Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR Harmon says Coalition p. Tuesday Edition dependent on K/New’s 8 NEWS information to take action on Kaieteur/Canje oil blocks giveaway October 20, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 42

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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Guyanese... Stop your leaders from deceiving you!

Pressure them for full disclosures on all deals!

Despite doing no work, Guyana owes Canje owner $100M in pre-contract costs p.

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Law books charges Moruca man charged against Nandlall for murdering Parika p. p. backdam farmer 2 discontinued 15

Charandass Persaud is back and ready to contribute to nation’s development

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Driver, who struck Harmon say... “You cannot make p. p. down K/News 15 Guyanese refugees 13 staffers, still at large in their own country”

Report on independent review of CXC to be released today - meeting held with regional education ministers

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A worrying state of affairs The post of Foreign Secretary was a political contrivance. It was created following the affirmation by the Court that persons who held dual citizenship were ineligible to sit in the National Assembly, and consequently and in accordance with the Constitution, to hold ministerial office. It is believed that in order to reemploy former Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge, within the Foreign Ministry, the post of Foreign Secretary was created. No less a person t h a n i n c u m b e n t Vi c e President labelled the appointment as incestuous.

It therefore came as a surprise when the new PPP/C government announced that former Minister of Natural Resources, and, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, had been appointed Foreign Secretary within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

International Cooperation.

The appointment was greeted with a thunderstorm of criticisms, including from within the Diaspora. Many q u e s t i o n e d P e r s a u d ’s suitability for the post.

Robert Persaud was at the helm of the Ministry of Natural Resources when the Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks were handed out. Global Witness, a reputable nongovernmental body, had less than flattering things to say about Persaud’s recollection of the identities of those handed these oil blocks.

Just prior to the 2011 elections, Persaud announced that he was taking a political sabbatical. He has now reappeared as the government’s point person on international cooperation.

His new posting will require of him a role in agreements signed between Guyana and other countries. It is not a comforting thought.

Clear definitions, robust - Expert

monitoring systems critical to success of local content policy

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Guyanese: No more ‘Nancy stories’ from our leaders; DEMAND that they tell ALL about our wealth!

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday October 20, 2020

Clear definitions, robust monitoring systems critical to success of local content policy - Expert

I

f it is the intention of Guyanese authorities to have a Local Content Policy and legislation that allow for the progressive participation of citizens in the oil sector, there are two key ingredients that must be present in the formulation of that document.

According to Chatham House Expert, Dr. Valerie Marcel, the two major ingredients are clear definitions on what qualifies as local content and robust systems to monitor the performance of companies in using local businesses as well as their training and hiring citizens.

During an interview on Kaieteur Radio's programme, Guyana's Oil and You, the industry expert said it is critical to have a clear definition on local content as ambiguous terms open the floodgates for loopholes that would be exploited.

Dr. Marcel said, “What qualifies as local, is where

Chatham House Associate Fellow, Dr. Valerie Marcel the government can kind of play around with what it really wants. Local could be regional, it can be CARICOM. You could say regional is local. But I understand that in Guyana that is not very desirable because you've got a small

workforce and neighbours with much larger forces.”

The expert added, “Local can also mean that the company is registered or incorporated in Guyana. So, it does not matter if the owner of the company or the directors is Guyanese. It only matters that they are registered in Guyana…”

The Chatham House Associate Fellow went further to state that clear definitions on what would be accepted as local content will also help the government to manage the performance of oil companies while being able to know what targets are realistic and those which may in the early stages, be too ambitious.

“In essence, the clearer you are on the terms, the clearer you can track and monitor the localization. It therefore means that systems to account for the progress made on those targets will be a necessity,” the expert noted.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Natural Resources had said that the Local Content Advisory Panel, which was appointed

by President, Irfaan Ali, is expected to submit its first report and recommendations by next month.

The panel, chaired by Shyam Nokta, is expected to

review all existing initiatives and policies where local content is concerned and guide the development of a new policy and legislation.

Government said that the panel has been meeting regularly, and intends to conduct consultations with key stakeholders, including from the private sector, government and civil society.

The panel members comprise Nokta; former Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge; Trinidadian local content expert, Anthony Paul; former Trinidad energy

minister, Kevin Ramnarine; trade unionist, Carvil Duncan, and accountant, Floyd Haynes.

The local content policy currently in place was drafted under the former D a v i d G r a n g e r administration but was controversial because of a glaring absence of provisions that would give Guyanese people and services, first preference in the sector. In fact, the final document was completed by ExxonMobil affiliate, Dr. Michael Warner. Warner is the UK consultant that

APNU+AFC used to replace Paul, a Trinidadian local content expert.

When Paul was hired to produce the first two drafts, he had included several provisions to protect the interest of locals. But Dr. Warner quickly removed all of those provisions upon being hired to put the finishing touches on the policy.

Paul has since been retained by the Irfaan Ali administration to assist with the revision of the policy and the installation of legislation.

Moruca man charged for murdering Parika backdam farmer

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Moruca man was charged yesterday for murdering a 21-year-old farmer whose body was found floating in a Parika backdam canal.

The suspect, Randy Williams, appeared before Magistrate Zameena AliSeepaul at the Leonora Magistrate's Court.

It is alleged that Williams hit the victim, Timmol Harris, to his head with a plank of wood and left his lifeless body in the canal where he was found by farmers on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. Kaieteur News understands that both men worked on the same farm and Harris had been receiving death threats from Williams and other co-workers before his death.

Relatives of the deceased had previously told Kaieteur News that Harris would usually call his mother complaining about receiving death threats from certain

Deceased: Timmol Harris workers on the farm where he works. Further, the relatives shared that on the very Sunday when he was last seen, Harris called his sister and told her that he was once again threatened and on this occasion he was told that

his face would be marked.

It was reported that following the discovery of the body and the relatives informing the police of the threats, nine persons were detained concerning the murder.

However, Williams was the only one who confessed, making him the prime suspect and the only one charged.

This newspaper has since learnt that the alleged murderer is claiming that he was forced into a confession by police ranks. A relative of the individual claimed that he was beaten by police ranks who coerced him into admitting to the act.

Based on a post mortem report, Harris died from a stab wound to his neck and, according to the police report, Williams confessed to hitting Harris to the head with a wood.

The accused will make his next court appearance in January 2021.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 20, 2020

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Despite doing no work, Guyana owes Canje owner $100M in pre-contract costs W

ith the advent of Guyana's oil and gas industry, the dream the country's leaders have attempted to sell to their countrymen is that these deals will bring them prosperity.

However, in the case of the Canje block agreement, before Guyana could even see the fruits of the execution of the work programme set out in the contract, the country was placed in debt.

The people of Guyana owe Canje owner, MidAtlantic Oil and Gas Inc. US$500,000 (GY$100M) in "pre-contract" costs.

Former President and Minister of Petroleum, Donald Ramotar agreed to this when he signed the March 4, 2015 contract, handing the block to the i n f a n t c o m p a n y. T h e company's sole shareholder is Dr. Edris Kamal Dookie.

Pre-contract costs are not defined in the contract, so no

one knows what the $100M payment is for.

The agreement only states that the sum is in respect of all costs incurred by the contractor prior to the effective date.

A similar clause is in ExxonMobil's 2016 Stabroek block agreement, but pre-contract costs are defined in the Stabroek contract. In that case, they include exploration and other costs from ExxonMobil's operations

prior to 2016 under its 1999 Stabroek block agreement.

However, unlike the Stabroek arrangement, Canje owner, Mid-Atlantic did no work prior to receiving the block in 2015.

It hasn't even done any work up to now, since it received the block.

All it has done in the past five years is sell out interests in the block to several other companies. The company has sold stakes to JHI Associates, ExxonMobil and

Total SE. Kaieteur News first shed light on the issue of the undefined Canje block precontract costs in June, 2019.

More than a year later, Ramotar has not explained why he agreed to indebt Guyana to a company which has done no work.

The provision is one of several red flags identified by this newspaper which anti-corruption advocates say warrant investigation.

The block was given out two

Former President, Donald Ramotar years after it was applied for, weeks before the 2015 general and regional elections which saw Ramotar unseated by the David Granger-led Coalition.

Report on independent review of CXC to be released today - meeting held with regional education ministers

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he official report on findings from the independent review conducted for the 2020 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) is expected to be released to the public today. This was announced by Chairman of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC), Professor Hilary Beckles, who on Sunday conducted a virtual press conference.

Beckles disclosed that the council already received a draft report last Friday from the independent panel responsible for the review at a special meeting. The panel had comprised of Chairperson and retired Pro Vi c e - C h a n c e l l o r a n d Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open

CXC Chairman, Hilary Beckles Campus, Professor Hazel Simmons-McDonald; President of the University of Curacao, Professor Francis De Lanoy; retired Pro-ViceChancellor of Planning and Development at UWI,

Professor Andrew Downes; the Minister of Education for Antigua and Barbuda and Chairperson of the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), Michael Brown; and retired Chief Education Officer of Trinidad's Ministry of Education, Harrilal Seecharan.

The Chairman shared that following the receipt of the draft report, a meeting was held on Saturday where the report was discussed and the initiative to hold a meeting with the regional education ministers was taken.

“The Council, having received the report, discussed its contents for almost three hours and expressed full satisfaction with the quality of the research and integrity of the investigations,” the Chairman said. Kaieteur News understands that the virtual meeting between the

Ministers was held yesterday, however, up until press time no information on the meeting was released. The Chairman did state that each minister has a copy of the draft report.

Beckles highlighted that the report focused on issues regarding the examination procedures, the results and the general performances. It was reported that the independent panel gave a total of 23 recommendations which included immediate changes that need to be made in CXC's system as well as short and medium-term solutions to prevent issues like what occurred this year.

The panel also noted that better communication was

needed between CXC and the schools, “especially in a system of interdependence between all involved.”

They also recommended a structural change in the system because there were misunderstandings within the schools that resulted in panic and anxiety in students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders.

They also maintained that CXC could have responded better to the public outcries that came from all across the region.The independent review of the 2020 CSEC and CAPE results came after the council saw region-wide criticism on their “poor grading system” and

discrepancies in their official results. The council has since been engaging with regional education ministers in hopes of finding a resolution.

Some of the concerns raised regionally and even locally were of students: receiving ungraded marks despite sitting their exams and submitting their SchoolBased Assessments (SBAs) in a timely fashion; receiving grades significantly lower than the school's predicted grades (based on internal examinations and moderations) and it was also raised that students who would have excelled in their year one CAPE scored low grades in year two.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL TEL:624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Special Fraud Unit A snapshot of what stands as local context should help to lift the curtain and reveal the stage on which Guyanese crooks operate. The problem is now compounded by awareness that many foreign ones are going to join their ranks, or already have done so.

Today, we live in a time, like never before, where there are ongoing cascades of white-collar crimes - involving many people and many billions. The technology revolution has provided schemers and swindlers with versatile tools and resources, which pose an array of formidable enticements that excite the greedy and hurry them on the road to financial doom. Ponzi schemes and bank frauds utilizing the personal and the electronic, house lot schemers and scamsters, prescriptive rights manipulators, and corporate and money laundering crimes, which rarely make the news, but are ever-present. They exist right alongside political crimes involving not executions of enemies, but the execution of deeds that drain the treasury and further saddle the taxpayers with borrowing binges to correct or cover-up.Because of all these situations, the many reasonable fears that they provoke, and the huge losses incurred, the article in this newspapers on October 4th titled, “Guyana needs Specialist Police Unit to address growing fraud crimes” is most timely. This item carried under “Consumer Concerns” by Pat Dial has both relevance and resonance in this country, and never as much as like at this time. Some brief excerpts should enlighten as to what is now in the local mix.Although expected, it is still alarming, to come to grips with the new reality of “fraudsters from all parts of the world…making their way here as they have done in the small countries with oil economies.” Those fraudsters are slick and sophisticated; they are well-versed in their criminal white-collar trades, which come from long, successful and, usually, elusive practices. This is what they bring to Guyana and before Guyanese already overburdened with looking over their shoulders for armed bandits that run rampant and have no qualms about violently relieving of personal property, even if it means that killing is necessary.

On the other hand, white-collar fraudsters have a single objective in mind. That is, to mislead and capitalize crookedly, through separating unsuspecting citizens from their money and property. They can come up with every scheme in the book, along with some new ones still unseen and unheard by locals. We have a long and known weakness for quick, juicy immigration promises that cut corners, remove barriers, and deliver bodies in the United States. That one is going to gain a lot of customers, who will pay well, but end up holding the bag.

There will be those frauds that promise nicely paying jobs through connections, enticing business ventures, and mouthwatering partnerships and returns that many Guyanese will die for to get a piece of the rich promised action. There is no blood left on the street, only a vanished paper, electronic trail, if there ever was one in the first place.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) already under severe stress, and with its back to the wall with routine local crime, would be heavily challenged to confront the white-collar frauds that are in the air and on the ground.

We think, and nobody should argue, that a whole host of different skills are required to understand, identify and faceoff, and take the fight to the white-collars fraudsters that are plotting their moves on unsuspecting Guyanese.

The “Guyana Police Force must establish a specialist unit, the personnel of which should be well trained.” We are talking about highly qualified accountants, seasoned forensic auditors, and attorneys that specialize in whitecollar frauds, among others. With due respect, the people who pass through the Police Academy do not have what it takes to protect Guyanese. More is needed, through the kinds of skills and types of people that the GPF must bring to bear to come to grips with what lies in front of it and this country.Citizens should also protect themselves by resisting the temptation of believing that one could get something for nothing or the temptation of easy money.

The fraudster assumes that the victim is naturally greedy and is naive or stupid; citizens must prove otherwise.

IT IS TIME FOR SOME DOWNSIZING AND OUTSOURCING AT CITY HALL DEAR EDITOR. In Guyana, one often hears the term, “You have got to give Jack his Jacket”. And so I must say, that in terms of the Mayor of our capital, one must admit that since he has assumed office, there has been a significant reduction in the lavish exorbitance that was enjoyed by some through the misspending of property rates in the rampant duplicity, and well known profligacy, at City Hall.

Gone are the very expensive monthly overseas jaunts to the furthest corners of the world without any tangible returns as was undertaken by his predecessor, gone are the wasteful projects like the Presidential Park on the Merrimans Mall, gone are the luxury staff conferences and seminars at high end resorts around the country, gone are the mega billboards trumpeting what were deemed to be City Halls successes.

However, there seems to be considerable reluctance on the part of the Chief Citizen to reduce the bloated payroll and the plenitude of purposeless departments that siphons off so much money which the City badly needs.

Why does the City need a public relations department with a super salaried head and a ton of underutilized staffers that are lollygagging all day long? The citizens do not need window dressing, they are well aware of the realities and shortcomings of the municipality.

Varnishing the truth about stray animals roaming the streets makes no sense, everyone would be better off if the stray animals were impounded, or mosquitoes were fogged or non-functioning street lights fixed, pot holes mended, or the Abattoir restored to working order, or the cemetery debushed, or the shuttered day care centres

reopened. Having a public relations department that is paid millions of dollars each month to put up a façade that everything is bright and beautiful at City Hall makes no sense and it should be immediately disbanded.

Then there is the underperforming Personnel Section, which in such circumstances of low achievement any serious and progressive organization would have made the tough and sensible decisions of considering a new leader assimilation process and the educating and training the rest of the team to be able to successfully deliver, but what did they do?

They aggrandized that section into a mega department promoting the same non performers to super salaried management positions and hired a number of persons to numerous high paying and nonessential positions causing the payroll to become even

more turgid. This needs to be corrected by deflating the department back to a small but efficient section.

Additionally, the Council is also saddled with a huge nugatory internal audit section which is heavily staffed by persons who are highly paid, but which has never ensured that internal control processes are operating effectively within that organization.

With the amount of fraudulent activity, corruption and systemic breaches that were discovered by external sources over time, is it not time that this section be demobilized and dissolved and the services of a competent audit company be contracted when needed?

Mr. Mayor it is time for some layoffs, downsizing, and outsourcing at City Hall, if services are to improve.

Yours truly, Modi Sankar

If I had condemned persons on electoral rigging, I might have been called as a witness DEAR EDITOR, As an old man and a citizen of Guyana in self-exile, I still feel that I ought to comment on certain tendencies in Guyanese society and its governance as they appear to me. I write always, subject to correction and the fair judgment of those living in the situation at home. I give notice that my next letter will be a partly critical review of the investigation into the killings in Berbice between September 6 and 10, 2020.

It seems that certain individuals were recently charged with offences relating to the March 2nd General and Regional elections. My first comment is somewhat selfserving. A certain journalist began calling on me from about the 2nd week of March 2020 to condemn certain electoral officials suspected of committing electoral offences.

This journalist did not understand why I will not allow myself the liberty of condemning persons on the basis of facts and allegations best known to persons dealing with them.

I am glad that I did not fall for the flattery of the journalist. If I had, I may have been summoned as a witness. Today, after seven months, the Police, the aggrieved parties and prosecuting agencies are still making final and refining charges against the persons concerned or suspected to be involved. I note that the word “conspiracy” has been mentioned in connection with the charges.

Voices have been raised

against the type of treatment handed down to the women seen by the authorities as suspects. Without any idea of their involvement, I see the treatment these women have received from the police as a version of that received by women recently brutalized and killed almost as some kind of pastime.

I listened to a complaint or protest by the current Leader of the Opposition in Parliament who named two Ministers as “inserting themselves” into the Police investigation process in order to intimidate women suspects and put them under duress

when they exercise their right not to make statements. The Ministers named have not responded to the accusations by the Leader of the Opposition. However, they should know that what they have been accused of is abuse of power that is in conflict with the responsibilities of the office they hold. I hope that those who speak and write publicly in Guyana and profess an interest in democracy and “the rule of law” will not allow these Ministers to remain silent and unaccountable. The calypsonian and reggae artists would not be silent at such an abuse of

power. More recently, the Head of State speaking at an official teach-in, uttered an appeal to “brothers and sisters of Success” engaged in squatting on lands which he claimed to be the property of Guysuco.

The Head of State appealed to them to “do things the right way.” He assured them that if they applied in the proper way they would, by the end of the PPPs five-year term of office, be awarded land of their own with bankable documents. These brothers and sisters are among those who have had their squatters (Continued on page 6)

Itinerant vendor situation at Leonora needs to be paid attention to DEAR EDITOR, Saturday is Market Day in Leonora on the West Coast, Demerara and I hope the Minister of Local Government, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall will take the time next Saturday to visit and observe for himself the situation that usually obtains there and will speedily undertake remedial measures to ensure the safety of the citizens and a level playing field for the vendors.

Although there is a long established market, it has been observed that more vendors are beginning to encroach on to the recently refurbished highway that was expanded to accommodate a pedestrian lane When the vendors set up their stalls or sell directly from their vehicles which they park fully or partially in the pedes-

trian lane, women and children who are usually laden with their heavy purchases are forced to walk in the path of vehicular traffic. Cyclists are also endangered by this practice.

Given the fact that this market is located at a deep turn in the highway, this rapid increase in vending on the side of the highway and the blocking of the access roads leading to the market cause unnecessary congestion for vehicles and hardship for people exiting the market, many of whom are elderly folk.

What is most annoying is that whilst these itinerant vendors are crowding the highway and access roads, the market itself is a virtual ghost town where the ever dwindling number of regular vendors are required to pay the NDC ev-

ery week.

Many vendors occupy both sides of the single small access bridge leaving a very narrow passage way for the customers.

The authorities seem blissfully unaware of the extreme danger to which the public is being exposed during this deadly pandemic because they have to traverse this cramped and chaotic area.

Traffic ranks are usually present and do a commendable job in monitoring the traffic and assisting persons to cross the highway but I have not noticed any attempt by them to prevent the blockage of the market access roads and pedestrian lane on the highway by vendors.

Yours truly, A. Kamal Hassan

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Janet Jagan Lived a frugal life, was never overwhelmed by the trappings of power DEAR EDITOR October 20 marks the centenary birth anniversary of Mrs. Janet Jagan, a trailblazer for full political and economic emancipation in Guyana. Her illustrious career in public service is capitulated by the many articles, commentaries, and documentaries produced in her honor.

Her life- long contributions to public service continue to be celebrated as one who not only made major contributions to the advancement of the rights of ordinary people but also revolutionize established thinking with forward looking ideas that addressed practical real-life challenges.

Janet Jagan s political activism spanned some 66 years with 46 of those years as a member of parliament, a record for a woman in the Western Hemisphere that still stands tall.

Besides that, Cde. Janet scored many firsts: among them, first woman parliamentarian, first woman minister, first woman Prime Minister and President in Guyana. She was the second woman head of state in Latin America preceded only by Eva Peron of Argentina who was not elected but inherited the position.

When the idea of women empowerment was a distant dream in the minds of people,

Cde Janet was one of those who dreamt that dream and worked towards its realization.

It is therefore not surprising that UNESCO awarded her in 1997 the Gandhi Gold Medal for peace, democracy, and women rights for her sterling contribution. The reputable Time magazine, in honor of International Womens Day in March 2011 recognized Janet Jagan as “one of historys most rebellious women” as her work continued to resonate beyond the shores of Guyana.

Many revered the years Janet Jagan served as Minister of Health, Labour and Housing Her strong gender activism brought her close to complex problems faced by women at the grassroots level. During her tenure as Minister, health, labour and housing conditions improved with better equipped hospitals, new health centers, wages and conditions for domestic workers along with new housing schemes. I read that the late Dr. Frank Williams would argue with even former President Burnham that Janet Jagan was the best Minister of Health he worked with during his tenure as Chief Medical Officer.

Janet Jagan earned her place in the political spectrum with her stellar contribution,

commitment, courage, and honesty in public life. I had the distinct pleasure of listening to her on election night in 1973 on the radio discussions as she lambasted her opponents and exposed the blatant rigging of the general election and was ably supported by another brave woman the late Eleanor DSilvia from the Liberator Party.

It is along that tradition that the PPP remained steadfast in preventing another barefaced effort to rig the last general election this year.

Cde Janet was actively involved with literary and cultural life in Guyana. Martin Carter poems were published in Thunder while she was editor and she played a major role in publication of Carters early collection, The Hill of Fire Glows Red. She edited the Thunder and Mirror newspaper until her demise.

During the days of suppressed press freedom in the late 70s early 80s, she ensured publication of the weekly Mirror that provided vital information to the public, be it the Jonestown Massacre, Father Darke murder, Walter Rodney assassination, or the 90 percent boycott of the referendum to name a few as the desperate state media attempted clumsy cover ups. Later Cde Janet was an unremitting patron of the National Art (Continued on page 6)

October 20 marks the 100th birth anniversary of former President Mrs. Janet Jagan DEAR EDITOR Janet Jagan was born on October 20, 1920 and died on March 28, 2009. She became Guyana’s first female President on December 11, 1997.

She scored several other ‘firsts’ in her long and eventful political career including the first female Prime Minister, the first Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and among the first women Ministers of Government. Because of failing health, she was unable to complete her full term in office and resigned as President on August 11, 1999.

To say that Mrs. Jagan contributed significantly to the political, economic and social development of Guyana would be an understatement. She, along with her husband Cheddi and other party leaders were the architects of modern day Guyana.

She was not only a significant player on the political landscape of Guyana but was instrumental in the creation and

shaping of that landscape.

Mrs. Jagan, along with Cheddi Jagan, Ashton Chase and HJM Hubbard were the founding members of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) formed in 1946 which was the forerunner to the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) of which she was also a founder member and General Secretary. She co-founded the Women’s Progressive and Economic Organization (WPEO) now WPO, in July 1946 and played a leading role in advancing the cause of women in Guyana and the Guyanese people as a whole.

Mrs. Jagan endured several challenges and difficulties during the course of her life including imprisonment and political harassment but she

bore them all in strides without grudge, malice or ill-will. She was named by the TIME Magazine as one of 16 of the most ‘rebellious’ women in world history, a fitting tribute to someone who selflessly and courageously

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stood up for the cause of a better and more humane society.

As we celebrate the life and work of this extraordinary leader, we should all pledge to uphold the values and principles to which she dedicated her entire life.

Guyana is today in a much better place thanks to her. She has left behind a rich legacy of struggle and commitment to the cause of a free, democratic and prosperous Guyana.

Yours truly, Hydar Ally

Nothing about government should be secretive and nothing stays secret for too long DEAR EDITOR, I am generally against media libel (newsprint) or slander (broadcasting). Such court actions are meant to block exposures of wrongdoing, to wit, restrict press freedom. Thus, as a media operative over the last 45 years, and as someone who supports open, transparent governance, I am opposed to media lawsuits.

The public has a right to know about their government and the media (called the fourth estate or fourth branch of government as the eyes and ears of the public) should be granted unrestricted freedom to expose all that happens in government. Nothing about government should be secretive and nothing stays secret for too long. Governance in white man countries is not secret Press law suits are discouraged in American jurisprudence as judges tend to be sympathetic with the press unlike say in Guyana. And the white don’t run to court in America for any little error printed in the papers.

KN reported that it faced several lawsuits for exposing fraud and corruption and many threats of lawsuits in recent years. Some of them are frivolous. KN or any media should be given wide latitude to publish information that is in the public interests especially on financial matters and contracts. And with the country set to take off economically, the media should have greater freedom to probe expenditures and contracts.

Public figures should not be thin skinned and seek cover of court for any wrongdoing or irresponsible actions.

Some lawsuits had/have no

merits but were/are filed to intimidate publications with the hope that wrong doings would not be exposed. They trample on peoples rights to know about their wrongs. A corrupt person is not defamed when corruption is exposed.

Publications should be free to publish factual information and to entertain fair, objective, commentaries.

Some bad speech is better than no speech. The US Supreme Court has taken that position; some American President (forgot name) had also made that very point over 200 years ago. As long as a media does not deliberately seek to malign reputations, the media should not be held for libel or slander. Exposing a tief man is not injuring his or her character. That is responsible journalism.

However, free speech must be cautious and responsible and not attack people or their family (the innocent).

Commentaries and reporting must not be defamatory (purposely attacking) and contain (objectionable) information known to be false. Journalists undergo training on such concepts as defamation, journalistic negligence, and ethics.

They (editors in particular) are trained on what crosses the line of defamation and libel. And therefore, they should not publish information that is false and personally hurtful. If they do, then surely, they should and must be held accountable. The person who were/are respon-

sible for the libel should be roasted, not the paper unless the papers takes responsibility through the editor.

Thus, I support the comments below a column that the writers and not the paper are responsible for the contents.

Anyone who studies torts, especially in US constitutional law, would know that not all inaccurate information is libelous. The American standard on libel is very high.

A publisher is libelous if it can be proven that paper is reckless with the truth. The libel writ must prove that the falsehood was/is intentionally published the editor or writer knew the information is/was false and went ahead and publish it anyway. If a publication publishes information even if damaging to someone and the editor or writer did not know it was false, a libel would not succeed. A writ must prove that the publisher knew the information was false; even an apology would not be granted by the court without proof of malice. But an apology is often wise. A few times, I penned letters that contain inaccurate information not aware they were inaccurate. When brought to my attention, I issued an apology or retraction.

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We are a country of contrasts, and proudly so DEAR EDITOR, We are a country of contrasts, and proudly so.

For even when those contrasts do us great harm, some still unmeasured, we keep following the same selfdestructive paths.

First, there were two women, American women, who both happened to be White.

They came here, conquered here. Their legacies will resonate, for good or ill, in Guyanas annals; they are the faces and histories of what happened; perhaps, what had to be. One was well received and then utterly despised. She is gone now, not much spoken of, but make no mistake, she lingers hauntingly in the byproducts of her determined efforts.

The second is around and highly thought of in Guyanese circles. She, too, is very well received for her contributions in our intimate affairs. Those tell us how we must be, what we must do, and where we must go. Her symphony of mystery and mastery, though it would draw to a close soon enough, is unfinished. As producer and performer, she has delivered what can only be labeled Masterpiece Theater. In our country, men rushed to do the bidding of the one gone; in many instances, mostly unknown to them, they still do. As for the one present, that most powerful woman in Guyana, she too gets her way with what is about her charge, her mission.

This is happening in a society with a male-dominated culture.

I think I have painted the required canvas now unveiled.

The departed one was an avowed Marxist. The one in the midst is the epitome of what is all capitalist. I give to my fellow Guyanese, these two American women, for some two great American White women. I give Messrs.

Janet Jagan and Sarah Ann Lynch.

To them, leaders and citizens bow; before them I shiver. I shiver in what one left us; I shiver with what the other brought here and leaves here, even long after she leaves for more productive pastures.

I shiver before the implications of her works which will outlive me, maybe outlive even Guyana and its now tattered independence, its once fabled oil dreams.

Our forefathers spoke of oil with hope and awe, while always looking ahead; we and our children (theirs, too), will speak of oil, while always looking back at what could have been. This is where I am today, and I do not see this changing materially, given the leaders we have for overseers.

I wouldnt trust them with a dead dog, which they might sell to butcheries for us to consume ignorantly, trustingly, even joyfully.

And where I am, also, in this country of stark contrasts, is the anticlimax of two other women, two Guyanese women, who happen to be Black. If sight and conclusion are off, please pardon. And I regret having to say this: they embody what

is anticlimactic, given what came before.

These two women are in the same arena. Where our leading men have prostrated themselves before the fairhaired foreign, the two women in the local house have been given the shortest thrift, through being held hostage to the abuses of embarrassments and humiliations heaped for many long years.

Our men run to worship at the altars of foreign women, while forsaking those who stand here, are of here, but do not count in the grand moments, manipulations, and mischiefs of leadership madmen. Our two Guyanese born and bred (so I believe) are not in a position to barter about office and who should lead, to offer intoxicating carrots of power, to make things happen along concealed lines and clandestine operations and objectives. No! these two women have to speak to truth, as beheld sightlessly but wisely by them. Theirs is not rewarded with trumpets.

They are of what is right and just, must be. And though they have been, it is not enough. I offer that one about prophets and hometowns. I give my fellow Guyanese, these two women that are our own.

I give Justices Roxanne George-Wiltshire and Yonette Cummings-Edwards.

Thus the contrasts of this country, making lesser people of us.

Yours truly, GHK Lall

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Freddie is obsessed with black men reasons for so doing is and let the chips fall where and women gave a right I exercise like every they may. Equally, I stand by my position that GECOM

DEAR EDITOR, Response is made to Frederick Kissoons column, “Where are Dawn Cush, Karen Abrams and Melissa Ifill?” (Kaieteur News, October 17, 2020). It appears the Editor did not oversight Kissoons article before publishing or he would have advised him of the inaccuracy of some of his statements.

Contrary to his excursion into wonderland, at no time have I “called on President Granger to investigate [Justice Claudette] Singh and GECOM for improprieties.”

There was no bona fide need for that. Anything that needed investigation was the lies and distortions told by a kangalang like him, who have no regard for the integrity of the vote but wanted a specific outcome, at any cost.

It is this alternate reality that became popularised and in the Donald Trump era is called Trumpism.

Any fool with the exception of the one to whom I send this message directly, any political scientist with pedigree watching the fight taking place in America to safeguard the vote would damn the hypocrisy as it relates to the Guyana election.

The former lecturer who wants to lay the impression to Guyanese as though he is so well read, with so much depth, cannot understand this. Neither can he create the nexus of the role played by Republican operatives in the Trump government in our last election.

I am a citizen. I have a vote.

That I chose to say which party/ group I supported and

citizen.

The actions witnessed by the Irfaan Ali government so far give soundness to the concerns raised about what his presidency co uld mean for Guyana.

We are witnessing uncaring and inhumane treatment being meted out to the squatters of Success, East Coast Demerara not seen since immediate post slavery when occupied African lands were flooded by former slave masters. The encouraged violence at Kingelly, West Coast Berbice by the Attorney General remains a source of deep concern. The stoning of a school bus by supporters of the government supporters which resulted in injuries to school children on 6th March marked a new low in our politics.

We witness attacks on police officers; hate crimes that resulted out of the environment of hate and intolerance created by people like Kissoon and the PPP. There is ethnic cleansing in the public sector.

Workers are being terminated not because of incompetence or sensitive nature of their job but because of how they look, where it is perceived which party they support, and which administration employed them. He remains silent, apparently toeing the line with his non-disclosure agreement that Bharrat Jagdeo has over his head like Damocles.

I stand by my position in advocating for the integrity of the vote, to allow GECOM and the judiciary do their work

Order 60 of 2020, which sought to ensure the integrity of the vote, should have been fully implemented or scrapped. Justice is never partially dispensed.

This is something he would find hard to comprehend because it conflicts with the thinking of an unkempt mind.

He does not have the decency to break ranks with what is presently happening as we see Republicans breaking ranks with Trump on issues such as racial supremacy, voter integrity, domestic terrorism, lawlessness, disregard for science, etc.

He never had, and cannot inspire it, because for him it is all about his ego. One way he seeks to stroke it is his venomous targeting of black leaders.

I am convinced there is something Kissoon has against black men. What it is, is left for us to perceive because though we hold different positions he goes after us.

There must be something we have in common that he does not have, that affects him so badly, he constantly seeks to find ways and means whereby he could emasculate us.

What we have that he does not have, that raised him to feel denial, that hurts him in some way or the other is a symbol of strength and power.

Though he may feel deprived, I am sure none of the black men he goes after (Continued on page 22)

Janet Jagan Lived a frugal life, was...

From page 5 Gallery at Castellani House.

In the course of her political journey Janet Jagan suffered many indignities such as imprisonment for civil disobedience, violent threat to her life, racism, misogyny and charter assassination but these did not deter her nor scared from her militant activism, always a strong voice for the under privilege and the

disenfranchised. Despite being the victim of the most scandalous and malicious attack by the media she never filed a libel action and the same goes for her husband Dr. Cheddi Jagan as they relied on public opinion to defend their character.

Despite Cde Janet outstanding achievements she remained a simple, humble and honest character who

was always willing to share her personal resource to help the needy. She was an amicable personality that never loved the limelight; she walked with the Queen but never lost the common touch.

Cde Janet lived a frugal life and was never overwhelmed by the trappings of power nor higher office.

Yours truly, Rajendra Rampersaud

If I had condemned persons on...

From page 4 holdings flooded out by Guysuco. I leave aside the question whether, as Minister of Housing, the President had done things right in creating Pradoville 2. Those who think that he had not done things the right way took measures which included personal humiliation of former office holders, but which did not include the flooding out of Pradoville 2. I recall also that Guysuco itself had squatted on lands since the 1840s

belonging to the villagers of Sparendaam.

If the landless brothers and sisters of Success, as people without status, seized unoccupied land for housing without depriving individual plot holders, they were in good company. The people of Bachelors Adventure know that, for over one hundred years, the sugar companies have squatted on their land and left them without the typical backdam for farming.

Finally, listening to the

exchanges between public service workers in the frontline of the Health Ministrys effort to contain Covid-19, I heard the Head of State, to whom I listened attentively, question for the first time the “affordability” of any item he has discussed.

He warned the workers that their demands would have to pass the test of affordability. It is good to know.

Yours truly, Eusi Kwayana

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Tuesday October 20, 2020

Kaieteur News

Guyana's oil blessing is slowly becoming a big blight.

Guyanese: look for yourself and decide.

Our leaders cannot speak about oil anymore.

Our leaders cannot tell the truth about oil anymore.

Our leaders cannot look at citizens in the eye anymore.

What are they good for?

What is the government up to with our oil?

PAGE 07

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Harmon says Coalition dependent on KN's information to take action on Kaieteur/Canje oil blocks giveaway

I

t has been over two weeks since Kaieteur News began chronicling a shocking exposé of the shoddy Kaieteur and Canje Oil Blocks deal that was approved by former President Donald Ramotar.

This publication showed, among other things, how

these prime assets were given away to industry unknowns.

Despite such shocking revelations being put into the public domain, leader of t h e A P N U + A F C Opposition, Joseph Harmon, yesterday declared that the coalition is “awaiting more

information” before any action is taken in the National Assembly to hold those responsible parties accountable.

His answer was in response to a question on the Opposition's silence since the KN exposé started. According to Harmon, such a conclusion

about the posture of the political opposition may not be “accurate” since the information being revealed to the public by this newspaper “was more than what we in the Opposition would have had.”

“I think at this time, you have or you seem to have at least access to this

information and certainly we are following it up very closely and I would not be able to say beyond what it is we will do.

But certainly, once that information reaches a certain level, we will have to ask certain questions of the Government because they are the ones who are in power and they are the ones who will have to say what it is that is being done about these activities,” Harmon told media operatives.

During the past two weeks, Kaieteur News' reporters repeatedly posed questions to the Opposition leader in hopes of getting clear cut answers on how these sweetheart deals were awarded. Those efforts proved futile.

In a previous engagement with this newspaper, Harmon was asked to reveal the identities of all the beneficial owners of the blocks.

He was quick to note that this information would be revealed at a later date, during an oil-specific press conference.

It should be noted that the information being published is contained in the March 4, 2015 contract awarded by the Ramotar administration, weeks leading up to the General and Regional Elections.

That contract would have been passed over into the hands of the incoming APNU+AFC regime of which Harmon sat as the Minister of State and later as Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency.

Throughout that period, the Ministry of Natural Resources fell under the Ministry of the Presidency.

Despite it being the People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) that signed away the lucrative blocks, industry stakeholders are of the view that the Coalition is just as complicit.

In this regard, local commentators have said that the APNU+AFC regime played a key role in approving several transfers of interests for the blocks.

Opposition leader, Joseph Harmon There are also concerns that the coalition which established the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), may have stymied the agency's failure to complete its probe into the oil blocks giveaway.

It should also be noted that the former APNU+AFC regime would not have had to rely on information from outside sources as regards the true owners of the block, since it would have already been in possession of such information while in Government.

This is because, every time stakes in the two blocks were transferred or sold to other parties, the government is responsible for approving same. In this regard, when signing deals, the government has to know the hands the stakes are leaving, and the hands to which they will go.

The Kaieteur Block was originally owned jointly by Ratio Energy Limited and Ratio Guyana now known as Cataleya Energy Limited. Exxon Mobil then farmed in and later sold participating shares to Hess Corporations.

The Canje Block was originally owned by MidAtlantic Oil and Gas Inc. Mid Atlantic later sold shares to JHI Associates Inc. Exxon Mobil and the French petroleum company, Total, later farmed in.

Tuesday October 20, 2020

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

A MAN’S OWN TO KEEP A man gets up early. He quickly does his sanitary rituals, has his breakfast, kisses his family goodbye and sets off to work.

He has his problems but he does not burden the world with them. He wants to work hard and honestly so that he can provide for his family. His family is important to him and even though he may be barely making ends meet and just only covering the bills, he knows that day in, day out, he has to rise for work so that he can take care of his family.

Over time, he may have accumulated some assets. He may have over time been able to buy a car or some piece of expensive jewellery through his hard work. That is a product of his labour. They belong to him and not to any other.

He should be entitled to those things.

Yet while this man is busy

making his daily bread, there are others who are plotting to deprive him of what he has worked for. They will try to either rob him or steal his assets. Some even go as far as plotting to extort money from the poor fellow.

These criminals are not interested in making an honest living. They are interested in taking what others have worked hard for. Sometimes what a poor man has takes many years to accumulate and therefore he deserves to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

The criminals who deprive other people of their hard earned savings and assets deserve no mercy. They should feel the full brunt of the law. Many of these criminals when they are caught, attempt to cover their faces so that they would not be shamed in public.

But have they ever consid-

ered what they have done to those who they rob? Among the many victims, of carjackings, for example, are taxi drivers. Most of these guys are working class individuals who are forced to work late hours just to make some money to take care of the bills and to take care of their families.

Many of them have repayment plans for their vehicles.

When these guys are carjacked what happens is that their whole life is turned upside down. The bank or credit agency still has to be paid and you can wail from now till doomsday about being robbed, you still have to pay back what you had borrowed. The bank may say sorry but what was borrowed still has to be paid.

One man whose vehicle was carjacked said that the parts stripped from the vehicle were

Dem boys seh ...

CXC forcing dem lil boys fuh go to de CCJ Dem boys wan know wah happen to all de ‘big’ school students wah bin protesting dem grades. Dem students bin seh how dem would fight to de end until they are victorious.

De CXC bin do a review and de review show wah dem boys bin suspect: de problem was de SBA wah bin moderate.

Dem boys know dat some of dem teachers does give dem students high scores pun dem SBA. Dem boys also know that nuff of dem teachers in dem’ ‘big’ school nah pull dem weight when it comes to teaching.

Dem mo focus pun lessons.

And dem does leave dem SBA fuh last minute and stress dem poor pickney out.

But nah tell dat to dem lil boys wah peeing froth. Dem feel dem know mo than dem examiner.

Perhaps dem de considering that some of dem same teacher does end up marking dem test paper.

Dem boys remember wan time when dem bin at university. Four of dem boys went out drinking de night before finals. As things turned out dem four boys get wasted and nah wake up fuh go to de examination.

So dem guh to de professor and tell he how dem went fuh a drive in the countryside and dem get a flat tyre and could not get back in time fuh write de test. De examiner tell dem fuh come de next day fuh a retest.

When dem four tun up de next day, de professor put dem fuh sit far from one another. He then tell them to begin the test.

When dem open de question paper, it had one question alone. De question was “Which tyre?

Talk half and nah ask why dem boys never graduate.

valued at some $400,000. Now that is a lot of money and this man now has to work all over just to replace what he has lost.

There are individuals who work hard to buy a cell phone for their children or partners and then someone likes what they see and decides to deprive the beneficiary of the phone. They rob you of what you have. There is nothing that is more humiliating than knowing that someone can simply take from you what you have spent years accumulating. How can this be right?

And guess what, whenever the culprits are caught, they try to conceal their faces so that they will not be rec-

ognized. They hide their faces in their shirts, they pull their jerseys over their heads; they use their hands to cover their faces because they do not wish to be publicly embarrassed.

But have they ever stopped to think about what they have done to someone else, to another man who when deprived of what he worked for does not know how he is going to put a meal on his family’s table or how he is going to continue to earn an income?.

These crimes whereby persons are deprived of their hard-earned property happen every day.

But the crimes that make the sensational headlines are the

large robberies. There are also other personal crimes in which the impact is greater for the victim than some of those larger crimes and therefore when persons are found guilty of these crimes, their identities should be made known so that others will be cautious around them and avoid falling into the same trap as the victims.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

PAGE 10

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

You cannot benefit from election then reject it when you lose Four prominent persons in leadership position from different African cultural and African political organizations asserted that the 2020 election was a sociological waste of time because it obfuscated the dire ethnic drama that has been playing out in Guyana for most of the 19th century and all of the 21st century.

From ACDA there is Eric Phillips. He rejected the position on the Guyana elections

by Professor Hilary Beckles, UWI Vice Chancellor. Philips wrote in condemnation of Beckles the following, “… the situation in Guyana is comprehensively misunderstood

even by scholars in the Region as winner-take-all politics will never work in Guyana …I have called for shared governance more than anyone in Guyana over the last 10 years.”

There is Vincent Alexander from International Year of the People of African Descent – Guyana (IDPADAG). It is well known that as chairman of IDPADA-G, Alexander wrote CARICOM and the UN to argue that Guyana’s exigent problems are only exacerbated by periodic elections therefore these problems need prioritizing rather than the election re-

sults.

The third one is David Hinds, leader of Society for Empowerment of African People. There is no need to even offer a brief quote on his position. He spelt it out graphically for five months even exclaiming that Guyana must scrap the election and birth an interim government.

The fourth person is Simona Broomes from the PNC. She shouted in a protest outside the home of the social media personality, “Guyanese Critic” that there must not be a declaration but GECOM must bring the PNC and PPP at the table for a settlement.

Phillips in his letter to the newspapers reacted to Professor Beckles’s acceptance of the PPP’s victory by saying that Beckles had been misled.

Alexander said CARICOM and the UN did not reply.

Why CARICOM did not respond and why Beckles took the position he did.

Here in Guyana were four prominent Guyanese belonging to organizations that participated in elections, won elections, held crucial policymaking positions in government but when they lost an election suddenly competitive election is irrelevant. Only contempt can visit such a position and though we will never know why CARICOM and the UN did not engage IDPADA-G, we can speculate that contempt could be one of the reasons.

If Alexander believes election is an institution that is antithetical to social and ethnic stability in this country why was he involved in administering national elections - central and local- for fifteen years? During this time, did it ever dawn on Alexander that he was a leading administrator in a flawed institution – periodic election- that Guyana needs to revamp? Is it safe to say that Alexander

shouted “eureka, election kyaan wuk” when he found out his party lost the 2020 poll?

David Hinds’s party, the WPA, was one of the organizations that won the elections twice – 2011 and 2015 and was a candidate in all three elections including 2020. For five years, the WPA was in government that came to power through an election.

The researcher cannot find one sentence from Hinds from 2015 in which he advised his party to leave government because elections bring into being governments that end up dividing the nation. Hinds discovered the absurdity of competitive elections after his party lost in 2020.

Phillips took a high-level job with the government of Guyana. From 2015, onwards, there wasn’t any word from Phillips that he should exit his employment because the government he worked for came to power through a process that divides the nation and perpetuates winner-take-all mentality. Phillips is asking for power-sharing in 2020 but didn’t resign from government and fight for it. He wants it known because the PNC lost the election in 2020.

Finally, Broomes sees

Frederick Kissoon power sharing as the solution. In the picket line, she urged the GECOM chairperson not to declare any results and shouted some wise words. She informed the persons filming her that Guyanese fought and died for togetherness and now GECOM is seeking to divide Guyanese through an election result. She said it is not right that Guyanese must feel that when the PNC and PPP are in power, one side loses and one side wins.

But poor Broomes never uttered a single word when she was a Minister, like those she shouted vociferously outside the home of Guyanese Critic. In fact, Broomes was a divisive figure. She filmed a derogatory video mocking opposition leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, with the constant repetition of “Boom out, Jagdeo.” I wonder if when Broomes was doing that, she remembered that Jagdeo was East Indian and head of an Indian party. Well, my girl, Simona, your party lost the election. Time to boom out!

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Cops, caught on camera trying to abandon pedal cyclist, under close arrest

T

hree policemen are now under close arrest after they were seen in a video trying to drive away after hitting down a pedal cyclist.

The video of the ranks' action surfaced on Facebook and went viral. It was recorded live just a little after 07:00hrs. Kaieteur News was reliably informed that police authorit i e s h a d subsequently launched an investigation into the matter.

The ranks, who are all attached to the Turkeyen Police Station, were later contacted and taken into custody.

Based on a police report, the ranks told investigators that at the time of the incident they were in a pick-up driving along a street in the area. They said that they had slowed down suddenly and felt an impact at the back of

the vehicle. The cops claimed that they had stopped, exited and saw a man sitting on the road with a bicycle lying next to him.

The ranks continued that they enquired of the man what happened. The man, they said, responded that he had accidently rode into the back of their vehicle.

The video seen by this newspaper did not show how the accident occurred but, according to the individual who was recording, the officers had attempted to drive away.

He commentated that the ranks were forced to abort their plan after he and other residents confronted them.

The ranks were repeatedly scolded by the commentator for trying to flee the scene.

He told them that even if the pedal cyclist was at fault, it is

wrong for them to drive away and leave an injured man on the road. The ranks, h o w e v e r, i n d i c a t e d t o investigators that they had asked the pedal cyclist from the inception if he wanted to go to the hospital for treatment but he declined.

Nevertheless, the commentator was heard in the video advising the ranks to take the injured man to the hospital. This was after he observed them kicking the man's slippers to his feet and handing him his bicycle.

It was only after other persons had rushed to the scene to investigate that the pedal cyclist was heard telling them that he did not want to go to the hospital.

The policemen even denied using indecent or abusive language to anyone (continued on page 13)

Tuesday October 20, 2020

COVID-19 death toll now at 114 - as Ministry announces 31 new cases

G

uyana now has 114 deaths as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This number, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH), resulted from three of the latest fatalities recorded as of October 19th, 2020.

According to the Ministry, the deaths include two 64-year-old women and a 74-year-old man from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) all of whom tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The persons all died while receiving care at a medical facility.

The announcement of the deaths was made even as the

Ministry reported 31 new COVID-19 cases. The new cases were recorded in Regions: Three – one case; Four, 25 - cases, and Six, five cases.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e Ministry's dashboard revealed that patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit has decreased to 12, while 819 remain in home isolation, 74 in institutional isolation and 2,749 have recovered.

Yesterday's deaths were not recorded in the Ministry's daily COVID-19 dashboard.

Meanwhile, the Ministry noted that Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures (NO.

9), which are in effect until October 31, 2020.

This order emphasizes the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home; the importance of maintaining the six feet physical distance from others; and the need for good hand-hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, they can contact the COVID-19 hotlines: 231-1166, 2267480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit its w e b s i t e : www.health.gov.gy.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 20, 2020

“You cannot make Guyanese refugees in their own country”

T

he move by the governing P e o p l e ' s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) to house the displaced Success Squatters at the Graham's Hall Primary School is being criticized by Opposition leader, Joseph Harmon. Harmon is of the strong view that Guyanese should not be allowed to become “refugees” in their own homeland.

Just days ago, after a visit to the area by Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips; the Guyana Civil Defence Commission (CDC) announced that the Graham's Hall Primary School in Cummings Lodge was being prepared as a shelter for the displaced squatters.

But such a move, according to Harmon, is only a temporary solution.

Harmon, during his weekly press briefing, was asked pointedly whether the residents should accept the offer of shelter.

To this he said, “I did say in my statement that this does not address the issue of land and what you are seeing here is the Prime Minister basically offering a t e m p o r a r y solution…because when you are putting people to go and live in a school, when school reopens, what is going to happen?”

According to the Opposition leader, the move is merely setting up a situation where “you make Guyanese refugees in their o w n c o u n t r y. ” H e questioned further what other solution would be made available if and when school reopens, forcing the displaced residents to move once again.

In his view, the only solution available rests with consultations that lead to the regularization of the area.

He said, “It is not about being heartless. This is bad.

- Harmon

Opposition leader, Joseph Harmon It has a bad taste. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth of these persons and I do not support this question of shifting them from one place to the next. If you are moving them from land, you have to put them on land, not in a school.”

The Success Squatting issue has been brewing for weeks and escalated days ago when the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) decided to flood a large section of the lands – a move seen as calculated in order to flush out the dwellers.

A later standoff with law enforcement officers resulted in a number of squatters being shot and injured with rubber pellets.

Many of the dwellers reside in shoddy shacks with little sheltering capacity and with the lands now being inundated; they are now forced to live under worse conditions, suffering significant loss to their makeshift homes, clothing, household possessions, gardens and livestock.

But the issue is not a new one, as squatters were occupying the land during the APNU+AFC's tenure in

office. But when asked whether he was aware of the situation, Harmon answered in the negative, stating that it only came to his attention when the issue hit the media.

“Maybe the occupation may have started in a quiet way, in a creeping way,” Harmon explained “but to (the) extent to which it became a problem, after the standoff with the residents and police, I cannot say that we were aware that the squatting was this extensive.”

The lands there are expected to be prepared for the Enmore Estate's reopening, slated for 2022.

GuySuCo had issued a prior notice to squatters occupying the East Coast lands which included Success, Vryheid's Lust and Chateau Margot, warning them that the lands were a part of GuySuCo's Cane Breeding and Research Station at the Enmore/La Bonne Intention Estate.

With this in mind, a question was put to Harmon on how the Opposition intends to ensure that the governing regime regularize the lands at Success. To this, he contended that the land belongs “to the state” and the state can regularize same.

“It is the state's intervention that had the Prime Minister going there to make decisions,” Harmon said. “It is the state's intervention, GuySuCo and NICIL are agents of the state.

They do not act just like that on their own and so it is for the state to make a decision with respect to these people.

Treat them as Guyanese human beings and find a solution that is practical in the circumstance. It is the responsibility of the regime to do that. To find a solution to this problem that would not find these people being put into a school but they must be placed on land,” he added.

Cops, caught on camera...

From page 12 that morning.

The video, on the other hand, depicted that there was a verbal combat between the ranks and the man recording the video.

The exchange of words began after one of the policemen looked up at him and indicated with his hand

to stop recording.

The man replied angrily “don't tell me to stop”. The rank in turn told him “nah ah only shaking you off”. The man responded “me ain't want you shake me off”.

This somewhat aggravated the rank who began uttering foul language and vulgar slangs to the man.

Investigators said that they have since questioned several other persons but have not obtained any useful information.

The pedal cyclist is yet to be located. This publication was informed that cops are currently trying to ascertain his identity as investigations into the matter continues.

PAGE 13

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Hours after reportedly drinking together‌

Motorcyclist slams into cop's car S

unday night, mere hours after a motorcyclist was reportedly seen imbibing with a police officer, he slammed into the lawman's car at the intersection of Third Avenue and Fifth Street, Bartica, Region Seven.

With a shattered left arm and a broken leg, Marlon Branford, 25, a mechanic of Five Miles, Bartica, is currently hospitalized in a critical condition.

Branford, according to reports, collided with the cop's car sometime between 8:30 and 9:00hrs.

Footage seen by this newspaper showed that both men were speeding. Just as the car was crossing the intersection, Branford's motorcycle slammed into the right side of the policeman's car. The impact of the crash caused the motorcycle to bounce backwards.

Brandford was flung some

The police rank's car

Branford's wrecked motorcycle

meters into the air before landing on the parapet some distance away.

Persons were seen running out of their homes and heading towards the scene to render assistance.

The motorcycle was wrecked and the policeman's

car bore a huge dent to the side. Brandford was seen lying unconscious with his left arm bent backwards.

He was picked up and rushed to the Bartica Regional Hospital where he was admitted. Kaieteur News was told that because

Critical: Marlon Branford

of his condition he had to be transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). He is expected to undergo multiple surgeries to fix his shattered arm and broken leg.

Meanwhile, the cop has

been placed under close arrest as his colleagues carry out their investigations.

Kaieteur News has learnt that both Branford and the cop were under the influence of alcohol. It was later revealed that the cop and the (continued on page 18)

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

Law books charges against Driver, who struck down KN staffers, still at large Nandlall discontinued

T

he charges against Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, that alleged the theft of law books was on Friday discontinued.

Following a letter from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C, to Magistrate Fabayo Azore in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts, the charges were discontinued based on the directions in the letter.

Nandlall had denied the charges which alleged that between May 18, 2015 and May 29, 2015 while being a bailee, in his then capacity as Attorney General, he fraudulently converted 14 Commonwealth Law Reports valued at $2,313,853, property of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, to his own use and benefit.

The charges were instituted against Nandlall in 2017 by the Special Organized Crime Unit (S.O.C.U), an arm of the Guyana Police Force.

Magistrate Azore last year ruled that there is

Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall sufficient evidence against Nandlall for him to answer to the charges. Nandlall then approached the Court of Appeal, to request a judicial review of a decision by Magistrate Azore to overrule a no-case submission in his trial for the alleged theft of Law Reports.

The Appeal Court in its ruling had said that it will not intervene in the matter as the trial is already underway.

However, earlier this year

Nandlall moved to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to overturn the Court of Appeal's ruling.

Nandlall was previously reported as saying that when he took up the post as Attorney General, he did so at a loss and it was for that reason he agitated for the State to pay for the Law Reports.

He had said that the arrangement received the blessings of then Head of State, Donald Ramotar.

H o w e v e r, S . O . C . U investigators had contended that because the books were bought with State funds, they cannot be the property of Nandlall, and in fact, the State should not have entered into such an arrangement in the first place.

There were also reports that suggest that there was no evidence of an agreement between Nandlall and Ramotar, and even assuming that there was such an agreement, the use of public funds in this manner is a flagrant violation of the Financial Management and Accountability Act.

S

till on the run is the driver of a tinted black Nissan Tida motorcar , who instead of rendering assistance, fled the scene after he struck down two Kaieteur News' staffers on October 13 last.

The incident occurred on the Houston, East Bank Demerara (EBD) public road sometime around 16:45hrs The staffers, Royden Rockliffe, 30, and Clinton Layne, 23, were at the time on work detail which saw them travelling on a motorcycle along the western carriageway of the public road.

Rockcliffe, the rider, had said that he felt an impact from behind which caused him to lose control of the bike, which, as a result, fell to the road.

Video footage obtained by this media house showed Rockliffe and his pillion rider Layne travelling along at a normal rate of speed when the car accelerated suddenly in an attempt to overtake them. As the car was about to pass it jammed the motorcycle from behind.

The bike fell and skidded for some distance along the roadway with its rider. The

This motorcar and its driver are being sought by police pillion rider was thrown off upon impact and landed on his back in the middle of oncoming traffic.

The car continued its journey presumably towards Georgetown, without stopping.

Both Rockliffe and Layne, received injuries about their bodies and were assisted by persons who witnessed the accident. Police said that they have since

launched an investigation into the matter.

Based on information obtained, the car bears licence plate PYY 9537. Sources said that it was later discovered that the registration number has led investigators to two different addresses on the East Bank of Demerara, one of which is an empty lot.

Checks were made at the other location but the car and its driver were not found.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Tuesday October 20, 2020

$2M Pinktober fund to focus on Charandass Persaud is back cancer patients' mental health - GTT and ready to contribute to nation's development A s GTT continues to contribute to cancer care and awareness through its annual Pinktober commemoration and sales, the company in a press release announced that it has allocated some $2M towards mental health support for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers throughout Guyana.

According to GTT's Pinktober Coordinator, Diana Gittens, there are a total of 400 scheduled mental health support sessions, which will be led

by GTT's partners in healthcare and wellness, effective 2020 through 2021.

These partners include the various treatment centers across the country.

Gittens explained that the sessions will especially aim to increase access to mental health support services for cancer patients and caregivers of patients from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

“This is just the beginning of so many other projects we have in store for those affected by cancer, especially those who need the financial assistance.

Cancer does not

discriminate – we all know someone who has been impacted – and we acknowledge that we are in this together,” said Gittens.

She made it known too that “We at GTT strongly believe that mental health support is just as important as physical care – and this holistic approach will play a significant role in improving overall cancer care in Guyana,” Gittens stated.

She noted too that those affected by cancer can reach out to the various Nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs) that have partnered

with GTT to indicate interest in being part of the sessions.

To support the annual Pinktober initiative this year, GTT is inviting individuals and corporations to buy special Pinktober water bottles from its retail stores – or online.

Donations can also be made to the cause by using the mmg+app and code 07693, and GTT has assured that “all proceeds will help in the fight against cancer – and assists in supporting programmes inclusive of mental health and physical care.”

From page 14 motorcyclist might be friends since they were seen liming and drinking together just hours prior to the crash.

Evidence obtained from CCTV footage shows that Branford had attempted to jump the right-of-way with his motorcycle but was not fast enough resulting in him crashing into the car.

Eyewitnesses also speculated that the men might have been bar hopping.

They said that despite the COVID-19 regulations bars in the area are still in o p e r a t i o n . H o w e v e r, eyewitnesses said that although proprietors are forced to close their doors at 21:00hrs, there is one-night

spot that continuously breaks the rules and remain open until 04:00hrs. This night spot, according to eyewitnesses, is located a short distance away from the accident scene.

It is believed that the men, or probably Branford alone, might have been heading to that location to continue imbibing.

F

GTT's Diana Gittens

ormer member of the Alliance For Change (AFC) a n d A t t o r n e y - a t - L a w, Charandass Persaud, has returned to Guyana and has his attention focused on contributing to the development of the country.

During a brief appearance on Kaieteur Radio (99.1/99.5FM) yesterday, Persaud spoke excitedly about his homecoming after spending 22 months in Canada. His exile followed his vote in the December 21, 2018 NoConfidence Motion (NCM) against the former APNU+AFC regime. The passage of this motion was the proverbial first domino that fell in the coalition's plummet from power.

“I am happy to be back here,” Persaud said, “and I would like to contribute because I know that I can contribute to the development of, not just Guyana, but the people of this country. That is what I saw lacking in the government that I was part of

Former MP, Charandass Persaud and so I did my best to change it.”

The Attorney-at-Law maintains that he has not been offered a job by the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government, or any other institution for that matter. He stated, however, that he may consider leaving his legal profession if that will aid him in better serving the people.

With regards to his protection and safety, Persaud highlighted that he is “very concerned” about it, and linked this to the

numerous death threats he received following the NCM passage.

“I honestly believe that there are some people who are so shallow in their thinking that (when) a man executes his constitutional right, it has offended some of them, or it has caused some of them grief by way of losing jobs and losing this high life and good life that they had,” Persaud said.

He emphasized, however, that he will continue to fight for positive changes in Guyana.

Trial for truck driver in Motorcyclist slams into cop's car Agricola accident that killed girl, 7, starts tomorrow

Charged: Danion Welcome

M

ore than a year after being charged for the horrific accident that took the life of 7-year-old Ciara Benjamin, the trial for Danion Welcome (the truck driver involved in the accident) is scheduled to commence Wednesday in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts.

T hirty-nine-year old Welcome, a father of four of Albouys Street, Albouystown, Georgetown

Dead: Ciara Benjamin

is scheduled to appear before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly in the company of his attorney, Dexter Todd, for the commencement of the trial.

O n his first court appearance, Welcome was released on $500,000, bail and his driver's license was suspended.

He denied the charge which stated that on June 15, 2019 at Agricola Public Road, East Bank Demerara, he drove motor lorry GWW

962 in a manner dangerous to the public and caused the death of Ciara Benjamin.

According to the facts of the charge, on the day in question, at about 16:10 hrs, Welcome was proceeding north on the eastern half of the Agricola Public Road, while being the driver of motor lorry GWW 962 and driving at a fast rate, when he lost control of the said vehicle and collided with the little girl causing her demise.

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 19

14-year-old girl wins $25K prize for discovery that could lead to Covid-19 cure developed an understanding of the innovation process and is a masterful communicator.

Her willingness to use her time and talent to help make the world a better place gives us all hope."

Anika said winning the prize and title of top young scientist is an honour, but her work isn't done.

Her next goal, she says, is to work alongside scientists and researchers who are

Anika Chebrolu, 14, won the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge (CNN) - As scientists around the world race to find a treatment for the coronavirus, a young girl among them stands out.

Anika Chebrolu, a 14year-old from Frisco, Texas, has just won the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge -and a $25,000 prize -- for a discovery that could provide a potential therapy to COVID-19.

Anika's winning invention uses in-silico methodology to discover a lead molecule that can selectively bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"The last two days, I saw that there is a lot of media hype about my project since it involves the SARS-CoV-2 virus and it reflects our collective hopes to end this pandemic as I, like everyone else, wish that we go back to our normal lives soon," Anika told CNN.

The coronavirus has killed more than 1.1 million peopleglobally since China reported its first case to the World Health Organization (WHO) in December. The United States has more than 219,000 deaths, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Anika, who is Indian American, submitted her project when she was in 8th grade -- but it wasn't always going to be focused on finding a cure for COVID19.

Initially, her goal was to use in-silico methods to identify a lead compound that could bind to a protein of the influenza virus.

"After spending so much time researching about pandemics, viruses and drug discovery, it was crazy to think that I was actually living through something

like this," Anika said.

"Because of the immense severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the drastic impact it had made on the world in such a short time, I, with the help of my mentor, changed directions to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

Anika said she was inspired to find potential cures to viruses after learning about the 1918 flu pandemic and finding out how many people die every year in the United States despite annual vaccinations and anti-influenza drugs on the market.

"Anika has an inquisitive mind and used her curiosity to ask questions about a vaccine for COVID-19," Dr. Cindy Moss, a judge for the 3 M Yo u n g S c i e n t i s t Challenge, told CNN. "Her work was comprehensive and examined numerous databases. She also

Man remanded for allegedly chopping teen

O

ne of three Ve n e z u e l a n brothers, who allegedly chopped a 17-yearold boy, was yesterday charged and remanded to prison for the offence.

The defendant, Uberto Stanilus, was arraigned before Magistrate Zameena Ali-Seepaul in the Leonora Magistrate's Court, when the charge was read to him.

He denied the charge which stated that on October 12, 2020, at Sea View, Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded 17-year-old Navindra Bharat.

According to reports, at

around 18:00hrs on the day in question, the defendant and two of his brothers allegedly assaulted their sister-in-law who reportedly ran over to Bharat's yard to seek refuge.

She was however told to “get out�.

Kaieteur News was told that the three brothers became annoyed, cursed their neighbours and a heated argument erupted between the two families which included name calling and threats from both sides.

Later that day, around 19:30hrs, Bharat was attacked, by the three Venezuelan brothers, while sitting at a culvert with his friends.

According to a police report, one of the Venezuelan brothers dealt Bharat several lashes to his body with a bicycle chain and another chopped him to his head with a cutlass.

However, Bharat managed to escape but collapsed in front of his yard.

He was rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital where he was treated and referred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

He was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was treated and eventually sent away.

The other two suspects are being sought by police.

fighting to "control the morbidity and mortality" of the pandemic by developing her findings into an actual cure for the virus.

"My effort to find a lead compound to bind to the spike protein of the SARSCoV-2 virus this summer may appear to be a drop in the ocean, but still adds to all these efforts," she said.

"How I develop this molecule further with the help of virologists and drug

development specialists will determine the success of these efforts."

Of course, Anika also finds time to be a normal 14year-old.

When she isn't in a lab or working toward her goal of becoming a doctor or researcher, Anika trains for the Indian classical d a n c e c a l l e d Bharatanatyam, which she has been practicing for eight years.

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 20, 2020

PAGE 21

Murder at Haslington …

Accused and victim had heated argument shortly before murder occurred - witnesses

A

t least, two witnesses testifying in the murder trial of Les Charles Critchlow recalled that there was a heated disagreement between Charles and his brother- in-law, Terence Adams, mere hours before he (Adams) was stabbed and killed.

Critchlow, 65, called “Uncle Les,” of Haslington East Coast Demerara (ECD), who is currently incarcerated at the Lusignan prisons, joined yesterday's court proceeding via zoom.

He stands indicted before High Court Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and a mixed 12-member jury for the May 12, 2016 murder of his brother-in-law, Adams, called “Uncle Terry” or “Sleepy”.

The witnesses who testified under oath included Janice Nelson and Shellon Marks; both women recalled that Critchlow and Adams had a verbal dispute over

some repairs and maintenance work that was to be done to a property.

The witnesses claimed that shortly after the argument, Critchlow went to the upper flat of the house and grabbed a long knife and left the premises hurriedly.

Marks recalled that she was in the yard when Critchlow left in anger with the knife in his possession and she tried to contact Adams who had left to go to a nearby shop.

“I was trying to call Terry to tell him that Uncle Les coming round by the shop but Digicel like had a problem and the phone wasn't working,” Marks told the court in her testimony.

She revealed to the court that while she is not related to Critchlow, she has children with his son Les Critchlow Jr. S i m i l a r l y, N e l s o n , Critchlow's reputed wife, recalled that her husband had grabbed a long reddish

Les Charles Critchlow during his initial arraignment handle knife and left.

She said that not long after, a van load of policemen came to her home to inform her that her brother Terry was stabbed to death.

The witness said that she learnt then that her reputed husband was taken in for questioning for the killing.

The woman faced several

questions as it relates to the description of the knife from defence attorney, Maxwell McKay. She nonetheless, maintained that she had seen her husband leave her kitchen armed with the reddish handle knife.

Additionally, Leyland Nelson, the brother of the deceased, recalled that he was informed of his brother's death while he was on his way to the shop. Nelson recalled too that his brother and Critchlow had “a talking,” earlier that day.

The witness was keen to note that the two men had what he referred to as a “talking”, and not “no big problems.”

He said that he was shock to find out that his brother had died because he didn't expect anything to escalate from the matter.

In addition to the relatives, police constable, Joel Chism, testified to visiting the crime scene and

taking photographic exposures of the victim's body as well as the scene of the killing.

The policeman also recalled taking DNA blood samples from the accused for forensic processing.

At the commencement of the matter last week, Critchlow pleaded not guilty to the offence which was presented to him.

State Counsel, Tiffini Lyken and Nafeeza Baig provided the Court with the particulars of the matter.

According to state counsel, the murder stemmed

from a dispute the accused had with his daughter.

During his initial appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court, Critchlow reportedly told the Magistrate that he was involved in a family dispute which turned violent.

He claimed that he was wounded in a bid to defend himself against his attacker.

The man also claimed that after the fracas, he was arrested but was not allowed to seek medical attention for the injuries he sustained to his head and other parts of his body.

PAGE 22

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 20, 2020

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BRUSSELS/BERLIN/ LONDON - (Reuters) - With less than three weeks until the U.S. presidential election, European capitals are concerned about the risk of a disputed outcome and the impact it would have in the United States and abroad.While Democrat candidate Joe Biden leads in opinion polls, the 2016 election produced a split between the popular vote and the Electoral College. Analysts say that remains possible on Nov.

3.With Trump equivocating on whether he would accept a peaceful transfer of power if he loses, and suggesting the Supreme Court may have to decide the winner, the risk of a contested result is significant.One British bookmaker is offering 9/4 that Trump will lose the popular vote but be re-elected, odds that imply a 69% probability. A poll of global fund managers by Bank of

America found 60% expected the result to be disputed.In major European capitals,

where many quietly hope the election will produce a change of president and a shift in U.S. policy on issues from climate to trade, NATO and the Iran nuclear deal, caution prevails.“The majority of EU governments hope for a Biden victory, although no one would say that,” said one EUdiplomat.“Governments are looking at scenarios, contin-

gency plans, although it remains to be seen what could be done in the case of Trump contesting the result.”

Golding, Hanna profess they would work together despite outcome of election KINGSTON, Jamaica — Both candidates for the People’s National Party’s (PNP’s) top job, Mark Golding and Lisa Hanna, have openly declared that they intend to support each other in spite of the outcome of the party’s impending internal election.The two are vying for presidency of the PNP and the title of Leader of the Opposition.In separate interviews with the Observer early yesterday to articulate their reasons for running and reasons delegates should choose them, the candidates both said party unity was paramount.Asked if she would be willing to have Golding as spokesman on finance if she were to win, Hanna answered in the affirmative.“I wouldn’t have a problem reappointing Mark as spokesperson of finance at all. I think he has served well.

I served with Mark in Cabinet as well and I think he has been a good Opposition spokesperson on finance and I think

Freddie is ...

From page 6 took anything from him. It is either you have or you do not have. All those whom he had attacked have demonstrated that they all have the staying power and ability to go deeper than him on whatever is it that aggrieves him (whatever the issue). He is now going after black women, the sisters.

Vincent Alexander, in a recent response, correctly accused him of pedaling “Nancy story.” That is Frederick Kissoon, unmasked, a man who spent more than a quarter century teaching at UG, conducting special research and barely achieved Lecturer II status.

He is a loudmouth mediocre lecturer, obsessed with black men and women.

Yours truly.

Lincoln Lewis.

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Lisa Hanna and Mark Golding

he would make a good finance minister,” she said.

Golding, meanwhile, when asked if he would be willing to serve in the party’s leadership were he to lose, said: “I expect at this point to be elected president, but I certainly would serve whoever is the leader of the party going forward.”“I’m a party

man; I’m a loyal member of the People’s National Party. I believe in the mission of the party and I believe that Jamaica needs to see the party be strong and deliver on our historic mission,” he added.

The election is scheduled for November 7 and arose out of the resignation of Dr Peter Phillips.

Tuesday October 20, 2020

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U.S., Britain call out Russian hacking spree, cyberattacks against Olympics London/Washington (Reuters) - Britain and the United States on Monday condemned what they said were a litany of malicious cyberattacks orchestrated by Russian military intelligence, including attempts to disrupt next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

British and U.S. officials said the attacks were conducted

by Unit 74455 of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, also known as the Main Centre for Special Technologies.

In an indictment unsealed on Monday, the U.S. Justice Department said six members of the unit had played key roles in attacks on targets ranging from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to

the 2017 French elections.

The charges covered four years of malicious cyber activity, from 2015 to 2019. U.S. officials would not say whether the timing of the announcement just ahead of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election was intended to serve as a warning to foreign, government-linked hacking groups.

British officials said the GRU hackers had also conducted “cyber reconnaissance” operations against organisers of the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were originally scheduled to be held this year but postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The British officials declined to give specific details about the latest attacks or say whether they were successful, but said they had targeted

Games organisers, logistics suppliers and sponsors. In a virtual press conference on

This year’s Olympics ended up being postponed because of the pandemic.

Monday, Justice Department Assistant Attorney General John Demers also declined to discuss the hacking activity around the 2020 Games.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “The GRU’s actions against the

Tuesday Octomber 20, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) There should be no doubt in your mind about which way to proceed, Aries. Don't let self-doubt sneak into the picture. Your mind is sensitive and alert, so trust it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You will feel much better about yourself if you get things

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Your rock-star attitude may be getting a bit old now, Taurus. People aren't going to continue to listen to your demands for attention.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You might consider taking a rest today, Scorpio. Like a sailboat on the ocean, you've been taxed lately by all the turbulence. The pressure on you has been tremendous.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Your ship is finally coming into port after being out in rough seas for so long, Gemini. It's time to dock the boat for a while. Relax and explore the area.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You may still be on something of a high from the last couple weeks. You will definitely be tempted to let the good times continue to roll, Cancer.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Communicate from a centered space today, Leo. Fortunately, the nature of the day caters to your needs and desires. You shouldn't have to work too hard to get what you want.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) Work toward achieving a better unity between you and the people around you, Virgo. It could be that certain people in your circle of friends somehow feel alienated in one way or another.

Olympic and Paralympic Games are cynical and reckless.

done today, Libra. Like a meal that tastes good but isn't necessarily good for you, you might enjoy this day by being lazy.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Your thinking is apt to be quite clear and rational today, Sagittarius. This is especially important since others will be looking for your thoughts and opinions on a certain matter.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) By being around negative and flip people, you might inadvertently pick up these habits. Be careful about your associates.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You may feel like the world is caving in on you in many ways today, Aquarius. It could be that you've recently dug your own little cave to crawl into and be safe from the outside world.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Remember that you can only remain in charge as long as the others around you support your personality and leadership abilities, Pisces. Avoid mutiny by taking care of the people in your world instead of simply trying to run their lives.

We condemn them in the strongest possible terms.”

FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich said: “The FBI has repeatedly warned that Russia is a highly capable cyber adversary, and the information revealed in this indict-

ment illustrates how pervasive and destructive Russia’s cyber activities truly are.”

NOTPETYAATTACK Russia was banned from the world’s top sporting events for four years in December over widespread doping offences, including the Tokyo Games which were originally scheduled for this year but postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The attacks on the 2020 Games are the latest in a string of hacking attempts against international sporting organisations that Western officials and cybersecurity experts say have been orchestrated by Russia since its doping scandal erupted five years ago.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Britain and the United States said on Monday the hackers were involved in other attacks, such as the hack of the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in South Korea, which compromised hundreds of computers, took down Internet access and disrupted broadcast feeds.

The attack in South Korea had previously been linked to Russia by cybersecurity researchers but was made to look like the work of Chinese or North Korean hackers, Britain’s foreign ministry said.

“The attacks on the 2020 Summer Games are the latest in a campaign of Russian malicious activity against the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” it said in a statement. ”The UK is confirming for the first time today the extent of GRU targeting of the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea.”

Other offensive cyber operations allegedly conducted by the GRU officers since 2015, according to the Justice Department, included the global cyberattack known as NotPetya.

In 2017, destructive NotPetya malware spread globally out of Ukraine, infecting and locking up thousands of computers belonging to corporations. Experts say NotPetya caused upwards of $1 billion in losses. At the time, companies publicly affected

by NotPetya included FedEx Corporation FDX.N and pharmaceutical giant Merck MRK.N.

Messi’s form could be ...

From page 28 of his contract and will come up against Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo in Group G of this season’s Champions League, a competition they have not won since 2015.

Italian champions Juve will prove tough opposition and Koeman played down Barcelona’s chances of helping Messi to another win this year. “When you’re at Barcelona you always want to be there fighting for trophies, be it in La Liga or Europe,” said the former Netherlands manager. “We aren’t the favourites, but we can go far.”

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Tuesday October 20, 2020

Kaieteur News

Messi’s form could be better- Koeman BBCsport - Lionel Messi’s performances “could be better” but the Barcelona

captain is “happy”, says new manager Ronald Koeman. Argentina forward Messi, 33,

tried to leave the club this summer and called the transfer saga “a brutal drama”.

He has scored once so far this season. ”I don’t have any complaints or doubts about his effort,” said Koeman, whose side open their Champions League campaign against Ferencvaros on Tuesday (20:00 BST kick-off).

“Right now his performances could be better.

On a day-to-day basis, he’s happy and wants to play and be the team’s captain.”

Messi is in the final year (Continued on page 27)

Lionel Messi

Groin injury puts Bravo out of action for CSK Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, CMC – A groin injury will force West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo to miss the next few games for Chennai Super Kings and has raised question marks over his availability for West Indies’ Twenty20 tour of New Zealand next month.

The Trinidadian, who turned 37 earlier this month, picked up the injury on Saturday in CSK’s five-run defeat to Delhi Capitals at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Bravo sent down three overs for 23 runs and took one wicket in CSK’s defence of 179 but was unable to bowl the final over and Delhi got the 16 runs required for victory. ”He seems to have a right groin injury, I think, and it was obviously serious enough to keep him off the field,” CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said. “He’s obviously desperately disappointed that he couldn’t bowl the last over – that’s what he’s pretty much in the team for. ”He will have to be reassessed going forward, but at this stage you’d imagine it’s going to take a few days or a couple of weeks, but we will assess [the injury].” A knee injury picked up in the Caribbean Premier League last month kept Bravo out of CSK’s opening three matches of the Indian Premier League but has since featured in the franchise’s last six fixtures with a best of three for 37 against Kolkata Knight Riders.

However, he has managed only six wickets and also had little impact with the bat.

Bravo boasts 512 wickets from 471 T20s, be-

Dwayne Bravo coming the first bowler to cross the 500 threshold. He was last week named in a West Indies squad to tour New Zealand for three T20 Internationals from November 27-30 but is one of just two senior players in the lineup along with captain Kieron Pollard.

All-rounder Andre Russell along with batsmen Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis declined selection while off-spinner Sunil Narine and veteran opener Chris Gayle were overlooked.

Against this backdrop, Bravo’s fitness will be of massive importance to West Indies selectors, and all eyes will be on him in the coming weeks to see if he makes a full recovery.

The New Zealand series will be key for West Indies as they begin preparation for the rescheduled T20 World Cup in India next October.

Noshavyah King heads newly formed Guyana Gym Owners and Trainers Association A mix of experienced and professional individuals in the fitness industry have teamed up to form the Guyana Gym Owners and Trainers Association (GGOTA). The association was officially registered yesterday.

Birthed out of a group conversation due to the closure of gyms and the subsequent loss of revenue of trainers and gym owners owing to COVID-19 pandemic, the association aims to build and represent a structured community for the betterment of the local fitness industry as a whole with focus on addressing the immediate & long-term problems.

Headed by owner of Genesis Fitness Gym, Noshavyah King, Guyana’s only licensed Zumba instructor, the GGOTA’s mandate is as follows. Statement of Purpose:

Gym Owners and Fitness Trainers Association is an association formed by the fitness industry for the fitness industry. Since the fitness industry is large yet unorganized and fragmented, GGOTA aims to build and represent a structured community for the betterment of the industry as a whole with focus on addressing the immediate & long-term problems.

Mission: The mission is to improve the health of the nation by encouraging people to be more active, more often.

GGOTA provides services and facilitates partnerships for a broad range of organisations, all of which support our vision and have a role to play in achieving that goal. Affiliation: A formidable body representing the entire fitness industry in Guyana, our members and partners will

include local gyms & studios from across the public, private and adjacent sectors.

The Guyana Gym Owners and Trainers Association vows to selflessly work together and continue identifying problem areas in the fitness hemisphere and bring about improvements that would benefit all stakeholders across the country in a non-biased manner. Membership: Gym Owners, Fitness Trainers, Coaches and Nutritionist.

The full slate of the GGOTA Committee is as follows: Noshavyah King (President), Vice Presidents, Yannick Grimes and Roger Callender, Secretary-Jordana RamsayGonsalves, Treasurer, Kimberly DosSantos, Assistant Secretary/TreasurerSemonica Duke, PROEmmerson Campbell and Neil Barry-Committee Member.

Tuesday October 20, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Buttler, spinners help Royals climb up the table ESPNcricinfo - After legspinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia pinned down Chennai Super Kings to 125 for 5, Jos Buttler knocked them over to the bottom of the points table with a powerful 70 off 48 balls. Rajasthan Royals climbed to fifth place, boosting their chances of making the playoffs.

Earlier in the evening, Gopal and Tewatia didn’t concede a single boundary and bowled 23 dots between them. All up, the Super Kings batsmen faced 51 dots and never got going in any shape or form.

Their seamers Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood, though, got swing going and dismissed the Royals’ top three within five overs. Steven Smith particularly struggled in the early exchanges, but Buttler showed his range, finishing the chase with seven

wickets and 15 balls to spare, thereby improving their net run-rate as well.

CSK’s sleepwalk - Jofra Archer ambled in, hit speeds north of 145kph, and regularly beat pinch-hitting opener Sam Curran’s outside edge.

Then, when Archer hit 150kph and the outside edge, Curran poked it past slip.

After managing only eight off 13 balls against the rapid pace of Archer and Kartik Tyagi, Curran went searching for an escape route against Gopal, but the spinner clevely dangled a wrong’un away

MS Dhoni and Jos Buttler bump fists after the game ©BCCI

from his reach and had him holing out for 22 off 25 balls. At that point, the Super Kings were 53 for 3 in the ninth over, having lost Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson as w e l l .

In the next over, Tewatia had Rayudu caught behind off a weak sweep with a front-of-

the-hand flipper. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja sleepwalked through the middle overs, and no Super Kings batsman tried to unsettle the

two legspinners.

The Super Kings went 50 balls without a boundary and although Jadeja helped end the drought with four fours,

Palmisano breaks Italian 10km race walk record in Modena

FIFA launches Executive Programme in Anti-Doping

Grovdal clocks 30:32 Norwegian 10km record in Hole WorldAthletics - Italy’s 2017 world bronze medallist Antonella Palmisano produced the fastest clocking for 18 years in the 10km race walk when winning at Italy’s Endurance Festival Championships in Modena on Sunday (18) in 41:28.

Palmisano was contesting her third race in 15 days, following a world-leading 21:00.0 over 5000m in Trivio on 3 October and her 1:28:40 victory over 20km in Podebrady on 10 October.

The 29-year-old showed no signs of fatigue in Modena, though, and after a steady opening kilometre of 4:13 she picked up the pace and reached the half-way point in 20:50. She maintained that tempo for a few more kilometres and managed to move up a gear in the latter stages, covering the final kilometre in 4:04 to cross the finish line in 41:28.

Her winning time took 10 seconds off the previous Italian record, set 23 years ago by 1996 Olympic fourth-place finisher Rossella Giordano. 1993 world silver medallist Ileana Salvador had clocked 41:30 27 years ago but her time wasn’t officially recognised as an Italian record. Palmisano’s performance, however, is an improvement on both of those marks and takes her to sixth on the world all-time list. The

last woman to cover the distance in a faster time was Norway’s Kjersti TyssePlayzer, who clocked 41:16 in 2002. ”Today I wanted to have fun,” said Palmisano, whose previous best for the distance was 42:50, although she had also clocked 41:57.29 for 10,000m on the track. “It’s the first time I’ve done three races so close together, but I didn’t feel the fatigue from Podebrady in my legs. It wasn’t easy in the final two or three kilometres, but I pushed hard.”

Nicole Colombi, who represented Italy at last year’s World Championships, was second in 43:55. Francesco Fortunato won the men’s race in 39:06, moving him to third on the Italian all-time list.

Gebrhiwet wins in Trieste Elsewhere in Italy, almost exactly a year to the day since he last raced, Ethiopia’s Olympic bronze medallist Hagos Gebrhiwet enjoyed a comfortable victory over 10km at the Corsa dei Castelli in Trieste.

The challenging course begins at Miramare Castle and finishes at San Giusto Castle, crossing the Porto Vecchio with an uphill final kilometre.

Gebrhiwet, a world medallist over 5000m in 2013 and 2015, finished in 29:49 to win by 11 seconds from compatriot Bayelign Teshager. Italy’s

Italy’s Antonella Palmisano in Podebrady (FIDAL/ Giancarlo Colombo) © Copyright Yassine Rachik, who hadn’t raced since last year’s World Championships due to injury, was third in 30:23.

Grovdal breaks Norwegian 10km record - Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal broke her own national 10km record at the Hytteplanmila 10km in Hole, Norway, on Saturday (17).

The 30-year-old clocked 30:32 to smash the previous mark of 31:25 she set at this race in 2017. The performance lifted the continental crosscountry standout to fourth on the 2020 world list and third all-time among Europeans, trailing just Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (30:05) and Paula Radcliffe (30:21).

Grovdal has raced little this season but she was on a tear from the gun to make this appearance count, reaching three kilometres in 9:10 and the midway point in 15:17 to finish 31st in the race overall among the 90 competitors.

Vienna Søyland Dahle was a distant second in 33:18.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who

the Super Kings ended with the lowest score batting first this IPL. Jos the Boss - While the Super Kings got only 13 fours,

Buttler alone hit nine. While his captain Smith was barely striking at 75, Buttler nearly doubled that strike rate.

He got cracking with a reverse-sweep over point off Jadeja’s first over.

Neither Jadeja nor Piyush Chawla, who was introduced into the attack, only in the 13th over, found as much grip and turn as the Royals’ spinners had done.

Having seen off testing spells from Chahar and Hazlewood, Buttler laid into Shardul Thakur and Chawla, taking them for 48 off 27 balls.

Buttler raised his fifty off 37 balls by depositing Chawla’s wrong’un for six and then rushed the Royals home.

Rajasthan Royals 126 for 3 (Buttler 70*, Smith 26*, Chahar 2-18) beat Chennai Super Kings 125 for 5 (Jadeja 35*, Gopal 1-14, Tewatia 1-18) by seven wickets.

made his debut at the distance with a 27:54 course record in this race last year, wasn’t really a factor in his return.

Opening with a modest 2:59 first kilometre, he worked his way back to the leaders after two kilometres and briefly took the lead at the four kilometre point.

Zerei Mezngi then upped the pace after five kilometres with Ingebrigtsen and his brother Filip struggling to maintain contact. Mezngi extended his lead to six seconds at six kilometres and forged on largely unchallenged to win in 28:20. Narve Gilje Nordas was second in 28:28, while Filip Ingebrigtsen drifted back to finish sixth in 29:03.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who remained in contact through seven kilometres, slowed to a jog over the waning stages and eventually finished in 35:05. Spanish mountain, trail and ultramarathon runner and ski mountaineer Kilian Jornet ran with the leaders early on, and finished 18th in 29:59.

FIFA - Yesterday, FIFA launched the Executive Programme in Anti-Doping, which provides an in-depth analysis of the main regulatory, institutional and scientific aspects of anti-doping in sport.

Since the establishment of the World Anti-Doping

of a national or international association or the Court of Arbitration for Sport, requires a holistic approach.

While the FIFA Executive Programme in Anti-Doping mainly focuses on the legal and institutional aspects of the anti-doping landscape, a basic overview of the

Agency (WADA) back in 1999, the fight against doping in sport has evolved dramatically. The interaction between the WADA Code, sports governing bodies’ regulations and national legislation has led to considerable complexity in this field.

Handling a doping case, whether at the result · Lˇ¾ˇ management stage or before the judicial bodies

most relevant scientific aspects of this complex phenomenon is also provided.

The first edition of the programme, which is launched in cooperation with the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), will run from February to July 2021. The admission process is opened yesterday and runs until 19 December 2020.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Leeds 0-1 Wolves: Raul Jimenez’s deflected strike gives visitors victory at Elland Road MailOnline - For Marcelo Bielsa, a reminder that the kind of tactical challenge he loves is not confined to matches against Pep Guardiola in this division. Just when he thought his Leeds side were strangling the life out of another side in this extraordinary season of theirs, in stepped Nuno Espirito Santo with a half time strategy of his own to take the points.

It was a transformation which left Bielsa a visibly disappointed man last night, not least because a chance to go third in the Premier League had been spurned.

Instead, the win breathes some life into a Wolves side which has looked uncertain and in transition, early in this Premier League campaign. For those of a certain generation, Leeds, Wolves and a Monday night will always mean the May 1972 occasion when Don Revie’s side, needing a point for the First Division title, were beaten 2-1 by the team in gold, thanks to Phil Parkes and Derek Dougan.

The game was later shrouded in controversy, with repeated claims – never proven - that Revie had offered Wolves £1,000 to back off in the match.

Wolves were UEFA Cup finalists that year, Leeds had just won the FA Cup and though those kinds of heights might seem a lifetime away, Leeds ventured into the occasion with more optimism

than at any time in the modern era.

A win would send them into their match at Aston Villa on Friday night with a chance of going top.

Their push to preserve that possibility didn’t start well when captain Liam Cooper, who has steadied new signing Robin Koch at the centre of Marcelo Bielsa’s defence, strained his groin in the warm up.

But the side picked up where they had left off in the compelling draw against Manchester City two weeks ago with a dynamic opening ten minutes in which Mateusz Klich was again a relentless threat.

A flick with the back of his head to open up a shot for Patrick Bamford, who fired wide, a ball inside Willy Boly for Helder Costa in the area and a roll of the ball under his heels for Luke Ayling to cross: Klich was everywhere.

Wolves showed a dismal level of ambition for a side who have been at this level for three years now and were up against a team still discovering what the Premier League entails.

They were squeezed to death in the first half, barely able to venture out of it, while Leeds’ precise footwork and speed of thought created all the chances. But Bielsa’s players could not take them.

No less than 71 percent of possession had yielded just two shots on target by the

Jimenez’s effort from distance deflected off Kalvin Phillips and dropped past Illan Meslier

break.

Rodrigo headed a smart Luke Ayling cross wide of the target. Bamford couldn’t connect on a Jack Harrison volley cross and when he nodded a Kalvin Phillips header on into the net, he was offside.

Wolves sat deep, looking for a break-out into the space Leeds vacate at the back. But only Pedro Neto, down the right, looked remotely capable

of dealing with Leeds’ physical presence. When he finally took the ball to the byline, Pascal Strujk, replacing Cooper, made the essential block.

When Romain Saiss’s cross fell for Daniel Podence in the area in the dying minutes of the first half, opportunity knocked but Illan Meslier parried his firm shot sharply away.

Wolves had the ball in the back of the net eight minutes

into the second half. Podence crossed for Saiss but the goal, initially allowed, was deemed off-side by VAR. It was a marginal call, millimetres offside, and correct to the latter another of those VAR calls which have stripped the game of its spontaneity.

The referee, David Coote and VAR official, Michael Oliver, were the same combination who combined to miss Jordan Pickford’s challenge

on Virgil van Dijk on Saturday - except Coote was on the field and Oliver was in Stockley Park this time.

The finish reflected a far brighter to the second half for Nuno Espirito Santo’s and the transformation was largely his doing. Bielsa had set up his side with a three-man defence and Wolves began exploiting the narrow rearguard with diagonal balls from deep, left to right, which Raul Jiminez seized on.

Meanwhile, West Brom and Burnley played out the first goalless draw in the Premier League this season, with both teams still searching for a first win. Filip Krovinovic almost gave hosts West Brom the lead inside three minutes but he dragged a shot wide of the right post, before debutant Karlan Grant had a goal disallowed for offside.

But Burnley had the better chances at The Hawthorns on Monday - Chris Wood crashing a header against the crossbar and Ashley Barnes forcing keeper Sam Johnstone into a good save in the second half.

Matheus Pereira’s volley was kept out at the near post by Clarets’ keeper Nick Pope and West Brom defender Branislav Ivanovic also came close as both teams pushed for a winner. The result means Burnley have their first point but they remain in the bottom three after four games, with promoted West Brom ahead by one point.

Tuesday October 20, 2020

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Champions League and Europa League guide: Format, dates and rules on fans attending BBCsport - The Champions League and Europa League group stages get under way this week.

After last season’s alterations to both competitions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to affect the game across the globe, what format will the 2020-21 tournaments take, when will the games be played and will fans be allowed in to see them?

BBC Sport answers all your questions in our preview guide...

What are the formats for the tournaments this year?

Uefa’s solution to last season’s Champions League competition being disrupted was to stage a “final eight” knockout tournament played across 12 days in Lisbon, German side Bayern Munich emerging as winners.

A similar format was used for the remaining Europa League ties, which were staged in Germany with the competition won by Spanish side Sevilla.

This season sees a return to the more familiar format for both tournaments.

In the Champions League, 32

teams from 14 countries have already been drawn into eight groups of four and will play each other twice (home and away), with the top two from each group qualifying for the knockout rounds. The eight third-place teams drop into the Europa League at the last-32 stage.

The Europa League has 12 groups of four, with home and away games to decide who qualifies for the knockout rounds courtesy of a top-two finish.

The last-32 stage to semifinal of each tournament will consist of home and away legs.

When are the rounds played? With delays to the 2019-20 season meaning the Champions League and Europa League finals were not played until late in August, fixtures for the 2020-21 competitions were delayed.

The Champions League group stage gets under way on Tuesday (today), with Europa League group-stage fixtures commencing on Thursday.

What is the

Bayern Munich won the Champions League/ European Cup for the sixth time last season

situation with fans?

When they returned after a five-month absence in 201920, Europe’s premier club competitions were played out behind closed doors in biosecure environments.

At the start of October, Uefa

E&A Consultant’s Inc. launch RHTY&SC Christmas Charity Programme with significant donation The ten cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club over the years has hosted an annual Christmas Charity Programme along with its widely popular Christmas Village which normally attracts thousands of excited children and parents.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the teams would be unable to host the village in all of its glory but would be hosting their 30th annual Christmas Charity programme. The activity was officially launched on Tuesday last when Managing Director of E&A Consultant’s Inc, Mrs. Anasha Ally handed over a cheque in memory of her late dad, Ananda T. Dharry, the founder of the company.

RHTY&SC Secretary/ CEO Hilbert Foster in accepting the donation expressed gratitude to the company for the significant contribution.

He explained that the ten teams during the 5th to 24th of December would be distributing one thousand food hampers to less fortunate families along with five thousand toys across the Ancient County.

Additionally, the club and its team would be providing

special Christmas packages to hundreds of senior citizens.

Clothing, footwear and educational materials would also be shared out while donations would also be made to several Children Orphanages and Senior Citizens Homes.

Foster explained that the Christmas packages would be a new addition to the programme and would involve the delivery of a special gift bag to senior citizens.

The teams will also visit the homes of two hundred senior citizens on Christmas Morning to deliver a special Christmas breakfast to them. Christmas toys would also be donated to Churches, so that they can share with their members.

The Long serving Club Official expressed gratitude to the Management of the E&A Consultants’ Inc. for making the contribution in honour of its founder. The late Ananda T. Dharry who died five years ago was described as a very strong supporter of the club and an outstanding product of the small township of Rose Hall. The club would be presenting him with its highest award “The Dolphin Award of Excellence” posthumously and his daughter would be

accepting it at a special ceremony in November. The Dolphin Award of Excellence is specially reserved for sixty persons, who the club views as positive role models for youths to emulate.

Mrs. Ally congratulated the club for its outstanding work and urged the executives to continue on the same path.

She disclosed that the late Dharry always spoke highly of the work of the club and it’s Secretary/CEO. She expressed delight at the club’s decision to honour her father and accepted the offer to receive the award.

Meanwhile, several overseas based Guyanese have committed to contributing to the Christmas programme, they include Satishwar Persaud, Joy- Tate Papannah, Natasha Papannah, Moonish Singh, Cecelia Vasconcellos, Alicia Raganadan, Subrina Busgith, Rajendra Daniel Sadeo, Zaeer Ali, Devika Ramlagan, Paulet Dudnauth, Beenita Singh, Sharma Sukhdeo, Jen Approo, Fiona Hendrax, Ellen Papannah, Tracy Khan, Romel Ayasammy, Sherry John, Pheonia Dequoy, Dropattie Ramsammy and Chanderpaul Hemraj.

announced that fans would be allowed into stadiums for Champions League and Europa League games, but only in those areas where local law permits it. So, as it stands, fans can attend games in France and Germany, who have started to let supporters return in restricted numbers, but not in England, where all fixtures continue to be played behind closed doors.

Where permitted, stadiums can be filled to a maximum of 30% capacity for this season’s European games.

Away supporters will not be allowed at games as it stands.

Uefa’s decision came after a successful pilot, which saw 15,000 fans attend the European Super Cup match between Bayern Munich and Sevilla at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.

Where are this year’s finals?

This season’s two final venues are the same as those originally scheduled to host the 2020 deciders. The Champions League final will be played in the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

The 70,000-capacity venue is used for Turkish national team fixtures and has, at various points, been the temporary home for Istanbul clubs Galatasaray, Ýstanbul Basaksehir and Besiktas.

Famously, it hosted the 2005 Champions League final, which saw Liverpool come back from 3-0 down to draw 33 with AC Milan, before beating them on penalties.

The Europa League final will take place at Poland’s 41,620-capacity Gdansk Stadium, home to Lechia Gdansk.

Who are the favourites to win?

Holders Bayern Munich are the frontrunners again for

this season’s Champions League, after they so ruthlessly tore apart the competition in 2019-20’s mini-tournament.

Unsurprisingly, Manchester City and Liverpool lead the English challenge, with Chelsea and Manchester United behind Paris StGermain, Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid with the odds-makers.

Teams dropping down from the Champions League to the Europa League will alter the make-up of the latter after the group stage. But as it stands Premier League duo Arsenal and Tottenham are among the favourites for the Europa League, ahead of Italian pair AC Milan and Napoli.

Leicester are the other English side in the competition, which also contains Scottish representation with Old Firm pair Celtic and Rangers.

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Tuesday October 20, 2020

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Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shahid Afridi among big names taken at LPL draft ESPNcricinfo - Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Shahid Afridi, Faf du Plessis and Carlos Brathwaite are among the high-profile foreign players that have been drafted into Lankan Premier League teams for the tournament that is set to begin on November 21.

Although the draft, held on Monday, was carried out in incredibly haphazard fashion over the internet, with team owners unclear on the draft rules and protocols, SLC has nevertheless taken another step - however unsteady - towards hosting its own T20 franchise tournament.

Wasim Akram was among those present at the draft, in his role as Galle Gladiators’ mentor. The Galle side shares the same owner as PSL franchise Quetta Gladiators. Also in attendance were former Sri Lanka players Hashan Tillakaratne (who will coach Kandy Tuskers), Thilina Kandamby (who will coach Jaffna Stallions), and English coach John Lewis (who is involved with Dambulla Hawks). Dav Whatmore, the former Sri Lanka coach who led them to the 1996 World Cup victory, was not seen at the draft, but is linked to the Colombo Kings franchise.

Each team had two foreign marquee picks - players whom each franchise approaches individually and signs up. There was one local marquee pick as well. The remaining players will be paid according to the value determined by the category they were chosen in in the draft.

Players drafted earlier are generally paid more.

Given the disorganised nature of the draft, there was frequent backtracking and repeated misunderstandings, with selectors dropping in and out of the video call, and constant back-and-forth be-

Carlos Brathwaite ©Peter Della Penna tween owners and SLC, which was ostensibly running the draft process.

The biggest hiccup came when Lewis had seemingly picked New Zealand legspinner Todd Astle for the Dambulla side, but then received a message several minutes later to suggest that Astle had in fact withdrawn two weeks ago.

Nevertheless, the draft juddered to a conclusion, with the teams having picked between 16 and 20 players. Some slots were deliberately left open, with teams essentially backing themselves to persuade overseas players to play in the tournament and fill that position.

The LPL is set to run from November 21 to December 13, and will be played initially in Sooriyawewa stadium, before moving to Pallekele for the latter stages of the tournament and the knockouts. The Sri Lankan government has not approved lenient quarantine measure for those coming into the country for the tournament, but SLC insists that the foreign players and officials taking part have all agreed to the strict 14-day

quarantine, in which arrivals are not allowed to leave their rooms.

The final squads are as follows: Jaffna Stallions Thisara Perera, Dawid Malan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shoaib Malik, Usman Shinwari, Avishka Fernando, Dhananjaya de Silva, Suranga Lakmal, Binura Fernando, Asif Ali, Minod Bhanuka, Chaturanga de Silva, Mahesh Theekshana, Charith Asalanka, Nuvinidu Fernando, Kanagaratnam Kapilraj, Theivendiram Dinoshan, Yiyakanth Yiyaskanth Dambulla Hawks Dasun Shanaka, David Miller, Carlos Brathwaite, Samit Patel, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Lahiru Kumara, Oshada Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Paul Stirling, Lahiru Madushanka, Upul Tharanga, Angelo Perera, Ramesh Mendis, Pulina Tharanga, Ashen Bandara, Dilshan Madushanka, Sachindu Colombage Kandy Tuskers Chris Gayle, Kusal Perera, Liam Plunkett, Wahab Riaz, Kusal Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Seekkuge Prasanna, Asela Gunaratne, Naveen-Ul-Haq, Kamindu Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Priyamal Perera, Kavishka Anjula, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Samarakoon, Nishan Fernando, Chamika Edirisinghe, Ishan Jayaratne Colombo Kings Andre Russell, Faf du Plessis, Angelo Mathews, Manpreet Singh Gony, Manvinder Bisla, Isuru Udana, Dinesh Chandimal, Amila Aponso, Ravinderpal Singh, Ashan Priyanjan, Dushmantha Chameera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Thikshila de Silva, Tharindu Kaushal, Lahiru Udara, Himesh Ramanayake, Kalana Perera, Tharindu Rathnayaka, Navod Paranawithana Galle Gladiators Lasith Malinga, Shahid Afridi, Colin

Shahid Afridi ©PSL

Chris Gayle ©BCCI

Andre Russell ©BCCI

Ingram, Mohammad Amir, Hazratullah Zazai, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Akila Dananjaya, Milinda Siriwardana, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Azam Khan, Lakshan Sandakan, Shehan Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Mohomed Shiraz, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Chanaka Ruwansiri, Sahan Arachchi.

After 233 tries, Kokrak claims first-ever PGA Tour win at CJ Cup Reuters - American Jason Kokrak fired off eight birdies in a flawless final round for his first-ever PGA Tour victory at the CJ Cup in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, clinching his maiden title on the 233rd try.

The 35-year-old outclassed a crowded field of elite performers, carding an eight-under-par 64 at the Shadow Creek Golf Course, draining a 20-foot putt on 10, one of 11 putts he made from further than 10 feet away through 72 holes.”With the greens being firm, fast and quite a bit of break around these holes, if you don’t have the right speed, you’re not going to make a lot of putts,” said Kokrak, who had four consecutive birdies on the front nine and credited his caddie with Jason Kokrak celebrates with the trophy after winning helping pick “great reads.””Game plan was simple, to during the final round of The CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek in hit fairways,” said Kokrak. “I made some nice putts on Las Vegas, Nevada. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images) the front nine and a couple par saves here and there,

but I couldn’t be happier.” The tournament, typically part of the PGA Tour’s Asian swing, was moved to the Las Vegas venue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and featured a crowded field of top talent warming up for the Masters next month, including four-time PGA Tour winner Xander Schauffele, who finished second.Schauffele carded a nearflawless 66 with a single bogey on 16, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a disappointing two-over-par third-round performance, “a rookie move” that lost him the lead.”For me personally, just to know that my really good golf is that good, it will get me a three-, four-shot lead out here, it’s nice to know that I do have it in me to do it,” said the 26-year-old American. “Hopefully I learn next time and I casn create an opportunity.”Elsewhere in the field, 29-year-old Briton Tyrrell Hatton (65) and three-time PGA Tour winner Russell Henley (70) finished tied at third.

Tuesday October 20, 2020

Host City selection process for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ to begin

FIFA - Following the decision in June to award Australia and New Zealand the right to host the next F I FA Wo m e n ’s Wo r l d Cup™ in 2023, the process to select the Host Cities for the tournament took its first steps yesterday with confirmation that virtual workshops between FIFA and the 12 candidate cities will take place from 20 October to 4 November.

The virtual workshops will provide a forum for the 12 candidate cities to learn more about the venue selection process from FIFA and the host member associations – Football Federation Australia and New Zealand Football.

The cities will also present an update on their

plans, which will be followed by an interactive Q&A session where operational aspects will be discussed.

The 12 candidate cities that will take part in the virtual workshops are: Australia: Adelaide, Brisbane, Launceston, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney* N e w Z e a l a n d : Auckland,Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, We l l i n g t o n * S t a d i u m Australia and Sydney Football Stadium Speaking ahead of the virtual workshops, Colin Smith, FIFA Chief Tournaments & Events Officer, said: “We look forward to the virtual workshops over the coming weeks as we take our

Hero World Challenge cancelled for 2020 over COVID-19 concerns Reuters - This year’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas has been cancelled due to travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers said on Monday. The event, hosted

by Tiger Woods, was scheduled to take place at Albany, Bahamas from Dec. 3-6 and slated to bring together 18 of the top golfers i n t h e w o r l d .

Prize money won by the players is not included in money rankings on any of the global professional tours but the event offers world ranking points. “This decision was made with the health and well-being of all tournament constituents and the Albany community in mind.” the organisers said. ”We look forward to hosting 18 of the top players in the

Tiger Woods world and welcoming tournament guests to Albany, Bahamas next year.” Sweden’s Henrik Stenson was the defending champion at the event, where recent winners also include world number two Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth.

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Kaieteur News

first steps together with Australia and New Zealand towards the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. These workshops will provide a useful forum to learn more about the 12 candidate cities, such as their plans for stadia, training sites and other key operational areas.”

Following the conclusion of the virtual workshops and in line with FIFA’s policy to follow the recommendations and guidance from health authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, visits to all candidate cities will be organised when it is safe to d o s o .

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be the first FIFA World Cup – men’s or women’s – to be co-hosted by two confederations, as well as the first FIFA Women’s World Cup to feature 32 teams.

Aida, 41, celebrates the victory of her team, in an annual local soccer tournament in the village of Sahel

Algerian women push for more rights at Berber soccer tournament Sahel, Algeria (Reuters) - Algerian women in bright Berber dress ululating, singing and beating drums at a soccer tournament last week were pushing their fight for gender equality - a cause that has come under greater scrutiny in Algeria after a brutal attack this month.

The quiet cobbled village of Sahel was hosting the third annual competition between female teams in the mountainous Kabylie region to push for a bigger role for women in Algerian society. ”Women before weren’t free, weren’t allowed to work outside of the house ... now we have rights, we can be lawyers, pilots, or do any other jobs, and we are equal

to men,” said Houria Hamza, one of the players.

The cause of women’s rights in Algeria has gained traction in recent weeks after the rape and murder of a young woman whose alleged assailant had already been accused of attacking her y e a r s e a r l i e r .

The case has prompted outrage and protests in Algiers, despite a public ban on demonstrations because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Police have arrested a suspect. ”They don’t have a heart and they don’t have a brain.

Those who kill deserve to be killed,” said, Naima, 52, a Sahel villager who did not want to give her last name,

referring to men who attack women.

In the Kaylie region east of Algiers, a bastion of Amazigh-speaking Berber culture, women had long held influential roles in society but a 1990s Islamist insurgency pushed many back into their h o m e s .

H a m z a , a 3 7 - y e a r- o l d housewife, helped her team to win the title after defeating the village of Tabouda in a penalty shootout cheered on by dozens of women clapping a n d c h a n t i n g . ”There is a lot for women to achieve. Just as much as men.

Maybe even more than men,” said Fadila Bekkouche, head of the village’s women’s association.

Executive members of the newly formed Guyana Gym Owners and Trainers Association.

Noshavyah King heads newly formed Guyana Gym Owners rt o p S and Trainers Association Buttler, spinners E&A Consultant’s Inc. launch help Royals RHTY&SC Christmas Charity climb up Programme with the table significant donation RHTY&SC Vice President Mark Papannah receives donation from Anasha Ally in the presence of Hilbert Foster (right) and Simon Naidu.

Jos Buttler slaps away a short ball ŠBCCI

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