.”
Shirlon Hollingsworth after receiving the rubber pellet gunshot wound
Shirlon Hollingsworth
The spent shell that was recovered
Businessman shot during row at Mahaicony
A 2 3 - y e a r - o l d businessman is hospitalised after he was shot during an altercation at Perseverance Village, Mahaicony, East CoastDemerara.
Theinjuredmanhasbeen identifiedasIjaazArjune.
The two men who were arrestedhavebeenidentified only as a 24-year-old and a 27-year-old.
The incident reportedly occurred at 01:45h, after the duo, who was in a black motorcar,hadaconflictwith thebusinessman.
Police related that after the shooting, the victim was
The firearm and ammunition that was found
Hospital, where he was treated, and later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he remains
inastablecondition.
Police said in the press release,a.32pistolandnine matching rounds were recovered at the scene and havebeenlodged.
42onterrorism,robbery...
Frompage18 Backlands, Georgetown, they committed a terrorist act by placing wood and other items on the roadway and setting fire in a manner that caused destruction of property They were not required to plead to the indictablecharge.
Twenty-year-old Kemuel Abrams of Lot 19 Tucville, Georgetown, 22year-old Leroy Sealey-Yaw of Lot 26 ‘A’ East La Penitence, 21-year-old ShamalRamofLot1305‘B’ Sophia, Georgetown, 20year-old Samuel October of 47 Friendship, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and 24year-old Arnold Junior of Lot 69 Housing Scheme, East Bank Berbice (EBB), were charged with terrorism.
ItisallegedthatonApril 29, 2025, at Tucville, Georgetown, they committed a terrorist act by breaking into Ying’s Chinese supermarket and stealing a quantity of items and damaging parts of the said supermarket. They werenotrequiredtopleadto theindictablecharge.
Theprosecutiontoldthe court that on the days in question, the defendants were caught on camera placing items on the roadways and setting them on fire. They added that the police acted swiftly and arrested them, and placed them in custody The defendants who broke into the supermarket were all found and arrested by the policeinthesupermarket.
The prosecution objected to bail due to the seriousness of the offences committed as well as the publicsafetyandtheactions of the defendants The prosecutionalsoindicatedto thecourtthatthedefendants werecaughtlightingfireand
asaresultofsuchactions,it instilled fear in many agencies, causing flights to be cancelled and turned back,andbusinessestoshut their doors “The entire country was shut down because of these acts,” the prosecutorsaid.
One of the accused began shedding tears and wasgiventheopportunityto speak.Hetoldthecourtthat he pleaded with nearby persons not to fight and cause destruction. “All dem officers know me. I beg for alldemtostoppeltandstop shoot cause dem breaking upthecountry NowIfacing thishay Meain’tdonothing up to now, ize ah big man and I have children me aint want this happen,” the accusedsaid.
Another accused took that opportunity to share with the court that he was found on a corner videoing withhisphonewhenhewas approached by an officer who began assaulting him.
“Ma’am, I de videoing with me phone on d corner and the police come and started hitting me up in my face with he gun and gun-butt me, all in my head bust up. My worship, look I have marksonmyskin.Thisisan injustice my worship!” the court heard from one of the accusedmen.
Magistrate Azore remanded all 29 men who appeared before her to prison until their next court appearance, which is scheduledforMay28,2025. Additionally, a total of 14 other persons, including 1 woman, were also charged on Wednesday for Terrorism. These are; 42year-old Quacy Gittens, 48year-oldJeffonTrotmanand 29-year-oldAndelWeeksof Parika,EastBankEssequibo (EBE), 30-year-old Euclid Wright of Leonora, West
Coast Demerara (WCD), 39-year-old Dilon Caleb of Vergenoegen, EBE, 28year-old Wayne Wright of Tuschen, EBE, 27-year-old Lenna Lopes of Patentia HousingScheme,WBD,36year-old Tremain Frank of Swan Street, Squatting Area, WBD, 20-year-old
Melville Thomas of Pouderoyen, WBD, 31year-old Arvin Persaud of Bella Dam, Pouderoyen, WBD, 27-year-old Clevon Hudson of Bella Dam, PouderoyenWBD,26-yearold Nelson Bristol of Kildonan Village, Corentyne, Berbice, 18year-old Quel Lyte of Nurney Village, Corentyne, Berbice and 20-year-old EmmanuelDavisofLimnair Village, Corentyne, Berbice.
Support Meanwhile, outside the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, relatives of the accused gathered in support of them. A relative of Sherwain Nelson told Kaieteur News that at the time of the incident, he was home and, after hearing whathadtranspired,hewent out in search of his brotheri n - l a w a n d w a s subsequently caught and arrested by the police while inboxershorts.“Myson-inlaw come out from by me around like 11 something, herunouthisbedtolookfor his brother-in-law And as soonasherunoutthehouse thepolicesnatchheandstart beating he up and throw he in the lock ups.” She added that “When we go at the stationnowdemtellhecourt thismorningwithouttelling he wa dem charging he for They don’t have no footage andnoevidencestatingthat they find this boy doing anything. This boy was in his bare boxers on the corner,”thewomansaid.
three men allegedly wrongfully accused
Public terror wanted bulletins in dispute -
Concerns are growing over the accuracy of the flurry of wanted bulletins being issued by the Guyana PoliceForceforpersonswho allegedly were engaged in riotous behaviour on Monday and other days following the death of Adriana Younge at the Double Day Hotel in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo,lastweek.
Multiple riots erupted following the release of an autopsy report confirming thatthe11-year-oldgirldied by drowning on Monday Adriana was reported missing on April 23, 2025, and was later found dead in the pool of the Double Day Hotel. Notably, the same pool had reportedly been searched earlier, and there was no trace of the missing child, which raised serious public suspicion and fueled widespread outrage The perceived inconsistencies in the investigation sparked nationwide protests, with many demanding answers and accountability from the authorities.
On Tuesday, in a video posted to his TikTok page, Younge’s father, Subryan Younge, alleged that police issuedafalsewantedbulletin for the taxi driver who had been assisting him in recent days Mr Younge was referringtoawantedbulletin thatwasissuedbypolicefor his driver, alleging that he causedpublicterror Younge questioned why someone merely helping him through his grief would be targeted, accusing the police of intimidation and wrongful action.
“You know yesterday (Monday) in the hospital (GeorgetownPublicHospital CorporationGPHC)yard,the police officer take out he phone and flashing and I ask the police man why he flash my driver You know the policemanneveranswerme He never answered me, he never tell me nothing,” Mr Younge said He continued, “Baps suh, to be on the internet and up wanted picture, wanted picture come outformydriver,whywanted picture come out for he, what’s the reason why? Becausehewasthemanwho drivingme?HewasthetaxiI
choose to roll with Why the policedoingthisthingthis?”
Kaieteur News spoke to eyewitnessesonthesceneon Monday when the police officer was seen taking a pictureofthetaxidriverwho had been accompanying Younge.Onewitnesssaidthe police officer was confronted and questioned why the driver’s picture was being taken. “He (Police) acted like he was clueless when the guy confronted him,” the eyewitness recounted.
M e a n w h i l e , o n Wednesday at a joint press conferencehostedbyseveral politicalparties,AllianceFor ChangeLeader,Attorney-atlaw, Nigel Hughes, also raised a concern about two brothers who were charged. Hecondemnedthearrestand indictment of the two young men, who he said were allegedly caught up in the chaos outside the Leonora Police Station last week duringaprotestaction.
Hughes said: “I personally saw these young men on Sunday They live oppositethepolicestationin their mother’s house. When the police fired tear gas and started to shoot, the entire crowd ran up their stairs (above the Chinese restaurant) through their house to escape the tear gas and ran out the back. There werethreeyoungladies,ages 11, nine and some other age under that, in a room; they panicked and fled,” Hughes recalled. The AFC leader relatedthatthetwobrothers, who had been on the verandah throughout the entire incident, went to search for their nieces after
the chaos unfolded. During their search, they were not only arrested by the police but were also reportedly assaulted,saidHughes.
TheAFCleadersaidthat despite their attempts to assist their nieces, the brothers were taken into custody He also said that even though he brought the incident to the attention of senior police officials, no investigationwasconducted, and the two were remanded after appearing at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday He said, “So when you want to ask about scrapes, that’s an exampleofwhathappenedto you, when you start to classify people as anything lessthanhuman.”
The police, in a separate statement on Tuesday, highlighted their ongoing operations, citing the arrest of over 100 persons for various offences, including robbery under arms. The statement also reported the seizure of 37 motorcycles allegedly used to commit crimes during the unrest. Between Monday and Wednesday, 30 wanted bulletins were issued for persons accused of inciting publicterror Astensionsrise and more voices come forward with accounts of wrongfultargeting,manyare now questioning the transparency and intent behind the police’s actions. Calls for independent investigations and accountability are growing louder amid concerns that the campaign to restore public order may be violating the rights of innocentcitizens.
Alliance For Change (AFC) leader Nigel Hughes
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ClassroomsremainemptydespiteGovt’s...
From page 14 safety of all citizens.” The statement further noted, “At thistime,thesituationacross the country remains stable, withtheexceptionofoneisolated area along the Mabura trailtoLinden.Authoritiesare currently resolving the situation to ensure that it does not impact on the broader restorationofnormalcy.”
Though schools were scheduled to reopen on Monday following the twoweekEasterholiday,fearand uncertainty stemming from the protests have kept studentsathome.Theeducation ministry is yet to release an official statement regarding the ongoing disruption of schools.
Kaieteur News visited several schools in Georgetown on Wednesday and found a consistent pattern: empty classrooms, with
teachers present, but no or very few students. Some schools were closed entirely during learning hours.
At Carmel Secondary School, the headteacher reported that only one student showed up—and left shortly after
“Now we need to figure out how we are going to accommodatethisweek’steachings into next week,” the headteacher said.
“I am concerned for the CXC students. They have CSEC just now The children learn better face-to-face. We wouldhaveissueswithonline learning,soIamconcerned.”
Despite the absence of students, the headteacher confirmedthatapproximately 90 per cent of the teaching staff reported for duty on Wednesday
SheaddedthattheMinistry of Education has in-
Norton wants Int’l probe...
From page 8 that objective. “We will depoliticise the Guyana PoliceForcebecausewearewell aware that it has been politicisedtoworkagainstthe people of Guyana. It is our intention to improve training in the Guyana Police Force, bothathomeandabroad,with special emphasis on improving the investigative capacity of the force.”
He said the force will be provided with the necessary resources to do its work, in-
cludingoperatinginaprofessional manner to be able to enforcelawandorder
“The existing CCTV system must not be used conveniently,butmustbeatthedisposaloftheGPFtosolveany crime,regardlessofwhocommits the crime. Whether you arerichorpoor,theGPFmust serveeveryone,andwecommit to you that the GPF will always be allowed under an APNU administration to enforce law and order in a fair and transparent way We must bring this special treatment to family, friends and favouritestoanend.Wemust end this approach of differentstrokesfordifferentfolks. The police force must serve the people of Guyana.”
Norton, along with other opposition and civil society organisations,hasbeenatthe centre of calls for the top cop to vacate office over the mishandling of the Adriana Younge case and the police’s failure to deliver fairly to the people of Guyana.
structed schools to submit attendance records for both teachers and students.
At Dolphin Secondary School,asimilarsituationwas observed. Most classroom doors remained closed, thoughteacherswerepresent on-site.
Ateacherfromtheschool told Kaieteur News that online sessions will be held this week.
The New Central High School also saw no students, withteachersalonepresentin the compound.
Charlestown Secondary was completely shut, with locked gates and no sounds
of activity or learning taking place.
A teacher from President’sCollegesaidonly a small number of students went to school, and those whodidwereplacedtogether inasingleroomundersupervision.
KaieteurNewslearntthat there was either closed schools or very low turnout at schools on the East Bank ofDemerara.
The recent violent unrest across the country has caused many parents to be fearful for their children’s safety, contributing to the widespread absenteeism.
GPL failed to achieve 7...
From page 19 disconnections relating to residential consumers in the reporting year 2024, due to numerous power outages experienced nationally. Factors that contributed to the standard not being met included the deferred late payments, whichaffectedreceivablesin a timely manner and the late payments of government allocations.
The company, at the public hearing,indicatedthatthediversion of its workforce towards the prepaid meter upgrade and meter replacement activity affected its loss reductionactivitiesfor2024.
For 2024, GPL was required to achieve an average generation availability of 85 per cent, however, the company reported that the average generation availability was 80 per cent. This standard was therefore not met. The company stated that the reason for not achieving this targetwasduetocriticalmaintenance during the year, where a total of 51.7 MW of the generating capacity was off-grid at various times.
The PUC said, notwithstanding the company’s failures,GPLhasarticulatedseveral external factors such as recurring damage to infrastructure by vehicles and equipment,aglobalsoftware upgrade and electricity theft, whichhavecontributedtothe company’s failure to meet some of the performance indicators.
Further, in its submissions to the public, GPL has committedtoandhaslaidout severalplansfortheachievementofits2025targets,these include: the operationalisation of the Gas to Energy Project which is expected to improve performance especially in areas such as customer interruptions, voltage regulation and average availability; constructionof155kilometersof 230kilovolt(kV)transmission linesand209kilometersof69 kVtransmissionlines:development of eight substations tofacilitatethedistributionof powerfromtheGastoEnergy (GTE)PlantatWales,among other projects. The commissionsaiditexpectsGPLtobe cognizantofthehighlevelof performanceexpectedandto pursue,asithasindicated,its improvement efforts during theyear2025.
Bids open for construction of fire stations at West Ruimveldt,
According to the reading of bids recently at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office,itwasrevealedthat20contractorshavesubmittedbids forthe
ProcurementofITequipment.
Bidder AmountTendered
MAECEnterprises
MicroDesignTechnology
DigitalGroupofCompaniesTechnologyInc
PBSTechnologyGuyanaInc
TheHardwareDepot
StarrComputerInc
NationwideImports
PromotechInc
$12,855,100
$15,743,200
$12,883, 600
$17,180,300
$31,950,000
$12,950,240
$40,293,321
$22,041,294
MinistryofHomeAffairs
ConstructionofTarlogieFireStation,RegionSix.
GreenPlainsEnterprise
BMPropertyInvestmentInc
Singh&SonConstruction
$194,801,830
$203,840,162
$264,460,998 CivilECEngineeringSolutions
Aiden’sConstruction7GeneralSupplies
$9,529,260
Labour Day in Guyana holds ...
Frompage6
governance and strict adherence to the Rule of Law, foste
n
ansparency, accountability, and respect for trade union representation.
- Advocate better wages, decent work, and investment in quality public services that reflect the values and contributionsofallPublicServants.
- Recognize ourselves as essential stakeholders in Guyana's progress, not passive observers, but active architects of a justandprosperousfutureforall.
The GPSU is resolute in its mission.We will continue to champion the rights of workers, push for meaningful reforms, and hold the government accountable to the peopleitserves.Ourweaponisourvoice,our organization,ourrefusaltobebroken.When Westandtogether,Weachieve,Wesucceed! Wewin!
Today, we reject the idea that we were born to serve in systems that exclude and impoverishus.Weaffirmthatthecountrywe builtisours,nottoslavein,buttoshape,to
share, and to rise. It is in our hands that we stand for fair, more humane and just labour practices. A country where every worker is respected and valued, where no one is left behind, and where living a life of dignity is notaprivilege,butaright.
Let us move forward in solidarity, with clarity of purpose, and with strength drawn from our shared history, values and the sacrificesofthosewhocamebeforeus.
As we sing Solidarity Forever, let us not merelyechoasong;letusliveitstruth.Letit stirustoorganize,tostandfirm,andtobuild power,notjustfortodaybutforgenerations insecuringthefuture.Letitremindusthatwe are the heartbeat, the engine of the nation, andwhenwestandtogether,werisetogether, victoriously
FortheMembersmaketheUnion!For the Union makes us strong! And united, wewillwin!
May God bless our Members and all W o
AndmayGodblessGuyana!
GAWU calls for immediate...
Frompage6
wage.Fortoolong,workersatthelowestend of the wage scale have borne the brunt of risinglivingcostsandstagnantpay Ahigher minimum wage is not only a matter of fairness it is a moral and economic necessity It will help uplift families, stimulate the economy, and reduce inequalitiesthatthreatensocialcohesion.
Aswereflectontheconditionofworkers at home, we also look outward to the international stage. Around the world, the workingclasscontinuestoassertitsrightsin the face of economic and social challenges. From wage struggles and labour reform in LatinAmerica andAfrica, to the resurgence of union power in North America and Europe, the global labour movement is regainingstrengthandmomentum.
We draw inspiration from these international developments, reaffirming the power of solidarity and collective action.At the same time, we remain mindful of the threats that workers face globally: job
insecurity,exploitationindigitaleconomies, climate-related disruptions, and the erosion of labour protections. In this global context, GAWUrecommitstostandingwithworkers everywhere to pursue decent work, fair wages, safe conditions, and a future groundedinjusticeanddignity
As we mark Labour Day 2025, let us remember the values that have long defined our movement—unity, courage, sacrifice, andperseverance. Let us stand resolutely against injustice and exploitation and work tirelessly for a Guyana where workers are not merely contributorstogrowthbutactiveparticipants inshapingoursharedprosperity
Weclosethisstatementbyextendingour condolences to the family of Adriana Younge. We pray for healing, peace, and justiceinthisdifficulttime—andforwisdom and compassion to prevail in our national response.HappyLabourDaytoallGuyanese workers.Letusmoveforward,together,with strength,purpose,andhope.
Gaza siege reaches 60th day as US defends
Israeli at ICJ
(ALJAZEERA) Israel's total blockade of Gaza has reached its 60th day, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague holds the third day of hearings on Israel's humanitarian obligations to Palestinians.
No food, water or medical supplies have been allowed into the war-torn Gaza Strip since March 2, before Israel broke a ceasefire on March 18 to restart bombardments and ground assaults that have killed more than 52,000 Palestinians in the enclave sinceOctober7,2023.
The United Nations has warnedof“full-scalefamine conditions” across the Strip and called for “concerted”
action to stop the “humanitarian catastrophe” there.TheUN'sWorld Food Programme (WFP) says all of its bakeries have shut down and all of its stocks inside Gaza have been fully depleted. According to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),widespreadforced displacement has forced many people to abandon food supplies and emergency stocks secured during the ceasefire signed inJanuary
Furthermore, most people cannot bake for themselves due to acute shortages of cooking fuel andthesoaringcostofwheat flour,thereportsaid.People arealsoforcedtorelyonaid
...No food, water or medical supplies have been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip since March 2.
supplies as farmers and breeders cannot access their land, as 70 percent of the enclave has been designated asa“no-go”areaorisunder displacement orders by the Israeli military, the report added. The remaining soup kitchens in Gaza say they may have to shut down within days unless aid is allowedin.
Precipiceoffamine As a result, some families are resorting to eating “whatever they can find”,evenifitisnotsafefor consumption, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees(UNRWA).
M e a n w h i l e , a spokesperson for the WFP told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that “aid trucks [are] stuck at the
Israeli bombs shake Gaza, 35 killed
…as US defends Israel at ICJ
( A L J A Z E E R A )
Residents of Nuseirat in central Gaza describe an “earthquake” as an Israeli attack on a building killed atleasteightpeople.
At least 35 have been killed across Gaza in the past 24 hours, Al Jazeera quoted the Gaza's Health Ministryassaying.
Meanwhile, day three of International Court of Justice hearings on Israel's humanitarianobligationsto PalestinianssawtheUnited States and Hungary defend Israel and discredit the courtandtheUNasbiased.
TheUnitedNationshas called for “concerted” action to stop the
“humanitariancatastrophe” in Gaza as Israel's total blockade enters its 60th day
Israel'swaronGazahas killed at least 52,400 Palestinians and wounded 118,014 others, according to the enclave's Health Ministry The Gaza Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Palestinians gather to receive a hot meal at a food distribution centre in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on April 30, 2025
border waiting to enter Gaza”. In addition, prices inside the enclave have skyrocketed by more than 500 percent, says NGO Mercy Corps, which warns that Gaza's food systems could collapse entirely unless borders open immediately The world's hunger watchdog, known as theIntegratedFoodSecurity Phase Classification (IPC) system, has begun an analysis of the lack of food andmalnutritionintheGaza Strip.
Theassessmentbeganon April 28 and will last one week, according to OCHA. More than 50 trained analysts from UN agencies and aid groups, from the Gaza Strip and abroad, are takingpartintheexercise,it said. The IPC had issued at
least four warnings since Israel's genocidal actions on Gaza began, saying the territory could be teetering on the precipice of famine.
Hospitals are also overwhelmed by the large influx of patients and injuries, and medical staff warn that many are dying due to the shortage of medical supplies, according to Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from GazaCity
“Medicalstaffwarnthere aremanymoredyingquietly inside emergency wards of the remaining health facilities due to the shortage of medical supplies Medications as simple as painkillers are not available,” he said The president of the Palestine Red Crescent Society,
Younis al-Khatib, called for sanctions to be imposed on Israel as it “left no space for humanitytoliveinGaza”.
“I can't see my colleagues, my friends, and my staff being killed by a statethatdoesnotrespectour emblem, does not respect internationallaw,”al-Khatib toldAlJazeera.
“If any other state had done it, it would have been sanctioned.”
USdefendsIsraelatICJ
Meanwhile, in The Hague, the top court of the United Nations was holding a third day of hearings on what Israel must do to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupiedWest Bank,followingarequestfor anadvisoryopinionfromthe UN General Assembly last year The United States defended Israel on Wednesday, saying that while it must provide aid to Gaza, it does not have to work with UNRWA. Israel banned the agency from operating on its territory in January, after alleging that 19 out of approximately 13,000 staff took part in Hamas's attack in southern IsraelonOctober7,2023.
Joshua Simmons, a legal adviser from the US State Department, argued there was “no legal requirement that an occupying power permit a specific third state or international organisation to conduct activity that would compromise its securityinterests.”Simmons
s u g g e s t e d o t h e r organisations could fulfil UNRWA's mission, despite the UN agency having repeatedly stated that there could be no replacement for its role as an aid provider Similarpointswereraisedby Hungary as it took the floor indefenceofIsrael.
The Russian Federation, which spoke directly after the US, said that UNRWA's work was crucial for the Palestinian people and the agencywassupportedbythe majority of the international community “Theurgencyof this matter cannot be overstated.Gazabalanceson the brink of famine Hospitals lie in ruins Millions of Palestinians in the[Gaza]Strip,aswellasin the West Bank and East Jerusalem, face existential despair,”MaksimMusikhin, of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the court.
Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from The Hague, said other countries including Turkiye, France, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan and Kuwait were expected to speak against Israel's aid blockade before theendoftheday Challands said the countries that gave statementstothecourtinthe firsttwodaysofthehearings had all been critical of Israel's actions. “It was only at the beginning of the third day that a country turned up and spoke in defence of Israel,”hesaid.“Andthat,of course,wastheUS.”
…tariffs unleash flood of imports US economy contracts in the first quarter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter, weighed down by a deluge of goods imported by businesses eager to avoid higher costs, underscoring the disruptive nature of President Donald Trump'softenchaotictariffpolicy
Gross domestic product decreased at a 0.3% annualized rate last quarter, theCommerceDepartment'sBureauof EconomicAnalysis said in its advance estimate of first-quarter GDP on Wednesday Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that GDP increasedata0.3%paceintheJanuaryMarch period The survey was, however, concluded before data on Tuesdayshowedthegoodstradedeficit surged to an all-time high in March amid record imports, which prompted mosteconomiststosharplydowngrade their GDP estimates. The economy grew at a 2.4% pace in the fourth
quarter
But the report likely grossly exaggerated the economy's dimming prospects as consumer spending continuedtogrow,thoughatamoderate pace. Coinciding with Trump's first 100 days in office, it nonetheless reinforced Americans' growing disapproval of his handling of the economysofar Trumpswepttovictory last November on voter angst over the economy, especially inflation
Consumer confidence is near five-year lows and business sentiment has tanked.Airlineshavepulledtheir2025 financial forecasts, citing uncertainty over spending on non-essential travel because of tariffs, which economists have warned will raise costs for companiesandhouseholds.
Given that an unusually large amount of non-monetary gold had accounted for some of the jump in
imports, some economists warned againstplacingtoomuchweightonthe GDP number Others argued that the data did not change the narrative of an economy struggling because of uncertainty due to tariffs. Inflation pickeduplastquarterandisexpectedto rise further through the year EconomistsexpecttheFederalReserve toresumecuttinginterestratesatsome pointthisyear
Trump on Tuesday softened the blow of his auto tariffs through an executive order mixing credits with relief from other levies on parts and materials. A 145% tariff on Chinese goods, which unleashed a trade war between Washington and Beijing, remains in place, as does an array of other import duties. Trump sees tariffs as a tool to raise revenue to offset his promisedtaxcutsandtorevivealongdecliningU.S.industrialbase.
Frompage33
Shaqkere Parris (one) all falling cheaply
Brathwaite, Wickham shine... Holder strikes but Islamabad United humbled in PSL setback against Lahore Qalandars
Keon Gaston and Ryan John made the early inroads, which threatened to derail the Pelicans'inningsbeforeiteventookflight. But Brathwaite and Wickham had other ideas.The duo batted with poise and power, combining for a crucial 99-run stand for the fourthwicket.Wickham,themoreaggressive ofthetwoearlyon,strucksixboundariesand three towering sixes in his 46-ball 64 before h e w a s b o w l e d b y Av i n a s h Mahabirsingh.Mahabirsingh struck again shortlyaftertoremoveJoshuaBishopforone,but Brathwaiteanchoredtheinningsbeautifully
He accelerated expertly in the death overs, smashingninefoursandfoursixesinhisunbeaten knock that used just 50 deliveries to guide the Pelicans to a strong finish alongside captain Nyeem Young, who added 11 not out in the unbroken65-runsixth-wicketstandTheInfernos' chase began on uncertain footing, as wickets tumbledinclusters Theystumbled to 84-5 by the halfway mark, with key batsmen Johann Jeremiah (eight), Alick Athanaze (11), AckeemAuguste(four),andDillonDouglas (six) all back in the pavilion. Captain
Athanaze and Douglas both fell to Nyeem Young, who emerged as the Pelicans' bowlingtalisman.Still,TeddyBishoprefused to go quietly Calm under pressure, Bishop battedwithamixofflairandmaturity,hitting three fours and three sixes in his 42-ball 61. HeandShadrackDescarterevivedthechase witha51-runsixth-wicketstand,anddespite Descarte'sdismissalfor26,theInfernosstill seemed within striking distance.Even after Bishopwascruellyrunoutfor61inthe18th overwiththescoreat163-8,themomentum remained in the balance thanks to Keon Gaston'sexplosivecameo.
Withthreefoursandtwosixesina12-ball 30, Gaston turned the game on its head and dragged the Infernos to within one run of victory.But in a dramatic twist, needing a single off the last ball to force a super over, Gaston was run out going for the run, as the Pelicans held on for an unforgettable victory.Young led from the front with the ball,finishingwith3-29.AlleyneandJunior Sinclair chipped in with one wicket apiece, but it was the fielding unit, which effected four run-outs, that ultimately made the differenceinarazor-closematch.
Thursday May 01, 2025
ARIES(Mar.21–Apr.19
You're at risk of feeling emotionally overwhelmed today Don't worry, Aries, it will all work out. Take some deep breaths and apply your intellecttothesituation.
TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)
You can expect to receive somegoodfinancialnewstoday, Taurus Yourmindracesamilea minuteasyoustrategizewaysto spendthemoney
GEMINI(May21–June20)
You might be surprised by how clever and creative you are today, Gemini. Just for fun, you may decide to pick up a paintbrush and try watercolor painting or perhapswritingsomepoetry
CANCER(June21–July22)
Today you feel a tug of war between desires and obligations,Cancer Ifyou're smart about managing time, maybeyoucansatisfyboth.
LEO(July23–Aug.22)
You need to give yourself more credit, Leo. When you set your mind to something, nomatterhowambitious,you usuallyaccomplishit.
VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22)
Today you're bursting at the seams with energy and enthusiasm. Your personal and professional lives are going well, so it's no wonder you feel joyful. The only downside is that you may be overwhelmed by work responsibilities.
SportsMax-WestIndies all-rounder Jason Holder delivered with the ball but faltered with the bat as Islamabad United suffered a crushing 88-run defeat at the hands of host Lahore Qalandars, which marked their first loss of the 2025 Pakistan Super League campaign.
Holder battled through Lahore's late onslaught to claim 2-54 in his four overs, includingbothSikandarRaza andAsifAliinthefinalover, butthedamagehadlongbeen done. A flurry of late runs from the hosts pushed them to a daunting 209-6, setting the stage for Islamabad's
biggest challenge of the season.
When Holder returned to the crease with bat in hand, Islamabad was already in disarray His stay at the wicket lasted just one ball, a g o l d e n d u c k t h a t compoundedwhatturnedout tobehisteam'sworstbatting performance of the tournament. Bowled out for 121 in 16.5 overs, United's previously unbeaten record was left in ruins at Lahore's Gaddafi Stad
Wednesday
Earlier, after Islamabad optedtofield,FakharZaman (44 off 30) and Mohammad Naeem(25off22)setabrisk
LIBRA(Sept.23–Oct.22)
Take care not to get on a soapbox today, Libra. You have strong opinions on everything from religion to politics You risk offending peopleifyouexpoundonthem
SCORPIO(Oct.23–Nov.21)
Spiritual and metaphysical conceptsmayseemmurkyto youtoday,Scorpio.Ideasthat friends accept as matters of coursemightfeelstrange.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21)
A strange, bothersome feeling could plague you today, Sagittarius, as if you can't remember something youneedtodo.
CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19)
Isaromanticpartnerhaving trouble communicating with family, Capricorn? If so, be preparedtohearaboutittoday Be a good listener. Your understandingandobjectivity willbegreatlyappreciated.
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)
Listen carefully when you receive instructions today, Aquarius.Yourmindmaynot be as sharp as usual. If you aren't careful, you could get onthewrongtrackandendup havingtostartalloveragain.
PISCES(Feb.19–Mar.20)
A heightened sense of idealized romance could hit you today, Pisces. If you aren't currently involved, beware!Thatwonderfulnew person you've just met may haveawell-hiddenside.
platform with a 50-run opening stand, launching an assault in the powerplay Though Naeem was run out, thehostscontinuedtopileon the pressure. Imad Wasim, the pick of the bowlers alongside Holder, managed tobrieflyhaltthemomentum w i t h t w o k e y strikes removing both Zaman and Abdullah Shafique (22) in quick succession.
But it was Lahore's middle and lower order that truly punished the United attack.DarylMitchell(28off 18), Sam Billings (unbeaten 38off17),andSikandarRaza (39 off 17) unleashed fireworks in the death overs. Raza and Billings added a devastating 64-run stand, lifting Lahore beyond the 200-mark.Holderreturnedto grabtwolatewickets,butthe score already looked out of reach.
In response, Islamabad's top order never looked settled Sahibzada Farhan (nine) fell early, and though AndriesGous(41off27)and Salman Agha (36 off 25) stitched together a 69-run partnership, it proved to be a false dawn. Once Agha was bowled by Raza at 80-2, the innings unraveled in dramaticfashion.
The last eight wickets crumbled for just 41 runs, with only Shadab Khan (13) and Naseem Shah (11) making it to double figures. Haris Rauf was devastating in his four-over burst, claiming 4-31, while Raza returned with 3-20 to complete a man-of-thematchperformance.
Despite the heavy loss, Islamabad United remain atop the PSL table on 10 points, but the emphatic win for Lahore Qalandars has now brought them to second placewitheightpoints.
West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder
Caribbean queens among first to qualify for inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship
SportsMax - With the 500-day countdown officially underway for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, threeCaribbeanstars,Julien Alfred, Thea LafondGadson, and Marileidy Paulino, have already stamped their ticket to the showpiece said to be the most anticipated event in globaltrackandfieldhistory
The trio, who delivered goldenmomentsatthe2024 Paris Olympic Games, are among the first 26 elite athletes announced as automatic qualifiers for the high-stakes meet, which promises to reshape the landscapeofglobalathletics. TheirOlympictriumphslast summernotonlyetchedtheir names into Caribbean sporting folklore but now alsograntthemanearlypass to the September 11–13, 2026 championship being touted as the “battle of the best"inBudapest.
Alfred, the electrifying sprinter from Saint Lucia,
blazed to glory in the women's 100 metres at the Paris Olympics, sealing her nation's first-ever Olympic goldmedal. Her explosive start and fearless finish made her a breakout star—and now, a foundational name in the Ultimate Championship lineup. She's expected to headline the Saturday night
100m final, one of the marquee events in the Budapestschedule.
Meanwhile, LafondGadson made history of her own for Dominica, soaring to a commanding win in the women's triple jump Lafond-Gadson, who has longcarriedhernation'sflag in international athletics, cementedherlegacyinParis
and will now look to extend that dominance on the Ultimate stage during Sunday'sfinale.
Alfred, the electrifying sprinter from Saint Lucia, blazed to glory in the women's 100 metres at the Paris Olympics, sealing her nation's first-ever Olympic gold medal. Her explosive startandfearlessfinishmade her a breakout star—and now,afoundationalnamein the Ultimate Championship lineup. She's expected to headline the Saturday night 100m final, one of the marquee events in the Budapestschedule.
Meanwhile, LafondGadson made history of her own for Dominica, soaring to a commanding win in the women's triple jump Lafond-Gadson, who has longcarriedhernation'sflag in international athletics, cementedherlegacyinParis and will now look to extend that dominance on the Ultimate stage during Sunday'sfinale.
Paulino, the pride of the Dominican Republic, was untouchable in the women's 400 metres in Paris, producingoneoftheGames' most authoritative performances.
A consistent podium finisher over the years, Paulino now sets her sights ontheSunday400mfinalin Budapest, where she will faceoffagainsttheverybest witharecord-breakingprize potontheline.
The three-day World
Athletics Ultimate Championship features no h e a t s , n o s e c o n d chances—only finals. It is a bold reimagining of elite athletics, bringing together Olympic champions, World champions, Diamond League winners, and top-
upcoming World Athletics
Ultimate Champion in each ofthe28events.
With US$10 million in total prize money the richest pot in track and field history each individual champion will walk away with US$150,000, and even last-place finishers will earn thousands, acknowledging theprestigeofqualification.
Alongside Alfred,
Lafond-Gadson, and
Paulino, a glittering cast of Olympic champions will descend on Budapest. They include Botswana's sprint sensation Letsile Tebogo, worldrecordpolevaultking MondoDuplantis,American sprintqueenGabbyThomas, hurdling maestro Grant Holloway, and middledistance star Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain.The full slate of 26 Olympic gold medallists from P
form the championship's foundation. They will be joined by 26 World Champions from the
Championships and 25 Diamond League winners from the 2026 season, with wild cards going to the top performersofthatyear
Every session of the Ultimate Championship is loaded with finals—nine on Friday,nineonSaturday,and 10onSunday
Among the featured events are the crowdfavorite sprints, throws, jumps, middle-distance classics, and even mixed 4x100mand4x400mrelays, promising drama from start tofinish.
Friday lights up with the women's 100m hurdles, men's and women's pole vault,andthemixed4x100m relay, while Saturday features the highly anticipated men's and women's 100m, 400m hurdles,andwomen's800m. The grand finale on Sunday includes the men's and women's 200m, 400m, and triplejump.
ranked athletes to crown the
Caribbean stars, Julien Alfred, Thea Lafond-Gadson, and Marileidy Paulino, have already stamped their ticket to the showpiece.
American sprint queen Gabby Thomas
World record pole vault king Mondo Duplantis
Botswana's sprint sensation Letsile Tebogo
Barca come from behind twice to draw 3-3 with Inter in thriller
BBC Sport - Barcelona twice came from behind againstInterMilantosnatch a draw in a six-goalfirst-leg thriller to leave their Champions League semifinalfinelypoised.
Inter stunned the hosts after just 30 seconds when Marcus Thuram turned in Denzel Dumfries' low cross with an audacious backheel flicktoscorethefastestgoal in a last-four game in the competition'shistory
Dutch full-back Dumfries doubled the visitors'leadwithastunning overhead kick 20 minutes
Trinidad and Tobago Legions Cruise to Six-Wicket Victory Over Jamaica Titans in Breakout League
SportsMax-Trinidadand Tobago Legions produced a clinical all-round display to secure a six-wicket win over Jamaica Titans at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Breakout League action on Wednesday The victory was built on disciplined bowling andacomposedrunchaseled by captain Joshua Da Silva andKamilPooran.
Afterwinningthetossand opting to bowl first, the Legions restricted Jamaica to 127-8 from their 20 overs.
McKenny Clarke was superb withtheball,taking2-14inhis four overs and removing both Leroy Lugg, who top-scored with 30, and Jordan Johnson.
Navin Bidaisee (2-19) and Johann Layne (2-27) also delivered key spells, with Shaaron Lewis (1-28) chipping in to dismiss opposing captain Ramaal Lewischeaply
Zion Brathwaite offered somelateresistancewitha30ball 37, while Jeavor Royal added 12 and Reon Edwards struck an unbeaten 15, but wickets fell at regular intervals, preventing Jamaica frombuildingmomentum.
In reply, Trinidad and Tobago overcame a shaky start to reach 130-4 in 18.3 overs.
Silva anchored the innings with a fluent 31 off 24 balls, which included thr
boundaries and a six. His composed knock steadied the chasebeforehewasdismissed withthescoreon57.
Kamil Pooran then took over, crafting a well-paced 45 from 38 balls, supported by NavinBidaiseewhoremained notouton29.Thepairaddeda crucial 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket that sealed the game. Jyd Goolie was unbeaten on 3 as the Legions crossed the finish line with nineballstospare.
Jamaica's best bowlers were Andrew Rambaran (223), who removed both Da Silva and Cooper, and Jeavor Royal (1-21), but the total provedtoosmalltodefend.
With this win, Trinidad and Tobago Legions continue their strong showing in the tournament,whiletheJamaica Titans are left searching for consistencyasthecompetition intensifies.
The match was overseen by umpires Carl Tuckett and DeightonButler,withLyndon Rajkumar as TV umpire and Michael Ragoonath as match referee.
Raphinha makes a move during the match. (Getty Images)
later and it looked like Barca had a mountain to climb.
But Lamine Yamal turned on the magic to transformthegame.
He struck a wonderful 24th-minute reply as he drifted inside and skipped past several defenders before unleashing a leftfoot finish that kissed the
post before landing in the net.
Yamalwasattheheartof everythingBarcadid,hitting the woodwork twice but marking his 100th appearancefortheclubwith a 22nd goal to add to his 33 assistsattheageofjust17.
FerranTorres capped off an enthralling first half with a 38th-minute equaliser for
the hosts, stabbing home from close range after Raphinha headed down Pedri's crossfield ball.But the impressive Dumfries scored his second of the night in the 63rd minute to restore Inter's lead when he rose highest to meet Hakan Calhanoglu'scorner.
But Barca again responded in style and
levelled just two minutes later when a stunning 25yard strike from Raphinha clattered the bar, bounced down and into the net, via a touch off Inter goalkeeper YannSommer'sback.
The breathless affair leaves the tie in the balance with the second leg on Tuesday at the San Siro in Milan.
Amir Cooper
Skipper Joshua Da Silva anchored the innings.
Lamine Yamal (left) in action.(Getty Images)
Goule-Toppin honoured with Clemson Hall of Fame Induction amid testing season start
SportsMax - Jamaican middle-distance runner and national record holder Natoya Goule-Toppin has been inducted into the Clemson Athletics Hall of Fame, a testament to her outstanding contribution to the school's athletic programme.
She competed for one season at Clemson after redshirting the 2013-14 season following a transfer fromLSU.Duringhertimeat Clemson,shewontheNCAA Indoor Championship in the 800m in 2015, setting an alltime NCAA Indoor meet record and ACC record. It was her third national championship title, having previouslywontwoatLSU.
For Goule-Toppin, this honour is more than just a personal milestone – it's a reflection of the tireless effortsshe'sputintohercraft.
"Being inducted into the Clemson Athletics Hall of Fame is an incredible honour," Goule-Toppin shared in an exclusive i n t e r v i e w w i t h SportsMax TV "It's more thanapersonalachievement; it reflects the hard work and supportIreceivedthroughout
my journey as a studentathlete."
Goule-Toppin's success can be attributed, in large part, to the guidance of her coach,MarkElliott.
"CoachElliotthadahuge impact on me from the beginning, not just as a coach, but as a mentor who genuinely believed in my potential," she said. When Elliott made the transition from LSU to Clemson, Goule-Toppin followed him, drawn to his coaching style and mentorship "His attentiontodetail,thewayhe pushedmebeyondmylimits while also making sure I felt supported, built a trust that made the decision to follow him an easy one," she explained.
Today, Goule-Toppin continues to work towards her goals under Coach Elliott's guidance. With the TokyoWorldChampionships on the horizon, she is laserfocused on delivering a strong performance in the 800m.
Despite a rocky start to her 2025 outdoor season, Goule-Toppin remains undeterred After opening with a solid 1:59 78
performance in the 800m at theGrandSlamTrackmeetin Kingston on April 4, she returnedthenextdaytoclock 4:20.73inthe1500m—good enough for seventh place. But a week later at the Tom Jones Memorial in Florida, shefailedtofinishthe1500m and managed 53.46 in the 400m, placing fourth. Most recently, she stepped up to the 1000m at the Wanda Diamond League meet in Xiamen, finishing fifth in 2:34.71.
"It's definitely been a challenging start, no doubt,"
she admitted. "But I've learned over the years that setbacks are often where the most growth happens. I've adjustedmytraining,takena closer look at recovery and nutrition, and most importantly, worked on staying patient and mentally tough.IfeellikeI'mbuilding momentum now, and my sights are still firmly set on Tokyo."
As Goule-Toppin prepares to take on the world'sbestathletesinTokyo this September, her Hall of Fame induction serves as a
poignant reminder of her remarkablejourney Withher eyes fixed firmly on the prize,she'sreadytoleaveher mark on the athletic world onceagain.
Two teams scored victories when the Ministry of Culture,Youth and Sports and The Guyana Cricket Board (MCYS/GCB) One PATHWAY countrywide
under-21 inter club competition got cracking in Berbice.
One game was played on Saturdaywhiletheotherwas contested on Sunday. Both matches were played at The Port Mourant Community Centre Ground on the Corentyne.
In the Saturday Game, RHTYSC B defeated Police CC by two wickets. Taking first strike Police were dismissedfor156in27overs with Benjamin top scoring with 45 and L. Williams 16 beingtheprincipalscorers.
BowlingforRHTYSCB, M.Rampersaudpickedup429 with D Mckenzie
grabbing2.InreplyRHTYSC B reached 158-7 with L.
Reddy making 41 and D. Seepersaud24. Bowling for Police T McPherson and S Grant snared2wicketseach.
In the second game on Sunday, Bush Lot United Cricket Club defeated Blairmont Community Centre Cricket Club by 3 wks.
Blairmont CCCC batted firstandwerebowledoutfor 90.Therewerenosignificant scores from any of the batsmen.
Bowling for Bush Lot United CCC Tulsiram Ramcharranledthewaywith 4-15, while support came from Latchman Dhanna who took3wickets.Intheirturnat the wicket, Bush Lot United CC reached 91-3 with Justin Doobay being undefeated on 41.
The Berbice leg of the countrywide competition is continuing. (SamuelWhyte)
iBet Supreme pledges support to ‘Settlement of all Arguments’ Football tournament
iBetSupremehasthrown its support behind one of Guyana's fastest-growing grassroots football events, the “Settlement of All Arguments” Street Football Tournamentwhichofficially kicksoffthisFriday,May2, at Back Circle in East
R u i m v e l d t T h e announcement was made during a launch event held
Wednesday at iBet Supreme's Lamaha Street Headquarters.
Initssecondconsecutive
y e a r b a c k i n g t h e tournament, iBet Supreme hascommittedasponsorship package valued at $1,500 USD (or $300,000 GYD), further cementing its role as a champion of community sport The tournament, spearheaded by organiser Anthony'Troy'VanRossum, promises another exciting showcase of local football talent.
The 2025 edition will feature32teamscomprising players aged 19 to 45, with action scheduled for May 6, 9, 13, 16, and 20.The semi-
iBet Sales Manager Dennis Scantlebury confirms sponsorship of the second Annual Settlement of All Arguments Football tourney.
finals are set for May 23, withthegrandfinaleclosing out the tournament on May 26.
“I am both proud and excited to welcome iBet onboard once again for the second staging of our grassroots football initiative,”saidVanRossum.
“Their invaluable support continues to drive our mission of empowering y o u n g t a l e n t a n d strengthening communities
throughsport.
T h i s r e n e w e d partnership allows us to expand our reach, create more opportunities for athletes, and ignite deeper passion for football across Guyana.”
iBet Supreme, a subsidiary of Jamaicanbased Supreme Ventures Limited, operates an extensive online gaming platforminGuyana,offering live sports betting and over 100virtualgames. This tournament sponsorship falls under its
wider “Get in the Game” campaign, an initiative aimed at deepening the
brand's connection with local sports fans and growing its footprint in the sportingcommunity.
“We're very proud to support this tournament, whichisquicklybecominga staple on the local sports calendar,” said Dennis Scantlebury, Sales Manager atiBetSupreme.
“The 'Settlement of All Arguments' encourages healthy competition while giving grassroots talent the chance to shine, values that align perfectly with our commitment to community engagement and sports development.”
With free admission to all matches, the tournament is expected to once again draw large crowds, following the success of its inauguralstaginglastyear
As part of its ongoing campaign, iBet Supreme also hinted at more community-driven sporting events in the pipeline, keeping fans, and the beautiful game, front and center
Key stakeholders, Selwin Williams (left) and Dennis Scantlebury unveiled championship trophy during yesterday launch.
Brathwaite, Wickham shine bright as Pelicans
edge Infernos by one-run
SportsMax - Barbados Pelicansheldtheirnerveina last-ball thriller to clinch their first win of the West
Indies T20 Breakout League, as they edged the Windward Islands Infernos by just one run in a highoctane contest at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Tuesdaynight.
Much like the earlier drama between the Jamaica Titans and Guyana Rainforest Rangers, this nightcap clash provided heart-stopping action to the final delivery, with Shian
B
commanding 85 not out and Kevin Wickham's classy 64 setting the tone f
Pelicans total of 199-5. D
y counterattack led by Teddy
Bishop's 61, the Infernos wereleftheartbrokenat1989,fallingjustshyinachaotic finalover
ThePelicans'inningsgot off to a rocky start as they slumped to 33-3 inside the fourth over, with Kadeem Alleyne (22), Leniko
Parmeshwar Ram had a classy match-winning half-century All-rounder Romario Ramdheol had a brilliant match with bat and ball.
Both the Berbice and GCB Select XI recorded comprehensive wins yesterday when action resumed in the GCB Men's U19 inter-county 50-Over tournament.
BerbicebeatEssequibo by4-wickets
At Eve Leary, the CinderellaCountyboyswere kept to 113 all out and managed to get past a 100 aftertail-endersTeddyWong (19), Ashton Simmons (21) and Gulcharran Chulai (16) gotintodoublefigures.
Berbicesawgoodreturns from Micah Amsterdam (318) and Salim Khan (4-30), who set the platform for the AncientCountyside'sbatting chasewhichsawthemendon 116-6. Opener SanjayAlgoo hit a 16-ball 34 (3x4 2x6) with support from Afraz Ali
Budhu (17) and skipper Matthew Pottaya (21*), as Essequibo's Chulai returned to snatch 3-23 in a losing effort.
GCBXIbeatDemerara by29-runs At LBI Ground, GCB XI posted 206 all out after ParmeshwarRamledwith67 and Romario Ramdehol 42, withauseful36comingfrom JohnathanMentore.
Demerara's spinner Nityanand Mathura starred with 4-28, as his teammates in Sachin Balgobin (57), Vemol Lall (38) and Kelvin Raymond (21*) failed to keep their team from being restrictedto177allout.
Ramdehol completed a goodgamewithreturnsof534 which carried his team's bowling, with Mentore pickinguptwowickets.
Shian Brathwaite plays a shot during his unbeaten knock.
Teddy Bishop drives a ball during his knock.
iBet Supreme pledges support to ‘Settlement of all Arguments’ Football tournament
Sports
3-3
iBet Sales Manager, Dennis Scantlebury (fifth form right) and Selwin Williams, tournament organiser seal sponsorship in presence of a few team captains ahead of Friday's kickoff.
Denzel Dumfries rises highest to head Inter back into the lead. (Getty Images)
