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in ICU
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Austrian company gets contract for maternal and children hospital
…as talks advance on project
Discussions between the Governments of Guyana and Austria are being finalised in relation to the construction of a much anticipated maternal and children hospital in Georgetown.
This is according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, who told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Tuesday evening that the Government of Austria, a central European nation, will be carrying out the project.
“The discussions are fairly advanced and in its final stage. We would have already moved to the award [of the contract] so it is just now finalising the final details and having the project move to implementation,” he stated.
According to the Head of State, the project is being executed with a Design, Finance, Build (DFB) model and the contract is being awarded to Austrian company, VAMED, which is a global provider for hospitals and other facilities in the healthcare sector.
Based on information on its website, the VAMED group’s international portfolio comprises the entire value chain from project development via the planning and
President Dr Irfaan Ali
construction of a healthcare facility, to highly specialised commercial, infrastructure, and technical services.
While there was no further information on the project details including the cost of constructing the maternal and children hospital, the Guyana Government has already set aside some $12.4 billion for the state-ofthe-art paediatric and maternal hospital in Budget 2022 that is currently being scrutinised in the National Assembly.
In March 2021, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony had announced that Government is looking to establish a maternal and children’s hospital, which will offer specialised care to patients. At the time, it was noted that Guyana was already having talks with bilateral agencies in order to get this project off the ground.
However, last September on the sidelines of the 76th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, President Ali met with Austrian President, Alexander Van der Bellen, in New York City to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two nations.
During that meeting, the Guyanese Leader had disclosed that his Austrian counterpart had expressed interest in constructing the maternal and children’s hospital, among other things, here.
With this state-of-theart facility here, specialisations such as children’s cardiology services that were started at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) will be transferred to the hospital that will be developed.
Back in 2020, the Health Minister had revealed that there were significant local and foreign interest from the Private Sector in constructing speciality hospitals in Guyana.
“In terms of speciality hospital, apart from maybe Government investing, there has also been a lot of interest from the Private Sector, locally and foreign, to invest in developing specialised services. So, we are very favourable to such investments,” the Minister had said.
At one point, the Government of Guyana was in the process of constructing a speciality hospital of its own at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara. To fund it, the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Administration secured a US$18 million line of credit (LOC) from the Indian Export-Import (EXIM) bank.
This hospital would have provided specialised services to Guyanese and eliminated the need for persons to travel overseas for expensive, lifesaving treatment.
Back in 2012, the contract to construct the hospital was awarded to an Indiabased company, Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited, but was subsequently terminated after the firm breached several of its contractual obligations. At that time, just over US$4 million of the funding was spent on preliminary works.
After the former APNU/ AFC Government entered office in 2015, it proceeded to hand over the contract to Fedders Lloyd Corporation, which was subsequently blacklisted by the World Bank for unrelated procurement breaches.
With that, the speciality hospital project hit its final snag. As a result, the coalition Government used the remaining US$14 million from the LOC to fund upgrading existing regional hospitals. Those works are still ongoing.
In the meantime, at least one local company, Cardiology Services Incorporated, headed by Guyanese Cardiologist Dr Mahendra Carpen, has publicly indicated its interest in building a speciality hospital in Guyana.
However, the company was unwittingly vested with land under the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) Government by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), while the Government was in a caretaker status.
With the change of Government, the company has since returned the land to ensure there is a fair and transparent land allocation process. Dr Carpen had signalled his intent to work with the current Government to bring the speciality hospital to fruition. (G8)
3 new COVID-19 deaths recorded, 17 in ICU
…Govt working to procure COVID-19 pills – Health Minister
Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony announced that the Government is currently working with different companies to procure both the Pfizer and Merck COVID treatment pills.
During Monday’s COVID-19 update, the Minister stated that while the Government cannot manufacture these pills, they are currently working with private companies to acquire same.
“What we are working on currently is to make sure that we can secure both the Merck drug and the Pfizer drug and so we have been trying to work with different companies to see if we can get that into Guyana.”
As Guyana is yet to acquire this treatment regimen, the Minister continues to encourage that persons get vaccinated.
“The appeal would be to get people to be vaccinated and hopefully we can get more people coming out to get these vaccines.”
Meanwhile, the Minister revealed that the Health Ministry is currently monitoring 4358 active COVID-19 cases, with another 167 new cases being detected within the last 24 hours.
A breakdown of the new cases showed 28 in Region One (Barima-Waini); 13 in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); 19 in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara); 62 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); two in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); five in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne); three in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); one in Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni); 14 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 20 in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).
There are currently 91 persons in hospitals across the country with 68 persons at the Ocean View Facility. Of those, 17 persons are in the ICU.
New deaths
The Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that three new COVID-19 deaths were recorded. These are an 86-year-old woman from Region 10 who died on Wednesday; a 72-year-old man from Region Two who died on February 7 and an 80-year-old from Region Three died on February 8.
These three new deaths now take the total COVID-19 death toll in Guyana to 1188.
So far 427,336 or 83.3 per cent of adults have received a first dose of the COVID vaccines while 319,596 or 62.3 per cent have received a second dose of the COVID vaccines.
For the 12 to 17 age cohort, 32,978 or 45.2 per cent have received a first dose of the Pfizer vaccines while 23,528 or 32.3 per cent have received both doses.
In terms of booster doses, 43,715 persons have received their doses.
GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD
FEBRUARY 9, 2022 UPDATE
NUMBER OF NEW CASES
NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION
NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION 167
98
3289
NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU 17
NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE 25
TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES) 33,355
TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES) 28,546
TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020 61,901
NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES 57,309
TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED 427,336
FULLY IMMUNISED 319,596
DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020
REGION 1 2420
REGION 2 2388
REGION 3 7938
REGION 4 30,733
REGION 5 2303
REGION 6 5604
REGION 7 2395
REGION 8 866
REGION 9 3801
REGION 10 3453
HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Wear a face mask.
Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.
Wash your hands or use handsanitizer
Regional
Homes engulfed as deadly landslide hits Colombia
Rescue teams have been searching in the mud and debris for more survivors
Alandslide triggered by heavy rains has killed at least 14 people in central Colombia, officials say.
Another 35 people were now in hospital after several homes were engulfed in the Dosquebradas municipality, Risaralda province, on Tuesday.
The officials issued a photo showing a gash in the lush foliage covering a mountain overlooking the area.
Other residents living close to a swollen river nearby have been moved to safety.
Rescue teams have been searching in the mud for more survivors, Colombia’s disaster management officials said.
“A very loud noise scared us. We went out and saw a piece of the mountain on top of the houses,” taxi driver Dubernei Hernandez told the AFP news agency.
“I went to that place and it was a disaster, with people trapped.”
Hernandez said he helped dig up two bodies and a survivor. At least five homes were buried by the mud, he added.
There are fears that the death toll will rise further.
Landslides are common in Colombia and houses built on steep hillsides are at particular risk during the country’s rainy season.
In 2019, at least 28 people were killed after a landslide hit the south-western Cauca province.
Two years earlier, more than 250 people were killed when a landslide hit the town of Mocoa, in the southern Putumayo province. (Excerpt from BBC News)
“No to the IMF”: Thousands protest in Argentina against debt deal
Demonstrators take part in a protest against the Government’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 8, 2022
Thousands of Argentines marched through the streets Argentina and the IMF announced a breakthrough in talks in late January to of Buenos Aires on Tuesday to protest against a likely deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revamp more than US$40 billion of debt the country cannot pay back.
The protesters paraded through the capital with banners saying “no to paying the IMF” and “no to an IMF deal”, a sign of rising tension in the South American nation over the tentative agreement struck late last month. revamp a failed 2018 loan, which would see debt payments pushed back, but involve pledges to meet certain economic targets agreed with the lender. That agreement still needs details ironed out and approval from both Argentina’s Congress and the IMF Board. “No to the Government’s deal with the IMF,” said Celeste Fierro, a protest leader, wearing a T-shirt reading “scams are not paid”.
“They want us to pay with more (fiscal) adjustments, with more precariousness and taking more out of us, that is why we cannot allow the submission of our people to the designs of the IMF.”
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said last week that while an agreement had been reached in principle with Argentina on a new standby loan, “hard work” still lay ahead.
In Argentina, splits have appeared in the ruling Peronist coalition over the deal, with one prominent lawmaker stepping down from his position in Congress in opposition to it.
Juan Carlos Giordano, a representative for a leftist group in the march, said that the debt deal was akin to making working-class people foot the bill and that the funds should be used to pull people out of poverty.
“The aim is to defend wages, defend work so that the money goes to combat social ills,” he said, blaming the previous Government of conservative Mauricio Macri for taking on the IMF debt. (Excerpt from Reuters)
T&T girl, 16, held for stealing taxi driver’s car
Police in Trinidad arrested a 16-year-old Tunapuna girl on Tuesday night after she stole a taxi driver’s car.
Police said the 63-year-old driver was standing outside his white Nissan Tiida on the Eastern Main Road, Curepe, near the bus terminal around 20:00h when the girl asked to go to North Street, St Joseph.
The girl got into the front passenger seat of the car before climbing into the driver’s seat and driving off with the car.
The man called for help and two other cars chased the girl along the Eastern Main Road.
Police from the Northern Division Emergency Response Patrol joined the chase and arrested the girl.
Police took her to the St Joseph Police Station where her mother was called in.
She was then taken to the booking centre.
St Joseph Police are continuing enquiries. (Trinidad Newsday)
Nicaragua sentences Journalist to 13 years for “conspiracy”
AJudge in Nicaragua has sentenced former presidential hopeful and Journalist Miguel Mora to 13 years in prison for “conspiracy to undermine national integrity”.
Mora was the latest in a series of Opposition political figures to be convicted and sentenced after trials lasting a few hours. The trials of the 46 Opposition figures, including seven presidential hopefuls such as Mora, started on February 1.
The US and European Union have slapped sanctions on members of President Daniel Ortega’s Government for crushing internal dissent and for undemocratic practices.
Mora’s lawyer, Gerardo Gonzalez, told the 100 percent Noticias television station — where Mora served as Director until he was imprisoned — that the sentence was handed down on Wednesday.
Mora’s hopes to run in the November 7 elections were truncated when Ortega ordered him and six other contenders arrested in May and June, allowing Ortega to run almost unopposed.
On Tuesday, sportswriter and Government critic Miguel Mendoza was convicted on similar charges, as was former Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, 76.
Both are expected to be sentenced soon.
Among those already convicted are former Sandinista rebel commander Dora María Tellez, 65, who led an assault on the National Palace in 1978 during the Somoza family dictatorship, holding congress members hostage in exchange for the release of rebel prisoners. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)
El Salvador frees woman jailed for homicide after miscarriage, says rights group
Elsy, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison and spent a decade behind bars for alleged aggravated homicide after suffering a miscarriage, poses for a picture after being released from jail in San Salvador, El Salvador, February 9, 2022. Agrupacion Ciudadana por la Despenalizacion del Aborto/Handout via Reuters
Salvadoran authorities on Wednesday freed a woman who had sation, which said she was immediately arrested and shortly after charged with served a decade of a 30-year sentence on charges of aggravated homicide after suffering a miscarriage, according to a local rights group.
Elsy, 38, whose last name was not released, reported an obstetric emergency in June 2011 while working as a domestic worker, according to the organiaggravated homicide. Salvadoran authorities did not respond to a request for comment or confirm the release. Reuters was unable to independently verify the details of the case. The Citizen Group for the Decriminalisation of Abortion in El Salvador, which released a photo that it said depicted Elsy after her release from jail, said her original court case was full of irregularities and without presumption of innocence.
“We celebrate Elsy’s release after 10 years. Her erroneous 30-year sentence for aggravated homicide is over. We must continue to fight tirelessly to free those who remain deprived of liberty,” said the group’s President, Morena Herrera, in a statement.
“(Elsy) was separated from her son, who only had her. Now, more than 10 years later, she will be able to reunite with him and her family,” the organisation added.
Over the last 20 years El Salvador, which has banned abortion under all circumstances, including cases of rape and incest and when the woman’s health is in danger, has criminally prosecuted some 181 women who suffered obstetric emergencies. Since 2009, 61 of them have been released, according to the feminist organisation. (Excerpt from Reuters)
Peru’s Castillo names loyalist as PM amid recurring Cabinet crises
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo swore in his fourth Cabinet in just six months in office on Tuesday, picking a loyalist as Prime Minister, in a bid to end his Administration’s recurring crises.
Castillo, a former schoolteacher and member of a Marxist-Leninist party, handed the premiership to Anibal Torres, the Justice Minister in the previous Cabinet.
The previous prime minister resigned last week after just four days in office due to allegations of domestic violence against his daughter and late wife.
The Prime Minister who came before that had resigned over disagreements with Castillo over appointments of Police officials.
Castillo kept on investor-friendly technocrat Oscar Graham as Finance Minister, the role given to him in last week’s shortlived Cabinet.
An Opposition attempt to impeach Castillo in December on grounds that he was morally unfit for office failed to gather enough votes in Congress.
Castillo’s new Cabinet still needs to be confirmed by the Opposition-controlled Congress, which could reject it and force the President back to the drawing board. Castillo won approval for his first two Cabinets, while the third one fell apart before the vote.
During the swearing-in ceremony, Castillo appeared without his signature broadbrimmed hat. He has worn the hat, customarily worn in his home province of Chota, for almost all public appearance since taking office. (Excerpt from Reuters)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
19 Around the World
OILNEWS
Oil rallies on big drawdown in US crude stocks, strong demand
Oil prices rallied on Wednesday after US crude inventories dropped by nearly 5 million barrels and fuel demand rose to an all-time high, underscoring the market's ongoing tightness.
Brent crude futures settled up 77 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to
US$91.55 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) ended up 30 cents to US$89.66 a barrel.
US crude stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels last week to 410.4 million barrels, their lowest since October 2018, while overall product supplied, a proxy for demand, hit a record 21.9 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, Government data showed.
The heavy activity and ramp-up in US refinery processing augur for a tight market for coming months. "The data was decidedly bullish hands down - everything was bullish, with inventories at their lowest level in years," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group.
The market has also been supported by concerns about ongoing threats to supply in United Arab Emirates, which has been hit by attacks from Yemen's Houthi group, and over Russia due to the presence of thousands of its troops near Ukraine's border.
The Biden Administration responded to high prices by again stating this week that it has been talking with large producers about more output, as well as the possibility of additional strategic releases from large consumers, as it did late last year.
That helped spur some of Wednesday's trading, which saw laterdated contracts outperform the front-month, said Flynn at Price
Futures Group.
WTI for December delivery, for instance, gained 96 cents on the day, reducing the current backwardation in the market.
Backwardation is a condition where near-term contracts are priced higher than longer-dated ones, indicating a tight market.
Following the close of trading, the White House said US President
Joe Biden and King Salman of Saudi Arabia spoke on Wednesday, which included a discussion of maintaining stable global energy supplies.
The bullish US energy data offset the prospect of increased supply from Iran, which has put some downward pressure on the market this week as Washington resumed indirect talks with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
An agreement could lift US sanctions on Iranian oil and quickly add supply to the market, although a number of vital issues need to be resolved. "It doesn’t look like the Iranian deal going to be signed tomorrow but there are some positive developments there," said Claudio
Galimberti, senior vice president of analysis at Rystad Energy. (Excerpt from Reuters) SpaceX satellites are tumbling out of orbit after solar storm
SpaceX’s newest fleet of satellites is tumbling out of orbit after being struck by a solar storm.
Up to 40 of the 49 small satellites launched last week have either re-entered the atmosphere and burned up, or are on the verge of doing so, the company said in an online update Tuesday night.
SpaceX said a geomagnetic storm last Friday made the atmosphere denser, which increased the drag on the Starlink satellites, effectively dooming them.
Ground controllers tried to save the compact, flat-panel satellites by putting them into a type of hibernation and flying them in a way to minimise drag. But the atmospheric pull was too great, and the satellites failed to awaken and climb to a higher, more stable orbit, according to the company.
SpaceX still has close to 2000 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth and providing internet service to remote corners of the world. They circle the globe more than 550 km (340 miles) up.
There is no danger from these newly falling satellites, either in orbit or on the ground, according to the company.
SpaceX described the lost satellites as a “unique situation”. Such geomagnetic storms are caused by intense solar activity like flares, which can send streams of plasma from the sun’s corona hurtling out into space and towards Earth.
Since launching the first Starlink satellites in 2019, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has envisioned a constellation of thousands more satellites to increase internet service. SpaceX is trying to help restore internet service to Tonga through this network following a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami in late January. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)
COVID cases surpass 400 million as Omicron grips world
Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 400 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious Omicron variant dominates the outbreak, pushing health systems in several countries to the brink of capacity.
The Omicron variant, which is dominating the surge around the world, accounts for almost all new cases reported daily. While cases have begun to level off in many countries, more than 2 million cases are still being reported on average each day, according to a Reuters analysis. Deaths, which tend to lag cases, have increased by 70 per cent in the last five weeks based on the seven-day average.
While preliminary evidence from several countries have shown that Omicron is milder than previous variants, a large volume of cases can potentially overburden healthcare systems globally.
It took over a month for COVID cases to reach 400 million from 300 million, compared to five months for the cases to reach 300 million from 200 million, according to a Reuters tally. The pandemic has killed over 6 million people worldwide.
The top five countries reporting the most cases on a seven-day average - United States, France, Germany, Russia, and Brazil – account for roughly 37 per cent of all new cases reported worldwide, according to Reuters analysis.
About half of all new infections reported worldwide were from countries in Europe, with 21 countries still at the peak of their infection curve. (Excerpt from Reuters)
Customers shop at a supermarket, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Sha Tin district, in Hong Kong, China, February 7, 2022
The walls of the JET reactor were changed to a material made from beryllium and tungsten
Major breakthrough on nuclear fusion energy
European scientists say they have made a major breakthrough in their quest to develop practical nuclear fusion - the energy process that powers the stars.
The UK-based JET laboratory has smashed its own world record for the amount of energy it can extract by squeezing together two forms of hydrogen.
If nuclear fusion can be successfully recreated on Earth it holds out the potential of virtually unlimited supplies of low-carbon, low-radiation energy.
The experiments produced 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds (11 megawatts of power).
This is more than double what was achieved in similar tests back in 1997.
It's not a massive energy
US and Canada warn of economic hit from trucker protest
Protesters blocking border crossings between Canada and the United States risk hurting the auto industry, the White House warned on Wednesday as Ottawa urged an end to the 13-day demonstration against coronavirus mandates.
The Ambassador Bridge, a key supply route for the US auto industry in Detroit, has been shut for inbound Canada traffic since Monday night.
Another border crossing in Alberta has been closed in both directions since late on Tuesday.
Starting as a "Freedom Convoy" occupying downtown Ottawa opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border truckers mirrored by the US Government, protesters have also aired grievances about a carbon tax and other legislation. "I think it's important for everyone in Canada and the United States to understand what the impact of this blockage is - potential impact - on workers, on the supply chain, and that is where we're most focused," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. "We're also looking to tracking potential disruptions to US agricultural exports from Michigan into Canada."
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem called for a swift resolution. "If there were to be prolonged blockages at key entry points into Canada that could start to have a measurable impact on economic activity in Canada," he said. "We've already got a strained global supply chain. We don't need this."
The protests were disrupting jobs and the economy's supply chain and "must end before further damage occurs," Canada's Emergency Preparedness Minister, Bill Blair, told reporters in a press briefing. (Excerpt from Reuters) output - only enough to boil about 60 kettles' worth of water. But the significance is that it validates design choices that have been made for an even bigger fusion reactor now being constructed in France. "The JET experiments put us a step closer to fusion power," said Dr Joe Milnes, the head of operations at the reactor lab. "We've demonstrated that we can create a mini star inside of our machine and hold it there for five seconds and get high performance, which really takes us into a new realm."
The ITER facility in southern France is supported by a consortium of world governments, including from EU member states, the US, China and Russia. It is expected to be the last step in proving nuclear fusion can become a reliable energy provider in the second half of this century.
Operating the power plants of the future based on fusion would produce no greenhouse gases and only very small amounts of short-lived radioactive waste. (Excerpt from BBC News)
Ukraine tensions: Russia sees room for diplomacy
Russia's EU ambassador has told the BBC his country still believes diplomacy can help de-escalate the crisis over Ukraine.
Vladimir Chizhov said Moscow had no intention of invading anybody, but warned it was important not to provoke Russia into changing its mind.
It comes after a flurry of diplomatic activity on Monday and Tuesday.
Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine.
But with well over 100,000 troops massed near the Ukrainian border, some Western countries including the US have warned that a Russian attack could come at any time.
In 2014 Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula. Since then, there has been a long-running conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists control swathes of territory and at least 14,000 people have been killed.
On Thursday Russia is set to start 10 days of joint military drills in Belarus, Ukraine's northern neighbour and a close ally of Russia. Some 30,000 Russian troops are expected to take part.
A Kremlin spokesman said the joint drills were serious but he pointed out the nature of threats was higher than before.
Chizhov, however, told the BBC that Russian troops currently stationed in Belarus would return to their permanent bases after the exercises.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the drills were "escalatory" amid the high tensions in the region.
After two days of intense diplomacy led by French President Emmanuel Macron, there is some suggestion that a renewed focus on the socalled Minsk agreements - which sought to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine - could be used as a basis to defuse the current crisis. (Excerpt from BBC News)
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Trust in your instincts, experience and knowledge. Use your talents and resources to get the lowdown on a position or opportunity that is perfect for you. Hash out any concerns with someone close.
It’s up to you to bring about change. Initiate what you want to happen, and don’t stop until you are satisfied with the results. Don’t expect everyone to help you. You’ll learn much.
Put everything you’ve got into getting ahead. Don’t listen to anyone trying to talk you into slacking off. Do what’s necessary, and you will gain respect and benefits for your hard work.
Spread your wings by trying something new and exciting. Engage in something that uses your talents in a fun, unique manner, and you will make a splash that leads to recognition.
Protect your ideas and reputation. Don’t expect everyone to play fair. Keep your eyes open, and don’t give anyone information that might incriminate you. Shared expenses will turn into a problem.
You’ll have an unusual outlook regarding your relationships with others. Discuss your thoughts, concerns and intentions, and you’ll come to an agreement that can enhance your life.
Check out something that can boost your qualifications, skills, knowledge or experience. Listen to complaints, but don’t give in to anyone trying to make you feel guilty or inadequate.
Handle domestic and financial matters carefully. If you let your emotions take charge, you are likely to overspend or get involved in a stressful joint venture. Listen to people you trust.
Choose your words carefully to avoid misinterpretation. Express your true feelings and what you want and expect from someone close to you. Distance yourself from anyone excessive.
Implement the changes you want to incorporate into your daily routine. A disciplined approach to fitness, health and financial prudence will push you in the right direction.
Get organized at home. Take care of those less able to fend for themselves. Stick to the basics, and you’ll have time for what’s important. Be kind to others and you’ll receive kindness in return.
Don’t trust anyone playing mind games. Stick to what you know and trust, and go directly to the source if something interests you. You stand to prosper if you take command.
STR Wood Inc National Online Blitz Championships…
Meusa wins unbeaten, Kandavel is Junior Champion
Best Female Jessica Callender Junior Champion Tejasvarun Kandavel STR Wood Blitz Champion Wendell Meusa
Candidate Master (CM) Wendell Meusa is the new National Online Blitz Champion after playing nine rounds undefeated in the STR Wood Inc-sponsored tournament. The former national champion will now be awarded the top prize of $40,000. Irshad Mohamad came in second with eight points, only conceding one match to Meusa and receives a prize of $25,000. In third is CM Ronuel Greenidge who finished with seven points, with $15,000 as his prize. The chess championships were held on Tornelo.com last Saturday, February 5 and saw nine rounds of fierce competition among junior and senior players. In the fifth round, tournament winner Meusa faced off against runner-up Mohamad. The opening was a clear indicator of both players’ experience, but Meusa led the game towards a favourable position as an unfortunate trade left stark weaknesses in Mohamad’s structure. With that, Meusa confidently led the game towards the endgame where he traded his queen for Mohamad’s two rooks. On the verge of checkmating, Meusa made a fatal mistake which Mohamad took advantage of. The position had completely flipped to Mohamad’s favour. In a panicked frenzy, Mohamad attempted to convert his advantage into a crushing win, but his time had elapsed. Meusa walked away victoriously from one of the most entertaining games of the tournament. Former national champion, FIDE Master (FM) Anthony Drayton placed four after finishing on six points while Frankie Farley finished fifth on 5.5 points. Reigning Junior Champion Keron Sandiford was unable to retain his title after losing to Tejasvarun Kandavel in the final round of the tournament. This game ended up being the deciding factor whether Sandiford would hold on to his title or if the 11-year-old Kandavel would succeed in taking it away. The juniors played the opening moves immaculately, showing good preparation on both sides of the board. After 10 moves of the quiet opening had passed, chaos erupted. Sandiford threatened Kandavel’s king on the king side while Kandavel blew open the centre to attack Sandiford’s
Lukaku’s goal sends Chelsea into Club World Cup final
Romelo Lukaku scored his first goal in six games in Abu Dhabi
Chelsea will meet Brazilian side Palmeiras in the Club World Cup final after edging half-hour mark. Kai Havertz's left-wing cross was inadvertently headed into past Al-Hilal at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal in the first half.
The Blues will now look to lift the only trophy that has evaded them across Roman Abramovich's 19-year ownership of the club.
Boss Thomas Tuchel missed the game as he was isolating after testing positive for COVID-19.
Chelsea dominated from the start against the Saudi Arabian side, and their breakthrough came from Lukaku just after the the Belgian's path by Yasser Al Shahrani, and he rifled home from point-blank range. It was Lukaku's ninth goal of the season and ended a six-game drought, after he missed a couple of opportunities earlier in the match. Two minutes after the break, Havertz burst through on goal and clipped the post from a tight angle, despite having Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech for support in the area. Asian champions Al-Hilal barely threatened until Mohamed Kanno shot over from distance after combining well with former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Matheus Pereira.
Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga then denied Moussa Marega from eight yards out, while Odion Ighalo and Kanno saw shots blocked as Chelsea struggled to put the game to bed.
But the European champions held on in the end and, in Saturday's final, will have the chance to avenge defeat in this competition a decade after their last appearance. (BBC Sport) uncastled king in the middle. One attack was more potent than the other as Kandavel, either through sheer luck or brilliance, played an incredible pawn and knight sacrifice stranding Sandiford’s king in the middle of the board with nowhere to go. Three moves later, Sandiford resigned, making way for Kandavel to be crowned the 2022 Junior Blitz Champion after a decisive 18move victory in the final round. Kandavel finished the tournament on 5.5 points after defeating five of his opponents and drawing his match against Jessica Callender, who received the Best Female prize. Callender finished the tournament on five points after winning four of her games and drawing two matches. Both Kandavel and Callender will be rewarded with trophies and cash prizes of $20,000. The tournament was supervised by FIDE arbiters John Lee and Anand Raghunauth. The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) has expressed its thanks to STR Wood Inc for sponsoring the National Blitz Championship last weekend. STR Wood Inc specialises in the harvesting and production of all species of wood used in construction, bridge building, utility poles and furniture making. STR Wood Inc is an associate of STR Group. The Group, through its associate companies, has been a proud sponsor of chess tournaments over the years, especially in the junior categories. STR graciously affirmed “that chess teaches planning and foresight, increases concentration and memory and helps a person develop problem solving skills, critical thinking and creativity. STR Group commits our continued support to the Guyana Chess Federation in its laudable efforts to make chess more accessible to all. We encourage other corporate sponsors to do the same”.
Antetokounmpo scores 44 in Milwaukee Bucks' win over LA Lakers
Giannis Antetokounmpo helped inflict a fifth defeat in seven games on LeBron James' Lakers
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points as the Milwaukee Bucks extended Mikal Bridges chipped in with 23 points for the Suns, who won their third straight game to their winning run to four games by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 131-116.
Antetokounmpo was 17 for 20 in shooting and also had 14 rebounds and eight assists in a devastating performance.
Bobby Portis hit 23 points while Khris Middleton scored all 21 of his in the first half for the Bucks.
LeBron James managed 27 points and eight assists for the Lakers, who lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Elsewhere, Devin Booker scored a game-high 35 points as the Phoenix Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-109. improve their season record to 4410.
Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 34 points and 12 rebounds, making it his 21st consecutive game with at least 25 points.
Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points as the Boston Celtics handed the struggling Brooklyn Nets their ninth consecutive loss with a 12691 rout.
The Nets' record since Kevin Durant suffered a knee injury in the middle of January stands at two wins and 10 defeats as they dropped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Elsewhere, the Atlanta Hawks regrouped after backto-back defeats to beat the Indiana Pacers 133-112, while the Memphis Grizzlies eased past the Los Angeles Clippers with a 135-109 success.
The New Orleans Pelicans overcame the Houston Rockets 110-97, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 116-86, and Nikola Jokic was one of four Denver Nuggets players to hit 20 points in their 132-115 win over the New York Knicks.
The Minnesota Timberwolves secured a 134114 away win at Sacramento Kings, and Orlando Magic were also successful on the road, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 113-95. (BBC Sport)
Prasidh Krishna's miserly four-for leads India to series win
India's hit-the-deck bustle trumped West Indies as the hosts defended 237 to wrap up the One-Day International (ODI) series, with one game left. Prasidh Krishna led the way for India, returning extraordinary figures of 4 for 12 in nine overs and reminding everyone why he was picked ahead of Deepak Chahar once again.
On an Ahmedabad track that offered extra bounce and zip throughout the game, Krishna relentlessly dug the ball into it and discomfited a Kieron Pollardless West Indies line-up. Thirtysix of the 54 balls he bowled were short or short of a good length, according to ESPNcricinfo's logs.
Shardul Thakur, too, regularly pounded the deck and was rewarded with the wicket of Jason Holder. Holder spliced a shoulder-high short ball from Thakur, which left West Indies 76 for 5 in the 22nd over.
Akeal Hosein and Fabian Allen rallied briefly with a 42run stand and then Odean Smith gave India a mini-scare at the death before Krishna, fittingly, sealed the deal for India with a wicket-maiden.
The final exchange was a game of cat and mouse. Smith,
SCOREBOARD
INDIA INNINGS
Rohit Sharma (c)c †Hope b Roach 5 Rishabh Pant †c Holder b Smith 18 Virat Kohli c †Hope b Smith 18 KL Rahul run out (Hosein/†Hope) 49 Suryakumar Yadav c Joseph b Allen 64 Washington Sundar c Joseph b Hosein 24 Deepak Hooda c Hosein b Holder 29 Shardul Thakur c Brooks b Joseph 8 Mohammed Siraj c†Hope b Joseph 3 Yuzvendra Chahal not out 11 Prasidh Krishna not out 0 Extras(b 2, lb 2, nb 2, w 2) 8 TOTAL(50 Ov, RR: 4.74) 237/9 Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Rohit Sharma, 2.6 ov), 2-39 (Rishabh Pant, 11.1 ov), 3-43 (Virat Kohli, 11.6 ov), 4-134 (KL Rahul, 29.4 ov), 5-177 (Suryakumar Yadav, 38.5 ov), 6-192 (Washington Sundar, 41.6 ov), 7-212 (Shardul Thakur, 45.6 ov), 8-224 (Mohammed Siraj, 47.3 ov), 9-226 (Deepak Hooda, 48.1 ov)
BOWLING O-M-R-W
Kemar Roach 8-0-42-1 Alzarri Joseph 10-0-36-2 Odean Smith 7-0-29-2 Jason Holder 9-2-37-1 Akeal Hosein 6-0-39-1 Fabian Allen 10-0-50-1
WEST INDIES INNINGS (TARGET: 238 RUNS FROM 50 OVERS)
Shai Hope †c Yadav b Chahal 27 Brandon King c †Pant b Prasidh Krishna 18 Darren Bravo c †Pant b Prasidh Krishna 1 Shamarh Brooks c Yadav b Hooda 44 Nicholas Pooran (c) c Sharma b Prasidh Krishna 9 Jason Holder c Hooda b Thakur 2 Akeal Hosein c †Pant b Thakur 34 Fabian Allen c †Pant b Mohammed Siraj 13 Odean Smith c Kohli b Washington Sundar 24 Alzarri Joseph not out 7 Kemar Roach lbw b Prasidh Krishna 0 Extras (lb 5, nb 3, w 6) 14 TOTAL(46 Ov, RR: 4.19) 193 Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Brandon King, 7.3 ov), 2-38 (Darren Bravo, 9.1 ov), 3-52 (Shai Hope, 16.2 ov), 4-66 (Nicholas Pooran, 19.4 ov), 5-76 (Jason Holder, 21.6 ov), 6-117 (Shamarh Brooks, 30.5 ov), 7-159 (Fabian Allen, 38.5 ov), 8-159 (Akeal Hosein, 39.2 ov), 9-193 (Odean Smith, 44.6 ov), 10-193 (Kemar Roach, 45.6 ov)
BOWLING O-M-R-W
Mohammed Siraj 9-1-38-1 Shardul Thakur 9-1-41-2 Prasidh Krishna 9-3-12-4-1 Yuzvendra Chahal 10-0-45-1 Washington Sundar 5-0-28-1 Deepak Hooda 4-0-24-1 who is amongst the biggest hitters in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), muscled Thakur for back-to-back sixes and shovelled a full toss from Siraj for four. He took the chase deep, with at least two overs from either Washington Sundar or Deepak Hooda yet to come.
When Sundar returned to the attack for the 45th over, West Indies needed 48 from 36 balls with two wickets in hand. Sundar bowled a nerveless three-run over while also having Smith caught at deep midwicket. He bowled into the pitch and hid the ball away from the swinging arc of Smith.
The start, too, had been fairly positive for West Indies. Brandon King and Shai Hope hit four boundaries in six balls off Thakur and Siraj to take them to 31 for 0 in seven overs. Krishna came into the attack in the next over and struck with his third ball when he gleaned extra bounce to have King nicking off for 18 off of prancing deliveries. Brooks, however, weathered that hostile spell and was more fluent against spin, taking Yuzvendra Chahal and Sundar for 34 runs off 37
20 balls. In his next over, he got a length ball to kick up and seam away to also have Darren Bravo edging behind. He then returned to the attack to hit an in-between length and have stand-in Captain Nicholas Pooran caught by Rohit Sharma at wide slip for 9.
Krishna also bothered Shamarh Brooks with a sequence balls. Brooks looked to line up Hooda too, but ended up holing out to long-on to give him his first international wicket.
Earlier in the afternoon, India's batters were given similar treatment by the West Indies seamers. Kemar Roach, who sprayed the ball around in the first ODI, tightened up in the second, using the crease and seam movement on offer to his advantage. He also found substantial extra bounce, having Sharma nicking off for 5 in his second over. Smith, who got a game in the niggleenforced absence of Captain Pollard, seized his opportunity by dismissing both Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli in the same over.
The returning KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, who made his second ODI half-century, then struck up a 91-run fourth-wicket partnership to drag India to a total they could defend.
With Rahul returning to the team after missing the series opener because of a family commitment, India rejigged their batting line-up. While Rahul slotted in at No 4, Pant was bumped up to open with Sharma. After surviving potent opening spells from Roach and Alzarri Joseph, Pant tried to swing his way out of trouble against Smith. After carving a short ball for four, he took on another short ball, only to sky a pull to Holder, who snagged it near square leg.
Smith – and Joseph – had similarly tested Kohli with lifting deliveries, but the all-rounder ultimately bested him with a length ball. Kohli went for a drive, lost his shape and nicked off for 18 off 30 balls. India were 43 for 3 in 12 overs at that stage.
It could have been 64 for 4 had wicketkeeper Hope not dropped a regulation catch to reprieve Rahul, when he was on 4, in the 18th over. Rahul broke free when Hosein bowled a half-tracker first ball, which was clattered over midwicket for six. Rahul then charged at Hosein, pumping him over his head for six. From being on 7 off 23 balls, he moved to 49 off 47 balls before running himself out in the 30th over.
As for Suryakumar, he kept milking the spinners and passed fifty. However, when he looked to hit a higher gear, he misjudged the length of an Allen dart and top-edged a sweep to short fine leg for 64 off 83 balls. Allen combined with Hosein to tighten the screws on India, despite a late cameo from Hooda (29 off 25 balls).
Hosein and Allen bowled five overs between them in the last ten while giving away only 22 runs for the wicket of Sundar. Sundar, however, had the final say as India secured an unassailable 2-0 lead. (ESPNcricinfo)
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Volcanoes final-wicket pair frustrates Guyana Harpy Eagles
Keemo Paul swung the ball early
Windward Islands Volcanoes ended the first day of their Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day championships on a positive note against the Guyana Harpy Eagles at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago.
The Volcanoes were 277-9 after 89 overs, with final pair Preston McSween and Sherman Lewis adding a valuable 62 runs. Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, and Gudakesh Motie had picked up three wickets each.
Earlier, Volcanoes won the toss and elected to bat first. Veteran Devon Smith struck a composed half-century, his 64th at the First-Class level. The 40-year-old, who played 43 Tests for the West Indies, struck nine fours in the 87 balls he faced.
Young Alick Athnaze made a career-best 68 from 134 balls, featuring in a 49-run partnership with Smith for the second wicket. Kimani Melius was struck down by a Clinton Pestano bouncer and retired hurt. While skipper Kaveem Hodge fell cheapy for 10, caught at slips off Paul, Keron Cottoy added 62 runs with Athnaze.
Cottoy struck six fours in his 39. At one stage, Volcanoes were 190-4, but the likes of Motie, Permaul, and Paul made inroads. Things quickly went downhill as Volcanoes slumped to 215-9 in 72.2 overs. Harpy Eagles were looking to wrap things up, but the final pair of Preston McSween and fellow pacer Sherman Lewis added an unbroken 62 runs. McSween was unbeaten on 47 from 54 balls, slamming two sixes and four fours.
He took a liking to Test spinner Permaul and he evaded the short stuff from the Harpy Eagles pacers. Motie ended with 3-61 from 24 overs, Permaul had 3-75 from 23 overs, and Paul claimed 3-63 from 20 overs. Harpy Eagles will want to close off the Volcanoes innings when the second day bowls off from 10:00h Eastern Caribbean time.
BCB presents 2 more pitch covers with sponsorship from Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh
The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) under the leadership of Hilbert Foster continues to fulfil its commitment to the cricketing public of Berbice.
On Monday last, the Board handed over the last two pitch covers it had promised the county. The covers, which remain the property of the BCB, would be stored at the Edinburgh Cricket Club and the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), MS.
Foster disclosed that last year, the BCB decided to invest heavily in purchasing pitch covers in an effort to cut down on the amount of time lost to rain. The BCB President stated that the Board was concerned that important matches like quarter-finals, semifinals and finals were being affected by rain and thus some tournaments were delayed for a long time.
The county had fewer than three covers, but they were the property of clubs with most of them in poor condition. The first cover obtained by the Board was handed over to the Albion Cricket Club, while the second one, sponsored by Matt Bruer of Australia, was handed over to the Cotton Tree Cricket Club. The Cotton Tree cover is being used for BCB tournaments in the West Berbice area.
The third cover was sponsored by Vitality Inc and is in the care of the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association for usage in the Upper Corentyne area. Each cover is 100 feet by 34 feet and easily protects the pitch in the event of rain. Two sets of the covers were used during the Guyana Senior Team Best of Best trials.
The set of pitch covers handed over on Friday to the Edinburgh Club would be used for games in the East Bank/New Amsterdam area while the one in the care of the RHTY&SC would add to the Albion-based covers for cricket in the Lower/Central Corentyne area. Foster expressed thanks to overseas-based Guyanese Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh for his sponsorship of the two covers, which were purchased at the combined cost of $680, 000.
He urged all the clubs to take care of the covers as it was an investment of over $1.6 million from the BCB. Edinburgh President Egbert Edwards hailed the BCB for the outstanding work it was doing in the county to develop the game. Foster also disclosed that among the other plans for 2022 are assisting clubs and youth players with cricket balls, gear, cycles, school bags, educational grants, catching cribs, and grass cutters among other items.
BCB President Hilbert Foster hands over covers to Joel Pike of RHTY&SC and Egbert Edwards of Edinburgh Veerasammy Permaul had three wickets
Meusa eyes chess supremacy this year
Candidate Master (CM) Wendell Meusa has put the local chess fraternity on notice, following an unbeaten tournament victory over the last weekend. After missing out on the National Senior Chess Championships in 2021, Meusa is approaching the sport with renewed vigor and intends to win it all in 2022.
Over the weekend, Meusa played nine rounds undefeated to clinch the STR Wood Inc National Online Blitz Championships, a practice that he wants to carry out throughout the year’s tournaments.
Speaking exclusively with Guyana Times Sport this week, Meusa indicated that he has been putting in the work with top-ranking local and foreign players behind the scenes.
“I never left the sport; I was always working quietly behind the scenes. Since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago, we practically transformed everything to online chess. So, we do virtual teaching right now, all of our classes are virtually done, most tournaments are played online,” the chess player shared.
He added, “So that’s where I have been most of my time.”
Detailing his tough loss at last year’s Championships,
Wendell Meusa
Meusa says that fatherhood has played a role in his absence from recent tournaments, but he has been working to make a resounding comeback.
“My greatest challenge right now is the fact that I’m a father. I’m a father of 2, so, now I don’t have as much time to dedicate to chess, because I’ve been dedicating some of that time to my family,” he explained.
Meusa went on to reveal, “After Taffin [Khan] won the National Championships, I took it upon myself to regroup, recheck my strategies, go over my opening ideas and such. I’ve been training with some IMs, some friends of mine, we’ve been training behind the scenes.
Essentially, the CM is pretty confident that he can dethrone the 2021 Champion, if granted a fair chance. “I’m confident in myself. To be honest, I know my level of skill. When I came to Guyana, I was a very highlyranked player, when I was in Guyana, I wasn’t able to boom or bloom, so I focused more on the growth part and spreading the sport.
“But I’m very confident I can and I could have done it last year, playing against Drayton. I’m confident I can win the title, the question is not about my ability, the question is ‘bout the time and the availability due to the fact that I’m a father and I have other dedications as well,” Meusa commented.
Aside from the competitions, the CM- ranked player is keen on continuing his work in teaching the sport.
“This year, I’m just trying to make sure I keep sharp, stay fit and looking forward to play for Guyana,” he said, taking a peek into the future.
