…says Guyana's interests will be protected only through robust oversight
Venezuelan man shot dead by guard at Chinese supermarket
Int’l report: Modifications to first 3 oil ships increased production by 125,000 barrels daily …saysPPPpracticesinclusionwith policiescraftedforallGuyanese off vote-buying accusations Pres. Ali shrugs -Dutch shipbuilder
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SBM Offshore, Øivind Tangen on Friday said that debottlenecking exercises on the first three Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO)vesselitsuppliedfor ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) operations in the Stabroek Block, has resultedinanincreaseddaily production of 125,000 barrelsofoil.
“Debottlenecking of processing facilities on our initial three FPSOs has increased production capacity by 125,000 barrels of oil per day,” Tangen said duringthecompany’ssecond quarter earnings call Debottlenecking is an exercise to increase a vessel outputbeyondthenameplate capacity
To date, SBM has constructed four FPSOs for the Stabroek Block operations,theLizaDestiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity and ONE GUYANA. Exxon had recruited the services of Japanese ship builder, MODEC, for its fifth FPSO, Errea Wittu and SBM was awarded a contract last year forthesixthFPSO,Jaguar SBMisretainedona10year Operations and Maintenance Enabling AgreementforeachFPSOit supplied for Exxon’s operation here. The ONE GUYANA FPSO last week achieved first oil. With the additionofthisfourthvessel, Exxon’sinstalledproduction capacityisnowover900,000 bpd – though production remainsaround650,000bpd – as the ONE GUYANA FPSO works to achieve its initial production target of 250,000bpd. The Prosperity FPSO
began production in November2023andreached its nameplate capacity of 220,000 bpd within months. W i t h s u b s e q u e n t modifications, Exxon was able to ramp up output to around 260,000 bpd Similarly, in 2022, the Liza Unity vessel came online producing 220,000 bpd and was also optimised to 260,000 bpd. The Liza Destiny, Exxon’s first FPSO inGuyana,beganproduction in December 2019 at 120,000 bpd and was later upgradedto165,000bpd.
SBM’s CEO outlined that the experience gained from debottlenecking of processing facilities has allowedforlearninganddata gathering He said this allowsSBMtocontinuously refine its value proposition and reinforce their ability to execute complex projects at paceandatscale.
This disclosure comes amidstconcernsraisedabout Exxon’s debottlenecking exercises by Alliance for Change (AFC) member and former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr Vincent Adams.
Dr Adams recently reiterated his position that debottlenecking exercises are both dangerous and reckless. He contended that, at the current pace of operations, which he said is in violation of safety rules, thereisahigherlikelihoodof anincidentoccurring.
His comments were in response to ExxonMobil Corporation’sChairmanand Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Darren Woods, who said that the company’s strategytomaximiseoil
Continuedonpage8
…says Guyana’s interests will be protected only through robust oversight
Chartered accountant and attorney, Christopher Ram has raised concerns overVice President, Bharrat Jagdeo’s position that American oil giant Chevron ‘will serve as Guyana’s guardian angel’ for the operations in the Stabroek Block.
Last month, Chevron completed a US$53 billion
acquisition of Hess Corporation,acompanythat holds 30 per cent of the Stabroek Block, through its subsidiary The operator of the block, ExxonMobil and the third-partner CNOOC, hadfiledforarbitrationatthe Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), to examine their preemptiverightsoverHess’ Stabroek Block shares However, the court ruled in favour of Chevron and Hess andthedealwascompleted–givingChevronaccesstothe prolific Stabroek Block whichisestimatedtohold11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
F o l l o w i n g t h e
acquisition, the vice president was asked about
the implications of Chevron’s entry into the Stabroek Block He said there are no immediate implications, but suggested thatChevron’spresenceasa rival to ExxonMobil, could serve Guyana’s interest “…that tension between the
two could serve our country better,”hetoldreporters.He used an example suggesting that if Kaieteur News fears cost inflation by Exxon, Chevron might share that concern as a shareholder, since inflated costs would affectitsownprofits.
“Suchanopinionreflects a f u n d a m e n t a l misunderstanding of how multinational oil companies operate and what the recent arbitration victory actually reveals about corporate priorities,” Ram said in his August 8 column published intheStabroekNews.
Examining Jagdeo’s
position that Chevron could ensure costs are minimised thus Guyana’s take
increasing, Ram noted that such sentiments reveal dangerous naiveté about corporate motivations. He said, “Jagdeo believes Chevron will somehow prioritise Guyana’s interests overprofitmaximisation–a fundamentally flawed assumption.Allhehadtodo was read the statements coming out of Chevron, or read the Joint Operating Agreement signed by Exxon,HessandCNOOC.”
Ram outlined that the recent arbitration battle
demonstrated that both ExxonMobil and Chevron areprimarilyconcernedwith maximising returns to their shareholders, not protecting Guyana’s fiscal interests He outlined that central to the case before the arbitration panel, was the interest and their duty to their shareholders. He also referenced comments made by ExxonMobil’s Chairman andChiefExecutiveOfficer,
(CEO) Darren Woods who saidthatthecompanyhad“a cleardutytoourinvestorsto consider our preemption rightstoprotectthevaluewe created through our innovationandhardwork.”
Further, he highlighted that following the approval of the deal, Chevron’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Eimear Bonner emphasised that the deal would “drive significant free cash flow and production growth into the 2030s” and achieve “$1 billion in annual run-rate cost synergies.” And CEO Michael Wirth stated it would “drive greater longtermvaluetoshareholders.”
“When asked about operational changes, Wirth toldAmericantelevisionthat his company anticipates headcount reductions due to “overlaps.” Notably absent from any o
hese s h a r e h
d e r communications was any mention of looking out for
Guyana’sinterestsorserving as a watchdog over ExxonMobil’scosts.Jagdeo, the policy wonk, should knowbetter,”Ramnoted. Rampointedtothe2016 PetroleumAgreementwhich designates ExxonMobil as th
comprehensive authority over day-to-day operations. This, Ram said, provides Exxon with several crucial advantages that limit Chevron’s ab
ity to effectivelypolicecosts.
“Guyana’s interests will be protected only through r
expertise, and strong contractual frameworks –not through hoping that one Stabroek Block contractor will police another,” Ram said He stressed that Gu
responsibilitiestoforeignoil companies whose primary allegiancelieselsewhere.
PrintedandPublishedbyNationalMedia& PublishingCompanyLtd. 24SaffonStreet, Charlestown,Georgetown,Guyana.
Publisher:GLENNLALL-Tel:624-6456
Editor-in-Chief:NigelWilliams Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
Vice Presidential candidate for the APNU, Ganesh Mahipaul last week spoke candidly about the challenges within Guyana’s governance framework, particularly the infiltrationofthepublicsectorbypoliticians.
He emphasised the need for stronger, more independent institutions that function effectively regardless of which party forms the government, noting that for too long, systems and structures that have been put in place are being infiltrated by politicians. He noted too that every time there isachangeofgovernment,thestructureandsystembecome vulnerable and politicians then take control of the public sector and the professionals are not allowed to function effectively Mahipaul also stressed that the role of politicians should remain focused on policymaking, while execution, transparency, and accountability should be upheld by professionals. He argued that strengthening this separation is essential to safeguarding national institutions forthebenefitofallcitizens.
WeatthisnewspaperendorsefullythesentimentsofMr Mahipaul and draw attention to one area that needs urgent fixing-the Guyana Police Force. For years there have been calls for serious reform within the force, but not much has beendoneandasaresult,whichevergovernmentisinpower has been able to manipulate the force and key officers for theirownbenefits.Weareseeingthisplayingoutbeforeour eyesatthemoment.
Two weeks ago, President IrfaanAli announced a move to promote long-overlooked policemen and women, many of whom were denied advancement for years. It must be notedthatthepromotionoftheseranksfallssquarelywithin the realm of the Commissioner of Police and the Police Service Commission and it must be of concern as to why these officers were overlooked for years-some as many as threedecades.Thismovebythepresidenthasrightlydrawn skepticism. While the act may seem like long overdue recognition,thetimingraisesseriousconcerns.
That these promotions are only coming now, on the eve ofanelectioncycle,suggestsastrategicpoliticalployrather than a genuine correction of past oversight. For years, these same officers were left stagnating in the system without proper acknowledgment or reward. The sudden burst of promotions, tied conveniently to a renewed interest in winning support from law enforcement, a group traditionally skeptical of the ruling PPPC reeks of opportunismratherthanleadership.
This pattern reflects a broader issue in governance of which, Mahipaul addressed: the instrumentalisation of publicservantstosecurevotes,ratherthantoservejusticeor fairness. If the administration was genuinely concerned about equity within the ranks of the police force, these officers would have been promoted based on merit years ago, not paraded now as symbols of benevolence to curry favour with a typically disenchanted voting bloc. Such tactics not only undermine the integrity of the promotion process but also insult the intelligence of the very officers being courted. Using public service recognition as a transactional tool in the political marketplace diminishes both the office of the President and the morale of the police force.
No wonder very few Guyanese, if asked to give an objective assessment of the Guyana Police Force, would have any good thing to say Some of the servicemen and women would also find it hard to find positive things about their organisation. Poor pay, substandard workplaces (police stations), armed gangs, drug smuggling, and the ever-present threat of being posted into the interior are only a smattering of the challenges faced by the average police rank. Citizens would tell you of unprofessional conduct of manyoftheranks;theirdeceptionandcorruptways.So,the question has to be asked: “Why is it that policemen do not receive more respect from those same average citizens?”
The answer is because their government does not respect them either The fact that refuses to go away is that the GPF has been used as a political football and a political whip by onegovernmentaftertheother,PPPC,PNCR,noexception.
‘‘Cheddi’s aspirations brought to nought’’
DearEditor
Under the watchful, progressive and most astute leadership of President Dr Irfaan Ali, Guyana has been demoted to being an ‘autocratic’state by the 2025 report of the V-Democracy Project, easily the world’s most comprehensive and authoritativeventuredealing withthenatureofdemocratic governance.
Guyana’s fortuitous hydrocarbon resources
presented it with a marvellous opportunity to providehandsomelyforboth the present and future generations of Guyanese
But in a competitive democratic environment, particularlyoneasethnically divided as Guyana, generational thinking and d
national consensus, for regardless of the number of resourcesatone’sdisposal,if properly done, projects are likely to be costly and may take decades to come to fruition. However, focused as the PPP is on hurriedly buying votes, few if any of the capital projects it has developed will last for twenty to thirty years and therefore constitute a waste o f b o t h n a t i o n a l
opportunitiesandresources.
T h e ‘ r e t u r n t o democracy’ in 1992 held much promise, but both politicallyandeconomically, the PPP has led Guyana to this intolerable state largely because of its historic dictatorial ambitions rooted in ethnic - and particularly anti-African - domination. This political condition raises questions about the nature of the elections scheduled for 1 September 2025. But whatever we are voting for, no Guyaneseand certainly no Africanshould vote for the PPP Indeed, the Africans have a duty to properly strategise their voting and turn out in the largest possible numbers to make the greatest possible impact that keeps the PPP at bay
Let me remind that among others, this column has repeatedly argued and demonstrated that in every possible way the PPP has used its last two decades in government to attempt to comprehensively suppress Africans to force them into its ranks Indeed, the behaviour of the PPP towards Africans runs counter to democratic principles and national and
international requirements that protect individual and minority rights against both the tyranny of the state and themajority
What the PPP has done constitutes a crime against humanity. Imagine, the oligarchs in the PPP have c r e a t e d t h e m o s t disc
environmentinthehistoryof modern Guyana and is attempting to destroy the International Decade for the People of African Descent –Guyana because the organisation cannot possibly fulfill its mandate without addressing the issue of discrimination against AfricansinGuyana.
The public service in general is largely manned by Africans and for two decades, like other public sector unions, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has been fighting for collective bargaining to improve the meagre salaries of teachers, and recently the court ordered the government to proceed with collective bargaining.
This column has made the point that while teachers in Guyana have an average annual income of only about US$6,500,thoseincountries
with comparable per capita income receive between US$30,000 and US$12,000 per annum. Only last week, the national press reported that while the PPP is paying Guyanese nurses US$850 per month it was advertising for Indian nurses at incomes of about US$2,000 per month!
What constitutes a huge tragedy for the working people is that instead of proceeding with normal collective bargaining, the PPPproceededtoundermine the union’s efforts and its chief negotiator, who has been at war with and has been dismissed by the union for acting improperly, is presently on the PPP’s electorallist!
With this kind of record as a backdrop, the general secretary of the PPP called on the population to give his party a two-thirds majority so that it would be able to u n i l a t e r a l l y m a k e constitutional reforms. Of course, the constitution requires major reforms if Guyanaisevertobeproperly managed, and I suspect that the general secretary would not need to be worried about gettingatwo-thirdsmajority
Continued on page 5
A vote for the PPP/C is a vote for continuing progress and the realization of a multicultural unity
Dear Editor, IMAGINE THIS: The time has come when a majority of Guyanese apparently realize that while they live in a culturally pluralistic society, it is not their race, or ethnicities, that keep them divided. Also, they have come to realise that their differences are not so vast that these cannot be bridged. And, they further realise, that what keeps them apart and mistrustful of each other is something called
emotional politics–a propaganda technique aimed at appealing to, and manipulating one’s feelings (state of mind), for political gains. This, then, emboldens one to ask, what apparently contributedtobringingabout suchrealisations?
To the keen observer, the
manifested economic and developmental policy decisions of the PPP/C government during the last four years, clearly indicate a linkagebetweentheobserved dynamic socio-economic transformations unfolding throughout the country, and that of the changing interpersonal behavioral interactions and exchanges occurring among citizens. Such societal dynamics find authentication in the PPP/C’s government aggressive policy articulation, and the pursuit of a One Guyanese Unity - a One Guyanese Citizenry
When taken together, the t r i a n g u l a t i o n o f observations, with anecdotal e v i d e n c e , a n d developmental projects data, clearly suggest a change in
Police reform, which involves professionalising the force that has meat to it will eliminate that, with no sacred cows. But the PPP/C and PresidentAli do not have the stomach for that standard, that reality- their way is total control and handouts much like the willy-nilly promotions of the police ranks.
thepsycheofcitizensandthe accompanied unfolding behavioral relations, particularly as these pertain to the emergence of a national participatory multicultural Guyanese identity. The evolution of such a unique national identity appears to increasinglyserveasabuffer to divisive propagandistic appealsofracialpolitics,and the cadre of racists everp r e s e n t b e l l i g e r e n t insistence on adherences to traditionalpartyloyalties. Today, as elections day draws closer,APNU, and the freshly minted WIN party, with its wealthy upstart politician and entourage of has-been political power seekers, are furiously i n v e n t i n g n e w a n d questionable methods of campaign politicking to inveigle public support WIN, which some Guyanese jestingly refer to as ‘HOT WIND, PASSING WIND or BREAK WIND’, while shallow in governance and political acumen, has a
financial reservoir and deep pockets capable of overwhelming vulnerable voters with immediate gratification. Hence, let the words of the following rhymebeanurgentcalltoall.
Now, and in the days ahead
Observe carefully this whichisbeingsaid:
Almost always in an electionyear
Zealots enter the race withmuchfanfare
Repeatedly spouting nonsensicalpromisestoall
Until the vote counts pronouncetheirdownfall
Deep-pocket spending keptthemafloat
Deceivedbythosewhom theyenticetovote
In losing they refuse to proclaim
Nuts and bolts policies madePPP/Cvictoriousagain
So, let your votes count towards continued progress, not backwardness, not disunity
Regards, Narayan
Persaud,
PhD Professor Emeritus
Dear Editor,
undermine my letter It is clear that the people of Guyana are generally oppressed, and there is ample data to support this claim.Accordingtothelatest World Bank report, 48% of Guyanese live in poverty, surviving on less than US$5.50 per day I have no reason to dispute this information, as it is clearly evident.
Iwouldliketoremindthe good Doctor that military ethos requires an apolitical military Officers and enlisted personnel should not pledge allegiance to a political party; their primary dutyistosafeguardthestate. Similarly, it is inappropriate for officers and members of other services, such as the police, fire service, and prison service, to openly
On the afternoon of Friday,August8,2025,Iwas addressing a challenging issue regarding the desecration of the 1823 m o n u m e n t s i t e a t Independence Ground when I received a call from one of my elders. He informed me about a letter written by Dr Randy Persaud, published the previous day in the Stabroek News, in response to a letter I had written. Honestly, I was unfamiliar with Dr Persaud, so I felt compelled to research him. After my investigation, I concluded that he is a fascist ideologue, comparable to Josef Goebbels a latent threat to democracy, as well as to freedom of expression andassociation, Dr Persaud, in his attempt to defend the current r e g i m e , w o r k e d t o
campaign for the ruling regime Such behaviour undermines professionalism and puts non-supporters of the regime at risk of unfair treatmentandinjustice.
Traditionally, public servants would resign from their positions when they became actively involved in campaigning for a political party This standard of conduct was exemplified by thelateDr RogerLuncheon. Unfortunately, the situation today is different; the public service has become so infiltratedbymembersofthe People’s Progressive Party (PPP)thatitisoftendifficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between the public service and Freedom H o u s e , t h e p a r t y ’s headquarters
How dare Dr Persaud question my level of
patriotism? It is definitely because I am an upright Black man who opposes the dangerous trend enabling state capture, and the p o l i t i c i z a t i o n , a n d weaponization of state agencies against perceived opponentsoftheregime.
Let’s discuss the inconvenient truth about rigged elections It’s important to inform those who may not be aware of the following instances: the 1961 election for the Houston seat and its outcome, the misallocation of theAFC seat to the PPPin 2006, and the numerous ballot boxes on the East Coast of Demerara during the 2020 elections that lacked the required statutory d o c u m e n t s T h e s e questionable declarations favouredthePPP
From page 4 iftheproposalsweresound.I also need to draw to the general secretary’s attention that since the writing of the United States constitution in 1787, it has been recognised that constitutional reforms, particularly in an ethnically divided society such as Guyana, should seek to have
t h e a g r e e m e n t o f ‘substantially all’ of the citizenry and that is more thanatwo-thirdsmajority
Commenting negatively on this very two-thirds majority request, Mr Lincoln Lewis had related concerns that beg, an important question relating to international elections
Guyanese this occurred underthePPP HereIreferto the “Troubles.” The reign of the phantom squad and the apparent complicity of the PPP government led by Jagdeo. I will never forget my relative Mark Mc Kenzie, who was killed by this goon squad hours after I dropped him off at Buxton.
Concerning extrajudicial killings, no group of people in Guyana has suffered more than African Guyanese. It is well established that scores of African Guyanese were killed by this squad. How can we forget Sun Chapman incident that resulted in the direct loss of 43 lives? And the following day the deadly assault on four African Guyanese (George Halley, Sydney Halley, Neil Bascombe and Rolston Bourne) at Mortice Mahaicony This is not an exhaustivelist.
for accountability It is crucial that we confront these historical injustices head-on rather than allow them to be overshadowed by attempts to rewrite the narrative.
Credible data has highlighted the persistent poverty levels among Guyanese, despite a significant increase in our GDP Itseemstheremaybea deliberate strategy to impoverish certain segments of society as a means of control. This is evident in a recent incident where a group of PPPoperatives was caught on camera telling residents of Linden, “Vote PPP, and in the next three years, you will receive drainage contracts ” This implies that African Guyanese are only deemed qualifiedforsuchcontracts.
Of course, Guyana would not have been designated an autocracy by theV-DemProjectthatseeks to deal with the ‘complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond the simple presence of elections,’ if the PPP was not involved in the kind of skulduggery Mr. Lewis identified.
Remember, according to the eminent American political theorist Samuel P Huntington, ‘Elections, open, free and fair, are the essence of democracy, the inescapable sine qua non. (But)governmentsproduced by elections may be inefficient, corrupt, shortsighted, irresponsible, dominated by special interests, and incapable of adopting policies demanded by the public good. These qualities make such governments undesirable, but they do not make them undemocratic.’
monitoring ‘We are standing at the edge of a dangerous cliff The electoral system we have today, bloated voters’ list, cannotguaranteefree,fairor credible elections. This is no technical glitch It is deliberate The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is under the thumb of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), aided and abetted by an international community thatcontinuestoprioritiseits economic interests over the rights and dignity of the Guyanese people’ (‘No political party must be handed two-thirds majority in parliament, ’ SN: 04/08/2025).
At an operational level, last week, I noted that in his boo
Sharansky argued that elections ‘are not a true test of a democracy [They] ‘are never the beginning of the democratic process Only when the basic institutions that protect a free society - a free press, the rule of law, independent courts, political parties, etc - are firmly in place can free elections be held. [Until then] elections are just as likely to weaken effortstobuilddemocracyas theyaretostrengthenthem.’
To a d d r e s s s u c h operational concerns, VDem places emphasis on the liberal, egalitarian, p a r t i c i p a t o r y a n d deliberative components of democracy, and in its 2025 report, Guyana is placed 96 on the index of 179 countries. Jamaica is at 33, Barbados 34, Suriname 40 andTrinidad andTobago 47. Guyana has been demoted from being a ‘grey zone’ electoral democracy: ‘The five grey zone electoral autocracies that could potentially be misclassified are Benin, Guyana, Indonesia, Mauritius, and Mongolia. According to the V-Dem data, the best
estimate is that these countries no longer qualify for the minimum standards of electoral democracy All of them except Benin are in episodesofautocratization.’
To address Mr Lewis’s c o n c e r n t h a t t h e international community might be placing its economic interest above that of the wellbeing of the people of Guyana, this is not unusual behaviour for this category of operatives While a liberal democratic outcome is still the ideal, in practiseilliberaloutcomeare tolerated and that the current focus of the international observersinGuyanaappears to be only elections day activitiesisindeedworrying. Wewillhavetowaitandsee, but it is well known that elections are rigged long beforeelectionsday,andthat ispreciselywhatthePPPhas beenattemptingtodo.
Ironically but sadly, Cheddi Jagan’s aspirations for the 1992 return to democracy have been brought to nothing by the ethnically orientated s
opportunisticallycreated.
Regards,
Dr Henry Jeffrey
Come on! Dr Persaud, do not distort the fact. These tragedies serve as a stark reminder of the violence that h a s p l a g u e d o u r communities and the need
Finally, Dr Randy Persaud I am a dignified and an upright Black man and will not bend my back to allow not even a baby to ride me.
Lelon Saul Lt Col (Ret’d)
Mohamed’s rise is not an aberration but a necessary correction to the body politic
Dear Editor,
I confess to being greatly intrigued and impressed by the growing popularity ofAzruddin Mohamed and the increasing viability of the WIN party punctuated by the hysterical reaction of ruling elites to his potential presidency and am movedtorecallsomeoftheexplanationsadvancedfortherise ofthemostinfluentialandconsequentialUSpoliticalleaderin recenthistoryandhiscurrentpoliticalchallenges.
When Donald Trump became the 45th President of the UnitedStatesjustoveradecadeago,hewasabillionaire,anda celebrity who has not an establishment politician, he had not led a political party or held political office; however, his celebritystatus,successfulbusinessimageandhiswillingness to give voice to mass frustration and anger at a system and politicians viewed as uncaring, exploitative and corrupt created the hope that here, at last, was someone who understood their situation and had the concern and ability to addressit.
His wealth and business success were viewed positively andseenasadisincentivetopubliccorruptionand
Continued on page 6
Guyana has been
catergorised as an electoral autocracy by Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), a research project that takes a comprehensive approach to u n d e r s t a n d i n g democratisation around the globe.
V-Dem is described as a
unique approach to conceptualising and measuring democracy, providing multidimensional and disaggregated dataset that reflects the complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond the simple presence ofelections.
The V-Dem project distinguishes between five high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian, and collects data to measure theseprinciples.
Inits2025report,V-Dem notedthatthemostpopulous type of regime is clearly electoral autocracies with 46%oftheworldpopulation, or3.7billion.
It said some of the world’s more populous countries belong to this regime type, such as Ethiopia, India, and Pakistan Indonesia also descended to this regime type in 2024, although to the autocratic “grey zone”, the reportnoted.
According to the report Latin America and the Caribbean has five democratising countries (or 20% of the region): Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, and Honduras Three of them – Bolivia, Brazil, and Ecuador–are among the “U-turn” democratizers – countries that are success- fully reversing autocratisation processes of the previous years. “Yet, autocratisation is widespread in the region, withsevencountries(or28% of the region) currently regressing: Argentina, El Salvador, Guyana, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru,”thereportnoted.
According to the report the dividing line between electoral autocracies and electoral democracies deserves a special note Categorical classifications like the RoW measure sacrifice some nuances and risk misclassifying countries when the underlying data putsthemat,orverycloseto, t h r e s h o
remains about regimes that are close to the threshold between democracy and autocracy
Guyana is classified among the five grey zone electoral autocracies that could potentially be misclassified.
The countries with Guyana are: Benin, Indonesia, Mauritius, and Mongolia.
According to the V-Dem data, the best estimate is that these countries no longer qualify for the minimum standards of electoral democracy “All of them except Benin are in episodes of autocratisation but Mauritius held a surprising election in 2024 that could mean a turnaround after years of autocratisation,” the reportadded.
Overall, according to VDem taking the grey zone uncertainty into account, the number of democracies could range from 76 to 93, with 88 being our best estimate, while the number of autocracies might range from 86 to 103 countries, with 91 being our best estimate.
On its website V-Dem said that the study of d e m o c r a c y a n d democratisation lies at the center of political science andisincreasinglyimportant ineconomics,sociology,and history
It noted that in the postCold War world, democracy has also become a central foreign policy objective for many countries, and is often a critical condition for the distribution of international developmentassistance.
The transition to d e m o c r a c y a n d i t s consolidation remains a key issue in global development today
“Yet,uncertaintypersists over why some countries become and remain democratic and others do not.Despitemuchstudy,few propositions have been decisively rejected or confirmed. Additionally, the persistent uncertainty stems from a lingering data problem. No extant dataset, or set of datasets, has been sufficiently broad and sufficiently disaggregated to measure the diverse components of democracy across countries and through time,”theorganisationsaid.
From page 5 exploitation, and lust for power The argument claimed that Trump’s rise to power was not a political accident,orculturalanomaly
but was the logical conclusion of the illusion of prosperity, growing
inequality, rampant corruption and abuses of power which gave rise to frustration,anger,alienation, exclusion and the constant struggle for survival It suggested that Trump’s popularityandrelevancewas due, not merely because he claimed to have immediate solutions but, more importantly, because he represented the pain and anger and the desolate lived realityofthemasses.
Azruddin Mohamed and Donald Trump share similarities in their personal histories (in terms of
business success, personal wealth and the absence of political experience prior to declaring their candidacy for president) and in the conditions that gave rise to their appeal (growing economic and social inequalities, and political alienation, exclusion and victimization) but their political strategies, methods, management style and personal relations are substantively different
While Trump cemented his brand and dedicated following through spectacle and exaggerated promises, Mohamed quietly built his reputation and demonstrated his relevance through personal contact, empathy and an altruism that became legendary
Such was his effect that when communities felt assaulted by neglect,
victimization and abuse by agents of the state they did notappealtohighauthorities or the main opposition, which could not maintain its cohesion or consistently display any potency, they called for a political novice, burdened by sanction and unsupported by any organization or force, for c o m m i s e r a t i o n a n d assistance and he responded with a quiet sincerity and a helpinghand.
In my estimation, he has displayed admirable leadership, unifying and inspirational qualities and has elevated political discourse in Guyana thereby threatening to loosen the suffocating hold of a parasitic cabal on our freedomsanddevelopment.
I believe that, like Donald Trump, Mohamed’s rise is not an aberration but a
necessary correction to the body politic. Hector Stoute said it best when he wrote that “supporters of WIN want to make it clear that the candidacy of Azruddin Mohamed is the result of widespreadcollectiveoutcry for a just society, rid of racism and the endemic public corruption and theft that have become the norm during the rule of the PPP Mr Mohamed’s decision to runisnotoneundergirdedby self-aggrandizement and a compelling need to plunder the treasury and the natural resourcesofthecountry.”
However, it is well understood that political success is not only about popularity and vision but includes the ability to overcome institutional hurdleswhichclearlyexist.
Sincerely, Oscar Dolphin
Amid growing concerns that his government was using state resources to campaign and trying to buy voteswiththerecentsudden promotion of hundreds of policemen and women, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Saturday said thatthePeople’sProgressive Party Civic (PPP/C) will
never bribe anyone to vote fortheparty
He noted that the sound policies of his government overthepastfiveyearshave transformed the lives of citizens in every village of the country Ali was at the time speaking at a rally in Bartica where he said his party will not “offer you
$50,000 to wear a shirt and $10,000 to put up a flag and $50,000tovote.Wedon’tdo that and whoever does that, doesnotdeserveyourvote.”
Thepresidentquestionedthe future of those who would allow themselves to be bribed for their vote,
inclusion with policies crafted for the benefit of the maximum number of Guyanese.
However, Chairman of the Alliance for Change (AFC) David Patterson on Friday last accused the government of Guyana of attempting‘tobuythevotes’ of members of the joint services with mass promotions. Patterson told reporters at his party’s weekly press conference that,“Fromallaccounts,the PPP [Peoples Progressive Party] government and the VP [Vice President] shamelessly wants to buy approximately 3000 police votesbymasspromotion.
Patterson said that, “this administrative arrangement will do massive harm to meritocracy in the force.”
AccordingtotheAFCChair, the interference by the government into the management and operations of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) at the hands of Vice PresidentBharratJagdeohas b e c o m e “ m o s t unwholesome”recently “He now assures some 800 of those who were not promoted that they will be; and, those still aggrieved, they too will receive promotions,” Patterson told reporter Patterson explained that the Constitution makes
provision for a Police Service Commission to promote senior officers and the PoliceAct also provides for ranks below that to be p r o m o t e d b y t h e CommissionerofPoliceand not the president or vice president. Patterson posited that among the arms of the government, the police are most prone to executive control, and “the PPP’s method through the instrumentality of its Vice President, is now to acquire complete control over the police.”
The former minister under A Partnership for National Unity and theAFC
coalition said that, “Guyana’s policing presently is being set back into a state of political partisanship and PPP gendarmerie,withapurpose to subjugate rather than to serve the population
AttherallyPresidentAli told supporters that some 2,800 police ranks are being promoted. According to a Department of Public Information release, the elevation will span several ranks, including promotions from Constable to Lance Corporal,LanceCorporalto Corporal, Corporal to Sergeant, and Sergeant to Inspector and that it underscored the President
Ali-led government’s commitment to fairness, professionalism, and institutional reform The promotions took effect on August1,2025.
Professionalism is completelybeingabandoned for partisanship.” The AFC has committed to utilizing oil funds available now to substantially increase the basesalariesof therankand fileoftheGPF However,the partyhassaidthatthosewho merit promotions to higher levels must receive the said promotions through, meritocratic arrangement, which was provided for in the Russel Coombes report on “How to improve the HumanResourcesofGPF”.
Frompage2 productionbeyondthenameplatecapacityof the vessels operating in the Stabroek Block will ultimately secure higher returns on the company’sinvestmentsinGuyana.
It was during ExxonMobil’s secondquarter earnings call when the CEO was asked to speak about EMGL’s debottlenecking efforts and how sustainable itisforthevesselsoperatingattheLizaPhase 2 and Payara projects to continue producing abovetheirnameplatecapacities.
Woods first said that the company is focusedonmakingsurethatitmaximisesthe value of its investment without compromisinganyofthenecessaryintegrity andsafetyparameters.Henotedthatthisisa consistent practice across all of Exxon’s globaloperationsandcreditedthecompany’s focusedtechnologyorganisationforplayinga majorroleinthoseefforts.
However, Dr Adams argued that while
Exxonistakingcareofitsinteresttoproduce as much oil as possible to maximise returns, hecontendedthattheGovernmentofGuyana continues to neglect its responsibility to ensure Exxon’s operations are done safely andinanenvironmentallysoundmanner He said that debottlenecking is a nonsensicaltermtoconfuseGuyaneseandsaid that it is not part of Guyana’s environmental lawsandregulations Dr Adamsexplained,“it means is they’re making adjustment in equipmentandtheproductionrateetcetera” Dr Adams highlighted that Exxon’s practice to make adjustments and push the vessels’ production capacity beyond their nameplate capacity is lawless. He outlined that the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)thattookmonthsandsometimesyears tobeevaluatedandapprovedisthedocument that sets the production rate. He argued that no amount of debottlenecking could change whatisoutlinedintheEIAs.
Every day, for months now, Israel has been bombing hospitals, shelters, schools, and food lines in Gaza Every single day, Palestinians are being killed mothers cradling their starving babies, fathers and children trying to find bread. What is taking place in Gaza is nothing short of ethnic cleansing. It matches the worst horrors of the Holocaust And yet, the worldisquiet.
Where is the outrage? Where are the voices of the world? Where are the governments that like to preach about human rights and democracy? Apart from a few brave ones, most of them are silent. Even worse, some have chosen to punish those who dare to speak up.
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory, is one of the few bold enough to call out Israel. She did not mince her words. She said, “All eyes must remain on Gaza, where children are dying of starvation in their mothers’ arms, while their fathers and siblings are bombed into pieces while searching for food.” For saying that, she has been sanctioned by the United States. Albanese has gone further In a recent report, she accuses major corporations of helping and profiting from Israel’s occupation and bombing of Gaza. Arms companies are p r o v i d i n g t h e weapons jets, drones, guided missiles. Shipping companies are moving the military equipment. Banks are funding the expansion of settlements Technology
giants are providing the surveillance systems, the cloud computing, the artificial intelligence that help Israel track, target, and kill. And she is clear: these companies are not innocent. They know what their technology and money are doing. They are not just part oftheproblem.Accordingto the report, they may be committingwarcrimes. It’s a wake-up call. Not just for the powerful governments of the world, but for all of us. Because when people stay silent, when they do not speak out, they allow injustice to grow
That silence is not neutral—it is a green light. When leaders face no pressure from their people, t h e y b e c o m e m o r e shameless And when companies realize no one will hold them accountable, theydonotstop—theydigin deeperandtakeevenmore. We are seeing the same thing here in Guyana. For decades, Guyana has supported the Palestinian cause. But now, with so much blood being spilled, the government has said not a word of condemnation. Nothing. Not even a press release. And certainly not anyrealaction,likebreaking diplomatic ties or freezing cooperation. And the worst part is—they are not feeling any pressure to act, because our people are not demanding it Francesca Albanese’sreportremindsus
that it is not only governments that carry out or support oppression Corporationsdoittoo.Letus not forget how a major oil companywasinvolvedinthe arrest and killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others
in Nigeria in 1995 All because they dared to speak o u t a g a i n s t t h e environmentaldestructionof the Niger Delta. That same greed and violence is at play today—in Gaza and, yes, eveninGuyana.
Here, in our own backyard, foreign oil companies are raking in billions while we get scraps. The oil deal signed is one of the worst in the world. It gives us next to nothing in royalties And yet, our peoplearequiet.Nomassive protests. No roadblocks. No demands that this issue be front and centre in the upcomingelections.
Guyanese are heading to thepollsonSeptember1,but we are doing so like sheep without even demanding that the royalty rate be put on the ballot. The government knows this. The corporations know this. And so, they continue to loot. Whenwedonotstandup,we make it easier for those in power to keep ignoring us. Our silence becomes their strength. They use our inaction as proof that we are satisfied.Andthatishowbad governments and greedy corporations thrive when the people stay passive. But it does not have to be this way Around the world, change has always come when ordinary people refuse tostaysilent.Whentheytake to the streets. When they speak out. When they write, protest, boycott, and vote withtheirconscience.Thatis how apartheid fell in South Africa That is how colonialism was defeated. That is how civil rights were won.
Francesca Albanese stood up, even though it cost
Dem boys seh de US got a new way of dealing with people dem don’t like. It call OFAC sanctions. Once upon a time, when yuh accuse somebody of a crime, yuh had to prove it. Bring evidence, charge de person, and let de court decide. Now? All de US doing is pointing finger, calling names, and expecting everybody else fuh do de dirty wuk.
Is like Uncle Sam seh: “This man from yuh country is corrupt. Trust us.” But when yuh ask dem fuh de proof, dem seh, “Well, that confidential Go investigate fuh yuhself.” So wait nah… yuh accusing peopleofcriminalacts,butyuhain’tsharing de evidence? That is like telling a man he thief yuh chicken but yuh ain’t showing de coopordefeather
Demsanctionsnowisdenewweaponof foreignpolicy Itain’taboutcourtorlaw It’s about pressure and public embarrassment. Yuhnamegetblacklist,bankaccountfreeze, andnexttingyuhknow,yuhowncountrygot
her Shecalledoutthekilling and starvation of children. She named the corporations. She named the allies. And she was punished for it. But she is not wrong. And we shouldnotabandonhervoice inthewilderness.Thepeople of Guyana must understand this: if we do not stand up to injustice at home or abroad—wearehelpingit.If we stay quiet while oil companies rob us blind, we
to run behind papers and WhatsApp messagestofigureoutwhatreallygoingon.
DemboyssehifdeUSserious,whydem don’t just apply for extradition? Bring de case to court in Washington or New York. Let a judge and jury decide if de person guilty. But no, that gon mean dem got to show evidence, cross-examine witnesses, andfacelawyers.Toomuchwuk.Soinstead, demthrowingdeaccusationlikeconfettiand tellingsmallcountries,“Youdealwithit.”Is like outsourcing justice to de same governmentstheyaccusingofbeingsoftpun crime.
Dem boys seh justice can’t be a press release. And a sanction ain’t no substitute fuh a trial. If yuh accusing somebody of tiefing, corrupting, laundering, or rigging—then do de decent thing: charge dem and prove it. Otherwise, it look more like politics than law And plenty people smellingdedifference. Talk half. Leff half
are letting them win. If we s a y n o t h i n g w h i l e Palestinians are massacred, we are giving approval. Our silenceisnotjustsilence.Itis complicity So let us break that silence.Letusspeakout.Let us demand justice—for the people of Gaza, for our own people, and for all those suffering under greed and tyranny Becauseifwedon’t, then we are just as guilty as those dropping the bombs, signing the deals, and countingtheprofits.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the a u t h o r a n d d o n o t necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
I’ll be absolute. Most leaders, countless members, and numerous supporters of the PPPare clueless of what ‘free and fair’ means. The same goes for their honesty about democracy They are entitled to speak of both as
self-serving political commercials. Buttheyhave discredited themselves through savaging free and fair, and disfiguring democracy in how WIN’s Azruddin Mohamed has been targeted, isolated, undermined, through one naked subterfuge after another
ThePPP’sobjectiveisto scorchtheeartharoundhim, starve him into submission by poisoning his oxygen supply In the fireworks,
daggers, of political competition and political
campaigning, I fully understand weakening an adversary, making him look mostwoeful.
But conscience dictates denunciationofhowlowthe PPPhasfallenatleadership, group, and individual levels relative to the political neophyte. Acoupleofpoints nowmadereducethePPPto the lowest denominator
L o w e s t i m m o r a l denominator Lowest unethical denominator The
hypocrite index is busted. HowcravencanthePPPget?
Findoutnow
There was a time when the same Azruddin Mohamedwasthedarlingof thePPPfromitsleaderstoits lamebrained. No rehash should be necessary about the GRA, Italian luxury vehicles, and presidential fingerprints, as alleged Dirty water under a rickety bridge. But he was the PPP main romantic interest back then,anditwasdamnationto hell for anyone who said differently, stood apart There are some Guyanese whocouldidentifywithsuch circumstances, as they pertaintothesameAzruddin Mohamed now vilified and demonizedbythePPP
Thanks to the power of the PPP leadership, as the party’s propagandists and defenders know, the leader of WIN could have moved the Guyana Police Force, frommenwithstarsontheir shoulders to others with stripes on their sleeves Thanks to the same PPP, the police is now unleashed against the same Mohamed, once the honeybunch of the party In the PPP world, he was an archangel with such associated powers; today he is the archdemon. If people
like me said a bad word againsthimbackthen,itwas treason. TodayifIsaywhat is being inflicted on him is wrong, that is subversion. Democracy on a trapeze, anybody,anyhonorablePPP objector?
But the ruling party is nothing if not wily; one that doesn’t do anything by half measures, or without proper camouflage. Enter the US. EnterpeopleinGuyana. The BigLadyfromAmericaison record as saying where the US stands with Mr Mohamed and where those sanctions apply Does that matter?
Will there be a letup in the scurrilous actions taken here by local PPP beneficiaries and no-sosecret mercenaries? No, therewon’tbe. Electionsare bigger than sanctions Whilesanctionsserveasthe best weapons to neutralize a threatening political contender Therearealready those who have read what they want to read in the extent of the application of theUSsanctions.
But there is also no shaking of the taint of PPP allies going to bat for it, giving the group a muchneeded elections campaign hand. Sanctions are these
elections movers and shakers. Sanctionshavethat power Sanctions are the PPPtrumpcards(nopun)in its efforts to shutdown MohamedandWIN.
Limit US sanctions to theirproperplacesandroles, and the ruling party sabotages its prospects Thus, the scaremongering and sanctions-baiting and witch-hunting. Havingbeen subjected to witch-hunts
myself, there’s only contempt for male witches and their stunted, deformed broomsticks.
Hence, I empathize with the embattled elections’ contestant, the political underdog that the PPP is trying hard to convert forcibly (and through using anyunderhandedmeans)toa rabies-infected stray dog. I
certainly would never have imagined than a man like me could raise a pen, raise voiceandword,forthecause ofthisnewpoliticaldogthat is anything but. It is now beyond doubt that the PPP leadership is mortally afraid ofhisbarkandhissting.
It is why their own peoplegoafterhimwithtake no prisoner’s viciousness (allowableinelections,once kept within bounds). If that were all, I could say fair fight, forward march. But theanxiety-infestedPPPhad to recruit its new phantom squad, unchain its private guerillafighterstoengagein irregular warfare under the flag of sanctions. There is that rigging, then, there are otherkindsemerging.
Last, it’s almost mid-
August. Idon’tknowabout voting, but I know this: there’s incandescent anger when a man is taken advantageof,withpilingon, pilingon. Therefore,whenI notetheusualPPPpusabout free and fair and democracy in motion in Guyana’s elections,noxiousnessseeps close. I observe the total breakdown in spinal and testicular sturdiness. I see donkeys pretending at civility, and pigs staking a claimtohighprinciples.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinionsofthisnewspaper.)
The new $553M stelling facility in Bartica commissioned
The newly extended $553 million stelling in Bartica, Region Seven, was officially commissioned on Sunday to improve transportation and provide more efficient, reliable travel for residents and visitorstotheregion.
The Ministry of Public Works in statement issued on Sunday, stated that the 23,000 square feet reinforced concrete stelling, constructed by K&K Construction and Hardware Supplies was commissioned byPresidentIrfaanAli.
The upgraded facility now provides increasedspaceforvehicularandpedestrian ingress, egress, and parking. In addition to the main stelling structure, a new floating speedboat dock has been constructed on the northern section to facilitate water taxi operations.
Other completed works include the installationofafloatinglink-spanbridgeand therehabilitationoftheexistingfixedmooring ramp. The quality and standard of the completedprojectwerepraisedbyMinisterof PublicWorks,Hon.BishopJuanEdghill,who noted that the retendered project was completedwithinitscontractedsum.
“The standard and quality of work was lauded by Minister of Public Works Hon
Bishop Juan Edghill, who highlighted the retendered project was executed and completed within the contract sum,” the statementread.
During the commissioning ceremony, President Ali emphasised the structural importanceofthenewstelling,statingthatit improves docking safety and expands transportation options to and from Bartica, thegatewaytothehinterland.
He outlined four access routes now available to Bartica: the new stelling, the BarticaAerodrome(whichiscurrentlybeing upgraded by BK International and Jags Aviation), a new road link from Sandhills through Timehri to Falmouth, and the traditionalrouteviaRockstoneandShirima. “So, people coming to Bartica will have options;air,seaandtworoadroutesandthat is improving connectivity, accessibility and affordability,”PresidentAliemphasised.
The ministry also revealed plans to modernise several other stellings across the countryintotourismterminals,withphase1 alreadyunderwayattheParikaStelling.The next phase of the Bartica Stelling development will focus on the creation of a newtourismmarinafacility
Continued on page 15
Vice-President, Bharrat JagdeosaidonSaturdaythat the prudent choice for government, over the next five years is the People’s Progressive Party, that is characterised by progress anddevelopment.
Speaking to a gathering attheparty’srallyinBartica onSaturday,Jagdeooutlined that the track record of President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister Brigadier Ret’d Mark Phillips is unmatched bythepresidentialhopefulin theopposition.
The vice-president outlined that for “many years, [Dr Ali] was a competent Minister before he became the president. He’s been able to lead our c o u n t r y o n t h e international stage…He’s brought togetherpeople of diverseracesandhe’skept us safe from Venezuela because he’s respected globally.”
Describing PM Phillips, Dr Jagdeo said “Mark Phillipswastheheadofthe army He too has experienceincommanding people.” However, he said the track record of the opposition is dismal He affirmed, “How could you ever entrust the future of our country, of your children in the hands of peoplewhohaveabsolutely noexperience?Youwillnot hire them to run a small business you have, muchless run our country.”
Forhispart,Phillipssaid he is proud of the track record of the PPPP/C Government that has transformed the lives of Guyanese. “We have five years of transformative, visionaryleadership.”
Speakingonthenational promise of delivering more than 50,000 house lots to Guyanese in five years, Bartica,hesaid,wasnotleft out. PM Phillips revealed that “We have over 500 houelots and housing
schemes being delivered right in Bartica.” In addition,a1megawattsolar farm has been built and is now servicing Bartica and t h e s u r r o u n d i n g communities.
The prime minister reminded everyone that in the past five years, $120 billion has been distributed to increase the salaries of public servants, teachers, andhealthcareworkers. PM PhillipsdeclaredthatBartica is now breathing new life under his government “Remember when we took office Bartica, things were brown.Itlookeddead.Now, Bartica is alive and kicking againbecauseofthePPP/C.” Meanwhile, making his debut on a PPP platform, clad in his red shirt was former Mayor of Bartica GiffordMarshall.Hetoldthe rally that he is standing strong in the face of criticisms after endorsing President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali. On July 12th, MarshallendorsedPresident Ali for a second term, and since then, he has been vilified by people who disagreedwithhisdecision.
The former Mayor, a staunch supporter of the previous administration, is part of a long list of influential public figures whohaverejectedthelackof vision reflected in the oppositionparties.
Despitethewhirlwindof criticism he faces, he told thousands in Bartica on Saturdaythathewillnotbow to the pressure, but rather, will “remain strengthened, courageous and will work with his Excellency [Dr MohamedIrfaanAli]forthe betterment of this community and region.” He complainedthatGuyanahas sufferedfromethnicdivision for too long, and to the roar of thousands, he affirmed that“Itistimethatweputour shoulders to the wheel to show the world that Guyana is not cursed, it is blessed.” (DPI)
The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Sundaytookitscampaignto the mining town of Linden, Region 10, where Presidential Candidate
Aubrey Norton outlined his party’s development plans fortheregion.
Speaking at a rally that persisted despite a power outage, Norton emphasised that Lindeners can expect tangible transformation under an APNU-led government.
“You in Linden can look
forward to significant development,” Norton declared. “We want to see the people of Region 10 benefit.” He criticised the current administration, saying the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has neglected the people of Linden, including the closure of essential institutions.
One of Norton’s key pledges was to restore and expand early childhood education. Referencing the early childhood centre built
between One Mile and Half Mile during APNU’s previous term in office, he promisedanationalnetwork
An undated photo shows Al Jazeera correspondents Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh standing outside a journalist tent at the entrance of al Shifa hospital in Gaza. (Credit: anasjamal44/Instagram)
(CNN)AnIsraelistrikein Gaza City late Sunday night killed six journalists, according to Al-Shifa hospital, including four from AlJazeera
The Israeli military said they targeted and killed reporterAnasAl-Sharif after accusing him of leading a Hamas cell Mohammed Qreiqeh, another prominent AlJazeerajournalistinGaza, was also killed in the strike, thenetworksaid.
“TheordertokillAnasAlSharif,oneofGaza’sbravest journalists, along with his colleagues, is a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza,” Al Jazeera said in a statementaftertheattack
In the minutes before he was killed,Al-Sharif said on socialmedia,“Ifthismadness does not end, Gaza will be reduced to ruins, its people’s voices silenced, their faces erased and history will remember you as silent
witnesses to a genocide you chosenottostop.”
Al-Sharif was in a tent with other journalists near the entrance to the Al-Shifa Hospitalwhenhewaskilled, according to hospital directorDr MohammadAbu Salmiya.The strike killed at least seven people, Salmiya said.
The Israel Defense Forces(IDF)hasaccusedAlSharif of leading a Hamas cell in Gaza that “advanced rocketattacksagainstIsraeli civilians and IDF troops.”
The IDF had previously showndocumentsitclaimed showed“unequivocalproof” of Al-Sharif’s ties to Hamas “The IDF had previously disclosed intelligence information and many documents found in the Gaza Strip, confirming his military affiliation to Hamas,” the military said in a statement afterthestrike Lastmonth,aftertheIDF
accusedAl-Sharif of being a member of Hamas, he responded in a message on socialmedia
“I reaffirm: I, Anas AlSharif,amajournalistwithno politicalaffiliations Myonly mission is to report the truth from the ground as it is, withoutbias,”hewrote “Ata timewhenadeadlyfamineis ravaging Gaza, speaking the truthhasbecome,intheeyes oftheoccupation,athreat.”
TheCommitteetoProtect Journalists(CPJ)saidinJuly they were “gravely worried” forAl-Sharif’ssafetyandthat the journalist feared for his life after he was the target of “an Israeli military smear campaign, which he believes is a precursor to his assassination ” Since the beginning of the war nearly twoyearsago,CPJsays186 journalists have been killed inIsraelistrikes.
The United Nations also calledIsrael’schargesagainst Al-Sharif“onlineattacksand unfoundedaccusations”
“Iamdeeplyalarmedby repeated threats and accusations of the Israeli armyagainstAnasAl-Sharif, the last surviving journalist of Al Jazeera in northern Gaza,” said Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, two weeksago.
Al-Sharif, who was married and had two children,hadpreparedafinal message in the event of his death which was shared by hiscolleagues.
“I urge you not to be silenced by chains, nor to be hinderedbyborders,andtobe bridgestowardstheliberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom shines upon our occupied homeland,” AlSharifwrote
ofsuchcentres. “ThepeopleinOneMile and Half Mile area will know that the APNU between 2015 and 2020 delivered to you a quality early childhood education centre where your children cangoandbeprotectedand tobetrained Wesaidtoyou as the next government there will be a network of early childhood education systems and centres in this country so that your children can be trained, and that single mothers that have to go out to work can be guaranteed that their children will be trained and b e i n a s e c u r e environment,”hedeclared Turning to healthcare and professional training, Norton lamented the closure of the Charles Roza School of Nursing and vowed to reestablish robust nursing education in the region Hefurtherpromised training opportunities for teachers and youth, stating, “Wewilldoalotoftraining Wewilltrainyoungpeople, givethematrade,givethem skillssothattheycanearna living We believe that whenwegiveyoungpeople access to education, we are
emancipation,” Norton stated
acknowledged Linden’s needforaffordableenergyto diversify its economy beyond bauxite. “We will work assiduously to ensure there is always cheap electricity in Linden,” he said, promising to stimulate industrialdevelopment.
Agriculturealsofeatured prominently in his remarks.
Norton pledged to support sustainable farming in Region 10, stating, “If peoplehavetofeedyoufrom afar, you have to depend on them but once we provide the conditions and provide the land, you can feed y
e independent,”hesaid.
He also committed to implementing a school transportation system,
assistanceforLindeners.
Attorney-at-law Ronald Daniels, another speaker at the rally, paid tribute to the youngLindenmenwhowere killed during protests, condemning what he described as injustices
carried out under the PPP “Their blood is running in these streets They were executed in Linden for standing up for their democraticrights.Therewill benomorebloodofoursons and daughters under an APNU government, ” Danielsdeclared.
Former Member of Parliament Nima Flue-Bess addressed the persistent floodingthataffectsfamilies inLinden.Shepromisedthat under APNU, “No family will stand to watch water enter their homes due to naturaldisasters,”shesaid.
APNU candidate and political activist, Professor Dr David Hinds, warned of potential electoral manipulationbythePPP “If they try to rig this election, thereshallbenopeaceinthe valley,” he warned. “We are going to that booth to mark our X, and we must be prepared Get ready for battle.”
The rally drew a significant crowd, with APNU leaders seeking to reinforce their support base in the traditional stronghold of Region 10 while presenting their governance agenda.
or arrivals in last 7 monthsals in last 7 months als in last 7 monthsals in
Cheddi Jagan International Airport
Guyana has recorded an 18% increase in visitors during the last seven months of 2025, with a total of 242,655 arrivals,comparedto205,646 during the same period last year
AccordingtotheMinistry ofTourism,IndustryandCommerce, this growth marks a record-breakingperformance acrossallsevenmonthsofthe year
The ministry attributed thesurgeinarrivalstoacombination of enhanced air connectivity, intensified marketing campaigns in key source markets, and a strong resurgenceofdiasporatravelinthe post-pandemic period. Addi-
tionally, the hosting of major cultural and sporting events, alongwiththeintroductionof new and diversified tourism products, has expanded Guyana’s appeal to both international and regional visitors. Leisure and business travelalsoplayedasignificant role in driving the increase. Sharingitspreliminaryestimates, the ministry noted that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the country’s primary port of entry, handled more than one million passengers between January and June 2025— matching the total number of passengers recorded across allportsofentryfortheentire
previousyear.Ofthetotalvisitor arrivals, 168,582 entered throughCJIA,63,250through theEugeneF.CorreiaInternationalAirport(EFCIA),6,340 viaMolesonCreek,and4,483 throughLethem.
Intermsofsourcemarkets, according to the ministry, the United States continued to lead,contributing100,331visitors (41%) during the period. TheCaribbeanfollowedwith 76,247 visitors (31%), while Canada accounted for 17,783 (7%), Latin America 17,263 (7%),andEurope14,079(6%).
Monthly comparisons with 2024 show consistent double-digit growth: January saw an increase of 22.8%,
From page 10
This recent commissioning comesafternearlyeightyears of rehabilitation. Kaieteur Newshadreportedthatworks at the Bartica Stelling began in 2017, when the first phase was awarded to Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited.
That phase, completed in October 2018, involved demolishingandreconstructing the southern section of the stelling, which now houses commercial concessions and a modern passenger waiting
area,supportedbygreenheart piles. The phase now accommodatescommercialconcessions and a modernised passenger waiting area.
The second phase, also awardedtothesamecontractor in January 2019, focused on extending the northern section to accommodate a drawbridge.
It is unclear what works took place after then, but in 2021 during a visit to the BarticaandLeguanstellings, Minister Edghill had expressed disappointment with
the pace of work at those facilities. The minister quoted inaDepartmentofPublicInformation(DPI)article,noted thattheproject,inheritedfrom the previous administration, was in a state of failure and riddledwithpoorperformance and delays.
After that contractor failed to complete the works, the ministry retendered the project.In2023,a$553million contract was awarded to K&KConstructionandHardware Supplies, which has sincecompletedthefacility
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April recorded the highest growthat28.6%,followedby May (17.6%), June (15.2%), andJuly(16.7%).
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, noted that these figures align with the government’s vision of a dynamicandrobusttourismsector. “These figures are the result of strategic efforts—not onlyinpromotingDestination Guyanaandexpandingtravel routes, but also in creating a morediversifiedtourismoffering. They confirm the growing international interest in Guyana as a tourism destination and demonstrate that our tourism sector is well-positioned to stand as a major contributor to our GDP,” she stated.
The ministry also reaffirmedthegovernment’scommitment to sustaining this upward trend by continuing collaborationwithstakeholders to promote certified tourism businesses, strengthen partnerships, and foster sustainabletourismdevelopment.
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(AL-JAZEERA) Israeli attacks across the besieged Gaza Strip continue, killing at least 52 Palestinians, as the death toll from Israeliinduced starvation since the war began rises to 217, including100children.
Attacks mount as the United Nations Security Council held an emergency session as condemnation grows over Israel’s plan to seize Gaza City and forcibly displace nearly a million Palestinians.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has condemned what it called “Israeli incitement” against the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state.
In a statement posted on X, the ministry said it “condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli incitement calls against the opportunity to establish the Palestinian state on the ground and its tangible embodiment in the institutionsofthePalestinian National Authority as the nucleus of the Palestinian state”.
It described such calls as “an extension of the crimes of genocide, displacement, annexation, and attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause and our people’s rights”.
The ministry urged all countries and the wider international community to “assume their political, l e g a l , a n d m o r a l responsibilities towards what the Palestinian people aresubjectedto”.
The statement comes on
The site where Palestinian boy Muhannad Eid was crushed by a box of airdropped aid, killing him, in the central Gaza Strip, August 9, 2025 [Reuters]
a day when an Israeli farright minister called for the d i s m a n t l i n g o f t h e PalestinianAuthority.
“I will appeal to the Prime Minister with a request to bring immediate operative measures to the next cabinet meeting to dismantle the Palestinian Authority,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a post on X
“This must be the response to the terrorist Abu Mazen’s [PA President M a h m o u d A b b a s ’s ] fantasies of a ‘Palestinian state’ – crushing the terror authorityheheads.”
By offering nothing except continual massacre for the Palestinians, and attempting to subjugate the surrounding areas to its will, Israel finds itself “in a predicament of its own making”, argues former IsraeliadviserDanielLevy
Levy, president of the US/Middle East Project, spoke on Al Jazeera’s Bottom Line and said that IsraelhasputArableadersin a bind, as regional disgust grows towards Israel for its warcrimesinGaza.
And while Western governments and cultural institutions have been carrying water for Israel for decades, argues Levy, some have begun “acknowledging things they worked hard not to acknowledge for an awfullylongtime.”
Fu Cong, the permanent representativeofChinaatthe UN, has just spoken at the emergency Security Council session.
In his speech, he said China firmly opposes any attemptbyIsraelto“occupy” Gaza.
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people. It is an integral part of the Palestinian territory Any
action that seeks to alter its demographic and territorial structure must be met with utmost rejection and resistance,”hesaid.
“The illusion of military supremacy must be a b a n d o n e d . … A n immediate ceasefire is the only right way to save lives and secure the release of hostages Continually escalated military offensives in Gaza will only lead to more killings and deaths,” Fustated.
“The Israeli government needs to listen to the case of both [the] international community and its people, immediately stop escalating tensions and put an end to its militaryoperationsinGaza,” hesaid.
Cong slammed as
“ u n a c c e p t a b l e ” t h e “weaponisation” of humanitarian aid and the “collective punishment” of Palestinians in Gaza
“Attacking civilians and humanitarian workers as they search for supplies is equally unacceptable,” Fu said.
“It is crucial to reinvigorate the prospect of thetwo-statesolution,…the only viable path to resolving the Palestinian question and a c h i e v i n g p e a c e f u l coexistence,”heconcluded.
The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, placing Palestinians in peril and further endangering the lives of the captives, Miroslav Jenca, the UN assistant secretary-general for Europe, CentralAsia and the Americas, has told the UNSecurityCouncil.
The latest plans for Gaza by the government of Israel risk “igniting another horrific chapter in this conflict, with potential consequences beyond Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory”, he said in his
(Reuters) - Hunger and disease are spreading in war-torn Sudan, with famine already present in several areas, 25 million people acutely food insecure and nearly 100,000 cholera cases recorded since last July,theWorldHealthOrganisationhassaid.
Sudan's conflict between the army and rival Rapid Support Forces has displaced millions and split the country into rival zones of control, with the RSF still deeply embeddedinwesternSudan,andfundingcuts arehamperinghumanitarianaid.
“Relentless violence has pushed Sudan's health system to the edge, adding to a crisis markedbyhunger,illnessanddespair,"WHO SeniorEmergencyOfficerIlhamNoursaidin a statement "Exacerbating the disease burdenishunger,"shesaid,addingthatabout
openingremarks. Jenca pointed out that details are not finalised yet, but the government foresees the displacement of all civilians from Gaza City by October 7, 2025, affecting some 800,000 people, many of them previously displaced. The Israeli army would then surround the city for three months, followed by an additional two months to seize control of central Gaza’scamps.
“ We a r e a l r e a d y witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe of unimaginable scaleinGaza,”hesaid.
“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another c a l a m i t y i n G a z a , reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings and destruction, c o m p o u n d i n g t h e unbearable suffering of the population.”
770,000 children under 5 years old are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year Cholera has also hit a camp for Darfur refugees in neighboring eastern Chad, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday An outbreak in the Dougui refugee settlement has so far resulted in 264 cases and 12 deaths, said Patrice Ahouansou, UNHCR's situation coordinator in the region, leading the agency to suspend the re-location of refugees from the border withSudantopreventnewcases.
"Without urgent action, including enhancing access to medical treatment, to clean water, to sanitation, to hygiene, and most important, relocation from the border, many more lives are on the line,"Ahouansou toldabriefinginGeneva.
(ESPN Cricinfo) - West Indies overcame Pakistan's spinners as well as the weather to power home by five wickets to level the series 1-1. In a chase which ebbed and flowed, a blitz from Sherfane Rutherford and a controlled innings at the death by Roston Chase saw them home with two overstospare.Theirtaskwas made significantly harder thanitmighthavebeenwhen Jayden Seales' standout fastbowling performance had restricted Pakistan to 171 for 7 in 37 overs. The target was
slightly upwards owing to multiple rain delays in the firstinnings. Pakistan were put in to bat first and played stodgy cricket inconsistent with the decade they were playing it in. Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub found the occasional Powerplay boundary but interspersed it withstringsofdotdeliveries; the first ten overs saw just five singles taken. When extra pace and canny field placement extracted an outside edge from Ayub in the ninth over, it was the
ninthsuccessiveballthelefthander had faced which had not produced a run. Three balls later, Babar Azam was cleaned up by a Seales specialthatburstthroughthe gate and made a mess of his stumps, and put West Indies firmlyontop. It brought Mohammad Rizwan out, but he appeared to have left positivity behind in the dressing room - he scored just 4 off his first 23 deliveries. A shower that delayed play by 90 minutes did not help Pakistan find their rhythm. Jediah Blades
took his maiden ODI wicket by drawing an edge from Shafique that ended his battle of an innings the over afterplayresumed.
As run-scoring became an increasing struggle, West Indies' spinners and seamers alike kept making inroads. Gudakesh Motie trapped the Pakistan captain in front. Roston Chase got a ball to keep low and produce an under edge off Hussain Talat's bat to conclude his comparatively brighter innings. Salman Ali Agha struggled to see any scoring area beside the little dab to deepthird,andwhenShamar Joseph surprised him with the straighter bouncer, a top edgesenthimpacking.
ARIES(Mar.21–Apr.19)
Rememberthatittakesenergy to repress and bottle up your feelings. Without realizing it you may be stuffing a great deal of emotion inside while tryingtoignoreit.
TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)
Deep inside you know the right thing to do, Taurus. Perhapsyoujustsawsomeone dropmoneyonthegroundand you picked it up. Do you return it or pocket it for yourself?
GEMINI(May21–June20)
Your mastery of your mind and ability to stay disciplined about your goals is impressive, Gemini. Others recognize and appreciate your effortsmuchmorethanusual.
CANCER(June21–July22)
You may feel as if someone or something has just reformatted your hard drive. Suddenly things are running much more smoothly The key now is to find the discipline and organization to understand thisnewsystemfully
LEO(July23–Aug.22)
You may be forced to put your thoughts into neat little boxes that can be easily understood and processed, Leo Your ideas are abstract and don't always make reasonable sense. It's OK to have a bit of mystery about things that rationalmindscan'texplain.
VIRGO(Aug 23–Sept 22)
This may be a difficult day in which you feel pressured to get things done, yet there's indecisiveness lingering in your mind. Between a rock and hard place is no easy spot, butyou'llfindyourwayout.
LIBRA(Sept.23–Oct.22)
There's tremendous discipline in your way of thinking, Libra, which is helping you advance toward your goals. Don't expectthatyouwillsolveevery problemrightaway
SCORPIO(Oct.23–Nov 21)
Yourthoughtsmaybestrained, Scorpio, and you could find it difficult to process things that are normally no problem. Try not to force answers that don't seem to want to come. If the information flows easily and smoothly,
SAGIT(Nov 22–Dec.21)
Your thinking may have emotional overtones that prevent you from seeing the truth clearly, Sagittarius. Do your best to tame your feelings in order to let more rational thoughtsrisetothesurface.
CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19)
The thing you dread the most could be the very thing you need the most in your life, Capricorn. You're at a point rightnowwhenthelessonsthat come might be hard to swallow,butthey'renecessary
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)
You may look at your orderly closet, well-organized desk, and clean bathroom and be proud, Aquarius. Other people may fret about suddenly having to get their lives in order,butyou'realreadythere.
PISCES(Feb.19–Mar.20)
Youcouldfeelblocked,Pisces, like you're in a trap. Perhaps your friends are influencing you into believing one thing, while your family has you trained to believe another You wear different masks in differentsituations.
respectfully, but the pair weren't content with containment. Nawaz found extra turn to have Hope stumped before, in what felt like a game turning moment, he induced Rutherford into a smear that found square leg. It was part of an eight-over period that saw just 17 scored, but just as significantly, Pakistan had bowled out Nawaz. Chase slapped a couple of sixes the following Ayub over to wrenchtheaskingratebelow six once more, and it was there that it would stay for therestofthegame.
The returning fast bowlers never packed the same threat, and West Indies began to milk them in addition to finding the odd boundary that took the game further out of the visitors' reach. Justin Greaves had looked uncertain against the turn, but was impressively assured now, a wristy flick over mid-on for six off HasanAliperhapstheshotof the innings. By now, the equation was purely mathematical, With Chase's crisp drive through the offside sealing a topsy-turvy win on a day that promised each outcome at a certain point, before settling on the one the Trinidad crowd had cometowitness.
A further rain delay truncated the game to Pakistan's benefit with the innings winding down, allowing Hasan Nawaz to go for broke in what became seven death overs. Cruelly for Pakistan, though, that stubborn cloud unloaded its contentsupontheBrianLara Stadiumoncemorejustashe had begun to get going. That little passage of play saw 32 scored in 3.1 overs, but Pakistan were denied a big finish with their final three overswipedout.
West Indies were set an entirely manageable 181 in 35 overs, though HasanAli's opening salvo soon cast that expectation into jeopardy Wickets in each of his first two overs sent the openers back, and the hosts found themselvesstuckinthesame mire that dogged Pakistan.
Rizwan, sensing an opportunity to strangle, brought the spinners in after six overs, with Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed producing the desired results.
The scoring rate briefly slowed to a trickle, particularly as far as Keacy Carty was concerned. His first 26 balls produced just three singles, piling the pressure on his captain at the other end.An intriguing plot point concerned Pakistan's fifth bowling option; the one over Ayub had bowled leaked 10, and another from Aghashedanother11.
With a newly arrived Rutherford and the asking rate over six, Rizwan made the fateful decision of turning to Shaheen Afridi, and the batter picked his moment.Two fours and a six saw him plunder 17 that over, and with Rizwan turning immediately to the part-time Agha, another 20 wereloppedoffthetarget.
It bought West Indies the cushion to see off the primary spinners Abrar and Mohammad Nawaz more
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) reaffirmed its commitment to junior cricket with its President, Mr Bissoondyal Singh paying a visit to members of theNationalunder17team.
Theteamisgearingupto participate in the Cricket West Indies Rising Stars Under-17Tournament.
Scheduled for August 11 to September 2 in the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the tournament will feature both two-day and 50-over formats this year During Singh’s interaction with the players and coaching staff, he commended the squad for their dedication and hard workintraining.
Singh also expressed his confidence in the players ability to represent Guyana ontheregionalstage.
As part of the visit, the GCB head, presented cricket
gear to several members of the National unit, ensuring they are well-equipped for thechallengesahead.
“This group reflects the
promise and potential of Guyana’s cricketing future andweareexcitedtoseeyou showcase your skills” said Mr Singh. “We at the GCB
are committed to providing you with the tools, opportunities, and guidance you need to succeed I encourage you all to play with discipline, unity, and pride.”
The national Under-17 unit,ledbyCaptainRomario Ramdeholl and Vice-captain Parmeshwar Ram, departed todayfortheisland.
Guyana Under-17 Squad: Romario Ramdeholl
(captain), Parmeshwar Ram (vice-captain), Richard R a m d e h o l l , L o m a r Seecharran, Emmanuel Lewis, Adrian Hetmyer, S h a m a r A p p l e (wicketkeeper), Nicholas Lovell, Feeaz Baksh, Dave Mohabir, Navindra Sankar, Gibran Yacoob, Micah Amsterdam, and Darwin Joseph.
Standbys: Vishal Williams, Bhomesh Lall,
The Guyana Cricket Board wishes the national Under-17teamandcoaching staff every success as they take the field inTrinidad and Tobago. Guyana will play their first match against Windward Islands at the National Cricket Center in Couva with the match bowlingoffat10hours.
(Reuters) - Crystal Palace beat Premier League champions Liverpool 3-2 on penalties to win the Community Shield after an entertaining 2-2 draw at Wembley on Sunday, with keeper Dean Henderson reprising his penalty-saving heroicsfromtheirFACupfinaltriumph.
Substitute Justin Devenny scored the winning spot kick, after Mohamed Salah skied the Reds’ first penalty and Henderson–whosavedanOmarMarmoushpenaltyasPalace wontheirfirstmajortrophyagainstManchesterCityinMay–then saved efforts from Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott.
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“They were 2-1 up, you would think we were out of the game,” Henderson said. “The manager said we would get chancesinthesecondhalf andwedeservedthatintheend.”
New recruit Hugo Ekitike had put Liverpool ahead inside four minutes after he and record signing Florian Wirtz combined beautifully before the Frenchman produced a superbfinish.
But Palace deservedly levelled in the 17th minute, JeanPhilippe Mateta sending Alisson the wrong way from the penaltyspotafterVirgilvanDijkbroughtdownIsmailaSarr Close-season signing Jeremie Frimpong restored the Reds’ lead, as Liverpool fans marked the death of Portugal forwardDiogoJotawith20minutesontheclockinhonourof hisshirtnumber,sendinganattemptedcrossloopinginoffthe post.
PalacebossOliverGlasnerhassaidhissideneedadditions to remain competitive and will have been concerned to see midfielderDaichiKamadagooffinjuredinsidehalfanhour
The Eagles posed a threat on the counter and kept themselves in the game, although Ekitike spurned two decent chances to extend Liverpool’s lead in the early stages of the secondhalf.
“We could have maybe scored the third one in the first 15 to 20 minutes after halftime but we didn’t, we kept them alive,”LiverpoolbossArneSlotsaid.
Palace’s England forward Eberechi Eze tested Alisson with a low shot before the Londoners equalised again with 13 minutestoplay,SarrslottingpasttheonrushingAlisson.
Palace nearly grabbed a winner at the end, with Mac Allister perhaps fortunate to have aVAR referral for handball in the box go his way before Devenny nearly scored in added time,asthetraditionalseasoncurtain-raiserwenttopenalties.
Devenny got the winner in the shootout with an emphatic penaltytogivePalaceathirdvictoryatWembleyinarow Glasner said he was “very happy with the squad”, though he added that this season’s European campaign – with Palace expected to find out on Monday if it will be in the Europa LeagueorConferenceLeague–willincreasedemands.
He revealed that Northern Ireland midfielder Devenny had even volunteered for the pressure penalty “Justin came (to me and said) ‘I’ll take it, I’ll take the last one’,” the Palace managersaid,complimentingthe21-year-old’sconfidence.
(Getty Images) - Nascar Xfinity points leader Connor Zilisch has broken his collarbone after falling from his car whilecelebratingawin.
Zilisch, 19, had won his sixth race of the season in Nascar’s second tier at Watkins Glen and was climbing on to theroofofhiscartocelebrate.
HeappearedtosliponthewindownetofhisChevroletand fellontotheconcreteinVictoryLane.
He was taken to the circuit’s care centre where he was describedas“awakeandalert”.
TheAmerican was then transported to hospital for further evaluation,andhepostedonXthatscansonhisheadandneck hadcomebackclearbuthehadbrokenhiscollarbone.
Zilisch is widely considered to be a future star of the sport andisexpectedtosecureafull-timedriveinNascar’stoptier, theCupSeries,in2026.
HehasdominatedinhisrookieyearinXfinity,andwonat Watkins Glen, New York, after emerging unscathed from a dramatic16-carcrashintheclosingstages.
Zilischwasforcedtomissaraceafterinjuringhisbackina crash at Talladega in June but bounced back in style and his winonSaturdaywashisfifthvictoryineightraces.
No timelinehasbeenputonhisreturnbyZilischorhisJR Motorsports team, which is run by former driver Dale Earnhardt Jr, but the Xfinity Series championship play-offs beginatPortlandon31August.
He was set to make his fourth top-tier Cup start of the season on Sunday atWatkins Glen but will miss that race as a resultoftheinjury
Fruta Conquerors
Football club and Guyana Police Force (GPF) FC were amongst the first winners of the revamped Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Women’s Division One League, when the 2025 tournament officially kicked offFridayevening.
The on-field action at the National Training Center (NTC) was preceded by the tournament’s opening ceremony which was graced with the presence of British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, GFF
G e n e r a l S e c r e t a r y Pushpargha Chattopadhyay and Women’s Football Association President, AndreaJohnson.
A vibrant parade of colours, teams representing Guyana’s ten Elite clubs showedofftheirthreadsand, insomecases,newfacesthat
are a testament to the GFF’s efforts to attract more girls andwomentoclubfootball.
Addressing the opening ceremony,GeneralSecretary Chattopadhyay pledged his support to playing a role in development of the Women’sgamelocally
“Thisjourneyisgoingto lead to something special,” Chattopadhyay told the playerspresent.
He continued, “As the GS,IhopeIcancontributeto the betterment of this league and betterment of Women’s football. I’ve come to know that our U20 team have q u a l i f i e d f o r t h e C O N C
Champ
h
F U 2
p This couldn’t have come at a better year when were also starting this league, that, in the future, will contribute to ours teams playing at a higher level and make this
beautiful nation shine bright atfootball,”
Meanwhile, British High Commissioner Miller in expressing her excitement at being a part of the tournament’s opening, shared with the players, “Football is not just important to your discipline and teamwork, it also should b e f u n S o , e n j o y yourselves.”
Meanwhile, big victories
were on the cards for Fruta and Police on the opening night, winning by a 13- goal and 6- goal margin, respectively
Aftertwonightsoffiercecompetition,the much-anticipatedDeputyMayor’sCupInterWard Knockout Championship shifts into high gear this Wednesday with the Round of 16 at the Eve Leary ground in Kingston, Georgetown.
Friday’s and Saturday’s clashes have lockedinthe16contenderschasingashareof the $1.5 million in cash and prizes, with the 2025inter-wardchampionssettobecrowned onAugust20.
Saturday’svictors,include;Pourderoyen, Albouystown, Mocha, Bent Street ‘A’, Uitvlugt, Soesdyke, Back Circle ‘B’ and Gladiators, now joining Friday’s winners Liliendaal, Pele, Madrid, Stabroek Ballers, Stewartville,EaglesandPoliceFCinthehunt forthetopcashprizeof$500,000.
The tournament’s opening rounds delivered high-tempo football that exceeded expectations, even with a modest turnout, setting the stage for a thrilling middle phase
onAugust13.
The Round-of-16 lineup kicks off with Pourderoyen taking on Liliendaal in the opening clash, followed by Pele squaring off against newcomers Madrid. Mocha will then battle Albouystown for a place in the quarterfinals, while Stabroek Ballers face Stewartville. Bent Street ‘B’ is set to meet Uitvlugt, with Bent Street ‘A’ going up against Eagles. Police FC will lock horns withSoesdykebeforetheeveningcloseswith Back Circle ‘B’ testing their skills against Gladiators in the final bid for a quarterfinal spot. Only eight will survive the cut after Wednesday’s showdown Tournament coordinator LennoxArthur is calling on fans to pack the stands and bring the noise, with special gate prizes for the largest and loudest supportergroups.
Kick-off is set forWednesdaynightat the Police Sports Club ground, better known as EveLeary Actiongetsunderwayat6:00pm.
Fruta Conquerors’ onslaught began in the 3rd minute with a strike off the boots of Karen Jupiter who later completed her brace in the 24th minute. Three other players, in Levonna Simon (8th, 15th), Makeisha Dash (10th, 37th) and Rihanna DaCosta (33rd, 34th) all registered braces for the Tucville-basedoutfit.
Adding to Dellanna
Small’s glorious hattrick in the 5th, 22nd and 44th minutes; Captain Fayon Harry and Afia Marshall pierced the nets in the 40th a n d 5 6 t h m i n u t e s , respectively for the massive win Though not as commanding as Fruta Conquerors, the Guyana Police Force Women also enjoyed a big win on Friday Ashanti Aaron broke the ice as early as the 3rd minute. However, Santos’ defenses wentintooverdrive,denying Police for the next 23 minutes That was until
Amanda McKenzie played through the Defence to rock the nets in the 26th. The floodgates opened after that strike with Siasy Adams, Lakeisha Pearson (35th, 6 0 t h ) a n d J e n e l l e Edmondson (51st) finding the back of the net to completetheir6-0win. The Women’s Division One action will continue at thesamevenuethisSaturday where Futa Conquerors will battle Den Amstel from 18:00hrs,whileAnn’sGrove and Slingerz FC go head- toheadfrom19:30hrs.
