Guyana Times -- Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Relationship between P Barbados, Guyana a model for Caricom – Ali 16

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4921

THE BEACON OF TRUTH TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

International Energy Conference and Expo opens today See story on page 2

PRICE

$100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Natural P7 Resources Ministry staff fired for stealing, cashing cheque Caribbean Airlines, Guyana continue longstanding, productive relationship – P13 CEO …737-8 aircraft makes debut in Guyana

…4 Heads of State participating, over 150 exhibitors President Dr Irfaan Ali and First Lady Arya Ali hosted the visiting Heads of State Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo (second from left); Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi (second from right) and Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley (third from left) along with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo; Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips at State House on Monday evening

Development will occur in all corners of Guyana – Ali See story on page 9

US multi-million Baker CGX revises Hughes opens facility to oil discovery service local oil sector in Corentyne Block upwards Page 3

…supercentre to be eventually managed by Guyanese

See story on page 7

Increased vaccination, boosters will influence See stories on lifting of other measures – Dr Anthony pages 5 & 14

…COVID-19 deaths near 1200 as 2 more fatalities recorded …20 samples sent to CARPHA to test for variants

7-year-old critical after being struck by car P10 Husband admits to stabbing wife P8 to death

1 freed of schoolboy’s P12 murder

…“I know me ain’t do nothing ma’am” – 2nd murder accused tells Judge

Ex-prison officer pleads guilty to murdering wife P15

Caricom calls for “self-restraint” over Ukraine P15

2 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

International Energy Conference and Expo opens today …4 Heads of State participating, over 150 exhibitors

President Dr Irfaan Ali welcoming Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi. Also in photo is Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips welcomes Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Monday afternoon

Bharrat Jagdeo; Prime Minister, Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips; Government Ministers; ExxonMobil Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Darren Woods; Chairman of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, Robert Dudley; Vice President of Baker Hughes; Maria Borras; United States (US) Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch; Canadian High Commissioner, Mark Berman; and United Kingdom High Commissioner to Guyana Jane Miller among others.

The theme of the conference is “Charting a Sustainable Energy Future”. It is expected that the International Energy Conference Expo will show-

goals and objective of the Local Content Policy.

Government will be using the expo to highlight its complement of spin-off oil and gas investments and forthcoming national infrastructural projects planned for the short to medium term.

The four-day packed agenda focuses on topics such as skills and infrastructure needed in the energy industry; Guyana’s approach for a sustainable future; the energy corridor and cross border oil field development; opportunities for the diaspora; Guyana’s deep-water port project; renewable energy and projects underway in Guyana, among several other significant headings.

The fourth day is reserved for business-to-business meetings, where conference participants will be matched with local companies that they can explore potential partnerships with.

It will also provide a chance to link international delegates with operators.

Communications Director at Tagman Media, Alex Graham told media operatives on Monday, “We have worked as far as possible to put three main groups of people together; policy-

T

he stage has been set for the inaugural International Energy Conference and Expo today, bringing together leaders, international executives and companies on the energy future.

Over 150 exhibitors are registered for the event – 40 of which are local companies or operators. Apart from participation from President Dr Irfaan Ali; the visiting leaders include Ghanaian President Nana AkufoAddo; Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi and Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley. All of the Heads of States will address participants.

Other featured presenters include Vice President

President Dr Irfaan Ali and Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley at State House

case Guyana as the oil and gas investment destination, create and build effective industry relationships,

provide the medium for local businesses to access collateral and joint ventures, which is in keeping with the

makers, practitioners and professors into the same conversation about what the energy future is going to look like globally, how Guyana is able to participate in that energy future, how Guyana makes itself competitive and related subjects.”

The Umana Yana has been converted into a temporary duty-free zone, supplied with local products.

With questions raised in relation to financing, Graham has pointed out that Government has not injected any finances into the conference and there is no political agenda in play. According to him, every stakeholder was welcomed to participate and those registered are the ones who responded to the initiative.

“We have invited participation and among those who responded to our invitation are Heads of State and their delegations. Those delegations are being treated as guests of the State and the State is providing the usual support it does to visiting Heads of State and Government. The State is determining, on its own, what those courtesies are.

The State is not providing any financing for the conference at any level.” (G12)

NEWS

3

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Tuesday, Feb 15 – 02:30h – 04:00h and Wednesday, Feb 16 – 03:00h – 04:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

US multi-million Baker Hughes opens facility to service local oil sector …supercentre to be eventually managed by Guyanese

Monday, Feb 14 – 14:50h – 16:20h and Tuesday, Feb 15 – 15:35h – 17:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Feb 15 – 14:35h – 17:05h and Wednesday, Feb 16 – 16:15h – 17:45h.

WEATHER TODAY There will be light cloud and light rain during the day and night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

The Baker Hughes Supercenter at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara

Winds: North North-Westerly to North NorthEasterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 16:10h reaching a maximum height of 2.52 metres.

Low Tide: 09:46h and 22:10h reaching minimum heights of 0.84 metre and 0.66 metre.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2022

LOTTERY NUMBERS K

01 15 20

21 22 24

FREE TICKET

10 Bonus Ball

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022

DAILY MILLIONS

09 18 22 23 25 LUCKY 3

1

5

1

3

Afternoon Draw

3

1

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

01 07 08 09 10 18 19 SUPER

PAY DAY

PAY DAY

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2022

01 05 06 08 11 13

03 13 17 18 19

1

7 Afternoon Draw

FP Afternoon Draw

4

7 Evening Draw

FP Evening Draw

DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$96.48/barrel

+2.11

Rough Rice

$271.08/ton

-0.99

London Sugar

$482.10/ton

0.00

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1871.30

$1872.30

Low/High Change

$1850.50 0.00

$1875.20 0.00%

Baker Hughes Country Manager Darryl Eisler

B

aker Hughes, a USbased energy technology company, has opened a multimillion-dollar local supercentre facility for oilfield services and equipment at Land of Canaan on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD), with the eventual aim of increasing the workforce until the facility is managed by 100 per cent Guyanese.

At the opening ceremony on Monday, there were a number of speakers who expounded on the impact the multimillion-dollar facility will have. One of them was Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat, who also noted that the Government looks forward to partnering with the US company.

“It is indeed a fitting time too, as we are preparing for our first major oil and gas conference in Guyana, where we will showcase what we have to offer as a country and as a people.

So, I wish to congratulate and extend best wishes to the executives and staff of

Baker Hughes, both local and expats who are here and to ask that we work together, hand in hand, with the Government to regrow the sector.”

“And, of course, at a time when our Government has been focusing a lot on local development and local content, we look forward to working with you and build-

the supercentre is expected to employ more than 100 persons within five years with the majority being Guyanese.

“At the end of the day, I hope that at one time Guyanese are running this establishment. This isn’t going to be run by anyone that is not Guyanese. A year ago, I had six Guyanese. Today I

A cultural presentation at the opening on Monday

ing capacity, not just in human resources but in terms of provision of goods and service that are competitive in quality and prices,” Bharrat further said.

In an interview with this publication afterward, Baker Hughes Country Manager Darryl Eisler explained that over time it is expected Guyanese will be running the facility. In fact,

have 41. Both working offshore and onshore, in the office and in the workshop, male and female.”

“So, over that transition and as our sector grows, we begin to develop those people and employ those people and they begin to grow with us. We have several service engineers who have gone from a level one to a level two, in two years’ time we’ve

been able to develop them to that level,” Eisler said.

The supercentre, which sits on eight acres of land, is expected to provide drilling services, drill bits, and other services to the drilling rigs operating offshore Guyana. This particular supercentre is a partnership between Baker Hughes and JOP Property Holdings.

Permission was given to the company back in September 2020 for the construction of a wharf and oilfield ‘supercentre’. The company operates in 120+ countries worldwide with over 54,000 employees.

The new multimodal supercentre has been built together with Baker Hughes’ existing completion warehouse and liquid mud and completion fluids plant, providing full support to customers in Guyana and Suriname.

The supercentre represents a multimillion-dollar investment from Baker Hughes over 15 years and includes a workshop, warehouse, and laydown storage yard including maintenance facilities and equipment.

(G3)

4

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Guyanese should be excited and proud

C

ome next week Guyana will be celebrating its attainment of Republican status on February 23, 1970. This remains an indelible part of this country’s history, and each year colourful celebrations and the ceremonial hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead are undertaken to remind everyone of the struggle to become an independent nation.

In the past, we had had spectacular children’s costume competitions, float parades, masquerade bands, and dancing in the streets to the accompaniment of steel pan music. This is in addition to the many calypso and chutney competitions that were held across the country. However, unfortunately, this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic none of this was hosted.

Nonetheless, all Guyanese should be excited and proud that our nation is celebrating 52 years as a Republic.

As expected, many citizens are engaged in debates and discussions about the level of progress we have made as a country. No doubt, we would all agree that our development could have been further accelerated had it not been for delays under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government.

However, this should not cause us to lose sight of the many important achievements that were made over the past couple of decades or so.

Guyana is still a relatively young nation, and there is evidence that we have come a far way. Many of the developed countries took hundreds of years to achieve the level of development that they boast about, but this should not be an excuse for our leaders not to work hard enough to help our citizens achieve their dreams and aspirations.

For example, while there remain many challenges, over the past couple of decades or so, there have been significant improvements in the delivery of education and health care, among other social services. The housing boom, which started and picked up pace under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, is regarded as a model in the Caricom region. At the time, owning a home was just a dream for many Guyanese, today this has become reality, as quite a few new housing schemes were opened up and existing ones were expanded and upgraded. In essence, home ownership was made much easier.

There is still a far way to go, as some Guyanese are still living below the poverty line. Continued efforts must, therefore, be made by our political leaders and other development partners in ensuring that more persons are provided with the opportunities to raise their standard of living. In this regard, the PPP/C Government must be commended for its renewed efforts at generating wealth and creating jobs for citizens. As this publication stated before, with oil revenues to provide financing and natural gas to supply cheap electricity for the next three decades, Guyana is poised through the strategic developmental choices of the PPP to finally move “From Third World to First”. Therefore, our leaders from all sides of the political divide must know that our children’s future cannot be realised if they walk separately and in different directions.

This year’s celebrations, despite being celebrated virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, should remind us that Mashramani is the symbolism of our oneness. It represents the desire of people of all races to cooperate; to sing, dance, and revel together.

When we became a Republic, our aspiration was to crown our Independence with the status of full and complete nationhood, and to make our people sovereign.

Republicanism must, therefore, be viewed as a historic continuity of all that our ancestors stood for, struggled against, and hoped to achieve. It is hoped that every Guyanese, especially our leaders, would continue to pool their resources and talents, and work harder to further develop our communities and country as a whole.

Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Monday to attend the International Energy Conference and Expo, which begins today (DPI photo)

The pandemic has taught us all that love can bend without breaking

By Gaby Hinsliff

L

ove is not love, which alters when it alteration finds.

It’s a beautiful sentiment around which to build a Shakespearean sonnet, but in real life not everyone adapts to the dramatic changes thrust upon them in a pandemic with the apparent grace of Kate Garraway.

The TV presenter’s husband, Derek Draper, almost died of COVID; he is now back home after months in intensive care, but needs roundthe-clock nursing. He can speak, but can’t hold what most people would regard as a conversation. It cannot be the life or the marriage either of them dreamed of in their early 50s. But as she said hopefully at the weekend, she thinks they have found “a new way to be in love”, a relationship of complete trust and reliance.

“That’s a positive thing to come out of this, to have that certainty of each other. He

and I are very close.”

It’s easily overlooked among the more obviously dramatic ways in which COVID has changed our lives, yet when the history of this pandemic comes to be written, love will deserve its own chapter in the story.

The last two years have obviously been tough on the single and the lonely, on those trapped in abusive or just downright miserable relationships, and above all on those bereaved by COVID. But they have not been without challenge, either, for plenty of couples who were rubbing along fine before, only to find that nothing exposes the hidden cracks in an outwardly happy life like a period of intense and unrelieved togetherness edged by fear. For every smug couple trilling that lockdown had brought them closer together, there was probably one either actively longing for their other half to go back to the office, or at the very least feeling the need to take the

dog out for extremely long lockdown walks. (While a third of Britons felt their relationships had improved during the pandemic, according to a YouGov survey in the autumn of 2020, one in nine thought it had pushed them and their partner apart).

As for predictions of a lockdown baby boom due to all the wild sex couples were bound to start having once they were trapped indoors – well, that gave way pretty quickly to elasticated waists, comfort eating and a birth rate that plummeted in 2020. Like pandas, it turns out humans don’t mate very well in captivity, and perhaps especially not if they already have manic toddlers bouncing off the walls with boredom. Nor is there anything enormously erotic about having a job hanging by a thread, or lying awake at night worrying about money.

And then there’s the direct impact not of lockdown but of the virus itself, with all the grief, loss ,and fear it has brought first and foremost to the bereaved, but also to key workers who have spent their days steeped in death and have come home traumatised – either unable to talk about what they have seen, or unable to stop.

Glib talk of “life-changing” injury or illness like Draper’s, meanwhile, obscures the often-painful everyday reality of relationships transformed overnight, either by COVID com-

plications or by long COVID; from partnerships of equals into carer and cared-for.

Relief that the loved one survived all too often mingles with grief for a future now slipping out of sight and occasional fierce pangs of resentment, followed by guilt for not always managing to live up to the unswervingly loving ideal of Shakespeare’s “ever-fixed mark”. For the clinically vulnerable and those who love them, meanwhile, the Government’s breezy insistence on lifting all restrictions at the end of the month spells not relief but fresh anxiety. What is the loving choice if you daren’t bring the virus back home, but have to go back to the office to make ends meet?

And yet, at the not-quiteend of it all, here millions of us still are; still together, still faintly dazed by the whole experience, but perhaps with a new understanding forged in crisis of what long-term love is all about. It’s not all Valentine’s hearts and flowers, tables for two and tickets to Paris. It is absolutely about kindness, patience, tolerance and the ability to pull together as a team in times of unexpected trouble. For love is not always love that stays rigidly the same when circumstances around it change.

Post-pandemic love is perhaps just as often the kind that good-naturedly adapts, and is flexible enough to withstand a shock. (The Guardian) (Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist)

guyanatimesgy.com

5

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

News

COVID-19 deaths near 1200 as 2 more fatalities recorded …20 samples sent to CARPHA to test for variants

G

uyana’s coronavirus death toll has moved up to 1196, after two more persons reportedly succumbed to the virus.

The Health Ministry informed on Monday that the latest fatalities are a 70-year-old male from

Region Five, who died on February 14; and a 54-yearold female from Region Three, who died previously on February 13. Only the male was fully vaccinated and the status of the other person is unknown.

In 24 hours, only 10 persons tested positive. This adds to the accumulated confirmed positives to date, which is now at 62,265.

A total of 54 patients are in institutional isolation, 1581 in home isolation and 14 in institutional quarantine. Out of the 28,675 males and 33,590 females that contracted the virus, 59,398 have recovered.

Some 524,656 COVID-19 tests have been administered since the virus was detected here.

Regionally, a breakdown showed one new case in Region One (BarimaWaini), one for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), one in Region Three (Essequibo

Islands-West Demerara), three in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), one in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), two in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), and one in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

There were no increases in Regions Seven (Cuyuni-

Mazaruni), Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

In Guyana, 1841 active cases are being monitored.

Authorities are expecting a further decline this week, thereby lowering these numbers.

Monday’s COVID-19 update was provided by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, who informed, “We expect that this is going to decline during this week because there are a number of persons who meet the time for discharge and so we would be discharging those persons.

What we have seen is that generally over the last couple of weeks, there has been a decline in the positive cases. As the positives decline, we expect that the active cases will drop.”

There are 66 persons under hospitalisation, with 50 of them being housed

at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, East Coast Demerara. Nine persons are in the Intensive Care Unit.

Some 375 beds have been set aside for COVID-19 patients with more than 60 equipped for ICU care. An additional 15 beds were add-

ed at the New Amsterdam Hospital last weekend to cater for positive patients, inclusive of a paediatric section.

“It is a comprehensive facility that we have there and I would expect that the care that we can provide for Region Six, and some extent Region Five, the quality would go up,” the Health Minister indicated.

Samples sent to CARPHA

Over the weekend, samples were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for genomic sequencing. These results are expected within two to three weeks.

Clinically, authorities are convinced that there was a conversion from the Delta to Omicron variant between December to February.

“These samples would confirm whether what we’ve seen clinically is true,” the Minister noted.

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD FEBRUARY 14, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

10

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

81

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

1,581

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

9

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

14

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

33,590

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

28,675

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

62,265

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

59,398

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED FULLY IMMUNISED

issues, the business community has felt the burden of this restriction on the activities of the night economy. The night economy, as the general public is aware, serves as a critical source of income for Guyanese. The arrival of the novel coronavirus dealt a further crippling blow to the already strained night economy.

With the breakthrough of vaccines against COVID-19,

the inoculation of Guyanese, and the understanding by the current national Administration of the importance of the night economy, the GCCI believes that this constitutes the conditions for the removal of the curfew and the reinstatement of this component of social freedom.

However, the GCCI urges all citizens to bear in mind that COVID-19 still exists in the society. Thus, the gener-

2445

REGION 2

2408

REGION 3

7977

REGION 4

30858

REGION 5

2326

REGION 6

5640

REGION 7

2404

REGION 8

869

REGION 9

3885

REGION 10

3453

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

427,680

1,196

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

Wash your hands or use handsanitizer If you have any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline.

GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181.

All Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures, which are in effect February 28, 2022. This order emphasises the need for everyone, 12 years and older to get vaccinated against COVID-19; the need for correct and consistent use of

Lifting of national curfew

Dear Editor, The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) welcomes the decision by the Government of Guyana to remove the curfew. This removal marks the first instance, in seven (7) years, that Guyana reinstated this component of social freedom.

From its initial imposition in 2015, under the pretext of addressing societal

REGION 1

Wear a face mask.

320,221

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020

al public must be responsible in ensuring that they continue to follow the guidelines to protect themselves against coronavirus including being vaccinated. These actions will ensure that Guyana achieves herd immunity and life can return to a degree of normalcy.

Sincerely, Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry

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

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms asso-

ciated with COVID-19 or needs any additional information, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health.gov.gy (G12)

6

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

Page

Foundation ◄ What song would you render, On the eve of another storm?

Statistics is a branch of Mathematics that studies data ex-

pressed in numbers. In the data, the numbers answer questions like: How many? How long? How far? How big?

In a prayer house, bats perched On the speaker, beside the pulpit.

Let’s say you have this set of numbers: 22, 11, 19, 11, 15, 8, 11, 15

I believed they could hear us, And like the old days

Begin by arranging them in order: 8, 11, 11, 11, 15, 15, 19, 22 The range is the greatest number minus the smallest number: 22-8: 14 The mean (sometimes called the average) is the total of the whole collection divided by the number of addends: 112 ÷ 8 = 14.

The median is the number in the middle. If your collection of numbers has an even number of addends, the median is the average of the two middle numbers: (11 + 15 ) ÷ 2 = 26 ÷ 2 = 13 The mode is the number that appears most often in the collection of numbers: 11 Example: Find the mean of 6, 4, 7, 11, 6, 3, 5 Step 1: Add the numbers: 6 + 4 + 7 + 11+ 6 + 3 + 5: 42 Step 2: Divide by the number of addends: 42 ÷ 7 = 6 Remember The range, mean, median, and mode numbers may all be different! Or some of them could be identical.

Exercises: Calculate What is the range for this set of numbers: 3, 8, 16, 21, 14, 18?

What is the average for this set of numbers: 2, 4, 3, 5, 6, 6, 8, 10?

What is the mode for this set of numbers: 2, 3, 8, 13, 6, 5, 6, 1, 3?

What is the median for this set of numbers: 1, 6, 11, 16, 11, 7, 8, 11, 6?

What is the mean for this set of numbers: 7, 14, 1, 1, 15, 8, 6, 14, 9?

I

We speak in tongues like our ancestors But I don’t know what God made of it. n this fun and easy botany and biology science experiment for kids, we’re going to observe leaves creating oxygen.

Materials:

Wide-mouth glass jar Water A freshly-picked green leaf Magnifying glass

Instructions:

Fill the jar with water.

Put the leaf in the jar.

Sit the jar in a sunny location.

Wait until the jar begins to get warm and then look at the leaf with a magnifying glass.

Thousands of tiny bubbles will form on the leaf and inside the jar. This is the oxygen being given off by the leaf.

How it works:

Photosynthesis is the process by which our freshly-picked green leaf uses sunlight to make its own food. The leaf used energy from the sunlight to change water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and nutrients called sugars. The leaf can use some of the sugars and store the rest. The oxygen is released into the water as the tiny bubbles we can observe on the leaf.

Make this a science project:

Try different types of leaves. Try adding salt to the water. Try blowing into the water with a straw for several seconds before adding the leaf. Try green vegetables. (sciencefun.org)

This was one of the earliest miracles I knew, they were without food And they left at almost the same time, Just after maghrib prayer, three days later I still don’t know what bats eat.

A flame of a lantern dances in its glass.

After the prayer, we whispered into our palms, I was silent, but my eyes were stuck on the bats.

I was relieved when they flew out the window, Back under the sky where every miracle belongs.

Translated from the Yorùbá

Teacher's Tip “The only way to learn Mathematics is to do Mathematics.”

– Paul Halmos

WORD SEARCH

7 CGX revises oil discovery in Corentyne Block upwards NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…to focus on drilling in Corentyne

C

GX Energy Incorporated and its Joint Venture partner Frontera Energy Corporation, who had previously announced an oil find of 177 feet of oil-bearing reserves in the Kawa-1 well, have now revised that figure upwards following additional tests.

This was communicated on Monday. According to the Joint Venture partners, the new figure has been confirmed to be 200 feet of oil-bearing reserves in the well. The revision came about after they would have analysed logs and samples, to provide an update on the find.

“As a result of the initial positive results at the Kawa-1 exploration well, the Joint Venture will focus on the significant exploration opportunities in the Corentyne Block and will not engage in drilling activities on the Demerara Block in 2022, as previous-

ly outlined by press release on February 16, 2021.”

“Kawa-1 early-stage Wireline Logging results confirm the Logging While Drilling (LWD) indications previously disclosed on January 31, 2022 with a total of 200 feet of net pay encountered at multiple depths. Further analyses of logs and samples are ongoing. The Joint Venture will provide an update when these activities are complete,” the joint venturers had also said.

Meanwhile, the partners had also said that they are currently engaged in discussions with the Government of Guyana regarding the Demerara Block and will provide an update on those discussions as soon as a conclusion has been reached.

Last month, the partners had announced an oil find in the Kawa-1 well in the Corentyne Block, bringing an end to an over two decades wait for the com-

pany’s maiden discovery of oil in commercial quantities.

According to them at the time, the Kawa1 well was drilled to a depth of 21,578 feet and encountered some 177 feet of oil-bearing reserves in the well during an initial evaluation. There are further hydrocarbon-bearing sands that were encountered, which the companies said will be analysed and possibly form the targets of future exploration.

“The Kawa-1 results support the Joint Venture’s geological and geophysical models and have helped derisk equivalent targets in other parts of the Corentyne licence area.

The end of well forecast is currently projected to be the end of February 2022,” the Joint Venture partners had also said.

Natural Resources Ministry staff fired for stealing, cashing cheque

A

fter discovering that a cheque belonging to the Natural Resources Ministry was stolen and cashed at a local bank in 2018, an employee attached to the entity was dismissed.

This revelation was made on Monday during a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee at Parliament Building where the 2018 and 2017 Auditor General Reports were being examined.

Chairman (ag) Ganesh Mahipaul sought clarifications on an issue flagged in 2018 regarding “missing cheques”.

The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Joslyn McKenzie, explained that at the time, the cheque books were not kept in a secured manner as was required. As such, “the staffer was able to get access to the cheque books, forge the signature, go to a local commercial bank, and access

$690,000…”

“We discovered it and we immediately contacted the Accountant General, the Auditor General, and asked them to conduct an investigation,” the Permanent Secretary noted.

The commercial bank in question was also approached and told of the issue. According to McKenzie, “the bank recognised that the signatures were highly forged and they can’t understand why is it they allowed it in the first instant…”

Notwithstanding, the Ministry was successful in recovering the monies. “We were able to recover all the monies, the staff was dismissed,” the Permanent Secretary confirmed.

He further admitted that the cheque books were not properly secured because, at the time, the Ministry was in the process of moving from its Brickdam Office.

Nevertheless, the Ministry is now in the possession

of a new safe in which the cheque books are stored.

“We also have access control with two keys,” McKenzie said, noting that one is held by the Accounting Officer while the other is kept by the PS for Finance.

“We haven’t had any reoccurrence of that issue since then,” McKenzie further asserted.

The name of the commercial bank and the identity of the employee were not revealed during Monday’s session.

Meanwhile, the Ministry also saw an issue in 2018 with the deduction of more monies than required for PAYE from about nine employees. The Permanent Secretary explained that the matter was already sorted with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and there has been no reoccurrence.

In fact, he said the 2019 Auditor General Report will speak to the situation being rectified amicably. (G11)

The Corentyne Block operated by CGX

The company had further revealed that in the wake of its success at the Kawa-1 well, a second well called the Wei-1 will be spud in the north-western part of the Corentyne Block in the second half of the year. At the time, Frontera Chairman and CGX CoChairman Gabriel De Alba had spoken highly of the potential the oil find brings for the company.

“Initial results from the Kawa-1 well are positive and reinforce CGX

and Frontera’s belief in the potentially transformational opportunity our investments and interests in Guyana present for our companies and the country,” he said.

“Kawa-1 results add to the growing success story unfolding in offshore Guyana as the country emerges as a global oil and gas exploration hotspot. On behalf of the Joint Venture, I’d like to thank the Government of Guyana for its long-standing support as

we worked together to deliver this successful outcome,” De Alba also said.

Executive CoChairman of CGX, Professor Suresh Narine meanwhile described the oil find as a positive milestone in the company’s journey in the Guyana basin. He also made it clear that CGX eagerly anticipates taking part in the development of Guyana’s oil industry. “ T o g e t h e r with our partner Frontera, CGX looks forward to continuing our socially and environmentally conscious approach to development of Guyana’s oil and gas industry and port infrastructure. We are proud of our long partnership with the Government and people of Guyana and of our reputation as Guyana’s Indigenous oil company,” Narine had said.

CGX and Frontera Energy had previously commissioned an independent report which had revealed that they are potentially sitting on 4.9 million Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE) in the Demerara and Corentyne, Guyana oil blocks under their control. (G3)

8 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IN THE COURTS Husband admits to stabbing wife to death Good T intentions… he East Coast Demerara (ECD) man who knifed his wife to death before trying to kill himself by ingesting poison, pleaded guilty to a murder charge following his arraignment before a Demerara High Court Judge on Monday.

Particulars of the indictment against Alex Douglas stated that on October 14, 2012, in the county of Demerara, he murdered Allison Bowen, 42, a mother of three. The confessed killer was represented by Attorney-at-Law Latchmie Rahamat, while State Counsel Abigail Gibbs is representing the prosecution.

Justice Simone MorrisRamlall will sentence Douglas on March 3.

Confessed killer: Alex Douglas

Reports state that Bowen, formerly of Goedverwagting, ECD, was stabbed to death moments

after she refused to consume a bowl of rat poison given to her by her spouse.

She was reportedly stabbed some nine times including to her back, and heart.

According to reports, the woman’s death marked the end of an eight-year abusive relationship with Douglas.

Bowen’s relatives had told the media that she had reported her partner’s violent episodes to the Police but he was never charged.

Another one of the woman’s relatives had said that Bowen kept “taking back” Douglas after he promised her that he would change.

After stabbing his spouse, Douglas fled the scene but Police arrested him the following day after he was spotted walking along Camp Street,

O

Murdered: Allison Bowen

Georgetown. As the ranks approached him, he was seen putting something into his mouth. (G1)

…and the road to hell ne of the old saws your Eyewitness has (ruefully) conceded to have more than just the usual grain of truth is that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions!” Think about it…and he’s sure each of you, Dear Reader, will concur. As far as politics goes, he’s sure the US had the best of intentions when they used the CIA to use their Labour Unions to help oust the PPP Government back in the sixties. But look how THAT turned out: the hell of a 28-year PNC dictatorship that corrupted our State so deeply we’re still to extricate ourselves from its tentacles.

So your Eyewitness was very wary when he read a report from USAID that advised “shared governance” for us again!! “The major parties need to devise a way to form a functioning democracy based on power-sharing rather than a `winner takes all’ mentality”. Wasn’t this the reason they advised Proportional Representation (PR) back then, so we could get “shared governance” between the PNC and the UF? Have they forgotten how THAT arrangement turned out??

And in case they lapsed since they’d stopped using their labour unions to “encourage” regime change, did they also forget how the “shared governance” they engineered – and then lauded between the PNC and the AFC – worked out between 2015 and 2020?? So let’s remind them. In both cases – even with five decades between them – THE PNC KICKED THEIR PARTNER THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SHARING POWER WITH, TO THE CURB!!!

It’s not only that the PNC’s never believed in. and will never practise, sharing power, it’s because they know they can get away with it!! Because ALL the organs of State are dominated by their supporters!! So, whenever they’re supposed to be SHARING POWER, they are supremely confident that the institutions through which power is exercised will support THEM and NOT the other partner!!

The latter become simply a token to fool the world. If there’s any doubt, since D’Aguiar passed on, why not ask Ramjattan??

But USAID placed their finger on the solution to our (admittedly) intractable problem yet ignored it for their facile suggestion!! They noted, “The inability to achieve consensus is often seen as originating from post-colonial ethnic divisions and the politics of grievance, although key youth informants (under 35 years old) did not dwell on the identity politics of their parents’ generation.”

They should read that again. The youthful population don’t “dwell” on the old political cleavages. And combined with the point your Eyewitness has been stressing – there are no ethnic majorities any longer – any government has cross-ethnic support!!

Why push “shared governance” when this will solidify the old ethnic cleavages? …on Barbados While Barbados treated us very badly after Burnham had brought us low with his cockamamie economic and political policies, we’ve gotta move beyond that. If for nothing else than Barbados PM Mia Mottley saving us from going down the black hole of rigged elections by the PNC once again. And yes…it was Mia Mottley more than the US that did the job. It was she who cobbled together the second recount team – after the PNC had effectively kicked out the first!

And it was the Recount team that provided scientific evidence that the elections were free and fair! And the hocus pocus the PNC was pulling with Mingo and his spreadsheets and (stained) bedsheets stank! The clincher was then Caricom Chair Mottley’s firm pronouncements: “It is clear that there are forces that do not want to see the votes recounted for whatever reason. Any Government which is sworn in without a credible and fully transparent vote count process would lack legitimacy”.

That carried the day. …on Oil and Gas Those hoping that the ongoing O&G Conference will be working for the benefit of “we the people” explains why we’re still where we are.

The goal of business is profits for shareholders. We gotta work for our piece of the pie!

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Development will occur in all corners of Guyana – Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali

G

uyana’s development will not be tied to Georgetown but rather, all corners of Guyana will undergo drastic development. This is according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, at the opening of one such out of town development, the

Government is cognisant of this and its infrastructure programme will pave the way for these industries to be developed.

When it comes to building infrastructure to support the development Guyana must undergo, the Government had allocated $25.6 billion in the 2022 budget for this.

Among the large-scale projects on the agenda are the Linden to Mabura Hill road, the new Demerara River bridge and the Corentyne bridge.

The upgraded Linden to Lethem Road corridor will provide year-round connectivity between Linden and Mabura Hill, improving conditions for local and long-haul transport which can increase trade between Guyana and Brazil.

Along with the improved

into French Guiana, and through the road network being developed into Brazil, and eventually further into South America.

Technology

President Ali meanwhile noted that the Government wants to attract companies with innovative technology. He said that this will particularly be on display during the International Oil and Gas Conference, which starts today.

“We are working now on not only companies that are mainstream into oil and gas, food production, eco-tourism. We are working on getting the companies that have technologies that are still in the testing phase, to come to Guyana, to advance those technologies,” the President said.

A map depicting where the Corentyne River bridge will land

Baker Hughes Supercenter.

During the opening of the Baker Hughes Supercenter in Land of Caanan, the President talked up development in Guyana. He noted that as drastic development reaches all corners of the country, communities must be prepared for it.

“We have to get accustomed to this. Because this is how the future of the country will be built out. There will be and must be growth poles all across the country, whether it’s the Berbice River.

Whether it’s in Region 10.

Whether it’s in Essequibo.”

“Each area must develop its own identity of growth and development, so that new growth poles and new areas of development will spring off. And that spring off will bring integrated benefits for the various communities.

So, the landscape for this entire stretch will change drastically,” President Ali further explained.

The President also noted that a population shift will also have to occur to support the industries that will spring up and the jobs that will be created. He said the

road network, residents in the remote communities along the Linden to Mabura Hill corridor will see immediate benefits from improved access to basic essential services and an expansion in economic activity. The project is also expected to bolster eco-tourism along the corridor by improving access to several nature reserves, such as the Iwokrama Rainforest.

The new Demerara River bridge will meanwhile offer easy connectivity to both the existing East Bank Demerara road as well as the new Diamond-to-Ogle bypass on the eastern side of the river and to the existing West Bank Demerara road and the new Parika-to-Schoonord road on the western side of the river. The new bridge will also offer critical connectivity to the new Wales Development Authority, which will be a major centre of productive activity when it comes on stream.

In addition, the Corentyne River bridge will not only link Guyana and Suriname, but also open up access to greater economic opportunities beyond them

“So, in this conference you will see companies coming with technologies that haven’t reached the market as yet. We’re in discussion with them to make Guyana the home of those technology. Because we see the potential of this. We see, with the oil and gas resources, how we can create a competitive environment for innovation and technology.”

Over 150 exhibitors are registered for the Oil and Gas Conference – 40 of which are local companies or operators.

Apart from participation from President Dr Irfaan Ali; the visiting leaders include Ghanian President, Nana Akufo-Addo; Surinamese President, Chandrikapersad Santokhi; and Barbadian Prime Minister, Mia Mottley.

Last year, the Government of Guyana through Natural Resources Minister Bharrat had declared the Government’s full support for the International Energy Conference and Expo, describing it as a chance for Guyana and its limitless investment opportunities to be put in the spotlight. (G3)

10 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

7-year-old critical after being struck by car A

seven-year-old boy is now in a critical state after he was struck down by a motor car along the Lovely Lass Public Road, West Coast Berbice (WCB), on Sunday morning.

The injured lad is Jayden Cheeffoon. He remains a patient at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital suffering from head injuries and a fractured shoulder.

Police stated that on the

day in question at about 11:00h, a motor car bearing registration number HC 9812, which was being driven by a 50-year-old man, was proceeding along the roadway.

However, the driver al-

leged that the child suddenly ran across the road from

behind a parked car.

Despite him applying

breaks, he noted that the front portion of his motor car collided with the child, thus causing him to fall to the ground.

He was picked up in an unconscious state and taken to the Fort Wellington Public Hospital where he was treated and referred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital where he underwent further treatment. He was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital. The driver was detained as investigations continue.

3 arrested with cocaine at Zeelugt

T

hree men were arrested on Saturday evening after they were found to be in possession of eight grams of cocaine at Zeelugt New Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).

Police stated that on the day in question at about 22:00h, a Police mobile patrol along with members of the Community Policing Group were in the area when they observed the three men

sitting on a culvert.

However, as the ranks were about to pass them, a CPG member observed one of the men throwing a small transparent ziplock bag to the ground while another threw a $1000 note to the ground.

The ranks exited the vehicle and retrieved the ziplock bag and the cash. The ziplock bag was opened in the presence of the men during which eight pieces of

cocaine were found.

In addition, upon opening the wrapped $1000 bill, twenty-three pieces of cocaine were also discovered.

They were told of the offence committed but they all denied having knowledge of the package. As such, they were taken to the Leonora Police Station along with the suspected cocaine, which was weighed and amounted to eight grams. They remain in custody pending charges.

NEWS

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Woman’s body found hanging from tree

Husband, friend charged with murder, to make court appearance today T

he two men who confessed to killing 45-year-old Edith Reuben, a housewife of Yarrowkabra, SoesdykeLinden Highway, will be arraigned today for the capital offence. The woman was found hanging from a tree two Mondays ago.

It was reported that Reuben lived with her reputed husband who told Police that they, along with several neighbours, were consuming alcohol on February 6, 2022. However, after some time the others left for their respective residences, except for a male friend.

The man said that his wife stayed on her verandah consuming alcohol while he and the other man retired to bed.

At about 04:00h the next morning, he reportedly told investigators that the male guest woke him to tell him that he was leaving their

home. After acknowledging, the woman’s husband said he went back to sleep.

Two hours after, he said he awoke and made the gruesome discovery of his reputed wife’s motionless body hanging from a mango tree in the yard.

The body was taken down

Manslaughter convict to know fate today

…killed dredge owner during robbery

onds”.

Moreover, Leander contended that the trial Judge appeared to have suggested to the jury that Shyrazadi Raghu had the rider of the motorcycle under her observation for the entire duration of the robbery. This, Leander submitted, is contrary to the evidence as the

Manslaughter convict: Travis McDougall

T

he Guyana Court of Appeal will today deliver its ruling in an application filed by manslaughter convict Travis McDougall, who is seeking to overturn his conviction and 25-year jail sentence over the 2014 fatal shooting of a dredge owner.

Back in 2017, McDougall was found guilty of unlawfully killing Ashokkoemar Raghu – who was shot dead during a robbery on Vlissengen Road, Georgetown – by a unanimous jury verdict following a trial at the Demerara High Court.

Trial Judge Navindra Singh sentenced him to 25 years in prison for the crime.

Raghu, of 77 Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital shortly after the shooting incident. His wife, Shyrazadi Raghu, was shot to her left thigh.

The couple was going to transact business with some $4 million when bandits on a motorcycle pounced on them at the traffic light while they were in a motor car. Ashok Raghu tried to resist the bandits and was fatally shot.

Before the Court of Appeal, McDougall’s lawyer, Narissa Leander, argued that the trial Judge erred when he placed the burden on her client to prove his defence. The lawyer contended that Justice Singh, in his summing up “actually placed the burden of proving the defence on [McDougall] by the words used in the summation”.

Leander said that even though Justice Singh told the jury that McDougall had nothing to prove, he went on to tell the jury, “The things that [McDougall] says to you, he does not have to

prove it beyond a reasonable doubt like the prosecution”.

By those words, she added, the jury may have been led to believe that it was the burden of her client to prove his defence. The defence counsel also argued that Justice Singh failed to interrogate the weaknesses in the identification evidence before putting the case to the jury for deliberation on a verdict.

Some aspects of her submissions also focused on the evidence given by Shyrazadi Raghu, the dead man’s widow. Shyrazadi Raghu had pointed out McDougall on an identification parade.

According to Leander, this witness testified that on the ID parade McDougall had a beard, and so did other persons. However, the lawyer pointed out that the woman could not say how many persons were bearded.

Counsel said that there were weaknesses in the ID evidence which the trial Judge should have interrogated during summing up and placed before the jurors for their consideration for them to decide whether the woman’s evidence could be relied on in determining the guilt of her client.

Another specific weakness in the ID evidence, she said, was that the trial Judge failed to put to the jury the fact that there was no evidence from the eyewitness as to how long she would have had the rider under her observation.

Leander recalled that in her evidence-in-chief, Shyrazadi Raghu indicated that the incident lasted for about 55 seconds. But, under cross-examination, defence counsel said “the incident was broken down to a maximum time of 14 sec-

eyewitness only testified to how long the incident lasted, and not to how long she had the rider under her observation.

For her part, Senior State Counsel Natasha Backer argued that the issues raised

by Leander were not fatal to the credibility of the identification evidence.

TURN TO PAGE 12

and escorted to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where the woman was pronounced dead.

A statement from the Police’s headquarters on Wednesday last stated that because of the positioning of the woman’s body it was suggested that she was murdered, and her body was placed at the scene.

The post-mortem conducted on the body by Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh confirmed the woman died because of asphyxiation due to hanging compounded by blunt trauma to the head.

Following the revelation of the post-mortem examination, the woman’s husband and the alleged male visitor were arrested and remain in Police custody. It was also reported that the men con-

fessed to killing the woman.

Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Mahendra Siwnarine has stated that based on the suspects’ confession, the woman’s husband went outside and found her in a “compromising” position with the male visitor. As such, he stuck her to her head using a piece of wood.

This caused Reuben to become unconscious, and the men thought she was dead.

They both then joined forces by picking the woman up and placing her to hang from the mango tree to make it look as though she committed suicide.

This caused her to suffocate and later lose her life.

The husband then fabricated the story to tell the Police, that he found his wife hanging from the tree.

12 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15,, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

1 freed of schoolboy’s murder Manslaughter convict to...

FROM PAGE 11

…“I know me ain’t do nothing ma’am” – 2nd murder accused tells Judge

Murdered: Brian Charles Yearwood

A

20-year-old murder accused was freed on Monday after a Judge upheld a no-case submission made on his behalf by his attorney-at-law.

Andy Peters left the Demerara High Court a free man after Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall upheld the no-case submission made by his lawyer, Latchmie Rahamat.

Peters along with Shannon Cox, 23, were jointly charged with the April 29, 2017 murder of 17-year-old Brian Charles

Yearwood.

The men’s trial commenced last month before a 12-member mixed jury. When the prosecution closed its case, Peters’ lawyer, Rahamat, and Cox’s lawyer, Madan Kissoon, told the court that there was no case against their clients.

Justice Morris-Ramlall upheld the no-case submission made on Peters’ behalf and directed the jury to return a formal not guilty verdict in his favour. She, however, overruled the no-case submission made on Cox’s behalf.

As such, the murder accused was called upon to lead a defence. Cox, who appeared in court virtually, elected to give an unsworn statement; he called no witnesses.

“I didn’t have no problem with no one…. I don’t know the person who dead.

Is when I go at the station they show me a picture of him [Yearwood]... I cooperate with them [Police] because I know me ain’t do nothing ma’am…,” a teary Cox told the Judge.

Following Cox’s testimony, his lawyer and the pros-

Murder accused: Shannon Cox

Freed: Andy Peters

ecutor, Senior State Counsel Lisa Cave, made closing addresses. The Judge will sum up the evidence in this matter on Thursday at 09:00h before putting the case to the jury for deliberation on a verdict.

Yearwood, formerly of Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was stabbed once to the chest while attending a concert hosted by the Covent Garden Nursery School in the school’s compound.

It was reported that the

stabbing stemmed from an old grievance between the now dead teen and the duo.

Yearwood, who was a student of the Covent Garden Secondary School, was found lying motionlessly on the grass by an off-duty cop.

The injured teenager was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Reports are that the murder weapon, a knife, was found at the home of one of the persons accused of killing Yearwood. (G1)

She said that Shyrazadi Raghu testified that the incident took place in bright sunlight in the middle of the day and that she was seated in the front passenger seat of the car when it came under attack by a gunman on foot, while another man waited next to the car on a motorcycle.

“The witness spoke to being able to see the faces of these persons from a short distance away with nothing blocking her view at any time,” Backer added while pointing out that in relation to McDougall, the witness spoke about him looking into the car and looking at her.

Added to that, the prosecutor said that the eyewitness also stated that she kept her eyes on the men for the duration of the incident.

Regarding defence counsel’s submission that the eyewitness did not state how long she had the rider under observation, Backer argued that she was unaware of any specific time prescribed by case laws or legislation that is required to elapse before a witness is deemed to have made a proper observation.

Instead, the prosecutor said that it is the duty of the trial Judge to bring this and other factors to the jurors and give them the directions

as required by the case laws.

“The directions which the trial Judge gave, in this case, were more than adequate in the circumstances,” Backer submitted.

While there were discrepancies in the description given by the eyewitness compared to what a Police rank testified, she pointed out that the directions given to the jury by the trial Judge were more than adequate to render McDougall’s conviction safe.

“From the verdict, the jury was obviously convinced of [Shyrazadi Raghu’s] evidence. They obviously believed her in relation to not only what she saw on the day but the positive identification of McDougall,” Prosecutor Backer said.

McDougall is seeking to overturn his sentence and conviction and has proffered several grounds. Apart from contesting the identification evidence, he contended that the sentence imposed on him is excessive and not in keeping with established sentencing guidelines.

Deliberating on his case are Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory, SC, and Rishi Persaud. (G1)

NEWS

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

5 GTT customers win Caribbean Airlines, Guyana continue longstanding, productive relationship – CEO prizes as “Hello 31” …737-8 aircraft makes debut in Guyana

C

aribbean Airlines’ 737-8 aircraft, 9Y-GUY was welcomed by a water salute when it made its debut landing in Guyana at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at 15:09h on Monday.

The new 160-seat aircraft operated on route BW 526 from Trinidad with onward service to New York for the first time on Monday.

In commemorating the occasion, Caribbean Airlines’ CEO, Garvin Madera, said, “Caribbean Airlines and Guyana continue to enjoy a longstanding and productive relationship, and since our start in 2007 we’ve provided consistent service to Guyana including daily non-stop flights between New York and Guyana with seamless connections throughout our network. Caribbean Airlines has the most extensive route system of all operators in the region and Guyana continues to be one of our most significant destinations.”

He added that the introduction of the 737-8 into its jet fleet, resets and elevates the company’s customer experience; and is the culmination of extensive research and data-driven innovation to refresh the Caribbean Airlines brand.

Recently, the airline rolled out its “Reset Expectations” campaign which is the overarching theme that strengthens everything that is done at Caribbean Airlines to reinforce the

Caribbean Airlines’ 737-8 aircraft, 9Y-GUY (Photo Courtesy Rawlston West)

authenticity of the Caribbean brand.

Customers also have a suite of customisable pre-travel and onboard services available including: pre-order meals that are authentic Caribbean food like doubles (bara and chickpeas), bake and fish, and other unique delicacies which can be reserved up to 36 hours before flight departure; Caribbean Layaway, which is an interest-free layaway plan that allows customers travelling within a two to 12-month period, the opportunity to pay for flights on a phased ba-

sis; “Your Space” allows economy passengers to have the option to pay for the seat next to them, or the entire row, from as low as US$20 depending on the route; Caribbean Upgrade, is the service that allows eligible passengers to upgrade to Business Class and enjoy a more premium travel experience.

The 737-8 aircraft will progressively enter into service throughout the Caribbean Airlines network, and the airline’s latest schedule is open for sale.

concludes

F

ive lucky Guyana Telephone & Telegraph (GTT) customers won four different grand prizes during a live draw at the company’s Forgarty’s retail location as the telecommunications giant wrapped up its “Hello 31” anniversary campaign.

Shameza Ali won a tour for four to the Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); Kimberley Adams and Tiffany Taitt both won free Amazon gift vouchers valued at US$500 each, and Nicola Adams and Bibe Chetram each won 1-year free gym membership for two.

GTT’s Chief Executive Officer, Damian Blackburn, who attended the event, congratulated the winners while thanking them for their support as GTT customers. “As we mark 31 years in the telecoms sector, it simply could not have been possible without you - our valued customers,” Blackburn said.

He added, “Our continued efforts to reliably connect customers, strengthen the community and innovate for all in Guyana is simply because of you; and as we pivot GTT to become a 21st-century customer-centric organisa-

GTT Chief Executive Officer Damian Blackburn

tion by 2025, we look forward to your continued support.”

“I am happy to finally win something from GTT. I have been a customer for three years, but I was hoping to win something during the ‘30 Million Reasons to Celebrate’ Christmas promotion, and now I finally win something,” Adams said.

Meanwhile, several in-store customers were also treated with tokens, cake, and live entertainment by local artists Lady Elle, Bnick, Remar, Kareem Kush, Tony Cutz, and Vicadi Singh.

31 lucky GTT customers took home 31 prizes through live weekly draws in the company’s “Hello 31” campaign.

14 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Increased vaccination, boosters will influence lifting of other measures – Dr Anthony …Ministry working to lower partially vaccinated numbers

A

recent move by Government to lift the national curfew could initiate other actions to slowly abolish other mandatory guidelines currently in place, but this will come at the cost of higher vaccination and booster uptake.

Speaking during Monday’s COVID update, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony shared this position as he cautioned the public to continue following the primary measures to keep the population safe. The national curfew was lifted last week – almost two years after it was instituted.

“As we increase the amount of vaccination, getting people boosted, then we probably would be able to consider removing some of the other public health measures but we are not there as yet…Lifting curfew does not mean that the other public health measures are lifted. You have to do mask wearing. You still have to keep social distancing. You have to still sanitise. These are important measures

Guyana’s vaccination campaign against COVID continues across every region

that are going to reduce the spread…Not because we have lifted the curfew they can return to this level of normalcy. You still have to take the precautions,” said the Minister.

In Guyana, first dose

vaccination among adults account for 428,716 or 83.6 per cent while second doses are only at 321,940 or 62.8 per cent.

In the 12 to 17 age group, 33,129 first doses or 45.4 per cent coverage has been

recorded. Of this number, 23,705 or 32.5 per cent have returned for their second dose.

Thousands of persons have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and have not returned to obtain their second jab, leaving them partially vaccinated. He said efforts will be made to bridge the gap between the partially vaccinated and completely vaccinated statistics.

“There is a difference between first and second dose and that’s one of the areas that we have to work on because people would remain partially vaccinated if they only got one dose. We want to encourage persons who received just one dose to make sure that they get the second dose.”

On the low uptake currently seen among the adolescent population, he indicated, “There is a lot of room

for improvement here because there is a need to increase this further. Moreso, a lot of these students have returned to school and if we want to create a safe environment, we would want to make sure that they’re fully vaccinated.”

Dr Anthony has outlined that parental consent is still a challenging factor in improving the immunisation rate among this age group – which the Ministry is aiming to tackle with special programmes in conjunction with the Education Ministry in coming weeks.

“While we have been working closely with the Ministry of Education, sometimes it’s hard to get that parental consent. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be intensifying our efforts with the Ministry of Education in the hope that we can take up these numbers. We will have some

special vaccination programmes in school. We will notify the schools beforehand so that messages can be sent with the students to the parents. Hopefully, more of them would consent for their child to get vaccinated in school.”

In addition, the administration of booster doses is another facet which the Ministry has been working to improve. So far, 46,217 persons have taken their shots – which Dr Anthony regarded as “relatively low”.

“If you have had your two doses already, now you need to get your booster doses once you would have completed that five-month time interval. We keep explaining to people, five months after the second doses, the level of antibodies in their systems starts waning and if it wanes, then you would not be fully protected,” the Minister outlined. (G12)

GPS targets 1400 inmates as robust rehabilitation programmes roll out

Some of the male inmates at the training programme

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he Guyana Prison Service (GPS) is tasked with the responsibility of preparing inmates for re-integration into society. In light of this, the Government has adopted a policy of prisoners’ reform, which is done through the provision of training opportunities, allowing inmates to acquire basic income-generating skills and improve their literacy levels while serving their sentences.

To this end, the Government has increased the budgetary allocation in the area of training for inmates; earmarking a sum of $88.9 million to train prison inmates in an effort to further reduce recidivism and support reintegration through the Fresh Start Initiative.

Training in the field of carpentry and joinery, anger management, block making, tailoring, digital skills, cosmetology, crops husbandry and, cosmetology have already commenced.

The first batch of 30 inmates housed at the Lusignan Prison commenced the 12-week anger management course, focused on personal development. Empower

Women inmates at the sewing programme

Guyana Consultancy (EGC) has taken up the role of organising and facilitating these sessions.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organisation, Amar Panday explained that the goal is to expose the inmates to ideas and concepts relating to personal development so that they can return to their communities as reformed, rehabilitated citizens.

In addition, Officer-inCharge of the Prisoners’ Welfare and Corrections, Marielle Bristol lauded the founder of the organisation

for the work he has been doing for inmates across the country over the years, which has resulted in a considerable reduction in reported incidents.

Bristol also noted that the overarching objective of the course is to have a positive change of prisoner behaviour and it is hoped that this change transcends into society when they are reintegrated.

She further noted that all of the programmes will be offered at each location as the year progresses, and will seek to target 1400 inmates.

15 Caricom calls for “self- Ex-prison officer restraint” over Ukraine pleads guilty to T murdering wife NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

he Caribbean Community (Caricom) on Monday said that it was deeply concerned by the ongoing developments along the Ukraine border, and called on all parties involved to act responsibly and with self-restraint and responsibility to avoid destabilisation in that region.

In a statement, the Caricom Secretariat, based in Georgetown, called on all actors “to intensify diplomatic efforts to settle differences peacefully and calls for the respect of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial

integrity. The Community welcomes the efforts of the international community to promote dialogue and to find

urgent solutions to de-escalate tensions in the region”.

In its statement, Caricom reaffirmed its commitment

to respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, “non-interference in the internal affairs of another state, the prohibition on the threat or use of force, and peaceful resolution of disputes.

Universal respect and adherence to these norms and principles of international law are fundamental to the maintenance of the international system and global peace and security”.

It added that the Caribbean Community would continue to monitor developments in this evolving situation.

5 plead not guilty as phone card murder trial begins

Murder accused: Mark Dhuman, Abdul Salam Azimullah, Shuman Batson, Satesh Budra, and Zaheer Abdulla

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he five accused in the Adventure phonecard murder trial all entered pleas of not guilty when the trial opened at the Berbice Assizes on Monday before Justice Sandil Kissoon.

The five: Mark Dhuman, 27; Abdul Salam Azimullah called “Sato”; Shuman Batson, and Satesh Budram, 24; all of Hampshire Village, Corentyne, and Zaheer Abdulla called

Dead: Danian Anthony Jagdeo

“Gold Teeth”, of Adelphi, East Canje, are alleged to have killed 36-year-old Danian Anthony Jagdeo of Williamsburg, Corentyne, during the commissioning of a robbery.

The incident took place at Adventure, Corentyne, on February 5, 2017. It has been reported that Jagdeo was distributing phonecards when he was allegedly shot and killed.

The State’s case is being

GMI workers complain to GAWU about living conditions

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he Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) said workers attached to the Guyana Manganese Inc (GMI) have complained about having to live in deplorable conditions at the company’s Matthews Ridge location in the Northwest district, Region One (Barima-Waini).

GAWU on Monday said that local and foreign workers of the company are housed in different sections of the company’s compound.

This separation, according a release from GAWU, alludes to GMI favouring foreign workers over local Guyanese workers.

“The Union understands from the workers that foreigners are afforded several amenities such as satellite television, washing machines, facilities for recreation, among other things, similar facilities are

not extended to Guyanese.

Additionally, they informed our Union that whereas foreigners are provided with cleaning assistance, they are required to clean their own rooms,” GAWU said.

Additionally, GAWU noted that despite repeated pleas by workers to the company to address the poor living conditions, the company was not prepared to meaningfully handle the situation. “They bemoaned that given the current COVID-19 pandemic, in which sanitation has taken even greater importance, they are forced to endure such difficult conditions. They also lamented the physical condition of the housing facilities which they shared required urgent repairs and rehabilitation to bring it to an acceptable level,” the release said.

At the complaint, GAWU expressed how “disturbed” they are to learn of such a

report, claiming that the Union will be standing in solidarity with the workers of GMI. “Undoubtedly, like all workers, they deserve due reward for their effort and acceptable housing facilities as they contribute to the company’s success,” the Union said.

This is not the first time that workers of the GMI have made a complaint to GAWU. Back in July of last year, the GAWU released a similar statement expressing workers’ frustration with the company. In the statement, GAWU wrote that workers were upset by the attitude and demeanour of particular supervisors who treated them disdainfully.

Efforts by this newspaper to contact the management of GMI for a comment on the complaints proved futile.

presented by Attorney-atLaw Abigail Gibbs.

Attorney-at-Law Surihya Sabsook is representing Dhuman and Budram while Attorney Motie Singh is representing Batson. Azimullah is being represented by Attorney Siand Dhurjon.

Justice Kissoon has set Thursday to commence hearing the evidence. (G4)

Dead: Lonnette Nicholson-Prince

Ex-prison officer: Sheldon Prince

n ex-prison officer who was attached to the New Amsterdam Prison, on Monday pleaded guilty to murdering his wife back in 2016.

Sheldon Prince, 35, of Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, pleaded guilty to the offence of murder in that on December 28, 2016, he murdered Lonnette Nicholson-Prince.

The plea came at the Berbice Assizes on Valentine’s Day, a day which is set aside to share love.

In presenting the facts to the court, State Prosecutor Abigail Gibbs said that on December 28, 2016, Lonnette had just arrived at work at the National Psychiatric Hospital when Prince asked to speak with her just after 08:00h. She refused and proceeded to walk away when Prince pulled out a knife and stabbed her 15 times about the body in the presence of co-workers.

After committing the brutal act, Prince fled the hospital compound and escaped.

She also detailed that Price attacked two other persons, who also work at the National Psychiatric Hospital, before scaling the fence and making his escape. Less than three hours later he turned himself in to Police.

Gibbs said prior to the incident, Lonnette had secured a restraining order preventing Prince from going within 150 feet of her.

She also read an autopsy report which gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage as a result of a stab wound to the heart. There were fifteen stab wounds apart from other wounds.

Justice Sandil Kissoon has deferred sentencing to March 1, when a probation report is expected to be presented.

Prince is being represented by Attorney-at-Law Murseline Bacchus. (G4)

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16 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Relationship between Barbados, Guyana a model for Caricom – Ali D

r Irfaan Ali said that Guyana and Barbados are working to create a success model for the region that will focus heavily on mitigating aspects of climate change and on enhanced food security measures.

The Head of State made this assertion on Sunday evening as he addressed the attendees of the networking session hosted by GAICO Construction and General Services Inc at Palm Court, Main Street, Georgetown.

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley and her delegation, several Guyanese Cabinet Ministers, members of the Private Sector and members of the diplomatic corps were also at the networking event.

“That is what we’re about; creating a common environment of trust that will ensure lasting sustainable relationships and eco-

President Dr Irfaan Ali along and Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips with Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley and Government Ministers at a working dinner at State House

He noted that it is also equally important to ensure mutual support so that the economies of both countries can withstand global shocks.

He assured that both countries are working to

ery single day.”

The President also extended best wishes to the private sectors of both countries for a “fulfilling” week which he said will bring greater collaboration and partnership during their interactions at the International Energy Conference and Expo, which opens today at the Marriott Hotel.

In her remarks, Prime Minister Mottley said that through leadership, President Ali continues to be a shining light for cooperation and solidarity within the Caribbean and is the “greatest example of the success of the regional ex-

ahead, but it is a road that if you work together, and if we lead by example to show the people of both countries that we must work together, then it becomes an easier journey moving forward, and that is what we want to

Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley with Private Sector Commission Head Paul Cheong and other members of the Private Sector at a cocktail networking session hosted by GAICO Construction and General Services Inc at Palm Court

President Ali along with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch and British High Comissioner Jane Miller

nomic opportunities for Barbados and Guyana. We want to build a model of success for the rest of Caricom.

That model of success must be able to address important issues and challenges we’re all facing, whether it’s climate change, whether it’s environmental issues, whether there’s water scarcity, food security, renewable energy,” the Head of State was quoted as saying by the Press and Publicity Unit of the Office of the President.

remove the bureaucratic obstacles in order to provide a policy framework to enhance cooperation and movement of products and people.

Regional prosperity

President Ali also reiterated that Guyana’s prosperity is Caricom’s prosperity, but cautioned that the road ahead will not always be easy but will be made easier through strengthened partnerships.

“It’s not an easy road

achieve at the level of leadership.”

The President pointed out that both countries will be advancing together with “many projects” in several areas including hospitality, food security, agricultural diversification and import substitution among others.

Private sector collaboration

On this note, the Guyanese Head of State assured that a safe space will be created for the private sector of both countries to

collaborate.

“We’re going to work on creating a space and I want you to hear me and I want the private sector to listen.

We are going to work on creating a space in which the Barbados private sector can also be part of this growth and development. We want to encourage you to do that.”

He reassured the gathering that Guyana’s local content legislation was never intended to lock anyone out, but rather to create a space for locals and to attract regional and international investors to work within that space to strengthen collective efforts. This, he added, will result in even growth and even development.

“What we want to do is to create an even platform, bringing opportunities to every segment of the population here and regionally, So that we can benefit to-

gether, grow together advance together. But we can only do so through collaboration and partnerships....”

Enhanced connectivity

The importance of building local capacity and ensuring greater connectivity between the two countries to advance the development of the tourism sectors in both countries was also highlighted.

“I want to assure you of our love and partnership.

We are not only going to develop together … we can do this; we will do this, there is no other choice but for us to do this. But remember, it is not done through talk. It is not done through propaganda, it is not done through mischief, it is not done through distortion or manipulation of facts, it is done only through one thing— hard work on the ground ev-

periment”.

She added that the relationship which endures between the two countries is historic and that she intends to advance discussions with him on how to further improve connectivity between the two countries.

“Because believe you me, if we get the connectivity right, you all will do the rest of the heavy lifting …

We have to get it right, both in terms of the movement of people as well as in terms of the movement of goods. This region cannot continue to be complaining about the absence of connectivity.”

The Prime Minister expressed the hope that the next few days will afford stakeholders from both countries the opportunity to create a framework that will extend beyond Barbados and Guyana.

17 CARPHA issues Russia says ready to continue vaccine caution diplomacy amid Ukraine crisis R NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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CARPHA executive director, Dr Joy St John

he Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has cautioned ministries of health across the region against administering any dosage of the adult Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children aged five to 11 years, as they continue to roll out their vaccination campaigns.

Programme manager, CARPHA Caribbean Regulatory System (CARPHA-CRS) Dr Rian Extavour said in a statement on Wednesday that although the regional health agency recognises that uptake of the vaccine is critical to achieving maximum protection from severe disease and death, there is an absence of information on testing of the adult formulation in children 5-11 years.

Also of great concern, Extavour said, is the increased possibility of errors in administration with drawing up smaller volumes than 0.3mL which is the adult dose, from the adult formulation.

“Errors in the administration of fractionated doses can make vaccination of children aged 5-11 years with adult vaccines a risky practice,” CARPHA executive director, Dr Joy St John said.

“We are awaiting the WHO [World Health Organisation] Emergency Use Listing before we recommend use of the US FDAapproved vaccine developed specifically for children 5-11 years of age.”

At this time, CARPHACRS has not yet recommended the paediatric formulation of the Pfizer vaccine due to the absence of confirmation of the new formulation by the WHO prequalification team under the relevant Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

“Unless otherwise specified, member states should continue adherence to recommendations for approved vaccines. This will help to ensure favourable benefits to individuals and communities,” St John reiterated.

(CMC)

ussia has said it will continue diplomatic talks with the West to try to defuse a security crisis in which it has massed a huge force within striking distance of Ukraine.

In a televised exchange between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday, the latter said “there is always a chance” to reach an agreement with the West over Ukraine.

He told Putin that exchanges with leaders in European capitals and Washington showed enough of an opening for progress on Russia’s goals to be worth pursuing.

“I would suggest continuing,” Lavrov said in televised remarks. “Fine,” Putin replied. Lavrov told Putin the United States had put forward concrete proposals on reducing military risks, but that responses from NATO and the European Union – which has been at pains not to let Moscow divide its members – had not been satisfactory.

On Monday, Washington announced temporarily relocating its embassy in Kyiv to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv near the Polish border due to what it called the “dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces”.

In a statement announcing the move, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US will continue to push

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin [Aleksey Nikolskyi/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters]

for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. “The path for diplomacy remains available if Russia chooses to engage in good faith. We look forward to returning our staff to the Embassy as soon as conditions permit,” Blinken added.

President Joe Biden, who had spoken to Putin over the weekend, held a phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday.

“The leaders discussed their recent diplomatic engagements with Ukraine and Russia,” the White House said in a statement describing the call.

“They also reviewed ongoing diplomatic and deter-

rence efforts in response to Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

For its part, the British government said Biden and Johnson “agreed there remained a crucial window for diplomacy and for Russia to step back from its threats towards Ukraine.”

Russia has positioned more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders but denies planning to invade, accusing the West, which has sent a flurry of officials to Moscow and Kyiv, of hysteria.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Kyiv on Monday, vowing that Berlin and its Western allies would maintain support for Ukraine’s security and independence, urging Russia to take up “offers of dialogue”.

During a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Scholz said there was “no reasonable justification” for Russia’s build-up of troops around Ukraine’s borders.

Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler, reporting from Kyiv, says Scholz delivered a “show of unity” with his host during his visit to the Ukrainian capital. (Al Jazeera)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

Regional

Jamaica gang trial tests new anti- Brazil’s central bank chief says market crime laws amid wave of violence fears over Lula easing – newspaper

A woman watches as alleged gang members step out of a Police truck after arriving at court, in Kingston, Jamaica, January 28, 2022

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trial of dozens of alleged gang members in Jamaica is testing recent judicial reforms designed to fight the island’s powerful criminal groups, widely blamed for the Caribbean nation having one of the world’s highest murder rates.

Jamaica’s Supreme Court is trying the 33 defendants on charges including arson, murder and being

part of a criminal organisation. The offences were allegedly committed between 2015 and 2019 on the western outskirts of the capital Kingston.

The trial has shocked the nation with graphic testimony from ex-associates describing how the accused bragged to each other about murdering rivals, or became angry to learn they were lag-

ging other gangs in killings.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ Government is hoping for convictions that could help slow gang violence in Jamaica.

Authorities say gangs are responsible for 70 per cent of the country’s homicides, which rose 10 per cent last year to reach 47.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, giving it the world’s highest murder rate, according to Reuters calculations.

The US State Department says the island nation, home to nearly three million people, is a major source of illicit marijuana and a transit point for cocaine smuggled to the United States.

Prosecutors say the 32 men and one woman operated extortion rackets and gun-running schemes in Spanish Town, a city of 150,000 and the site of a 16th-century Spanish colonial settlement later renamed when Britain captured the island. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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razilian central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said markets were showing less concern about the possible victory of ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in this year’s presidential race, according to remarks in an interview published on Monday.

When asked if a victory of the left-wing leader was already priced into financial markets, Campos Neto told an O Globo columnist that some market prices were showing an “elimination” of the risk of a Government transition.

“It means that the market has become less afraid of passing from one government to another. This is what we can interpret.

Because probably a government that represented a risk of more extreme measures is moving to the centre. This is our interpretation from what we capture in market prices,” he said, according to the columnist.

The central bank did not immediately respond to a request to verify the quotes.

Lula, a leftist former union leader and President from 2003 to 2010, holds a

Mexico violence: Gunmen attack wake, then target funeral

Calls grow for Nicaragua to release jailed Opposition figures

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alls are mounting for dozens of Opposition figures jailed in Nicaragua to be freed, after the death of a would-be presidential candidate over the weekend spurred fears for the health and safety of others.

Hugo Torres, a 73-yearold former companion of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, died in detention on Saturday after concerns were repeatedly expressed for his well-being.

Other inmates also are in dire straits, according to family members and rights defenders, who say the prisoners are malnourished, losing weight, teeth and memory, and getting weaker by

the day.

“Many are facing a serious risk to health and life,” former Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) President Antonia Urrejola said on Twitter.

Ortega, who secured a fourth consecutive term in November elections, has faced widespread criticism from rights groups, Opposition figures, and international observers who decried the vote as “a sham”.

They also decried a months-long Government crackdown on dissent during which dozens of Opposition figures – including seven presidential hopefuls – were detained in what rights

groups said was an effort to guarantee Ortega’s re-election.

Torres was expected to be a candidate in that presidential vote, but he was arrested along with the other Opposition leaders.

On Monday, the European Union’s external affairs spokesman, Peter Stano, sent “deep condolences” to Torres’s family and called for an independent investigation into his death.

“We reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners … subjected to inhumane detention conditions” in Nicaragua, Stano tweeted. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

In Peru, dogs ‘marry’ on Valentine’s Day – and dress up for the occasion

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ynthia Ceballos’ celebration of Valentine’s Day on Monday in Peru’s capital Lima was not about her own love life: it was about the marriage of two of her small fluffy white dogs.

Dressed in Andeaninspired clothing, Ceballos’ dogs were the winners of Lima’s MatriCan – a play on the Spanish words for “wedding” and “dog” – a local competition that celebrates Valentine’s Day by dressing dogs as if they were about to get married.

“I saw an Andean wed-

ding and said, ‘Why can’t I do the same with my little dogs?” Ceballos said.

Mass weddings are common in Peru, especially on Valentine’s Day. It is a way for Peruvians who cannot afford a wedding of their own to celebrate and also ensure their union is legally recognised. Mass dog weddings are just a twist on the tradition.

Some dogs were dressed in more conventional attire – a bow tie for the dog groom, a white bell-shaped dress for the bride. Others were dressed in colourful,

summery attire fit for the hot season in the Southern Hemisphere. One owner even put a veil on one of the dogs.

The owners then helped their dogs sign their marriage papers, by lifting their paws and pressing them on paper. In the end, the dogs and the owners all took a picture together.

“In this very special day that is the day of love and friendship we have married eight dog couples,” said Patricia Ballari, from Lima’s parks service, which organised the event. (Excerpt from Reuters)

healthy lead in opinion polls over right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro ahead of the October election.

In the remarks published to the O Globo website on Monday ahead of an airing of the interview on TV channel Globo News, Campos Neto also highlighted the importance of a law shielding the central bank from presidential influence.

Under the law approved last year, Campos Neto will remain in charge for at least two years of the next four-year presidential term.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

A total of nine people were killed, three at the wake, and six more at the funeral service

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unmen in Mexico have killed nine people mourning the death of a man who died in jail last week, officials say.

The nine were killed in two attacks in the northern city of Ciudad Juárez.

Assailants first burst into a private home where friends and family had gathered for the wake of the inmate and shot dead two women and a man.

Hours later, the prem-

ises where the funeral service for the same man was being held were targeted by attackers who killed six more people.

Witnesses said the gunmen stormed into the home, which doubles up as an evangelical church, as a pastor was holding the funeral service. They described scenes of panic as the gunmen opened fire.

Among those killed were a 12-year-old boy and his father.

Investigators told local media there were strong indications that the same criminal group was behind both attacks.

Officials have not released the name of the inmate whose funeral was attacked – but the Prosecutor’s office said he had been killed on Wednesday while imprisoned in a jail in the city of Chihuahua.

His body had been returned for burial to Ciudad Juárez.

Ciudad Juárez, on Mexico’s border with the US, is one of the Mexican cities with the highest murder rate nationwide.

In 2021, an average of four people was murdered every day in the city, according to data from the regional prosecutor’s office.

Most of the murders are linked to rivalries between local drugs gangs, the region’s Attorney General says. (BBC News)

Man shot dead, pregnant woman among 2 wounded in east Port of Spain

Crime scene investigators look at a car which was struck by a bullet at the corner of Queen and Nelson Streets, Port of Spain where three people were shot leaving one dead

A shooting in east Port of Spain on Monday afternoon led to the death of one man and the wounding of two people, including a pregnant woman.

Police said a silver Nissan Tiida drove near the corner of Queen and Nelson Streets around 14:45h when the men inside shot at people on the pavement

before driving off.

One man identified as Brandon Crichton was killed while a 34-year-old man was shot in the right side of his stomach, and the 30-year-old woman was shot in her left shoulder.

Police from the InterAgency Task Force (IATF) went to the area and took the wounded people to the hospital.

The getaway car was later found in Leau Place off Laventille Road.

Up to around 17:00h, crime scene investigators were processing the scene.

Police from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region I are continuing enquiries. (Trinidad Newsday)

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy declares “day of unity” for Feb 16, cited as possible invasion day

P Oil inches closer to US$100 as Russia-Ukraine tensions simmer

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il jumped as simmering geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine kept the market on edge and volatility high.

West Texas Intermediate surged above US$95 a barrel for the first time since 2014. Russia could take offensive military action or attempt to spark a conflict inside Ukraine as early as this week, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Friday. Russia has repeatedly denied it plans to invade and its Foreign Minister said he would propose to continue diplomatic engagements with the West.

A potential Russian invasion of Ukraine could not only disrupt crude supplies but also potentially spark retaliatory sanctions by the US. Oil prices have soared in recent weeks on speculation that demand will outpace supply as the global economy rebounds from the pandemic.

“With a lack of clarity on the effect on oil and incredibly low inventories, the market is definitely worried here and buying,” said Scott Shelton, energy specialist at ICAP. While crude has been swinging wildly in recent days as tensions around Ukraine grow, the underlying market remains robust.

Physical barrels priced off a key global benchmark are hitting unprecedented levels, and the spread between Brent crude’s two nearest futures contracts touched US$2 a barrel, a bullish indicator.

The situation is entering a potentially decisive week. Russia has amassed troops near the Ukrainian border, with the US warning last week that major military action may be imminent. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said his country has no plans to invade its smaller neighbor.

Oil prices are trading at 2014 highs as the crisis reinforces a rally that’s been underpinned by soaring worldwide demand, supply interruptions and declining stockpiles. Its run of weekly gains was the longest since October, before the emergence of the Omicron virus variant. A potential conflict, coupled with retaliatory US-led sanctions, would risk upending global energy flows. WTI for March delivery rose US$2.40 to US$95.50 a barrel at 2:27 pm in New York.

Brent for April settlement rose US$2.10 to US$96.54 a barrel. Oil option markets saw a surge of activity after prices spiked on Ukraine tensions Friday. Traders are paying bumper premiums for bullish call options, where higher prices would profit a buyer. They’re the most expensive relative to bearish put options since 2019, according to Bloomberg data. (Excerpt from Bloomberg)

resident Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukrainians to fly the country’s flags from buildings and sing the national anthem in unison on Feb 16, a date that some Western media have cited as a possible start of a Russian invasion.

Ukrainian officials stressed that Zelenskiy was not predicting an attack on that date, but responding with scepticism to foreign media reports. Several Western media organisations have quoted US and other officials citing the date as when Russian forces would be ready for an attack.

“They tell us Feb 16 will be the day of the attack. We will make it a day of unity,”

Service members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces drive a tank during military exercises in Kharkiv region, Ukraine February 10, 2022

Zelenskiy said in a video address to the nation.

“They are trying to frighten us by yet again naming a date for the start of military action,” Zelenskiy said. “On that day, we will hang our na-

Canada’s Trudeau to invoke emergency powers to end protests; armed group broken up

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anadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to activate emergency powers in an effort to end protests that have shut some border crossings and paralysed downtown Ottawa, sources

said on Monday.

In the western Canadian province of Alberta on Monday, Police broke up an armed group that was prepared to use violence to back a blockade at a border crossing with the United

Seven dead after explosion and fire on France’s south-west coast

Climate change forcing Zimbabwean girls into sex work

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awanda, 16, gazes calmly into the sky as the sun sets, getting ready for work as the night begins.

Tawanda, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is among hundreds of girls from Zimbabwe’s rural regions who joined the sex trade in recent years in urban centres.

After years of drought and failed crops, Tawanda could not see a future in the countryside, prompting her at age of 14 to relocate to the capital Harare in search of a better life.

“I came here as a babysitter. For six months I worked as a maid, but it was not lucrative. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, it became worse because the woman I was working for reduced my already meagre salary. So I quit the job,” she said.

Tawanda did not want to go back home and relocated to Epworth, 12km (7.5 miles) east of the capital Harare, where after meeting friends

she was initiated into sex work.

The city is notorious for violence, prostitution, and drugs with a population that continues to increase with rural-to-urban migration.

Many of the teenage girls have experienced clients refusing to pay for services rendered, with some enduring sexual abuse and assault. In Zimbabwe, it is a criminal offence to solicit for sex, which makes it difficult for young women to report wrongdoing against them to the Police.

Most areas in Zimbabwe have been hit hard by climate change with heatwaves, low precipitation, or excessive rain resulting in flash floods.

David Marekera, the village head in Maramba in Mashonaland East province, 130km (80 miles) south of Harare, said climate change is not only bringing hunger in the community but destroying the future of children. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

tional flags, wear yellow and blue banners, and show the whole world our unity.”

Zelenskiy has long said that - while he believes Russia is threatening his country the likelihood of an imminent

attack has been overstated by Ukraine’s Western allies, responding to Moscow’s efforts to intimidate Ukraine and sow panic.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, told Reuters the President was responding in part “with irony” to media reports of the potential date of the invasion.

Zelenskiy’s office released the text of a decree calling for all villages and towns in Ukraine to fly the country’s flags on Wednesday, and for the entire nation to sing the national anthem at 10 am. It also called for an increase in salaries of soldiers and border guards. (Excerpt from Reuters)

France’s Interior Minister said that until emergency services finish their search for survivors the current death toll was only provisional.

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t least seven people including two children have died in a fire caused by a huge explosion in south-west France.

Several buildings were set ablaze on both sides of a street in the seaside town of St Laurent-de-la-Salanque after a blast was heard at 01:30 local time (00:30 GMT) on Monday.

Firefighters are still searching for victims in two small blocks of flats damaged by the fire.

The cause of the original explosion is not yet known.

France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who visited the scene of the accident on Monday afternoon, said the current death toll of seven was only provisional while emergency services continued to search for survivors.

“Prosecutors currently don’t have any crucial information to determine whether

this was accidental or criminal,” he added.

The Pyrénées-Orientales region’s fire department attended the scene after receiving a call following an explosion in commercial premises, which it said subsequently set fire to the apartments above.

According to local media reports, around 20 people were injured in the fire.

One man in his 30s has been taken to hospital in critical condition after he jumped out of a second-storey window in order to escape the fire.

The local town hall said that some of those evacuated by firefighters had been provided with accommodation.

“Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” it said in a statement. “We will mobilise to help them as best we can in these most tragic circumstances.” (Excerpt from BBC News)

States, authorities said.

Trudeau plans to use the 1988 Emergencies Act, which allows the Federal Government to override the provinces and authorise special temporary measures to ensure security during national emergencies, the sources said.

Under the Act, Trudeau could impose special restrictions on public assembly and travel and mobilise federal support for local and provincial Police.

The Act has only been used once in peacetime by Trudeau’s father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau - who invoked an earlier version of the act in 1970 after a small militant group of Quebec sepa-

ratists kidnapped a British diplomat then abducted a provincial Cabinet Minister who was killed in captivity.

The “Freedom Convoy” protests, started by Canadian truckers opposing a COVID-19 vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, have turned into a rallying point for people opposing the policies of Trudeau’s Government, covering everything from pandemic restrictions to a carbon tax.

Four provincial premiers -in Alberta, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan -- said they opposed plans to invoke the act, saying it was unnecessary. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Hong Kong “overwhelmed” as COVID infections hit record

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he latest wave of COVID-19 infections has “overwhelmed” Hong Kong, the city’s leader said on Monday as daily cases surged by some 20 times over the past two weeks, leaving hospitals short of beds and struggling to cope.

Carrie Lam, the Head of the Administration in the Chinese ruled city, issued a grim update for residents already subjected to tight restrictions on social gatherings as health authorities reported a record 2071 infections on Monday, with 4500 separate preliminary positive cases.

As the caseload soared, Lam said her Administration would coordinate with Chinese officials to tackle the “aggravating situation”.

China has said it would help the city with testing, treatment and quarantine, and secure resources from rapid antigen kits and protective gear to fresh vegetables.

Despite the latest surge, deaths in the global financial hub remain far less than similar-sized cities since the pandemic erupted two years ago.

But, with the healthcare system already overstretched, medical experts warn the city could see 28,000 daily infections by the end of March, with the unvaccinated elderly a particular worry.

Hospital beds for COVID-19 patients are already at 90 per cent occupancy, data from the city’s Hospital Authority showed, while isolation facilities are near full capacity.

Hong Kong is prioritising elderly, children and those in serious conditions in hospitals, said Larry Lee, chief manager at the city’s Hospital Authority.

There are around 1000 patients waiting to be hospitalised, authorities said on Monday. (Excerpt from Reuters)

20

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Trust in your ability to get things done. Don’t wait for someone to finish what you start. Take care of responsibilities and feel good about what you accomplish. Treat yourself.

(March 21-April 19) Follow through with your plans, and don’t worry about any complaints. You must satisfy yourself instead of bending over backward trying to please others.

Live life your way.

DILBERT (April 20-May 20)

Making your life more leisurely will help you be productive and give you more time to enjoy downtime with friends and family. Good timing coupled with discipline and hard work will lead to praise.

(May 21-June 20) Educate yourself and implement what you learn into your everyday life.

The changes you make will fortify your plans and help you succeed. Your energy and drive will attract support.

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

Accept, adapt and carry on with your day. A steadfast approach to accomplishing something will ensure that you reach your goals. Choose your words carefully when others ask for support.

(July 23-Aug. 22) Go someplace that stimulates your mind, body and soul. A hike, museum, art gallery or sports event will motivate you to do things differently and explore possibilities.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22) If you like someone or enjoy doing something, carry on and don’t stop until you’ve had your fill. Refuse to let a lack of motivation stand between you and something that will enrich your life.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Don’t show emotion when dealing with professional situations. Do what others expect of you, but give whatever you do a unique twist. Take on projects that require ingenuity.

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Take better care of your health and financial matters. Don’t spend unnecessarily; being overly generous or careless will result in loss. Don’t let someone take advantage of you.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

YESTERDAY'S WORD -- LIBELOUS

You’ll face opposition today, but don’t let that stop you. Take a different approach and offer something that will make it easier for others to accept and support what you want to pursue.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Settle any differences peacefully. Be ready to compromise to ensure that fair play is maintained. Keep your emotions under control, and let your intellect help you navigate your way to victory.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) If you second-guess yourself, you’ll fall short. Own whatever you decide to do and follow through with precision and gusto. A take-charge attitude will help you gain respect and get things done.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

21

Winter Olympics: Valieva allowed to compete at Beijing after CAS hearing

Kamila Valieva, who is favourite for the gold medal, was back on the ice training soon after the CAS ruling

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amila Valieva can compete again at the Winter Olympics after sport’s highest court ruled “exceptional circumstances” meant the 15-year-old Russian figure skater should not be provisionally suspended for a failed drugs test.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) pointed to age and issues around timing of the test result announcement in the reasons for its ruling.

But critics have questioned why an athlete who has failed a drugs test is being allowed to compete on the world’s biggest stage.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said it was “disappointed” by the ruling, saying it “appears that the CAS panel decided not to apply the terms of the Code, which does not allow for specific exceptions to be made in relation to mandatory provisional

suspensions for ‘protected persons’, including minors”.

Valieva, who returned a positive test for anginaprevention drug trimetazidine on December 25 last year, had been provisionally suspended on February 8, but challenged the decision and the Russian AntiDoping Agency (Rusada) lifted the ban the next day.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Wada and International Skating Union launched an appeal against Rusada’s decision to lift the provisional suspension, which is what CAS has now turned down.

CAS Director General Matthieu Reeb said: “The athlete should benefit from the following exceptional circumstances: She is under 16 and a protected person under the Wada code.”

The ruling said “serious issues of untimely notification

of the results” of the failed test – which came during the Games and nearly six weeks after she gave the sample – had also played a part in its decision.

“Such late notification was not her fault, in the middle of the Olympic Winter Games,” the ruling said.

American 1998 Olympic champion figure skater Tara Lipinski, said she strongly disagreed with the decision, adding: “At the end of the day, there was a positive test and there is no question in my mind that she should not be allowed to compete.”

Valieva is now free to compete today in the women’s individual figure skating competition, where she is favourite for gold.

While her immediate Olympic future has been resolved, this case that has overshadowed the Games and provoked outrage at how a child became embroiled in a case of suspected doping is far from over.

Wada has already said it will be investigating the teenager’s entourage, including coaches, doctors ,and other adults surrounding her, while the actual matter of the failed test is yet to be resolved.

There is also the issue of the team event medals which will not be handed out during the Games, with Valieva having helped the Russian Olympic Committee to victory before the test announcement.

And there will also be wider debates given a Russian has tested positive for a

banned substance when the country is already banned from international competition because of its doping past.

Its 212-strong delegation in Beijing is competing under the Russian Olympic Committee flag and without its national anthem as part of the sanctions.

What was the CAS hearing about?

This hearing was simply to determine whether to reimpose a provisional ban or to back the Rusada decision to lift it – it was not looking at the failed test or the circumstances relating to it.

Essentially, it was to decide whether to allow the young skater, who became the first female to land a quadruple jump at an Olympics in the team event earlier in the Games, to take to the ice again in Beijing.

And it had to happen quickly, because she was scheduled to compete today in the women’s individual event.

The near six-hour-long CAS hearing concluded at 02:10 local time in Beijing, with the three-person panel continuing deliberations into Monday morning.

In its statement, CAS said it had considered “fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm, and the relative balance of interests between the applicants and the athlete, who did not test positive during the Olympic Games ... and is still subject to a disciplinary procedure [relating to the positive drugs test]”.

“The panel considered that preventing the athlete from competing at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances,” it said.

Within around half an hour of the CAS ruling, Valieva was back on the rink training in front of the media.

What has been the reaction to the ruling?

The IOC had earlier said it would follow the CAS decision “whether we like it nor not”, while the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said it was “disappointed by the message this decision sends”.

“It is the collective responsibility of the entire Olympic community to protect the integrity of sport and to hold our athletes, coaches, and all involved to the highest of standards,” USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland said in a statement.

“Athletes have the right to know they are competing on a level playing field. Unfortunately, today that is being denied. This appears to be another chapter in the systematic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia.”

The ISU said it respected the ruling and needed “time to assess before making any further comments”.

The Russian Olympic Committee, meanwhile, welcomed the ruling, saying: “Tomorrow the whole country will cheer on her and all our

wonderful figure skaters in the individual competition.”

And Russian Figure Skating Federation President Alexander Gorshkov said: “I’m very happy for Valieva and glad that common sense and justice triumphed.”

What happens next?

Valieva is set to compete in the women’s event which starts at 10:00 GMT today with the short programme, where she is scheduled as 26th of 30 starters, and ends with the free skate on Thursday.

Given what we saw in her team performances, she is likely to shine with a series of gravitydefying quadruple jumps that are rare in women’s figure skating.

But if she wins a medal, there are no guarantees that she would not be stripped of it at a later date once the anti-doping process is complete.

The IOC said later on Monday that it would “not be appropriate” to hold the medal ceremony for the team event, while if Valieva wins a medal in the individual event, no flower or medal ceremonies will take place.

So, in the short term, Valieva competes, but issues like whether she has taken up her right to ask for her B sample to be tested as part of the anti-doping process remain unresolved.

There will also be the Wada investigation into her entourage to find out how a child came to fail a drugs test in the first place.

(BBC Sport)

Christian Eriksen: Brentford CWI congratulates players returns to selected in IPL mega auction midfielder action in friendly

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ricket West Indies (CWI) has offered congratulations to the West Indies players chosen in the auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which was conducted in Bengaluru on Saturday and Sunday.

From the large pool of available players, 14 West Indians were chosen to join Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, who were retained by their respective franchises ahead of the auction. The total price paid for the West Indies players was US$10.85 million.

The 17 West Indians make up the largest number of foreign players in the IPL, from any territory outside of India.

In offering his congratulations, CWI President Ricky Skerritt said the number of players signed is an indication of the talent that exists within the Region.

“I want to congratulate all of the West Indies players who have secured contracts to the various franchises in the IPL, which is the biggest and most lucrative global T20 franchise tournament. But I especially want to applaud those younger players who received their first full IPL contracts,” he said.

“This shows great faith in emerging West Indies talent. I continue to believe that our players can seek quality employment abroad, and still be positioned to operate constructively and successfully within the West Indies cricket system.”

Nicholas Pooran, who was the most expensive West Indies player in the draft, said he was thankful to be afforded the opportunity provided by CWI. “I’m very thankful. I can’t wait for that journey to begin. But before that journey begins, I just want to give thanks to Cricket West Indies for laying the foundation for my career and I hope a lot of youngsters get that opportunity as well,” he said.

Former West Indies Captain Jason Holder also expressed his gratitude to the CWI and his supporters.

“I want to thank the West Indies fans immensely for their support over the years and I want to thank Cricket West Indies for helping to develop my talent,” he said.

“I look forward to this opportunity and also look forward to what is ahead in West Indies cricket, so I can continue to build a legacy for the West Indies.”

CWI has allocated a window for the tournament each year in its International Cricket Council Future Tours Programme (ICC FTP) and also guaranteed this to the players in their retainer contracts; therefore, West Indies players are fully available to participate in the IPL each year. The IPL 2022 is slated to be played in April and May.

Full List (with franchises and fees)

Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders) – US$1.6 million Nicholas Pooran (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – US$1.433 million Jason Holder (Lucknow Super Giants) – US$1.166 million Shimron Hetmyer (Rajasthan Royals) – US$1.133 million Romario Shepherd (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – US$1.033 million Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians) – US$800,000 Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) – US$800,000 Odean Smith (Punjab Kings) – US$800,000 Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings) – US$586,000 Rovman Powell (Delhi Capitals) – US$373,000 Alzarri Joseph (Gujarat Titans) – US$320,000 Evin Lewis (Lucknow Super Giants) – US$266,000 Dominic Drakes (Gujarat Titans) – US$146,000 Sherfane Rutherford (Punjab Kings) – US$133,000 Fabian Allen (Mumbai Indians) – US$100,000 Obed McCoy (Rajasthan Royals) – US$100,000 Kyle Mayers (Lucknow Super Giants) – US$66,000 (Sportsmax)

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hristian Eriksen played an hour in a closed-doors friendly against a Southend United XI on Monday, his first match since suffering cardiac arrest.

Ex-Spurs midfielder Eriksen created a goal in Brentford’s 3-2 victory.

The Denmark international, who turned 30 Monday, joined Brentford last month after being released by Inter Milan.

Last week, Eriksen told BBC Sport it feels like a miracle to be able to resume his career after collapsing while playing at Euro 2020 last summer.

Eriksen is building up his match fitness and the outing against the Southend side is seen by Brentford Manager Thomas Frank as a crucial part of that.

He last played a competitive match on June 12, 2021 at Euro 2020 for Denmark, when he collapsed on the pitch and received CPR before being taken to hospital.

The Dane was subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

Eriksen’s Inter contract was cancelled by mutual consent in December, because players fitted with an ICD cannot compete in Serie A. Christian Eriksen However, the Premier League does not says it is a miracle have the same regulations. (BBC Sport)

he is back playing football for Brentford

22

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BCB Tribute to Hero Award…

Sir Curtly Ambrose, Dr Denbow, McKenzie, Singh & Wilson are latest recipients T

Four of the awardees: Sir Curtly Ambrose (centre); Nolan McKenzie (second right); Dr Frank Denbow (third right); Franklin Wilson (third left) and a representative of Kelvin Singh (second left) pose with BCB Secretary Angela Haniff (right) and BCB Executive Ameer Rahaman (left)

GBI renews sponsorship agreement with Archery Guyana

Archery Guyana Secretary General Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon (left) and Guyana Beverages Inc General Manager Samuel Arjoon (right) renewed the partnership

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re-COVID times: On the morning of Tuesday, July 30, 2019 at a press conference at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue, Archery Guyana Secretary General Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon noted that for archery, and any sport in general, hydration was very important.

Two years later, on

February 14, 2022, she reiterated this statement and expressed great delight in the fact that Archery Guyana would be continuing its partnership with Guyana Beverages Inc (GBI) of Plot 4A, Area AA1 Plantation Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Under the sponsorship, GBI will be providing its

Oasis brand of purified water products for Archery Guyana. Oasis offers consumers a refreshing balanced taste of premium purified water. GBI, a leader in the beverage industry, remains at the cutting edge of innovation. To this end, the company launched in the Guyana market its new sports drink “Altitude”, which contains sodium, potassium and magnesium, and comes in three flavours – Fruit Punch, Grape, and Blue Frost. This product will also form part of the sponsorship, offering the consumers the ability to replace electrolytes lost through sweat.

A deep level of gratitude is expressed to General Manager Samuel Arjoon and the management of GBI, for focusing on sports development and for seeking to make Oasis the official water of Archery Guyana.

GCB congratulates Hetmyer, Shepherd, and Rutherford on IPL selection

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he Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) had congratulated the three Guyanese cricketers who were selected by teams during the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) auction held on February 12 and 13, 2022.

Shimron Hetmyer, who previously represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC), was snapped up

by Rajasthan Royals

Shimron Hetmyer

(RR) for approximately US$1,133,000. He is presently representing Guyana Harpy Eagles in the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional FourDay Championships as he looks to help Guyana regain the trophy.

Romario Shepherd has been selected for his first IPL season following impressive showings over the past six months, both with the bat and ball during the last Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and for West Indies. He has been selected by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)for app r o x imately

Sherfane Rutherford

Romario Shepherd

US$1,033,000.

Sherfane Rutherford, a CPL champion with the St Kitts Patriots where he had some solid performances, was picked up by RCB for approximately US$133,000.

Rutherford is back in the IPL after missing last season. He was a member of the victorious Mumbai Indians team in 2020.

The GCB wish Hetmyer, Shepherd, and Rutherford well as they continue to make Guyana and West Indies proud.

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday evening at a gala cocktail reception held at the Saint Francis Community Developers Centre, Rose Hall, Corentyne, bestowed its highest honour on five individuals for their outstanding contributions to cricket and in particular, the game in Berbice.

Leading the list of awardees was the legendary former West Indies fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose.

The other awardees were Dr Frank Denbow, former Guyana opening batsman Nolan McKenzie, Sports Journalist Franklin Wilson and Managing Director of Guyana Brewery Inc, Kelvin Singh, who is one of the BCB tournament sponsors.

Ambrose, who was a

feared pace bowler during his career for the West Indies team, has warmed the hearts of thousands of Caribbean and international fans including BCB President Hilbert Foster, who reminisced on those glory days.

It was Foster who, on the prompting and sponsorship of Dr Denbow, brought Ambrose to Guyana to conduct the historic fast-bowling clinic, which concluded on Sunday for close to 50 young fast bowlers at the Albion Community Centre Ground.

McKenzie, who also conducted batting clinics for boys and girls over the course of the three-day camp at Albion, had offered his services to the BCB voluntarily to help shape the next generation of cricketers for Berbice, Guyana and by extension, the West Indies.

BCB President Foster, who chaired proceedings, enlightened the invitees with regard to the exploits of each awardee and the reason for them being honoured, noting that they have all made their mark in contributing towards the BCB being the best-run Board in the entire Caribbean.

He noted that the lives of thousands of players, both male and female, have been touched on and off the field of play owing to the collective efforts of the latest five to be awarded as well as the others who have received the Tribute to Hero Award.

Each awardee was presented with a plaque and a gold medal. The total number of persons who have received this award now stand at 77.

Jacobs Jewellery to ‘crown’ Rawle Toney 3x3 winners with championship rings

An up-close look at the Rawle Toney 3x3 Classic championship ring

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ompliments of former West Indies and Guyana player Steven Jacobs, each member of the winning team at this weekend’s Rawle Toney 3x3 Classic at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, will receive a championship gold ring.

Three years ago, the former Guyana Amazon Warriors player launched his Jacobs Jewellery and Pawn Shop business in Georgetown, and which has since blossomed to be one of the country’s leading establishments.

Apart from crafting some of the finest pieces of jewellery, Jacobs, through his establishment, has been supporting Guyana’s top athletes and sporting events.

“This is amazing!”

Toney exclaimed in excitement at adding a first-ofits-kind incentive for basketball’s shortest format in Guyana.

“The first tournament that saw the winning team receiving rings was held al-

most two decades ago in Linden. Thanks to Steven (Jacobs), I think this will add to the legacy of my 3x3 tournament and give the players something they can have for the rest of their lives,” Toney said.

The Sports Journalist, who first held the tournament in 2019, added, “The incentives offered in the tournament is to set it apart from others, not just in Guyana but across the Caribbean. So, when folks hear about the Rawle Toney 3x3 Classic, they’ll want to come to Guyana and play.

I’m extremely grateful to Steven and his establishment for coming on board.”

Meanwhile, in giving an update on the two-day basketball extravaganza, Toney revealed that COVID-19 played a major role in affecting some of the overseas teams’ participation.

“There were several teams from overseas that were booked to arrive as early as Thursday, but so far two of them pulled,

out because some of their players tested positive for COVID-19.

Nonetheless, I’m happy that Martinique, Suriname and two teams from New York are still in and will be competing,” Toney said.

Apart from Mackeson, Guyana Lottery Company and Hennessy, FireSide Grill, Bush Cook, Stuff, MVP Sports, FK Sports, Shi Oil, Brother’s Security, The Muse Bar, Pressy’s Gift Shop and 94.1FM are some of the sponsors.

Jump ball time is 18:00h (6:00 pm) nightly. Toney stated that while admission is free, as per COVID-19 regulations by the National Task Force, a limited number of patrons would be allowed at the country’s premier indoor facility.

CLASSIFIED ADS ACCOMMODATIONS Aracari Hotel, West Bank Demerara (Versailles – between Harbor Bridge and Vreed-n-Hoop) – Air Conditioned Comfort. Amenities include TV, Restaurant, Bar, Swimming Pool, Gym. Free Parking, Free WIFI. Spend 7 nights and get 1 Free. Rates from $45 US Breakfast Included. Long term rates available. Phone: 2642946-9 www.aracariresort.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITYRESTAURANT RENTAL West Bank Demerara, (Versaillesbetween Harbor Bridge and Vreedn-Hoop): - Aracari Resort – Turn Key Business. Furnished and equipped.

Covid-19 reduced capacity is 60. Phone 264 2946; 626-5290.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

I was surprised to be picked

by RCB, says Rutherford

– playing for West Indies on his radar, but will return this year to play First-Class cricket

By Brandon Corlette

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uyana and West Indies batsman Sherfane Rutherford will rub shoulders with the likes of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) dressing room in the Indian Premier League (IPL) that is set to begin in April 2022.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Rutherford spoke about his hopes of playing for West Indies Sherfane Rutherford had a again and his eagerness to regood CPL for St Kitts and turn home and play First-Class Nevis Patriots last year cricket this year. He also reflected on his 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season, where he scored heavy runs.

The 23-year-old Rutherford was signed by RCB for US$133,000. He said he was excited to be selected, but he was also surprised. "First of all, I thank God for the opportunity. And yes, it is always good going to the IPL, one of the biggest leagues in the world, so for me it is a special feeling. I am very happy, excited to go to a new team. Looking forward to it, give my best, and hopefully my best can make a difference for the team as well.

"When the IPL auction was going on, I had cricket, we were playing against Karachi Kings, so I was not really looking at it.

But I was not expecting anything. I was surprised to be picked.

After the game against Karachi, our physio was like, ‘you know you have been picked for IPL’. I was so excited, I started smiling, so I think this is the year that it is a good opportunity for me, and as I said, I am excited for it," Rutherford said.

When asked about sharing a dressing room with great players like Kohli and du Plessis, Rutherford said he had never dreamt of that. The man from Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) said he was looking forward to learning a lot from these experienced players on and off the field.

"I never thought about being in a team with Virat Kohli to

be honest. He is someone that I admire – well, everyone do – but he is someone I pay close attention to. Even to Faf, I played against him, so for me going to the IPL, I already planned and put in my notebook that there is a lot to learn from those two guys, in batting, fielding, and in everything in terms of cricket; and even on and off the field. For me, it is going to be a big opportunity to even come back as a better player," Rutherford explained.

Furthermore, the man, who played six T20 International (T20I) matches for West Indies and last played First-Class cricket in March 2019, is eager to return in the maroon colours, but before that, he is willing to play FirstClass cricket again.

"I spoke to (Ramnaresh) Sarwan a few days ago – I am keen to come back and play First-Class cricket, so I spoke to him. I planned some time to go home and work with him. I told him I want to work on my batting, because it has been like three years I have not played First-Class cricket, so I have been considering it. Sometime this year, I will be back home to focus on First-Class cricket, get back my batting even better, so it is something I am looking forward to, so from First Class, I can play for West Indies, so I need to come back home and start from the roots again, so it is something I am looking forward to, and definitely will start from this year," he added.

Rutherford, who is currently in Pakistan playing the Pakistan Super League (PSL), said playing in this tournament was always great, and he would be using this tournament to be matchready for the upcoming IPL. Retained by Peshawar Zalmi, Rutherford lit up the PSL with an unbeaten 70 from 46 balls.

"It is going good so far, we have three more games, we played seven. I have not batted much, but the little I have, it has been good, and it is always good to be at PSL. Quality bowlers, quality in everything, so I think PSL has been good so far for me, and

I am looking forward to do my best. It is more cricket leading up to the IPL, so I am very keen to give it my best and finish the tournament well," Rutherford noted.

After recording only 39 runs in seven innings in the 2020 Hero CPL while playing for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Rutherford rebounded in the 2021 season with 262 runs at an average of 37 with three fifties under his belt. Reflecting on that dream run, Rutherford credited his St Kitts and Nevis Patriots skipper, Dwayne Bravo.

"Leading up to CPL, I was keen on doing well, so I was training two times a day. I took a personal trainer, because the year before was one of my worst years, so going into CPL last year I had a point to prove. Even from day one, our new skipper Bravo saw me, and … was like ‘listen: you want to bat anywhere up the order, you tell me’. I told him yes, and he put [me] to bat at four, and I think that is where it all started. He backed me, he said ‘listen, you are going to play all the games, just go, give it your best’, and I think that is what take me through, that gave me that freedom, that confidence, and I must compliment him for believing in me and giving me that opportunity," the left-hander revealed.

Having last played for West Indies in January 2020, Rutherford has the luxury of time on his hands, and certainly, he will return to the men in maroon, given he puts in the hard yards.

Rutherford is currently in Pakistan playing the PSL

GCB President Singh attends Forde urging Guyana to support Lady Essequibo U-15 trials Jags’ WC journey

GCB President Bissoondyal Singh and ECB President Deleep Singh are flanked by Under-15 players

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uyana Cricket Board (GCB) P r e s i d e n t Bissoondyal Singh attended Essequibo’s Under-15 trials, which were held at the Imam Bacchus Sports Ground on Sunday, February 13, 2022.

President Singh interacted with the young cricketers who were vying for a place in the Essequibo 2022 Under-15 side. He indicated that in his view at last the Essequibo county has gotten a Board and a President that are inter-

ested in the development of the sport across the entire county. He expressed satisfaction, stating that “in just over a month, the ECB is able to mobilise resources with efficiency to make this Under-15 trials possible and as such, the GCB is very proud; hence, my presence”.

The GCB President praised the youngsters for bringing their A game to the trials and charged them to take this opportunity seriously, because, they are the future. He re-

assured them that even if they did not make it to the top at the West Indies level, with discipline, they would still end up being good young people of society. He further encouraged the youths to share the skills learnt with their fellow students, since cricket would be re-introduced into the school system once again.

President Singh outlined to the youths that many career opportunities could be derived from cricket and urged the players to

be disciplined as the sport is a gentleman’s game. He also stressed the importance of youth and grassroot level cricket to bring out good cricketers to represent their county, their country, and even the West Indies. “The ECB, and by extension, the GCB, is devoting its time and is working very hard to ensure that quality cricketers are produced and most importantly, good young people,” Singh stated.

He also noted that while special emphasis is placed on the development of youth cricket, a lot is planned to ensure involvement at every level of the game so as to ensure that cricket comes back as one of the greatest sporting disciplines in Guyana. He further stated that himself and the ECB are working towards getting the Anna Regina cricket hostel functioning, so as to facilitate future encampment among the various teams.

In closing, the President stated that he was expecting the youngsters to do extremely well at the GCB inter-county tournament and wished them every success in the game ahead.

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GFF President Wayne Forde

uyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde, like many other football enthusiasts around the country, is quite elated at the prospect of the Lady Jags embarking on their World Cup 2023 journey this Wednesday.

Wednesday’s match-up against Dominica will mark the first of four home and away group matches that the Lady Jags will play, in hopes of qualifying for the CONCACAF Women’s Championships, one step closer to WC 2023.

“Let me first use the opportunity to wish our senior national team – women, the Lady Jags, who started their arrival last evening and will continue into the day, success in their opening game for the

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier,” Forde said proudly at a press briefing regarding another female tournament on Saturday last.

After being quizzed about not only the preparedness of the Lady Jags but also the GFF in hosting an international encounter on local shores, Forde replied in the assertive, noting that everything has been going well.

The GFF boss shared, “The arrangements have been going very well. As you know, it’s very difficult to organise any event in a COVID environment, but our team has been doing this and I think we’re getting better and better each day… the arrangements are going very well.”

“So, we’re expecting a very good game and of course, we’re looking forward to very positive results,” he added.

Paired with his update on the Guyanese senior women’s national team, that have now fully arrived and are in training, was a plea by Forde for Guyanese to come out and support their Lady Jags.

“I want to encourage all of Guyana to come out to the Leonora Track and Field on the 16th and give our girls that extra boost that they need to get across the line,” the GFF President urged.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022

Sport is no longer our game, it’s our business

Page 23

Jacobs Jewellery to ‘crown’ Rawle Toney 3x3 winners with championship rings Pg 22

I was surprised to be picked by RCB, says Rutherford

– playing for West Indies on his radar, but will return this year to play First-Class cricket

Jacobs Jewellery’s Dellon Caesar presents one of the four championship rings to organiser Rawle Toney

Forde urging Guyana to support Lady Jags’ WC journey See story on page 23

The Lady Jags

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