Guyana Times Daily

Demerara Mutual records five per cent hike in revenue

The Demerara Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited and subsidiary has recorded a five per cent increase in its revenue for the period ending December 2012, with a total of $1790 million compared to $1705 million in 2011.

This was disclosed by company Chairman Richard B Fields on Friday, during Demerara Mutual’s 121st Annual General Assembly (AGM). He pointed out that the after tax surplus was $124.3 million, which represents a four per cent increase over the previous year’s $101.4 million.

He noted that these increases and successful figures would not have been possible, had it not been for the hard working sales team that overcame challenges to put the company in a firm position.

“It is with a measure of great pride and satisfaction therefore that I am able to stand before you and state that not only have we been able to stay up on our feet, but we have shown the resilient characteristic of a true champion in the insurance industry for over 121 years,” the chairman noted.

He noted that targeted policies and prudent management have also contributed to the company staying on course. Fields pointed

out that 2012 saw the company recording a 30 per cent market share, making it the number one company in the area of policies sold and annualised premium income.

“We would like to thank our marketing team for their… effective performance and contribution to the continued success of Demerara Mutual.”

He added that the hard work and commitment consistently shown by field operators and the dedication of the entire staff have also lent to the efficient running of the society.

Fields also acknowledged

Guyana’s Richard Seaton, who was the top performer for 2012, selling 114 policies as well as Sabina CharlesKirton of St Lucia, who recorded a sale of 100 policies.

The Demerara Mutual chairman applauded the management team headed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Keith Cholmondeley “for their untiring efforts, dedication and unswerving loyalty in responding to the changing environment, new regulations and demands of the board to deliver information… ensuring the society’s continued success”.

He also recognised the

services of Hugh George, who tendered his resignation after serving the society for 48 years. Other longserving employees were also awarded.

Fields pledged his company’s commitment to ensure “the highest quality of service” and assured customers of the “best financial services to meet their insurance needs”. He also expressed gratitude to serve as chairman and promised to “keep the Demerara Life flag flying high so that there would never be any regret being a part of the Demerara Life family”.

One stabbed, two beaten in separate incidents in Berbice

Two persons are nursing stab wounds in separate incidents in Berbice on Saturday evening, which reportedly stemmed from arguments.

Ronald Ramney, 25, a boat captain of Lot 44 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice was reportedly stabbed twice to his hand by his assailant, Jermaine Elias, while they were imbibing at Number 47, Stanleytown, Berbice.

According to information received, Ramney and Elias are neighbours and on the night in question at about 21:00h, the victim was drinking alcohol at a night spot in Stanleytown, when the suspect who was also with his friends came up to him and asked him to buy a beer.

Ramney reportedly refused and the suspect became annoyed and allegedly started to pelt him with empty beer bottles. As a result, they got into a scuffle during which the suspect reportedly broke a bottle and stabbed the victim twice to his left hand. The injured man was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was seen and treated by a doctor. The police were contacted and an investigation was launched which led to the arrest of the suspect. He is in custody pending charges.

In the other incident, Anif Bacchus, 22, a fisherman of Rosignol Stelling, Rose Hall, Berbice and Azad Rasheed,

29, a tractor operator of Lot 315 Moray Street, Rosignol, West Bank Berbice were severely beaten by 10 unidentified males at a wedding house at Blairmont.

Based on reports, Bacchus and Rasheed were at a wedding house at Number Four, Blairmont Settlement, West Coast Berbice during which Bacchus was engaged in a conversation with a female.

Upon seeing this, it was alleged that 10 men surrounded him, armed with bottles in their hands and dealt him several lashes about his body and head.

Guyana Times learnt that Bacchus was behaving inappropriately with the young woman and was cautioned by a relative, but he reportedly refused to leave the young woman alone. Upon realising what was happening, Rasheed went to Bacchus’s aid with his motorcar PJJ 8009 when one of the men reportedly took a piece of wood and lashed the back windscreen and the driver’s side door, causing damage to the vehicle. The attacker then pulled out the driver and dealt him several lashes about his body.

Bacchus and Rasheed both managed to escape and were taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital, where they were treated and sent away. The police were contacted, but no arrests were made. Investigations are continuing.

Demerara Mutual board of directors (back) with long-serving employees who were awarded at the company’s 121st Annual General Meeting

WEATHER TODAY

Siblings perish in D’Urban Street fire

– three other persons, including parent, hospitalised

BY BHISHAM MOHAMED

The charred bodies of two minors were on Sunday morning retrieved from the ruins of a D’Urban Street home following an early morning fire, which also left three persons hospitalised. The fire might have been started by a burning candle.

Adam Marshall, 11, and Shania Marshall, eight, were reportedly trapped in the inferno, which started about 04:15h at their Lot 71 D’Urban Street, Lodge home.

The two charred bodies were discovered by fire officials some time after 06:00h, one in a kneeling position and the other bracing the walls of the bedroom in which they were trapped.

The dead children’s mother, Odessa Thomas, 37; her eldest child, Hordeen Marshall, 13, and the landlord, whose name was given as “Benjamin”, were all admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital nursing injuries. Thomas reportedly suffered burns to her upper body, but is said to be in a conscious state, while Marshall received burns to his face and hands, and “Benjamin” sustained a broken leg and lacerations which he incurred after he jumped from the upper flat of the house to save his life.

At the scene, on Sunday morning, screams of anger were heard from residents in the area as the bodies of the two children were removed by undertakers attached to the Lyken Funeral Home.

Scores of people who assembled at the scene, mostly women, broke down in tears upon seeing the charred bodies of the children. The house was completely gutted and it is also believed that the children’s best friends ─ six puppies ─ were also burnt to death.

Guyana Times understands that the children were seen earlier in the night playing with the puppies before retiring to bed.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle said from all appearances, the fire began in the bottom flat of the house where the children may have been sleeping.

Ravaging blaze

At the scene, Gentle told media operatives that by the time firefighters got to the scene, the entire house was already engulfed in flames. At that time, the firemen were told that at least two children were unaccounted for, thus additional fire tenders and manpower were re-

quested to boost their efficiency.

Gentle noted that firemen were able to contain the blaze, but discovered the charred bodies in a room.

“One child was kneeling in a corner, while the other was in a protective position, a short distance away in the same room,” the chief fire officer explained.

He added that the front windows were grilled, unlike the ones at the back of the property. Gentle said firefighters believed that there was an illegal electrical connection to the building, but cannot determine whether or not it caused the fire.

“The building at the time was not being powered by legitimate electricity, but we are still to verify if power was still going to the building, because some of the ranks reported that they were receiving mild electrical shocks while fighting the fire,” Gentle said.

In addition, the fire chief said the fire service was suc-

cessful in containing the blaze, preventing it from spreading to nearby buildings. The fire service and the police have launched separate probes into the fire.

Shouts of fire!

Speaking with Guyana Times, a neighbour, Ashanti Simmons said she was awakened by screams of “Fire! Fire!” and as she rushed to the front, she saw the wooden two-storey building on fire. Simmons, with tears in her eyes, recalled hearing the screams of the children emanating from their bedroom, noting that the fire had already overwhelmed the building, making it impossible for anyone to render assistance.

She added that by the time the fire engines arrived, the entire house was engulfed in flames, but the firefighters desperately tried to put out the blaze and save nearby buildings. She said the screams of the children will linger in her ears for a very long time.

This publication learnt that Thomas was not aware that her two children had died until she requested to see them at the hospital. Hospital officials were reluctant to inform her of the children’s death, but after the single mother’s constant requests to see her children, she was given the unfortunate news. The woman reportedly broke down and was inconsolable. Her 13-yearold son, who was by her side, was also in tears. (bhisham@ guyanatimesgy.com.)

The house that was ravaged by the fire

Editor: Nigel Williams

Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Boat operators

We welcome the news that the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) of the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) will be stepping up its campaign to bring all boat operators in line with the law. For too long boat operators here have been taking advantage of the lax system currently in place and as a result they get away with all sorts of behaviour, not only putting their own lives at risk, but others as well.

The operation of Guyana’s water transport sector is one area that certainly needs to be revisited by the authorities. There is no need to rehash the many accidents that take place on our waterways due to a number of factors – a main one being untrained and unlicensed boat operators. Suffice to say that the number of deaths and injuries as a result of boat accidents over the past few months have reached an unacceptable level.

Now that MARAD is taking stronger action against the law breakers, there is no doubt that there will be a great deal of resistance. As expected, most of these operators will complain that they are being unjustifiably harassed by the authorities. They will do so because they are accustomed to carrying out their operations with limited or no supervision.

Some Pomeroon operators have already started complaining that MARAD officials are coming down too hard on them. This is inspite of the fact that representatives of MARAD had visited the area several times and had advised the operators and boat owners to put their operations in order. They had generally, however, ignored the warnings and had more recently been asking for more time to comply. The fact remains that they were given ample time to do what was necessary to comply with the law.

The authorities cannot continue accommodating these operators as it doesn’t take much for them to ensure that their operations are done with passengers’ safety and comfort in mind. Most of them rake in huge profits and make very little or no investments in return into their businesses. It must also be noted that this segment of the workforce hardly pay any taxes to the state, but they demand better facilities for mooring, etc.

So where does the solution lie? There is a range of action, some of which could be taken immediately to deal with the issue at hand. To begin with, it would be helpful if the authorities were to deploy a high level team to conduct a detailed investigation into the entire operations of boats in Guyana, especially those that carry passengers and merchandise in outlying areas.

In addition to this, they will need to examine the present legislation in place to determine if it is adequate or if there is need for revision to cater for the many changes that have taken place over the years in the sector.

Further, MARAD must continue to work collaboratively with other agencies, such as the security forces, to adapt a stricter monitoring system to ensure speedboat operators comply with statutory safety requirements. Serious fines or penalties will need to be imposed on those bent on breaching the rules. This is needed if we are to reduce the number of accidents taking place on the water top.

As we had pointed out some time ago, citizens also have a role to play. In addition to lodging reports to the authorities when it is found that operators are disobeying the rules, they will have to take the necessary action to ensure their own safety, especially if speedboats are not adequately equipped with safety gear, or simply do not care about the safety and comfort of passengers.

Certainly, the time has come to rein in those responsible for the transport sector and to have the various agencies review its entire operations so that it could be brought to a higher standard. MARAD is certainly on the right footing.

Perpetrators of crime must be analysed

Dear Editor,

Unemployed males between the ages of 18 and 25 were the main perpetrators of the crimes committed in July, according to a review conducted by the Home Affairs Ministry. It is also so in the UK and in the U.S. Not only the numbers tell a story, but also other factors – race, education, family background.

So if we are going to do some remedial work, then all of these issues must be confronted. I have to caution against admitting truth and facing facts –these statistics must not be politicised.

I recently went through the British “History and Policy” and the historians were asked to teach some lessons of the past. It explains what history tells us about anti-social youths: 1. Each successive his-

torical age has ardently believed that an unprecedented “crisis” in youth behaviour is taking place.

2. Statistics are complex things to interpret. Rising youth crime statistics since the 1940s are the result of a whole series of factors and do not necessarily mean that youths are becoming more “immoral”.

3. Our treatment of young offenders is in many ways harsher than it has been in the past, yet this has not been successful in reducing our fear of crime. If anything, it is compounding the problem and increasing mistrust between the generations.

I disagree with point number three in that, in Guyana, youths have been handled too softly. We come up with theories against corporal punish-

ment. But who takes the responsibility?

The just concluded seminar, organised by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Guyana Association of Private Security Organisations (GAPSO), and the Home Affairs Ministry, addressed the recent spike in robberies.

The issue was all about how to improve domestic security, and again the crime issue was about where, when, and by whom. Since, the fact is very clear that crime perpetrators are mostly young people, it means that in all likelihood, there is an absence of education, even at the high school level.

This is so basic to grasp. It means that we have to start with this

generation and turn out people who then have options for higher education and or work.

Education leads to better jobs, which leads to better employment, which leads to better salaries, which leads to money in the bank, which leads to contentment. Those caught in crimes must not only be noted for being young – whenever they are – but they must be checked against what they did during high school.

The evidence is that they either dropped out all together, or they went through without showing interest. I ask that we make the effort now and get young people to do well in school.

Yours truly, Xavier Cumberbatch

Crimefighting needs faster responses

Dear Editor,

We need to have more speed when it comes to fighting crime. Too many times, our response is way too late. Responding to crime situations does take some time, but we need to sharpen up in this area.

Crime really hurts

businesses. When businesses lose so much, they have to face all kinds of fears – closing down, staff security, worry and stress about coming into and going from work, and dread regarding experiencing a repeat.

I know of many working people who experi -

enced a robbery and consequently had to end their employment – they feared coming back to work again. I know of one gas station right now, after being robbed three times, has been left in a defunct sate.

I ask that we all lend a hand in fighting crime

– be on the lookout, report, and help track down criminals. Anything will help. But we must do these things fast when they happen.

Yours faithfully, Robeson Conway

A stunning dance performance – one of many at Naya Zamana 18 “Taal Dhamaal” on Saturday at the National Cultural Centre (Carl Croker photo)

Domestic violence campaign must be ongoing

Dear Editor,

The campaign by the Human Services and Social Security Ministry against domestic violence should have never dwindled off. We cannot slack up in this very crucial area. The relevant authorities are now working to form private partnerships so that the necessary funding can become available.

This resurgence within the Human Services Ministry (and in other bodies as well) is attributable to the recent cases of abuse that ended disastrously for so many women, even to the point of some of them being killed and others being incapacitated physically.

Friends of Victoria Inc serving a good cause

Dear Editor, I compliment the Friends of Victoria Inc for their combination of good will and prudence. The group just provided three students from the village of Victoria, East Coast Demerara with monetary assistance to aid in their preparations of furthering their education.

This is an organisation comprising overseas-based Victorians with a vision of developing the village and its people. It was established in 2010 with the purpose of

conducting charitable work and developing education and social infrastructure in the village.

To be in line, these students have to continue maintaining high standards. That is how they got the benefits in the first place ─ having excelled at the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations. It is the same too, for students who wrote the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and are now moving on ─ these have to do

well and then continue in the same vein.

It is quite commendable that members are also committed to several vocational projects in the community, including sewing classes, library work, and involvement in two nursery schools in the community. It would be good if more goodwill organisations can follow this trend and invest now for future rewards.

Sincerely,

Evadne Thomas

We can go radio, television and print and still there will hardly be any visible change. Let us face it for our own good ─ Guyana is still an oral society. We need to do one-on-one campaigns. Churches are effective for this very reason.

Perpetrators of abuse of women are all culturally immersed in violence against women. So law enforcement is not something that will bother them unduly. If there is repeated prosecution and incarceration, then after a time, the change is likely to take place.

So we still do media work against gender-based violence, but there is a big need to send little groups out to do work from house to house. This is not dissimilar to an election campaign ─ the oneon-one works wonders.

Sincerely, Yollande Heyliger

Investigate all squatter settlements

Dear Editor,

For a long time, the residents of Marshon, East Coast Demerara tried their best to get the authorities to remove illegal occupants from their playground.

Most of the squatters there were in the fishing business and residents complained angrily about the stench and other environmental issues that evolved over time. From what I was told recently, nothing was done.

The same situation is developing at Parika Façade, East Bank Essequibo. It seems as though the illegal dwellers are causing all

kinds of problems. Squatters have been living on the reserve for almost 20 years. They are so numerous and entrenched that they have no qualms about obstructing legal residents from accessing their properties.

Due to the presence of the squatters, the road in the area had to be diverted and constructed close to the Del Conte Canal, even though the reserve was designated to be used for subsidiary roads and drains. This state of affairs needs a thorough investigation.

I hope the authorities take note.

Trivialising of life leads to accidents

Dear Editor, There are too many road fatalities. I am always bothered by the absolute disregard for people that I see in so many drivers. I hope that this problem will engage the urgent attention of the authorities. It must be attended to quickly. Optimum judgement should be meted when errant drivers are found guilty. We have to start taking people’s lives very seriously.

Yours truly, Halley Marshall

Yours truly, Barbara Cameron

Human trafficking must be treated seriously

Dear Editor, Trafficking in human beings for whatever purpose ─ sexual or labour exploitation ─ and the sexual exploitation of children, including child pornography, are despicable crimes affecting the most vulnerable citizens. We need strong actions against this crime.

Within the European Union (EU), it is no differ-

ent. The EU leaders are now enforcing new rules for tougher action against criminals responsible for child sexual abuse and trafficking, as well as better assistance for victims.

Our interior is very difficult to monitor and to curb any kind of crime against human beings is not easy. We are making some good progress so far, but we must

go that next step quickly. If potential perpetrators have a fear of the seriousness of this trafficking thing, it may very well drive them to abort any association with it. This is the kind of culture we must establish. Again, there is the need for good people to inform on these crimes.

Sincerely, Carol Seepersaud

You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Page Foundation

Parenting For SucceSS

The plight of a teenager

ChildLink’s vision is a Guyanese society where every child enjoys the right to a childhood in a safe and caring family, free from poverty, violence and exploitation

CaseStudy – Names and places have been changed to protect the persons’ privacy

Malika was a 13-year-old living with her mother, siblings, aunts, and cousins in a family house within a depressed community on the outskirts of the city. After several quarrels and fights between her mother and aunts as a result of family property issues, Malika’s mother, Laurine, decided to move from their family home. Upon making this decision, her older children decided that they were going to live by themselves, because they were unable to put up with their mother’s constant nagging.

Malika’s father, who was a gold miner, had been deceased for several years, leaving her mother as the main breadwinner for the family of four. Not being able to adequately provide consistently for the family because she did not go looking for work, frustrated Laurine. This then led to her dealing with her children in a harsh manner. The two older children had grown to resent their mother and did not want to be around her, because of her behaviour. However, being the youngest child, Malika was not able to make a similar decision. During this time, Laurine met and started to date a man named John and they decided to build a small house together. This was not a happy time for Malika, because she did not like John, and she believed that her mother should get a job to take care of them both, because she believed he was doing things to destroy the relationship between herself and her mother.

In the new house, Malika’s bedroom was separated from the other rooms by cloth curtains. This living situation did not offer Malika much privacy. Malika’s mother was able to secure a job as a security guard eventually and was placed on night duty, leaving Malika at home in the care of her step-father. Malika always felt John staring at her and on several occasions, she would find him peeping in her bedroom through the curtains. Although she felt uncomfortable in John’s presence, Malika did not say anything to her mother, who always praised him for saving her and bringing

money to the family when she was not working and was not really looking for a job.

Molestation

After a while, John began to give Malika money for her school projects and any other social activities that she needed and wanted to participate in. She was still not comfortable with his presence but she made an effort, because he was supporting her mother which made it possible for her to attend school regularly and participate in activities; after all, a security guard’s salary is not enough. One night while Laurine was on duty, John came home and sexually molested Malika: he touched and rubbed all of her private parts.

He then instructed her that she should not tell her mother or any other person, because he would leave and make her and Laurine’s life miserable. This experience was very painful and traumatic for Malika; however, she managed to compose herself to appear normal to her mother when she returned home for work. Secretly, she was praying that the experience was the first and last of its kind. Several months passed and John did not approach her with any sexual advances nor said anything. Malika decided that she would remain quiet about the incident, because her mother’s happiness was at stake.

One Saturday night while Laurine was working John came home drunk. Malika was looking at the television when she heard a loud BANG on the door. Out of fear, she did not get up to open the door; after a few minutes, John sounded his voice and she got up and opened the door. As she opened the door, he reached out and grabbed her very firmly and locked the door. She tried furiously to escape from his strong grip, but she was unable to get away.

Hapless

All her efforts seemed futile, because he had moved her from the living room area to her bedroom within seconds. Because of the shame and fear she felt for what would happen to herself and her mother, she restrained herself from screaming loudly to alert the neighbours. She thought to herself “if only I can free myself from his grip, I will run to the door or even jump through the window”. The harder she tried, the more it seemed he was overpowering her, then all of it was becoming more and more familiar as he removed her clothing while holding her with one hand. This was the last thing she remembered from that Saturday night – not sure if she had fainted or just blanked the act out of her mind. From the blood and intense pain that she later felt, she was convinced that John had sex with her.

John’s sexual attacks were now occurring more frequently, every other week when her mother’s work shift changed, and Malika still could not bring herself to tell her mother of all that she has been experiencing at the hands of her stepfather John. She often thought to herself “if I can stay away from him, everything will work out for my mother”. So Malika started to find reasons to sleep by a family member. One day, Laurine came home and announced that she was leaving her job as a security guard, because it was becoming more demanding and she was not pleased that Malika was always asking to sleep at other family members’ homes. This was one of the most relaxing times for Malika, because her mother was going to be around. She was more determined to not tell anybody about what had been happening, because John was now the only person working to provide for them.

This relaxed time did not last very long, because John was now giving her mother less money for the house and he was having several affairs with other women. Laurine was becoming more and more frustrated as the days went by and she was irritated at Malika for the simplest of things that went wrong.

Please look out for the continuation of the case study next Monday.

Please contact us on telephone number 2317174 or email us at programmes.childlink@networksgy.com for any support you may need on parenting and other challenges you are experiencing with your children.

GuySuCo unlikely to meet sugar target

– Dr Ramsammy

It is highly unlikely that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will meet its target of 240,000 tonnes of sugar this year, even with Skeldon Sugar Factory back in operation.

According to Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, at the end of the second crop, GuySuCo only managed to produce 48,000 tonnes of sugar. It had set an ambitious target of 71, 000 tonnes, but fell short by 23,000 tonnes. Now, the company’s other estates, Skeldon, Albion, Blairmont, Enmore and Rose Hall sugar factories would have to fill the gap during this second crop.

“The second crop has to be extremely successful, if we are going to meet the 240,000 tonnes, this crop got to produce about 190,000 tonnes,” the agriculture minister posited.

Though this target was achieved in the past, he believes that it is highly unlikely this time around.

“Meeting 190,000 tonnes seem like quite an ambitious target... I am convinced we will not make 190,000 tonnes,” Dr Ramsammy opined.

In keeping with the European Union (EU) agreement, Guyana is mandated to produce 167,000 tonnes of sugar for the European market, and an additional 24,000 tonnes for the local market. It was only on Saturday the Skeldon Sugar Factory commenced opera-

tion for the second crop. It was slated to commence operation on August 5, but according to the agriculture minister, the delay was due to the weather.

Less than two weeks ago, South African firm Bosch Engineering completed a series of rehabilitative work on the Skeldon factory.

GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Bhim had said based on the works executed, the factory will perform better. “I expect that the factory will settle now and will perform better, there is still more work to be done, but we are improving.”

The South African firm was hired to redesign and re-engineer several aspects of the facility, including reengineering the bagasse feed system, redesigning the cane conveyers, drilling of a new well, the replacement of a five mega watt alternator as well as the modification of the pump dumpers.

Clearing the air, Dr Ramsammy said the South African company was hired to enhance six main areas within the factory; however, at the end of their work, the government of Guyana was not pleased with the results, hence, the company returned at no additional cost to execute re-engineering work to certain sections.

Asked whether works on the Skeldon Sugar Factory are now complete, the agriculture minister responded in the negative, pointing out that the punt dumping system needs to be enhanced.

Guyanese among 16 graduates of Caribbean science programme

Sixteen students including a Guyanese have graduated from the 2013 Student Programme for Innovation in Science and engineering (SPISE), a science initiative staged to provide training for students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), along with Mandarin.

SPISE is a yearly programme conducted by the Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF). This year, students from 10 Caribbean countries took part in the four-week programme during which they were involved in university-level courses in calculus, physics, biochemistry, entrepreneurship, humanities (one Caribbean concept) and Mandarin. They also did laboratory work in robotics/electronics and biochemistry.

The participating countries were Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. The programme, which was held in Barbados with training sessions at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, began on July 20 and concluded on August 17. The students were afforded the opportunity to attend classes, which were taught by leading professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The National Milling Company of Guyana Inc (NAMILCO)

had sponsored Deowattie Vanessa Narine of Bishops’ High School to attend the programme. Narine, 17, was the Caribbean Examination Council’s (CXC) Best Science Student in 2012.

Through the programme, students were also allowed to participate in a career seminar series during which they were exposed firsthand to the career paths, decisions and experiences of six distinguished professionals, in science and engineering, from the diaspora and the region. The instructors at the seminar included faculty members from the University of the West Indies and senior management from the U.S. biotechnology industry.

SPISE is led by CSF’s Interim Executive Director, Professor Cardinal Warde, and is designed according to the popular and highly successful minority introduction to engineering and science programme at the MIT.

Final project

At the end of programme, students had to present to the public their final projects based on robotics and entrepreneurship. With the robotics competition, students modified underwater robots (donated by the MIT SeaGrant programme) in order to retrieve floating balls on the water surface and placing them into a basket. This was a true test of their innovation, ingenuity and engineering design skills.

As for the entrepreneurship competition, teams of students had to pitch their business plans and then answer tough questions from the audience, including Peter Williams, managing director of the Light and Power Holdings and Dr DeLisle Worrell, governor of the Central Bank of Barbados. Even under such intense pressure and scrutiny from these eminent business experts, the students held their ground. Members of the audience were given fake money to invest in the teams they found most persuasive, and thus the winner was determined. The students had also performed two skits, entirely in Mandarin, to display their newly-learned language. The skits “The Crazy Waitress” and “Shopping Day Gone Awry” were well received by the audience. These performances were especially impressive since the Mandarin instruction comprised only 12 hours in total over a three-week period.

Invaluable experience

In the end, the students found the SPISE experience invaluable, and this was reflected in an exit interview in which they commented about the new and difficult materials they learnt and how their confidence to compete with other students in their age group from any part of the world was boosted.

The SPISE is one of CSF’s education reform initiatives with the long-term goal of helping to diversify the economies of the region by stimulating more technology-based entrepreneurship within the region. It is anticipated that students who complete the SPISE will eventually attend some of the best science and engineering universities in the world, and become scientific, engineering and business leaders in academia and industry within the Caribbean. Key partners in the SPISE are the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).

Students were able to take part in the SPISE programme free because of the donations from sponsors such as Scotiabank East, the United States embassy in Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, Light and Power Holdings, Neal and Massy Foundation, the Central Bank of Barbados, the Caribbean Development Bank, Belize Telemedia Limited, the Belize Public Utilities Commission, Trinidad and Tobago’s Education Ministry and Division of Youth Affairs, NAMILCO, Friends of Guyana, Friends of Jamaica, the Caribbean Diaspora for Science, Technology and Innovation, the family of Linda Su-Nan Chang Sah and Nicholas Brathwaite’s PETNA Foundation.

Former Bishops’ High School and now Queen's College student Deowattie Vanessa Narine (third from left); NAMILCO Managing

Director Bert Sukhai (fourth from left) and other NAMILCO officials at the ceremony to hand over the company's sponsorship of Narine's SPISE programme

Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy

monday, august 26, 2013| guyanatimesgy.com

Amaila project… Govt refutes APNU’s claims of non-disclosure

The ruling administration on Sunday has again refuted claims by the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) about non-disclosures on the Amaila Falls project, labelling the coalition’s latest effort a tale of distortion.

The response was in relation to a Kaieteur News article on Sunday headlined “Amaila Project –Government refused to make disclosures – APNU”.

The government in a release said despite 18 months of consultations with the opposition, there has not been a single question put to the administration that has not been answered.

“Can Messrs Joseph Harmon, David Granger or Carl Greenidge put to the public, whether they submitted any questions to the government on any of the three presentations made, and the numerous documents shared or the various economic studies?

“On March 2012, President Donald Ramotar encouraged the joint opposition to submit questions on the presentation within a two-week period. No questions were ever submitted,” the government said.

The release noted that

during this year, the government took it upon itself to share more information, yet no question was asked.

Further, it said the government arranged for the opposition to meet with Sithe Global early last year, the IDB, and to visit the access roads under construction. These initiatives taken by the government were not mandatory, they were voluntarily done to ensure inclusion, transparency and to keep members of Parliament abreast with the project.

The administration also pointed out in early 2012, it arranged for the opposition to meet with Sithe Global and hosted public presenta-

tions, which included a summary of the project’s financing structure, for the media.

“It is these same summaries that Harmon is referring to, yet there were never any questions. One can see many of these presentations on various websites, including www.privatisation.gov. gy. The government would like to once again re-iterate the level of engagement it has had with the opposition in its efforts to include and involve all political parties.”

Key engagements

The Government Information Agency (GINA) release on August 10 had said several key engagements were undertaken to

inform the opposition about technical and related matters of the project. These include:

* Early 2012 – Sithe Global meets with opposition and provided an overview of the project.

* March 14, 2012 –A detailed presentation was made at Office of the President by government to joint opposition; numerous questions were raised and answered. A copy of the presentation was shared so that further questions could be raised. The president requested that the opposition submit further questions and it was agreed that a two-week timetable would be adequate. No questions were ever submitted.

* 2012 Budget debates –there was a parliamentary discussion on the project.

* March 2013 – An updated power point presentation was made by government to the opposition (only APNU attended). A copy of the presentation was given to the opposition with a request for further comments and questions. Again, no questions were received.

* 2013 Budget debate –again, a detailed discussion was undertaken, including updates on the progress of the access roads.

* June 2013 – A power point presentation was made to the opposition by government; this presentation contained key updates on the project. Government also shared three major agreements for the transaction: the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the Receivables Agreement (RA) and the Implementation Agreement (IA). Again, no questions were submitted, but a request to visit the Amaila Falls access roads and certain economic reports were requested.

* June 2013 –Government shared the Market/Economic Assessment reports prepared by Mercados Eneregiticos.

* June 2013 – A visit to the access roads was organised by Minister Robeson Benn.

* June 2013 – IDB met with APNU to provide updates on the project; the meeting was described by the IDB as cordial with all questions answered.

* July 2013 – Continued engagements with the opposition on legislation (opposition focus continued to be on matters outside of Amaila).

* July – Upon the request of the opposition, a meeting was arranged with GPL’s management, despite a mutually agreed time, on the date of the meeting, APNU did not attend citing that the Economic Services Committee and the Natural Resources Committee would be engaging in GPL and the

Eyew tness

Missing...

...history

EB John has become a fixture in the letters pages of the opposition newspapers. From his writings, he appears to be an old human resources fella from the Bookers days. You’re talking about someone who’s perhaps in his 80s. Now while your Eyewitness is respectful of the elderly, he must admit that sometimes their memories today might just not be what it used to be.

This could be the reason why John did such a hatchet job when he sought to criticise the comment by Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee at the National Economic Forum. Advertise to the “mayhem” committed in the 1960s, the minister was attempting to place the present security problem within a historical context. He mentioned the “fire and riots” unleashed in Georgetown then by the present opposition.

John delved into the record books of the Sugar Producers Association (SPA) to detail cane field acreage that had been torched during the same period. So what John is saying is that the razing of the stores of the supporters of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in Georgetown was morally equivalent to the torching of the sugar cane of Bookers? It’s clear that John mightn’t only be suffering from incipient senility – he’s also not thrown off the colonial mentality of his youth.

Look...who did the SPA represent? They were part and parcel of the colonial order that all Guyanese were trying to get rid of at the time. They’d exploited the sugar workers and thrown them by the wayside like sucked oranges. They’d ordered the colonial police to kill four workers at Leonora in 1939 and five at Enmore in 1948. Then they bought out the leadership of the Man Power Citizens’ Association (MPCA) that was formed to represent the sugar workers after 1939.

The sugar workers had struck in 1964 for their right to be represented by a union of their choice. John would know, as an old personnel officer, that the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) commanded the loyalty of the sugar workers, but the SPA refused to have a poll conducted in the industry – which led to the strike and the torching of fields.

But in making his moral equivalence, we would like to know what wrongs did the store owners of Water Street, of a particular ethnicity, do to anyone to have their businesses torched? And did the People’s National Congress (PNC) not recognise the cause of the sugar workers versus the SPA by building a monument to the Enmore martyrs? And by recognising GAWU in 1976 –even as Bookers was thrown out?

...reform

And talking about missing history that’s connected to the present – the opposition is vigorously trying to undermine the work of the Strategic Management Department (SMD), which is mandated to oversee reform of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). They’ve been using (and abusing) the GPF since the 1060s to serve their nefarious aim of grabbing and holding on to power illegally. And are now complaining that the force has problems!!

Those problems can all be linked to the deprofessionalisation of the GPF since then to serve their political agenda. And they’re still at it. While they’re attacking the head of the SDM about his past, they should also explain how come former commissioner of police (CoP) Winston Felix – now their member of Parliament shadowing security – was caught on tape spilling police matters to Basil Williams.

While he was on the job, it was blatant that the CoP was an agent of the PNC. This was quickly confirmed when he marched in street protests with that party just after he retired. Ditto for head of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Edward Collins. The opposition will continue to resist reform of the GPF. How else could they resort to street protests at the drop of a hat?

...the victory

The Eyewitness is still proud of the Guyana Amazon Warriors for coming so far. They definitely had an offnight. Happens to the best of us. Let’s give them a warm welcome for their efforts.

An artist’s impression of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Plant

Regularisation exercise to resolve land issues in Cotton Tree – president

An unresolved issue of land occupation that has been perpetuated for years in Cotton Tree on the West Coast of Berbice is expected to be corrected after a land regularisation exercise gets underway.

At the behest of President Donald Ramotar, a process will soon commence for residents to obtain titles to lands they occupy after going through with a land registration process that is enshrined in the country’s laws.

When complete, the exercise will resolve finally the age-old issue of many residents in the Region Five community occupying lands with little or no evidence that their occupation is legitimate. President Ramotar explained that his instruction to rectify the situation stemmed from concerns following the numerous reports he has been receiving about the matter that seemed to have been exacerbated.

Land titles

“Lands were given out to people… some of them sold out, but no title was passed to them. Some of them (owners) died without passing any title, some migrated and… over the years that this problem has been here, it was festering and beginning to cause some problems in the community itself,” President Ramotar told Cotton Tree residents at a community meeting Friday afternoon.

The authorities believe that the situation in the community was conflicting with

the opportunities afforded by government for people to gain easy access to land for housing, agriculture and ultimately a better quality of life. It was also seen as a situation counterproductive to democracy.

“We don’t want to have a lot of illegalities (like) illegal squatting and so forth… this government has given over 100,000 houselots all over this country since we have been in office. We are opening lands in different places, for people to do agriculture, and even creating lands for… those who want to get involved in business,” President Ramotar said.

Absentee landlords

Absentee landlords, particularly those who charge exorbitant fees for property that is oftentimes illegally occupied, are still a concern, President Ramotar opined. “I have asked the authorities both within the ministries and the MMA (Mahaica/Mahaicony/ Abary) level to try to bring these things to an end,” President Ramotar said.

The land regularisation exercise earmarked for Cotton Tree will be completed when a certificate of title is awarded to the occupant by a commissioner of title, who is a Land Court judge, confirming rightful ownership. The process, which falls under the Land Registry Act, begins with the natural resources and environment minister affixing his signature to an order declaring the area a land registration area.

The public is then notified about surveyors appointed by the commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) to conduct surveys in the company of Land Court clerks, who will record the peculiarities of the land being occupied, to ascertain the means by which the residents would have taken up residence. Involved in the process will be a registrar of the High Court in the event that grievances arise about the process and legal action is taken.

Cooperation urged Natural Resources and the Environment Minister Robert Persaud, who was part of the meeting and under whose jurisdiction the issue of surface and sub-surface rights fall, urged residents to cooperate with the surveyors and other officials who will be visiting the community to begin work.

GLSC Surveys Manager Rene Duesbury outlined the land registration procedure in detail to the residents during the meeting, regarding the initiative as a catalyst for other communities, and a supplement to government initiatives such as the housing drive.

A similar programme will be undertaken in Berbice, Region Six, targeting small farmers who have been requesting land access, while at Onderneeming on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two, a land regularisation exercise is also in the making, Minister Persaud disclosed.

monday, august 26, 2013 |

Baby, woman killed in highway crash

Two persons are dead and several others are injured after the bus they were travelling in suffered a blowout and ended up in the Bamia Creek, Linden/Soesdyke Highway on Sunday afternoon.

The dead were identified as Annastacia Forde, 23, and sixweek-old Taquyah Shepherd, both of Wisroc, Linden. Some of the injured are Shepherd’s mother, Tanisha Victor; Coleen Clark; Keisha Clarke; La Bron Raymond; and La Quan Raymond, all of Amelia’s Ward, Linden.

According to reports, the baby and the woman were pronounced dead on arrival at the Mckenzie Hospital, while the mother of the infant has been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The others are patients at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) nursing injuries to their heads, hands and other parts of their bodies. They are said to be in stable condition.

The driver of the bus, whose name was given as “Cutty”, was in critical condition up to late Sunday evening, and was expected to be transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further treatment.

According to information received, the bus was head-

ing to Georgetown with a full load of passengers when one of the rear tires reportedly blew out. As a result of the incident, the driver lost control of the minibus which toppled several times before landing in the Bamia Creek upside down.

Durke (only name given), a relative of the Clarkes and Raymonds, told Guyana Times that his mother-in-law and sister-in-law, along with his two nephews were heading to Georgetown when the tragedy occurred. He said from reports received, the bus was speeding, and as such, it was difficult for the driver to control the vehicle after one of the back tires went off.

This publication understands that as the bus was descending into the creek; passengers were seen fall-

ing through the windows.

Minutes after the bus came to a halt, public-spirited citizens rushed to the aid of the injured passengers, who were whisked away to the LHC.

At the height of the confusion, it was discovered that the now dead baby was missing and a search ensued. As the bus was flipped back onto its wheels, the baby was reportedly found in the water.

Hospital officials when contacted confirmed that at least 12 persons were rushed to the emergency unit with injuries ranging from lacerations to the head, fractured arms and legs.

They also confirmed that the driver, being the most critical of the injured, underwent emergency surgery and was still in theatre up to press time.

Govt refutes APNU’s claims...

* July 17 – An engagement with the IDB’s Caribbean country manager was arranged with the opposition.

* July 18 – The joint opposition in Parliament voted against the bill and motion to facilitate the continuity of the project.

* July 25 – Government convened a stakeholders’ consultation session on the project.

* July 29 – President Donald Ramotar wrote Opposition Leader David Granger to request continued legislative discussions pertaining to the project.

* July 30 – Granger, acknowledged receipt of President Ramotar’s letter

* July 31 – Granger agreed to the government’s recommendation to meet with Sithe Global and Blackstone. Government arranged the meeting, but was not allowed to participate.

* July 31 – Government and Sithe Global engaged

in a public workshop on the project with detailed presentations and all questions answered.

* August 7 – Government re-tabled the project’s parliamentary matters; APNU, once again, voted against them; AFC supported the legislation, but with a reduced guarantee ceiling.

Other engagements

The release said, in addition to the above consultations, the government is aware of various engagements by private sector organisations, Sithe Global, and other parties, with the opposition. All of these engagements were intended to provide the opposition with a better understanding of the project.

These include private sector consultations by the project’s sponsor, Sithe Global; media consultations by Sithe Global; opposition consultations by Sithe Global; government of Guyana consulta-

From page 8

tions with the Private Sector Commission; and environmental consultations with all key stakeholders, including indigenous people The release added that the government provided to the opposition three technical presentations and various studies, major transaction agreements as noted above (PPA, RA, IA); held three public workshops (one with Sithe Global); arranged a visit to the Amaila Falls access roads; arranged for APNU and AFC to meet the IDB on the project; and supported and facilitated direct engagement with Sithe Global/Blackstone.

“To date, the government of Guyana has not received any written questions from the opposition. It is unacceptable that the people of Guyana must bear the burden for the opposition’s unwillingness to cooperate and contribute the development of this nation,” the release concluded.

President Donald Ramotar interacting with residents of Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice during a community meeting

The minibus that was involved in the accident

CARIFESTA XI winds down

– Guyanese contingent showcases cultural mosaic

s CARIFESTA XI

Adrew to a close in Suriname, several countries – including Guyana, Cuba and the host country – participated in a dance recital where each country shared aspects of their culture, in keeping with the event’s theme “Culture for Development”.

At the start of the programme, Cuba presented several modern contemporary dances which had a hint of hip hop. The dim lights in the theatre set the atmosphere of mystery for the Cuban segment, while bright and colourful lights set the scene for joyful play as the Guyanese took the stage.

The Guyanese dancers which included performers from the National Dance Company, Classique and Nitrageet performed items depicting Guyana’s cultural heritage. The pieces were put together by Vivian Daniels, Linda Griffith, Kijana Lewis, and Dr Seeta Shaw-Roath.

Following the exhilarating performance by the Guyanese contingent, the Surinamese brought down the curtains with presentations from its Javanese, Chinese and Indian groups. The performance captured the essence of CARIFESTA XI, which sought to bring countries together to share their cultures and traditions.

Anuradha Garaban crowned queen of Anna Regina

Gorgeous 17-year-old

Anuradha Garaban was Saturday night crowned queen of Anna Regina before a packed audience at the Anna Regina Car Park.

Garaban, an aspiring teacher, won the hearts of the judges when she gracefully answered her final question on the issue of child abuse. In response to the final question “What are some causes of child abuse and how can child abuse be prevented in society?” she told the audience that alcohol is one of the main contributing factors that lead to child abuse and the only way of eradicating it is for parents

to be educated about its effects and how it can tarnish a child’s life.

Speaking immediately after being crowned Miss Anna Regina, Garaban said she is elated to be queen of the township. The young lady expressed special thanks to her sponsor, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and trainer, Sursattie Singh for spending time with her throughout the pageant. The queen said the pageant was very challenging and admitted that she never thought she was going to win.

Garaban also copped the Best Gown prize while Candace Daniels, dele-

gate number two, won the Best Smile prize and Stacy Carvan, delegate number five, copped the award for Best Talent. The first runner-up was crowd favourite Candace Daniels while second runner-up went to Rayshma Dasrath.

The third runner-up was Ahide Pearson. The contestants received attractive prizes. The queen pocketed $50,000, makeup sets plus a weekend package to Lake Mainstay Resort. The pageant featured an introduction, talent, evening gown, cultural and question-andanswer segments. The girls’ cultural outfits were richly designed.

The seven beauties represented various villages in the township of Anna Regina and the event was made possible through the kind contribution of the Region Two business community. According to Anna Regina Town Clerk Diane Critchlow, the pageant is part of the Anna Regina Town Day activities and aims to showcase the beautiful women in the township.

Critchlow was happy the pageant was a resounding success and thanked the seven beauties for participating.

De ambassador mek Green Jah swell he mouth

Old people seh what sweet in goat mouth does be sour in he bamzee. Old people also seh it got some people who does only like to hear sweet talk. But when dem hear hard words, dem does get vex and swell up dem mouth like dem get mumps or dem pull out teeth. On de other hand, some people does look like dem born wid mumps because dem mouth always swell bout sum ting. Dem is de kinda people who don’t be please wid nutten. No matter how hard yuh try and no matter what yuh give dem in life, dem never happy. Dem does always got a swell mouth. Is a disease that spreadin in Guyana just like how dem wildfires been spreadin in Idaho de other day.

De Kocheur man is one of dem. He does swell he mouth no matter what happen in de country. He look like he born wid mumps and does pull out teeth every day. Soon he gon gotta get treatment fuh oversize face. Baddam ketch de disease too.

De two old rams does look like dem does pull out one another teeth, among other tings dem does have to pull out when dem together. Since No Gel Hugly get ketch wid he hand in de cookie jar, it look like he gettin mumps. And Rum Jhaat mouth swell till it can’t close.

Now is plenty FLAPNU people swell up dem mouth these past couple of days after de U.S. ambassador tell dem hard words. Not too long ago, dem was gettin sheer sweet talk, and dem was jumpin up like when ants bite monkey and he ain’t got tree fuh climb up.

When de ambassador talk bout local guvament elections, Green Jah smile. When de same ambassador talk bout de media, Green Jah smile again. When de ambassador talk bout Amaila Falls, Green Jah smile turn to swell mouth.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling...friend tell friend...mattie tell mattie! Green Jah mouth swell till it now lookin long. So he gon have to go to a specialty hospital fuh treatment!

24 benefit from Banks DIH bursary awards

Banks DIH Limited on Saturday rewarded 24 children of its employees and shareholders who excelled at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations, at its annual bursary awards.

Banks DIH Limited Communications Manager Troy Peters said the company is pleased to continue the tradition, pointing out that the awards will cover the students’ five-year tenure at secondary school.

Those honoured at the simple presentation held at the company’s sports club at Ruimveldt are Olivia Sandy, Maleah Hopkinson, Priya Ramcharran, Jonathan

Doodnaught, Olufeme Jones, Tryia Crum-Ewing, Kathleena Lall, Aaliyah Peterkin, Aneesa Le Doux, Felicia Pillay, Daniel BaldeoThorne, Yonathan Octaveo Camacho, Lukas Walcott, Shania Renee Smith, Talisia Rawlins, Amirah Quamina-Cummings, Susmita Mangru, Chantel Dey, Ayana Makeda De Roy, Leondra John, Nicholas Ally, Kendra Trotman, Rhianna D’Andrade and Tyreese Richards.

Banks DIH has been issuing these awards for the past 40 years as a way of giving back to its shareholders. Twenty-four students were also honoured last year.

Man attacked, robbed at wedding house

Awedding house lime turned sour for a man after he was attacked and robbed of his jewellery and an undisclosed sum of money on Saturday evening at Crabwood Creek, Berbice.

Praimchand Kalicharran, 25, of Lot 81 Grant 1780 Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice, was relieved of a gold chain worth $180,000; a ring and

an undisclosed sum on money which was in his pocket, by a man who was armed with a broken bottle.

The suspect, who is commonly called “Pudduck” of Grant 1780 Crab Wood Creek subsequently fled the scene. He has not been seen since. According to information received, Kalicharran was at a wedding house at 2767 Crabwood Creek, when

the suspect came up with a broken Heineken bottle, placed it to his neck and ripped off the gold chain he was wearing. Kalicharran also received injuries to his neck and had to visit the Skeldon Hospital, where he was treated and sent away. The police made checks for the suspect, but he was not found. Investigations are continuing.

Two dancers from the National Dance Company performing at Theatre Thalia in Paramaribo, Suriname

Miss Anna Regina Anuradha Garaban

Betrayed – giving in to the tobacco lobby

Tobacco is a killer. We are all aware of this fact and even Big Tobacco acknowledges that tobacco is a killer. In many countries, suicide is a crime. But in the case of choosing slow death by tobacco, it is legal and worse yet, we pay for the privilege. This is a tragedy. It is shameless lack of care that so many governments appear impotent in the fight against tobacco.

Governments recognise the public health dangers of tobacco and some governments have acted to protect their citizens against this monstrous killer. There are organisations and individuals fighting against tobacco and its negative impact on morbidity and mortality. But these efforts are constantly being challenged and sometimes overturned by big tobacco.

Politics and profits

Times Notebook today presents an example of how powerful the reach of Big Tobacco is. Before we get to this example, we would like to repeat what the former Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy always said: “Science and public health must always be above politics and profits. The evidence that tobacco is a killer and creates lives of disabilities is insurmountable and, therefore, our global collective refusal to act more aggressively against tobacco is a crime against humanity.”

We are all for trade agreements that seek to make it easier for countries to trade with each other. Such a negotiation is underway right now between the U.S. and TransPacific countries like Australia and Vietnam. On August 22, in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, representatives from the U.S. and 11 other nations began the latest round of negotiations over the TransPacific Partnership, a multinational trade agreement.

The pact is intended to lower tariffs and other barriers to commerce. This is a laudable goal that should be of economic benefit to all the citizens of these nations. But if it is achieved at the expense of people’s health, the United States and countries around the world will be worse off for it.

The early drafts of the agreement included a “safe harbour” provision protecting nations that have adopted regulations on tobacco – like package warnings and advertising and marketing restrictions – because of “the unique status of tobacco products from a health and regulatory perspective.” This provision would have prevented the tobacco industry from interfering with the sovereign rights of countries to protect public health through tobacco control laws.

Big Tobacco has gone to court challenging these regulations. These countries were seeking to insert an agreement between the countries that would have prevented Big Tobacco from challenging these efforts in court.

Countries and cities that have adopted such regulations have had great success reducing smoking rates and saving lives. In New York City, where they have some of the most comprehensive tobacco policies in the world, the smoking rate among adults has fallen by nearly one-third, and among high school students it has been cut in half. This progress helped to increase average life expectancy in New York City: in 2010, it was 80.9 years in the city, more than two years longer than in the country as a whole.

Negative impact

We were happy to see that the U.S. and the Trans-Pacific countries were considering this provision to stop Big Tobacco from challenging countries and cities that were trying to stop the negative impact of tobacco. But the Barack Obama administration bowed to pressure from the tobacco industry and removed the safe harbour provision from the trade compact. The tobacco industry lobbied the U.S. government to remove the provision from being considered in the agreement.

But worse, Big Tobacco got other business interest groups to join them by convincing these groups that the safe harbour provision would lead to other products being singled out in future trade accords. These other interests buckled because they were fearful that such application of science and public health

interest could lead to other items being identified for similar treatment as tobacco in the future.

Because this provision is no longer in the agreement to be signed between the U.S. and the TransPacific countries – not only will cigarettes be cheaper for the 800 million people in the countries affected by the trade pact, but multinational tobacco corporations will be able to challenge those governments – including America’s – for implementing lifesaving public health policies.

This would not only put tobacco-control regulations in various countries like Australia, Canada, the U.S., Trinidad and Jamaica, among others in peril, but also create a chilling effect that would prevent further action against tobacco, which is desperately needed.

Tobacco use causes more deaths around the world than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. If nothing is done, one billion people will die of tobacco use by the end

of this century. This is why many countries around the world are making bold moves to stop the tobacco scourge.

Recently, Jamaica passed tough laws against smoking in public places. Bangladesh has enacted new rules that are a big step toward banning smoking in public places and on all modes of transportation.

In Guyana, through the Health Ministry and with support from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and organisations like the Bloomberg Foundation, there is an ongoing effort to build public support for comprehensive new legislation that includes some of the most effective tobaccocontrol techniques, like advertising bans and graphic warning labels on packages. Times Notebook urges the minister of health to champion the pro-health stance against tobacco.

But if globally we keep making it easy for Big Tobacco to fight countries by removing safe harbour

provisions in trade pacts like the U.S. has done with the Trans-Pacific countries, this progress will be jeopardised, a devastating setback for the global effort to reduce tobacco use, particularly because the signatories to the trade pact include nations – like the United States, Australia and Vietnam – that have some of the world’s strongest tobacco control measures. President Obama should recognise that by caving in to Big Tobacco, the tobacco rules of its own Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be subject to challenge.

Trade agreements

Government was a strong proponent of trade agreements that expand economic opportunity around the globe, but trade agreements that also protect the public health interests of nations. We recall, specifically, government fighting for generic drugs with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), through the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS),

allowing countries to make affordable quality generic medicines.

But any deal that sells out national commitment to public health and that goes against science, does not merit support. We believe all trade pacts should seek to protect the health of people everywhere. We believe that Big Tobacco should not have the right to challenge the sovereignty of nations to decide what is good for their people.

Big Tobacco is a killer. Too many people have been murdered legally by this non-judicial death sentence that they pay for. Times Notebook calls on the government to stop being slow in responding to the public health dangers of tobacco.

Readers are invited to comment on this article via email (times.notebook@gmail.com) and on Facebook.

monday, august 26, 2013 | guyanatimesgy.com

Mining Week commences with walk in Georgetown

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud and representatives from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) traversing the streets of the city on Sunday

Mining Week 2013 kicked off early Sunday morning with a walk which commenced at the Bank of Guyana building and concluded at the Guyana Girl Guides Association on Brickdam, Georgetown.

Participants in the walk included Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Natural Resources and the Environment Minister Robert Persaud, his Permanent Secretary Joslyn McKenzie, representatives from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and miners.

Mining Week 2013 is being celebrated under the theme “Green, Clean and Responsible; Securing the future of Mining”, and will see the mining sector being highlighted during the next seven days.

According to Minister Persaud, who was at the time addressing those gathered at the Girl Guides Pavilion, the walk is very symbolic and has been going on for a number of years.

He said it is aimed at bringing more awareness of Mining Week and issues surrounding mining.

Minister Persaud commended those persons who

participated in the walk and stated that it shows the level of dedication and commitment in their work and towards the growth of the mining sector.

He added that as the mining activities start, he hopes that the sector will continue to have the support of immediate stakeholders and the wider Guyanese community.

Mining Week will be held from August 25-31, featuring activities such as a national mining and quarrying conference which will be held on August 26 and 27 at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown and a mining exhibition.

On August 28, there will be an education and training session followed by a tour outreach to a mining community on August 29, and a day dedicated to the customers when there will be an appreciation ceremony at the GGMC headquarters.

The week of activities will conclude with Pork Knocker’s Day held at the Regatta Pavilion, Golden Beach, Bartica, on August 31. These activities are intended to raise awareness and educate the public about the sector which plays a great part in the advancement of the country’s economy.

School feeding programmes changing lives in the region – FAO study finds

Astudy undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru showcases the contributions that school feeding programmes are making in strengthening children’s social protection, food security and nutritional status.

The study “A Panorama of School Feeding and the Possibilities for Direct Purchases from Family Farming – Case Studies in Eight Countries” indicates that these programmes, both promote school attendance and bolster the learning process.

Additionally, all countries studied showed interest in sourcing food for school programmes from family farmers as a way to foster local development. “This is a triple-win approach: it secures quality food for students of public schools, promotes consumption of fresh and healthy food, and opens new markets and the possibility of higher incomes for family farmers while boosting local development,” said FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva.

All told, the various pro-

grammes profiled by the regional study include 18 million students of different ages and educational levels, with a combined budget of approximately US$940 million, representing an annual net investment of US$25 per student. Funding is primarily destined for the purchase and distribution of food.

Growing political commitment

The commitment of governments in the region to school feeding programmes has grown, the study finds. Almost all countries examined have expressed interest in implementing a policy of direct purchases from small producers to supply their school feeding programmes. However, the FAO also noted that legal and regulatory frameworks are required to facilitate the integration of small producers into government supply networks.

“The study shows that tackling the challenges of school feeding programmes require the involvement of various actors, including governments, parliamentarians, international organisations, private sector, the educational community and

civil society,” said Najla Veloso, coordinator of FAO’s regional work in this area.

The study on school feeding programmes was supported by the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme, which is engaged in a series of activities aimed at helping countries achieve various Millennium Development Goals. Brazil’s experience with school feeding programmes has a 50year history. By 2012, its national feeding programme reached nearly 45 million students.

“The Brazilian government is ready to contribute to the development and improvement of school feeding programmes not only in Latin America, but also in Africa,” said Albaneide Peixinho, general coordinator of Brazil’s School Feeding National Programme.

Given the advances shown by school feeding programmes highlighted in the regional study, the FAO and the government of Brazil are stressing the need to translate the political commitment shown by countries into concrete school feeding policies and institutions, to guarantee the quality and nutritional value of food in schools.

Jumo Primo focused on enriching Guyanese music

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain,” the 2013 Carib Soca Monarch King Jumo Primo said as he quoted one of the world’s renowned reggae icons Bob Marley in a bid to describe the significance of music.

“Music is not simply a collection of words, it’s not just about performing on a stage, it’s about transforming the lives of people, it’s about turning your sadness into happiness, or weakness into strength,” he said, noting that persons with this innate gift should share it with Guyana and the world at large.

Though Guyana’s music industry is struggling to survive above rough water, Jumo said with determination and love for the art form, singers and song writers can brave the storm and accomplish greatness. “It starts with one step,” he said.

To the young generation, he encouraged them to be focused, pointing out that the use of illicit drugs, abuse of alcohol and failure to be edified are recipes for disaster. “Always, and I say always be opened to positive criticisms, they are only there to make you stronger, practice and don’t ever be afraid to launch out,” were his words of encouragement.

Positive role model

The singer and song writer, who has been in the music industry for more than 18 years, was born on July 26, 1976 in Plaisance, on the East Coast of Demerara. He is the eldest of 10 children for his parents and is a positive role model, not only to his siblings, but his daugh-

ters and thousands of fans worldwide.

While growing up, this talented artiste had developed a fondness for singing, and at every given opportunity on a makeshift stage, he would perform much to the satisfaction of his family and friends.

The reigning Soca Monarch told Soca Vibes that it was only at the age of 14 that he made his first public appearance, performing not just yet as a singer, but playing the role of a disc jockey (DJ). Subsequently, he joined the EC Connections, Mischievous Guys and Jerusalem bands; partnerships that have aided in the development of his formative skills as a singer and performer.

Over the years, he has earned the nickname “Rubber Waist”.

Many have strived to capitalise on his stunning performances by making him several offers. But to Jumo, after seriously analysing the pros and cons, he settled for Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.“That decision has proven to be truly a life changing decision. To date, I have toured 30 countries every year since then, performing side by side with

some of the Caribbean's top artistes, including Roger George, Destra and Leon Caldero in China and Jerusalem.”

In 2005, he signed onto the Kross Kolors Records Studio under the management of Burchmore Simon. Four years into the company, he grouped up with another fan thriller; soca artiste Adrian Dutchin and today, they are famous for their stage name “X2”.

Thrilling performances

In 2012, Jumo was crowned Carib Soca Monarch, walking away with a whopping $1.5 million after outshining his competitors at the National Park. Singing “One People! One Nation! One Destiny” he wooed the crowd with yet another thrilling performance. The 37-yearold father repeated history when he competed in the 2013 Soca Monarch, outshining his opponents with “Fireworks”.

Today, he is known for his hit songs “Nosey People”, “Fireworks”, “The Storm”, “Can’t Stop the Carnival”, “Dip” and “Bad Mind People” as he continues to perform around the world, but most importantly, at home.

He recently returned from the U.S. and Canada where he teamed up with his partner Adrian Dutchin to record “Party Loud”, which will be released today; a compilation of songs under the “Screw Face” Rhythm with Kwesi Ace, Jory Hector and Adrian Dutchin. This album is expected to be released next week. He also recorded his brand new single called “No More Love”, to be released next month.

67 complete summer camp in Berbice

Officials and participants of the camp

Sixty-seven children took advantage of the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry’s summer programme in New Amsterdam.

The three-week camp which catered for children between the ages of four and 18 years of age, concluded last Friday, and the participants took the opportunity to showcase some of the pillow cases, table mats, chains and necklaces that they

made.

The programme which was held at the Smithfield Drop-in Centre, helped persons to get to better understand of themselves, peer educator and President Youth Award (PYARG) unit leader Troydel Williamson said.

He explained that many of the participants had issues of low self-esteem, but by the time the programme was completed, they had a better outlook about them-

selves. The campers were divided into two groups, with the main group consisting of persons between the ages of 11 and 18 years old. During the period, the participants were exposed to skills training, drama, career guidance planning, workshops on gender-based violence, and discussions on youth issues.

The participants were also given lectures on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD). Meanwhile, Williamson noted that the drop-in centre will be hosting evening classes for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) students from next month.

“These classes will be free and we have already made arrangements for retired teachers to volunteer.” He said this was all part of the ministry’s goal to empower youths.

Jumo Primo

monday, august 26, 2013 | guyanatimesgy.com

Miners’ proposals being looked at, says Persaud as Mining Week opens

By Svetlana MarShall

Natural Resources and Environment Minister

Robert Persaud said the cries of the mining industry have not gone unheard, noting that the ministry is vigorously pursuing issues plaguing the sector.

Speaking as the opening of Mining Week 2013, at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, on Sunday, Persaud pointed out that a proposal has been submitted to the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Guyana for the payment of revenue from gold sales in foreign currency.

The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) had requested that miners be given the opportunity to sell up to 50 per cent of the gold sold to the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) in foreign exchange. This had occurred in the past, but ceased in November 2011, significantly affecting small and medium scale miners.

Mercury-free technology

According to Minister Persaud, his ministry will be pursuing the issue vigorously, positing that foreign exchange is important at this point for the investment in mercury-free technologies.

“Given the intense lobbying by the government on behalf of the mining industry, the ban on the use of

mercury in mining activities would be implemented from 2020. In this regard, alluvial miners would be required to adopt mercury-free technology in their mining activities, which would require foreign exchange to procure,” he explained.

Fuel concerns

In addition to foreign exchange, high fuel prices continue to hinder progress of the industry, but this too will be addressed, the subject minister assured the gathering of stakeholders in the industry.

“The GGDMA has explored alternatives that can be pursued in an effort to reduce the cost of production, to ensure viability of the small miners. In this regard, the direct importation by the GGDMA and/ or its designated representative of fuel and distribution of fuel to the mining community in accordance with national guidelines is being positively being considered.”

The GGDMA has also structured a new proposal to facilitate tax waivers on double cab pickup vehicles, specifically for the mining industry. This too, he said is being studied by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh. According to the proposal, concession should be granted to miners based on their gold declarations to the GGB. This method would also aid in the prevention of leakages.

Even as miners continue to invest in the industry, the Natural Resources Ministry with support from the Guyana Police Force will beef up security measures. Granting of firearm licences to miners, increased security checkpoints, increased police presence, addressing the issues of shakedown by ranks and clamping down on the illegal sale of oil are among issues placed on the table to be addressed in the upcoming weeks.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and our regulatory agency, the GGMC will work with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Police Force to better facilitate the security needs of the miners in the various mining districts.”

Satellite imagery

However, while the ministry through Operation El Dorado has been clamping down on illegal problems, Minister Persaud said the judicial system poses a major stumbling block.

Nevertheless, he said that his ministry will be working with acting Chancellor Carl Singh to address these issues.

“And yes, better monitoring and response by the GGMC staff is needed. Soon we will be using satellite imagery to track any illegal mining, and in conjunction with the Guyana Defence Force air corps, will be able to have instant deployment from the

centre,” he added.

Persaud said the mining industry’s contribution to national development cannot be overemphasised, positing that it continues to have tremendous impact on the country’s economy.

According to him, value added in mining and quarrying achieved leaps and bounds in 2012. He said this was reflected by higher output in the gold, bauxite, sand and loam industries.

Meanwhile, President Donald Ramotar who declared the week opened touted the need for cutting-edge technologies in the industry

Over the years, the mining industry has evolved tremendously in the area of technology, which has resulted in increased production, causing a tripling effect on the country’s economy and by extension its citizens. Alluding to the gold industry, President Ramotar said OMAI in 1993 brought with it new technologies when it was established in Guyana, which led the way for the growing sector.

Record target

The GGB has set a target of declaring 460,000 ounces of gold at the end of 2013, and according to the president, this ambitious target is not unachievable but is possible with cutting-edge technology.

“We are hoping that for the first time with only Guyanese miners contributing, that we would have the

highest gold production in the history of our country...”

In acknowledging the contributions made to the country’s development, President Ramotar pointed out that last year the mining industry was the largest contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The mining industry is not confined to quarry, gold and bauxite mining, but would soon incorporate a manganese sector. Currently, Reunion Manganese located in the North West District in the vicinity of Matthews Ridge, is exploring for manganese. “I understand that prospects are very bright for us to be mining iron ore and more over we are anxiously waiting to see the first oil beginning to flow off our off shore and on shore.”

Nevertheless, he called on

miners and investors to conduct their operations within a sustainable manner, add value to their products and simultaneously ensure the payment of taxes.

“I know of the dreams of many of our past leaders of not only producing bauxite but producing alumina and aluminum, and that is one of the reasons the issues with hydro power is such a painful issue... we cannot go to higher levels and achieve standard of living comparable to develop countries unless we have new infrastructure and cheap energy and hydro power is one such area,” he explained.

Mining Week 2013 is being held under theme “Green, Clean and Responsible: Securing the Future of Mining”. (svetlanam@guyanatimesgy.com)

Brazilian shot by countryman

ABrazilian national was on Sunday shot during a fight with one of his countrymen in Cuyuni region, police have reported.

According to a police statement, investigations are being conducted into an incident that occurred about 06:00h Sunday at Waimu, Cuyuni River, in which Brazilian national Radiel Silva Lima, 29, was shot to his left leg.

Investigations have re-

vealed that Lima was involved in an argument with another Brazilian national, who is a licensed firearm holder, over damage to an excavator when he was shot. Lima has been hospitalised.

The licensed firearm holder is in police custody and is under guard at the Bartica Hospital after he complained of feeling unwell. His firearm has been seized by the police.

Barbadian PM urges commercial banks to invest in hotel sector

Barbados Prime Minister Freundel

Stuart has urged commercial banks to invest in the island’s hotel sector. Stuart told the media that financial institutions should be willing to take investment in that sector seriously.

“It can’t continue to make a lot of sense for banks to lend people money to buy motor cars, a more serious investment than investment in a sector that leads the

Barbadian economy and that earns us most of the foreign exchange we need to sustain our standard of living and quality of life.

“There has to be a change in the thinking of our banking institutions. Conspicuous consumption is not the creed for this time. What we want is serious investment in things that have a long-term significance for the economy of Barbados. And, therefore, we are going to have some conversations

with our financial institutions so that they take a more longterm view of their presence here in Barbados. Barbados has been good to them and we want to see them digging in more seriously here in terms of being willing to invest in this lead sector,” the prime minister stated. He proffered the view that the tourism industry had to be brought back on track if there was to be an improvement in the island’s economy. (Caribbean News Now)

Donald Trump investment school sued by NY attorney general

New York state’s attorney general said on Sunday he has filed a US$40 million lawsuit against Donald Trump and his forprofit investment school, accusing them of engaging in illegal business practices.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman alleged that the real estate mogul, a former executive at the Trump Entrepreneur Institute – called Trump University until 2010 – made false claims about classes at the school, including that Trump hand-

Economic growth in the UK during the second quarter of the year has been revised up to 0.7 per cent by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The initial estimate, released in July, suggested gross domestic product (GDP) – the UK’s economic output –had risen by 0.6 per cent from the previous quarter.

The ONS said the revision reflected small upward adjustments to the estimated

picked instructors.

“No one, no matter how rich or popular they are, has a right to scam hard-working New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said in a statement. The attorney general said from 2005 to 2011, the Trump school operated without an educational license while misleading consumers into paying for courses promising to teach Trump’s real estate investment techniques.

More than 5000 people nationally took the courses, paying US$40 million,

Schneiderman said. The lawsuit is seeking restitution of at least US$40 million, as well as a disgorgement of profits, penalties and an injunction, Schneiderman’s office said.

A copy of the lawsuit, which was filed in New York state court, was not immediately available Sunday. But Schneiderman said in the statement that his office found Trump did not himself pick a single instructor at the seminars and had minimal to no involvement in developing the courses’ content. (Reuters)

Middle East

Jumeirah hires senior exec for Asia Pacific growth

Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hotel company, said on Sunday it has appointed a senior executive to drive expansion of the brand in Asia Pacific. Jumeirah said in a statement that it has hired U.S. national James Mabey as senior vice president development for the Asia Pacific region.

For the past two and a half years he has been working for Marco Polo Hotels and previously held positions in TGR Asia, the Royal Thai govern-

Oceania

ment and the International Resort Development Group.

In his new role, Mabey will be based in Jumeirah’s Singapore office and will be responsible for securing new management contracts for hotels and serviced apartments that meet Jumeirah’s luxury standards throughout Asia Pacific.

Robert Swade, Jumeirah Group’s chief officer for development and legal, said: “I am delighted to welcome James Mabey to the team.

Asia Pacific is central to Jumeirah’s international growth strategy and the appointment of James demonstrates our commitment to further brand expansion in the region.”

In 2011 Jumeirah opened its first luxury property in China, the 401-room Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Shanghai. The company has signed five other management agreements for hotels that are under development in China.

(Arabianbusiness)

Australia’s mining boom rolls on for Chinese entrepreneur in the outback

Former Chinese commodities trader Jerry Ren, who is quietly building a mining empire in the Australian outback, scoffs at talk the resources boom is over. For him its just moved north.

As some mining firms clock up billions of dollars in losses, Ren has secured millions of acres of exploration rights in Australia’s most remote regions that could soon make him a billionaire, helped by his connections in the world’s

Aoutput of several industries. The data also showed that export demand played a major role in driving growth. Compared with a year ago, GDP in the three months to June was 1.5 per cent higher.

The latest revision adds to evidence that the UK economic recovery may finally be gaining momentum after almost four years of stagnation since the 2008-09 recession ended. The 0.7 per cent rate matches the pace re-

corded during the third quarter of 2012, when the economy was buoyed by the London Olympics, which was itself the fastest growth rate since 2010. However, the ONS cautioned that the current rate of economic growth was still well below the rate experienced during previous recoveries from recessions since 1945 –during which the economy has typically enjoyed a short burst of growth as it caught up with its pre-recession level. (BBC News)

rgentina has been told again it must pay back more than US$1.3 billion (£830 million) to a group of investors – 11 years after its record debt default.

A New York appeals court unanimously rejected every Argentine argument against the payout. The decision is the latest twist in the longrunning legal saga.

biggest consumer of minerals China.

Ren, now an Australian resident, has already been dubbed the “900 million dollar man” for his estimated net worth.

“There’s still plenty of money and opportunity in Australia if you know where to look,” says Ren, the son of a steel mill engineer who grew up in the shadow of the Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong’s disastrous attempt to modernize China’s economy.

Argentina refuses to pay anything to investors who declined to participate in a previous debt reduction deal involving most of the nation’s lenders.

“What the consequences predicted by Argentina have in common is that they are speculative, hyperbolic and almost entirely of the Republic’s own making,” the judges said in their decision.

But the appeals court held off forcing Argentina to pay pending an appeal to the Supreme Court – which is considered unlikely to hear the case, but puts off any decision to 2014, well after Argentina’s congressional elections in October.

More bricks in the global recovery wall are likely to slot into place in a week that could also yield more clues as to when the Federal Reserve will start unwinding its exceptional monetary stimulus.

Updated gross domestic product figures are usually brushed aside as backwardlooking. But with the timetable for Fed ‘tapering’ dependent on the flow of data, any upward revision to U.S. second-quarter GDP growth can only strengthen the hand of those who expect the central bank to move as early as its September 17-18 policy meeting.

Economists polled by Reuters reckon GDP expanded at a 2.2 per cent clip between April and June, up from an initial estimate of 1.7

per cent thanks to a bigger contribution from net exports.

The U.S. economy is far from firing on all cylinders. But last week home sales for July jumped to a three-year high and the four-week moving average for new jobless claims fell to the lowest level in nearly six years.

Sam Bullard, an economist with Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina, said he still thought, after the minutes of July’s policy-making Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke would start to ease off next month.

“At least on the economic data front, the numbers are gradually improving and the plan that Bernanke laid out at the June FOMC meeting for potential tapering in the second half of this year still

Ren’s privately held Australian oil and gas company holds a 75 per cent stake in exploration rights covering 70 million acres, 25 per cent of Australia’s Northern Territory, or an area larger than Afghanistan. Under-exploited by heavy hitters like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto as Australia’s last boom took shape further south in established iron ore and coal fields, Ren has had a near-free run to stake his claims in the Territory. (Reuters)

The appeal came after a Manhattan court ruled last February that Argentina had violated its contractual obligation to treat all creditors equally. That meant the country would have to pay the bondholders, led by NML Capital and Aurelius Capital Management.

Argentina defaulted on some US$100 billion of debts in 2002, and has since restructured its debt twice, cancelling around 75 per cent of the nominal value of the bonds. (BBC News)

looks as though it’s on pace. We’re still in that September camp,” Bullard said.

Headwinds and tailwinds To be sure, the Fed has to take account of plenty of headwinds.

Bullard cited the risk of a U.S. government shutdown due to wrangling over next year’s budget. Congress also needs to raise the federal debt ceiling by November, raising the spectre of a repeat of the brinkmanship that rocked markets two years ago.

“If the Fed goes for September, they have to have some faith that there’ll be some resolution to these federal fiscal issues and that they won’t throw their economic growth projections off course,” Bullard said. “It’s not a slam dunk.” (Reuters)

monday, august 26, 2013

Syria to allow UN to inspect “chemical weapons” site

The Syrian government has agreed to allow United Nations inspectors to investigate allegations of a suspected chemical weapon attack near Damascus.

The team is to begin work today. Activists say Syrian forces killed more than 300 people in several suburbs east and west of the capital on Wednesday.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague warned that evidence could have been tampered with, degraded or destroyed in the five days since the attack.

Syria has blamed “terrorists”.

State media reported that chemical agents were found in tunnels used by rebel fighters, and also that soldiers suffered “suffocation” in fighting around the suburb of Jobar.

State TV is meanwhile reporting that the governor of the central district of Hama, Anas Abdul-Razzaq Naem, has been killed in a car bomb attack.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry’s statement broadcast on state television said an agreement to allow UN chemical weapons experts to “investigate

Greece “may

need

10B euros more” in aid

Greece may need a third bailout, but would not accept new austerity measures, the Greek finance minister has said.

Yannis Stournaras said:

“If there is need for further support to Greece, it will be in the order of about 10 billion euros, or much smaller than the previous programmes.”

Greece has already received two bailouts totalling about 240 billion euros.

Meanwhile, Angela Merkel has warned about writing down any more Greek debt.

Germany’s chancellor said a so-called haircut of Greek debt would be bad for the stability of the eurozone, which has seen a return in investor confidence after years of worrying about the future of the single currency following bailouts of several nations – most recently, Cyprus.

“I am expressly warning against a haircut,” Merkel said. “It could trigger a domino effect of uncertainty with the result that the

allegations of chemical weapons use in Damascus province” had been concluded on Sunday with the UN’s disarmament chief, Angela Kane.

The agreement was “effective immediately”, the statement added.

A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon subsequently announced that the inspectors were “preparing to conduct on-site fact-finding activities”. A ceasefire

will be observed at the affected locations, the statement said.

readiness of private investors to invest in the eurozone again falls to nothing.”

Her comments come after Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said – for the first time – earlier this month that Greece will need another bailout to plug a forthcoming funding gap.

The issue of bailouts is a sensitive one in Germany, where Merkel faces elections for a third term on September 22.

Many Germans feel they have already contributed enough to European bailouts. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month estimated Greece would need around 11 billion euros in 2014-15.

On Sunday, Stournaras told Greek newspaper Proto Thema that any further bailout would be smaller than the previous two.

But he also warned that Greece would not accept any more forced spending cuts from its partners. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Russia, a key ally of Syria, welcomed the decision to allow the inspectors in, but warned the West against pre-empting the results. (Excerpt from BBC News)

The work of the UN team is likely to involve taking soil, blood, urine and tissue samples for laboratory testing to see if banned chemical agents were used.

One of the injured receives treatment after the chemical attack

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras (left), seen here with Joerg Asmussen of the European Central Bank

SUDOKU

Money is heading in your direction, enabling you to do more of the activities you enjoy. Your boss or colleagues will recognise your contributions and celebrate them. It’s time to think big.

By Bernice Bede Osol

(June 21July 22) (Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Improve your health and the way you present yourself to the world. You’ll need patience when dealing with an institution as well as a degree of financial flexibility.

Use your creative assets to present your ideas and thoughts to others. You will get the support you need to make worthwhile contributions to a cause within your community. You’ll be eager to try something new or to enjoy the company of someone refreshing and eccentric. An emotional situation at home will need some fine-tuning if you want to avoid discord.

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

(July 23Aug. 22) (Feb. 20-March 20)

It’s a good day to drum up interest in an idea or investment opportunity. Discuss your plans with potential helpers. The right colleagues will be eager to aid you.

(March 21-April 19)

Keep your life simple. A move or domestic change will result in higher costs and trouble with someone you expected to help you. You need to play it cool and adjust to the shifting winds.

(April 20-May 20)

Share your thoughts with knowledgeable people. Your recent personal growth will help you develop a friendship with someone who will prove motivational. Focus on making positive strides.

(May 21June 20)

Change your routine and welcome events that introduce you to alternative ways of reaching your goals. Your family and coworkers will have lots of advice for you, but trust your own instincts foremost.

The people you encounter and the places you visit today will prove valuable. Know your limitations, but try your hardest to make the most of a good opportunity.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Do what’s expected of you and keep moving. If someone is being pushy, find out why, and do your best to defuse the situation. It’s best to take care of your responsibilities before someone complains.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

You’re in an interesting cycle that will expand your spirituality and ability to handle change. Discuss those innovative ideas of yours ─ it’s time to start making them happen.

(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Avoid gossip or idle chatter; someone could get you to talk out of turn. A change in your financial situation due to outside pressure will result in stress. Offer suggestions and hands-on help instead of cash to those seeking your aid.

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Sophia man beats wife, sets house on fire

BY VAHNU MANIKCHAND

ASophia man is now on the run after he reportedly assaulted his reputed wife and set their C Field Sophia home afire.

The fire started some time around 17:00h on Sunday. The suspect has been identified as Dexter Semple, who was occupying the house with Fiesta Fraser and their two children.

Guyana Times understands that the couple were home alone when an argument started between them. During the argument, Semple reportedly assaulted the woman. After the fight, Semple began throwing kerosene in the house and then allegedly lit the fire.

According to a neighbour, Peggy Welcome, she was at home sleeping when her children woke her up and told her that Dexter and his reputed

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it, and went back to sleep.

“Them come back in again and say ‘Mommy, Dexter bun up Fiesta clothes’ and I push open the window and see smoke coming out the house,” said the woman. Welcome recalled that af-

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ter she saw the smoke, she ran out of the house and by then neighbours began trying to douse the fire, but the blaze was too much.

“People start come out and get buckets and we start throw the water, but de fire was too much and about 10-15 minutes after, de fire truck come and put out de fire, but it was too late because everything de done damage,” she noted. Welcome said she did not see Dexter after the house was set ablaze. The woman pointed out that she did not know exactly what transpired and whatever she knew is what was told to her by her children who witnessed the incident.

Meanwhile, a relative of Fraser told this newspaper that after reportedly setting the house alight, Dexter was seen leaving the area on his bicycle. (vahnum@guyanatimesgy.com)

Eyes online, milk powder firms count cost of China probes

Global milk powder firms are scrutinising Chinese social media reports up to four times a day to gauge consumer reaction to a high-profile pricing probe and food safety scare that threaten their squeaky-clean image in the US$14.5 billion China market.

The stepped-up monitoring of microblogging site Weibo and local online forums reflects the outsized role social media plays in China, where access to information is restricted. Chatter about food safety scares spreads lightning-fast on Twitter-like Weibo, so companies are learning to keep constant tabs on their online brand reputation.

“We work with a number of clients in this sector and we’ve been busy, very busy, over the last couple of weeks,” said a China-based senior executive at a social media analytics firm.

He asked not to be identified because the firm is currently working with industry brands including those owned by Fonterra Co-Operative Group Ltd, Danone SA and Nestle SA.

Price fixing

Earlier this month, five international milk powder firms and one Chinese company were fined a record US$110 million after a probe into price fixing in the sector, while a botulism scare at New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra tarnished the wider reputation of imported milk powder.

Reuters analysed the frequency of Weibo posts mentioning the major infant formula brands and found that the number of posts began to increase as early as May,

Dumex and Abbott Laboratories, which makes brands such as Similac, are among the companies mentioned in the probe

and then peaked at the start of August, around the time of the Fonterra botulism scare.

The earlier spikes could be explained by the spread of rumours around the milk powder price probe, which was publicly disclosed in July, but had been in the works for four months. The viral nature of social media can also amplify the chatter without necessarily reflecting wider consumer thinking because a single message can be re-posted thousands of times.

Nestle, which was named in the pricing probe but escaped a fine, saw the smallest spike in online chatter about its Wyeth infant formula unit, which flattened in July and August. Mentions of Mead Johnson Nutrition Co spiked the most, peaking in June, but then returned close to normal this month.

The frequency of posts about Dumex and Abbott Laboratories, which makes brands such as Similac, remained elevated into August,

suggesting the firms may have work to do to reassure consumers.

Chatter about Fonterra, which doesn’t have its own-label brand in China, was little affected by the earlier price probes, but saw a sudden steep spike in August at the time of the botulism scare. In August alone, posts that mention Fonterra were five times those in January to July.

Nestle and Danone declined to comment. Mead Johnson, Wyeth and Fonterra did not respond to emailed queries.

Late last year, a Fonterra source told Reuters that social media in China was going to be a priority. Abbott said it is stepping up social media engagement worldwide. “Our use of social media is increasing globally as we look to better understand, respond to and connect with our customers around the world,” Abbott spokeswoman Kelly Morrison said.

Dairy safety

Chinese consumers are highly sensitive to dairy safety after a scandal in 2008 involving melamine-contaminated baby milk powder. At least six babies died and thousands more fell ill.

For the international infant formula brands, the recent scandals hit a particularly sensitive spot: their reputation for safety, which was their primary edge over local rivals.

“The picture that is being painted in China is that their quality isn’t that much better that local firms,” said Torsten Stocker, Hong Kong-based partner at consulting firm AT Kearney.

The social data company

executive said that infant formula companies had made use of online media to gauge consumer sentiment, track the spread of conversations related to their brands, and work out how to respond to the crisis.

“There was one brand which was holding out and didn’t admit involvement until the very end. That made Chinese netizens angry. Other brands did better, responding quickly and getting opinion leaders to support the brand online,” he said.

Consultants will now create detailed reports using the data to identify weak-spots of brands through the crisis, helping milk powder makers create tailored recovery drives, he said, adding that some firms asked for updates four times a day.

Milk powder makers are also using analysis of online Chinese retailer Taobao, owned by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, to map out demand hotspots in China’s multitude of lower-tier cities where analysts predict 80 per cent of sector growth.

Distribution channels

China has more than 150 cities with a population above one million, and the major Western brands have yet to establish coast-to-coast distribution channels.

“Many firms are looking at Taobao, which is a good indicator because it tells you where demand is, but where the physical infrastructure hasn’t yet reached,” said Jeff Walters, managing director at Boston Consulting Group, which advises a number of milk powder firms in China.

(Reuters)

Australian man snatched in crocodile attack

Aman is believed to have been killed by a crocodile in Australia’s Northern Territory while swimming in a river during a birthday party.

Police say he ignored signs to stay out of the water at a popular camping ground at Mary River, 65 miles (100km) from Darwin, the state’s capital.

The river has one of the highest crocodile populations in the area.

Onlookers watched in horror as the victim was suddenly attacked.

He was last seen in the crocodile’s powerful jaws, reports the BBC’s Phil Mercer in Sydney. Police are searching for him.

The victim and anoth-

er man had gone swimming across the river, and were swimming back when the crocodile attacked, police say.

“Several of the group in the party witnessed the male being taken in the jaws of the croc for a period of time, and then he was out of sight,” Senior Sergeant Geoff Bahnert is quoted as saying by the AP news agency.

“The Mary River is known worldwide to have the greatest saturation of adult saltwater crocodiles in the world. You don’t swim in the Mary River,” he added.

Saltwater crocodiles can grow up seven metres long and weigh more than a tonne; they are a common feature of Australia’s tropical north. (BBC News)

hEAlth

EDucAtiON

DENtiStRy

The burnt Sophia house

England win series 3-0 after bad light ends Oval Test

England were denied a probable victory over Australia in the final Test when bad light ensured the match ended in a draw which confirmed the hosts’ 3-0 series win on Sunday.

Set a target of 227 by Michael Clarke’s ambitious declaration, England needed 21 more from 24 balls with five wickets in hand when play was called to a halt by the umpires at 19:36h.

The Oval crowd, who had been treated to an incredible final day in which 447 runs were scored and 17 wickets fell, booed in disapproval before gathering to watch England captain Alastair Cook lift the Ashes urn.

England, who have now won three Ashes series in a row for the first time since 1977-1981, celebrated with a lap of honour while fireworks blazed over the Oval pavilion.

Cook said: “It would have been nice to finish with a win but the rules and regulations are there for a reason. The umpires have strict guidelines and, if it was day three, we would have gone off.”

Such an absorbing and ultimately controversial conclusion to the series looked unlikely when England began the final day only four wickets down in their first innings.

But the hosts’ aggressive approach on Sunday morning, and Australia’s determination to give themselves a chance of a consolation victory, saw Clarke declare his side’s second innings on 1116 at tea and set England a tantalising target in 44 overs.

A partnership of 64 between Cook (34) and Jonathan Trott set England on course before a buccaneering 62 off 55 balls from Kevin Pietersen established the hosts as firm favourites.

After Trott (59) and Pietersen were dismissed in quick succession, Chris Woakes and Ian Bell kept up the pace, but with the light fading rapidly, Australia began to complain.

When Bell was run out by Mitchell Starc for 17, the umpires consulted their

light meters, and took the unpopular decision to end the match, denying the full house the finale they desired.

Under International Cricket Council regulations, the umpires were obliged to take the players off once the light had faded to the same level it was when they had stopped play on Thursday evening.

The crowd subsequently jeered the umpires and Clarke during the postmatch presentation before applauding Cook’s triumphant team as they jogged around the floodlit outfield with flags draped around their shoulders.

The victory margin was their biggest in the Ashes since they won 5-1 in 197879 and their best at home since their 3-0 win in 1977 - the last time Australia failed to win a single match

against their fiercest rivals.

The result also means England move above India into second place in the ICC Test rankings, while Australia drop below Pakistan into fifth.

After widespread criticism of their obdurate bat-

ting on Friday, when they scored 215 runs in 98.3 overs, England set off in far more positive fashion as their final six wickets added 130 in 28.4.

Matt Prior made 47his highest score of the series - and Graeme Swann smashed 34 off 24 balls before he was the last man out to give debutant James Faulkner his fourth wicket.

If England’s approach had been attacking, then Australia’s was an all-out assault as they front-loaded their batting order with bighitters and set out in pursuit of quick runs.

The result was 111 runs and six wickets in 23 riotous overs, with Stuart Broad taking 4-43 before Clarke, who top-scored with 28 not out, took the decision to declare.

England could easily have batted conservatively to guarantee they finished the series undefeated but they were positive from the outset and would surely have completed a 4-0 victory had the match not been brought to a premature, and farcical conclusion.

“This morning (Sunday) our job was to try and make it as difficult as possible to stop Australia from pushing on for a win and to make our chances of victory easier,” added Cook.

“The crowds have been fantastic for all five Tests and I’m privileged to captain this group of guys. Winning this series is the proudest moment of my life.”

SCOREBOARD

4, G Swann 7-0-39-1

R Harris 5-0-21-2, M Starc 7-0-48-0, P Siddle 3-016-0, N Lyon 10-0-44-0, M Clarke 2-0-4-0, J Faulkner 8-147-2, S Watson 5-0-22-0

Marquez takes fourth straight win at Brno

Championship leader Marc Marquez became the first rider to win five races in his debut MotoGP season with victory at Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Spaniard took his fourth win in a row to boost his bid to take the title at the first attempt.

He reeled in long-time leader Jorge Lorenzo, who had to settle for third after Dani Pedrosa also passed him.

Cal Crutchlow’s hopes of a fifth podium finish of the season, after starting on pole, ended with a crash on lap eight.

The Briton was running in fourth place after seeing the fast-starting Lorenzo, plus Marquez and Pedrosa, pass him on the run-in to the first corner.

He was also briefly overtaken by Alvaro Bautista, but had re-established a small gap over the Spaniard when he lost control of his Tech 3 Yamaha.

“Alvaro came past and slowed the pace so much that I had to push hard,” Crutchlow told BBC Sport. “I was trying to push to get back to the front guys but I made a mistake.

“We had some issues on the grid with the bike and it was important to get away from them [at the start], but Jorge [Lorenzo] did a fantastic first lap and put us all under pressure.”

Crutchlow did manage to get his bike back on the track, restarting in 20th place, but was unable to get into the points after finishing 17th.

Marquez, meanwhile, extended his lead in the championship from 21 points at

the outset to 26 - more than the allotted amount for a race win.

The Repsol Honda rider prevailed after a tit-fortat tussle with Lorenzo’s Yamaha in the later stages.

Defending world champion Lorenzo, 35 points adrift in the standings beforehand, stormed through from fifth on the grid to take the lead at the first corner and established a healthy lead.

But Marquez and Pedrosa closed in with seven laps left to make it a threeway fight at the front. Lorenzo repelled the first two attempts at a pass by Marquez, but could not resist the youngster’s continued probing.

“I enjoyed the battle,” the winner told BBC Sport. “It is the first time I have had a fight like this in MotoGP. In the beginning Jorge pushed quite a bit and made a big gap, but in the end I was a little bit stronger.”

Lorenzo’s hopes of defending his title suffered a further blow when Pedrosa also passed him, with three laps left, as he fell 44 points behind Marquez with seven rounds left.

“It is a bit disappointing because I almost had the race [in the bag] so to lose the first two positions in the last part of it is not the best,” he conceded.

Meanwhile Britain’s Scott Redding will take a 21-point lead in the Moto2 standings into next weekend’s race at Silverstone after finishing eighth in Brno. His closest rival, Spaniard Pol Espargaro, narrowed the gap after coming home fourth, with Finn Mika Kallio taking victory. (BBC Sport)

Snicko could be used in winter series - ICC chief

Umpiring aid Snicko could be used in this winter’s Ashes series between England and hosts Australia.

International Cricket Council chief executive Dave Richardson says the use of Snicko - which detects edges using sound - will be considered following problems with technology this summer. There have been calls for thermal-imaging system Hot Spot to be scrapped.

“Snicko will probably be the first bit of technology introduced - it’s always been reliable,” said Richardson.

Snicko uses sound from stump microphones to help detect if a batsman has edged the ball.

The technology has not been available to third umpires this summer because there is too much of a delay in synchronising television pictures with the sound provided by the microphones, but a new realtime Snicko is currently being tested.

“Without getting too technical it’s quite an involved process to make sure the sound gets to you at the same time [as the TV pictures] and is synchronised

perfectly with where the ball is,” Richardson told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme.

There have been a number of high-profile umpiring mistakes which have not been corrected despite using the decision review system - where teams can refer decisions made on the field to the third umpire - during this summer’s Ashes. Following the first Test at Trent Bridge, the ICC had to admit Jonathan Trott should not have been given out lbw after getting an inside edge.

Trott was initially given

not out, but was dismissed by third umpire Marais Erasmus when Australia used DRS, because a key Hot Spot camera angle was not available to the South African.

Later in the same match, England’s Stuart Broad edged to first slip, via a deflection off the wicketkeeper, but he was given not out and the decision stood because Australia had used up both of their allotted reviews.

Richardson is keen for a review of DRS, but pointed out that technology has enabled the umpires to get more decisions right than if they

did not have access to it.

“What we need to do now is to take stock, review the statistics,” said Richardson. “Looking back over the five Tests this summer, without DRS we would have had a correct decision rate of about 91% , which is lower than we would have liked and lower than the average, but with DRS we ended up with the correct decisions up around 97%.

“I don’t think a 100% success rate is achievable because technology can sometimes fail and the umpires, even with technology, might make a mistake where

judgement is concerned.” Real-time Snicko is expected to be the first piece of new technology implemented, possibly alongside Hot Spot.

“The good thing with Hot Spot is that when there is a mark we know there is an edge,” said Richardson. “Sometimes it doesn’t pick up the faint edges, we know that. It’s going to help get us to 97% but not 100% at the moment.

“There are meetings coming up in September and they could have the authority to sanction Snicko’s use.”

(BBC Sport)

Kevin Pietersen batted in typically aggressive fashion

Marc Marquez

Vettel wins with ease in Belgium, Hamilton third

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel eased to a dominant victory in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of title rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

The German’s victory in his Red Bull, his fifth in 11 races this season, moved him 46 points clear of Ferrari driver Alonso in the championship with 200 still available.

The Spaniard moved up from ninth on the grid with a brilliant first few laps but could do nothing about the imperious Vettel.

Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen, another title contender, retired after a visor tear-off got jammed in one of the brake ducts, jamming some cooling channels which led to a brake failure and retirement at Spa Francorchamps.

The Finn has fallen 14 points behind Hamilton to fourth place in the championship and is now 63 points adrift of Vettel and facing an uphill battle to get back into contention.

Vettel, by contrast, looks all but unstoppable after one of the most comfortable victories of the year.

“It was a fantastic race for us,” said Vettel. “From start to finish really, very good tactics - it helped the first lap to have the tow off Lewis into Eau Rouge. Once I passed him I had incredible pace and could control the race.”

Vettel built a 2.8-second lead after just two laps, at which point his engineer Guillaume Roquelin told him to “save tyres”, adding: “We don’t need any more than this.”

Vettel continued to inch away and was never troubled thereafter.

Behind him, Alonso made impressive progress after qualifying in ninth place.

An aggressive first lap, including passing Red Bull’s Mark Webber into Eau Rouge, put him up to fifth place, after which he passed McLaren’s Jenson Button into fourth on lap four and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg into third on lap six.

Alonso then took second

Cardiff stun Manchester City

Cardiff City produced a stunning win over 2011-12 champions Manchester City to claim their first victory in the Premier League on Sunday.

After falling behind to Edin Dzeko’s powerful 52nd-minute opener, Aron Gunnarsson equalised after Joe Hart blocked Fraizer Campbell’s shot.

Former Manchester United youngster Campbell then scored twice in eight minutes to put the home side in charge.

Alvaro Negredo set up a grandstand finish, but Malky Mackay’s men held on.

place from Hamilton on lap 14, after the Englishman made an error going into La Source and ran wide.

Alonso overtook him going down the hill into Eau Rouge and then just managed to fight Hamilton off into the Les Combes chicane at the end of the long Kemmel straight, despite the Mercedes having use of its DRS overtaking aid.

Alonso inched away from Hamilton but could do nothing about Vettel as the Red Bull controlled the pace at the front and Hamilton was left to successfully fend off team-mate Rosberg and Webber in the final stint of the race.

“We had to recover some places,” said Alonso. “We were not OK yesterday but everything went OK from the start and then the car had the pace to overtake some cars - then it was a little bit boring after we got into second place.”

Hamilton said: “These guys were a little bit faster than me, but the team did a great job and I’m really happy with the result.”

Behind them Button, abandoning a planned onestop strategy, took sixth place ahead of Lotus’s Romain Grosjean, who fended off Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in the closing laps.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil was ninth from Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo, who passed McLaren’s Sergio Perez for the final point late in the race.

The Mexican had earlier been given a drive-through penalty for forcing Grosjean off the track early in the race.

Scot Paul Di Resta was racing with Sutil and on course for a point or two, but was taken out by Williams’s Pastor Maldonado in a chaotic incident at the Bus Stop chicane that also involved Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and Sutil.

The incident started when Maldonado had a wobble at high speed coming out of the Paul Frère corner, giving Gutierrez a chance to close up and try to pass. (BBC Sport)

The final whistle brought with it scenes of celebration from the packed crowd at the Cardiff City Stadium as the Bluebirds won in the top flight of English football for the first time since they were last there in 1962.

It was also the first topflight victory for Mackay, who guided his team to the Championship title last season.

But it was a chastening experience for new Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, whose side brushed aside Newcastle 4-0 last Monday but surrendered a one-goal advantage in the Welsh capital.

The one disappointing aspect of the victory over the Magpies was an injury to skipper and defensive lynchpin Vincent Kompany.

And the Belgium international was sorely missed on Sunday, with midfielder Javi Garcia deployed as a makeshift defender.

It was an afternoon packed with emotionstarting even before the game kicked off when a group of fans staged what they termed as a pre-match march to celebrate the club’s heritage; one that was synonymous with playing in blue rather than the red that the club’s Malaysian owners have opted for.

But no matter their gripe over the club’s identity, home fans could have had no complaints with the manner in which their players took the game to Pellegrini’s side.

Cardiff had an early penalty appeal and a free-kick from Peter Whittingham that missed the target but, as the first half-hour passed, the often frenetic pace diminished and the visitors came into the game.

However, Cardiff’s de-

fence remained alert, with Ben Turner and Campbell combining to block Yaya Toure’s close-range effort.

At the other end, Campbell could not get the ball under control when well placed and saw another chance snuffed out when Hart blocked his shot.

Pellegrini’s side went ahead after the restart when Sergio Aguero’s classy backheel teed up the chance and Bosnian Dzeko shot home a ferocious effort from 30 yards.

Cardiff’s riposte was swift - and they levelled on the hour mark, eight minutes after conceding.

Kim Bo-Kyung ran free on the right and after Hart blocked Campbell’s effort, Gunnarsson followed up and struck from six yards.

That prompted scenes to match the day the Bluebirds secured their return to

English football’s highest echelon, but what followed topped it all for the home supporters.

Craig Bellamy won a corner on the right that Whittingham delivered and, as Hart hesitated and Pablo Zabaleta stood still, Campbell charged in to score from two yards, the ball appearing to strike his shoulder.

Campbell added his second three minutes from time, heading home following a corner with the visiting defence once more flatfooted.

And although Negredo pulled one back with a quality header of his own during the six minutes of injury time, the visitors could not find an equaliser as Cardiff became the second promoted team after Hull on Saturday to win in the Premier League this season.

Armstrong agrees Sunday Times settlement

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has agreed a settlement with the Sunday Times after it sued him for about £1 million, the paper has announced.

Armstrong, 41, had been paid £300,000 to settle a libel case in 2004 after the newspaper alleged he had cheated.

After US officials last year found Armstrong had led a “sophisticated” doping programme, the paper demanded the money back plus interest and costs.

The Sunday Times said it had reached a “mutually acceptable final resolution”.

David Walsh, the chief sports writer of the Sunday Times, first raised questions about Armstrong in 1999, when he won the Tour de France for the first time.

In 2004, the newspaper published an article saying it was right for questions about Armstrong’s performance to be both “posed and answered”.

The American cyclist’s lawyers issued a writ and sought damages from the paper, Walsh and then-deputy sports editor Alan English.

It was later ruled that the meaning of the article was that Armstrong was “a fraud, a cheat and a liar”.

The Sunday Times settled that claim in June 2006.

Last year, the United States AntiDoping Agency called Armstrong a “serial” cheat who had led “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen”. He was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles .

The cyclist had always denied doping during his career, but finally confessed in an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey in January.

In December last year, the Sunday Times wrote to Armstrong’s lawyers saying it was now clear that the earlier proceedings brought by the athlete had

been “baseless and fraudulent”.

“Your representations that you had never taken performance-enhancing drugs were deliberately false,” the letter added.

In the latest edition of the Sunday Times, the newspaper announced that it, Walsh and English had “reached a mutually acceptable final resolution to all claims against Lance Armstrong related to the 2012 High Court proceedings”.

The paper said it was “entirely happy with the agreed settlement, the terms of which remain confidential.

Cardiff players celebrate after scoring the final goal to beat Manchester City

Lance Armstrong

Federer wants to prove at U.S. Open he is back

…Williams feels unbeatable heading into Open

NEW YORK - His back is feeling better and now Roger Federer wants to show everyone he is back.

With a record 17 grand slam titles under his belt, Federer has nothing left to prove but try telling that to the Swiss master.

After years of being at the top of world tennis, Federer is taking no satisfaction from his slow decline.

He has won just one of the last 14 grand slam events and has almost been forgotten in the lead-up to this year’s U.S. Open with Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray dominating the discussion.

But the 32-year-old, a five-time winner of the U.S. Open, insists he is not a spent force and he has his sights set on winning another title at Flushing Meadows.

“Clearly when I come here I don’t just look at trying to make quarters, you know,” he told reporters.

“I’m clearly here trying to win the tournament, but it starts at the very beginning and that’s Monday (today).”

By his own standards, Federer has had a poor year. At Wimbledon, his favourite tournament, he suffered a shock second round loss and he started to slide down the world rankings.

He is seeded seventh for the U.S. Open, his lowest seeding in over a decade, but says nothing should be read into that.

“The rankings fluctuate a lot, especially if you don’t play so well,” he said. “If you play great you move up or go down rather quickly.

“The ranking actually itself is secondary but I have looked at the rankings my whole life. I used to be in-

credibly excited on Monday seeing how many spots my ranking went up or down.

“Usually it was more excited that it was going up. The older you get the less you pay a bit of attention about it. But nevertheless, clearly want to move up from here.”

Federer’s drop has not gone unnoticed, with former world number one John McEnroe suggesting his days of winning grand slams are over.

But Federer disagrees, saying he was feeling better than ever after a back problem which troubled him earlier this year had been resolved and he had gone back to his old racquet.

“My mind was with my back more than anything else. I’m happy that I’m playing well again,” he said.

“The confidence is back in my movement and I’ll go back to the racquet I know or the racquet I have won

everything with.”

Meanwhile, like a high roller on an endless winning streak, Serena Williams believes she just cannot lose.

Williams was not making any bold statements about her chances of winning the U.S, Open but with 16 grand slams titles already under her belt, but says she feels she is playing with the house’s money.

“I don’t need to do anything,” she told a news conference at the annual media day on Saturday.

“That’s the beauty of my career. I don’t need to do anything at all. Everything I do from this day forward is a bonus.”

Despite knowing her place in the pantheon of tennis greats is already assured, Williams is not resting on her laurels just yet.

The world number one already has her sights set on more grand slams, including

St Lucia Zouks congratulate Jamaica Tallawahs

Castries, ST LUCIA - The St. Lucia Zouks team are the first team to congratulate the Jamaica Tallawahs on their victory in the first-ever tournament of its kind in the Caribbean.

“The finals was everything it was expected to be, full of energy, excitement and a fighting spirit. The choice to send in the Warriors to bat obviously paid off and the Tallawahs will now go down in history as the winners of this fantastic form of cricket in the inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL),” said Darren Sammy, captain of the St. Lucia Zouks.

Sammy also had high praise for the Guyana Amazon Warriors who played outstanding cricket throughout the tournament and gave a shout out to all the Zoukers who stood by the team and continue to lend their support.

“We might have lost but the Zouks fans are the winners in every sense of the word. They brought with them the maximum energy and enthusiasm and we couldn’t have asked for a more supportive group of fans wherever we played. Thanks to all the Zoukers. We promise that next year we’ll be coming back stronger, playing harder and staying longer.”

Limacol CPL’s Media & Accreditation Officer for the St. Lucia franchise, Marie-Antoinette Mora, said that the LCPL was everything that was expected and so much more.

Chris Gayle and the Limacol CPL trophy

“The Limacol CPL is huge for the Caribbean. From the coming together of the venue teams in Trinidad & Tobago to map out a strategy for the planning and execution of the Limacol CPL to the opening ceremony and now the closing presentation, the Limacol CPL has brought with it an air of freshness, the ability

to unite and a spirit of fun and fervour. It reignited the passion of our Caribbean people for the sport that we love so much. We can’t wait for the Limacol CPL 2014.”

The 2014 and 2015 tournaments will take place from July 5 to August 10 and June 21 to July 26, respectively. (CPL)

this year’s U.S. Open, where she is the overwhelming favorite to successfully defend the title she won last year.

“My motivation just comes from different place and different areas,” she said.

“I love to play tennis and I love winning and I think that keeps me motivated. I want to keep it up and I want to keep improving and try to keep winning.”

Williams has always had an unwavering belief in her ability to perform at the biggest events since she won her first U.S. Open in 1999 when she was just 17 years old.

“When the tournament started, I told myself I was going to win and I felt it. I have these weird feelings all the time,” she said.

“I wasn’t really surprised. I mean, I was happy and elated, but I just had this instinct that I was going to win this title.”

That win was the start of her domination of the women’s game. Last year, she won her fourth U.S. Open, aged 30 and has shown no signs of slowing down. In June, she won the French Open, which has traditionally been her toughest major, for a second time.

If the American wins again at Flushing Meadows, she will become the oldest female champion in New York since tennis turned professional in 1968.

“That would be great but that’s not one thing I focus on and think about,” she said.

“I just think about there are so many people in the competition and so many things I would like to do.

“The instincts don’t come as often this time, nowadays. I don’t have an instinct. But I have also had that feeling going to a lot of slams I have won.” (Reuters)

Inaugural Limacol CPL...

We are grateful for, and inspired by their love for the game.

“In addition, the commercial partners and players as well as the staff who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes, and the army of volunteers enlisted at each of the venues, have all contributed to the final result and every one involved deserves thanks for their efforts.

“The result has exceeded our expectations and now our task is to build on what we have achieved this year to ensure the Limacol Caribbean Premier League goes from strength to strength and that it becomes even bigger and better next year.”

Ajmal Khan, Chairman of Verus International and Founder of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League said: “When we set out on this journey we asked everyone involved to come and play – and that is exactly what has happened.

“We wanted the Limacol Caribbean Premier League to be the biggest party in sport and there is no doubt we achieved it.

“The players did their part by producing a host of memorable performances, the fans came and enjoyed themselves in huge numbers and our sponsors backed the event like never before in this region.

“The Limacol Caribbean Premier League has shown both the West Indian public’s enduring love for cricket and the limitless potential for growth and suc-

cess that there is in this region.

“Within an incredibly short space of time we have established the Limacol Caribbean Premier League as something that everyone – players, fans and commercial partners – wants to be involved in.

“Our task now is to ensure that we build on this success starting with the second edition next year.”

Jamaica Tallawahs captain Chris Gayle summed up the feelings of players from each of the six franchises when he said: “It has been a great tournament and I am really happy to be here at the end.

“I give thanks to the fans for turning out and supporting us. I am very happy with the (Limacol) CPL and hopefully next year it will be even bigger and better –and I will be here again.”

Ramnaresh Sarwan, the captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors added: “I was fortunate to play in the IPL a few years ago but I think this (Limacol Caribbean Premier League) is right up there and I can only see it getting bigger and better.”

The Limacol Caribbean Premier League took place between July 30 and August 24 and involved six franchisesthe Antigua Hawksbills, the Barbados Tridents, the Guyana Amazon Warriors, the Jamaica Tallawahs and the St. Lucia Zouks, Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel - from across the region.

Serena Williams Roger Federer

Rafa Nadal

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Berbice clubs, children’s home receive money from BCB and BCCDA

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA) presented two first division cricket clubs with a total of $200,000 and a $100,000 to the Albion Sports Club on Thursday.

The organisations also presented $20,000 each to the Anker Ville and Bohemia Primary Schools. The money will be used to construct sheds at the two schools.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the BCCDA Imran Sacoor, speaking at the presentation at New Amsterdam on Thursday, said both schools had projects to complete and had approached the organisations.

“The $100,000 to the Albion Cricket Club and the one hundred thousand dollars to the Bermine Cricket Club will go towards the development of those clubs,” Sacoor said.

He said the money was part of the proceeds from the Independence Cup which was held in May.

“Every year we select two clubs and make a contribution to them. Last year two other clubs were selected. Hopefully we will be able to make a similar presentation next year,” the PRO said.

The clubs that benefited last year were Young Warriors and Rose Hall Youth and Sport Clubs.

Sacoor explained that the Albion estate allowed the organisations to use

the Albion Sports Ground without charge for the hosting of the Independence Cup last year and again this year. “Because of this kind gesture we gave the Albion Sports Club fifty thousand dollars but they did not collect the money last year so this year we are presenting them with a cheque for one hundred thousand dollars.”

Treasure of the BCCDA Anil Beharry noted that this year the Independence Cup saw a profit of $1,382,321. According to Sacoor this was possible because of the number on sponsors that came on board and the co-operation of teams. The BCBC and the BCCDA each received checks for $506,160.50.

Meanwhile, three orphanages were also present-

ed with cheques for $20,000 each. Also, $20,000 was given to a parent to assist to assist with kidney replacement surgery for her son in Pakistan.

“I will suggest that next year we set up a special fund and put aside some money for emergency projects like what happened the other night,” Beharry said.

Giving the financial report, Beharry said the sponsors contributed $1,575,000. He said there were also some organisations that contributed in kind.

Secretary of BCB Angela Haniff congratulated the clubs that supported the event. She noted that last year all the first division clubs in Berbice were presented with first-aid kits coming out of the proceeds

of the Independence Cup.

“We are very happy to know that our cricketing fraternity is benefiting from this activity,” she said, urging more clubs to get involved in the promotion of the Independence Cup when it comes around next year.

In brief remarks, President of BCCDA Mark Roopnarine took time out to recognise the sponsors who came forth and supported the tournament, “it has been more this year than last year and we will lobby very hard to have the tournament played on Independence Day.”

He said the effort of the sponsors goes back to the community to assist with further development.

(Andrew Carmichael)

Mike Tyson ‘close to death from drugs and alcohol’

Former undisputed heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson claims he is “on the verge of dying” from ongoing drug and alcohol problems.

Tyson, 47, admitted he is a continual substance abuser but added he is hopeful of finally getting clean.

“I want to live my sober life. I don’t want to die. I’m on the verge of dying, because I’m a vicious alcoholic,” Tyson said on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights”.

“I’m a bad guy sometimes. I did a lot of bad things, I want to be forgiven.”

At the age of 20, in 1987, the American fighter held the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles.

But five years later Brooklyn-born

Tyson was convicted of raping Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in prison.

He returned to the ring but retired from the sport in 2006 and in 2007 was sentenced to 24 hours in jail and 360 hours of community service for drug possession and driving under the influence.

Tyson, who now works as a boxing promoter, added: “I hope they can forgive me. I want to change my life, I want to live a different life now.

“I haven’t drank or took drugs in six days, and for me that’s a miracle.

“I’ve been lying to everybody that thinks I was sober, but I’m not. This is my sixth day. I’m never going to use again.” (BBC Sport)

Boyce and Jefford Classic 2013 was a success says Treiston Joseph

Before analysing the fourth edition of the Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic, which concluded on Sunday in Linden, it must be said that Police Sports Club athlete Alita Moore made this year’s edition of the event the most memorable of the previous three.

Moore did what most female athletes in Guyana have been dreaming to do in the last eight years - defeat sprint queen Alisha Fortune.

The 19-year-old was simply phenomenal as she surged ahead in the last 10m to beat the veteran sprinter, registering a new meet record of 12.00s in the process in less than ideal conditions.

With that being said the 2013 edition of the Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic will only get better as the years go by, if the organisers intend for this to be the meet of all meets on the local scene.

The organisers must be commended for listening to the cries of the athletes and the media for the change of date for the event since the last three years were severely affected by rain due to the competition being held during the May-June rainy season.

However, while it was unfortunate that rain affected both days this year, it can be said that it was not due to poor planning by the organisers, it was simply due to the unpredictability of the weather and the lack of good drainage at the venues.

The intensity of the competition, not just among athletes, but among the coaches and clubs, should be a plus in the book of the organisers.

Moore’s defeat of Fortune and setting two meet records, Stephan James winning the sprint triple, Shawn Semple’s participation in the three sprint events, Trinidad’s Mark London avenging his loss and Jevina Straker’s distance double in

meet record times are just some of the performances that showcased the level of intensity by the athletes to ensure their club’s come out victorious.

With regard to operations, most aspects seemed on point with the officiating and results. However, it must be said that the Men’s 100m provided some amount of controversy from second to fifth places.

While the organisers cannot be blamed for the confusion, in the instances of close finishes officials should utilize the photos from photographers who are present at the meets.

Besides the 100m finish, the officiating at the event has definitely improved as compared to the last two editions. This speaks volumes of effort being put into the meet and should only improve from here.

Overall the meet was a grand success since it not only gave clubs a chance to compete for money for their drained coffers but provided that sense of rivalry among clubs that makes track and field interesting. The organisers must be commended for a well kept athletics event that had a little bit of everything and should look to outdo themselves in 2014, especially with no major international events on the calendar for next year.

Alita Moore Jevina Straker

Stephan James Mark London

Alisha Fortune

The recipients of the largesse shown by BCB and BCCDA

A check of $20,000 being handed over to the Alpha Children’s Home

Mike Tyson

Inaugural Limacol CPL hailed as

“massive success” by organisers ...tournament ends with as much fanfare as it started

Port-of-Spain, TRINIDAD – The inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has been hailed by organisers and players as a “massive success.”

The tournament ended on Saturday night in front of a full house at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad with the Jamaica Tallawahs crowned as champions after beating the Guyana Amazon Warriors by seven wickets with 15 balls in hand.

A spectacular fireworks display, confetti, champagne and pyrotechnics followed by a free concert featuring soca artistes Super Blue, Iwer George, Denise Belfon, Blaxx and Black Stalin, putting an exclamation point on what has been an event jampacked with entertainment, excitement and sport.

It was the culmination of 24 matches over 26 days involving six franchise teams from across the region, with matches played in front of packed venues.

“We have exceeded every benchmark we set for the Limacol Caribbean Premier League when we embarked on this project,” said the Limacol CPL Chief Executive Damien O’Donohoe. “By every measure there is no doubt it has been a massive success.

“For the first time in many years venues in the Caribbean have been consistently packed to the rafters and the atmosphere the fans have generated has been incredible.

“The staggering public support has been matched by unprecedented commercial support, the like of which this region has never seen for a cricketing event, with local and international business joining the party.”

Even before a ball was bowled 37 commercial partners were on board, including nine league sponsors, an apparel partner and sponsors for each of the six franchises as well as four national tourism boards also supporting the event.

On top of that, high profile individuals from the worlds of entertainment and business also got involved and threw their weight behind the Limacol CPL with Hollywood actors Mark Wahlberg and Gerard Butler taking equity shares in the Barbados Tridents and Jamaica Tallawahs respectively while Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group backed the Antigua Hawksbills.

“We have had a global audience for the action through outstanding broadcast coverage on television and radio, and the Limacol CPL has also enjoyed a significant presence on social media through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube,” said O’Donohoe. “I cannot thank the fans enough for showing up in their numbers each night and showing the world how we do cricket in the Caribbean. Caribbean cricket fans are like no other on the planet and their support of this Tournament played a huge, integral part in its success.

Cook kisses the

Limacol CPL CEO Damien O’Donohoe with Jamaica Tallawahs Captain Chris Gayle and former Jamaica Prime Minister Honourable PJ Patterson Turn