Monday March 10, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters...Where your views make the news
End the pervasive Culture... I was assaulted by a Police Rank on Int’l Women’s Day
From page 4 car at the police station after the matter was documented by the police. What is the point of her leaving her car AND keys? Absolutely none although as usual the police will put their own twist and spin on the story to justify the officer’s action. If ever fender bender required lodging one’s car and keys at the police station then the police would have a hard time simply moving around in their own quarters. Editor, I highlighted several examples of the excessive use of force, corruption, illegal activities and coercion by members of the GPF to emphasize that there is a pervasive culture of CRIMINALITY and VIOLENCE within the GPF. These incidents are not isolated. They represent a systemic breakdown of law, order, good behaviour, training and education within the GPF. Whether or not these crimes and incidents are symptomatic of an orchestrated plot, poor professional development or under-educated officers as have been touted in the local media, is beside the point; something needs to be done and done now! And it will take courage on the part of the citizenry as well as law abiding and respectable members of the GPF (especially Senior GPF Officers, particularly the Commissioner…I deliberately left out the current Minister of Home
Affairs because it is clear that he is unconcerned and accused of being involved in criminal acts as acknowledged by the Canadian Immigration on a matter involving an IT Specialist and his wife who refused to spy on certain Guyanese public figures) to raise their voices of concern and to implement the required changes. Culture is a very difficult thing to change. It takes time, convincing and repeated training until decency, informed reasoning, respect and professional behaviour becomes habitual. Right now, lawlessness, incompetence and corruption are ruining not only the Police Force and its relationship with the general public but also the lives of many persons. I close with another example that perhaps will help readers to be more vigilant against criminal behaviour by some police officers. Sometime last year I was pulled over by an officer who alleged that I ran a red light. This was not true, so I pursued the matter which was eventually dropped. As life would have it, a few weeks later I went to purchase Chinese food and was standing outside until my order was prepared. Guess who pulled up across the road in a dark
tinted vehicle blasting music to the heavens? As if this was not all, as the officer stepped out of the vehicle a huge cloud of smoke followed; the officer walked right pass me and the stench of marijuana was nauseating. As the officer went to purchase Chinese food the other occupants of the car remained inside still with music blasting. The writing is on the wall, Guyana is in the midst of a silent war that will escalate until and unless we citizens muster the courage to recognize that we are a sinking ship, decide to collectively communicate our concerns and demand and hold not only GPF officers but other public and private sector leaders accountable when their actions contradict the law and render a disservice to the Guyanese citizenry. By the way, on another note, why have the Private Sector Commission, Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and body responsible by institutional integrity within the GPF been so quiet and inactive regarding issues of corruption, torture, excessive use of force and police involvement in crime? Very concerned Guyanese
DEAR EDITOR, On a day that is generally meant to celebrate, appreciate, respect and show love towards women, International Women’s Day, I was assaulted by a police Officer (name given), attached to the Providence Police Station in the presence of my two children who will forever be traumatized by one heartless police. On my way to work I had a little fender bender. Upon reaching the Providence Police Station to lodge my complain, I waited more than 20 minutes while three Traffic Officers on duty at the time made no attempt to take my report. Finally I asked if someone would take my report, since I was waiting with my two children and had to go to work. The Officer in question said he had to mop the office which he proceeded to do at midday, having me wait an additional 8 minutes. When he was good and ready, he asked for my vehicle documents which he handed to another officer while he asked my name. I asked if it was necessary to have me waiting so long? At which point I think I pissed off another Officer (name given) who asked the first officer if I was obstructing the flow of
traffic at the time of the accident. He suggested that the first Officer should charge me for obstruction and to tell me I have to lodge my vehicle while they investigate the incident. The first Officer and I proceeded outside into the Providence compound where I was instructed to park as he inspected the damages on my car. He told me I have to lodge my car and hand over the keys. At that point I refused, demanding a reasonable explanation why the police needed to keep my car and keys. I went back into the station followed by the first Officer and I sat on the bench. He further told me when I was ready to hand over my keys, I should tell him, and again I refused unless he could say why I should. I proceeded to make a call to
family informing them of what was happening and where I was. The first Officer then grabbed me by my arm, pulled me up from the bench, dragging me more the 10 feet while ringing my hand to take away my personal phone, then chucking me to sit on the station bench like a common criminal IN THE PRESENCE TO MY TWO CRYING CHILDREN, who couldn’t understand why ‘mommy’ was being abused by a Police whose job is to PROTECT US. I have since made a report asking the police to file charges against the Officer and obtained a Police medical which stated the lacerations on my wrist and trauma wound to my leg. My country is becoming more lawless every day. Ali Williams
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 10, 2014
Chinese company conducting Rehabilitation of UG is a manifestation study to identify fish species of Govt’s commitment to development - Govt. promises to protect local fisher folk interests A Chinese company interested in deep sea fishing is conducting a study of fish species available in Guyana’s waters that are not already being harvested by local fishermen and trawler operators. The company will not be granted a licence to catch species that locals are already engaged in, assured Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, while providing an update on negotiations between Government and the Chinese company. Late last year, Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) and other members of the fishing community expressed their disagreement and concerns over the plan. There were worries that the already depleting fish stock would be overfished threatening the livelihoods of locals. However, the Minister said that Government did not automatically grant the company a licence, but asked for studies to be done on specific species they want to fish. “We won’t give them
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy licence to just go out there and catch anything. We will protect our artesian fishermen because we don’t want them to go and catch what our regular fishermen are catching and don’t want them to go and compete with our trawlers for sea bobs and prawns,” he said. According to the Minister, the company has not yet presented a proposal to the Ministry since the document must comprise the types of fish it wants to catch. November last, Dr. Ramsammy told the National
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Assembly that the possibility exists that the same company that wants a licence to conduct deep sea fishing would be establishing a fish processing plant in Guyana. Dr. Ramsammy had said that in a letter to Government the company indicated its interest in establishing a processing plant in Guyana. He related that the operations of the company would have to be stated in its proposal, which would allow Government to make a decision. Dr. Ramsammy indicated that another limitation the company could encounter is the fishing of those stocks that need external approval. “Some of them we have indicated are not dependent on Guyana alone, but we must have approval from ICAP, for example, like tuna, which is a quota system around the world, and Guyana would not be able to do that. There is no indication that they are interested in tuna. That is the present situation as far as I know.” He added that operations of the company would not affect artisanal fishing. “Fishing in Guyana is done by artisanal fishers. Their boats cannot go too fast, as such, the company would not be granted licence where the local fishermen are operating.”
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand is adamant that the University of Guyana (UG) must be a place environmentally and physically capable of hosting those desirous of furthering their education. In fact it is the view of the Minister that “we must be providing an education that allows our students to be competitive in the world.” The Minister’s remarks were forthcoming last Thursday as she awarded two contracts valued at more than US$800,000 to cater to rehabilitative works at the university. The contracts were awarded for the rehabilitation of 14 laboratory buildings in the four science faculties on the campus and to undertake a curriculum reform process for 15 Bachelor’s Degree programmes in the Science and Technology Faculties. Funding for the contracts has been made available under the University of Guyana Science and Technology Support Project (UGSTSP) which is based on a US$10M credit from the World Bank to the Government of Guyana. The project is being executed by the Ministry of Education in close collaboration with UG. And according to Manickchand, “this is a manifestation of our commitment to ensure that the university produce graduates who will be competitive here in Guyana and across the world...” “We would like to see those things that make for great headlines... Government can say things legitimately and not match that commitment with the financial investment that is needed but here today is a manifestation of the Government’s tangible assistance to the university,
- Manickchand to Guyana as a whole given that we know the university has such a huge role to play in how Guyana looks today, tomorrow or 20 years from now.” Moreover, the Minister of Education underscored that Government is on a mission to provide an environment where graduates can exit the university who can be employed and employable not only here but across the Region and even the world. “We are a global village and much of that will include not only what the Government does but what other players on the national scene do,” asserted the Minister. And there are other crucial areas that require the collaboration of “players” in order for Guyana to realise the level of development it deserves, Manickchand said, even as she alluded to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill. “I am absolutely sure that you are all aware, even if by just hearing about it, that there is an ongoing struggle in the National Assembly...in fact there is an ongoing struggle I’d like to say in the nation about how we deal with this Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism bill,” added Manickchand. According to her, Government has put forward, in accordance with recommendations from international bodies, a Bill in the National Assembly that needs to be passed, and if not passed, Guyana will suffer tremendous consequences. “That sounds so abstract but Guyanese will suffer; people – you and me – will suffer extreme consequences if that is not passed,” warned the
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand Minister. “There is a constant battle right now with getting the members of the opposition, the leaders of the opposition to agree to pass that Bill...in saying that we each have a role to play in this national thrust for development that include the opposition members, the opposition leaders, the entire National Assembly, and therefore lecturers, students, Government and everybody else will have to be a part of this commitment to development,” Manickchand added. The University of the West Indies Consulting Inc. was awarded a contract valued at US$499,243 to coordinate and supervise the curriculum reform process for 15 Bachelor’s Degree programmes in the Science and Technology Faculties. However, it was an Italian/ Guyanese joint venture, Hydea in association with RPA Rossiprodi and subconsultant CEMO that was awarded a contract valued at US$368,014 to undertake the civil works component. Awarding the contracts for the improvement of the University, Manickchand noted, went through a competitive process and were awarded to persons who won bids, not only in accordance with the local competitive and procurement law, but they also satisfied the World Bank’s procedures as far as competitive bidding is concerned.
Monday March 10, 2014
Kaieteur News
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PPP/C vows to uphold Dr. Jagan’s legacy As hundreds gathered at the Babu John Crematorium, Region Six, to observe the 17th death anniversary of the late President Dr. Cheddi Jagan, they were reminded of the need to uphold his legacy by remaining resolute to his teachings and principles. People’s Progressive Party General Secretary, and Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee who delivered the feature address, noted that although 17 years have passed since Dr. Jagan’s death, his teachings remain relevant to the realities of the country today. He called on Guyanese to always draw reference from the late Dr. Jagan’s life, alluding that there are many symbols that remind of his struggle to make Guyana what it is today. Some of these including the University of Guyana, the Bank of Guyana, and the Guyana School of Agriculture still serve Guyanese from all walks of life today. Reflecting on some of Dr. Jagan’s teachings, Rohee recalled the principles of fighting against any form of
- during Babu John memorial dictatorship at all levels and fighting for national democracy. First Lady, Deolatchmee Ramotar, delivering a message from President Donald Ramotar at the 17th death Anniversary observance of Dr. Cheddi Jagan stated: “He has taught us to fight for national democracy, for peace and social progress, and to extend support and solidarity to the oppressed people around the world, and to fight for the establishment of a new Global Human Order,” he said. Guyanese were urged to hold high the banner of peace, progress and prosperity while paying close attention to the political pressure from the opposition. “Let us be on the alert, let us be awar e t h a t o u r political adversaries are working to change the political dynamics of the country. They are working to ensure that the PPP does
not remain the solid political force in this country, but we in turn should work to maintain our ground,” Rohee urged. Chronicling the progress of the administration for the past 21 years, Rohee said it is clear that efforts are being made by the opposition to destroy what they have built over the years. The General Secretary also alluded to the fact that there has been significant development in every sector since the PPP/C administration came into power. “The people of Guyana know that the past 21 years have been productive, and that they have not been wasted, all our plans and projects have touched the lives of Guyanese in one way or the other”. The health sector under the PNC/R administration once had a budget of $1.5 B, but now has a budget of $19 B, the education sector has
Revamp GECOM after local... (From page 3) Local Authorities (Elections) Act “gives the power (and the duty) to fix the date for local government elections to the Minister of Local Government” Ram said, “Mr. Whittaker has no discretion as to whether citizens want such elections or not and he should be confronted in the National Assembly with his unbelievable nonsense. “Moreover, the President or his Governance Advisor must tell the country whether Whittaker was articulating government policy.” According to Ram, “The parliamentary opposition and civil society organisations
must now provide the leadership to stop this abuse of citizens’ constitutional rights and do everything that is necessary to ensure that local government elections which were due since 1997 are held no later than August 1, 2014.” On the issue of the readiness of GECOM to conduct local government elections, Ram said that many countries with several millions of electors including India with several hundred millions can respond to elections called at relatively short notice. Ram noted too that Article 106 of the Constitution requires general and regional elections to be held within
three months of a vote of no confidence against the Government in the National Assembly. It hardly seems logical that GECOM has to be prepared to have general and regional elections within three months but needs twice that time to hold local government elections. Ram said that it was more than overdue that we abolish the Carter model of the Election Commission which was supposed to have applied to the 1992 elections only. He cautioned that the overhaul take place after local government elections so as to avoid any further delay.
seen development to the tune of $28.7 B and the security sector $17.5 B under the current administration. However, Rohee noted that while much has been done there is still room for improvement and plans are afoot by the administration to secure a brighter future for every Guyanese. “More is yet to come for the working people and farmers of the country, we have to do more as it relates to drainage and garbage collection, roads and let me tell you that the government has not given up our flagship project, Amaila Falls (hydropower), CJIA expansion, Marriott and the other projects which all Guyanese will benefit from”. All this, the General Secretary said, will bear fruit despite the efforts of the opposition to block progress, while pretending that they have the interest of Guyanese at heart. “They seem to be entrapped in a philosophy of self destruction while sitting in parliament with the one seat majority and watch Guyana burn as they play around with the country’s future like they are doing with the AML/CFT bill”. Already Guyanese have voiced their opinion about the bill, calling for it to be passed while making it clear that for too long they have endured hardship. “This bill has shows the potential for unity at the national level of our country,
and it has also shown that there is one enemy of national unity as there has always been, the APNU”. With the bill in limbo as a result of the opposition’s stance, Rohee noted that Guyanese deserve a better future but the opposition is more focused on political power. “With this one seat majority they want to bully this government, they want us to do their bidding, they are behaving as though the PPP is the executive arm of the one seat majority of the parliament. We want to remind them that this PPP government was democratically elected and until such time that elections are called, we will remain solid as a rock.” Meanwhile, the First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar, delivered remarks on behalf of President Donald Ramotar who expressed his regret for not being able to attend. The First Lady also expressed similar sentiments about the life and work of Dr. Jagan, noting the relevance of his principles, given the current political situation the administration is faced with.
Pointing too to the attack on Guyana by the opposition, the First Lady noted that the opposition is doing everything to obstruct the social and economic progress in Guyana. “They have taken a position to inflict as much harm on Guyana’s economy, this is evident with the situation we are in with the AM/CFT bill”. It was noted, that the attack first started with the budget cuts and every other effort to sabotage progress for all Guyanese. “At this time we see the opposition again attacking the welfare of Guyanese - the AML/CFT bill - trying to block us from meeting the standard of the international bodies, their actions are protecting drug lords, gun smugglers and terrorists, it is clear that they want to hit the economy”. Highlighting such an important issue at this forum is an initiative that Dr. Jagan would have welcomed, the First Lady noted. Also delivering remarks at the event was Prime Minister Samuel Hinds. (A GINA release)
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 10, 2014
Monday March 10, 2014
Kaieteur News
Remembering Johnny... (From page 11) such as ‘A Shower of Tears’, ‘Same Time Same Place, ‘Anything You can Do’ were recorded in the US and in Curacao. At the peak of his career, the songs of the now-rechristened Johnny Braff were played almost daily on the radio. Johnny Braff signed a contract with Vivian Lee, which allowed him to perform in America. He also sang with Percy Sledge in Barbados. Sadly, a scheduled tour with legendary soul singer Otis Redding never came off after the American and his band died in a plane crash. Johnny Braff then signed a six-year contract to sing on a Yugoslavian cruise ship, earning US$5,000 a month. Of course, there were his female
fans. Many, many female fans. At the peak of his fame, Johnny Braff claims to have fathered at least 27 children in at least ten countries. “I have children in America, I have children in C u r a c a o … i n Haiti…Venezuela, in Dutch Guyana...in Martinique…in Trinidad…Barbados .Antigua…St Lucia; they all know me…I got nuff children, boy, this year I going and see some of them…” NO ROYALTIES FROM HOME Johnny Braff has received several awards for his contribution to music, including the Guyana Folk Festival 2002 Wordsworth McAndrew Award. But while he says he receives royalties from overseas, this Guyanese icon says
he receives none from his homeland. “I used to get royalties from Guyana and Trinidad, every three months, but when the government changed, they say that they can’t pay anymore. I get money from England, from the Performer’s Rights Society.” And how does he compare his achievements with performers today? “I don’t want to bad-talk anyone. In my time, it was a different kind of music; I played songs that people could listen to; when you hear songs like that, they go straight to your heart and you have to stop what you are doing and sing along.” Johnny Braff says that he still has many unrecorded songs. He promised that fans can look out for a new album later in the year.
Monday March 10, 2014 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Communication is everything today -- so you need to choose your words with greater care. That may not come naturally to you, but that just means that you've got to slow down and take more time. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Contracts and other legal agreements need to simmer for another day or so before you're ready to sign off. That may take some delicate negotiations, but you can stall for as long as you need. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): You may be a little busier than you like today -- but it still ends up being great fun! Your energy should keep up with even the briskest schedule, and you may add more events to the mix. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): A project at work or home is starting to grow and change shape -- so much so that you may find it hard to keep up with. All that means is that you've got to break it up into smaller parts. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Your right brain is much more active today -- so expect hunches and your intuition to pop up all day long, You don't have to follow them all up, but you would do well to try at least one of them. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): You've got to spend more time with your people today - friends, family members or close coworkers. Between fellowship and collaboration, you're sure to find plenty to keep you busy.
********************* LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): You have to adapt today -- otherwise, you're sure to suffer a setback. It may be minor, but it is likely to be demoralizing. It's just easier for you to bend a little in the wind. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): Try something different today -- maybe a new dish for lunch that seems crazy and exotic, or maybe asking someone out in a new way that feels less awkward. Your energy is perfect for it. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): Your relationships are key to your mood and success today -- so reach out to anyone who's estranged or who has been causing stress. You can repair almost anything if you're sincere. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): You need to get out of your routines today -- skip work or school, get home late or do whatever else you need to do to reconcile your free spirit with your rigid schedule. You can do this! ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18): It's time to move on -- though not necessarily from any major life entanglement. If it's time to end that toxic relationship, go for it, but otherwise, just let go of your heaviest baggage. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): You are dreaming big dreams today -- so it's the perfect time for a life change! If you know what you want, go for it. If not, consult your intuition and go with your gut.
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Region one residents concerned over prolonged land dispute A mother of seven is pleading with authorities to step in and conduct a proper investigation into a prolonged land dispute. The dispute, Margret Abrahams contends has progressed to an unhealthy stage which now puts her safety and that of her children at risk. The 44 year-old inherited a plot of land not bigger than an acre from her grandmother, Martha Abrahams. She has been dwelling at Kumaka, Ballfield, Region One (Barima Waini) for over 20 years with her children. However, Abrahams claims that since 2012, a resident of the Kwebanna Village has been trying to get ownership of the land despite a decision that was passed at a Village Meeting which deemed her as the owner of the land. Abrahams explained to this publication that the individual in the dispute has not been a resident of the area since 1960 but is now claiming ownership of the land by virtue of having a valid legal document in the form of an affidavit. “In 2006 the then Minister of Amerindian Affairs,
- urge Amerindian Minister to listen to their plight Carolyn Rodrigues, ruled in favour of the said land and asked me to vacate in three months and I will be compensated and given similar land that is convenient and accessible. But this was never done. I was willing to give her part of the land but she insisted that she wanted the whole thing and refused my offer.” The land dispute was subsequently taken to the general village meeting on April 1, 2007 under the guidance of the Amerindian Act of 2006. Despite the Minister’s decision, the members voted in favour of Abraham, but even that decision was allegedly ignored by the individual, who called for another meeting which saw another ruling that the land be shared between the two. Abraham said she confronted the council and inquired about the ruling as she deemed it to be unfair and “very confusing.” The 44-year-old explained that she had approached the
village council again in 2012 and the Toshaos and eight other area councilors then ruled that they will uphold the first ruling by the Minister. Abrahams is calling on the authorities to take action and to conduct a proper investigation into the matter. The other party in the dispute has reportedly moved on to the land and has started building on it. She is allegedly now trying to move on to the space that Abrahams occupies. A distressed Abrahams said, “All this running back and forth is confusing. One person makes a ruling and then another overrides it. This woman is now threatening me and I am pleading with the Minister of Amerindian Affairs to please look into this matter. I am in a helpless situation because when you depend on the Village councils to dispense justice, it is not happening. There is too much confusion and while they are constantly moving back and forth on their decisions, I have to live with the threats every day. There has been a serious breach of standard operating procedures and miscarriage of justice. I feel unsafe.”
Reach out to the... (From page 3) justice women are disenfranchised, disempowered and denied their rightful place but with a sound legal and justice system women can flourish and contribute to the advancement of society.” While the strides of women around the globe were highlighted and applauded at the observance of International Women’s Day (IWD), on Saturday, the struggle to achieve equal opportunities and justice for both sexes has been drawn into the spotlight. “In today‘s society, there is need for networks and mechanism which will promote development in women as well as their male counterparts… therefore even as Guyana joins the rest of world to salute women locally and internationally for their courage, determination achievement in every sphere of modern society, we cannot ignore the challenges that confront us everyday especially in regards to domestic crimes,” the Women Affairs Bureau (WAB) Administrator said.
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 10, 2014
Cops still seek motive for murder of Corentyne woman PROPERTY FOR SALE
(From page 19)
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CAR RENTAL Dolly’s Car Rental- Call: 2257126/226-3693- dollysauto rental@yahoo.com/ www. dolly sautorental.com Aidan’s Car Rental & Pickup Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807 Premio, vitz call:6797139,639-4452 Wings Car Rental - Call: 643-1131
Police are still looking for a motive for the suspected execution-style killing of a No.2 East Canje mother of four, Patricia Samaroo. Her sister Annetta, was also injured during the shooting which occurred on Friday night. However, a number of theories are emerging, even as police continue to question two suspects, a third suspect is still at large. Relatives have stated that the injured woman, Annetta Samaroo, was a witness to the killing of her husband, Gary Simon, who was murdered on the 18th December, 2004, at Nigg Village, Corentyne, Berbice. Several persons were charged in connection with Simon’s murder. One accused, Adbussulum Azimulla called “Sato” 29 of Lot 183 Hampshire Corentyne Berbice was arrested eight years after Simon’s murder. He is still awaiting trial in the High court. The relatives suggested that Annetta’s elder sister, Patricia, may have been slain by mistake, since the two sisters have some resemblance and the intended target was probably Annette. Annetta Samaroo had reportedly recognized the gunman and had shouted : “Pop Corn, what you doing,” before the gunman shot her in the abdomen. Kaieteur News understands that the gunman had intended to shoot her
again, but the firearm malfunctioned. One of the woman’s sons who was at home reportedly tackled the gunman, but the intruder and his accomplice escaped in a waiting car. The driver, said to be an ex-policeman, and the gunman’s alleged accomplice, were later detained and the alleged getaway car impounded. Kaieteur News was told that the alleged gunman, Deodat “Pop Corn” Seecharran is known to the family since he visited the home on a few occasions. He is wanted for another murder that occurred in the Hampshire area last year. He has also been involved in a number of misdemeanors. According to reports, Patricia Samaroo, 64, and her sister Annetta Samaroo, 45, were among other persons in their home at Fyrish, Corentyne, Berbice, on Friday night, when two men, one of whom was armed with a firearm, kicked open the door and entered the building. The armed man discharged rounds at the two sisters, killing Patricia Samaroo and injuring Annetta Samaroo, after which they escaped in a motor vehicle. Annetta has been admitted to the New Amsterdam Hospital. Police said that quick response by ranks led to the arrest of two men, one of whom has been identified as one of the suspects.
Patricia Samaroo Patricia Samaroo’s husband passed away about four months ago due to poisoning. A relative said that the family is poor and the father died without leaving anything. The woman was being taken care of by her daughter, since two of her three sons are in jail for various offences. Marvin Samaroo, 45, of No. 2 Village, East Canje Berbice, was charged and later remanded for allegedly stealing a car PPP 3149 worth $1.2M at Adelphi Village, East Canje Berbice belonging to Jonathan Ricknauth. Another brother, Ravin Samaroo, is in jail for possession of narcotics. The slain woman’s daughter stated that she does not have money to bury her mother, and is appealing for help.
Boy, 6, dies from lack of oxygen From page 16 However, he claimed he was told by nurses there, that this could not be done since there were no machines or strips to do so. A few days later, Ali
developed complications due to his condition and had to be rushed to the Emergency Unit of the Leonora public health facility, where he said he was told that
When we pause and experience silence, we discover answers that activity does not have time to reveal. During your day, take threeminute “vacations”. Relax and re-energise. Take time out to feel the peace of silence.
there wasn’t an adequate supply of medication. Ali subsequently suffered a mild stroke, and Kaieteur News understands that both the aforementioned public health facilities are in short supply of drugs to treat common illnesses like cold and cough. “Not even for children,” he said. Another AFC Councillor of Region Three, Harry Deokinanan said that the drug situation in his district has deteriorated to the extent where even the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/ C) Councillors are beginning to speak out. He said that even though some of the facilities might ‘look nice’ on the outside, they lack the resources to execute some very basic treatments. “If you got a health institution in a region and people can’t benefit from it, then what is the point? If people can’t go to a hospital or health centre in Region Three and get simple treatments, then what is the point?”
Monday March 10, 2014
FOR SALE
Kaieteur News
FOR SALE
FOR RENT
LARGE QUANTITIES O F H IGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICKSILVER) 99.99995% PURITY $19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
Toyota Forklift - Excellent condition, 4,000lbs capacity, 117” Lift, Solid Wheels, Automatic Transmission, 4 Cylinder LPG Motor. Call: 604-6108.
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943
Greenheart Piles - Tel: 6393450
Place for rent in Parika: Top Flat (60"X20") suitable for office, computer classes, etc Contact: 260-4609; 694-4609
Live/pluck chicken call: 6504421, 220-9203
Dell Computers with 20" LCDs - $65,000, Laptops $49,000 - Futuretech - 231-2206
1- 500 Ton Cargo ship - Tel: 676-6933
Fishing boat, 5" nylon Seine, 40 Hp Yamaha - $1.6M – Tel: 267-1563; 691-3501
Dachshund Tel:669-8421
Puppies-
Virgin Coconut oil & animal feed – Tel:666-5319
2 – M132 Laverda Combine, 3- Pressure Pump 4x3 for gold field, 3 - 50 H/P 3 Phase Motor call: 627-0447
Toyota Tacoma 4X4 Extra Cab 2002, Nissan Frontier $2.9M; 4X4 Extra Cab 2002, DJ System - $2.8M. Tel: 695-9807
Toyota Allion, excellent condition, mag rims & CD Deck. Price: $2M negotiable – Tel:682-3600
Blow out sales on Steel Rods: ¼”, 5/8", ½”, 3/8" - Call: 6574072
Car Alternators / Starters & Amplifiers – Tel:227-8519 Pure Rottweiler pups - Tel: 650-8496
Now Arrived @ Fabric World 140 Regent & Light St Bourda. New & Used Story fixture e.g Four arms (Clothes Rack)
One cabin Cruiser boat for sale – Tel:665-2314
Natural Herbal Turmeric & Neem soap from $120 - Tel: 666-5319
1 smoothie machine,2 ice machine- Contact:2310655,683-8734
Lumber Locust, Tatabu and mixed hardwoods - Contact: 600-5872; 600-1329
1 – 36ft Flat bottom boat Tel: 604-0038
1 Stall In La Penitence Market – Call:691-7886
One hardly used cradle $20,000 with accessories & one brand new play pen $33,000 - Call: 670-2343
New Japan Parts & Batteries in stock with a 10% discount @ Ray’s Motor Spares – Tel:227-2322; 227-2330 Desk, wardrobe, dining table, antiques, brass plants, radio set and more – Tel:673-5882
1-R6 Yamaha Motorcycle Call: 674-2263 1 -46" Western-house LCD TV - $190,000; 1 -51" Samsung LCD TV - $230,000, 1- Maytag washer - $90,000 Contact: 692-7377 Mixed pit-bull – Tel:618-5220 Quebra Pedra kidney stone tablets – Tel:671-7482 Dachshund Pups – Tel:6800192; 216-3408 Concrete Bourda Stall - Call: 692-7888; 610-0227 Brazilian meat saw - Tel: 671-7482 1 Stall at Stabroek, Stelling View, mall for sale - Tel:611-8291 1– 484 Ducati Pearl White Mint Condition - Call: 648-4959 Compressor, Generators winch, Fridge & many more Tel: 227-8519
1 Inboard boat 215 HP Perkins engine, 52 Feet length , 50-50 gear box, working condition, price negotiable – Phone:647-0699; 220-5271 FOR HIRE Bush Truck for hire - Tel: 6603400
Attractive Salon Space to rent, front Spot on Public Road, Vreed-En-Hoop – Contact:626-8051 One and two bedrooms furnished apartments situated at South Ruimveldt Price $500USD and $800USD Call: 601-9323; 649-2251 Space suitable for business on Durban Street Lodge 38"X26 “– Call:648-7868 1-2 Bedrooms apartment @ Best Rd – Vreed-En-Hoop $25,000 monthly – Tel:6114482; 628-9500 Beautiful Diamond, Republic Park, Lamaha Gardens – Tel:231-2199; 618-7483 5 Acre land with house to lease - $95,000 for month – Email: gzplayter@ol.com Tel:407-599-3775 Hair station to rent, professional hairdresser with client -$7,000 weekly - Call: 645-9266 Courida Park, Sea Side $2500US – Call:231-2199 DRESS-MAKING Courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral, cake decoration - Tel:670-2653; 618-1706
Learn any language fast Tel: 662-0001 Study in Canada: Any Career. Email:micro.gteck@yahoo.com
14ft Aluminum boat,40HP Johnson outboard engine, steering, fuel tank, battery & lift - Price: $600,000 negotiable – Tel:609-7257
9 Courses Diploma in computer studies - $30,000. Individual teaching: limited space. Micrographics Technologhy –Vreed- en Hoop – Tel:264-3057
Almost new gas 6500 Watts, Honda generator on wheels - $430,000, the other 1 is a 4300 watts Honda – Call:407599-3775
Do you want to live & work in Canada? Train as a live in caregiver, Canadian Standards - Tel:592-2274881; 416-674-7973
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call: 225-9032, 647-2943 COOL TECH: Repairs Services & Installation of all types of home appliances: Air Condition & Refrigeration units - Tel: 2332008; 675-4959 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call:225-6496,662-6045, 223-8115 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer call:2310655,683-8734 Omar Technicians available for appliance repairs – washers, dryers, microwaves, stoves, deep fryers, etc – Tel:6190793; 218-0050 Masons seeking job work – Tel:678-9043 HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING FOR ONLY $10,000CALL: 694-9843 /227-2766 Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. We Refill HP cartridges for $1800 call: 650-7699 Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312,627-3206 (Nick) Design Team Neher: Professional, trustworthy, prompt landscapers, we can create your dreams– Tel: 6481821. We are @ your Service!
VACANCY 1 Female sales clerk. Qualifications and experienced needed - Call: 227-8894; 674-8833
EDUCATIONAL
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1 Heavy duty mechanic; 2 handyman to work in the Interior - Contact:627-6416 Need a job? No Qualification needed! Do Gardening with us! Call: 648-1821
Repairs to refrigerator, washing machine, gas stoves, A/C units – Call:6411086; 694-2202; 227-8907 Online shopping just got easier. Now Open! Cybertron, Vreed-En-Hoop – Call 264-3057 / Email for quotes @ micro.gteck@ yahoo.com PEN PAL Overseas male is seeking female 29yrs & up – Call:6613299 (no Texting)
Salesgirls to work evening shift and bond attendants/ porters @ Survival Shopping Complex, 173 Sheriff Street. Needed: Operator Securities. Apply in person to B.M Enterprise Inc, Guyana Fisheries Wharf Limited Houston, E.B.D. Factory Assistants and Security Guards for Land of Canaan location. 266 4427
VEHICLE FOR SALE LF / DAF truck in working condition, 1 super custom diesel bus – Price Attractive for Both – Call:681-5988; 6755448 One Toyota Tacoma 2006, 12ft Aluminum Boat, Tacoma : rims & tyres – Call:641-6162; 220-1981; 222-5671 Runx PPP series - Price: $1.8M - Call:648-7868 Smart Choice Auto: Unregistered: Premio, Runx, IST, Spacio, Fielder - Call: 652-3820; 665-4529 2 Ton Canter with power gate, unregistered - Tel:6172891 2004 Toyota Tacoma 4X4 2700 CC – 4 Cylinder @ 31 Grove Housing Scheme EBD Call: 665-8933; 416-836-1466 Toyota Marino AC, mags, CD, recently sprayed over $750,000 – Tel: 618-1047 Chevy Cargo Van, Ford 150 & Toyota Tundra - Tel: 227-8519 1 Nissan laurel Car - $350,000, 1 American made Saturn Jeep L-hand drive, stick gear – $2.5M – Call:677-3406 1 – F150, 1 – New Model 212 – Call:621-8129 2003 Toyota Avensis ; immaculate condition, leather interior, HID, Alarm, TV, 18" Rims, 73000 mileage - $3.6M , PRR 2877 – Tel:609-7257 Madza 2 PLL series; leathered upholstery, BMW 318i PMM series, Toyota Corolla Axio PRR series. Excellent condition - Contact: 600-1329 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & RZ & Pitbull buses, 7 seater super customs. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 Toyota CAMI PNN Series – Automatic, TV, mags - $1.6M Premio: PNN series reverse camera, mags -$2.2M - Tel: 227-0613; 645-7242
MASSAGE
One Toyota RAV 4 PNN Series- Contact: 650-7875. Serious Enquires only! Sold by first owner!
The Gents Spa: Deep tissue, Swedish massages, sport massage, aromatherapy, body scrubs Call:657-5979
1 Toyota RZ bus - $1.5M. Immaculate condition [Hardly Use] – Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400
VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 NZE for sale with alarm, reverse camera, TV/DVD & Rims, very good condition Price: $1.5M – Tel:266-1723 1 Mitsubishi Galant Car; 1 Toyota Corolla AE100 Car, 1 Honda CBR motorcycle – Call: 227-7544; 612-2542; 614-6011 Toyota Premio- Dark interior with TV, mags, spacio. Tel: 697-0294 Nissan Titan 4X4 , fully loaded, Tray cover, GMM series, R-I Candy Red – Call:227-2027 2008 Fielder & Axio, fully loaded with bodykit, rims, TV/DVD unregistered - Tel: 617-2891 First Class Auto: Avensis, Allion, IST, 212, Premio, Spacio, Raum, Passo, Fielder, Verossa -Call:6098188; 602-6307 Unregistered Toyota Sienta (2004), Raum - 2004 & Spacio -2003 – Tel:617-5536 Unregistered Toyota Premio $2.450, Toyota Spacio - $2.250 Tel: 616-3001; 628-4284 1 Toyota Rav4 old model , good condition (Selling cheap) – Tel:687-1392 Tundra GPP, fully powered, AC, 4 wheel drive – Price: $1.6M – Call:654-3389 One Premio – Unregistered, Price: $2.550M – Contact: 225-5082 110 Corolla new model, crystal Lights, CD, AC, good condition - $850,000 – Tel:618-1047 1 -212 - $1.3M negotiable, 1 grand Cherokee - $1.5M, Two 250 night hawk & one 750 night hawk – Call:2653024; 265-4454; 663-8639 Toyota Mark 2 for sale: very good condition - $1.5M negotiable – Call:641-6725 One Raum – PMM series $1.2M – Contact:671-6051 2004 VVTI automatic, bus, BNN series @ Bargain Price, Excellent condition. Serious Enquires! – Tel:697-0203 One 110 Sprinter PLL series Price:$1M (negotiable) - Call: 648-7868 1 Suzuki R1 wagon (Jeep) Automatic, Fully Powered with A/C, hardly used – Price:$1.3M Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400 (Continued on page 18)
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 10, 2014
Govt. must probe health care crisis Jamaica sugar workers restive Beckles-Robinson concerned over higher rates of babies, mothers dying: Trinidad Express Government needs to do a full investigation into why maternal and infant mortality rates are high-er than those of this coun-try’s Caribbean neighbours, says People’s National Movement (PNM) former senator Pennelope Beckles-Robinson. Beckles-Robinson was speaking to the Sunday Express following a march in Arima, in honour of International Women’s Day yesterday. Referring to the death of a baby whose head was cut during a Caesarean section, Beckles-Robinson said while she welcomed an investigation into the case, there were many other cases where both mothers and babies died and no answers
Pennelope BecklesRobinson were given. Beckles-Robinson noted that out of 228 coun-tries, Trinidad and Tobago ranked 74th on the infant-mortality index, and with the exception of Guyana, other countries such as Grenada, St Kitts, Jamaica and Anguilla were better placed.
“Yes, the doctor was suspended in this case but what’s next? What has happened to women who died before, during pregnancy, under questionable circumstances? What about the babies who died and no answers have been given?” asked Beckles-Robinson. “I think we need to understand why our health care is in crisis, why our women and children are suffering and dying. I call on the Government to do a full investigation on what is the root of the problem, what is wrong; why are women going in to have what are considered nor-mal deliveries and babies are dying?” She noted there were 24 deaths per every 1,000 births and this should not happen when this country is considered the economic hub of the Caribbean, and with an annual national budget of $60 billion. “Clearly, something is wrong and we have to get to the bottom of it; we need to ask the doctors, the nurses, is it a question of management, is it negligence, is it that people are not motivated, is it a shortage of equip-ment, what is it?” she added. She said the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital were built as a teaching facility and to provide health care for all, not just in Trinidad and Tobago but regionally.
RJR -The three unions representing more than four thousand sugar workers and the Sugar Producers Federation (SPF) are still at a stalemate in hammering out a wage and fringe benefits agreement. Another marathon meeting on Friday at the Ministry of Labour ended without a settlement. The SPF has offered to increase wages to 7 percent in year one and 3 percent in the second year. However, this has been rejected by the unions. Clifton Grant, First Vice President of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) says the SPF’s offer has only served to anger the workers. “The union maintain that
they want a 13 percent in the first year for the employees and an 8 and a half percent in the second year. The federation says they are not in a position to change. so we have communicated this to the employees. They are very very upset. The feedback that we are receiving is that the workers
wanted to take industrial action, but we have asked them to give the Ministry of Labour an the Minister and opportunity to try and broker an agreement between the parties,” Grant said. Another meeting is scheduled be held on Thursday at the Ministry of Labour.
No place for buccaneers in LIAT, says PM Barbados Nation DESPITE LIAT’S DESPERATION for investor dollars, it wants no “buccaneers” coming to buy any part of its fleet. This is the view of chairman of the airline’s four shareholder countries, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who revealed that many letters came to LIAT offering investment in the 58-year-old cash-strapped airline, but many of them were from people of dubious repute. “I don’t want any
buccaneer to write me about any involvement in this matter. You have a lot of private sector buccaneers, not of any reputable type, holding out that they have $200 million and $300 million from some entity somewhere in Europe, Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan or some place. No buccaneers write me and I reply to them,” he told journalists at the end of a meeting of LIAT shareholders at Hilton Barbados Thursday. “I want serious people with serious proposals. And believe me, we get a lot of letters from buccaneering types, and when they can’t succeed, they take to the Internet and say that we are stupid and we don’t want to have any investors coming,”
Dr Ralph Gonsalves he added. Gonsalves, who is also prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, said he had always told people, especially private sector critics, that if they believed they could make money in LIAT, then they should become an equity partner. “Put your money where your mouth is . . . . Everybody wants to talk about LIAT, but a number of these persons don’t want to have an authoritative position to speak about it. Being a chief executive officer of a company or the prime minister of a country which is not a shareholder doesn’t give you the right to talk authoritatively about LIAT,” Gonsalves insisted. In terms of competition, he said LIAT had absolutely no quarrel with anyone who wished to compete but noted that the playing field had to be fair. ONE PINT OF BLOOD SAVES AT LEAST THREE LIVES! GIVE BLOOD TODAY!!!
Monday March 10, 2014
Kaieteur News
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New anti-cancer discovery Cuba agrees to begin talks from Guinea Hen Weed with EU to normalize relations Jamaica Observer Jamaican scientist Dr Henry Lowe on Friday confirmed that he and his research team have uncovered two major developments related to Guinea Hen Weed’s ability to fight cancer and that the findings will be published in a respected peer review journal next month. Lowe told the Sunday Observer that his research team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine discovered that one of the ways by which Dibenzyl Trisulfide (DTS) — the major bioactive molecule in Guinea Hen Weed — attacks and destroys cancer cells is by inhibiting a particular type of protein (called a Kinase) which exists in cancer cells and which promotes cancer development. “If these Kinases are not inhibited or destroyed, they help the cancer cells to survive as well as to spread throughout the body,” Lowe, said. He also revealed that a study of the anti-cancer potency of the Guinea Hen Weed products on the international market, compared to those available here, found that the local products are “significantly more potent” than their overseas commercial competitors, “by an average of 25 per cent”. That study, he said, was conducted by his Biotech R&D Institute, and the findings have been accepted for publication in the April 2014 issue of the International Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment. He said that this is the first time that this particular scientific discovery has been made and reported, thus significantly advancing the potential of DTS as a major anti-cancer agent. Lowe, who is known for his anti-cancer research using the Jamaican Ball Moss, appeared excited by the findings, given that he has developed nutraceuticals using local plants, including Guinea Hen Weed, and markets them under the Eden
Dr Henry Lowe Gardens brand. He said that Guinea Hen Weed, which is also called garlic weed (Petivera alliacea), is recognised locally and internationally as one of the most interesting and important medicinal plants in the world. “Although its medicinal benefits have long been demonstrated to include anticancer activities, headache and general pain management, nausea and anti-diabetic properties, most studies have been focused on its potent anti-cancer properties,” Lowe said. He pointed out that a significant number of studies on the plant’s anti-cancer properties have been done by scores of scientists in more than 25 countries, including Jamaica. “One of the earliest studies done on the plant was by Dr PC Feng at the Pharmacology Department at UWI (University of the West Indies) in 1962,” Lowe said. “In recent times, Dr LA Williams has done additional work on its mechanism of action and certain anti-cancer properties. “In the last 15 years, several scientific papers and patents have been published on the bioactivity of compounds isolated from Guinea Hen Weed. Among these, a scientific group from California has filed several patents, particularly on the anti-cancer activities of DTS isolated from the Guinea Hen Weed, thus restricting commercial development of some isolates from the plant.” Lowe said that although
research suggests that most of the anti-cancer effects of the plant are related to DTS, new studies indicate that the biological activities of Guinea Gen Weed, including its anticancer effect, may be due to synergism, or biological activities due to two or more chemicals acting together to cause the observed effects. He said that although the result of the anti-cancer activities of DTS looks very promising, the next challenge is to develop a pharmaceutical drug with the required bioactivity. “At this time, the Biotech R&D Institute has developed nutraceutical capsules and medicinal teas as the first major steps towards the production of a pharmaceutical product from Guinea Hen Weed, for the management of cancer,” he said, adding that his lab has also developed an “even more potent anti-cancer medicinal tea” using Guinea Hen Weed and Ball Moss. Within the next three to six months, he said, he intends to introduce to the market a new anti-cancer nutraceutical made up of extracts of Guinea Hen Weed and Ball Moss. He warned, though, that while it may seem okay to use medicinal herbs from the wild for therapeutic purposes, people need to understand that the plants must be harvested using Good Agricultural Practices and that the products need to be standardised and manufactured under Good Manufacturing Practices. “Plants collected from the wild are most often exposed to rodents, reptiles and various insects, which can contaminate them by their faeces and urine etc, which could lead to a variety of diseases.,” Lowe said. “Consequently, it is important that as much as possible, people should use scientifically standardised herbal products,” he said, adding that in cases where standardised products are not available, herbal medicines should, as far as possible, be processed and used with caution.
Cuba has agreed to start talks on normalizing ties with the EU, after decades of difference. Brussels insists that any thaw in relations particularly in trade terms will require Havana to give assurances on rights. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Thursday that Havana had informed the EU of its decision to begin talks, seeking a Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, which were proposed by Brussels in February. Rodriguez said Cuba would be glad to take part in discussions on topics including human rights, ending what communist Cuba claims is a one-sided relationship with Europe. “Cuba accepts with satisfaction this proposal… which signifies the end of the unilateral policies of the EU concerning Cuba. On the basis of equality and mutual respect, Cuba is completely willing to discuss any topic, including human rights,” Rodriguez said. The minister added that Cuba had human rights concerns of its own about certain EU member states. Although EU negotiators had said Cuba had indicated that it was willing to discuss the agreement, Cuba has waited until now to make its willingness to talk official.
In 1996, with the Cold War over, Brussels had been due to soften its stance to allow more trade between the bloc and the Caribbean island. But - after two small US planes were shot down off the Cuban coast, killing four Cuban exiles - the EU position instead hardened, eventually forming into the “common position.” The position placed conditions concerning human rights and civil liberties - on any enhanced economic cooperation. Relations were frozen entirely in 2003 in a diplomatic dispute dubbed “the cocktail wars,” which followed the imprisonment of 75 government opponents. However, links were resumed upon the detainees’ release some five years later. A number of bilateral accords between Cuba individual member states have been reached since. For Cuba and the EU to secure a more united, if symbolic, Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, terms would have to be approved by all of the EU’s member states. Poland and the Czech Republic - with Communist pasts of their own - have demanded a firm line be taken against Cuba, particularly where human rights are concerned. Officials in Brussels have repeatedly
Bruno Rodriguez said that rights would remain central to any future talks. Brussels began to explore a softening in its stance following reforms launched three years ago by Cuban President Raul Castro. Cuba, still the subject of a trade embargo with the US and relatively unimportant as a trading partner to China, is understood to be eager to diversify its economic alliances. The Caribbean island nation depends heavily on Venezuela - presently wracked by political instability - as its main trade partner and supplier of subsidized oil. Taken as a single entity, the EU already qualifies as Cuba’s secondbiggest trade partner.
Venezuela says near $1bn debt to Panama fraudulent CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s foreign minister says 90 percent of his government’s $1 billion debt to Panama is fraudulent and criminal charges are likely to result. Elias Jaua says the government paid businessmen dollars for the imports and the
goods never arrived. So Panama isn’t owed 90 percent of the debt. Jaua’s comments broadcast yesterday on the Televen television station yesterday come after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro broke relations with Panama last week over its call for the Organization of
American States to discuss a crackdown on protests in Venezuela. He also froze economic transactions. Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has said he hopes Venezuela’s break in relations would not affect payment of its debts to Panamanian businessmen.
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Monday March 10, 2014
Missing Malaysian jet may have disintegrated in mid-air KUALA LUMPUR/PHU QUOC ISLAND, Vietnam (Reuters) - Officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner with 239 people on board suspect it may have disintegrated in mid-flight, a senior source said yesterday, as Vietnam reported a possible sighting of wreckage from the plane. International police agency Interpol confirmed that at least two passports recorded in its database as lost or stolen were used by passengers on the flight, raising suspicions of foul play. An Interpol spokeswoman said a check of all documents used to board the plane had revealed more “suspect passports” that were being further investigated. She was unable to say how many, or from which country or countries. Nearly 48 hours after the last contact with Flight MH370, mystery still surrounded its fate. Malaysia’s air force chief said the Beijing-bound airliner may have turned back from its scheduled route before it
vanished from radar screens. “The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet,” a source involved in the investigations in Malaysia told Reuters. If the plane had plunged intact from close to its cruising altitude, breaking up only on impact with the water, search teams would have expected to find a fairly concentrated pattern of debris, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. Asked about the possibility of an explosion, such as a bomb, the source said there was no evidence yet of foul play and that the aircraft could have broken up due to mechanical causes. Dozens of military and civilian vessels have been criss-crossing waters beneath the aircraft’s flight path, but have found no confirmed trace of the lost plane, although oil slicks have been reported in the sea south of Vietnam and east of
Malaysia. Late yesterday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said on its website that a Vietnamese navy plane had spotted an object in the sea suspected of being part of the plane, but that it was too dark to be certain. Search planes were set to return to investigate the suspected debris at daybreak. “The outcome so far is there is no sign of the aircraft,” Malaysian civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said. “On the possibility of hijack, we are not ruling out any possibility,” he told reporters. The Malaysian authorities said they were widening the search to cover vast swathes of sea around Malaysia and off Vietnam, and were investigating at least two passengers who were using false identity documents. The passenger manifest issued by the airline included the names of two Europeans - Austrian Christian Kozel and Italian Luigi Maraldi - who, according to their foreign ministries, were not on the
Rosmah Mansor (L), wife of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, cries with family members of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, at a hotel in Putrajaya yesterday. REUTERS/Zulfadli Zaki plane. Both had apparently had their passports stolen in Thailand during the past two years. The BBC reported that the men falsely using their passports had purchased tickets together and were due to fly on to Europe from Beijing, meaning they did not have to apply for a Chinese visa and undergo further checks. An employee at a travel agency in Pattaya, in Thailand, told Reuters the two had purchased the tickets there. Interpol maintains a vast database of more than 40 million lost and stolen travel documents, and has long urged member countries to make greater use of it to stop people crossing borders on false papers. The global police
organization confirmed that Kozel’s and Maraldi’s passports had both been added to the database after their theft in 2012 and 2013 respectively. But it said no country had consulted the database to check either of them since the time they were stolen. “Whilst it is too soon to speculate about any connection between these stolen passports and the missing plane, it is clearly of great concern that any passenger was able to board an international flight using a stolen passport listed in Interpol’s databases,” Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said in a statement. In a sign that Malaysia’s airport controls may have been breached, Prime Minister Najib Razak said
security procedures were being reviewed. Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein said authorities were also checking the identities of two other passengers. He said help was also being sought from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, an attack was only one of the possibilities being investigated. “We are looking at all possibilities,” he said. “We cannot jump the gun. Our focus now is to find the plane.” The 11-year-old Boeing 777-200ER, powered by RollsRoyce Trent engines, took off at 12:40 a.m. on Saturday(1640 GMT Friday) from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board.
Clegg says Britain cannot change EU by loitering near exit London (AFP) - The European Union needs reforming but Britain cannot do it with one foot out the door, Nick Clegg was to say yesterday in his speech to the Liberal Democrats’ spring conference. The deputy prime minister was to claim that his party is the only one clearly making the case for staying in the EU, in his speech in York. And he was to take another swipe at UKIP leader Nigel Farage, ahead of their radio and television debates in the build-up to the European Parliament elections on May 22. Clegg was to say the international financial crisis and the global power shift away from the West had created an urge to turn inwards and “shun the outside world”. “The question — one of the biggest questions of our time — is how we protect the liberal values of this nation,” he was to say, according to extracts from his speech released in advance by his party. In his attack on Farage, he was to say: “An ungenerous, backwards looking politics has emerged in Britain. The politics of blame
has found an acceptable face: it wears a big smile and looks like someone you could have a pint with down the pub. “So I’m drawing a line in the sand. I am going to defend the tolerant and modern Britain we love. “The Liberal Democrats are now Britain’s only party of ‘in’. The only party out there explaining the clear benefits of Britain’s place in Europe.” The polyglot former MEP was to say the Lib Dems accept the Brussels institutions are not perfect. “This isn’t about some starry-eyed affection for the EU — of course it needs reform. But you can’t change it with one foot out the door. You change it by taking your place at the table — which is where you protect Britain’s national interest too,” he was to say. “There are plenty of people out there who don’t want anger. They don’t want bile. They want jobs. They want our country to have influence. They want opportunities. Ultimately, they want hope.”
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Merkel raps Putin as Russian forces tighten grip on Crimea SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Germany’s Angela Merkel delivered a rebuke to President Vladimir Putin yesterday, telling him that a planned Moscow-backed referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia was illegal and violated Ukraine’s constitution. Putin defended breakaway moves by proRussian leaders in Crimea, where Russian forces tightened their grip on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula by seizing another border post and a military airfield. As thousands staged rival rallies in Crimea, street violence flared in Sevastopol, when pro-Russian activists and Cossacks attacked a group of Ukrainians. Russian forces’ seizure of the region has been bloodless but tensions are mounting following the decision by proRussian groups there to make Crimea part of Russia. In the latest armed action, pro-Russian forces wearing military uniforms bearing no designated markings sealed off a military airport in Crimea near the village of Saki, a Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesman on the peninsula said. The operation to seize Crimea began within days of Ukraine’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich’s flight from the country last month. Yanukovich was toppled after three months of
Uniformed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, walk in formation near a Ukrainian military base in the village of Perevalnoye outside Simferopol. (REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko) demonstrations against a decision to spurn a free trade deal with the European Union for closer ties with Russia. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk will hold talks with President Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday on how to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis, the White House said. One of Obama’s top national security officials said the United States would not recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia if residents vote to leave Ukraine in a referendum next week. “We won’t recognize it, nor will most of the world,” deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said. Putin declared a week ago that Russia had the right to
invade Ukraine to protect Russian citizens, and his parliament has voted to change the law to make it easier to annex territory inhabited by Russian speakers. Speaking by telephone to Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, Putin said steps taken by authorities in Crimea were “based on international law and aimed at guaranteeing the legitimate interests of the peninsula’s population,” the Kremlin said. A German government statement, however, said the referendum was illegal: “Holding it violates the Ukrainian constitution and international law.” Merkel also regretted the
Arab League, Abbas reject recognising Israel as ‘Jewish state’ (Reuters) - The Arab League yesterday endorsed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s rejection of Israel’s demand for recognition as a Jewish state, as U.S.-backed peace talks approach a deadline next month. The United States want Abbas to make the concession as part of efforts to reach a “framework agreement” and extend the talks aimed at settling the decades-old IsraeliPalestinian conflict. “The council of the Arab League confirms its support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasises its rejection of recognising Israel as a ‘Jewish state’,” Arab foreign ministers said in a statement in Cairo. Arab governments, distracted by the upheaval convulsing the region since the 2011 Arab uprisings, have
previously taken few stands on the floundering peace talks, leaving Abbas isolated. Benjamin Netanyahu has been Israel’s first prime minister to make recognition of his country as a Jewish state a requirement for peace. The issue has lately overshadowed other stumbling blocks over borders, refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Palestinians fear the label would lead to discrimination against Israel’s sizeable Arab minority, while Israelis say it recognises Jewish history and rights on the land. “In recognising the Jewish state you (Palestinians) would finally make clear that you are truly prepared to end the conflict,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday. “So recognise the Jewish state, no excuses, no delays. It is time,” he said in a speech to the pro-Israel AIPAC lobby.
Abbas complained on Saturday that Palestinians were being asked for something that had not been demanded of Arab countries that have previously signed peace treaties with Israel. “We recognised Israel in mutual recognition in the (1993) Oslo agreement - why do they now ask us to recognise the Jewishness of the state?” he asked. “Why didn’t they present this demand to Jordan or Egypt when they signed a peace agreement with them?” Abbas added. The United States is hoping to get the two sides to agree on some general points, including the “Jewish state” issue and a rough understanding on borders, as part of what it calls a framework deal that could lead to the prolongation of the talks, which have achieved little since they began seven months ago.
lack of progress on forming an “international contact group” to seek a political solution to the Ukraine crisis and said this should be done urgently. On Thursday, Merkel said if a contact group was not formed in the coming days and no progress was made in negotiations with Russia, the European Union could hit Russia with sanctions such
as travel restrictions and asset freezes. Merkel, whose country is heavily dependent on Russia oil and gas, has so far been more cautious than some other nations, urging Western partners to give Putin more time before punishing Moscow with tough economic sanctions. This stance reflects German fears of the geopolitical consequences of an isolated Russia as much as it does concern about its business interests and energy ties. In a round of telephone diplomacy yesterday, the German chancellor also spoke with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, agreeing that Ukraine’s sovereignty must be preserved, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, underlining the need to resolve the crisis through dialogue. Russians took over a Ukrainian border post on the western edge of Crimea at around 6 a.m. (12.00 a.m. ET), trapping about 15 personnel inside, a border guard spokesman said. The spokesman, Oleh
Slobodyan, said Russian forces now controlled 11 border guard posts across Crimea, a former Russian territory that is home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet and has an ethnic Russian majority. At a Ukrainian military base at Yevpatoriya on the coast of western Crimea there were reports that the Russian forces had issued an ultimatum to surrender or be stormed. It passed, as has happened on other occasions at bases across Crimea. “They are putting psychological pressure on us. It is not the first ultimatum,” Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Lomaka told Reuters by telephone, saying the Russian forces would not allow him out of the base. “We have no fight with them, but we are not going to hand over our weapons to soldiers of the Russian Federation.” Dimtry Bolbanchyov, 50, who works as a cook on commercial boats, bicycles 13 kilometers across town to bring the besieged Ukrainians soldiers food.
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EU’s Ashton: No guaranteed success in Iran deal TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The European Union’s foreign policy chief said yesterday that there is “no guarantee” that Iran and world powers will reach a final deal over the country’s nuclear program. Catherine Ashton was in Tehran for meetings with Iranian officials on ongoing negotiations over the country’s nuclear program, as well as the civil war in Syria and other issues. She spoke to reporters in a joint briefing with Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Separately, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani advocated pursuing “new relations” with European countries that for years have been at odds, alongside the United
States, with Tehran over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. “Besides ongoing nuclear talks that should be driven ahead, there are other suitable fields in which both Iran and European Union can consider push relations and cooperation ahead,” the president said in remarks quoted by his website. He suggested energy and transportation cooperation. Under an interim deal in November, Iran agreed to limit a key nuclear activity, uranium enrichment, in return for easing sanctions by the West. Negotiations for a final deal are ongoing. Ashton leads the six-nation group — the U.S., Britain, France, Rus-
sia, China and Germany — in talks with Iran. “I think this interim agreement is really important, but not as important as the comprehensive agreement that we are currently engaged in. Difficult, challenging, there’s no guarantee we’ll succeed,” she said. Zarif said Iran will only accept a deal that respects its “rights,” a reference to uranium enrichment on its soil, while reiterating Iran’s longstanding position that his country is not pursuing nuclear arms. “Iran will only accept a solution that is respectful, that respects the rights of the Iranian people,” he said. “At the same time Iran finds it in its own interest to make sure that there are no ambiguities about Iran’s intentions, because we have no intention to seek nuclear weapons.” The two said they had also discussed fighting terrorism, drug trafficking, and conflicts in Afghanistan and Syria. Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Under the historic deal,
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, welcomes European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton for their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, yesterday. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Iran agreed to halt its 20 percent enrichment program, but will continue enrichment up to 5 percent. It also will convert half of its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium to
oxide, and dilute the remaining half to 5 percent. Enrichment to 20 percent is a possible pathway to nuclear arms. The West suspects Iran’s
nuclear program has a military dimension. Iran denies the charge, saying its nuclear activities are aimed at peaceful purposes like power generation and medical treatment.
(Reuters) - A suicide bomber driving a minibus packed with explosives killed at least 45 people and wounded 157 yesterday in the southern Iraqi city of Hilla, police and medical sources said. The attacker approached a main checkpoint at a northern entrance to the largely Shi’ite Muslim city and detonated the minibus, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. At least 50 cars were set ablaze with passengers trapped inside and part of the checkpoint complex was destroyed, the officer said. Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda have been regaining ground in Iraq over the past year, particularly in the western province of Anbar bordering Syria. No one claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack, but the deputy chairman of Hilla provincial council, Aqeel al-Rubaie, accused al Qaeda of being behind the bombing. Rubaie said the local government had received tips that al Qaeda-affiliates hiding in farmland north of Hilla were plotting a strike. He said the violence was a spillover from fighting in neighbouring Anbar, where the Shi’ite-led government has been battling the al Qaeda faction the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) around the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah.
“We have evidence that al Qaeda terrorists are standing behind the suicide attack today and since the breakout of fighting in Anbar, al Qaeda has stepped up attacks in Hilla,” Rubaie told Reuters. “We can’t separate today’s attack from Anbar’s fight.” The scene of the attack was strewn with debris from the checkpoint, and the shells of burnt out cars littered the road. “I was sitting inside my kiosk when suddenly a horrible blast threw me outside and hurled my groceries up in the air. I saw cars set ablaze with people burning inside,” said Abu Nawar, owner of a makeshift kiosk made of palm tree leaves near the checkpoint. Police were using cutting equipment to break into the blackened vehicles and lift out the bodies, the police officer said. “A policeman thought the minibus was suspicious and he asked the driver to pull over for a check, but the vehicle exploded,” the officer said. Bombings and other attacks killed almost 8,000 civilians in Iraq in 2013, the deadliest year since 2008. Violence has not abated in the early months of 2014. Relatives of the casualties lined up outside the Hilla morgue to claim the bodies of their loved ones. Inside, family members cried
and wept as they struggled to recognise the bodies. “I want to keep my son’s shoes forever, I loved him so much, they broke my heart,” said Um Muthanna, who identified the charred body of her son, Muthanna Abdul Hussein, a cameraman for state television, from his shoes and socks. Muthanna was killed along with a second cameraman from Iraqiya state television, Khalid Abid. The death toll rose as some of the wounded died in hospital and more bodies were discovered at the bomb site, police said. In a separate incident, on the border of Anbar province and western Baghdad, a group of gunmen attacked an army check point in the Sunni area of Abu Ghraib, killing four soldiers, police and medical sources said. In northern Iraq, three North Oil Company employees were killed and seven wounded when gunmen in a car fired at a bus ferrying NOC employees near Tuz Khurmatu, close to the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, according to a police official. ISIL militants and other armed groups linked to the fight in Anbar have been carrying out attacks in northern Iraq as they try to divert government troops from Anbar and exploit openings made by the concentration of security forces in the west.
Suicide bomber kills 45 in Iraqi city of Hilla
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India set to challenge U.S. for election-spending record NEW DELHI (Reuters) Indian politicians are expected to spend around $5 billion on campaigning for elections next month - a sum second only to the most expensive U.S. presidential campaign of all time - in a splurge that could give India’s floundering economy a temporary boost. India’s campaign spend, which can include cash stuffed in envelopes as well as multi-million-dollar ad campaigns, has been estimated at 300 billion rupees ($4.9 billion) by the Centre for Media Studies, which tracks spending. That is triple the expenditure the centre said was spent on electioneering in the last national poll in 2009 - partly a reflection of a highoctane campaign by probusiness opposition candidate for prime minister, Narendra Modi, who started nationwide rallies and advertising last year. “They started much before, and they are also focusing on states where
they are traditionally not strong. They are leaving no area untouched,” said N. Bhaskara Rao, chairman of the Centre for Media Studies. The campaign spending for this election could give a boost to the economy, which has been heading for its longest slump since the 1980s. Economists have forecast a second year of growth below 5 percent in the financial year ending this month. Candidate and party funding in India is opaque and the source of much of the spending is hard to ascertain, but the Centre for Media Studies and other transparency advocates say the main contenders have built up large war chests. “This election spending largesse will help to boost Indian consumption expenditure over the second quarter of 2014, but this will be a temporary spike,” said Rajiv Biswas, the Asia-Pacific chief economist at IHS Global Insight. India’s projected
campaign spending is only rivaled by the $7 billion spent by candidates, parties and support groups in the 2012 U.S. presidential race, the world’s most expensive, according to data provided by the U.S. election commission. Spending on previous Indian elections have benefited a wide range of businesses, from media groups and advertisers that rake in campaign-ad revenues to consumerbased firms that capitalize indirectly on the overall jump in spending, such as motor-bike manufacturers and brewers like United Spirits. I n d i a ’s a d v e r t i s i n g industry expects to see an $800 million injection during the election season, according to an outlook by the country’s largest l o c a l a g e n c y, M a d i s o n Media. That should benefit media firms, such as DB Corp, which owns the high-circulation Hindi language daily Dainik
Netanyahu says any peace deal with Palestinians at least a year away JERUSALEM (Reuters) Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu said any peace deal with the Palestinians would take at least another year to negotiate should both sides accept U.S.-proposed principles to keep talks going. In an Israel Radio interview broadcast yesterday, Netanyahu reiterated that he regarded guidelines that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is drafting for a future deal as an “American document of American positions”. Such a definition could give Netanyahu leeway to register reservations that could discourage staunch supporters of Jewish settlement in occupied land where Palestinians want to make their state from bolting his coalition. “I think (the Kerry document) ... is a possible path toward moving the talks forward. It will take us at least a year to exhaust these negotiations but I can’t say that the Palestinians will accept this document, and I also have not seen it yet,” he said.Netanyahu gave the interview on Thursday in Los Angeles, before flying back to Israel after a U.S. visit that included White House talks with President Barack Obama. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to see Obama on March 17 to
Benjamin Netanyahu discuss the so-called “framework deal” aimed at salvaging the faltering negotiations, which began in July with a target date of April for a final agreement. Abbas has rejected a core Netanyahu demand recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Palestinians fear such a condition will deny Palestinian refugees, who fled or were forced to flee their homes in Arab-Israeli wars, any right of return. “The nature of Israel is something that should be defined by Israelis, not Palestinians,” Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Israeli Army Radio yesterday. Erekat said Palestinians expected Israel to complete on March 28 the release of the final batch of 104 Palestinian
prisoners it agreed to free as part of peace efforts. “And then the negotiations are supposed to continue until April 29,” he said, referring to the end of the nine-month negotiating period originally envisaged by Kerry. Reiterating another core Palestinian demand, Erekat said Israel must recognize a Palestinian state along the lines that existed before the 1967 Middle East war, in which Israeli forces captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. Israel has said a return to those boundaries would leave it with indefensible borders. But Netanyahu, in an interview broadcast on Friday on Israel’s Channel Two television, said his government would give up “some settlements” in the occupied West Bank to help secure a peace agreement. He said, however, that he would limit as much as he could the number of enclaves removed. Palestinians say settlements that dot much of the West Bank landscape would bar them from establishing a contiguous state, a goal of the peace talks. The settlements built on land Israel seized in 1967 are deemed illegal in international law and condemned by most governments.
Narendra Modi Bhaskar. Much of India’s campaign spend will remain in its thriving black economy. Rules allow candidates to spend 7 million rupees ($114,000) on campaigns for a parliament seat but the real cost of winning is about 10 times that, thanks to spending on rallies, fuel and media campaigns that often include payments for coverage. Indian politicians regularly bribe voters with cash payouts or alcohol to
secure their support. Recent state elections have seen innovations such as getting money to voters via mobile phone credit and envelopes of cash delivered in morning papers. In the last three years, election authorities seized from politicians a total of about $32.65 million in the form of concealed cash, some if it stashed in helicopters, milk trucks and even funeral vans, a former election commissioner said. The dates for the month-long election starting on April 7 were announced last week, with polls staggered in nine stages to help security forces prevent polling booth fraud. Despite evidence of vote-buying, I n d i a ’s elections are now largely seen as free and fair on polling day. However, chief election commissioner V.S. Sampath said on Wednesday he was worried about “money power” - heavy spending and the use of illegal funds to influence the outcome. The Centre for Media
Studies’ spending projections are based on analyses of rising costs in local and state elections in the past five years. It also surveys voters on prevalence of bribes. Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, got off to an early start in campaigning, pushing into the south where the BJP is weak and has avoided spending money in the past. Modi’s BJP-led coalition has a strong lead over the ruling Congress party in opinion polls, but it is unlikely to win an outright majority. Some of Modi’s fundraising is led by a sevenmember team, including Deepak Kanth, a former investment banker previously with Citibank in London. This team has organized an online fund-raising drive in India and is also targeting donations from wealthy Indians living in Hong Kong and Singapore. This team has only raised $4 million, a party source said, but shows how far Modi is casting his net for campaign funds.
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Alanzo Greaves wins 17th Cheddi EBFA U-17 League Jagan Mem. Road Race in Berbice By Samuel Whyte Leading cyclist of the Roraima Bikers Club, Alanzo Greaves in a time of Two hours 7 Minutes 8 Seconds won the 17th edition of the Annual Cheddi Jagan Memorial Cycle Road Race which was held on Sunday in the Ancient County in a driving finish. In so doing, Greaves had enough left in the tank after a competitive race to win by a whisker from Paul De Nobrega in a two way battle to the finish line ahead of a bunch of about 10 riders. Some 62 riders including three females took to the starting line the largest field to have assembled for the race since it began. The riders were sent on their way from the PPP Office, Main and Charlotte Streets, New Amsterdam, proceeded to No. 55 Village before turning back for the finish at Port Mourant Corentyne. The event was off to a fast start and as the riders approached the No. 19 Public Road, Greaves, Godfrey Pollydore and defending
champion Raynauth Jeffery made a break and continue to press forward. The three cyclists took turns in sharing the work as they aimed to keep the chasing pack at bay. However, about a mile before the turn back point, the leading trio was caught by the pack of about 20 cyclists. It was not too long into the downward journey that the group was separated again as Greaves, Geron Williams, Jeffery and Orville Hinds went on the break. The four riders continued to battle on the downward journey and were looking as if they would have been unchallenged but the chasing pack was closing in all along. They eventually caught up with about one mile from the finishing line. From there on it was a ding dong battle for the finish with Greaves edging home ahead of De Nobrega, Junior Niles, Orvile Hinds, Geron Williams and
Delroy Hinds in that order. The top three juniors were Alanzo Ambrose, Andrew Hicks and Stephano Husbands. The veteran category was taken by Thuran Harris with Jaikarran Sukhai and Wilbert Benjamin following in that order. Top female rider Naomi Singh won from Tashwanna Doris and Deancie Welch. In the mountain bike category, the top positions went to Clyde Jacobs, Nigel Jacobs and Wayne Nurse in that order. The juniors, upright, veteran and females cyclists turned back at Hogstyle on the Corentyne Coast. The sprint point prizes were shared by Pollydore, Orville Hinds and Greaves with two each while Hamza Eastman and Jeffery took one each. Anthony Faria at age 72 received a special prize for being the oldest cyclist on show. Speaking at the presentation ceremony after the race, Chairman of the Jagan Commemoration
Committee, Navin Chandrapal, noted that Dr. Jagan always had an interest in sport and was an advocate of camaraderie maong the people. Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony noted that Dr. Jagan was serious about health and wellness adding that the staging of the annual race is an appropriate tribute to the former president’s vision of working towards a fit Guyana. General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic and Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, reflected on Dr. Jagan’s memory, noting that the late founder of the party believed in living healthy. The first leg of this race was held earlier this month on the West Demerar roadways with Michael Anthony of Team Coco’s winning both the senior and junior titles. The third and final leg will be held in the Cinderella County of Essequibo on March 23.
When competition in the East Demerara Football Association (EDFA) Under17 tournament continued on yesterday at two venues, BV Triumph United edged Paradise 2-1 at the BV Ground. Mahaica won by a similar score line against Victoria Kings at the same venue. Up at the Victoria Ground, Mahaica thumped Victoria Kings also by a 2-1 margin while the match-up between Ann’s Grove and Haslington ended in a 1-1 draw. On Saturday, BV Triumph United’s winning streak was halted temporarily when they
were held to an exciting 3-3 tie by Buxton United. Even BV’s home advantage did not work in their favour as the Buxton boys responded in like manner every time the home team scored. The other match-up produced a solid 31 win for Plaisance over Buxton Stars. Up at the Victoria Ground, the home team, Victoria Kings and Golden Stars battled to a 0-0 stalemate while Haslington gained full points without breaking a sweat as a result of the no appearance of Mahaica.
NCN U-15 Inter Zone tournament
New Amsterdam / Canje face West Berbice tomorrow The Berbice Cricket Board organised National Communication Network (NCN) Under-15 Inter Zone tournament is set to bowl off tomorrow with West Berbice playing New Amsterdam / Canje over two-days at the Cumberland Ground, Canje. Defending champions Lower Corentyne would play Upper Corentyne on Thursday and Friday at the Albion Sports complex. The BCB has stated that the Junior Selection Committee headed by Leslie Solomon would select the Berbice Under-15 team for the upcoming GCB Inter County tournament based on performances during the NCN tournament and the ongoing Tenelec Under-15 Inter Club tournament. The winners of the two semifinals would clash in the final next week while the two losing teams would clash for the third
place. All matches starts at 10:00hrs. All junior Inter Zone matches would be played for two-days as the BCB strives to expose youth players to a longer playing time. New Amsterdam/Canje: Kevin Sinclair, Alex Algu, Steve Deonarine, Garfield Benjamin, Junior Williams, Malcolm Mickle, Davendra Ramkissoon, Naresh Chand, Melvin Singh, Brandon Stewart, Dominic Durant, Jamal Frank, Rajendra Beharry, Bharrat Bhopal. West Berbice squad: Kris Ramnarine - Captain, Sachin Veerasammy (Blairmont), Saheed Khan - Vice Captain (Blairmont), Seon Glasgow (Blairmont), Javid Karim (Blairmont), Tallim Inshan (Blairmont), Assad Isaqhawk (Blairmont), Imran Azeez (Blairmont), Christopher Harry, Bickram Mohan, Adrian Ramnarine, Yuvendra Budhu, Nicholas Shewrattan, Navindra Persaud.