Guyana Times - Friday, December 16, 2022

Convicted rapist loses appeal against 30-year sentence

Finding that his grounds of appeal had no merit, the Court of Appeal (CoA) of Guyana on Thursday dismissed the case filed by 50-year-old Esan Germain challenging his conviction and 30-year jail sentence for engaging in sexual activity with an underage girl.

In December 2017, Germain, a father of three,

was found guilty by a jury on all three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child—when she was aged four, six, and seven.

Consequently, trial Judge Simone MorrisRamlall sentenced him to 15 and 20 years in prison, on the first and second counts, respectively. On the last count, he was jailed for 30 years.

Miner dies after crashing ATV into house

Mazaruni), met his demise on Thursday after he reportedly lost control of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) he was driving and it crashed into a house at Karrau.

Based on reports received, Timmerman was driving the ATV at a fast rate of speed when he lost control of the vehicle, and the impact of slamming into the house caused him to sustain severe head injuries.

He was picked up and rushed to the Bartica Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An investigation into the fatal accident has been launched.

All the sentences were ordered to be served concurrently, while Germain will have to do 20 years before becoming eligible for parole.

In relation to the sentences he is currently serving, the indictments stated that at some time during 2010, 2012, and 2013, he engaged in sexual activity with the girl by performing oral sex on her, and in turn, causing her to do the same to him.

He also rubbed his penis against her vagina and caused her to hold his penis.

At the appellate court, the convict, through Attorney-at-Law Tiffany Durant, had contested his convictions on the ground that the trial Judge misdirected the jury as well as made several errors in law.

He had also argued that the sentences are manifestly excessive, wrong in principle, and not in keeping with established sentencing guidelines.

In rejecting Germain’s appeal, the CoA, however, held that no errors were made by the trial Judge which would result in his convictions being rendered unsafe.

In relation to the sentences imposed on him,

acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards found that the sentences were appropriate given the circumstances of the case and the seriousness of the offence.

According to the appellate court, the features of this case are “remarkable”, because Germain held a position of trust and responsibility for the victim. In light of this, his appeal was dismissed, and his convictions and sentences were upheld.

Besides the acting Chancellor, Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud deliberated on this matter. Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Teshana Lake represented the State.

Meanwhile, in a separate matter, following a trial at the Demerara Sexual Offences Court on February 3 of this year, Germain was found guilty as charged of sexually penetrating a 15-year-old girl between January 1 and

July 24, 2014.

For this, he was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

Germain raped the young girl on three occasions between January and July 2014. On the first occasion, he committed the act in the bathroom. On the second occasion, he raped her while she lay on a bed next to a two-year-old boy. Another time, he placed the girl to lay on an unfinished cupboard and raped her.

On July 23, 2014, the girl was going to the shop when she saw her mother, and she confided in her. The mother reported the matter to the Police, and Germain was arrested.

In her Police statement, the woman said she was shocked at the allegations against Germain, as she did not expect him to do something like that.

Meanwhile, during his trial, Germain had always denied raping the child. He described the girl as an “unmannerly child”, who was in the habit of misbehaving.

He was regarded as a researcher on issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) community.

29-year-old Kennie Timmerman, a miner of Karrau Village in Region Seven (Cuyuni-

Dead: Kennie Timmerman

Esan Germain

BRIDGE

Assassination attempt on President

Ali fails after Nigerian national shot

Friday,

FERRY SCHEDULE

By Jemima Holmes

The unthinkable occurred in Georgetown, Guyana on the morning of Thursday, December 15, when a Nigerian national made a failed assassination attempt on the life of President Dr Irfaan Ali at his official residence at State House on Main Street, and in the process severely injured a Presidential Guard and disarmed another.

Police report that the incident occurred at some time around 7:30h, when 25-yearold Bethel Ikena Chinezie approached a security checkpoint at a southern guard hut

near Carmichael Street with a demand to see the Head of State. Chinezie was informed that he had to be processed before entering the compound, but he resisted being so processed. He then whipped out a knife from a pouch he was carrying and used that weapon to stab one of the guards five times about his body and to his neck.

Chinezie then relieved a female guard of her firearm, and retreated from the guard hut. Shots then rang out in that usually quiet neighbourhood, greatly alarming residents in the environs. Civilian videos of the ordeal have captured Chinezie walk-

ing backwards from the guard hut as he exchanged gunfire with the Presidential Guards and other ranks. Severely injured, the Nigerian eventually lost his footing near the avenue at the intersection of Carmichael and New Market Streets, and was promptly surrounded, intercepted, and disarmed by ranks. Police ranks retrieved a 9mm pistol and seven 9mm spent shells. No other injury has been reported, but nearby business entities have sustained visible damage (bullet holes).

The injured guard has since been identified as Teon Perreira. Both he and Chinezie were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) for immediate medical attention. Perreira was rushed into surgery, and President Dr. Irfaan Ali showed up to check on his condition, even venturing into the Main Operating Theatre at the GPHC to check on the care that Perreira was receiv-

ing.

After speaking extensively with doctors at the hospital, President Ali also spoke with the relatives of Perreira, who had also rushed down to the hospital upon receiving news of what had occurred.

At press time, Perreira’s condition was regarded as stable.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum has told this publication that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is currently in the process of engaging Interpol to ascertain whether the Nigerian Chinezie has a criminal record. Meanwhile, information about this individual has revealed that Chinezie is a 25-year-old Nigerian who is employed with a cleaning service company. He arrived in Guyana on March 13, 2020, and was previously employed with a security company. From all indications, this suspect has been extensive trained.

– security detail at State House stabbed during attack – GPF engages Interpol on criminal record of suspect – attack widely condemned

President Dr Irfaan Ali meeting with doctors and the relatives of injured Presidential Guard Teon Perreira at the GPHC

The alleged attacker, Bethel Ikena Chinezie

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No place in Guyana’s democracy

The nation was stunned with the shocking news early Thursday morning that a Nigerian man had stabbed a Presidential Guard as he infiltrated the compound of State House in the process of endangering the lives of President Dr Irfaan Ali and his wife and child.

This horrific act has left a security personnel nursing five stab wounds, but we must commend security officer Telon Perriera for his brave act of fighting off the intruder. The security ranks stationed at State House must also be commended for their rapid response, which resulted in the situation being de-escalated quickly, resulting in no further injuries.

Nonetheless, there needs to be an investigation to determine how it is that this intruder, who was eventually shot three times by security personnel, had managed to breach the compound and, more importantly, to get the gun of another security personnel. This is a serious breach, and requires a full probe, as, from all reports, this was evidently an assassination attempt on the Head of State.

The fact that 25-year-old Bethel Ikena Chinezie, who entered Guyana on March 13, 2020, can singlehandedly carry out such an act is cause for concern about the level of security at State House. He obviously had security training, as has already been confirmed, given the fact that he was working with a local security firm. At this point in the investigation, the Guyana Police Force has already engaged Interpol to ascertain if Chinezie has a criminal record. This shows that the investigation is moving at a fast pace.

In June 2021, when Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, President Ali had said that political assassination has no place in the contemporary Caribbean, as it solves nothing. To quote the President, “…political assassination has no place in the contemporary Caribbean. It solves nothing, nor resolves anything. Such murderous actions are repugnant to the values of the regional integration movement and incompatible with democratic values and constitutional rule.”

Likewise, we repeat the same with the hope that the Guyana Police Force can swiftly bring not only Chinezie to justice, but anyone else who may be behind this heinous act which threatened the life of Guyana’s Head of State and his family. There is no doubt this act has caused trauma to the President and his family, and all Guyanese should be united at this time, and not allow those with ill intent to cause the nation to be divided.

Already, these is widespread condemnation of the act, with the CIOG saying, “Violent discourse can lead to extreme polarization, we call on all Guyanese to remain united, be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, reject the sowing of division and all forms of hate speech.”

In 2017, former President David Granger had launched a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into an alleged assassination plot against him. It was alleged that on March 29, 2017 someone by the name of Andriff Gillard reported to the Police that his friend and neighbour had offered him $7 million to assassinate the then President. He claimed the offer was made during a conversation between him and his neighbour, after he had approached him to borrow $6 million to purchase a property. The controversial end to that CoI need not be repeated, but, needless to say, a proper and thorough probe is expected into the events of December 15, 2022.

This publication astutely supports the viewpoint that any act that destabilises the peace and democracy of Guyana must be condemned.

PPP/C’s unrelenting agri drive inspires hope

Dear Editor,

The $37M agro-processing facility recently commissioned at Fort Wellington, WCB is a great omen indeed. The details show that “The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government of Guyana, in an effort to further commercialise value-added production through agro-processing, has been working to establish agro-processing facilities across the country.”

This is just the beginning, I surmise, and it is testimony to the unfolding of one of the better-thoughtout plans of President Dr Irfaan Ali and his team of leaders. For example, back in July of this year, President Ali did tout that “Guyana’s economy will not depend solely on oil and gas”; and he is bent on this kind of thinking. He did explain, and many times too, that “while Guyana is rapidly evolving as an oil-and-gas market, the nation’s economy will not depend solely on the treasured natural resource for countrywide development. The point, according to him, is that “… the funds from oil will be used to unlock the potential of several areas, which existed for a long time but were stagnant due to lack of resources. So, this agro-processing unit is a perfect example and manifestation of

the trajectory of the country.

Let me remind readers that “Guyana has all the natural assets to be a leading food producer in the region. But food production today must be backed by appropriate technology and investment in infrastructure that will ensure the agriculture sector is sustainable and resilient to climate change and the effects of climate change”. That is how President Ali is envisaging Guyana’s future.

Editor, the hope is high indeed, as this huge investment will see approximately 700 persons -- including farmers, agro-processors, women, youth, and other stakeholders from Regions Five and Six -- benefitting from improved services geared at increasing the value and extending the shelf life of their products.

This is a new era, and Guyana must keep on embracing it. The country cannot afford wastage, and this facility will be a big boost in harnessing so many products that normally end up in the dumps. In this regard, I take note that it is aptly “…outfitted with the necessary equipment to process and package approximately 4,320 litres of green seasoning (all types) and 3600 litres of pepper sauce monthly, and is designed to offer

24-hour service as well as a mechanisation process to reduce operational costs.”

Like Minister Mustapha, I challenge the country’s farmers to make full use of the facility, and to ensure that the agriculture sector is well-developed to its maximum agro-processing capabilities.

And I remind, yet again, all Guyana that “These initiatives are not new for this Government, because when you look at the plans for the agriculture sector, the plans that were detailed in the PPP/C’s manifesto, it stated that Guyana has to move the sector from a primary productive sector to one with value-added capabilities.”

As a passing note, I add that this kind of progress and upgrade means that we can all, as Guyanese, grow in confidence regarding the leadership of the nation.

On the bigger stage, and as Minister Mustapha put it, Caricom can now begin to be more optimistic in terms of reducing its food import bill, as more locally-made products are being exported to countries in the Region. Succinct and profound indeed are the words of the Minister when he stated, “When you look around the Caribbean, our produce (is) in demand. We are working to remove all the non-tariff barriers that were prevent-

ing our products from entering those markets. We are now seeing more products being exported to Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and other countries in the Eastern Caribbean.”

In closing, I will just make a few general comments and, hopefully, these will reinforce my message that Guyana is really heading in the right direction.

For one, agro-industries have the potential to provide employment for the rural population, not only in farming, but also in off-farm activities such as handling, packaging, processing, transporting and marketing of food and agricultural products. This facility will encompass all of those, and it will run 24/7.

Secondly, all must bear in mind that agro-processing increases food security by promoting reduction of food spoilage and wastage (as I aforesaid), and agro-processed foods encounter higher price stability on the global market and are therefore likely to have increased market opportunities for export, contributing to income security, particularly in rural areas.

So, I say, “On with the modernised agri drive” in Guyana.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand visited Vriesland on the West Bank of Demerara on Thursday, where she joined children and their parents in singing Christmas Carols, and distributed gifts to the children

A magnificent feat to transform education in Guyana

Dear Editor,

I commend Dr Satish Prakash for founding the gurukula (in Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara). It is the first ‘formal’ gurukula in Guyana, and Dr Satish and his management team are lauded for this initiative.

This magnificent feat is an outcome of the dedicated efforts of Dr Satish and the gurukula fraternity to transform, or at a minimum help to improve, the educational environment in Guyana and for the Guyanese Diaspora.

A gurukula is a traditional system of education in which the teacher and students engage each other continuously at a particular residential location. The students interact around the clock with the gurus (teachers). The purpose of a gurukula is for teachers and students to share a friendly relationship and respect. It is a rigid, structured system in which students are assigned specific tasks and studies, and are ‘corrected’ and evaluated in their progress and development.

The gurukul system was started and formalised in India over five thousand years ago, and was used by

Rishis, Swamis, Satgurus and Gurus to train students in various disciplines. It is a formal residential schooling system, and is perhaps the only one in which students and teachers have continuous access to each other.

Students are taught how to respect nature, and engage in a sustainable lifestyle. They live cultured and disciplined lives, and degrees are granted, from Bachelors to Masters to Doctorates.

Dr Satish is himself a product of such a system of training and education in India. After obtaining his undergraduate degree at UG, he received a scholarship to further his education in India, where he spent several years studying languages, Hinduism, and Vedic studies.

He is a Sanskrit (mother of many languages in India and Europe) scholar, and a linguist and specialist in Hinduism. He is very fluent in several languages, not the least being Hindi and Spanish. He also understands several Indian dialects, including Bhojpuri (spoken by indentured ancestors) and Brij.

Held in high esteem, Dr Satish is revered globally.

He gave lectures in several Indian diaspora countries (including Fiji, Holland, UK, and Mauritius), and presided over Hindu services all over the USA and Canada among Guyanese, Trinis, Fijians, Mauritians, and nationals from India. He taught for over 25 years in New York, before retiring to spend his full time teaching students in Guyana. The Guyana Gurukul is entirely his project, and the fruits of his hard work in raising funds and spending millions of dollars of his personal money have finally materialised. He also received financial and material support from generous donors, and has expressed his gratitude to all who contributed to the project.

Dr Satish aims to transplant, at the Gurukul, his method of learning for his post-graduate studies. Students will be very focused. Here, learning will be imparted to students in a natural environment in which they would live with each other with brotherhood, humanity, and discipline. Such training and learning would also help students in personality development, and increase their confidence and mind-

fulness to face challenges and reduce stress.

They would develop into strong persons who could address the society’s challenges.

The Guyana Gurukul will host students from all over the globe. Instructions would be imparted in-person and virtually. Subjects and disciplines for studies are being finalised. Let me say how delighted, proud and elated I am to see this beautiful building sitting next to the Atlantic Ocean. I visited countless times when it was being built to cheer Bhai Dave and others and Dr Satish himself, apprising them of progress in the construction.

Great work Dr Satish, Bhai Dave, and gang. You have made the community, Arya Samajists, Hindus and all Guyanese proud of this magnificent structure. It stands as a testament to Dr Satish’s passion for spirituality and continuous efforts, and hard work to actually build and implement what he talked about. My heartiest congratulations and best wishes to him and his management team in their mission.

Yours truly, Dr Vishnu Bisram

Political racism is different from structural racism

Dear Editor, Most analysts writing on Guyana rely on “racism” as the primary factor in understanding and explaining our politics and society. In doing so, they erect a Manichean Maginot line by which they equate the PNC/APNU with AfroGuyanese and the PPP/C with Indo-Guyanese. Just as easily, they forget people of Indigenous origin and persons of Mixed ancestry. Next, they attach socio-economic wellbeing and political identities according to these fixed schemata.

The problem here is that political behaviour in Guyana has little to do with “racism” per se, and a lot more to do with the politicisation of racism, a process I choose to call “political racism”. The developments around City Hall and its Mayor, Ubraj Narine, offer the opportunity to illustrate the argument that racism is different from political racism. The former is structural, whereas the latter is tactical.

Structural racism is founded on supremacist ideology that is deeply in-

stitutionalised and backed up by policies that are intended to subjugate a group or groups of people based on assumptions of inferiority. Tactical racism is more fleeting, based as it were on techniques of political mobilisation.

I am suggesting here that Mayor Narine’s recent behaviour is one of political racism, because it relies on theatrical performances to mobilise and excite supporters, who otherwise would focus on the Mayor’s pathetic record for the job he was elected to do. The real, substantive issue at hand is that Ubraj Narine is a catastrophic failure in political leadership, if measured by the tools available for management assessment.

Ubraj Narine’s attack on President Ali and his administration in the language of Western-centric Islamophobia is intended to shift the ground of public discourse from the stench under Mayor Narine’s responsibility to the always available resource known as anti-Muslim bigotry. The setting of developments brings further evi-

dence to the claims of political racism made here.

Ubraj Narine is an Indian and a pandit. These are the same categories (Indians, and in particular Hindus – pace Keane Gibson) that are accused of practising structural racism against Mr. Narine’s political supporters. How ironic it is that an Indian Pandit is telling a mostly AfroGuyanese group of cheering supporters that the PPP lacks dharmic principles of governance.

Ubraj Narine, the Indian pandit, was received with unfathomable excitement by his mostly Afro-Guyanese supporters, the very people who are the sufferers of the Mayor’s near dereliction of duty in Georgetown. In my view, these supporters ‘gave themselves’ to Narine, the Indian pandit, because they are from the same political party, or have the same political aspirations. Put differently, Narine is a ‘good Indian’ because of his politics, and Edghill is a bad African because he belongs to another political party.

I submit to you that unless an analytical dis-

tinction is made between structural racism and tactical political racism, you will not be able to understand what, on the surface, appears to be contradictions. Behind every bullet are words, narratives, political discourses. No one can draw a straight line between the politically inflammatory rhetoric of Ubraj Narine, with the Leader of the Opposition at his side, and the violent breach of State House. Yet, given the temporal proximity between Narine’s Islamophobic political racism and the attack on the President’s residence, one must at a minimum pose the question of responsibility.

The PPP as a political party has always taken the position that our central differences are not racial in nature, but political. The incidents surrounding the removal of encumbrances around the GHP, and the response by Ubraj Narine and top PNC officials bring great credibility to that argument.

Sincerely, Dr Randolph Persaud

Racism will not stick in the minds of rightthinking Guyanese

Dear Editor, As a concerned Guyanese, I wish to condemn in the strongest possible terms the crass, illegal and wicked behaviour of the combined political Opposition, the APNU+AFC and their agents, for trying to incite and excite racial disharmony, racial division, racial hate, and ethnic hostility among Guyanese.

All Guyanese should join me as I call on the Ethnic Relations Commission, the Guyana Private Sector Commission, the various workers’ unions, Civil Society, and international organizations and NGOs in condemning the Opposition’s posturings and warnings of looming political violence.

The Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, is infamous for leading, and then running away at the first sign of danger or resistance. He is known for his cowardice and race-baiting.

Guyanese should throw Norton’s “alternative facts” on racial harmony and divisiveness in the gutter, where

it belongs. It is a shame and a disgrace that Norton cannot keep to the facts and truth about events that took place and are taking place in Mocha, Mon Repos, Georgetown, and other villages across this country.

Norton’s statements are untrue, vacuous, and without merit.

The President’s “One Guyana” Initiative is having the desired effect, and is making inroads in the way Guyanese see their development. They are witnessing the love, togetherness and unity that President Irfaan Ali preaches every day, so no amount of political bullyism and treachery would succeed in causing public and ethnic disharmony.

NO one will be concerned about the Opposition's twisting the truth about what the Mayor said and did. No allegation of racism and discrimination will stick in the minds of right-thinking Guyanese.

Sincerely, Arnold Sanasie

Opposition using all tactics to delay hosting of LGE – AG Nandlall …says

GECOM is obliged by law to proceed with elections

tially slated for December 12, 2022. However, last week, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) decided to postpone Nomination Day activities in order to conduct an Exercise to correct the Registers of Voters.

This was in response to a legal challenge the Opposition filed in the High Court.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, says that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition’s recent claim that the Local Government Minister has no power to set boundary demarcations is reflective of yet another attempt by the coalition to delay the holding of the long-overdue Local Government Elections (LGE).

Local Government polls are constitutionally due every two years, and were last held in 2018.

In October, a date of March 13, 2023 was set for the holding of the LGE with Nomination Day ini-

According to Nandlall, now that the Governmentnominated Commissioners at GECOM agreed to do what they want and will conduct a new Claims and Objections exercise, the Opposition has found another issue to pick at as part of its delaying tactics.

“Today, when they realise that [the legal challenge] now would be rendered moot, or be evaporated, they now come with a new issue now and that is a question of Ministers don't have the power to demarcate boundaries. This is another attempt at stalling. They don't want the Local Government Elections. So, they will come with all kinds of shenanigans – all types of and all manner of foolish arguments to detain and delay the Guyana Elections Commission. I am calling the Guyana Elections Commission to proceed to hold Local Government Elections that are lawfully due under the laws of Guyana,” the AG

stated during his weekly programme, Issues of the News.

The Attorney General pointed out that GECOM has a duty to hold elections in accordance with the time stipulated by law unless Parliament extended that time, which it has not done.

“GECOM, therefore, is obliged by law to proceed as quickly as possible to hold these Local Government Elections,” Nandlall insisted.

However, GECOM, during a statutory meeting, had decided that the Local Government Minister could not change constituency boundaries.

Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud has formally proposed to the GECOM Chairman that 14 days be set

aside for corrections to the voter’s lists with the hope of convincing APNU/AFC supporters to participate in the elections for 70 neighbourhood councils and 10 towns.

Nevertheless, Nandlall noted that the APNU/AFC, which is imploding, was mortally fearful of these polls.

“The PNC [the People’s National Congress, the main partner in APNU] is in utter shambles. And the coalition is now disengaging,” he said.

Nandlall outlined that the AFC was no longer a political force but has been reduced to a mere grouping of individuals who are Members of Parliament.

“So, there is no coalition anymore after December [since the AFC has decided to part ways with the APNU]. It's a disorganised PNC and another grouping called the AFC, which has a total of about 20 persons, and they are not organised. They are unable to mobilise. I suspect that they have no money whatsoever,” he posited.

Moreover, the AG noted that even their supporters have also begun to realise that the coalition was a “visionless, incompetent grouping” who could not even represent them in the Parliament or anywhere else.

“This incompetence is be-

coming self-evident. So, they can't inspire anybody anymore. They don't have any mass ability to pull or any ability to pull any crowd anywhere. So, in that state of decay, they don't want to go to Local Government Elections because if they go to Local Government Elections, they know that they would be properly thrashed, and completely whipped and they know that. And that will do greater damage to them for the national elections, because it will send a clear and present signal to their supporters and the international community that these degenerate groups are degenerating even further,” he stated.

Meanwhile, on the issue of the demarcation of the bound-

aries, AG Nandlall contends that the provision for this is outlined in the law books. He maintains that the power to divide Guyana is a power that lies with the Minister of Local Government, while GECOM has the power to adjust the electoral divisions to suit the physical demarcation made by the Minister for electoral purposes.

“The division of Guyana into any demarcation whether you want to call it a region, a village council, a local authority area, a municipality, or a constituency – that power of division is that of the Minister for the purpose of an election. Now, the power to do election things lies with the Election Commission. The country has electoral divisions, obviously, the power to adjust those electoral divisions to bring them into the physical demarcation of the Minister is that of GECOM. They want GECOM to divide the country in the constituency. They want GECOM to form constituencies. The Minister carves out a place and said this shall be the constituency, GECOM now has to adjust the Election Division to form that into a constituency. That simple principle they cannot understand,” the Attorney General argued.

Govt, UN recommit to achieving 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

The Government of Guyana (GoG) and the United Nations (UN) System hosted a Joint National Steering Committee (JNSC) meeting on Wednesday as part of an ongoing collaboration to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Guyana.

The JNSC is the highest decision-making forum in Guyana that provides policy guidance on matters pertaining to the UN-GoG Country Implementation

Plan (CIP) and its alignment with national development priorities as well as regional and international development agendas.

More importantly, the CIP operationalises the UN Caribbean MultiCountry Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, which was signed on December 10, 2021, in Georgetown.

During the meeting, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh acknowledged the

work of the UN Country Team in collaboration with the Government. He also highlighted material support and technical advisory services as the most beneficial types of assistance provided to Guyana over the years. In summing up the Government and the UN’s longstanding collaboration, Dr Singh reaffirmed Guyana’s continued commitment to working with the international body toward the achievement of the 2030

Sustainable Development Goals.

Delivering remarks at the forum, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira highlighted the critical assistance provided by UN agencies to Guyana in some of the most-needed times including during public health challenges,

in the fight against domestic violence, and other related areas. She called on the UN to continue to provide this assistance and further affirmed that the UN mandate should be aligned with countries’ priorities.

On the other hand, UN Resident Coordinator Ye?im Oruç stated that

the UN system was proud of its cooperation and work with the Government and people of Guyana in all dimensions of Guyana’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and ‘leaving no one behind’.

“Today, we took stock of our work in 2022. We anticipate great progress towards global targets in 2023. We discussed where and how the technical expertise and multilateral reach of the UN has most to offer towards this progress here in Guyana, regionally and globally.”

Also participating in person and virtually were Heads and Representatives of UN agencies, funds, and programmes.

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh and United Nations Resident Coordinator Yeşim Oruç

Members of the Steering Committee at the meeting on Wednesday

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton

AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan

City Mayor, Duncan slapped with inciting racial hostility charge – released on $200,000 bail each

two, who had each been initially released on $100,000 station bail. The charges stem from certain remarks the Mayor had made while protesting the removal of vendors from the positions they occupied in front of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) at New Market Street in Georgetown on Monday evening.

Narine, who is a pandit, was rebuked for his statement by the Guyana Pandits Council and its affiliates, which vehemently condemned the utterances he made.

The consequences… …of incitement

Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine and suspended APNU+AFC Member of Parliament (MP) Sherod Duncan have each been placed on $200,000 bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for allegedly attempting to excite racial hostility.

Charged by the Police on Wednesday, December 14, the pair appeared in the Georgetown court of the Chief Magistrate on Thursday to formally answer joint charges, the

on each of the charges, after pleading not guilty. Their case will continue on January 20, 2023.

Duncan and Narine face two additional counts of obstructing the free flow of traffic. They appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse in the traffic court and again denied these charges, and were placed on self-bail.

They were represented by a battery of Oppositionaligned lawyers, including Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, Darren Wade and Amanza Walton-Desir.

Backed by the vendors, Mayor Narine lay on the roadway to prevent trucks from carrying away the vendors’ food caravans and stalls. Mayor Narine descended into making a series of serious accusations against President Dr Irfaan Ali, including that the Head of State is creating an Islamic State in Guyana. Duncan had also conducted himself in a similar manner.

Narine had gone to the area after the Public Works Ministry had initiated action to remove vendors occupying spaces along New Market Street, between Thomas and East Streets, as of Monday, following notices that they were impeding the flow of traffic in the vicinity.

Remarks uttered by

“We believe strongly that his words were inappropriate and highly disrespectful to the President of Guyana His Excellency Dr Irfaan Ali, and the Muslim community. Guyana is a country in which all religions are treated equally and allowed to practice their ideals and principles freely. Let us spread love, tolerance, and unity, instead of hate and divisiveness,” the Guyana Pandits Council has said in a statement.

Duncan was charged in January for allegedly committing a cybercrime, and was released on $200,000 bail when he appeared at the Diamond/ Golden Grove Magistrates’ Courts. It is alleged that on January 11, without legal or lawful justification or excuse, Duncan used a computer system to publish electronic data about Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) IT Manager Aneal Giddings, 36, with intent to humiliate, embarrass, and cause him emotional distress.

Duncan was arrested by ranks of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters after Giddings reported that he referred to him as “jagabat” and “trench crappo” among other disrespectful and derogatory names during his Facebook show, “In the Ring”.

It had to happen sooner rather than later. Yo u can’t have political demagogues foaming at the mouth 24/7 about the President being the Devil incarnatedoing imaginably evil things to you and yours - and not have folks who believe they gotta “take out the Devil”. So here we have it: some fella showed up at State House and demanded to see the President immediately. But when the Presidential Guard/Police on duty demurred, the fella, who’s evidently a Nigerian, whipped out a knife and stabbed the Guard five times!! Including in the neck, meaning: this chap meant business!!

And he didn’t stop there. He wrested away the gun of a nearby Policewoman and, as he fled, opened fire at the ranks. They returned fire and wounded the wouldbe-assassin. The President - in his inimitable and now trademark style - visited the hospital and comforted the family of the wounded guard, while personally thanking the medical staff. Now, while this is commendable, your Eyewitness hopes that this attack has brought home to the President and those in charge of his security that they have to ratchet up his protection by several levels.

There’s been a tsunami of hate generated by the Opposition’s incessant personalised propaganda communicated to their support base, most recently facilitated by social media. First it was against Jagdeo, but recently it’s been turned on Pres Ali. Especially after he started foraying into areas that the PNC’s declared to be off-limits to him and his Ministers!! It’s getting to be reminiscent of the days when those four “escaped” bandits holed up in Buxton and dared even the Police Force – much less the President – to enter!

The wounded cop and attacker were both rushed to GPHC, where they were stabilised. So, now the postmortem (of the assassination attempt) will begin. The APNU/AFC quickly condemned the attempted violent attack on the President. But what else do you expect them to do?? It’s up to the citizens of Guyana to pick sense from nonsense and tell them, “Methinks thou doth protest too much”!! The PNC didn’t just erupt like a jumbie umbrella; they’ve been around the block several times – and then some - since they were launched in 1958 by Burnham.

They can play their supporters like a fiddle after precipitating Black Friday 1962 - when the business district was torched and Jagan was manhandled. Since then, every decade or so, they’ve unleashed the anger they pent up with their demonising of the PPP as the root of all their miseries. Wasn’t there an invasion of the Presidential Compound as a side-thing to one of the PNC protests in 2002??

Let us wait for the investigation – but the context was already set by the PNC and their hate-filled rants!

first of which alleges that on December 12, at New Market Street Georgetown, they intentionally transmitted a video attempting to excite racial division.

The second joint charge alleges that on the same day and at the same location, they attempted to incite racial hostility to the public on the ground of their race.

They have each been placed on $100,000 bail

Opposition members and scores of their supporters who had gathered outside the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts yesterday in protest at these men being charged have dubbed the charges as politically motivated.

Following advice from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Police Force has instituted charges against the

Georgetown Mayor Narine, accusing the President of creating an Islamic State, were on Tuesday vehemently condemned by Government, the Private Sector, and Civil Society, among others. His comments were met with immediate backlash and calls for his immediate resignation on the ground that he was unfit to hold such office.

(The term jagabat has several meanings in the Caribbean. In Trinidad it means a promiscuous woman, and in Guyana it means a despicable or contemptible person; while crappo is the local spelling for the French “crapaud”, meaning toad; trench crappos are particularly large and unsightly).

Giddings complained that the statements have caused him significant emotional stress and humiliation. Police, in their probe, downloaded the video of the show from a Facebook page under the name “Sherod Avery Duncan” and a statement was taken from Giddings.

…of proving loyalty

The assassination attempt came amidst a concocted protest by PNC Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, on behalf of food vendors with huge stalls in front of GPHC. These were obvious impediments to ambulances and other vehicles rushing patients to the institution!! But one can’t really blame the poor fella. Local government and municipal elections are coming up, and he’ll be doing whatever it takes to get on the ticket again. But your Eyewitness really thinks he exposed his desperation when he threw himself BEHIND a vehicle. If he was serious, shouldn’t he have dived IN FRONT of the vehicle??

Then there’s his accusation that President Ali’s creating a Muslim State in Guyana. Your Eyewitness is a tad confused, since, for over a year, the PNC and their myrmidons have been insisting the PPP “cabal” is creating an “emerging apartheid state”!! So, will this be a Muslim Apartheid State?? Islam may treat persons of other religious persuasions differently, but “apartheid”??

There’s a need for some conceptual clarity here!!

…of foresight

Your Eyewitness can’t believe that the PNC’s still kvetching about the PPP deciding to have the Marriott built in 2013. Where would have all the investors in our oil economy put up otherwise??

At Gaumont??

Mayor Pandit Ubraj Narine (left) and APNU/AFC MP Sherod Duncan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday

City Mayor Ubraj Narine and Opposition MP Sherod Duncan with their lawyer Roysdale Forde

US, Canada signal interest in Amaila Falls Hydro Project – Pres Ali

Guyana is currently in bilateral talks with its North American neighbours – the United States and Canada – on the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP).

This was revealed by President Dr Irfaan Ali on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday, during which the Head of State told reporters that the Government has received a lot of interest and proposals from different bilateral partners.

“When I was in the US, I had a meeting with the Energy Secretary [Jennifer Granholm] and her entire staff, and I mentioned this project and the importance of the project, and opening it up to the US and investors – just as it is opened up to for any other investor.

The Canadians have [also] expressed some interest,” President Ali has indicated.

According to President Ali, his administration is currently in the process of conducting assessments in order to ascertain the best possible way forward.

“We are doing assessments now… There's a lot of bilateral talks that are going on, and then we have to make a structured decision on how we go forward,” the Guyanese Leader stated.

Back in October, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Mark Berman, had disclosed that the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) has held discussions with the Guyana Government on the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.

Canada is well known for its hydropower infrastructure. In fact, the clean and renewable energy supplied by hydropower accounts for over 60 per cent of all the electricity generated in Canada, and Berman has said this is an area in which Canada could provide assistance to Guyana.

“The most obvious projects are the large infrastructure projects, of which there are many in Guyana. And

that’s one of the things the oil and gas sector will allow the Government to strengthen: the infrastructure in the country - bridges, roads, hospitals and energy infrastructure. So, we’ve had discussions about potentially, for instance the Amaila (Falls) Hydropower project, which Canada has significant experience. Canadian companies may be interested in some bridge projects,” Berman had said.

The revival of the 165-megawatt AFHP was one of the promises made by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic in its manifesto. The project was initiated under the previous PPP/C Administration, but was scrapped by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition regime.

AFHP is expected to deliver a steady source of clean, renewable energy, which is affordable and reliable, and is envisioned to meet approximately 90 per cent of Guyana’s domestic energy needs while removing dependency on fossil fuels.

It is expected that the AFHP would be based on a Build-Own-OperateTransfer (BOOT) model,

wherein the company would supply electricity to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc at a cost not exceeding US$0.07737 per kWh, and wherein the company would provide the entire equity required by the project and undertake all the risks associated with the project.

Construction on the hydropower project was supposed to start this year, with an expected completion date being in 2027.

The AFHP was awarded to China Railway First Group in November 2021, but the contract negotiations were stalled and the company indicated to Government its inability to execute the project in keeping with the BOOT model – an arrangement that Government insists on keeping.

In fact, back in May, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had revealed that the AFHP is at risk of being delayed and possibly retendered, as CRFG – the firm that had won the contract – has difficulties in meeting the contract obliga-

tions and wants the financing model changed. CRFG wanted to enter into an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with the Government, but this was not facilitated.

Meanwhile, President Ali has already made it abundantly clear that Guyana will not give up on the flagship AFHP.

“Let me be very clear: we are not going to abandon this project… If we have to go out again and again, we are going to, because we know the studies and everything - including the independent review by Norway - has pointed to this project as being good for Guyana, being good for the environ-

ment, and bringing greater prosperity… So, this project will get underway,” the President affirmed.

In fact, during his visit to the US in July of this year, the Head of State had held a number of engagements with top US officials on the two countries’ cooperation on climate change issues, including protection of the environment and sustainable development. To this, a $2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Guyana and the US EXIM (Export/ Import) Bank that would allow for funding for a range of projects, including those in the renewable energy sector.

...says “a lot of bilateral talks” underway

President Dr Irfaan Ali

Amaila Falls Hydro Project

Berbice man who beat pensioner arrested after assaulting parents

Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Albion Magistrate’s Court to answer a charge of assaulting and threatening 72-yearold Deoratte Nekram and 43-year-old Vernon Cozier.

The matter was dismissed after the victims accepted $30,000 in compensation from the 38-year-old Drepaul, but after his case had been dismissed, Drepaul returned to his home village of Rotterdam and allegedly assaulted his mother Joan Sookoo and stepfather Ganesh Sookoo.

Nigerian National shot after failed assassination...

Condemnation

Several entities and organisations have condemned this blatant attack on the President’s residence on Thursday morning. The Private Sector Commission (PSC), in praising the response of the armed forces, said, “The Private Sector Commission of Guyana (PSC) condemns, in the highest regard, the attack that occurred at the official residence of the President of Guyana –State House. During the attack, injury was inflicted on a Presidential Guard on duty at the time of the incident.

Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

Aman who was arrested after he had assaulted a 72-year-old woman and her 43-yearold reputed husband is now back in Police custody after he had reportedly physically abused his parents.

Parmanand Drepaul, called Vishal, of Rotterdam Village, East Bank Berbice, had appeared on Tuesday, December 13, before

He again was arrested by ranks of the Sisters Village Police Station, EBB, and while being transported to the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam, Drepaul who was in handcuffs, attacked a Police Constable and managed to escape, but was subsequently recaptured.

Police Commander Shivpersaud Bacchus has said that Constable has had to seek medical attention.

“The PSC congratulates the President’s Security Forces for a highly effective and controlled response, which saw the apprehension of the suspect. The effective and well-coordinated response of the armed forces also saw the situation being de-escalated quite quickly, and no further injuries resulting.”

The GPF also came in for praise from the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), who said it was horrified at the attack.

“The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), like many Guyanese, was horrified to learn of the attack on the official residence of His Excellency President

“The FITUG was gladdened to learn that the President and his family were safe, and we are wishing a full and speedy recovery to the officer who was injured during the melee.

We also must recognize the bravery and heroism of the security detail which sprang into action to ensure that the situation was quickly brought under control. It is a testimony to the training and skills of our men and women in uniform.

“The FITUG, like many Guyanese, wonders what could be the motivations for the attack. We do trust it is an isolated incident, and not connected to any larger plot. At this time, we join with all Guyanese in praying for peace and tranquility for all citizens.”

Also joining the condemnation of the brazen attack was the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG), which stated, “The relative peace and calm of this nation was traumatically disturbed by

an attempt to breach the security at State House, the official residence of His Excellency the President of Guyana, and which resulted in the stabbing and the serious wounding of one of the President’s security details and the perpetrator being shot during a struggle.

“Violent discourse can lead to extreme polarization. We call on all Guyanese to remain united, be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, reject the sowing of division and all forms of hate speech.

“CIOG and MYO strongly repudiate any action that seeks to destabilize the peace of our country. This has no place in politics in any democracy or in our society.

“We pray for the speedy recovery of the security officer who was injured in this incident, for peace, and for the safety and security of His Excellency and the Guyanese people.”

The Indian High Commission has similarly said it was dismayed by the incident.

“The High Commission of India condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the attack which occurred at the State House today morning, during which a Presidential Security Officer was severely injured severally.

“The High Commission welcomes the news that the First Family of Guyana is safe. We also take this opportunity to commend the Presidential Security Forces for the effective response and the rapid de-escalation of the situation. We also commend the injured Presidential Security Officer for his act of courage, and wish him a speedy and full recovery.”

Meanwhile, the APNU+AFC has issued a statement condemning the security breach at State House. The Opposition noted that it awaits more details on the incident, and it condemns the resort to violence under any circumstance. Moreover, the Opposition said it welcomes the news that the President and his family are safe.

Arrested: Parmanand Drepaul, called Vishal

The area at New Market and Carmichael Street where the shooting occurred has been cordoned off

GPL, NAACIE agree on 7% salary increase for workers

– agreement includes other incentives

Following an arduous and extensive negotiation process, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial, and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) on Thursday signed a collective labour agreement that would see over 70 per cent of GPL employees benefiting from a seven per cent salary increase.

ties have managed to arrive at an amicable agreement in the interest of consolidation.

“I think the negotiation leading up to where we are today was one that embraces professional maturity and mutual respect,” he said.

Moreover, he stressed that despite the financial difficulties GPL has been facing, the company managed to take into consideration the needs of its

The simple signing ceremony was guided by Chief Labour Officer Dhaneshwar Deonarine and the management of both organisations at the Labour Ministry’s boardroom.

NAACIE General Secretary Dawchan Nagar said in addition to the increase in actual salaries, the agreement afforded several other incentives to further motivate employees, including improvements in allowances.

Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Renford Homer noted that the negotiation process was not without its challenges.

However, he said both par-

employees.

“The Board of Directors and management of GPL, notwithstanding that challenge, recognises the need to take into consideration the desires and expectations, to some extent, of employees, and tried its best to make an offer. It is one that was considered affordable and palatable,” Homer pointed out.

He also indicated that another cycle of negotiations would commence soon.

GPL Human Resources Divisional Director Bal Persaud, NAACIE General President Whitney Graham, and representatives from both entities were also in attendance at the signing.

NAACIE General President Whitney Graham handing over a signed agreement to acting GPL Chief Executive Officer Renford Homer

The simple signing ceremony was held in the Labour Ministry’s boardroom

Assessment team visits Region 7 amid severe flooding

As several villages in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) remain inundated, an assessment team including Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall; Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal and Head of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Colonel (Retired) Nazrul Hussain visited Jawalla Village on Wednesday.

The team, along with other Ministry and CDC representatives, travelled to the region to assess the impact of the severe flooding affecting the riverine communities following recent heavy rainfall which caused rivers to overflow.

Addressing Jawalla residents, Dharamlall

explained that the Government was aware of the severity of the flooding situation in the upper and lower Mazaruni.

“So, today… our plan is to visit as many communities as possible so that we can have an understanding of the current situation and how you’re affected, and then we will report those to the President. And then, as best as possible, we will be able to relate to him some

of your needs,” the Minister expressed.

He acknowledged the impact of the flooding not only on the households, but on the communities’ economies as it pertained to hindered farming and mining.

Meanwhile, Minister Croal reminded residents that the weather patterns continued to change according to environmental factors.

“There is one thing we

have to be reminded of, and that is to accept that climatic conditions are changing, and some of the predictability is not there. We also are now more prone to water rising to a higher level simply because of increased rainfall.

“That is nature, and that is part of climatic change. And so, we have to accept that. And in doing that, we now have to re-look and re-evaluate for ourselves, especially along the riverbanks of where we live, and monitor the depth of where the water is reaching, so that we may have to look at relocation in some cases,” he expressed.

A number of concerns were raised by residents, the majority of which were addressed by the Ministers who committed to the resolution of other non-urgent issues during future visits.

The Ministers also visited the village of Kako with Colonel Hussain to hand over rain boots and water tanks, and engaged with one of their village leaders.

Only recently, Regional Chairman Kenneth Williams told <<<Guyana Times>>> that the heavy rainfall continued to trigger severe flooding in Middle

Mazaruni, Region Seven, affecting more than 300 residents and businesses.

He noted that those businesses affected were shops that sell groceries, fuel, dredge parts, and other items.

Williams had stated that the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), along with the CDC, was assessing the situation and providing persons with assistance in the form of cleaning agents and medical supplies.

Those affected areas are Quebanang, Kangaruma, Waramadong, Philippi, Pappy Show Landing, and Mango Landing. Eteringbang and Arau Village were also experiencing rising river levels.

As it evaluates the situation, the CDC said it will remain in constant contact with persons on the ground there throughout an exten-

sive period to determine what measures should be taken.

Less than a week ago, Prime Minister Mark Phillips urged persons in low-lying and flood-prone areas to take precautions in the coming days, as Guyana continues to experience heavy rainfall.

CDC Director General Hussain has added that the CDC has embarked on a public awareness campaign on its social media platforms, and is urging residents to take all necessary precautions.

Meanwhile, residents countrywide are urged to take precautions where necessary and to report any impacts to local authorities or the National Emergency Monitoring System (NEMS) on phone numbers 600-7500 or 2261114 at any time.

The team in discussion with residents

Flooded business places in Cuyuni-Mazaruni

Moraikobai residents benefit from medical outreach

Residents of Moraikobai, the only Amerindian village in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), have on Sunday benefitted from a range of medical services through an outreach conducted by the 18th China Medical Team.

The medical outreach to the village was organised by CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited (CPGL), which holds a 25 per cent working interest in the Stabroek Block, located approximately 200 kilometres offshore Guyana.

Nine doctors, including specialists, travelled to the village, located approximately 96 miles from the confluence of the Mahaicony River, to render various services, including ultrasonography and overall check-ups. And residents turned out in large numbers to the outreach,

to consult with the doctors and receive medication prescribed based on their circumstances.

The residents have lauded the initiative and requested that more outreaches be organised in the future. Shawn Smith, a logger who has been living in Moraikobai for over 18 years, has said it was the first time he had attended a medical outreach and was able to get a “fast response."

He described the outreach as “good”, noting that, from logging all day, he would normally suffer from back pain, and, through the outreach, he was able to get medication to help relieve the pain.

Moraikobai’s Deputy Toshao Jeff Bonaparte, who visited the outreach, extended appreciation to CPGL on behalf of the Village Council and the residents for initiating the

medical outreach.

Onica Sutherland, a resident of the village for 33 years, has said she felt “pleased and proud” that the outreach went all the way to Moraikobai, and requested that more specialised services be offered in the future.

During a simple ceremony, Captain of the Medical Team, Dr. Chu Xuehui, extended gratitude to the residents of the village for their warm welcome and hospitality, and gave an overview of the medical team’s work since arriving in Guyana in September 2022. Since arriving in Guyana, that medical team has carried out comprehensive medical work at both the Georgetown Public Hospital and Linden Hospital Complex in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice). In the past two months, the team has re-

ceived over 400 outpatients, completed nearly 100 operations, and carried out nine new medical technologies. They also provided medical training for local doctors

at the Leonora Hospital in West Demerara in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara).

“At the invitation of CPGL, we are very glad to

come to Moraikobai community to carry out the outreach programme and try as much as we can to help the people here,” Dr Chu Xuechi told the residents.

CCAC advises consumers to be vigilant when shopping in

local online marketplaces

Several official and unofficial complaints have been received of persons being scammed by local online places, thus the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) is advising consumers to be vigilant when entering into any transaction with sellers.

Complaints received have ranged from non-functioning of items purchased to items being materially different in brand and quality from those which were advertised. It is recognised that some sellers delete their social media accounts immediately after scamming consumers, and operate under several different names. In the absence

of contact information, consumers and the CCAC have difficulty securing redress from the errant suppliers.

To avoid being scammed or duped by these unscrupulous suppliers, the CCAC is advising consumers to do the following:

Check the seller’s history, and review comments from recent buyers. Find out about their rules for refunds and returns, and ensure each seller lists their contact information, particularly a physical address; this is highly vital to facilitate the redress process.

Check closely the images posted, to verify they are the actual images of the item on sale, and are not stock images; and ensure you are

allowed to test the functionality of electronics and appliances before you make the final purchase.

In addition, the CCAC is urging the public to use safe payment methods; ensure a receipt is collected for each transaction; ensure an explicit warranty is issued; and retain all messages and correspondences between them and the seller.

Further, the CCAC is recommending that if consumers encounter problems with a seller in the local online marketplace, the seller should immediately be contacted. And if the issue is not resolved, customers can file a complaint with the Commission via the website ccac.gov.gy.

One of the residents being attended to by a doctor

Residents receiving medical check-up

Geeta Chandan-Edmond resigns as PNCR General Secretary

Opposition Member of Parliament

Geeta ChandanEdmond has reportedly resigned from her post as General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R).

Guyana Times understands that in her resignation letter, which was sent to Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton on Wednesday, she thanked the Party for its support during her tenure as General Secretary.

Her resignation reportedly stemmed from concerns expressed by senior members of the party about her performance. Up to the time of her resignation, she was on leave of absence from the party.

Back in January, the former Magistrate had replaced longstanding PNCR Member Amna Ally, who had served as the party’s General Secretary since June 2017. At the time of Chandan’s appointment, she was serving as an APNU/AFC Member of Parliament and had enjoyed the support of the

membership of the PNCR, as manifest in her election to the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the party, the missive detailed.

According to the party, Chandan-Edmond, a lawyer by profession, possesses management skills and good human relations skills that make her

suitable to be General Secretary of the PNCR. Chandan-Edmond is a former member of the Alliance For Change (AFC), the minority party in the coalition Opposition. Last year, her husband Joel Edmond resigned from the AFC.

Chandan-Edmond, also a former Magistrate, had worked in the then Ministry of the Presidency (now Office of the President) under then Minister of State Joseph Harmon while the coalition was in office, and had served on State Boards and Commissions.

Her appointment to the position of that party’s General Secretary had come on the heels of the resignation of the incumbent Amna Ally earlier that week as Chief Scrutineer for the APNU/ AFC.

In her report to the PNCR’s 21st Biennial Delegates’ Congress in December 2021, Ally had indicated her intention to step down from the General Secretary post.

Govt to reintroduce Amerindian language lessons in 2023

The Amerindian Affairs Ministry would be reintroducing the Amerindian language revival programme in 2023 to students being housed at the Hinterland Scholarship Dormitory at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

The language revival project is intended to preserve the nine Amerindian languages which are spoken by the various tribes: Arawak, Akawaio, Arekuna, Carib, Macushi, Patamona, Wai Wai, Wapishana and Warrau. It was first initiated in 2013 under President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.

Senior Social Worker Christopher Sookdeo has said the students would benefit from the initiative. “We would like to share some of our plans for the new academic year, which include the reintroduction of indigenous language lessons for our dorm students, internship fairs for students, career guidance and internship programmes throughout the country,” Sookdeo said at the annual Hinterland Scholarship graduation ceremony on Wednesday.

The students would also benefit from music programmes, additional recre-

ational facilities, and mental health and developmental programmes.

The language revival project has seen revival of the Arawak language in Wakapao village, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). Due to the success of the programme, it has been expanded to include other languages.

Subject Minister Pauline Sukhai has revealed that the

Ministry would fund culture groups in several villages as part of the cultural preservation efforts in 2023.

“We want to ensure that, according to the Amerindian Act, we also support the cultural development of the people… Our language and our culture make us who we are; it identifies us, and so we will be supporting a few groups next year when the budget (is passed),” she promised.

61 scholars complete Hinterland Scholarship Programme

–

hinterland records 88% pass rate at CSEC exams

Hinterland students who completed their secondary, technical and tertiary education under the Amerindian Affairs Ministry’s Hinterland Scholarship Programme have graduated, and can now pursue their dreams.

The annual graduation ceremony was held at the Umana Yana in Kingston, Georgetown, where students received their certificates and medals for outstanding performance. Students who wrote the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams in 2022 recorded an 88 per cent pass rate, while Caribbean

Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) students recorded a 94.7 per cent pass rate.

Some $2 million was invested in the CSEC and CAPE examinations for 2022.

During her address at the graduation ceremony, Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai commended the students for completing their studies despite the challenges that confronted them.

“Our Ministry is very thankful that you have stayed the course, that you have made us proud, made your parents proud,

you made your community proud. I know that it is never easy to spend five years from home. We will seek to ensure that all the batches that come after you will see incremental changes and improvement in our programmes,” the Minister noted.

She challenged the younger generation to aim for a higher pass rate, and reiterated the Government’s commitment to providing quality education for all.

Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Anand Persaud, in his re-

marks, said the PPP/C Administration is committed to providing the best education for all Guyanese students.

“Whichever path you choose, I ask that you use the academic knowledge and skills you have acquired throughout the Hinterland Scholarship Programme to advance the development of yourself and your country,” he advised the graduates.

Senior Social Worker Christopher Sookdeo related that the investments have seen great results, with 61 students who sat the CSEC examination graduating. The students have secured

129 Grade Ones, 223 Grade Twos and 143 Grade Threes.

Currently, 684 students are benefitting from the scholarship programme countrywide. Conceptualised by the PPP/C Government, the programme aims to bridge the educational gap between hinterland and coastal students.

Besides the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Ryan Toolsiram; and Deputy Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Amerindian and Hinterland Education Development, Marti De Souza, other offi-

cials and family members were present at the ceremony.

Some of the students who completed the Hinterland Scholarship Programme

Amerindian Affairs Minister

Pauline Sukhai

Senior Social Worker at the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, Christopher Sookdeo

Geeta Chandan-Edmond

GDF ranks complete Outboard Operator Maintenance Course

Fifteen ranks, including one each from the Guyana Prison Service and Presidential Guard, have successfully completed the Outboard Operator Maintenance Course 2022-02.

The ranks graduated during a simple ceremony held on Wednesday at the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard Training Division, Kingston, Georgetown.

The course, which is of a six-week duration, enables students to safely and competently navigate any outboard vessel in any condition and be able to effectively troubleshoot and administer first-hand

maintenance to an outboard engine.

Lance Corporal (LCPL) Alvon Sim was adjudged the Best Graduating Student while Petty Officer (PO) Jason Archer received the prize for Runner-Up Best Student. Able Rating (AR) Jamal December won the prize for Best Boat Handling.

Coast Guard Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Shahoud congratulated the students for successfully completing the course and urged them to continue to develop themselves, as he reminded them that this was not the final chapter of their professional development.

UG now nationally accredited after 60 years

After 60 years of providing tertiary education to the citizens of Guyana, the University of Guyana has finally obtained national accreditation from the National Accreditation Council of Guyana (NAC).

UG Vice Chancellor, Dr Paloma Mohamed Martin revealed this information during the Annual Business Meeting of the UG Council on Thursday. The faculty accreditation was obtained July last.

The process, according to Mohamed Martin, was no easy one, given that the founding of the university predates both the founding of the State of Guyana and the NAC by approximately 30 years.

The Vice Chancellor shared that they had to go back into old files to account for the work they have done.

“It was no easy task because… the founding of UG predates the founding of the State of Guyana and predates the founding of

the National Accreditation Council by about thirty years or so… it was a huge voluminous presentation we had to give them, bigger than any other institution in this country,” she added.

Added to that, the VC also highlighted some of the other achievements that the University has accomplished this year while boasting that the institution was now ranked as the fifth university in the world to cater to students who want to pursue Environmental Studies.

The University also has completed its very first fully online student government election. However, UG aspires to improve its services; in its 2040 blueprint, the one graduate per household initiative and the center of excellence for research on Guyana and the Region’s grand challenges are among the highlights.

The one graduate per household initiative aims to have at least one university graduate in every family across the country.

PPP condemns vile, religiously offensive tirade by Mayor Narine -blasts

Norton-led APNU+AFC’s racist, obstructionist

The People’s Progressive Party has denounced the vile and offensive remarks made by Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine against President Dr Irfaan Ali on Monday.

While protesting against the removal of New Market Street vendors from outside of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), Narine descended into making a series of serious accusations against the Guyanese President, accusing him of creating an “Islamic State” –a statement which has been met with immediate backlash and calls for his immediate resignation on the ground that he was unfit to hold such office.

According to the PPP, the PNC-led APNU+AFC Opposition has, time and time again, demonstrated that it is incapable of offering meaningful leadership to its constituents, or anyone for that matter, and is therefore in its familiar obstructionist mode, with racism being its primary tool of choice. The latest manifestation of this racism, the PPP has said, unfolded on Monday when all of Guyana, and the world for that matter, looked on in shock as Mayor Narine unleashed his vile, obnoxious and religiously offensive tirade during the APNU+AFC’s attempt to obstruct the removal of vendors encumbering the New Market Street entrance of the GPHC.

“The PPP unequivocally condemns the vile, obnoxious, and religiously offensive tirade by Mayor Ubraj Narine and the racist, obstructionist campaign by the Aubrey Norton-led APNU+AFC,” the party said in a statement on Thursday.

It has been pointed out

that the issue of vending in that area has been a contentious issue since 2015, when the GPHC had first complained about it. However, the GPHC’s pleas for intervention by the Georgetown Mayor and City Council fell on deaf ears, even as the number of vendors increased exponentially and the City Council collected thousands of dollars in revenue from them.

“It is clear that Mayor Ubraj Narine and the Aubrey Norton-led APNU+AFC have placed the collection of fees from the vendors and the perpetuation of their racist, obstructionist agenda ahead of the lives and well-being of pregnant mothers, the sick, and accident victims whose access to critical primary healthcare (is) being delayed by congestion of the pathways for ambulances and other vehicles transporting them,” the PPP has posited.

The ruling party argued that the blame for this uncaring, insensitive, obstructionist act should be laid squarely at the feet of the PNC and Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, whom it said has been unabatingly setting a tone of obstruction and division along ethnic and religious lines.

According to the PPP, “Instead of offering some sort of rebuke or reprimand, Mr. Norton doubles down on his racist incitement by daring to compare the attack and brutalization of vendors at Mon Repos Market, which he orchestrated and defended, with the removal of vendors encumbering the entrance to the country’s premier public health facility – a situation which puts lives at risk.”

Further responding to

Norton’s accusation that the PPP/C Government is politicizing the Guyana Police Force, the party pointed to the numerous revelations coming out at the ongoing Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the post2020 elections, which have revealed the Coalition’s shameless use of Police ranks during their attempt to subvert the will of the electorate during the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

While noting that Norton and his party might be oblivious to these revelations, the PPP reassured that the rest of the Guyanese people are not.

“The party further calls on Civil Society and other national stakeholders, as well as all patriotic Guyanese at home and abroad, to condemn Mr. Aubrey Norton and members of his cabal on this most vexing and worrying matter, and the subtle as well as overt messages of obstruction, religious and ethnic division,” the PPP missive detailed.

On Monday, Narine had gone to the New Market Street area after the Public Works Ministry initiated ac-

campaign

tions to remove vendors who are occupying spaces outside the GPHC compound between Thomas and East Streets. Those efforts to remove them followed notices sent that they were impeding traffic flow in the vicinity of the hospital. During his protest against the removal of the vendors, he uttered those vile remarks against President Ali. Opposition Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan also conducted himself in a similar manner. As a result, both Narine and Duncan have been slapped with several charges under Guyana’s Racial Hostility Act.

The duo was arraigned today, appearing first before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan to answer to several charges.

The first charge alleges that on December 12 at New Market Street, Mayor Narine and MP Duncan intentionally transmitted a video attempting to excite racial division. They were not required to plead to this charge.

The second charge states that Narine and Duncan, on the same date and location, attempted to incite racial hostility on the ground of race. To this, both Narine and Duncan pleaded not guilty.

The duo was then granted bail in the sum of $100,000 for each count, and the matter has been adjourned to January 20.

Meanwhile, the pair also stood before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to answer to two counts of obstructing the free flow of traffic at New Market Street on December 12. They pleaded not guilty and were released on self-bail.

The graduates and senior GDF officials

UG Vice Chancellor, Paloma Mohamed Martin

Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine

Int’l Press Communication Centre will strengthen ties between Guyana, China

port on the country’s affairs.

French highlighted that Public Affairs Minister Kwame McCoy has spoken about the importance of the programme for the State and private media. As such, two local Journalists were sent to China.

The China International Press Communication Centre has been lauded as a valuable partner that will help to strengthen ties between Guyana and the People’s Republic of China.

This was expressed by Gordon French, a representative of the Public Affairs

Minister, at the programme launch at the Chinese Embassy on Thursday.

The International Press Communication Centre is a programme which allows Journalists and media personnel from around the world to travel to gain knowledge of China’s culture, and to adequately re-

“It is important that we continue, as a government, to ensure that the media and journalism continue to foster development, build capacity, and ensure that we have a very robust media in Guyana. It is part of the cornerstone of democracy, and we embrace it as a Government,” French expressed.

He thanked the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Guo Haiyan for the opportunity, and expressed the Government’s hope that similar opportunities continue in the future.

National Communications Network

Ogle to Haags Bosch four-lane road will create new opportunities for development

(NCN) Chief Executive Officer Neaz Subhan also commended the programme.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador stated that the press communication centre was important, as misleading information often circu-

lated about the country.

Hence, she said the programme aimed to edify participants on Chinese development, culture and society, to foster improved media coverage of the country and its way of opera-

tion, especially during the current modernisation period.

Students of the Confucius Institute of Guyana and China’s Chargé d’Affaires to Guyana, Chen Xilai were also present.

Regional countries reaffirm commitment to promote, protect and respect older persons

The US$106 million four-lane road project from Ogle to Haags Bosch will create new opportunities for development, which will enhance the lives of citizens and improve traffic management and efficiency, according to Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill.

The minister was addressing residents at the public stakeholders’ meeting hosted at the Cummings Lodge Secondary on Wednesday.

“So, the development of your community and bringing value to your community a simple road, fourlane can make a difference in this corridor, and that’s something that we want to emphasise and establish.

So, this road will see greater promotion of enabling commerce promoting development and of course, playing its role in Guyana’s modernisation and transformation that we are leading and we are seeing taking place,” the minister

stated.

The project dubbed Phase one, East Bank to East Coast Road Linkage Project (Ogle – Haggs Bosch) is being undertaken by Indian company Ashoka Buildcon Limited. This will see the construction of a main alignment four-lane road stretching some 7.705 km in length. The project has a two-year construction period.

Minister Edghill said the project was in the pipeline for many years and when the PPP/C Administration left office in 2015, financing for the project was already available. Upon returning to office in 2020, the minister highlighted that this project was the first among many to be revived.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Works signed a $640 million (US$3.2 million) supervision contract with Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited (RITES) Ltd in association with CB & Associates for consultancy

services for the construction of the Ogle to Haags Bosch, Eccles Road network.

The contract for the road project was signed between the Government of Guyana and Indian company Ashoka Buildcon Limited on June 24, 2022. The proposed road will commence at the junction of the Ogle Airport entrance road and the East Coast Demerara Public Road. It follows the existing Ogle Airport Road for about 1.2 km from the East Coast Road to Ogle Airport Junction.

The main alignment will traverse through the residential area of Courida, Prado Ville, connecting to Eugene. F Correia International Airport, and ends at the GUYSUCO factory area. Thereafter, the balanced length of the proposed alignment will traverse through the abandoned cane fields.

Representatives of the countries participating in the Fifth Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Ageing and the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean, which concluded on Thursday in Santiago, Chile, reaffirmed their commitment to promote, protect and respect the human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms of all older persons, without discrimination or violence of any kind.

They also ratified the responsibility of States to pursue the measures and actions needed to ensure healthy ageing, with dignity and rights.

In the Santiago Declaration, approved unanimously, the authorities also renewed their commitment to the Madrid International Plan of Action, 20 years after its approval, and the regional instruments that reinforce its implementation and relevance.

The United Nations’ main regional intergovernmental forum on ageing and older persons’ rights was inaugurated on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the organisation that serves as the Conference’s Technical Secretariat. The meeting brought together delegates from 29 of ECLAC’s member countries and three associate members, along with representatives of nine United Nations agencies and 49 civil society organisations. In total, more than 300 people participated in person and around 2600 followed the conference remotely.

“This Conference has given us the opportunity to participate in very rich debates and exchanges. The country representatives have informed us about progress in the legislative realm, but also about the need to strengthen the institutions in charge of matters

relating to older persons. To that end, it is necessary to maintain intersectoral and inter-agency coordination that would give greater impact to the policies geared towards older persons,” said Raúl García-Buchaca, ECLAC’s Deputy Executive Secretary, adding that universal social protection coverage for older persons is a sure way to overcome inequality in ageing.

“We at ECLAC will continue to collaborate with the inter-agency working groups on ageing and we will continue working on the production of data and updated knowledge about ageing and older persons’ rights with policy recommendations. We conclude this meeting with an ambitious and demanding work agenda. We leave with the satisfaction of having approved the Santiago Declaration, which is the result of the will to reach agreement between our countries,” he emphasised. (Excerpt from ECLAC)

Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Guo Haiyan and China’s Chargé d’Affaires to Guyana, Chen Xilai

Members of the media, Chinese Embassy officials and students of the Confucius Institute attended the programme launch

Representatives of the countries who participated in the Fifth Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Ageing and the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean

Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill

Residents, who attended the East Coast to East Bank Road stakeholders’ meeting

Brazil's spending package affecting inflation expectations, says central bank

Brazil's central bank already believes a recently-proposed spending package is partly affecting closely watched inflation expectations, said the bank's chief Roberto Campos Neto on Thursday.

Policymakers have highlighted inflationary risks arising from leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's 168 billion reais (US$31.5 billion) spending proposal to meet his campaign promises. The proposal has been approved in the Senate, but has yet to be voted on in the Lower House.

Campos Neto told a news conference that policymakers remain vigilant in assessing fiscal policy changes, noting that their impact on the inflation expectations channel is what matters for policy decisions.

"We see a big increase in the market risk premium in the first place. Big. We see it in implicit inflation and in the structure of long-term interest rates and, when that happens, expectations are always contaminated," he said, adding long-term inflation expectations were in part affected.

For its current inflation projections, the central bank has considered a fiscal expansion of 130 billion

reais next year extracted from market estimates, said Campos Neto.

The central bank held interest rates at 13.75 per cent this month, after a September pause to an aggressive tightening that lifted rates from a two per cent record low in March 2021 to battle inflation.

Faced with expected pressure on the public debt due to booming expenses, economists have taken a more conservative stance on when rate cuts would begin in Latin America's largest economy, with some predict-

ing hikes to be even resumed next year.

Campos Neto pointed out that coordination between fiscal and monetary policies was "very important," and the central bank needs proper conditions to lower rates.

He also said that returns to sizeable subsidized credit would negatively impact the neutral interest rate and reduce monetary policy power, praising the TLP rate as an "institutional gain" that helped the capital markets expansion.

($1 = 5.3405 reais) (Excerpt from Reuters)

Sudanese woman jailed for kissing man

ASudanese woman charged with adultery has had her life spared and will instead spend six months behind bars after she admitted to kissing a man.

The 20-year-old was initially sentenced to death by stoning, sparking an international outcry.

She was arrested by Police after her cousin killed her boyfriend.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) described the initial penalty as a "grave violation of international law".

The divorcee was sentenced to death after she was found guilty of adultery by a court in the city of Kosti, in Sudan's White Nile state.

Following internation-

al condemnation, the White Nile state court retried the case. Ultimately, the presiding judge changed the charge from "adultery" to an "obscene act" which meant she would instead serve prison time for her actions.

She confessed in court to being with a man and admitted that the pair had kissed.

Her lawyer, Intisar Abdullah, said the judge "didn't have many options but to convict her".

"The thing is she confessed at the court that she was with a man, she is very young and she doesn't know the complications of the case," the lawyer told the BBC.

The woman had been free on bail, but has now gone to prison to start her sentence.

The ACJPS said she was not allowed a lawyer in the

initial case, and procedural errors led to the stoning sentence being overturned.

Sudan still imposes the death penalty for some hudud crimes – offences specified by Allah in the Quran, including theft and adultery. In Sudanese law, they carry penalties such as flogging, the amputation of hands and feet, hanging and stoning.

The majority of stoning sentences in Sudan –laid predominantly against women – have been overturned at the High Court.

Previously, a Government Minister described the sentence as a "joke", but admitted that no Government Minister could intervene.

Sudan has been run by a military junta since a coup in 2021. (BBC News)

Fiji's ruling party leads provisional count after national election

The ruling Fiji First party led provisional national election results, boosted by a 31.42 per cent vote for Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, with half of polling stations counted in the Pacific island nation on Thursday.

Bainimarama, who came to power in a coup 16 years ago, is contesting his third democratic election since reforms to Fiji's Constitution in 2013 scrapped a system that drew distinctions between the votes of indigenous Fijians and its large ethnic Indian population.

He is in a tight race against another former coup leader and one-time Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, whose People's Alliance Party has formed a coalition with Fiji's oldest political party, the National Federation Party.

The provisional result from Wednesday's vote showed Fiji First with 45.88 per cent of votes Thursday, ahead of the People's Alliance Party with 32.66 per cent of votes, while the National Federation Party

had 9.29 per cent of votes.

With 1238 out of 2017 polling stations counted, Bainimarama had personally garnered 31.42 per cent of all votes in Fiji's proportional representation system, where there is a single constituency, and Rabuka had 16.34 per cent of votes.

The final result, based on a manual count of voting papers, will be known on Sunday, election officials said.

Technical problems which plagued the election office's app, used by the public to track provisional results called in from election booths on Wednesday evening, has fuelled mistrust among opposition parties.

The app had shown a People's Alliance Party candidate leading, before it was taken offline around 23:00h on Wednesday and the election office told media there were errors. When the app came back at 02:30h, it showed Fiji First ahead.

The election office said mistakes had been made transferring data to the app, which had incorrectly boost-

ed some candidates vote.

Rabuka told reporters at a press conference on Thursday his party was "not satisfied", and is writing to the Supervisor of Elections, the army commander and Fiji's president.

Leaders of five Opposition parties issued a joint statement on Thursday afternoon, calling for a halt to counting, saying the "glitch" had caused serious problems and they demanded an independent audit of the electoral system.

Fiji's election commissioner, Mohammed Saneem, responded by telling media a "double blind data entry" system was being used to avoid errors in the final count, which was fully manual, and each party was entitled to have agents present.

Voter turnout was less than 60 per cent, which analysts said was the lowest in a decade.

A multinational observer group led by Australia, India and Indonesia includes 90 election observers. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Dozens feared trapped in Malaysia landslide – officials

About 100 people were caught in a landslide that struck a campsite in Malaysia early Friday, officials said, as search and rescue personnel scoured the site for dozens still missing.

The landslide in Selangor state, on the outskirts of capital, Kuala Lumpur, occurred about 3:00 a.m. (1900 GMT) on the side of a road near a farmhouse that provides camping facilities, the state fire and rescue department said in a statement.

At least 31 people were rescued, said the department's director, Norazam Khamis.

The landslide fell from an estimated height of 30 metres (100 ft) above the campsite, and covered an area of about one acre (0.4 hectare), he said.

The landslide took place

just outside the Genting Highlands, a popular hill country area in Batang Kali district, north of the capital.

Selangor is the country's most affluent state and has suffered landslides before,

often attributed to forest and land clearance.

The region is in its rainy season but no heavy rain or earthquakes were recorded overnight. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Fiji’s Prime Minister and Fiji First leader Frank Bainimarama leaves after voting at a polling station during the Fijian General Election in Suva, Fiji, December 14, 2022 [AAP Image/Mick Tsikas via Reuters]

Regional Peru diplomatic spat grows as envoys in Mexico, Argentina summoned home

Adiplomatic spat over Peru deepened on Thursday as the new Foreign Minister formally summoned ambassadors home from countries including Mexico and Argentina, which have criticised the recent ouster of former President Pedro Castillo.

The swift removal of Castillo, who led the South American country for just 17 months, has reverberated far beyond Peru's borders, with several leftist allies of the deposed leader rallying to his support as deadly street protests extend into their second week, with a state of emergency declared.

On Monday, four nations led by leftist Presidents –Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico – signed onto a joint statement declaring

Castillo "a victim of undemocratic harassment".

A bloc of left-wing countries meeting in Havana including Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, also forcefully backed the jailed Castillo, rejecting what they described as "the political framework created by right-wing forces".

Foreign Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi, new to the post after President Dina Boluarte took over from Castillo last week, responded on Thursday by summoning home Peru's Ambassadors in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Mexico for consultation.

Gervasi wrote in a post on Twitter that the consultations "relate to interference in the internal affairs of Peru."

She did not specify when the talks would take place.

The leftist Castillo, the son of rural peasant farmers and a former teacher who won a narrow victory at the polls last year, was removed by an overwhelming vote of lawmakers just hours after he ordered the Congress dissolved on December 7.

Amid the diplomatic jostling, protesters angry at Castillo's removal from office and subsequent arrest blocked roads on Thursday, despite the Government's enactment of a state of emergency a day earlier, granting Police special powers and limiting freedoms including the right to assembly.

To date, at least eight have been killed in the protests.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Minnis knocks crime response in The Bahamas

Former prime minister Dr Hubert Minnis is predicting that the Bahamas will record another murder record and he is blaming the Government’s failed handling of crime.

Contributing to the debate on the National Investment Funds Bill in Parliament Minnis, who was swept out of power in September last year, told legislators that “in the first full year of the Davis Administration, we are nearing a national murder record.

“Nearly 130 have been murdered this year thus far. The violence in New Providence is out of control. Investors and tourists could be less likely to come here and spend their money if this Administration does not get a handle on the situation,” he told Parliament.

Minnis was critical of Prime Minister Phillip Davis’ response to crime,

saying that he has failed to address the issue even on “the rare occasion when he is in The Bahamas”.

Minnis said it is “disgraceful” that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Government has not been able to create a workable crime plan, adding that his promised “Blueprint for Change” to combat crime has been a failure.

“In fact, citizens of the Bahamas can see no effec-

tive crime response at all from this Prime Minister and his Administration,” Minnis said, adding that innocent bystanders and children have fallen victim to incidents where criminals have caused violence.

“Bahamians want to live in peaceful communities. They want to raise their families in a place of law and order. But the Government themselves are not following the law.” (CMC)

Colombia's minimum wage will increase by 16 per cent in 2023, President Gustavo Petro said on Thursday, higher than the previous wage hike.

The minimum wage will rise to 1.16 million pesos (US$242.70) per month, an increase of 160,000 pesos (US$33.40).

The wage increase comes amid rampant inflation in Latin America's fourth-largest economy. Twelvemonth inflation to the end of November hit 12.53 per

cent.

The increase followed agreements between business associations and unions, Petro said, and will benefit some 3.4 million people who receive the minimum wage.

"I hope that this increase to the minimum wage restores purchasing power that has been lost in recent months due to inflation, restores growth to the economy's average productivity, and also allows us to boost internal demand in

Colombia," Petro said.

Growth in Colombia's domestic demand could drive economic expansion, Petro said, taking growth beyond current forecasts, which are not overly optimistic.

Colombia's economy is expected to grow around eight per cent this year, according to forecasts from the Government and central bank, but growth could slow to two per cent in 2023.

(US$1 = 4,778.28 Colombian pesos) (Reuters)

Referendum for Puerto Rico’s independence approved

The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill to allow Puerto Rico to vote on a binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain independence – a largely symbolic measure unlikely to pass in the Senate.

The House passed the proposal, dubbed the Puerto Rico Status Act, in a 233191 vote on Thursday. The proposal calls for a vote in November of next year to “??resolve Puerto Rico’s political status”.

The measure would give Puerto Rican voters a chance to choose between

independence, sovereignty in free association with the US or statehood. The referendum would not include Puerto Rico’s current status as a US commonwealth.

“Many of us are not in agreement about how that future should be, but we all accept that the decision should belong to the people of Puerto Rico,” said Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez, the island’s non-voting representative in the US Congress.

But with the Congress, whose term expires early next month, heading to a recess, the proposed legislation has virtually no

chance of being taken up by the Senate, let alone clearing the 60-vote threshold required for passing in the 100-member upper chamber.

On Friday, 16 House Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the bill.

Puerto Rico residents are US citizens, but effectively have no representation in Congress and cannot vote in US general elections.

A former Spanish colony, the Caribbean island was acquired by the US in 1898 after the Spanish-American war.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Honduras and the United Nations on Thursday signed an agreement that paves the way for a new international anti-corruption commission in the Central American nation, where widespread graft has fuelled violence and spurred mass migration.

Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New York with UNAssistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca, in the presence of UN chief Antonio Guterres and leftist President Xiomara Castro.

Castro, who came to power in January, pledged in her campaign to install the

new mechanism to investigate widespread corruption in Honduras, where close to three-quarters of people live in poverty.

On Wednesday night, the Foreign Minister told local television the agreement only marked a preliminary step, after which the UN and Honduras would need to sign a bilateral treaty for the anti-corruption commission to come into force.

The so-called International Mission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH) will be the second such commission installed in Honduras, after another anti-corruption mission backed by the Organisation of American

States (OAS) left in early 2020.

The previous commission, known as the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), began work in 2016 and uncovered corruption of many officials, congressmen, and politicians linked to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

The OAS-backed MACCIH left the country after it failed to agree with then-President Hernandez on extending its stay.

Hernandez was extradited to the United States in early 2022 on drug trafficking charges. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Vessel traffic at the Panama Canal's Miraflores locks was temporarily suspended due to a fire, the canal's administration said in a statement on Thursday.

There were no injuries reported, according to the statement.

The Panama Canal has three sets of locks and only small boats transit through the Miraflores locks, according to data from the canal's administration. (Reuters)

Honduras signs UN deal paving way for anti-corruption commission

Traffic at Panama Canal locks temporarily suspended after fire breaks out

Colombia to hike minimum monthly wage by 16%

Demonstrators clash with Police during a protest after the Government announced a nationwide state of emergency, following a week of protests sparked by the ousting of former President Pedro Castillo, in Lima, Peru, December 15, 2022 (Reuters/Sebastian Castaneda)

Former Prime Minister of The Bahamas

Dr Hubert Minnis (Internet image)

Oil prices slid 2% as dollar firms and central banks hike interest rates

Oil prices slid about two per cent on Thursday as traders worried about the fuel demand outlook due to a stronger dollar and further interest rate hikes by global central banks.

After rising for three straight days, Brent futures fell US$1.49, or 1.8 per cent, to settle at US$81.21 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell US$1.17, or 1.5 per cent, to settle at US$76.11.

"Crude prices edged lower as ... global recession risks increased after a wave of central banks delivered another strong round of tightening. Oil’s recent rally (ran) out of steam as risk aversion runs wild," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at data and analytics firm OANDA.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the US central bank would raise interest rates further next year, even as the economy slips toward a possible recession. On Thursday, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank raised interest rates to fight inflation.

US stock indexes fell sharply as the Federal Reserve's guidance for protracted policy tightening quelled hopes the rate-hike cycle would end anytime soon.

"The oil price is under pressure today as the Fed's hawkish guidance for its monetary policy sparked renewed concerns about economic growth, lifting the US dollar and sending commodity prices down," said CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng.

A stronger US dollar makes oil more expensive for those using other currencies.

US retail sales fell more than expected in November, but consumer spending remains supported by a tight labour market, with the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreasing by the most in five months last week.

China, the world's second biggest economy, lost more steam in November as factory output slowed and retail sales extended declines, the worst readings in six months, hobbled by surging COVID-19 cases and widespread virus curbs.

Also pressuring oil prices, Canada's TC Energy Corp said it was resuming operations in a section of its Keystone pipeline, a week after a leak of more than 14,000 barrels of oil in Kansas triggered a shutdown.

(Reuters)

AUkrainian general has said Moscow is digging in for a long war and still wants to conquer the whole of Ukraine, as Russian forces pounded two strategic cities while Kyiv’s troops shelled Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk in the east.

“The Kremlin … is seeking to turn the conflict into a prolonged armed confrontation,” a senior Ukrainian officer, Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov, told a news briefing on Thursday.

“The main strategic objective of the enemy remains seizing all the territory of our country [and] not allowing Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration,” said Gromov.

Both sides have ruled

out a Christmas truce and there are currently no talks aimed at ending the nearly 10-month-old conflict.

Ukraine’s military General Staff said Moscow’s main focus remained on the eastern cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, but that it was also shelling the southern city of Kherson daily and trying to get a stronger foothold in the southern region of Zaporizhia.

Russian shelling killed two people in the centre of Kherson, liberated by Ukraine last month, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the president’s office, said on Thursday. The shelling also knocked out the city’s electricity, officials said.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Around the World

Power cuts in 6 states as deadly winter storm and tornadoes hit US

A

fierce winter storm has left a trail of destruction across the southern US, devastating communities and killing three people in Louisiana.

The weather has also left tens of thousands without power across six states.

To the east, an estimated 11 million people in Florida and Georgia are still facing the threat of tornadoes.

The storm system also brought blizzard-like conditions to the Midwest.

In Louisiana, officials have so far confirmed three deaths and dozens of injuries as a result of the storm. In one incident, a 56-yearold woman in St Charles

Parish near New Orleans was killed after a tornado destroyed her home.

Communities across the state reported severe damage, including downed pow-

The White House has ordered the release of thousands of documents on the murder of US President John F Kennedy in full for the first time.

With the publication of some 13,173 files online, the White House said more than 97 per cent of records in the collection were now publicly available.

No huge revelations are expected from the papers, but historians hope to learn more about the alleged assassin.

Kennedy was shot during a visit to Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.

A 1992 law required the Government to release all documents on the assassination by October 2017.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order authorising the latest disclosure.

But he said some files

would be kept under wraps until June 2023 to protect against possible "identifiable harm".

The US National Archives said that 515 documents would remain withheld in full, and another 2545 documents would be partly withheld.

A 1964 US inquiry, the Warren Commission, found that Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, a US citizen who had previously lived in the Soviet Union, and that he acted alone. He was killed in the basement of the Dallas police headquarters two days after his arrest.

JFK's death spawned decades of conspiracy theories, but on Thursday the CIA said the US spy agency had "never engaged" Oswald, and did not withhold information about him from US investigators.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

China pushes

turns messy

China raced to vaccinate its most vulnerable people on Thursday in anticipation of waves of COVID-19 infections, with some analysts expecting the death toll to soar after it eased strict controls that had kept the pandemic at bay for three years.

The push comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) also raised concerns that China's 1.4 billion population was not adequately vaccinated and the United States offered help in dealing with a surge in infections.

Beijing last Wednesday began dismantling its tough 'zero-COVID' controls, dropping testing requirements and easing quarantine rules that had caused anxiety for tens of millions and battered the world's second largest economy.

The pivot away from

President Xi Jinping's signature "zero-COVID" policy followed unprecedented widespread protests against it. But, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said infections were exploding in China well before the Government's decision to phase out its stringent regime.

"There's a narrative at the moment that China lifted the restrictions and all of a sudden the disease is out of control," Ryan told a briefing in Geneva.

"The disease was spreading intensively, because I believe the control measures in themselves were not stopping the disease."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday China has "institutional advantages" to fight COVID. (Excerpt from Reuters)

er lines and collapsed buildings. In Jefferson Parish – a suburb of New Orleans – the sheriff’s office said that homes and businesses in the area had “suffered catastrophic damage”.

One Louisiana resident, Michael Willis, told the BBC’s US partner CBS that a close encounter with a tornado near the town of Harvey was “the scariest thing” he has ever experienced.

The tornado lifted him up while he was sitting in his car, a large SUV, while debris smashed through his windshield and passenger window.

“It happened fast,” he said. “I’m looking at wood, buildings, all in the same spin, like it’s spinning with me and then it just slung me out.”

Earlier, Louisiana health officials confirmed that a 30-year-old woman and her eight-year-old son were found dead in Caddo Parish in the northwest corner of the state.

As of 07:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Thursday, about 10,000 people were still without power in various parts of the state, according to website poweroutage.us.

Power outages were also reported in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In Wisconsin alone, 70,000 people were without power Thursday morning.

In Florida and Georgia, millions of people were still under tornado watch as the sun rose on Thursday, with authorities warning residents of “damaging to destructive winds”.

Further north, forecasters expect snow and freezing rain to continue through at least this afternoon across a large swathe of the country from the east coast to the Midwest.

In Canada, large parts of Ontario remained freezing rain warnings on Thursday, while snowfall warnings were issued for areas including Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City.(Excerpt from BBC News)

Thousands of people in Istanbul have protested against the conviction and political ban of the city’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, voicing criticism of Turkey’s Government ahead of elections next year that are set to pose a major test to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade rule.

A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced Imamoglu, a popular rival to Erdogan, to two years and seven months in prison for insulting public officials.

The sentence and the political ban must be confirmed by an appeals court, and Imamoglu will continue to serve as Mayor of Turkey’s largest city while his appeal is heard.

The verdict drew wide criticism at home and

abroad.

As patriotic music rang out, crowds waved Turkish flags in front of the Istanbul municipality building in the city of 16 million people on Thursday. A large portrait banner of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was hung from the building.

The 52-year-old Imamoglu and the leaders of six Turkish Opposition parties walked out shoulder to shoulder through the crowd of supporters on Wednesday.

“I am absolutely not afraid of their illegitimate verdict,” Imamoglu told the crowd. “I don’t have judges to protect me, but I have 16 million Istanbulites and our nation behind me.”

He said his jail sentence punished his success.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Ukrainian general says Russia preparing for ‘prolonged’ war

Parts of the US and Canada are affected

Thousands protest against conviction of Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu

Thousands

vaccines as retreat from 'zeroCOVID'

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu delivers a speech for his supporters during a protest in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality [Yasin Akgul/AFP]

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Be an insightful observer. Not everyone will be honest about their opinions or feelings. Expect to be misled if you don’t ask questions and verify facts. Don’t make a move for the wrong reason.

(March 21-April 19)

(April 20-May 20)

Focus on learning, listening and deciding what you want to do next. Change may be daunting, but the possibilities are exciting. Face the future with optimism, and refuse to let fear hold you back.

Participate in challenging activities that increase your awareness. Don’t let outside factors stand between you and your goal. Contribute to a cause you feel passionate about. Take control.

(May 21-June 20)

(June 21-July 22) (July 23-Aug. 22)

Do what you can to help others, but don’t let anyone take advantage of you or stand between you and your success. Speak up and let others know how you feel and what you intend to do as you move forward.

Make plans with friends or relatives. Discussions will lead to positive input and hands-on help. Speak from the heart. A promise made will change your life and bring you closer to your goals.

Don’t let anger stand in your way. Change is good, and it’s time to pursue what makes you happy. Love and romance are favored, and personal growth will enlighten you and perhaps others.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

Engage in physical activity, social events and intellectual pursuits that open doors to new and exciting alternatives. Follow the path that makes you happy, and don’t make a fuss.

Step outside your comfort zone and let your imagination take the reins. Express yourself, and the response you receive will clear your head and help you gain perspective.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) (Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

Learn from experience. Don’t let your generous spirit be taken advantage of by someone eager to make you look bad. If you don’t like something, speak up.

Live in the moment and enjoy what life offers. Stop talking about your plans; put them in motion. Push forward with enthusiasm and confidence. Romance is encouraged.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Channel your energy into your home and family. Try to end the year by putting the past behind you and looking to the future with anticipation. Set high standards and follow your heart.

You’ll be the one to make people listen, laugh and strive to improve with your unique insight and your friendly disposition. Share your feelings with someone special to find out where you stand.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

ARCHIE PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

DILBERT

Kuldeep, Siraj, Ashwin help India take control of Chattogram Test

An all-round show from Kuldeep Yadav on Test return after 22 months, combined with a half-century from R Ashwin and three early wickets from Mohammed Siraj, put India in the driver's seat on the second day in Chattogram.

Kuldeep first scored a career-best 40 in a stand of 87 with Ashwin, to help India put on a commanding 404 from an overnight 278 for 6 on a turning and low pitch, before he took 4 for 33 to reduce Bangladesh to 133 for 8, still

ball with hard hands.

A stand between debutant Zakir Hasan and Litton Das, worth 34 and studded with seven fours, then lifted Bangladesh briefly. Litton first struck Umesh for backto-back fours on the leg side, before Zakir hit two fours in three balls against Ashwin: one with a thick edge through slips, and the other a fierce cut off the back foot. Litton struck three more consecutive fours off Umesh in the last over before tea for more firefighting.

Siraj returned after the break to have Litton chop on for 24, and drew Zakir's edge from around the wicket with a ball that held its line to end a promising debut knock.

Mushfiqur Rahim looked solid all this while with his tight technique and convincing sweeps against spin, as Bangladesh's hopes rested on the experienced duo of Mushfiqur and an injured Shakib Al Hasan, who didn't bowl on the second day.

Shakib defended most of his 25 balls, before Kuldeep struck with his second ball, drawing an edge of the batter on the move to first slip, and the hosts were 75 for 5.

With plenty of flight, sharp turn, wrong'uns and pace variation, it was Kuldeep who struck three times in 12 balls.

Shubman Gill took a superb catch to his right at short leg to send Nurul back for 16, before Kuldeep trapped Mushfiqur lbw for 28 by turning the ball past his inside edge, and then Taijul Islam chopped on for a duck.

At 102 for 8 and nine overs to go for stumps, Bangladesh were not far from being all out, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Ebadot Hossain saw through Axar, Kuldeep and Ashwin, while also hitting a six each amid some close shouts and appeals.

Ashwin and Kuldeep had earlier frustrated Bangladesh with a stubborn stand for the eighth wicket. Bangladesh had hoped for quick wickets once they had removed Shreyas Iyer for 86 in the eighth over of the day, with India on 293 for 7; but they couldn't make any more inroads in the first session. On an otherwise slow-scoring day, Ashwin struck two sixes

two reviews early in the day, against Ashwin and Kuldeep, and Ebadot used the shortball strategy against Iyer to be rewarded with a leading edge off a hook to fine leg, where Litton gave Iyer his third life and then went off the field with an injured knee. Ebadot, however, struck in his next over by jagging the ball into Iyer to hit off stump when the batter played inside the line.

Ashwin, meanwhile, had struck Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a six over long-on for his

ing the spinners on the front and back foot, and collecting boundaries off the loose balls he got, as batting appeared to get easier once the ball got softer. In an eventful over from Taijul, Ashwin was first beaten by turn outside off, and edged the next ball past first slip. The resulting throw from deep third landed right on the helmet stationed behind the wicketkeeper, and India were awarded five penalty runs.

Ashwin hit his second six after the lunch break, this

time off Taijul, and reached his 13th Test fifty the next ball. Kuldeep survived more appeals, and then swept Taijul for two more fours, before Ashwin was stumped off Mehidy while going for a big shot. Taijul trapped Kuldeep lbw next over, and Siraj holed out to long-on, but India had reached a commanding first innings’ total with the help of two meaty sixes from Umesh.

Shakib's unavailability to bowl because of a rib injury also hurt Bangladesh. (ESPNCricinfo)

needing 72 runs to avoid the follow-on.

Siraj gave India the first breakthrough with the first ball of the innings, when he drew Najmul Hossain Shanto's outside edge for the keeper, and Yasir Ali chopped on against Umesh Yadav when he tried to go after the

Four balls later, Kuldeep thought he had dismissed Nurul Hasan lbw, but India's review showed that the ball was only clipping leg stump, so the on-field decision of not-out stayed. India thought Nurul had also gloved the same ball to short leg, and when the third umpire checked the replays again, there was no bat or glove.

Spin came on from both ends as soon as light started to fade in the last hour of the day, and Axar Patel brought on his side-arm angle against right-hand batters for an economical but wicketless seven overs.

in his 58, and Kuldeep played a few reverse sweeps in his 114-ball stay.

Bangladesh also burned

Steph Curry injured as Golden State lose again

Stephen Curry has suffered a shoulder injury as the indifferent season of the Golden State Warriors, champions of the NBA, continued with a 125-119 defeat away to the Indiana Pacers.

Curry had a game-high 38 points when he was hurt attempting a steal in the third quarter, and will soon have a scan on the injury, coach Steve Kerr has said.

"Maybe it's going to get tougher if Steph is out for a little while," added Kerr, after a 15th defeat for the Golden State Warriors in 29 games.

The Warriors, who are

seeking a fifth title in nine seasons, lie 10th in the Western Conference. "My message to the group was: ‘it's about competing, it's about weathering the storm’," Kerr

added. "This has been a tough start to the season. We're in a tough stretch."

The Warriors were trailing 93-80 when Curry, who has averaged 30 points this

season, departed the court.

A pair of Donte DiVincenzo three-pointers pulled them back to within 122-119 with a little over a minute to play.

But ultimately, the Pacers, for whom Tyrese Haliburton top-scored with 29 points, held on.

Elsewhere, two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 43 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 141-128 win over the Washington Wizards. And Paul George managed a triple double of 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Los Angeles Clippers to a 99-88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. (BBC Sport)

Ebadot Hossain 21-2-70-1

Khaled Ahmed 20-3-43-1

Shakib Al Hasan 12-4-26-0

Taijul Islam 46-10-133-4

Mehidy Hasan Miraz 31.5-6-112-4 Yasir Ali 1-0-7-0

Najmul Hossain Shanto 2-0-7-0

Bangladesh 1st Innings

Fall of wickets: 1-0

(Najmul Hossain Shanto, 0.1 ov), 2-5 (Yasir Ali, 3.3 ov), 3-39 (Litton Das, 13.2 ov), 4-56 (Zakir Hasan, 17.2 ov), 5-75

(Shakib Al Hasan, 24.2 ov), 6-97 (Nurul Hasan, 32.1 ov), 7-102 (Mushfiqur Rahim, 34.2 ov), 8-102 (Taijul Islam, 34.6 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Mohammed Siraj 9-1-14-3 Umesh Yadav 8-1-33- 1 Ravichandran Ashwin 10-1-34-0

Kuldeep Yadav 10-3-33- 4 Axar Patel 7-3-10-0

Curry suffered a shoulder injury as he attempted to strip the ball from Indiana's Jalen Smith while the Pacer was driving to the hoop

Mohammed Siraj celebrating with team-mates after he had made a first-ball breakthrough

Mohammed Siraj helped India make early inroads

Kuldeep Yadav frustrated Bangladesh with his innings

India vs Bangladesh: Test 1 of

KFC Goodwill International Schools Football tournament…

WARAMADONG START WITH WIN

-CWSS draw match with Annai

Fireworks galore were the order of Thursday afternoon, December 15, when the KFC Goodwill International Schools’ Football tournament got underway.

Following the official march past ceremony, the two fixtures on the cards saw Christianburg Wismar holding defending champions Annai Secondary to a draw, followed by the D.C Caesar Fox (Waramadong) Secondary schooling a haphazard Golden Grove Secondary.

In the first game, Annai opened their account as early as the 4th minute with a goal coming off the boots of Narish

Bartholomew. Christianburg Wismar’s Amani King soon equalized with a goal in the 13th minute; and just before the half, CWSS assumed the lead through a strike from Kelvin Hintzen.

The Linden outfit solidified their defenses in the second half, but it was not enough to hold off Adrian Cabral, whose 56th minute goal levelled the scores for a second time in the game.

A third goal was not forthcoming for either side, and the two schools were made to settle for shared points.

A 6-0 drubbing was written in the stars for Golden Grove Secondary in the fol-

lowing game, when they faced the D.C Caesar Fox (Waramadong) Secondary. It took a while for the boys from Region 7 to find their footing, but when they did, it resulted in an onslaught on the Golden Grove goal.

Bevon Jones was the first to find the back of the netin the 30th minute - and the score remain unchanged until Kenwyn Percy made it a 2-0 affair in the 52nd.

Kenron Thomas and Raydon Krammer then netted backto-back goals in the 56th and 58th minutes to signal trouble for Golden Grove.

With Waramadong not letting up their relentless onslaught, Carlito Joseph’s

goal came in the 60th, while Percy completed his brace in the 70th to push their tally to six.

The KFC Goodwill International tournament will continue tomorrow, Saturday December 17,

with St. Benedict’s College of Trinidad and Tobago’s taking on Golden Grove Secondary at 17:00hrs, and Christianburg Wismar going toe-to-toe with the SVB Academy of Suriname at 19:00hrs.

This tournament is sponsored by KFC, MVP Sports, Guyana Beverages Inc, Tiger Rentals, Trophy Stall; the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS); and the Ministry of Education (MoE).

England beat West Indies again to lead T20I series 2-0

Charlie Dean grabbed her chance with three wickets to lead an experimental England side to victory in their second T20I against West Indies. Sophia Dunkley top-scored for the visitors with a run-a-ball 43 in the face of Hayley Matthews's three-wicket haul, which kept England to a modest total of 141 for 6 as they looked to give opportunities to some of their less experienced players with a T20 World Cup looming in the new year.

West Indies have struggled with the bat throughout this England tour, losing a seriously lopsided ODI series 3-0 and being heavily defeated in the first T20I, all in Antigua. And so it continued, as the teams moved to Barbados for the remaining fixtures, England winning the second T20I by 16 runs with three matches to go.

Matthews, the West Indies captain, gave her side a chance with 3 for 15 from her four overs, and had the hosts' batting been stronger, 142 might have looked an achievable target. But Dean, playing just her second T20I -

and bowling for the first time in the format, after her debut match during the Ashes in January was washed out - put paid to that idea with her 3 for 22, to leave England on the cusp of another series win ahead of the third game of five on Saturday.

England change it up

The tourists have made three changes to the side which cruised to victory by eight wickets on Sunday with a view to exposing as many members of their squad to match conditions ahead of February's T20 World Cup in South Africa. Fast bowler Issy Wong, who is yet to feature in the series, was left out after experiencing tightness in her quad, while England rested the highly experienced trio of Nat Sciver, Amy Jones and Sophie Ecclestone.

Coming in alongside allrounder Alice DavidsonRichards were seamer Freya Davies and offspinner Dean, both bowlers playing a part in defending England's total.

Lauren Winfield-Hill took the wicketkeeping gloves instead of Jones. Lauren Bell,

the in-form right-arm swing bowler, hinted at changes when she spoke after her crucial 3 for 26 in the opening game, saying the remaining matches were "a good chance to play some of the girls who have maybe not played so much T20 cricket and see what our different options are against different players".

Tourists becalmed Dunkley looked in fine touch as she smoked Chinelle Henry for six over long off. But then legspinner Afy Fletcher came on in the sixth

Fernando Santos steps down after Portugal’s exit from Qatar 2022

Fernando Santos has stepped down as manager of Portugal.

The 68-year-old is leaving after Portugal had suffered a shock 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco at World Cup 2022.

Santos had spent eight years in charge of Portugal, guiding the team to victory at Euro 2016, as well as the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019. However, his final games were dominated by his decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo for the knockout matches at Qatar 2022. Santos chose to drop the 37-year-old before the last-16 meeting with Switzerland, following Ronaldo's negative reaction to being substituted during the final group game against South Korea.

Portugal won the game

Fernando Santos has stepped down from being manager of the Portugal team against Switzerland 6-1, with Ronaldo's replacement, Goncalo Ramos, scoring a hat-trick; but were stunned in the last eight, as Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

The Portuguese Football Association (FPF) has said:

"The FPF thanks Fernando Santos and his technical team for the services provided over eight unique years, and believes that this thanks is also made on behalf of the Portuguese people. The FPF Board will now start the process of choosing the next national coach." (BBC Sport)

over and accounted for Danni Wyatt, who misjudged the length of a quicker ball that skidded on and pinged the top of middle and off stump. Winfield-Hill tried to swing across Matthews's line and was caught at midwicket by Karishma Ramharack. After 10 overs, England were 57 for 2, compared to 85 for 2 in their first game; and just as captain Heather Knight was hitting her flow via backto-back fours off Aaliyah Alleyne, it became 76 for 3 in the 13th, when she was

stumped off a wide delivery from Ramharack for 18 off 14.

Dunkley picked out Henry at long-off to give Matthews her second wicket, and Maia Bouchier fell after a handy cameo of 24 off 14, advancing as Matthews tossed the ball up and Kycia Knight whipped off the bails. CherryAnn Fraser conceded just five runs off the penultimate over - England managed only 31 off the last five overs - then took a wonderful catch diving to her left at mid-off to remove Katherine Brunt in the final over of the innings.

Dean seizes the day

After two overs, West Indies were 21 without loss, Bell conceding 14 of them off the second. Davies entered the attack in the third over, however, and struck with her third ball, when Alleyne chipped to Brunt at mid-off.

Having played a secondary role to her opening partner, Matthews was bowled in the next over, deceived by a well-flighted Dean delivery, and West Indies were 23 for 2 inside the first four

overs of their reply. Dean then had Rashada Williams falling backwards in a heap to one that clattered into the stumps, giving her 2 for 1 from 1.4 overs. Sarah Glenn chimed in with the wicket of Djenaba Joseph, stumped by Winfield-Hill, before Dean returned to bowl Kycia Knight in the 10th over, leaving them at 50 for 5.

Brunt had to venture into the carpark to retrieve a huge six struck by Shabika Gajnabi as Davidson-Richards conceded 12 runs off the 19th over.

And Fraser powered another maximum off Bell just after she had dismissed Fletcher to claim her second wicket. But they were rare batting highlights which came too late for the home side. (ESPN Cricinfo)

Rashada Williams 2-0-18-1

TOTAL 20 Ov (RR: 6.25) 125/8

Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Aaliyah Alleyne, 2.3 ov), 2-23 (Hayley Matthews, 3.5 ov), 3-31 (Rashada Williams, 5.4 ov), 4-48 (Djenaba Joseph, 8.3 ov), 5-50 (Kycia Knight, 9.3 ov), 6-78 (Chinelle Henry, 13.5 ov), 7-82 (Shemaine Campbelle, 14.3 ov), 8-119 (Afy Fletcher, 19.1 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W Katherine Brunt 3-0-18-1

Lauren Bell 3-0-21-2

Freya Davies 3-0-16-1

Charlie Dean 4-0-22-3

Sarah Glenn 4-0-22-1

Alice Davidson-Richards 3-0-24-0

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D.C Caesar Fox Secondary (burgundy) dominated Golden Grove Secondary

Sophia Dunkley top-scored for England

England Women’s tour of the West Indies 2022: T20I #2 of 5…

One Guyana President’s Cup…

Region 4 thump Region Seven 6-1

The New GPC’s Region 4 team was the only one to walk away with a victory on night two of the One Guyana President’s Cup Regional tournament.

Sponsored by the New GPC Inc, the Region 4 team began their campaign with a bang on Wednesday night at the National Track and Field Center (NTFC) at Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD) when they secured a commanding victory over Region 7.

The second game of the night -- even considered the headliner -- saw Region 4’s Kelsey Benjamin striking in the very first minute of the game. Benjamin’s strike was followed by a 4th minute goal off the boots of Ryan Hackett as the Region 4 team made their intentions crystal clear. A penalty opportunity soon came the way of Omari Glasgow, who took it expertly to push the scores to 3-0. Colin Nelson joined the party in

the 20th, while Hackett completed his brace in the 35th minute.

Region 7’s consolation goal came in the 41st minute of the encounter and by no effort of their own, being an own goal. Nonetheless, Glasgow continued the scoring, finding the back of the

net for Region 4 in the 45th minute +1.

The 6-1 halftime score remained unchanged in the second half, and Region 4 walked away with a victory that could have been by a much larger margin. Head Coach Wayne Dover also had this opinion, which he

Hockey tour of Barbados… Juniors win series, Seniors close gap on final day

Guyana’s junior and senior Male National Hockey Teams returned home earlier this week after each had completed fourmatch test series against their Barbadian counterparts.

After playing to 1-1 stalemates in all three of their earlier encounters, the juniors dominated their final match, and should have won by a larger margin than the 4-1 victory. This happened while the seniors came within seconds of claiming their first victory of the series, before Barbados equalised from a penalty corner with no time left on the clock.

National captain Shakeem Fausette was adjudged MVP of the junior series, while Guyana’s number 9 player Frederico Cush received the award for most goals scored in the series.

Commenting on the teams’ performances, National Coach Robert Fernandes said, “I think the fact that eight of our juniors got the experience of playing the senior matches, although very taxing physically, took their game to a whole new level, and it showed in the junior matches. The seniors had a tough start to the competition, and were missing some key players in their earlier matches. In the first match, we didn’t have Shakeem Fausette, and Warren Williams only lasted a few minutes, both pulling up with cramps. So, we sat them out for the second match also, and in the third match, our best player, Jamarj Assanah, had to sit out with a leg injury.

“Sunday’s match was the first time we had all our playmakers on the field, and the boys performed really well.

The press was excellent, and they had several quality circle entries and penalty corners. We scored in the final quarter, and got a penalty stroke which was saved by the Bajan goalkeeper.

“Barbados were awarded a penalty corner with seconds left on the clock; so, when time expired, they sent their entire team forward and were able to convert for the 1-1 draw.”

Fernandes added, “The tour helped to expose some gaps in our individual techniques, skill sets and tactical awareness, which we need to address in the coming months. However, both teams have been on an upward trajectory since they got to Barbados, putting out improved performances with every match.

“Considering that our entire junior team and 14 members of our senior team made their international debuts on this trip, against a country ranked 45 places above us in the world rankings, I think we

achieved what we went there to do: gain international experience, learn from it, and get better for the junior Pan Ams and CAC Games next year.”

Special thanks have been extended to the teams’ sponsors: the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), the National Sports Commission (NSC), Kestrel Guyana Inc., Sankar’s Auto Works, Guysons, and Dyna’s Embroidery and Screen Prints.

Complete Series Results

Day 1

Juniors - Drew 1-1 Seniors - Lost 0-4

Day 2

Juniors - Drew 1-1 Seniors - Lost 0-1

Day 3

Juniors - Drew 1-1 Seniors - Lost 0-2

Day 4 Juniors - Won 4-1 Seniors - Drew 1-1

articulated as he gave his assessment of the game.

“It was a very good performance, based on the circumstances in terms of how the pitch isn’t too smooth,” Dover commented. “As much as we scored 6 goals, I think we were not (as) ruthless as we should have been. You know, and you could’ve seen, young McArthur was not on his game tonight, and he missed some easy goals. Ryan Hackett scored a couple, and take his foot off the pedal. I think, in all, we would have done better.

“The second half, we had a little drop-off, but it’s still

good to give the younger players an opportunity to play, and the Bartica team came out and had a spirited second half, and we got to give them credit for that,” Dover added.

Earlier in the evening, Region 5 held Region 10 to a 3-3 draw in their opening game. Region 5 was the first to find the back of the net, compliments of Delroy Frazer in the 8th minute. However, it soon became a 1-1 game as a result of an own goal.

Back-to-back goals from Donovan Mitchell in the 45th and 46th propelled

Region 10 to a 3-1 lead, but Region 5 chipped away at that deficit, and in the 55th, Olvis Mitchell added another to the Region 5 tally, while Abumuchi Benjamin waited until the last possible moment to strike the equalizer for Region 5 in the 90th.

The One Guyana President’s Cup continues on Friday December 16, with another double-header. In Group A, Region 9 will battle Region 8, while in the Group B, Region 3 takes on Region 2. Both games would be played at the same venue.

The Trinidad and Tobago Under-13 Cricket Team have again showed class when they held their nerve to win a thrilling match against their Guyana Under-13 counterparts at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, EBD.

In this third match of the 40-Over Goodwill series, Trinidad won by three wickets in having to chase 91 runs.

Guyana were demolished by off-spinner Shaan Ramthal who claimed 5-21, while Mikaeel Ali lay the platform with a brisk 38 in the chase.

Trinidad and Tobago ran into the Richard Ramdeholl roadblock, but eventually overcame the spinner, who ended with 4-5 in eight overs.

Trinidad and Tobago had lost opener Tyler Ramroop earlier, when he offered a return catch to the promising skipper Brandon Henry with the score at 2-1. Mikaeel Ali, who looked a class apart from his colleagues, was partnered by the skipper, Zakarriyya Mohammed, and the duo showed good batsmanship.

The classy left-hander Ali became the first man to score a six in this series. He was dismissed for a stroke-filled 38 from 40 balls, made in an innings laced with four fours and two sixes.

Trinidad then lost their way in the middle order, with Roberto Badree being run out,

and Ra'ed Ali-Khan being dismissed for four. Eventually, Reyad Jerome and Ramthal added an unbroken 19 runs to see Trinidad over the line, and they ended on 91-7 in 27.5 overs.

Richard Ramdeholl, who hails from Plantation Rose Hall in East Canje Berbice, put Guyana into the game with his magical spell of 4-5 in eight top overs.

Earlier, Guyana batted first and posted 90 all out in 37.4 overs. Khush Seegobin was the top-scorer with a 45ball 20. He struck a solitary boundary while battling for 70 minutes. Opener Ethan Silas was the other batsman to reach double figures, scoring 12. No other Guyanese batsmen reached double figures,

and extras yielded 17 runs.

Off-spinner Ramtahal, the best bowler on show, claimed 5-21 from eight overs. He bowled one maiden and sent down 37 dot deliveries. Ramtahal was also adjudged player of the match in the opening game when he claimed 3-7. The final match, set for Saturday, December 17, will be live-streamed.

Squads: Guyana Under-13 Team: Brandon Henry (Captain), Richard Ramdeholl (Vice Captain), Ravid Fredericks, Ethan Silas, Lamar Seecharan, Mohamed Balle, Khush Seegobin, Nathaniel Ramsammy, Makai Dowlin, Rayaz Latiff, Tameshwar Deonandan, Raffel Mc Kenzie, Darrius Pearson, Thierry Davis, Leon Ready, and Arif Marimutoo.

Coach: Lathman Yadram Manager: Rayon Da Costa.

Trinidad and Tobago Under-13 Team: Zakariyya Mohammed (Cptn/Wkpr), Mikaeel Ali (Vice Captain), Brian Harricharan, Shaan Ramtahal, Reyad Jerome, Roberto Badree, Ethan Ramcharan, Ra’ed Ali- Khan, Sameer Ramdath, Zion Phillip, Abdiel Boland, Tyler Ramroop, Aaden Owen, and Jordan Julien.

Assistant Coach: Brent Francis, Coach: Kenneth Samuel, Assistant Manager: Azard Mohammed, Manager: Peter Padmore.

Junior tournament MVP

Shakeem Fausette

Highest goal-scorer of Junior Series, Frederico Cush

Trinidad defeat Guyana in 3-wicket thriller to lead series 2-1

Shaan Ramtahal picked up five wickets for T&T

Omari Glasgow gearing up to take a successful penalty

A glimpse of the action