Guyana Times - Monday, November 6, 2023

Mahdia Fire Station receives new equipment to help boost capacity

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Issue No. 5545

THE BEACON OF TRUTH MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Motion denouncing Venezuela’s “provocative” “provocative”, “void” referendum to be debated in Parliament today …Govt, Opposition expected to ratify Page 3

motion, take united stance against Venezuela

PRICE $100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE: Gas-to-energy project

Local sales P5 from urea plant could attract premium prices – gas strategy

East Canje teen stabbed to death

“Read the fine print” – legal advisors to persons conducting hire purchase transactions Appeal Court reserves ruling by Govt eyeing onduoappeal jailed for potential investors 117 years in Africa for regional transportation needs Police find Page 7

P11

Body stuffed in septic tank

P10

Page 9

…airlines in Africa welcome to invest – Finance Minister

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shotgun at Region 1 mining camp

2020 fatal accident

The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh & Hindu Sevika Samiti (HSS) Guyana on Sunday evening lit the national diya at Rahaman's Park, Houston as the Hindu community in Guyana and around the world prepare to usher in Diwali – the Festival of Lights

Teen killed in Agriculture Road accident Page 11

Cop jailed for 3 years, 6 months for triple deaths

Page 8

Land clearing commences for modern hospital at New Amsterdam P16

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

BRIDGE The Demerara OPENINGS Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, Nov 6 – 23:30h – 01:00h and Tuesday, Nov 7 – No retraction.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, Nov 6 – 12:05h – 13:35h and Tuesday, Nov 7 – 12:55h – 14:25h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily.

WEATHER TODAY There will be thundery showers and sunshine during the day. Expect clear skies at night.

Temperatures should range between 25 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-Easterly to East South-Easterly between 2.68 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 11:18h and 23:42h reaching maximum heights of 1.98 metre and 2.04 metres.

Low Tide: 17:12h reaching a minimum height of 1.26 metre.

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COMMODITIES Indicators

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Crude Oil

$85.14/barrel

+0.29

Rough Rice London Sugar

$285.75/ton $757.40/ton

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Change %

USD Per Ounce $1990.40 $1986.50 -1.80

$1991.40 $1993.40 -0.09

Motion denouncing Venezuela’s "provocative", "void" referendum to be debated in Parliament today

…Govt, Opposition expected to ratify motion, take united stance against Venezuela

I

n response to Venezuela’s planned referendum coming up on December 3, 2023, that seeks to set in motion the annexation of Guyana’s Essequibo territory, Guyana’s National Assembly will unite today to consider a motion denouncing Venezuela’s unlawful referendum.

The motion that will be put to the floor was released on Sunday. In the motion, which contains a dozen ‘whereas’ clauses, the combined Government and Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) will be expected to denounce Venezuela’s motion as “provocative, unlawful, void, and of no international legal effect.”

According to the motion, the referendum is in flagrant disregard for international law, since question five speaks to the annexation of the sovereign territory of another country, namely Essequibo, which was awarded to Guyana (then British Guiana) in the 1899 Arbitral Award… which Venezuela accepted and ratified at the time.

The motion notes that “the Government and people of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana deem this purported Referendum to be contemptuous of the legal process prevailing before the International Court of Justice and repugnant to the accepted principles, tenets, norms and practices of international law.”

Further, the motion will seek the Opposition’s support for the Government’s actions to not only approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking an injunctive order against the referendum, but also the Opposition’s support for the Government’s pursuit of a “peaceful and lawful resolution” of the controversy before the ICJ. This is support that the Opposition has already said it will provide, with President Dr Irfaan Ali and Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton having met last week.

Rejection of talks

At the same time, the motion will also seek the combined National Assembly’s rejection of any proposal from Venezuela to resolve the controversy outside of the ICJ. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has made such calls on President Dr Irfaan Ali, going so far to propose that Guyana enter into dialogue with Venezuela that would be mediated by the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

In fact, one of the whereas clauses describe

President Dr Irfaan Ali and Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, with their respective teams during their meeting last week

Venezuela’s efforts to get Guyana to engage in dialogue outside of the ICJ as “another attempt to avoid the scrutiny of its illegal claim under international law and to nullify the binding legal process”.

According to the motion, the bilateral dialogue process is now defunct, having been exhausted for years without meaningful headway under the Good Offices process, and Guyana is now committed to the ICJ process.

The motion will also call “for the deepening of engagements among all national stakeholders on issues relating to the sov-

ereignty and territorial integrity of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, particularly within the context of the meetings of the bipartisan Ministerial Advisory Committee on the Guyana/ Venezuela Controversy” and “encourages the citizens of Guyana to remain fully engaged on developments surrounding the controversy.”

Meanwhile, the other proposed resolutions in the motion include a call for the National Assembly to reaffirm Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as for recognition and acceptance of the

1899 Arbitral Award as a “full, perfect and final” settlement of the boundary between the two countries.

Another section of the motion will seek to recognise the support Guyana has been receiving from its international partners.

The ICJ has meanwhile announced that it will be holding a special sitting in two weeks to hear Guyana’s Request regarding Venezuela’s planned referendum that seeks to annex the Essequibo region and integrate it into the Spanish-speaking nation’s territory.

TURN TO PAGE 7

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

guyanatimesgy.com

Views

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

Whither multilateralism?

W

ith the Israelis responding savagely against Hamas’ attack – in which 1400 of their citizens were killed –by now dropping bombs into Gaza and killing almost 10,000 civilians, Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine almost two years ago – and still slogging it out as thousands of civilians are killed – has almost become a footnote. These outrages must have been a factor in Maduro’s recent bellicosity and troop deployment on our Essequibo border, since he would have concluded that the multilateral institutions created after WWII to prevent such contingencies have now broken down.

The major one, of course, is the UN system, with which we have taken refuge with our case that the controversy created by Venezuela over our Essequibo was definitively settled back in 1899. The UN had been formed against the backdrop of the failure of the League of Nations to prevent WWII in which over 50 million had been killed and was supposed to provide mechanisms to prevent wars between States. Through evolving doctrines, such as “the Right to Protect” (R2P), it was even beginning to intervene in domestic situations when the rights of citizens were being flagrantly violated.

But here it is – in the very theatre where that “war to end all wars” was conducted – we have the UN reduced to being a mere spectator. Ditto for the genocide being conducted

by Israel in Gaza. Expecting the legal certainty that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will rule in Guyana’s favour, Maduro has already said in so many words that he not only will not accept any judgement but does not even accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction to hear the case. He is thumbing his nose at the UN and while we have made much fanfare of our resort to that institution on his “referendum”, we will soon discover that nothing will come out of that.

Another multilateral institution that has failed is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that was formed in the mid-1990s to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and which, like the UN, was supposed to deliver greater justice between the developed, underdeveloped and developing worlds. This time in the most critical area of equalising the terms of trade that offered greater advantages to the developed countries that were recent colonisers and retained the premises of that arrangement. The dispute resolution mechanism has ground to a halt since the US refused to appoint its representative on the Appellate Body two years ago. For Guyana, this is a great disadvantage since we are totally dependent on increasing our exports in the agricultural sector that we have strategically identified as necessary for sustainable development. We can foresee that some countries may, for instance, erect barriers to those exports.

Then there are the financial “Bretton Woods” multilateral institutions – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) – that were supposedly designed to also introduce some degree of equity between the developed and developing worlds in terms of financial needs and flows. One of the reasons for their demise has been one that we experienced firsthand: its “one size fits all” formula of severe austerities and conditionalities for countries that accumulated unsustainable debt in a system that was stacked against them through the terms of trade, etc. After its disastrous intervention in the Far Eastern economies in 1997, there have been determined efforts by regional economies to use alternative financial mechanism. The latest one is the Development Bank launched by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping. The African Union’s foray into Guyana with its Afreximbank is another example of movement towards bilateral rather than multilateral relationships.

All of the above are symptoms of a more fundamental shift in the world order in which the US – which became a hegemonic superpower after WWII – is now being challenged and a new multipolar world is evolving. The challenge was articulated by Antonio Gramsci: “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.”

Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, West Demerara Praant hosted its Annual Inter-school Rangoli Competition at the West Demerara Secondary School last week (Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha photos)

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

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News

Gas-to-energy project

Local sales from urea plant could attract premium prices – gas strategy …but strategy warns volumes would be limited

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he gas strategy that was released for public feedback, contains a number of proposals for how Guyana can earn money exploiting its gas resources. One option the strategy explores is the sale of urea, used as a fertiliser, to local industries.

According to the strategy, a case can be made for selling the urea to the local domestic market. In fact, it notes that sales from a new urea plant in Guyana is likely to attract an import-substitution price premium of around $40 per ton. However, it was noted that volumes would be extremely limited.

“Alternatively, the gas can be used as a direct feedstock to industries, especially those demanding large smelting operations, for instance bauxite processing into aluminium and a gold refinery; both of which can attract premium prices globally in their value-added forms,” the report states.

The strategy explained that historically, global prices for ammonia were steady for a number of years, averaging $225 per tonne. There were extremely steep rises in the price for urea in 2021 and

into 2022, which saw prices peaking at $720 per tonne in the 2022 first quarter.

“In April 2022, cargoes from Pont Lisas in Trinidad were fetching as much as $1500 to $1600 per tonne. The war in Ukraine has created export constraints and extremely high gas feedstock prices in Europe, driving prices to record levels.”

“The Base Case assumes long-term FOB Egypt urea prices of $350/t, with the high case at $425/t and low case at $275/t (Real $2022). The high-level assumption is that urea produced by a world-scale plant in Guyana would be able to capture similar prices to FOB Egypt,” the strategy states.

Meanwhile, the strategy explained that modern ammonia production consumes around 30 Metric Million British Thermal Unit (MMBtu) of gas per ton of ammonia. It is expected that ExxonMobil will deliver 50 million cubic feet of gas per day to the gas-to-energy project.

The draft strategy was released last week Monday, with November 14, 2023, set as the deadline for submissions from

No trust in APNU Dear Editor, An article in the media on Sunday, November 5th 2023 is a promise by the APNU of a ‘liveable income for all,’ among several other things. The irony in this is that it starts with a lie.

Guyanese are expected to believe that there is in existence a grouping of political parties in the Opposition operating under the banner of A Partnership for National Unity. Nothing could be further from the truth, as what we have is the PNC, a few appendages and what remains of the AFC. Secondly this promise of a ‘liveable income for all’ is laughable given what we experienced in 2015 and the five-year period that preceded. The APNU+AFC coalition promised much in 2015 then when it got into office what we saw was quite the opposite.

They promised to create jobs, then turned around and fired 7000 sugar workers and lost 30,000 jobs as a result of their incompetence.

After telling Guyanese that “it is time to vote for jobs”

in 2015 when they got into Government, they said it's not their role to create jobs and that Guyanese would be better off selling plantain chips and Cook-up Rice.

This same APNU+AFC coalition promised a liveable wage and then gave themselves a 50% salary increase within the first 3 months of its tenure in office, while public servants got next to nothing.

Added to that, they then put VAT on water, electricity, data, education, medical services, and several food items. As if this wasn’t enough, they then raised over 200 taxes and fees, some by as much as 500%.

Guyanese people are not stupid. Our experiences with the APNU+AFC are real and recent. We know that we couldn't trust them to keep their promises in Government and given the daily outpouring of lies and racism, we know that we certainly can't trust them in Opposition.

Yours truly, Anson Paul

Model of the gas-to-energy project

the public. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources in a statement, the strategy will be a vital tool to guide the management of Guyana’s natural gas resources, ensuring that informed decisions are made on how to use the gas.

The monetisation of Guyana’s vast gas reserves has been described

by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo as the next wave of economic opportunity for Guyana, seeing as the country has some 17 trillion cubic feet of associated gas.

During an interview

with S&P Global a few months ago, Jagdeo had noted that the conversation has moved from ExxonMobil wanting to reinject the gas they found in the Stabroek Block, to Exxon helping Guyana to develop it. This partnership has stretched to the gas-to-energy project, where ExxonMobil is funding the pipeline and associated infrastructure.

In Budget 2023, the gas-to-energy project received a $43.3 billion allocation. This allocation is in addition to the $24.6 billion injected into the start-up of the transfor-

mational project, which includes the construction of an integrated Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant and the 300-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

The NGL and 300 MW power plant components of the Gas-to-Shore Project are meanwhile expected to cost US$759.8 million and will be financed through sources that include budgets and loan financing.

The scope of Guyana’s gas-to-energy project consists of the construction of 225 kilometres of pipeline from the Liza field in the

Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where Exxon and its partners are currently producing oil. It features approximately 200 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore that will run from Liza Destiny and Liza Unity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to the shore.

Upon landing on the West Coast Demerara shore, the pipeline would continue for approximately 25 kilometres to the NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara. The pipeline would be 12 inches wide, and is expected to transport per day some 50 million standard cubic feet (mscfpd) of dry gas to the NGL plant, but it has the capacity to push as much as 120 mscfpd.

The pipeline’s route onshore would follow the same path as the fibre optic cables, and will terminate at Hermitage, part of the Wales Development Zone (WDZ) which will house the Gas-to-Shore Project.

A sum of US$55 million per annum will be paid to ExxonMobil in amortisation costs for the pipelines to be installed in the gas-to energy project, which will allow Guyana to, in turn, save and earn ten times that amount.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Foundation ◄

Page

Song of the Open Road

Test Questions

BY WALT WHITMAN

1 Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, Healthy, free, the world before me, The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune, Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing, Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms, Strong and content I travel the open road.

The earth, that is sufficient, I do not want the constellations any nearer, I know they are very well where they are, I know they suffice for those who belong to them.

(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens, I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go, I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them, I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)

To be continued

Experimental travel has become a buzz word in recent times. The millennials live a fast-paced life and love living to the fullest. They believe in ‘work hard and party harder’ concept and favour quality over quantity. In recent times, young people are more fascinated with travel. They are not typical tourists but loves visiting a place based on an experiment. The goal is to make a deeper connection with the destination and include elements of chance and serendipity. Thus, experimental tourism is an approach where visitors enjoy experimenting with their travel ideas.

mix of art, science and fun. The idea was led by a French journalist, Joel Henry in 1990 who transformed travel into a game.

He suggests experiencing the chosen destination in a unique way that would remain etched in the memory forever. There are various approaches to experimental tourism, some of which are listed below, that travellers can experiment with.

What is experimental travel?

Alphatourism is interesting where visitors find the first and last street on a map and draws a straight line in between.

Finally, they walk through the path between these points.

Experimental travel became a trend in itself after Lonely Planet has published an ultimate guide to experimental travel. This is basically unconventional travelling, a

1. Aerotourism

This is the concept of exploring the local airport and coming back.

2. Alphatourism

tion that the arrow hits.

3. Blindfolded tourism

It is the kind of experimental travel where visitors are blindfolded and escorted with the help of a guide.

4. Contretourism

Travellers visit popular tourist attractions but turn their back and take a picture of the sight from that particular direction.

5. Nyctalotourism

This is the kind of tourism where travellers visit key attractions only between dusk and dawn.

6. Sagittatourism

It is a concept where visitors throw an arrow on a map and explores the destina-

Why should you be an experimental traveller?

If you are the kind of traveller who enjoys exploring new things, experimental travel is something that you must try. The vague style of travelling where the journey is clear but the destination is unknown really intrigues many. It not only relaxes you but also opens you up to new ideas and solutions.

Trying experimental travel

Pick out at least one of the concepts mentioned above and use it to explore your own community. For example, enlist the help of an adult family member to try Blindfolded Tourism in your community.

Remember your safety must be ensured at all times. (Adapted from holidify.com)

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Read the fine print” – legal advisors to persons conducting hire purchase transactions W ith Christmas season approaching, persons are likely to make hire purchase or credit transactions, and legal advisors at the Legal Affairs Ministry and Attorney General Chambers are urging consumers to read the ‘fine print’ before signing any sale agreements.

“When you go to make these transactions, ensure that you read the fine prints; ensure that the price that displayed is what you agreed to and is what would be included in whatever agreement [you’re entering into],” Senior Legal Advisor at the Legal Affairs Ministry, Denise Hodge stated.

Hodge, along with State Counsel attached to Litigation and Advice Department at the Ministry, Mohanie Sudama, appeared on a recent edition of the “Simplifying the Law” programme that focused on the Hire Purchase Act, which was passed in the National Assembly in November 2022.

The legislation offers equal protection of consumers from exploitative practices and sellers from unscrupulous hirers (consumers). Twenty-seven of the 30 clauses in the Bill were amended, ensuring a balanced framework to protect both parties by creating a level playing field as opposed to the previous law, which was skewed heavily in favour of the owner over the buyer.

During the televised pro-

New law and clauses

Senior Legal Advisor Denise Hodge

gramme, the two legal officers urged consumers to always be vigilant when entering into agreements.

They also called on persons to get familiarised with the new Hire Purchase laws to know their rights as well as that of the seller. “…Ensure that you pay your instalments on time.

You can even pay [it early and you get back some money after paying it early and in time. But you should also remember that if you’re in default of paying your instalments on time and paying them fully, the person you would have purchased the item from, has a right to be able to repossess the time. But once you would have paid 70 per cent or above for that item, they cannot take it. I know a lot of persons would have had such experiences,” Hodge pointed out.

Under the new law, sellers can no longer turn up at will to repossess an item.

They have to file an action in the Magistrate’s Court in order to activate that process.

On the other hand, Sudama used the opportunity to inform the public of clauses in agreements that are prohibited under the new law and which could make the transaction void.

“One of the provisions that the owner/seller cannot include is to be allowed to forcibly enter someone’s premise and to repossess the goods. If a condition like that exist in a Hire Purchase Agreement or Conditional Sale Agreement or a Credit Sale Agreement then that provision would be void. That provision cannot be legally enforced.”

“Another provision is denying the buyer/hirer from ending the agreement. If there is a provision that restricts the buyer/hirer from ending the agreement then that provision is also not legally enforceable. Another provision which also may not be legally enforceable is imposing additional liability on the buyer/hirer for ending agreement… The Act also prevents and restricts the owner/seller of the goods from relieving themselves of any sort of liability from the time the contract is signed to the end of the agreement,” the State Counsel explained.

Unfair conduct in hire purchase

Only earlier this year, in April, the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Ministry sounded warnings over complaints of alleged unfair and possibly unlawful conduct in hire purchase trans-

Motion denouncing Venezuela’s...

FROM PAGE 3

In a statement on Friday, the Netherlandsbased Court had said it will hold public hearings in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899 (Guyana v Venezuela) on Tuesday November 14, 2023, at the Peace Palace in The Hague. According to the ICJ, the hearings will be devoted to the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted

by Guyana on October 30, 2023.

Referendum

Last month, the Venezuelan National Electoral Council had published a list of five questions that it plans to put before the Venezuelan people in a referendum set for December 3, 2023. The referendum will seek the Venezuelan people’s approval to, among other things, annex Essequibo and create a Venezuelan state.

This particular question (#5) also seeks the citizens’ approval for Venezuela to grant citizenship and identity cards to

Inside the dome of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where the sitting will be held

residents of Essequibo.

Last week Tuesday, it was revealed that the Guyana Government has sought the World Court’s intervention to prevent Venezuela from taking action through its planned referendum to annex Guyana’s Essequibo region.

One of the questions from the referendum that Guyana is seeking an order against is the very first one, which asks the Venezuelan people to reject the boundary between the two countries that was set

in the 1899 Arbitral Award – following a process of arbitration.

Guyana is also seeking the Court’s intervention against question three, which asks the Venezuelan people not to recognise the ICJ’s jurisdiction, even though the Court had thrown out Venezuela’s previous attempt to get the Court not to accept jurisdiction over the case.

Finally, the Court’s intervention is being sought to prevent question five. (G3)

State Counsel Mohanie Sudama

actions mere months after the new law was passed.

“It is principally because of these reasons that the Government of Guyana enacted a modern Hire Purchase Act which came into force in 2022…

Unfortunately, based upon the complaints received, many of which have been circulating on social media, it appears that provisions of the Hire Purchase Act are not properly implemented or complied with, or are being completely ignored,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Members of the public and specifically, those who intend to enter into hire purchase agreements were asked to get familiarised with provisions of the Act or to secure legal counsel to do so on their behalf in relation thereto.

Among the new provision in the law are: Section 3 (1) of the Act which imposes the obligation on the owner, to disclose in writing, the cash price before the hire purchase agreement is entered into while Section 3 (4) requires all

hire purchase agreements to contain clauses that state the hire purchase price and the cash price of the goods; the amount of instalments required to pay the hire purchase price; and the date each instalment is payable.

Section 5 gives the right to the hirer or buyer to terminate the agreement while Section 6 lists the clauses in agreements which, if included, will be void and therefore unenforceable.

Section 10 entitles the hirer or buyer to cancel the agreement within seven days of signing.

Section 13 entitles a hirer or buyer who has cancelled under Section 10 to recover monies paid under the agreement, subject to a restocking fee charged by an owner or seller to a maximum of 10 per cent. Section 23 states that where the hirer or buyer has paid seventy per cent or more of the hire-purchase price or total purchase price, the owner is prohibited from enforcing any right to recover possession otherwise than by ac-

tion in a court of law.

Section 28 provides for rebate on early payment of five per cent per annum or such rate as may be prescribed where the balance of the hire purchase price is paid at least one month before the date it is due, calculated on the amount of such balance for the period in respect of which it was prepaid. This Section also provides that where a balance remains unpaid for more than one month it may attract an interest on such balance at a rate of five per cent per annum or such rate as may be prescribed, calculated on the amount of such balance for the period in respect of which it is due.

Additionally, Section 29 provides that in cases where a hirer or buyer has paid less than seventy per cent of the hire purchase price, the owner or seller must give at least twenty-one days prior notice of his intention to recover possession before he can enforce his right to recover possession of the goods. (G8)

8 NEWS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

2020 fatal accident

Cop jailed for 3 years, 6 months for triple deaths

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ast week, Police Constable Simon Alder received a sentence of three years and six months in prison for an accident at Whim, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) in 2020 that claimed the lives of three of his friends.

Alder, 24, of Corriverton was charged in December 2020 with three counts of dangerous driving causing death and reckless driving. He was on trial for the offences before Magistrate Renita Singh at the Whim Magistrate's Court.

On August 2, 2020, while

Dead: Reon Moriah

travelling along the Whim Public Road, Corentyne, Quacy Lewis, 21, Jessica Gallaway, 21, and Reon

T Jailed: Simon Alder

Dead: Quacy Lewis and Jessica Gallaway

Moriah, 25, were all fatally injured when the motor car they were in—driven by Alder— crashed into a lorry that was parked along the roadway.

After determining that Alder was guilty as charged, Magistrate Singh sentenced him to prison.

After being found guilty, he received jail sentences of three years and six months for each of the three charges of causing death and six months for each of the two counts of dangerous driving.

Due to the concurrent nature of the sentences, he will only serve three years and six months.

Alder had been out on

$300,000 bail on the causing death charges.

It was reported that Alder was allegedly intoxicated when he crashed the motor car he was driving into a motor lorry that was parked along the Whim Public Road.

According to reports, motor car PGG 9262 crashed into motor lorry GJJ 5939.

Eyewitnesses said that while they were assisting the driver of that motor car, the vehicle Alder was driving, motor car PWW 582, came crashing into the rear of the motor lorry.

The accident occurred on August 2, 2020.

At the time of the accident,

Guyana Defence Force (GDF) rank Lewis; Moriah; and Gallaway were also occupants of the motor car. They all died.

Alder was charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle without insurance in addition to the counts on which he was found guilty.

He was given a $20,000 bail and entered a not guilty plea on the driving under the influence charge; however, he later acknowledged operating an uninsured car and paid a $20,000 fine.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had advised the Police to charge Alder. (G1)

Murder accused to know fate tomorrow

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resently on trial before Judge Jo Ann Barlow and a 12-member mixed jury for the murder of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) busi-

Courting…

nessman Romel Edison Gomes is John Caesar, a former East Ruimveldt, Georgetown resident.

After a jury deliberates on the case against Caesar on Tuesday afternoon,

Caesar's fate will probably be known. Tuesday morning has been designated as the summation day by Justice Barlow. After that, she will give the case to the jury for consideration

Murder accused John Caesar

and potential verdict return.

The charge against Caesar states that on March 12, 2018, in the county of Demerara, he murdered Gomes called “Eddy”, a former national footballer.

According to reports, on the day Gomes, a father

Dead: Romel Edison Gomes

of one of Lot 53 Wismar Housing Scheme, Linden, was murdered, Caesar was reportedly one of two persons last seen at his home.

The now dead 32-yearold businessman was allegedly heard arguing with Caesar and another man prior to his death.

TURN TO PAGE 10

…Venezies?

here’s a robust – to put it mildly!! – debate going on about all these Venezies flocking to our shores.

Now this has been going on for years…at least since Venezuela’s meltdown following the collapse of their oil industry following their nationalisation of the few foreign oil companies like Exxon and Chevron that had remained after 2007 – when Chavez upped his populist adventures. Now whatever else is going on, our concern gotta be the impact of all those Venezies in our less than 800,000 population.

The trickle really became a torrent by the time the PPP was checkmated by APNU and the AFC in 2011 – and by 2019 there was a report of 36,000 of them as refugees here. The UN system had gotten involved with humanitarian outreaches to them as they crossed the Cuyuni into our Region 1. After a while, we’d decided to not let them in beyond Mabarama, but we never instituted the systems to do so effectively. There were three reasons for this – firstly many were Indigenous Peoples for whom it was an age-old tradition of migratory habits to make a living.

The second were Venezuelans – some of whom went around south and entered via Boa Vista to Lethem and then to G/town – and others who landed in boats on the Essequibo Coast and gravitated East to the West Coast, Georgetown and East Bank. Many of us felt sorry for these poor wretches – excepting local women who saw their husbands being lured into dalliances by the more desperate female refugees! Soon, every village between Pomeroon and Rosignol had their Venezuelan posses.

Finally, there were the returning Guyanese – or their children – who’d gone over since the 1970s as our economy and society had imploded under Burnham’s “innovations” – which Chavez ironically copied!! These were a whole different kettle of fish. By law, they were Guyanese citizens with all the privileges that implied.

And this brings in the crux of the battle of words that’s going on right now between the Govt and the Opposition.

The latter think they’ve smelt a rat in that the PPP’s been registering Venezuelans of all stripes with GECOM with an eye on elections in 2025!! Hopefully, the Opposition would not only concede but embrace the fact that the refugees of Guyanese origin are perfectly entitled to be registered to vote. This is just a variant of why the courts have rejected their claim of a “bloated voters’ list”!!

On the other hand, if – at best – some of the other categories of Venezies wanna regularise their status then they’ll have to follow the law governing “naturalisation” of citizenship.

If the Opposition have evidence of hanky panky, they should speak up now!! Or hold their peace!! …danger During the Cold War, the Americans had a question for anyone trying to enter their country: “Are you now, or ever been a member of a communist party”. The reason, of course, is they didn’t want to allow Fifth Columnists into their country who could be activated some time down the road to subvert the country from within!!

This should be the retort to those who say we should allow any and all Venezuelan “refugees” because they allowed so many Guyanese to enter their country when the shoe was on the other foot. But the two situations aren’t equivalent, are they?? Unlike Venezuela, we’ve never claimed two-thirds of their territory and could later exploit the sentiments of the “refugees” to call upon their “mother country” to rescue them from persecution or whatever!! Isn’t this why, say, Turkey invaded Cyprus and partitioned it into Greek and Turkish enclaves??

All non-Guyanese persons from Venezuela must be categorised as “refugees” with the caveat they’ll have to return when Maduro is gone!! …investment Now that the investors from Africa have returned home, shouldn’t we be told how many business initiatives were incubated?? This was a critical intervention on so many levels. Not least being that we gotta shed that image of Africa with a begging bowl!!

The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance

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

9 Govt eyeing potential investors in Africa for regional transportation needs NEWS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…airlines in Africa welcome to invest – Finance Minister

W

ith the aim of promoting private sector-led solutions for logistics and regional transportation of agricultural produce, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has revealed that it is also looking at potential investors in Africa.

This was revealed by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, during his recent participation in the Afri-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF).

He referenced Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who was in Guyana for the conference and who has been a vocal proponent for more economic ties between the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Africa.

According to Singh, with transportation a major hurdle to the Region achieving food security, the time is right to look to Africa for investors.

“Prime Minister Mottley has been in conversations about movement of agricultural produce, movement of fertiliser from Africa to Barbados and then onwards across the Caribbean. But we’re looking, really ideally, like I said earlier, at a private sector solution to this.

Not least because the busi-

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh (left) sharing the stage with Dr Benedict Oramah, President of the Afreximbank at ACTIF23

ness case has to be a favourable one,” Dr Singh said.

“We believe it is a favourable one. And we will do all we can to demonstrate that this is a favourable business case here. But it has to be a market-based solution.

We’re looking really for private investors in Africa... we have the Governor of Lagos State here. So, what we want really is for private investors to see this opportunity and to take advantage of it.”

The Finance Minister was optimistic that such an investment opportunity can eventually be taken up by

the right investor. He noted, for example, that countries are growing more and more cognisant of the opportunities in Guyana for air transport.

“And with the growth taking place in Guyana, we believe that will happen. For many years we didn’t have a direct link with Europe.

British Airways saw the volume of traffic that is coming to Guyana and they have now introduced a service to Guyana. And this serves an important demonstrative effect.”

“We’re hoping, we had a

charter from Ethiopian airlines. We’re hopeful that airlines that are already operating in Africa, or potential investors in airline services, whether scheduled or chartered, will see the opportunities and take advantage of them,” Dr Singh said.

The reference to a charter from an Ethiopian airline is likely connected to reports earlier this year that the Government of Guyana was in talks with Africa’s largest airline, Ethiopian Airlines, to commence flights along the Guyana route.

The Caribbean

Development Bank (CDB) had said in April that it would be funding a consultancy that would explore the establishment of a maritime cargo service between Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago – primarily for the movement of agricultural products.

According to the bank, the Caricom heads had identified a lack of adequate regional transportation as a major obstacle to the movement of agricultural products within the Region, and a major contributor to food insecurity.

The Government of Guyana, in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) hosted the second AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF23), from October 30 to 31, at the Marriott Hotel, Georgetown.

Organised under the overarching theme “Creating a Shared Prosperous Future”, and convened by Afreximbank and the GoG, ACTIF23 focused on consolidating commercial collaboration between the Caribbean Region and Africa, for increased inter-regional trade and investment; building on the successes of the inaugural edition that was held in Barbados, in September

2022.

The AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum was introduced in 2022 to enhance the growth of trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean, including promoting airlinks, tourism, technology transfer, financial stability, food security, industrialisation and cultural ties.

The inaugural event welcomed over 1267 delegates from 108 countries, including participants from 50 African countries, 13 Caribbean countries, and regions as far away as Oceania.

There has been growing commercial cooperation between Africa and Caricom supported by Afreximbank.

Eleven Caricom member countries are now participating States in the bank and the bank’s Board approved a limit of US$3 billion for Caribbean economies to enhance trade and investment opportunities between the two Regions.

The bank is launching its representative office in Bridgetown, Barbados; and providing technical assistance towards the establishment of the Caricom Export-Import Bank, and the deployment of the Pan African Payment and Settlement System in the Caribbean. (G3)

10 NEWS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Body stuffed in septic tank

Appeal Court reserves ruling on appeal by duo jailed for 117 years T

he Court of Appeal has reserved its decision, which will be made public at a later date, after hearing separate appeals from Anthony De Paul Hope and Ralph Tyndall, who are contesting their convictions and lengthy prison terms for the 2007 murder of Colleen Forrester, whose body was discovered stuffed in a septic tank of a Campbellville, Georgetown home.

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards announced during a recent hearing at the Kingston, Georgetown courthouse that the court will now give itself time to consider the appeal and that notices of the date it will pronounce its decision will be sent.

In July 2015, a jury before now Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, SC, had found De Paul Hope called “Papa” and Tyndall called “Nick” guilty of the murder of Forrester following a lengthy trial.

Tyndall received a 55year sentence, and Hope received a 62-year sentence.

Hope only becomes eligible for parole after serving 40 years of his sentence. Tyndall, on the other hand, will be eligible for parole after having served

Murdered: Colleen Forrester

Freed: Kevin O’Neil

25 years of his sentence.

Hope and Tyndall both appealed after being found guilty.

Attorneys-at-Law Ronald Daniels and Madan Kissoon are representing Tyndall at the Court of Appeal, while Attorney-atLaw Melvin Duke is representing Hope. The State is being represented by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Diana Kaulesar-O'Brien.

The 56-year-old woman was murdered sometime between December 26, 2007, and January 6, 2008, when her body was found jammed into the septic tank of the William Street, Campbellville property she was watching over for her brother, wrapped in a sheet.

Hope, Guyana Times understands, is Forrester’s nephew and he had resided at the address where her lifeless body was found.

According to a Police report, the body of Forrester was discovered at just around 9:55h on Sunday, January 6, 2008, after Police conducted a search on the William Street, Campbellville property, where she was a caretaker.

They searched the place following a report by relatives that she was missing and discovered the body in the septic tank. Relatives reported that she was last seen returning home from the Main Big Lime in the early hours of December 27, 2007. A post-mortem examination conducted several days later revealed

that she died as a result of strangulation and blunt trauma to the head.

She was reportedly strangled and beaten to death with a pestle (mortar stick).

Another man, Kevin O’Neil, who had been jointly charged along with Tyndall and Hope for the murder of Forester, was, however, acquitted earlier in the trial after the Judge upheld a no-case submission made by his lawyer.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has appealed his acquittal.

O’Neil was released on his own recognisance pending the hearing and determination of the State’s appeal. Prosecutor

Murder convicts Anthony De Paul Hope and Ralph Tyndall (front)

Kaulesar-O'Brien told the court during the most recent hearing that O'Neil no longer dwells at the address he had provided, therefore the State was unable to get in touch

with him. As a result, the Chancellor gave the order to inform the former murder accused that the appeal was ready for hearing via radio messages and print publications. (G1)

Murder accused to know...

FROM PAGE 8

It was reported that during the argument, a loud explosion was heard and the suspects fled the scene in Gomes’s motor car – PVV 2057 – which was parked in front of his shop.

Gomes was discovered in a pool of blood with his hands bound and gagged with a bandana.

He was reportedly found with a gunshot wound to his right temple, a small laceration on top of his head and another lacerated wound to the neck.

A post-mortem examination later gave his cause of death as gunshot wound to

Judge Jo Ann Barlow

the head. Following an investigation, Caesar was arrested and charged with the murder. (G1)

NEWS

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

East Canje teen stabbed to death A n East Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) teenager is now dead following a stabbing incident in East Canje on Saturday evening.

Dead is Shawn Persaud called “Buckman”, 17, of Besty Ground.

According to the Police, a 28-year-old man, who was standing on the Adelphi Access Road, reported that he heard someone shouting: “Buckman get bore.”

He said he ran to the connecting street where

Dead: Shawn Persaud, called “Buckman”

he saw a crowd gathered and Persaud lying on the ground. The injured man was taken to the New Amsterdam Public

Hospital where he pronounced dead.

The 17-year-old suspect, who is called “Lion”, was arrested on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the dead teen’s mother, Donna Persaud, told this publication that she was at home when she was informed of the incident, but by the time she arrived at the hospital she was informed that her son had already passed away.

The woman said there was a wound in the vicinity of the heart.

Donna Persaud

She claimed that she was told several persons were in the area but they did not assist him to get medical attention.

“It is his friends who had to go and fetch him out but they don’t know what took place,” the grieving mother said.

According to the mother of eight, she was told that her son and a few friends were hanging out when a misunderstanding over difference of views arose. “…I did not expect something like to that to happen. I thought that they would have lived happy because all of the time they does live happy,” she said, referring to the suspect who stabbed her son.

Persaud, who lives at Lot 23 Sookraj Street, Adelphi, said she was forced to seek employment earlier this year after her husband, who was the breadwinner, was allegedly murdered in March.

Fifty-one-year-old Nohar Singh had gone missing in March and his body was fished out of the Canje River a few days later. According to the widow, she has no money to bury her son. She noted that it was only last week that she put a grandchild to rest. (G4)

Teen killed in Agriculture Road accident ECD man arrested after

A

teenager was killed in the wee hours of Sunday during an accident at Agriculture Road, Mon Repos on the East Coast of Demerara, in the vicinity of Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).

Dead is 19-yearold Glenroy James of Agriculture Road. Two other persons – 20-year-old Mahendra Surujpersaud and 32-year-old Anand Motielall - both residents of Agriculture Road - were also injured in the accident, which occurred at about 01:45h.

Police said Surujpersaud was driving motor lorry GAD 6445, with James and Motielall as occupants in the vehicle at the time.

The driver told investigators that the lorry was proceeding south along

Dead: Glenroy James

Agriculture Road when a lantern pole, about 25 feet in length, was across the western side of the road.

The motor lorry’s right front wheel drove onto the lantern pole, causing the vehicle to topple several times. The lorry then collided with a utility pole along the western parapet, causing the driver and occupants to be thrown out

of the vehicle and onto the western parapet.

The driver and one of the occupants were then picked up in a conscious state by public-spirited citizens and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit, where they were seen by a doctor on duty and treated for bruises about their bodies and later discharged.

Meanwhile, James was picked up by Police ranks in an unconscious state and taken to GPHC in a Police vehicle. At the hospital, the young man was seen by a doctor on duty, who pronounced him dead on arrival.

James’s body is presently at Memorial Gardens Mortuary, awaiting a post-mortem examination.

Investigations continue. (G8)

Police find bag with ganja R

anks of Regional Division 4C have arrested a man following the discovery of a bag containing 103 grams of marijuana at Buxton, East Coast Demerara.

The narcotic was unearthed on Friday when an inspector and a party of Police ranks conducted a cordon and search exercise at ‘Spliff Street’ Buxton, ECD, where several areas along the street were searched.

During the exercise, ranks found one black plastic bag containing a quantity of zip-lock bags, each containing leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis. When weighed, the cannabis amounted to 103.1 grams.

The marijuana found at Buxton

The bag with cannabis was found on the western parapet in the vicinity of a 25-year-old labourer of Friendship, ECD.

He, along with the narcotic, was escorted to the Vigilance Police Station.

Investigations into the discovery are ongoing. (G8)

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14 NEWS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Berbice tattoo artist Police find shotgun at busted with ganja Region 1 mining camp

P

olice ranks in Berbice arrested a tattoo artist from Rose Hall Town, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) after he was found in possession of 436 grams of suspected marijuana.

The discovery was made during a cordon and search operation between 12:30h and 13:00h on Saturday.

According to Police reports, the officers, acting on information received, went to the home of the suspect, a 29-year-old of Mattai Street, Rose Hall Town, situated in a completely fenced yard.

Upon the Police’s arrival at the gate of the suspect’s

The ganja found by Police

house, the man was standing about five feet away from where they were and ranks

allegedly observed when he picked up a bulky pink plastic and threw it into a clump of bushes nearby.

One of the ranks retrieved the plastic bag and opened it in the presence of the tattoo artist, during which a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis was found in the bag.

He was told of the offence, arrested and taken to the Rose Hall Town Police Station, where the cannabis was weighed and amounted to 436 grams.

The suspect was placed into custody pending charges.

(G8)

R

anks of Regional Division One (Barima-Waini) have arrested two persons after finding an illegal firearm at a mining camp in the region.

According to reports from the Guyana Police Force, officers from the Arakaka Police Station received information in relation to an alleged simple larceny report and went to two mining camps in the area.

They raided one camp at Kamwatta, North West District (NWD) and another one at Skull Mountain, Arakaka.

During the Police operation, the ranks unearthed one unlicensed 12-gauge shotgun.

The weapon, which was found next to a bed at the camp, did not have any cartridges.

The ranks arrested two

The shotgun found at the mining camp

suspects, who are presently in custody pending fur-

ther investigations. (G8)

NEWS

15

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

The inaugural Junior Tourism Cooking Competition was on Sunday hosted at the Aruwai Resort White H2O, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). Four junior teams from Region Seven engaged in a culinary showdown judged by Chef Kester Robinson (Yonnick Fredericks/Guyana Tourism Authority photos)

16 NEWS Mahdia Fire Station receives new equipment to help boost capacity T MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

he Mahdia Fire Station in Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) has received new fire prevention equipment to boost its capacity, Officer-inCharge Ryan Scott said in a recent interview, according the Department of Public Information.

Scott was accompanying a Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) team that was inspecting several facilities in the region.

The team included Chairman Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh,

Officer-in-Charge at Mahdia Fire Station, Ryan Scott

The Mahdia Fire Station in Region Eight

Attorney-at-Law Kim KyteThomas, Chairman of the National Toshaos Council Derrick John, Secretary of the Commission Javed Shaddick, and Attorney-atLaw Keoma Griffith.

Scott stated, “We acquired a cutter, power saw, small and big sledgehammers, and fireman axe. Those are parts of the equipment we need to use for breaking in…in terms for when you meet a fire scene, if you need

Officer-in-Charge at Mahdia Fire Station, Ryan Scott; Chairman, Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh; Attorney-at-Law, Kim Kyte-Thomas; Chair of the National Toshaos Council, Derrick John; Attorneyat-Law, Keoma Griffith, and others (DPI Photo)

to enter the building. That is for easier access, so you can use that as break-in tools or if there is a vehicle accident, you could use that to extract persons from.”

In light of recent upgrades, officials questioned whether the Fire Station is now better equipped to respond swiftly to emergencies, including incidents similar to the Mahdia dorm fire.

Given that the trench-

es are dried up during dry season, Scott recommended that a well would be useful to replenish water for firefighting.

He explained that the team is always prepared to respond to any type of fire, “and everything is based on time consumption. No two fires are the same… What we do is continuous training. So, in the case there is an emergency, we would respond.”

Land clearing commences for modern hospital at New Amsterdam

L

The site where the modern New Amsterdam Hospital will be constructed

and clearing at the site for the US$161 million state-ofthe-art New Amsterdam Hospital in Region Six has commenced, with other preparatory works moving apace.

This update was provided by Regional Chairman David Armogan during a recent interview, where he provided reporters with the progress of the construction of two new highend medical facilities that are scheduled to be built in the ancient county.

He said the New Amsterdam hospital will be a three-storey facility that will be equipped with modern machines to deliver new and advanced services.

Armogan reiterated

that, “The hospital will provide services like open heart surgery, kidney transplant, and some of the major operations that we don’t currently do in the region and to an extent in Guyana right now.”

The contract for the New Amsterdam Hospital was signed in July between the Ministry of Health and VAMED Engineering, an Austria-based company.

Accordingly, foundation works for the new Number 75 Village Hospital are almost completed.

The new facility is expected to replace the Skeldon Hospital. It is being constructed by Sinopharm and is expected to be completed by 2025.

According to Armogan, these services will de-

crease the chances of persons having to travel to Georgetown or out of the country to access healthcare.

With the National Psychiatric Hospital expected to be closed, the Chairman made it clear that the new facility will also cater to patients with mental illnesses.

“We will put new wings so that we can have mental patients be facilitated in each of these hospitals.

So, they will not be stigmatised because they will also be able to have access to the new hospital. We will just have a more modern room for them so that they recover in a better environment and be reintegrated into society,” the Chairman noted. [DPI]

NEWS

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

HEALTH TIPS HERNIAS

muscular wall that usually keeps abdominal organs in place. This defect in the peritoneum allows organs and tissues to push through, or herniate, producing a bulge. The lump may disappear when the person lies down, and sometimes it can be pushed back into. Coughing may make it reappear.

TYPES

Dr Tariq Jagnarine

H

ernia is a common problem. It causes a localized bulge in the abdomen or groin. It can often be harmless and pain-free, but at times it can bring discomfort and pain.

They are usually straightforward to diagnose, simply by feeling and looking for the bulge.

Treatment is a choice between watchful waiting and corrective surgery, either via an open or keyhole operation. Inguinal hernia surgery is more common in childhood and old age, while the likelihood of femoral hernia surgery increases throughout life.

A hernia occurs when there is a weakness or hole in the peritoneum, the

Hernias can commonly be found in the following areas: • Groin: a femoral hernia creates a bulge just below the groin. This is more common in women. An inguinal hernia is more common in men. It is a bulge in the groin that may reach the scrotum.

• The upper part of the stomach: a hiatal or hiatus hernia is caused by the upper part of the stomach pushing out of the abdominal cavity and into the chest cavity through an opening in the diaphragm.

• Belly button: a bulge in this region is produced by an umbilical or periumbilical hernia.

• Surgical scar: past abdominal surgery can lead to an incisional hernia through the scar.

CAUSES

Apart from an incisional hernia (a complication of abdominal surgery), in most cases, there is no obvious reason for a hernia to occur. The risk of hernia increases with age and occurs more commonly in men than in women.

A hernia can be congenital (present at birth) or develop in children who have a weakness in their abdominal wall.

Activities and medical problems that increase pressure on the abdominal wall can lead to a hernia.

These include: • Being overweight or obese straining on the toilet (due to long-term constipation, for example) • Persistent cough • Cystic fibrosis

• • nate • • items • • • • • cles

enlarged prostate.

Straining to uriAbdominal fluid Lifting heavy Peritoneal dialysis Poor nutrition Smoking Physical exertion Undescended testi-

SYMPTOMS

In many cases, a hernia is no more than a painless swelling that presents no problems and needs no immediate medical attention.

A hernia may, however, be the cause of discomfort and pain, with symptoms often becoming worse when standing, straining, or lifting heavy items. Most people who notice increasing swelling or soreness even-

tually see a doctor.

In some cases, a hernia needs immediate surgery, for instance, when part of the gut becomes obstructed or strangulated by an inguinal hernia.

Immediate medical attention should be sought if an inguinal hernia produces acute abdominal complaints such as pain, nausea, vomiting, the bulge cannot be pushed back into the abdomen.

The swelling, in these cases, is typically firm and tender and cannot be pushed back up into the abdomen.

A hiatal hernia can produce symptoms of acid reflux, such as heartburn, which is caused by stomach acid getting into the oesophagus.

TREATMENT

For a hernia without symptoms, the usual course of action is to watch and wait, but this can be risky for certain types of hernia, such as femoral hernias. Within 2 years of a femoral hernia being diagnosed, 40 per cent result in bowel strangulation.

It remains unclear whether non-emergency surgery is worthwhile for hernia repair in cases of an inguinal hernia with-

out symptoms that can be pushed back into the abdomen.

The American College of Surgeons and some other medical bodies consider elective surgery unnecessary in such cases, recommending instead a course of watchful waiting.

Others recommend surgical repair to remove the risk of later strangulation of the gut, a complication where blood supply is cut off to an area of tissue, which requires an emergency procedure.

These health authorities consider an earlier, routine operation preferable to a riskier emergency procedure.

A 2014 systematic review of 20 years of data on conventional open hernia repair (herniorrhaphy) and laparoscopic hernia repair (herniorrhaphy) in infants and children found that laparoscopic surgery is faster than open surgery for bilateral hernias, but that there is no significant difference in operating time for unilateral inguinal hernia repair. The rate of recurrence is similar for both types of procedures, but complications, such as wound infection, are more likely with open surgery, especially in infants.

6-year-old Jamaican girl uses AI Moonilal demands answers to create winning farming app after human trafficker escapes

M

anage your garden or farm better with a Jamaican-made app that tells you what’s best to plant at a particular location.

Plan your next overseas trip hassle-free with another local application that does it for you. If you’re a loner in need of a friend, there’s an app for that too.

These innovations are among those which were spawned from a routine Sunday dinner discussion in the Crawford family home.

The discussion led to the launch of a competition where innovation met creativity to see who could create the best artificial intelligence (AI) app for the chance to win J$50,000.

The competition was open to all the members of the family but it was Georgia Crawford; her children Rhea, 17, Skye, 11, and Nathan, 9; and her six-year-old niece Isabelle, who took up the challenge.

According to Kerry Crawford, Isabelle’s mother, the idea for the app competition came from a discussion about ChatGPT in response to an article about universities expressing concern over the use of AI. “The discussion around the table started about artificial intelligence and what we thought about it. The discussions involve everybody – so children and adults – and we were asking the pros and cons, and I think the question being asked was ‘would you be okay

Six-year-old Isabelle (middle) presented with her cash prize after winning her family's AI app competition. The other competitors (from left) Skye, Georgia, Nathan and Rhea share in the moment

if AI was your doctor instead of a human being?’ My nephew, Nathan, said yes it would be a good thing because [AI] is so advanced in its thinking it would help,” Crawford told Observer Online.

She said the concept of AI was broken down and explained to the children, especially the youngest, Isabelle, and then Georgia came up with the idea for the competition where each participant would develop an app that could help people.

Each person was tasked with coming up with five ideas for an app, and this list was whittled down to one great concept which would be presented to be developed. Once this was done, the family got in touch with app developers to have the participants’ ideas come to reality.

“We had a meeting with the developer of the app and each participant explained

their idea and how they would like to see it happen. I was really impressed by my family – the children were very articulate about how they wanted their apps to look and who would be the target audience and what it would be used for,” Crawford said smiling.

She said over a period of four to six weeks, the family was in discussions with the app developers until a draft was presented and fine-tuned to fit the preferences of the competitors. The apps were then put together in a video where the participants explained what their apps do, and why they should be the winner of the J$50,000 competition.

The video with links to the apps were shared to family members’ social media pages so friends and followers could vote for their favourites. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Oropouche East Member of Parliament, Dr Roodal Moonilal

T

he escape of Trinidad and Tobago’s first human trafficking convict Anthony Michael Smith is a matter of grave national security, says Oropouche East Member of Parliament Dr Roodal Moonilal.

Moonilal called for an urgent meeting of the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on National Security for a full explanation on how Smith absconded after he took off his electronic monitoring device.

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds broke the news of Smith's conviction and escape from justice during a briefing on Friday.

Smith was convicted on five charges under the Human Trafficking Act and had absconded after at-

tended the first two days of his trial before Justice Geoffrey Henderson at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in his absence.

Hinds defended the Police and the Electronic Monitoring Unit (EMU) of the Ministry of National Security, saying it was not a stain on their part.

Moonilal differed in opinion in a statement issued on Saturday. He said the unit has a critical responsibility to the country for this "horrifying lapse" and must account to the JSC. “The escape of Anthony Michael Smith is a grave national security matter not only because he was the first convict for this

dastardly crime but also since electronic bracelets are specially designed and carefully monitored.”

Moonilal recalled that critical electronic-monitoring legislation was passed by the People’s Partnership Government. He said such bracelets should meet international standards and emit signals to a nearby computer at any attempts to escape custody.

“Heads must roll over this scandal of a human trafficker trafficking himself out of supervision, and possibly out of the jurisdiction.”

He said Smith’s escape and ability to dodge the law enforcers “is both scandalous and deeply disturbing”.

(Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Uruguay: Government Footballer Díaz begs father's members resign over ELN kidnappers to free him passport scandal probe C

U

ruguay's Interior Minister and two other members of the government resigned on Saturday over a case that has already prompted the Foreign Minister to quit, involving a passport issued to an internationally wanted drug-trafficking suspect.

Interior Minister Luis Alberto Heber, a Cabinet undersecretary and a chief adviser to President Luis Lacalle Pou will no longer be in the coalition government from today, the president announced on Saturday evening.

Uruguay's presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Heber's resignation.

The investigation is examining how Sebastian Marset, the alleged drug trafficker, received a Uruguayan passport while detained in the United Arab Emirates over forged documents in late 2012. He was ultimately let go.

Marset is wanted in Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and the United States on drug charges.

Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo resigned

Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Pou (Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino photo)

on Wednesday after the publication of a November 2022 phone call in which he appeared to suggest that his undersecretary withhold evidence related to the passport investigation.

Bustillo on Friday denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not know who Marset was at the time the passport was issued. "That's for the Interior Ministry," he told a two-hour news conference, insisting the Foreign Ministry had acted correctly in issuing the document.

The President, who returned on Saturday from

meeting with US President Joe Biden, said the passport should have been issued to Marset in accordance with Uruguay's laws.

"Do we like that a drug trafficker has a passport?

Of course not," Lacalle Pou told a press conference in his first public comments about the scandal. "But that is the current law."

He said he was convinced that officials including Heber, Bustillo and the undersecretary "have no legal responsibility" for the passport, but could defend themselves in court if a case is opened. (Reuters)

olombian-born Liverpool footballer Luis Díaz has begged for his father's kidnappers to free him immediately and "end this painful wait".

Both of Díaz's parents were seized at gunpoint in his hometown of Barrancas by left-wing guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) on October 28.

While his mother was found, his father is still missing.

Díaz scored a goal against Luton on Sunday, lifting his shirt to reveal the words in Spanish "freedom for papa".

"Every second, every minute our anxiety grows," Díaz, 26, said in a statement released shortly after the match in England's Premier League.

"My mother, my brothers and I are desperate, anxious and have no words to describe what we are

feeling. This suffering will only end when we have him home with us.

"I beg that they free him immediately, respecting his integrity and ending this painful wait. In the name of love and compassion we ask they reconsider their actions and allow us to have him back."

Díaz also thanked "the Colombians and the international community for the support that's been received, [and the] many demonstrations of care and solidarity in this difficult moment".

The Colombian Government has deployed hundreds of police and soldiers to free the footballer's father, Luis Manuel Díaz.

On the day of the kidnap attack, CCTV footage showed the car Díaz's parents were driving in being followed by men on motorbikes.

The couple was accosted

by the gunmen as they had stopped at a petrol station in Barrancas, in the northern province of La Guajira.

The kidnappers later abandoned Luis Díaz's mother in a car as Police closed in, but dragged away his father.

Police originally said that a criminal gang was most likely to blame.

But a Government delegation – which is currently engaged in peace talks with the rebel group - late said that it had "official knowledge" that the kidnapping had been carried out by "a unit belonging to the ELN".

A representative of the group has reportedly said the group will free Díaz's father in the coming days.

The ELN is Colombia's main remaining active guerrilla group. It has been fighting the state since 1964 and has an estimated 2500 members.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Small islands open to World Bank hosting Loss and Damage Fund, but want reform and fair allocation

Hundreds join Mexico migrant A caravan headed for US

A

caravan of at least hundreds of migrants left from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula on Sunday, heading for the US southern border.

The smaller caravan plans to join a larger one that left six days ago and is currently stopped about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north in the town of Huixtla.

Organisers said the first had swelled to some 7000 people while the Government in the southern Chiapas state said it estimated the group at 3500 persons.

Many migrants are fleeing poverty and political instability in their homelands, hailing from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and especially Honduras and Venezuela, according to a Reuters witness.

"I think 3.4 months is too long to wait to get a humanitarian visa, to be able to travel through Mexican territory," said Selma Alvarez from Venezuela. "Because we are at the mercy of coyotes, of criminals, it is good that we accompany each other in the caravan, it seems safer to me."

Alvarez added that the group was impatient to get to the US border and start the process to enter the US with appointments secured via a US Government app, CBP One, and request asylum.

US President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection next year, is under pressure to lower the number of people crossing illegally into the US from Mexico.

A record number of people this year have crossed the Darien Gap region connecting Panama and Colombia.

(Reuters)

Train Jamaicans for export market, says MP

M

ember of Parliament for St Mary Western, the Jamaica Labour Party’s Robert Montague, says the Government must seriously consider training certain groups of Jamaican workers for the export market.

While he made the call during his recent contribution to the 2023/24 State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives, Montague, who is also Chairman of the JLP, has articulated this position for de-

cades, from the time he was the lone JLP councillor in the then St Mary Parish Council, now St Mary Municipal Corporation.

During his constituency debate presentation, Montague said it was time for the Jamaican Government to “sit down with the US Department of Education and Labour and identify gaps in their economic programme and negotiate an agreement”.

The agreement, Montague explained, would see the US authorities pay-

ing for, or contributing to the training of specific skills, “and make the persons available to them on a contracted basis”.

Specifically, Montague said teachers and nurses, who leave by the hundreds each year for better paying jobs in the United States and the United Kingdom, would be part of such a programme.

He said focus should also be placed on medical support staff, Police, and skilled tradesmen and women.

(Jamaica Observer)

ntigua’s Chief Environment Officer, Diann Black-Layne said while the preference of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) was to see a standalone Loss and Damage Fund, if certain conditions were applied, they would be willing to allow the World Bank to serve as the fund’s interim host.

The Ambassador was speaking at the fifth meeting of the Transitional Committee of the Loss and Damage Fund held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates—the host of this year’s UN climate summit, COP28.

The meeting, which continued Saturday, was to finalise the document which will serve to operationalise the fund prior to the start of COP28 on November 30.

The push for the World

Antigua’s Chief Environment Officer, Diann Black-Layne

Bank – headquartered in Washington DC – to host the fund is being led by the United States and European Union (EU).

However, the primary concern from developing states, activists and civil society over the World Bank hosting the fund was that it would “undermine the fund’s autonomy and restrict opportunities for direct access to resources for

communities”, according to Lien Vandamme, a senior campaigner with the Centre for International Environmental Law. Action Aid’s Head of Programmes and the civil society representative on the board of the Global Partnership for Education, David Archer, also expressed concerns.

(Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

Bermuda considering full Caricom membership

B

ermuda is considering becoming a fullfledged member of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and is initiating a consultation process.

Governor Rena Lalgie made the disclosure during the delivery of the Government’s Throne Speech on Friday.

She told the Bermuda

House of Assembly that full membership in Caricom was a vision of former Premier Dame Jennifer Smith, who desired the island nation to “strengthen the historic, familial, and cultural ties to the Caribbean”.

She said that beginning discussion now, on the process of gaining full membership in Caricom is right, as the coun-

try is marking 20 years as an associate member.

“In this anniversary year, the Government will renew the vision of Dame Jennifer, initiating a consultation process leading to full membership in Caricom,” Governor Lalgie said.

Bermuda became a Caricom associate member on July 3, 2003. (CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

19

Around The World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Israel rebuffs calls for ceasefire; Higher profitbased tax doubles Russia’s oil and gas revenues

R

ussia’s oil and gas revenues jumped in October, due to a cyclical surge in the profit-based tax, and more than doubled from September to US$17.6 billion (1.635 trillion Russian roubles), data from the Russian Finance Ministry showed on Friday.

For September, the total Russian revenues from oil and gas stood at US$8 billion (739 billion roubles).

The profit-based tax jumped in September and October, boosting revenues. The budget proceeds for Russia last month were also lifted by 27.5% compared to October 2022 as the Government did not pay the so-called damper payment to the oil refiners.

Those payments were later reinstated after a shortage in fuels in Russia, partially caused by refiners exporting more fuel, prompted the authorities to introduce a ban on gasoline and diesel exports. The ban on seaborne diesel exports was lifted in early October provided that the diesel producer supplies at least 50% of the diesel to the domestic market.

Lower oil and natural gas prices, the price cap on Russian oil, and low sales of pipeline gas to Europe have all contributed to a 26.3% decline in Russia’s oil and gas revenues for January to October this year compared to last year. In the first ten months of 2023 Russian oil and gas revenues fell to US$77.7 billion (7.211 trillion roubles).

The average price of the flagship Russian crude grade, Urals, was US$81.52 per barrel in October 2023, Finance Ministry data showed earlier this week. That’s higher than the average Urals crude price for the same month of last year, US$70.62 per barrel. To compare, North Sea Dated averaged US$91.09 a barrel in October 2023.

Between January and October 2023, the price of Urals averaged US$61.84 per barrel, down from the average of US$79.57 a barrel in the same period of 2022, the data showed. (Oilprice.com)

Hamburg Airport hostage drama ends after 18 hours

A

hostage situation at Hamburg Airport involving a young child has ended after 18 hours, according to local Police.

The man, 35, drove through a security barrier and on to the airport tarmac on Saturday night with his four-year-old daughter in the car and parked under a plane.

He eventually gave himself up to the authorities "without resistance", according to Police, and was arrested.

"The child appears to be unharmed," they wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The incident caused the disruption of several flights in and out of the airport.

Operations have since resumed but there are significant delays.

It began at about 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) when the suspect drove his car to the airport's apron, the area where aircraft are usually parked.

Police said the man shot his weapon twice in the air and threw burning bottles from the vehicle. It was unclear if the man had explo-

sives.

They later clarified that he stopped the vehicle where a commercial flight full of passengers was preparing to take off. Everyone on board was evacuated safely.

According to local media, he parked under a Turkish Airlines plane.

Hundreds of other people waiting for flights in the airport had to be put up in hotels.

Hamburg Police spokeswoman Sandra Levgruen said earlier on Sunday that the man did not agree with some decisions made by the authorities in relation to the custody arrangement and wanted to travel to Turkey with the child.

Following the incident, the authorities said the man had been in an "exceptional psychological situation due to custody disputes with his exwife".

They said he had taken their daughter following an argument and her mother then alerted emergency services - filing a complaint of suspected child abduction.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Lebanon strike angers Hezbollah I srael on Sunday rebuffed growing international pressure for a ceasefire and said its forces had encircled Gaza City as the top US diplomat scrambled to contain a crisis that threatened to cause further escalation in neighbouring Lebanon.

Gaza was under "unprecedented bombardment" from Israel on Sunday, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, while Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel said that all communications and internet services had once again been cut.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas joined international calls for an immediate ceasefire at a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was making an unannounced visit to the occupied West Bank.

But after Blinken repeated US concerns that a cease-

fire could aid Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled that out unless hostages held by Hamas were released: "There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages. This should be completely removed from the lexicon."

A military spokesman said Israeli forces had surrounded the main city in Gaza: "They reached the coast in the southern part of Gaza City and they encircled Gaza City."

Tensions increased with Lebanon as an Israeli strike on a car in the south of the country killed three children and their grandmother, Lebanese authorities said.

Israel's chief military spokesperson said the military had attacked "terrorist targets of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon" in response to a missile attack against tanks that killed

Anadolu news agency cameraman Mohammed El Aloul reacts after several of his children and siblings were killed in Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at a hospital in the central Gaza Strip, November 5, 2023

an Israeli citizen. He said a Hezbollah drone was also shot down.

Hezbollah said it responded by firing rockets at the town of Kiryat Shmona

in northern Israel. The group said it would never tolerate attacks on civilians and its response would be "firm and strong". (Excerpt from Reuters)

Russian nuclear submarine test launches Bulava intercontinental missile

R

ussia's new strategic nuclear submarine, the Imperator Alexander III, has successfully tested a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

The missile, which the Federation of American Scientists says is designed to carry up to six nuclear warheads, was launched from an underwater position in the White Sea off Russia's northern coast and hit a target thousands of kilometres away on the Kamchatka pen-

insula in the Russian Far East, the Defence Ministry said.

"Firing a ballistic missile is the final element of state tests, after which a decision will be made to accept the cruiser into the Navy," a Ministry statement said.

The Imperator Alexander III is the seventh of the Russian Project 955 Borei (Arctic Wind) class nuclear submarines and the fourth of the modernised Borei-A variant, according to Russian sources.

They are known in NATO

as the Dolgoruky class of submarines, after the first boat the Yuri Dolgoruky - became the first new generation of nuclear submarine launched

by Russia since the Cold War. The Borei class submarine is armed with 16 Bulava missiles. The 12-metre (40foot) missile has a range of about 8000 km (5000 miles).

Since rising to power in 1999, President Vladimir Putin has increased military

spending and sought to rebuild Russia's nuclear and conventional forces after the chaos that accompanied the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.

The Ukraine war has triggered the worst crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the depths the Cold War and Putin last month said he was not ready to say whether or not Russia should resume nuclear testing. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Afghanistan opium poppy supply plummets 95% UK Interior Minister after Taliban ban, UN says

plans to restrict use of tents by homeless

B

ritain's Interior Minister Suella Braverman said on Saturday she would propose new laws to limit the use of tents by homeless people, saying many of them see it as "a lifestyle choice".

In a post on X, Braverman, who is seen as a possible future leader of the governing Conservative Party, said the state would always support those who are genuinely homeless.

"But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice," she said.

Braverman argued that unless the Government acted, British cities would "go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug taking, and squa-

lor."

She said there were options for people who did not want to be sleeping rough, and the Government was working with local government to increase support.

She was criticised

by Angela Rayner, the Opposition Labour Party's Deputy Leader, who said on X: "Rough sleeping is not 'a lifestyle choice'," and blamed increased homelessness on 13 years of Conservative Government.

Homelessness charity Shelter was also critical of Braverman.

"Let's make it clear: living on the streets is not a ‘lifestyle choice’ - it is a sign of failed government policy," it said on X. The Government's new legislative programme will be outlined in the King's Speech on Tuesday. (Excerpt from Reuters)

O

pium poppy production in Afghanistan, previously the world's top supplier, has plummeted since the Taliban Administration banned the cultivation of narcotics last year, a United Nations report said on Sunday.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said opium cultivation fell throughout the country to just 10,800 hectares (26,700 acres) in 2023 from 233,000 hectares the previous year, slashing supply by 95% to 333 tons.

This was putting pressure on farmers in the war-torn country, where most people depend on agriculture and the value of poppy exports had at times outstripped the value of all formal exported goods, UNODC said.

The sharp decline could have major consequences for the economy in a country where around two-thirds of the population are already in need of humanitarian aid, the report said.

"Over the coming months Afghanistan is in dire need of strong investment in sustainable livelihoods to provide Afghan farmers with opportunities away from opium," Ghada Waly, the executive director of UNODC, said in a statement.

The huge contraction in supply from Afghanistan estimated to supply around 80% of the world's illegal opium - could eventually lead to a drop in opium use internationally, but it also risked escalating the global use of alternatives such as fentanyl or synthetic opioids, the UNODC said.

The Taliban's supreme spiritual leader banned the cultivation of narcotics in April 2022, and the Interior Ministry said it would destroy any remaining crops.

During their previous rule, the Taliban in 2000 banned poppy cultivation as they sought international legitimacy but faced popular a backlash, according to experts. (Excerpt from Reuters)

20

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

(March 21-April 19)

Expand your mind, do your homework and plan your next move. Be secretive until you are ready to take the next step. Don’t let emotions stop you; size up situations and do what makes the most sense.

Don’t be shy; embrace what life offers and give it your best shot. An exciting partnership will provide you with more time to do what you do best. A physical change will build your confidence.

PICKLES

(April 20-May 20) Don’t trust others to do things for you.

Focus on what you are trying to achieve.

Avoid counting on others. Someone will use what you share against you. Talk less and be a good listener.

(May 21-June 20) Take the initiative to start a discussion or project that will improve your surroundings or ability to reach your goal. A change of scenery will spark your imagination.

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

(July 23-Aug. 22)

Take a step back and examine what’s unfolding. Observation will help you know what to do. Set high standards, and don’t budge until you see a clear passage forward. Don’t be fooled by the hype.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

You’ve got the power to make things happen. Consider your ideal situation and make it a reality. Travel, communication and partnerships are favored.

Take the initiative to put your ideas into play.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

Pay attention. Someone you think you can count on will disappoint you if you let your guard down. It’s up to you to communicate what you want and expect from others. Take responsibility and forge ahead.

Revisit something you want to incorporate into your everyday routine.

Explore the possibilities and eliminate what is no longer essential or working for you. Be true to yourself.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Mixed emotions will lead to trouble.

Step back and, when in doubt, rethink what you are trying to achieve. Don’t share information when you haven’t checked the facts.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Develop relationships and pay attention to money management. You stand to prosper if you take a hands-on approach to money and contracts. Take a vocal role in a project.

LAST PUBLISHED WORD -- BROUGHAM

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Outside influences will cost you if you let your insecurities surface and allow someone else to call the shots. Take control instead of putting your fate in someone else’s hands.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You are sitting on an opportunity.

Recognize what’s available to you and make your dreams come true. A good imagination coupled with experience and common sense will lead to victory.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

21

Genesis Football Club clinches inaugural title G

enesis Football Club since its creation early in the year has proven to be developing footballing talents and emerged champions of the BV Interlock Tournament against Sideline with the score line reading 6-1 at the Beterverwagting Ground on Friday, November 3, 2023.

The encounter started with the Sideline strikers managing to pierce through Genesis’s defence, but the “Best keeper of the Tournament” Jamaine Cumberbatch managed to keep them in the game, by maintaining nil-all scoreline. Brandon Solomon was phenomenal for Genesis as

Some members of the Genesis Football Club along with Coach and Founder Michael Richmond

he opened the scoring with a header followed by one from Dorwin George, but then a forceful attack from Sideline’s Lennox Young put the ball in the back of the net to give his team a bit of hope going into the half.

In the second half, the Genesis outfit did not look to slow down as George went on to secure his hattrick with Trevon Pluck and Raushan Ritch each contributing once to the score sheet to secure their first title.

In the third-place match-up, a fierce competition ensued, but the Golf Runners were prolific in the goal-scoring oppor-

tunities, thumping Ogle Street. The first half saw the Ogle Street outfit going one up in the game with the ball coming off the feet of Michael Williams, but Golf Runners’ Darren Benjamin managed to put the ball into the back of the net to equalise going into the dying stages of the first half.

The second half saw the goalkeepers outshining their teammates on the field, but Kwesi Tumbler managed to reply to send the Ogle Street outfit up.

However, Tyrice Dennis and Malachi Grannum did not miss out on the chances as they netted goals to secure the win for the Golf Runners.

Jadeja razes SA after Kohli scores 49th ODI ton

V

irat Kohli gifted himself a record-equalling 49th One-Day International (ODI) century and India their eighth successive victory in this World Cup, on his 35th birthday. When Kohli drew level with Sachin Tendulkar, with a punched single in the penultimate over of India's innings, a crowd of 60,000 at Eden Gardens celebrated with Kohli and made it a memorable birthday bash.

Kohli, who walked out to bat in the sixth over after Rohit Sharma had won the toss and challenged India to bat, batted till the end of the innings, lifting India to an above-par 326

for 5. He ended up outscoring South Africa who could manage just 83 in 27.1 overs. Ravindra Jadeja bagged career-best figures of 5 for 33 to wreck South Africa's chase and consign them to their joint second-lowest total in ODI cricket.

Most of Kohli's centuries in recent times have had an air of inevitability about them. Sunday's innings was anything but.

The conditions in Kolkata were challenging and even Kohli had struggled to get the old ball away. South Africa's left-arm spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi also challenged Kohli with drift,

SCOREBOARD India (50 ovs maximum) Rohit Sharma (c) c Bavuma b Rabada 40 Shubman Gill b Maharaj 23 Virat Kohli not out 101 Shreyas Iyer c Markram b Ngidi 77 KL Rahul † c van der Dussen b Jansen 8 Suryakumar Yadav c †de Kock b Shamsi 22 Ravindra Jadeja not out 29 Extras (lb 2, nb 2, w 22) 26 TOTAL 50 Ov (RR: 6.52) 326/5 Did not bat: Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj Fall of wickets: 1-62 (Rohit Sharma, 5.5 ov), 2-93 (Shubman Gill, 10.3 ov), 3-227 (Shreyas Iyer, 36.5 ov), 4-249 (KL Rahul, 42.1 ov), 5-285 (Suryakumar Yadav, 45.6 ov) • DRS BOWLING O-M-R-W Lungi Ngidi 8.2-0-63-1 Marco Jansen 9.4-0-94-1 Kagiso Rabada 10-1-48-1 Keshav Maharaj 10-0-30-1 Tabraiz Shamsi 10-0-72-1 Aiden Markram 2-0-17-0 South Africa (T: 327 runs from 50 ovs) Quinton de Kock † b Mohammed Siraj Temba Bavuma (c) b Jadeja

5 11

Rassie van der Dussen lbw b Mohammed Shami 13 Aiden Markram c †Rahul b Mohammed Shami 9 Heinrich Klaasen lbw b Jadeja 1 David Miller b Jadeja 11 Marco Jansen c Jadeja b Kuldeep Yadav 14 Keshav Maharaj b Jadeja 7 Kagiso Rabada c & b Jadeja 6 Lungi Ngidi b Kuldeep Yadav 0 Tabraiz Shamsi not out 4 Extras (w 2) 2 TOTAL 27.1 Ov (RR: 3.05) 83 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Quinton de Kock, 1.4 ov), 2-22 (Temba Bavuma, 8.3 ov), 3-35 (Aiden Markram, 9.5 ov), 4-40 (Heinrich Klaasen, 12.5 ov), 5-40 (Rassie van der Dussen, 13.1 ov), 6-59 (David Miller, 16.3 ov), 7-67 (Keshav Maharaj, 18.4 ov), 8-79 (Marco Jansen, 25.4 ov), 9-79 (Kagiso Rabada, 26.2 ov), 10-83 (Lungi Ngidi, 27.1 ov) • DRS BOWLING O-M-R-W Jasprit Bumrah 5-0-14-0 Mohammed Siraj 4-1-11-1 Ravindra Jadeja 9-1-33-5 Mohammed Shami 4-0-18-2 Kuldeep Yadav 5.1-1-7-2

dip, and turn.

In his very first over, Maharaj had knocked Shubman Gill (23) over with a ripper that beat his outside edge to trim the off bail. When Maharaj bowled a similar delivery to Kohli, the ball missed the outside edge. Having run away to a fast start – he was on 17 off 13 balls at one point – Kohli slowed down against spin, but he navigated that passage of play to pick the seamers away. When Lungi Ngidi was brought back into the attack in the 35th over, Kohli jumped out of his crease and shovelled him away for four.

Maharaj's boundary-less spell – 10-0-301 – was a throwback to

Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer put on a 134-run stand for the third wicket

Kohli's terrific hundred took India to an above-par 326

ODIs in the 90s. Even Shreyas Iyer, who is arguably India's best player of spin, could not throw Maharaj off his lines and lengths. Iyer instead lined up Shamsi for four boundaries and allowed Kohli to bat deep into the innings.

After being on 12 off 35

balls, Iyer zoomed to 77 off 87 balls.

With no batting insurance in the form of Hardik Pandya, who has now been sidelined from the rest of the tournament, Kohli refused to take any undue risks. Suryakumar Yadav (22) and Jadeja (29) took such risks at the other

end, ensuring that India passed 300.

It was Rohit who had laid the foundation for the 134-run third-wicket partnership between Kohli and Iyer. The India Captain dashed out of the blocks in the powerplay, cracking 40 off 24 balls. He dismantled Marco Jansen, the most prolific bowler in the powerplay in this tournament, and Ngidi, South Africa's enforcer in the absence of Gerald Coetzee.

Jansen ended up conceding 94 in 9.4 overs for just one wicket. As for Ngidi, he left the field two balls into the final over of India's innings with an injury scare.

South Africa's troubles then seeped into their batting. Quinton de Kock chopped Mohammed Siraj on in the second over while Temba Bavuma was bowled by Jadeja, who got the new ball to rag away past the outside edge.

Things were only going to get tougher against

the older, softer ball.

Jadeja and Mohammed Shami overpowered South Africa's middle order.

Jadeja removed Henrich Klaasen and David Miller while Shami bested Aiden Markram with Test-match line and length. After bringing a pair of deliveries back into Markram from over the wicket, Shami had one to leave the batter and kiss the outside edge.

At one stage, it appeared like India might not even need Kuldeep Yadav, their premier spinner, with the ball. But Jansen and the tail wagged long enough to prompt the introduction of the left-arm wristspinner. Kuldeep kept them guessing by turning the ball both ways and came away with two wickets.

Jadeja claimed his second five-wicket haul in ODI cricket; he also became the second Indian spinner, after Yuvraj Singh, to take a five-for in World Cups.

(ESPNcricinfo)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Ramsundar, Giddings crowned MACORP Golf Tournament champions

T

he 16th MACORP Golf Tournament got off to an incredible start at the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) on Saturday.

The tournament saw 62 players battling it out, but in the end, Lakeram Ramsundar and Eureka Giddings emerged as the

after year. They are dedicated to the tournament and the values it represents. You have helped create lasting memories of this event. Once again, I would like to say thank you and let us rejoice in the values and benefits that golf provides."

LGC Vice President Brian

MACORP President and General Manager German Consuerga

The winners’ row

Best Net Male 0-9 1st – Rakesh Harry:Gross 77, HC 9, Net 68 2nd – Jeetendra Dhanpat: Gross 75, HC 5, Net 70 3rd – Mohanlall Dindanauth: Gross 78, HC 7, Net 71

Eureka Giddings was the female champion

male and female champions.

At the presentation, MACORP President and General Manager German Consuerga said, "Those who have participated have demonstrated the testament of our collaboration in fraternity and camaraderie. I have met numerous customers and players who have been attending this tournament for many years, showing their loyalty by coming back year

Hackett echoed the same sentiments, stating, "We want to thank MACORP for partnering with the Lusignan Golf Club. Today's tournament saw a total of 62 players, which is a testament to the impact that MACORP has.

We are grateful for this partnership and we look forward to continuing it in the future."

Sixteen years ago, MACORP began its collaboration with the Lusignan Golf

Lakeram Ramsundar was the overall winner

Club and has been providing continuous support to the club ever since. MACORP is known for its support of community service projects and sports in Guyana. MACORP

is the only authorised dealer of Caterpillar products in Guyana.

The results for the tournament were as follows:

Best Net Male 10-18 1st – Lakeram Ramsundar: Gross 75, HC 14, Net 61 2nd – Paton George: Gross 81, HC 17, Net 64 3rd – Miguel Yunes:Gross 78, HC 11, Net 67 Best Net Male 19-36 1st – Raj Misir: Gross 88, HC 20, Net 68 2nd – Maurice Solomon: Gross 90, HC 21, Net 69

Hikers Demerara Mutual 7-a-side Sunil Narine retires from international cricket Mixed Hockey Festival returns S

T

he Hikers Hockey Club recently announced the return of its Hikers Demerara Mutual 7-a-side Mixed Festival. The exciting event, now in its third edition, will take place on Monday, November 13, 2023, at the Everest Sports Club Ground, Carifesta Avenue, starting at 10:00h.

Nine teams, generously sponsored by a diverse group of corporations, will converge for a one-day tournament. Demerara Mutual takes pride in its place as the gold sponsor, while loyal partners Germans Restaurant, INET Communications Inc and Jai Signs and Auto Designs make a triumphant return.

Additionally, the club welcomed new sponsors to the fold, including Cole’s Screen Printers, Dyrock Construction, Muse Sports Bar, Hoyte Logistics, Sensodyne, and Brand It Apparel Company.

The unwavering support of Ramesh Trophy Stall and Guinness as sponsors will add to the event's success.

What sets this tournament apart is its unique style of hockey, characterised by two key features. Teams have 10 players, with a minimum of

two women. Moreover, these teams must include players from various clubs across Guyana.

Expect a thrilling and competitive tournament featuring national male and female players who have proudly represented Guyana at the highest levels of the sport. Their skills will be complemented by the energy of other enthusiastic players. This form of hockey fosters camaraderie among players who may not typically play together but must unite as a team to achieve success.

Despite its relatively small size, the Guyanese hockey community is vibrant. Hockey is recognised as one of the 12 core sports to be taught in schools by the Culture, Youth, and Sport Ministry, reflecting a commitment to nurturing the sport's growth. The Guyana Hockey Board wholeheartedly supports this tournament, sharing the vision of expanding the reach and impact of hockey in the country.

All patrons are free to attend; while the focus is on hockey, it is a festival, and fans are encouraged to come early, watch good hockey, eat, drink and have fun in a hockey-driven atmosphere.

unil Narine has called time on his eightyear international career. He last played for West Indies in a T20 International in August 2019.

"I appreciate it, has been over four years since I last played for West Indies, but today I am announcing my retirement from international cricket," Narine wrote on Instagram. "Publicly, I am a man of few words, but privately there are a few people who have given me unwavering support throughout my career and helped me realise my dream of representing West Indies and to you I express my deepest gratitude."

Narine came into limelight in the now defunct Champions League T20 for Trinidad and Tobago in 2011 before making his international debut in a OneDay International (ODI) in December later that year.

He played 122 international matches, which included six Tests, 65 ODIs and 51 T20Is. He helped West Indies to their first T20 World Cup title in 2012 – their first World Cup win across formats since 1979 – with nine wickets in the competition. He would go on to play just one more edition of the T20 World Cup, in 2014.

Since 2012, Narine has

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Sunil Narine last played for West Indies in 2019

been a regular fixture in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad and is now a familiar face in the T20 circuit across the world, which is now "business as usual" for him in the foreseeable future. He continues to play for the Knight Riders franchise across leagues – KKR in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Abu Dhabi in the International League T20, Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League and Los Angeles in Major League Cricket. He is also part of the Hundred men's competition with Oval Invincibles and also plays in the Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League and Bangladesh Premier League.

In 2014, Narine was first reported for a suspect action

following which he withdrew from the ODI World Cup the following year. That played its part in his sporadic international appearances.

Now 35, Narine also has his sights on a domestic trophy. "[My father] is ever present with me when I take to the field and I am indebted to his support and love, which carried me through the times I questioned whether the pursuit of my dreams was really worth it," he wrote. "I love representing Trinidad & Tobago, the country of my birth, and to add another title by winning the Super50 Cup will be the perfect send-off."

The ongoing Super50 Cup will be his last in List A cricket. (ESPNcricinfo)

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

23

“Through sweat, tears and blood”

Baird basks in achievement of Pan Am bronze medal O vercome with emotions on Saturday night, Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard Leslain Baird earned the country’s third Pan American Games 2023 medal in the javelin throw event.

In what was the last event of this year’s Games in Santiago, Chile seeing participation from a Guyanese athlete, Baird hit the 78.23-metre mark in his fourth attempt to propel himself from fifth place to the coveted bronze medal position.

The Guyana national javelin record holder was just centimetres shy of his own national record (78.65) and second place, which went to Brazil’s Pedro Henrique Nunes with a best throw of 78.45m.

USA’s Curtis Thompson

secured the gold medal in the event, throwing 79.65m for the win.

Baird, after confirming the bronze in the sixth round of throws, was reduced to tears as he held the Golden Arrowhead. The achievement meant the world to the athlete who had suffered a career-derailing injury, a little over two years ago.

“Wow. I could not explain the emotions that I’m going through right now. I must give thanks to the Almighty for giving me health and strength and making me reach at this level here, to earn a medal. Thanks to my parents, my entire family, the entire GDF, Running Brave Club, all the clubs, not forgetting the Police Club, thank you for your support,” the bronze medal-

Leslain Baird was all smiles after receiving his Pan Am bronze medal

list shared.

Baird continued, “I’ve earned this medal through sweat and tears and blood.

Two years ago, I didn’t see this possible due to the meniscus injury that I had, but I pushed through. Today, I stand.”

NAMILCO U17 Tournament…

19 goals witnessed in entertaining Saturday of U17 football

T

he Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and National Milling Company (NAMILCO) Thunderbolt Flour Power Under-17 National Academy Play-off delivered an action-packed day of football on Saturday, with four exciting matches played across

back, with Levi Wilson equalising in the 69th minute and Jan Daniels delivering two spectacular goals in the 76th and 90+1 minutes to secure the win.

Georgetown Football Association Academy secured a 4-1 victory over East Coast Football Association

Georgetown, Bartica, and Essequibo, resulting in a remarkable total of 19 goals scored.

The November 4 Georgetown matches took place at the Georgetown Football Club Ground on North Road, where the East Bank Football Association Academy and Georgetown Football Association Academy secured remarkable victories.

The East Bank Football Association Academy clinched a 3-1 victory over the National Under-15 Team.

Keshan Campbell opened the scoring for the National Under-15 Team in the 29th minute. However, the East Bank Football Association Academy mounted a come-

Academy, powered by striker Dwayne James' outstanding performance.

The game kicked off, with Bryan Wharton from East Coast Football Association Academy netting the first goal in the 11th minute.

However, the spotlight belonged to James as he displayed remarkable prowess on the field.

The teenage sensation orchestrated his team's comeback with goals in the 31st, 37th, 80th, and 90+1 minutes, contributing to a fantastic win for Georgetown Football Association Academy.

For the out-of-town matches, enthusiastic fans were treated to a captivating showcase of skill and determination, with the

Baird in action

pete on the international stage and hold his own.

The Pan American Games bronze medallist explained, “Yes, because this competition is more higher. We have Olympians, we have Diamond League people in this competition. So, to throw against those guys is a plus for me. If you notice, there was just centimetres separating the first, sec-

ond and third, all of us was in the 78. So, I know that I am up there with them, just got to go back to the drawing board and perfect it next year.”

Baird’s bronze adds to a silver medal earned by Jasmine Abrams in the women’s 100m event and a bronze earned by Emanuel Archibald in the male version of the same event.

CG United Regional Super50 Tournament…

Red Force exerts dominance over Pride with 78-Run win Dwayne James netted 4 for Georgetown

The Upper Demerara goal scorers

Quizzed about the strategy heading into the competition, Baird credited Coach Johnny Gravesande who has worked with the track and field team in Chile, for being instrumental in the approach.

Baird revealed, “I must give thanks to Coach Johnny. Coach Johnny said we goon try the first three throws, see where it put we and then the last three throws, we gon go old school and we’ll hit it.”

“We earned this,” Baird added, after acknowledging the input of his coaches from Cuba and Peru.

While Baird has many accolades under his belt, his first Pan American Games medal and the first for Guyana in the javelin event is one that is special to him, as it shows that he can com-

West Demerara Football Association Academy securing a 3-1 triumph over Essequibo Football Association Academy while Bartica Football Association Academy endured a 1-5 loss to the dominant Upper Demerara Football Association Academy.

The NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Under-17 National Academy Playoff aligns with the Academy Training Centre (ATC) programme, which is designed to cater to young males aged 14 to 17 years.

The ATC is officially recognised as a “Generation Next” FIFA development initiative.

The teams have been categorised into two groups, with Group A consisting of Georgetown, East Coast, East Bank, the National Under-15 Team, and Berbice.

While Upper Demerara, Essequibo, Bartica, and West Demerara are in Group B. Following the round-robin phase, the top-performing teams from each group will progress to the championship round, vying for the esteemed title of national champions.

I

n a fairly one-sided encounter in the CG United Regional Super50, Trinidad and Tobago's Red Force displayed their dominance as they secured a resounding 78-run victory over the Barbados Pride.

The last group stage match witnessed a battle of skill and strategy, ultimately favoring the Red Force at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy yesterday.

Pride won the toss and chose to field. However, this decision would soon prove costly as the Red Force batsmen showed their mettle, setting a formidable target of 293 for six in their allotted 50 overs.

At the heart of Red Force's innings was the indomitable Daren Bravo, who played a scintillating knock of 139 not out from just 113 balls. Bravo's innings was adorned with nine boundaries and seven towering sixes, leaving the Pride bowlers struggling to contain him.

Supporting Bravo's brilliance, Kjorn Ottley contributed 36, Tion Webster added 28, and both Nicholas Pooran and Yannic Cariah chipped in with 18 runs each.

Roston Chase was the standout bowler for Pride, taking three wickets for 50 runs,

Darren Bravo scored 139 not out

while Kemar Smith also made a significant impact, claiming two wickets for 46 runs.

When it came to the Pride's turn to chase down the target, they faced the relentless bowling attack of the Red Force. Sunil Narine and Akeal Hosein were the tormentors-in-chief, stifling Pride's chase. Narine scalped four wickets for just 13 runs, while Hosein grabbed three wickets for 31 runs, leaving the Pride in dire straits.

Chase, who had earlier impressed with the ball, returned to exhibit his batting prowess, top-scoring for Pride with 48 runs. His innings featured five fours and

two towering sixes before he was dismissed leg before wicket by Narine.

Akeem Jordan added 40 runs, showcasing his hitting ability with three sixes and four fours before being bowled by Hosein.

Shamarh Brooks made a valiant effort, contributing 33 runs, but it wasn't enough to change the tide of the match. Jomel Warrican remained unbeaten on 19 as the Pride were eventually bowled out for 215 in 47.2 overs.

Heading into the playoffs, both teams join Guyana Harpy Eagles and Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the semi finals.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

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

– Vishok Persaud most dominant Group 4 driver

T

Owner of Team Mohamed’s Azruddin Mohamed and his bikers on Sunday

Vishok Persaud’s KTM X-Bow

he highlight of the final leg of the Caribbean “Clash of Champions” at the South Dakota Circuit on Sunday was definitely the dominant performance of Team Mohamed’s bikers in the Super Stock category and the final race of the day – Group 4.

The day’s event kicked off with one of the most anticipated races. Despite taking the top spots in the qualifiers on Saturday, Team Mohamed’s bikers – James Westmoreland, Lee Jackson and Daniel Linfoot –started the first race at the back of the grid.

This did not dampen their spirits. In fact, they went out to race and performed exceptionally and secured the first and second positions. The third spot was taken by Matthew Vieira.

Several other races in this category were red-flagged by officials, but in the final Super Stock race

Photos by Mike Gonsalves

Team Mohamed’s Daniel Linfoot carrying the chequered flag after an exciting last race

Team Mohamed’s bikers in the first race

Vishok Persaud after winning the final Group 4 race of the day

Daniel Linfoot in action

A heated Group 4 race (Photo by GT Callouts)

of the day, the top three podium spots were taken by Team Mohamed’s.

Coming in fourth was Matthew Vieira.

In one of the most exciting Group Four races, Persaud put on a show to take the chequered flag with his KTM X-Bow. Earlier in the day, he had his best lap time of 1:16.6s. He also secured a third-place finish.

Persaud and daughter with the chequered flag

Persaud’s performance was definitely loved by the racing fans. After he won the final race of the day, his fiercest competitor, Mark Vieira exhibited sportsmanship by congratulating him.

Mark Vieira was, in fact, named the overall champion of the Caribbean “Clash of Champions” 2023.

Also in that race, Mohan Rangasammy ran off the strip after coming off the goose neck. At the time, he was in a healthy position in the race. He also placed third in one of the races that were red-flagged after the fifth lap.

Other outstanding performers included Steven Nobrega in the Starlet Cup category; and Danny Persaud and Nyron Maraj in the Street Tuners/Sports Tuners category.

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