– autopsy likely on Monday as family selects US-based pathologist –Reg 3 Commander sent on admin leave; 3 cops under close arrest
Guyana’s debtto-GDP ratio of 16% is among lowest in the world – VP Jagdeo
$799M Paramakatoi airstrip contract inked ERC expresses condolences to family, calls for justice in tragic death of Adrianna Younge
Former Sheriff Security officer remanded for seawall murder US report is genuine reflection of Guyana’s efforts to counter narcotics’ operations –Jagdeo
BRIDGE OPENINGS
The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:
The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:
FERRY SCHEDULE
Parika and Supenaam departure times –05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily
WEATHER TODAY
Light
are expected to range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.
Winds: North-Easterly to East North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 4.47 metres.
High Tide: 13:13h reaching a maximum heights of 2.11 metres.
Low Tide: 06:40h and 19:31h reaching minimum heights of 1.26 metres and 1.04 metres.
Death of 11-year-old Adrianna
“No missteps; everything will be recorded, observed” – Pres Ali tells family – autopsy likely on Monday as family selects US-based pathologist – Reg 3 Commander sent on admin leave; 3 cops under close arrest
President Dr Irfaan Ali has reassured family members of 11-yearold Adrianna Younge that the Guyana Government is ready to offer whatever support they want, and will honour all requests being made regarding the young girl’s autopsy that is expected to be done Monday.
On Saturday morning, the Head of State met with members of the child’s family, including her grieving mother, outside their Hyde Park, Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) home, to update them on developments in the ongoing investigation into her death.
Adrianna’s body was found under suspicious circumstances, in a pool at the Double Day Hotel at
sy] that is medically permissible – all of that. And all of their requests, in terms of this post-mortem, [are] to be honoured as far as possible,” Ali committed.
Since the discovery of Adrianna’s body in the hotel’s pool, protest actions
sections of the hotel and the hotel owners’ home were destroyed by fire.
Public outrage heightened on Friday and saw several road blocks in the region, including the burning of tyres on the roadway. The protest had moved to outside the Leonora Police Station, as persons demand justice for the 11-year-old girl.
The Head of State had later cautioned against blocking the public roads, burning public infrastructure, and inconveniencing citizens, noting that such acts will not help Adrianna’s cause or those interested in the truth.
Distrust
in the police
During Saturday’s in-
Tuschen, EBE on Thursday morning. There were several marks of violence apparent on her body.
The girl’s family has since requested an independent pathologist to conduct the post mortem examination (PME) on her body.
In a statement on Saturday, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) indicated that the family’s chosen pathologist is expected to arrive in Guyana today to perform the PME along with the GPF’s independent pathologist.
Based on reports, the independent pathologist selected by the family has been identified as the Chief Medical Examiner of the State of Delaware, Dr Gary Collins, MD. The autopsy is likely to be conducted on Monday.
President Ali assured that the entire process will be recorded for added transparency.
“We want full transparency,” the Head of State said shortly after speaking with the girl’s family outside their home.
“I’ve asked the police to make sure everything is videoed – no missteps; everything is videoed, everything is observed [and] as much witnesses the family wants in there [during the autop-
have intensified across Region Three over the past few days. Just hours after the discovery on Thursday,
The 11-year-old girl had gone to the hotel’s poolside along with her grandmother and other relatives at around 13:00h on Wednesday and went missing shortly after. According to the family, the police failed to properly search the hotel.
Adrianna’s body was found in the hotel’s pool Thursday morning, intensifying public outrage countrywide since the poolside had previously been searched and there was no sign of her.
“We don’t have any trust in the Police Force because of what they did to us… We need an independent investigation and this came as a result of the Guyana Police – those persons who were there; we can’t blame the entire police force. The action and the resources that were used to clear that road at Leonora [Friday] night could have been used…to get my niece out of that building alive,” the woman lamented alongside Adrianna’s distraught mother and grandmother.
President Ali reaffirmed his Government’s commitment to unearthing the truth behind what led to the young girl’s death; hence it agreed to the family’s request for an independent pathologist.
teraction with the Head of State, the aunt of the young girl reiterated the family’s distrust of the Police Force, specifically those officers within the Regional Divisional #3, over their mishandling of the case from the inception when Adrianna disappeared on Wednesday afternoon.
President Dr Irfaan Ali met with family members of Adrianna Younge on Saturday to update them on the investigations into her death
The gruesome murder of eleven-year-old Adrianna Younge has displayed a level of callousness and indifference to a common humanity that should shock the conscience of this nation. Only a few days before, three women had been brutally murdered by the husband of one, who had survived years of brutal abuse. It would not be hyperbolic to point out that hardly a week goes by without these acts of gratuitous violence being perpetuated by Guyanese on other Guyanese – mostly men against women. And the murders are only one end – the extreme end – of a spectrum of violence that begins from the quotidian child beatings, through armed robberies, rape, and domestic violence of terrifying horror. Thomas Hobbes, in the Epistle Dedicatory of De Cive, used the phrase “man to man is a wolf” to illustrate the brutish, anarchical and violent condition of man in the natural condition, prior to the establishment of a civil state.” It would seem that, notwithstanding we have a state, Guyana is in a moral abyss overrun by wolves.
What is at the root of these depravities? As with all human behaviour, there is no one clear-cut answer; but since the phenomenon is so pervasive, it would suggest that the causes are structural, rather than individual; and that the structural reasons go beyond the usual ethnic or class labels we assign to ourselves, since the perpetrators of the horrors span the ethnic and class divides. Violence, evidently, is the one type of behaviour that encompasses us all Guyanese.
And maybe we can do worse to begin with this fact as we begin to address this sickness. Guyana, we must concede, was spawned in violence when it was colonised by Europeans, who insisted that the Indigenous Peoples were not “civilised”, and THEREFORE it was justified not only to seize their lands, but to exterminate them, if necessary.
The symbiotic violence inflicted on our First Peoples, by pronouncing definitively that they had no culture or made no contribution to human knowledge, has become structurally entrenched in all operations of our state, society, and individual psyches. The violence was broadened and deepened when Africans were brought as slaves and defined as “chattel” - property on which violence could be inflicted as on the draught animals on the plantations. How could we expect this infliction of violence not to have an effect on the culture of slaves and their descendants? Fanon might have proposed the violence damaged the psyches of the coloniser and the colonised, but the former has moved on, leaving the latter to, at best, free themselves with “the tools of the master”.
The indentured who were brought to replace the ex-slaves – who refused to go along with the pretences of “free labour” - were interpellated in a Foucauldian regime of “discipline and punishment”, which turned the violent control mechanisms inwards and outwards. The point of this historical exercise in our present-day violent expressions is part and parcel of inherited, all-encompassing structures that envelop us all. Take the Police Force, which is supposed to “Serve and Protect”, and has been conferred with the state’s ultimate sanction: to take the lives of citizens in pursuit of this goal. This “Force”, however, as its name declares, was born into, nurtured, and is still sustained by, an institutional culture of “force”. Many of its members see the public as targets for graft and violence.
We can examine all the institutions in Guyana, public and private, and if a handful of them have reformed their authoritarian culture, that would be surprising. Starting with the immanent colonial authoritarian state augmented by the PNC under Burnham, this can be taken to absurd levels, such as having a “Human Rights Association” whose eponymous name is supposed to define its functions. But how many citizens have actually seen, or even know, the names of the members of this organisation? Citizens are treated as objects, and given no agency in articulating which of their rights are actually being violated. What do they know?
Can we be surprised that citizens are increasingly violent?
Trump
is learning America
isn’t as powerful as he thought
By Daniel DePetris
When French President Emmanuel Macron jetted into Washington for meetings at the White House in February, President Donald Trump was emphatic: I can solve the three yearlong war in Ukraine. “I do deals. My whole life is deals,” Trump said during a joint press event with Macron. “That’s all I know, is deals. And I know when somebody wants to make it and when somebody doesn’t.”
Two months later, however, and Trump faces not just one “deal” either on life support or six feet under, but three.
Trump’s highest profile foray into the world of diplomacy, of course, has been Ukraine. The president campaigned on ending the conflict in 24 hours, a boast that might always have been ridiculous, but underlined his urgency to do what he thought Joe Biden should have done long ago: pressure the Russians and Ukrainians into a peace settlement. To his credit, Trump came out with a bang as soon as he took the oath of office, scheduling calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and dispatching his top foreign policy advisers to foreign capitals in an attempt to establish short-term ceasefires.
Yet, even the canniest mediators can only achieve so much, if the conditions for a lasting peace aren’t there. Ultimately, it’s those directly involved in the conflict that will determine success or failure.
The 30-day unconditional truce that Washington and Kyiv accepted in midMarch was blocked by Putin, who riddled the process with so many technical questions that it crumbled before the ink was dry. The Black Sea truce negotiated weeks later ran into a similar wall, with Zelensky and Putin eventually walking away from the process with different interpretations of what the deal actually said. It died on the table after the Kremlin insisted that Washington and Europe re-connect Russian banks to the Swift system as a prerequisite.
Trump, always impatient, seems to have just about had it with these antics. A seven-point draft peace plan tabled by the Americans, which freezes the current battle lines and hands Moscow dejure control over Crimea, is thought to be a take-it-orleave-it proposition. Trump’s exasperation with Putin –he repeated his criticism of the Russian leader in the Oval Office on Thursday, for launching strikes against Kyiv while peace talks were ongoing – and Zelensky suggests that both sides are minded to leave it.
If peace efforts over Ukraine are at death’s door, then the corresponding process over Gaza is non-existent. Not so long ago, Trump and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, managed to jam a three-stage ceasefire down the throat of a reluctant Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister accepted, not because he wanted to, but because he had to; the last thing Netanyahu needed was to get off on the wrong foot with a president
who doesn’t forget slights, real or perceived.
Netanyahu, however, clearly never bought into the deal, partly because his coalition allies believe that military force will be more effective than negotiations in defeating Hamas and getting all of the hostages back. Trump, meanwhile, appeared to lose interest. When Netanyahu doubled down on military force after the end of Phase 1 of the ceasefire agreement, Trump didn’t seem bothered, even if it made a mockery of the very deal he helped negotiate weeks earlier.
Trump’s trade talks might politely be described as a work in progress, too. While it’s almost certain that Washington will reach new agreements with close partners such as the UK, Japan, South Korea and India, China is showing few signs of being willing to compromise. The 145 per cent US tariffs on Chinese goods haven’t brought President Xi Jinping to the table. If anything, they have pushed him away. Xi, who has built much of his political legitimacy on transforming China into an international heavyweight, is about as likely to cave under US pressure as Putin is. Now it is Trump, not Xi, who seems to be practically begging for a deal. “We are going to have a fair deal with China,” he told reporters this week, a day after he said US tariffs would be “substantially” reduced. Whether this was meant to be a carrot to bring Beijing into formal discussions, or a preview of what a possible new agreement would look like, Trump didn’t say. Either
way, the Chinese are likely to interpret the comments as a walk-back of Trump’s previous position and evidence that their hardball strategy is working.
It would be easy to place the blame for the failure of Trump’s approach thus far solely on his shoulders. He is the president, after all. And unlike past presidents, Trump doesn’t seem to be interested in details, wants quick wins he can brag about, and often appears more concerned with buttressing his reputation as a dealmaker than he is with actually negotiating good deals.
But it is also a reflection of the US’ relative power today. The United States is still the world’s most formidable military and economic force, with a bevy of alliances and overseas relationships that other countries can only dream of. But no state, not even a superpower, can bend the rest of the world to its will, solve every dispute, or bear every burden. At risk of stating the obvious, every country possesses its own fundamental interests, agendas, preferences and red lines. For Russia, the red line is losing in Ukraine. For Israel, it is ensuring that Hamas cannot preserve its influence in Gaza. And for China, the red line appears to be disrespect and economic subjugation.
Good presidents have to learn how to operate within the realities of the international system. Otherwise, they risk coming away empty-handed, aggrieved and disappointed.
(The Telegraph) Daniel DePetris is a fellow at Defence Priorities
Modern agriculture in action: The Cassava Planter is currently being used to plant cassava sticks in Region #9, thereby increasing efficiency, improving planting precision, enabling large-scale farming, and enhancing productivity in this regard. A 20-acre plot is currently being prepared by the NDIA of the MoA, and with this equipment, a one-acre portion is being planted in 2 hours, compared to the many hours it takes by manual labour (Agriculture in Region Nine)
Industrialising the creative arts is key to preserving our cultural heritage
Dear Editor, Al Creighton is right to be concerned; the disappearance of Guyana’s folklore and rituals, masquerade, Balgobin tales and Amerindian myths deserves our immediate attention. But while his diagnosis is accurate, I believe his interpretation of the role of modern technology is incomplete. The question we should be asking isn’t whether technology threatens our culture, but how we can wield it to preserve, reimagine, and expand our cultural identity.
Technology, especially visual media, is not the enemy of intangible cultural heritage; it is,
in fact, one of the most powerful tools we have to save it. Film, animation and video games are new forms of storytelling; not replacements, but continuations. These forms allow us to encode the movements of a masquerade dancer, the cautionary tone of an old-time tale, and the dreamscapes of Amerindian cosmology in ways that are both immersive and transmissible. They are the modern griots, the keepers and spreaders of memory. In failing to appreciate this, we risk surrendering these stories to those with the means to digitise and globalise them
before we do.
In a world where intellectual property is currency, the ques
tion of who gets to tell our sto
ries and profit from them is one of sovereignty. If we delay, others will own what we should have claimed, because they’ll have packaged and sold our myths better than we did. To industrialise our culture is not to commodify it, but to protect and propagate it through structure, scale and ownership.
We must therefore stop seeing the creative industries as hobbies or distractions, and start seeing them for what they are: core infrastructure for na -
tional identity and economic growth. Building local capacity in film, animation, and game development isn’t just an artistic ambition, it is an industrial imperative. These sectors can carry our folklore into the future while creating high-value jobs, exportable products, and a generation of young Guyanese who see their own culture as something worth mastering and monetising. To do this, we need more than cultural lamentation; we need policy, capital and curriculum.
The CXC Theatre Arts syllabus, as Creighton rightly notes, is underappreciated. But perhaps that’s because we have not
yet built the industries that give it value in the real world. Let us create those industries. Let us build the studios, fund the ideas, support the youths who are ready to translate oral tradition into digital experience. Editor, the survival of our intangible cultural heritage does not require retreat from the future; it requires mastery of it. Let us move forward, not with nostalgia alone, but with vision and investment.
Yours sincerely, Emille Giddings Georgetown Film Festival
Let’s start the conversation on education reform
Dear Editor,
The announcement by Minister Priya Manickchand that the Ministry of Education is actively considering the possibility of scrapping the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) is probably the best news coming out of the Ministry of Education in a long time.
This major education reform initiative would be a game-changer: a tipping point that drives the modernisation and reimagining of education in Guyana, and would have a ripple effect across Caricom, thereby placing Guyana in a trailblazer role.
I have argued much that the NGSA is a colonial relic, the root of all educational evil. It was a pernicious system set up to sort and sift students, allocating the small percentage of those academically gifted to 6 top schools, while others are relegated to schools of poorer quality.
The rich folks like this system, as QC, Bishops’, etc. gives them bragging rights among their friends. Rich folks usually care about their own children, not all children. If there is a system that stratifies people and creates winners and losers, that’s not a problem for them, as long as they are in the winner’s category.
The affluent might object to dismantling the NGSA, which was kept on for six decades after independence; but the time for dismantling the NGSA has come, as it has no usefulness in a new, modern economy and society. The sooner we abandon it, the better it would be for us.
The NGSA is what is called high-stress, high-pressure, “highstakes” testing. In our primary schools, all energies are focused on preparing for the NGSA in the sixth
grade. Teachers “drill and kill,” teaching to the test and, some say, teaching the test. Extra lessons proliferate, snapping up the free time of our children. Some say authentic education is lost when the education system is driven by a test; a single measure that determines a child’s entire future and life chances.
After NGSA, a few rise and the majority falls and fails, and many eventually drop out of school at a time when we need as many skilled, trained workers as possible. Last week, we saw how students were praying, parents were holding up cheerleading placards, pictures were posted of the breakfast and lunch we feed the students, some companies placed ads in the papers wishing students well – all part of the high-stakes drama!
Why did we allow the NGSA to continue for so long after Independence and decolonisation? Where were our brilliant education designers, our education reformers, the children advocates, to allow the NGSA malpractice to continue?
The NGSA negates learning styles and multiple intelligences. It’s a “one size fits all” test.
A popular cartoon deriding single measure standardized testing says, “For a fair selection, everybody has to take the same exam: Please climb that tree,” said the teacher to the bird, monkey, penguin, elephant. Someone said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
So, if we get rid of the NGSA, what do we do with the top 6 schools? The students who usually get placed at the top 6 schools are mostly “academically gifted,” or “gifted and talented.”
They are the “in spite of” children, who would do well regardless of poor teachers or poor schools. They are self-driven, capable of accelerated learning and advanced learning. They learn at a faster pace, and they can do college work earlier.
We can convert the top 6 schools to “special focus” academies, and ask only those students who want to get in to do an optional admissions test to be admitted to those special programmes.
For instance, we can create an Academy of Medicine/Health Sciences; Academy of Law; a STEM
Academy, or School of Science, Technology, Math and Engineering; a School of the Arts; an Oil and Gas Academy; or “Early College” high schools. Each of these academies can award both a high school diploma and an Associate degree at graduation. That would require our education designers and experts to create new high school models. With the ongoing building of new schools and a new push to upgrade all existing high schools, students can automatically attend better quality neighbourhood schools.
So, let’s start the conversations and brainstorming, and get public input on how we may restructure our education system. Thanks
to our Education Minister for opening the door!
Yours sincerely, Dr Jerry Jailall
GRIEF AND OTHER REACTIONS AT THE LOSS OF PETS, ESPECIALLY AFTER DECISIONS TO EUTHANIZE WERE MADE
As discussed in last week's column, it is hardly ever an easy decision to make when opting to put to sleep (euthanasia) your elderly pet, who has been with the family for many years. Your pet has offered the family (especially the children) unconditional love. Happy times with your companion animal(s) abound. After
euthanasia, families seem unable to remove the memories of joyfulness, halcyon days, and euphoria created by, and enjoyed together with our pets. The following story emphasizes this point. It is a personal recollection that haunts us still, even though we have all moved on.
“Patrick” and “Maria” were born of the same litter.
Of the seven pups, our choice was made immediately, notwithstanding my advice to readers delivered in a previous “Pet Care” column, in which I described the various methods and considerations involved in selecting a pup to take into what would become a “Forever Home”. They were products of incest - their mother and father being closely related. They were destined to experience health issues. But who cared? One of the caregivers was (is) a veterinarian. Besides they were the cutest, heart-captivators. In fact, they chose us, not the other way around. We must have done something right, because they both lived to be fourteen.
In the later period of life, “Patrick” was clearly exhibiting memory loss, senile dementia, and many of those symptoms of the elderly dog, described in the last three columns of “Pet Care”. The family agreed that keeping Patrick alive was not showing him love but allowing him to experience relentless and unstoppable pain and agony at an unaccustomed level. Of course, I could not administer the coup de grace (detailed in last week’s column). I asked my close colleague to carry out the final act. We immediately got on a plane to Trinidad. As we arrived at Piarco, we had a change of heart!! We, like so many other
caregivers, just could not consider and accept living without Patrick’s presence. We immediately called my colleague and friend and advised him to abort the
proceedings. His response was short and bitter. “You should have called ten minutes ago; I have already euthanized Patrick”. The sequel to this story is that decades have passed and we have never procured another pet to be part of our families. Our daughter herself, having a wonderfully pet-loving family, has two decades later- acquired two mixed Bichon Frises siblings – Rasam and Sambhar (see pictures below). The happiness is immense as the cycle continues.
In writing the above paragraph, it occurred to me how disturbing and difficult it is for veterinarians and Clinic Teams to be euthanising unwanted pets— week in, week out, year in, year out. Shelter staff have to help prepare the animals that will be put to sleep forever. They must undergo immense emotional stress, which sometimes
goes unnoticed. Is it not surprising that the turnover of staff at Humane Society Clinics is beyond normal. Worse, the statistics show that, of all professionals in the USA, the suicide rate among veterinarians is the fourth highest. Veterinarians do have great and lasting empathy for their patients.
I had intended to let this be the last column on the topic of Euthanasia. But I have not done justice to the above-mentioned topic. In today’s article, it is clear that I have not focused enough on the consequential emotions and reactions of the caregivers to their decision to effect euthanasia. I do not think that I have given enough mental pabulum and food for thought associated with this subject matter.
I will continue this message along with further considerations in next week’s column. There is still much to be shared on this
issue of EUTHANASIA.
“ANIMAL HEALTH
TAKES A TEAM”
I extend fraternal greetings to my colleague veterinarians and our support team of veterinarian technicians, veterinary paraprofessionals and all stakeholders in the veterinary network in commemorating World Veterinary Day, observed every year on the last Saturday in April. May the care and treatment of our non-human wards,
which provide for a more humane and compassionate society, bring you continued great satisfaction and contentment
The World Veterinary Association (WVA) announced the theme “Animal Health Takes a Team” for this year’s World Veterinary Day 2025. This theme highlights the collaborative nature of veterinary practice and underscores the essential role that multiple professionals play in delivering high-quality veterinary services. WVA calls on all veterinarians, veterinarian technicians, veterinary paraprofessional and all others that make veterinary services possible to participate in the great worldwide campaign led by the WVA.
This year’s theme focuses on the importance of teamwork in veterinary care, acknowledging that effective veterinary services often rely on the collective efforts of a range of professionals, including veterinary nurses, technicians, researchers, and other allied health professionals.
The WVA Council selected this theme to shine a spotlight on the dynamic nature of veterinary services, which require cooperation and collaboration across various fields of expertise to address the diverse challenges in animal health and care. By working together, veterinary teams can ensure the highest standards of care and support for animals, their owners, and the globe.
WVA theme for World Veterinary Day 2025 – Animal Health Takes a Team - World Veterinary Association
Samsung’s Bespoke AI appliances introduced to local market
– retail market changing, retailers must embrace change with it, says Finance Minister
With the changing market comes the need for retailers to embrace change and improve their ways of doing business and interacting with customers. This was the message of Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, at the launch of
where customer service will really matter a lot. People are more discerning, they have more income, they can make better choices.”
“They’re not necessarily going for the cheapest product any more. They’re not necessarily going for the short cut any more. The
heed of the partnership between Brydens Guyana and Samsung, which now means that Brydens is the master distributor of Samsung products in Guyana.
“We want consumers in Guyana to be able to enjoy that level of service, the same level of service that they would be able to enjoy anywhere else in the world, and that’s also a part of the transformation into a truly modern society and in the truly modern country.”
“The same manufacturer’s warranty that is provided in the major capitals and metropolises of the world must also be provided in Guyana, so that the Guyanese consumer enjoys the same privileges and rights as does any other consumer anywhere else in the world, that’s also an important part of this modern Guyana.”
Also present at the event was Brydens Guyana Inc
Brydens Guyana Inc. and Samsung’s partnership to launch Bespoke Artificial Intelligence (AI) appliances to the local market.
During the launch, which was held on Thursday at the Pegasus Hotel’s Corporate Centre, the Finance Minister, as the feature speaker, referred to the new Guyana being built: one where consumers have increasingly more spending power and are more retail conscious than ever before.
According to Singh, the Government has no desire to legislate customer service, so he urged retailers to embrace the winds of change on their own and deliver improved customer service to the people.
“This is not a task that rests only with Government. Each one of you has an important role to play in this regard. And that simple example, I hope illustrates it. We’re getting to a point
market is changing and improvements in customer service matters,” the Finance Minister said.
According to Dr Singh, the modern Guyana being built will require world class customer service from retailers. With representatives of several largescale retailers in the room, he urged them to take
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Natasha Das who spoke about the remarkable relationship the company has developed with Samsung. She further reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment towards ensure the local market is well equipped with high end stock.
“Over the past year, we have built a strong and fruitful relationship with Samsung, founded on trust, collaboration and shared goals. I’m thrilled to share that on our first year with Samsung, we have exceeded our targets with Samsung by almost 100 per cent.”
“In our capacity as distributor, we recognise the importance of working closely with our retail partners and together we can streamline supply chains that reduce costs and enhance the overall efficiency of our operations. Brydens is committed to having readily available stock, free delivery 24 to 48 hours across Guyana, offering flexible credit facil-
ities and delivering a robust marketing support.”
Brydens’ collaboration with Samsung allows for access to readily available stock, robust marketing support, and better access for warranty on products.
At the event, Samsung unveiled its new Bespoke AI
Series, featuring a range of Smart Appliances which include televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, and microwaves, among others. These appliances use custom built-in AI to aid with energy consumption, and are created with hightech features.
Samsung’s Bespoke AI appliances
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh during the launch of the partnership
...says country can save as much as 37% on fuel imports, facility more financially viable than local refinery
The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government’s decision to go in the direction of building a state-of-the-art fuel storage facility that could hold 750,000 barrels of oil, is one that will save Guyana as much as 37 per cent on costs for purchasing refined products.
This is according to Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo, during a University of Guyana (UG) Economic Society forum on Friday, where he answered questions persons may have on why Guyana has not gone the route of building an oil refinery so that the country can refine its own oil.
“It sounds popular. Why not build your own refinery? When you look at the numbers and the entire situation… so how can we satisfy our need for energy security, without doing that? That is why we’re exploring now, the building of these huge storage terminals in Guyana. So, you can bring
large volumes of refined products and store them there,” Jagdeo said.
“Nationally, we have maybe a month of storage. So, after a month, if you don’t get products, you start running out. So, two things that will happen: If we can bring the bigger vessels, by dredging and building these bigger storage facilities, we can cut the purchasing price of our refined products between 20 to 37 per cent.”
Jagdeo explained that the high price for importing refined fuel products, can be attributed to Guyana’s limited storage spaces, necessitating the need for more fuel trips. Additionally, the fuel also has to be imported in smaller quantities.
The VP also noted that while there are pros for a refinery, there are also cons. These cons, according to him, include increased emissions; the necessity of providing tax-concessions, and Guyana having to sell its crude to the refinery. Additionally, a viable refinery costing around $700 million would be privately owned, which means the state does not directly get
revenue from its operations.
“We can sell our oil now and do pretty well in the global market. If we had to build a refinery? We went out to tender and a number of people wanted to build the refinery. There are some challenges. We wanted to do it from the perspective of energy security for Guyana.”
“So, we could have our refined products here and if there is any problem around the world, we could supply our domestic market. But against that, there’s some other trade-offs. We have to examine the pros and cons. This is one thing we do every time we make a policy. That’s why we’ll never implement a policy if we can’t defend it,” he added.
Guyana’s oil production began on December 20, 2019, and has since propelled the nation into a major oil-producing country. ExxonMobil, through its local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), holds a 45 per cent stake in the Stabroek Block, while Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited own 30 per
cent and 25 per cent, respectively.
In February 2025, during the opening of the 2025 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo (GECSCE) President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced a new fuel terminal infrastructure project in partnership with Curlew Midstream.
Curlew Midstream, a United States (US)-based energy infrastructure provider headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, operates terminal facilities in South Louisiana, and will play a key role in facilitating fuel trade between the US and Guyana.
It had also been announced earlier this year that Guyana is exploring a strategic plan to export its crude oil to the US for refining, with the aim of importing fuel for domestic use and potential regional distribution.
The Government’s consideration of refining crude oil in the US aligns with its broader strategy to enhance energy security, reduce costs, and create a more sustainable fuel supply for both Guyana and its regional partners.
New…
…protests
Your Eyewitness is quite distraught – as are all Guyanese – at the snuffing out of the life of that innocent child Adrianna. Yes…she can now be called by that single name, and Guyanese everywhere would know who it is. Not only was there a murder most foul, but there was the effrontery of the police, doing their darnedest to throw everyone off the scent!! hiding that the poor child had been killed right there in the hotel, and her body secreted in one of its rooms, they prevented a thorough search of ALL the rooms, and then released a statement accusing a random citizen of kidnapping the child and spiriting her away to the West Bank!!
But today your Eyewitness wants to talk about the protests over Adrianna’s murder – starting right at the hotel on the day of her “disappearance”. Because the grandma, who’d taken the child for a swim at the hotel’s pool, knew that her grandchild wouldn’t have left the hotel’s premises in her swimming clothes, and couldn’t have disappeared into some Black Hole, she insisted the child could be found by searching for her. A logical deduction. The parents and other relatives who quickly arrived – since they lived nearby – merely began demanding answers, and weren’t “protesting”.
The protests began when the police kept on throwing red herrings to divert attention from the crime scene, and intensified their stonewalling even though a minister had joined in the requests for a thorough search!! As such, all Guyana sympathized at the protest – which then intensified when the child’s lifeless and clearly abused body suddenly appeared in the pool – which had been under scrutiny for two days!
The President, Leader of the Opposition, and several other Government and Opposition leaders have offered condolences to the bereaved family.
Now, the fire set to the hotel could’ve been set by hotel staff or owners, since it’s plausible they’d want to hide evidence of Adrianna’s murder. But when a neighbouring house – and the hotel owner’s house, located some distance away – were torched, your Eyewitness started wondering where the line would be drawn between protests and anarchy.
The looting of the hotel crossed that line and, sadly, turned the reaction of righteous indignation at Adrianna’s death and the police cover-up into a cliched spectacle of senseless ghetto-style rioting and looting.
Guyanese have a constitutional right of assembly, and to express their opinions through protests, but this cannot possibly include looting!! This is sheer lawlessness.
The Friday protests in front of the Leonora Police Station were likewise initially lawful - until the protestors didn’t just occupy the road and block traffic, but actually started COOKING a huge KARAHI of shine-rice!!
Further burning roads and forcing tired commuters to meander into village streets violated those commuters’ rights!!
…protest style?
Your Eyewitness is intrigued by the above-mentioned cooking of the shine-rice by the protestors on the public road in front of the Leonora Police Station!! This couldn’t be spontaneous, could it?? From where would they have gotten the karahi?? It wasn’t one you could carry around in your knapsack; it was the size of one of those in which we see Pressie periodically stirring curries or cook-up rice at various informal occasions!! Then the ingredients. The rice and spices could’ve been brought along, but coconut milk?? Naah!! This was all planned!!
So, the question is, “By whom??”
The Tuschen Hotel protests as described above were definitely spontaneous – and involved no cooking. In Guyana, unfortunately, the Opposition regrettably grabs every opportunity to exploit every situation for political gain. We saw this recently in Linden, and now in relation to Adrianna’s murder. In relation to the Linden incident, some of their big wigs picketed the Office of the President in Georgetown, calling for an Inquiry, which the President had already agreed to. They didn’t gain traction in the Leonora protests, but they’ll be back!!
…limits
The police allowed the shine-rice to be cooked and eaten at the inconvenience of commuters, but balked when a second pot of curry was being whipped up. This was blatant eye-pass, so they dispersed the protestors with tear gas!
A fuel storage facility
Police implosion and reform
Another crime outrage - this time, the murder of an innocent child, Adrianna Younge - has brought together Guyanese as one to demand that the institution responsible for dealing with crime – the Guyana Police Force (GPF) – be reformed to perform its job professionally.
On a personal level, I became involved in public protests on January 17, 1999, when “ROAR against Crime” was launched at Leonora. We suggested just such reforms, following a spate of murders, robberies and kidnappings that had swept the country in the wake of the PNC’s rejection of the results of the 1997 elections. During the PNC rule between 1964 and 1992, the GPF had been thoroughly de-professionalized by the Government, with “choke and rob” crimes escalating into “kickdown-the-door” banditry, against which a “Black Clothes” police unit created by Desmond Hoyte spawned a further degeneration of the GPF with extrajudicial violence and killings.
After the prison breakout of Feb 23, 2002, the crime tsunami escalated exponentially into an open attack on the GPF itself; and, in May 2003, the National Assembly unanimously approved the appointment of a Disciplined Forces Commission (DFC), the mandate of which was: “to examine any matter relating to the Public Welfare, Public Safety, Public Order, Defence or Security including the Structure and Composition of the Disciplined Forces and make recommendations, generally, with a view to promoting their greater efficiency, and giving effect to the need in the public interest that the composition of the Disciplined Forces take account of the ethnic constituents of the population.”
The Commission held over forty hearings with the widest public participation, and I made submissions on behalf of ROAR. I remember being questioned by Chairman Justice Ian Chang and Brigadier (retd) David Granger. Its report, comprising some 164 recommendations, of which seventy-one were directed at the Guyana Police, was submitted to Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran, on 6th May 2004.
It was passed on to a Special Select Committee chaired by PM Samuel Hinds, who wryly conceded its delay when he finally submitted it to the House on 10th June 2010. By then, there had been at least four massacres; hundreds of killings by the jailbreakfive, that had morphed into “African Freedom Fighters”; and a “Phantom gang” that saw the GPF descend even further into corruption and haplessness as drug lords and the police worked hand in glove.
In any reform of the GPF, we offer our Jan 1999 caution: “We should not be stampeded into taking ad hoc initiatives without formulating a plan that addresses the need to make fundamental changes in its structural base – or the malfunctions will continue unabated.”
In addition to over twenty specific recommendations, we proposed four medium-term, structural changes: Balancing the Force, Decentralising the Force, Supplementing the Force, and Streamlining the Force.
The recommendations of the DFC are still relevant, and can be the starting point for reforms in the present instance. We quote liberally:“With regard to manpower, the Police Force should aim at achieving greater ethnic diversity without employing a quota system. To achieve this, ethnically-diverse recruitment teams should be employed as openly and extensively as possible. In terms of developing its leadership core, urgent consideration (should) be given to the creation of a robust cadet training system to produce well-educated officers.
“The Coroners’ Act should be reviewed in its entirety to achieve its high ideals and remedy its current deficiencies and application.
“A Coroner’s office should be administratively established to hold inquests or inquiries where the magistrate or magistrates of any Magisterial District cannot do so. The Office should be staffed with magistrates with national jurisdiction, and should fall under the administrative superintendence of the Chief Magistrate. Coroners should be provided with investigative resources to reduce their dependence on Police investigations. This would enable them to conduct independent investigations.
“During training, emphasis should be placed on the use of the minimum force necessary; this is always to be preferred, even in confrontations with armed and dangerous criminals. Appropriate instruction and training should be given to policemen about the circumstances under which they may resort to the use of the firearm.
“The Police Complaints Authority should be provided with an investigative team consisting of trained police investigators who would be responsible and accountable directly to the Authority.”
Further, it was recommended that attention should be paid to strengthening the Force’s investigative capabilities, and to the establishment of a sound national criminal intelligence system.
Without police reform, economic progress is illusory.
US report is genuine reflection of Guyana’s efforts to counter narcotics’ operations – Jagdeo
Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday described the latest United States (US) 2025 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) as a largely accurate reflection of Guyana’s intensified efforts to combat drug trafficking and money laundering, despite some criticisms which he linked to past governance failures.
Speaking at his weekly press conference, Jagdeo stressed that while elements of the report draw from outdated assessments — notably issues from 2019 — the sections highlighting Guyana’s strengthened international cooperation and enforcement actions offer a fairer representation of the country’s current realities.
“A lot of the concerns raised about real estate fraud, gold smuggling, human trafficking, and contraband, originate from the 2019 report during the previous APNU+AFC (A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Administration,” Jagdeo pointed out. He emphasised that licensing weaknesses in the financial sector, fake sales agreements, and cross-border smuggling methods cited in the latest report were issues that predated the current Government.
The VP said he was unsurprised by political commentators attempting to sensationalise the report, but urged the public to consider the full picture.
“Some are jumping up, like Sherod Duncan and others, without realising much of the report points to their own failures in office,” he said. “The report also acknowledges our cooperation with the United States, and our success in major drug interdictions.”
Jagdeo pointed to specific achievements, such as the joint seizure by US and Guyanese authorities in 2024 of 4.4 tonnes of cocaine worth nearly US$195 million—the largest in Guyana’s history.
He also noted that Guyana’s 2022–2026 National Drug Strategy focuses on interdiction, prevention, treatment, and anti-money laundering, reflecting a more serious and structured approach.
According to the INCSR, Guyana’s collaboration with the international community saw it launching the National Defence Institute
(NDI). This was established with the aim of building security expertise through Guyana’s collaboration with CARICOM and US security and defence institutions.
The US State Department report spoke of Guyana’s National Drug Strategy 2022-2026, which it noted laid out strategic programmes that have been set up to guide not only
Guyana’s drug fight, but also anti-money laundering efforts, to ensure the proceeds of the drug trade are not integrated into the formal economy.
The report acknowledged that these efforts have also resulted in increased drug seizures throughout last year, particularly of cocaine. As much as 6,700 kilograms (kg) of cocaine were seized
for the period of January to September 2024 – a large increase compared to 62 kg that were seized during the same period in 2023.
“In 2024, the United States and Guyana’s Joint Interagency Task Force, including its Defence Force, collaborated to seize 4.4 Metric Tonnes (MT) of cocaine worth approximately $195,000,000 – the country’s largest ever drug seizure,” the report stated.
The report also noted “the interception of a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) approximately 150 miles off the coast of Guyana with 2.3 MT of cocaine. Authorities also found a low-profile vessel (LPV), empty and abandoned in the waterways near Port Kaituma, near the Venezuelan border.”
Meanwhile, a total of 1.4 MT of marijuana was seized last year, versus the 1.1 MT that was seized during the same period in 2023. While more cocaine than marijuana was seized in Guyana, the report notes that marijuana remains a more prevalent drug when it comes to domestic use in Guyana.
Ravi Dev
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
$799M Paramakatoi airstrip contract inked
– reconstruction of airstrip to vastly improve connectivity, economic opportunities for hinterland region
The Government of Guyana has awarded a contract worth $799 million for reconstruction of the Paramakatoi airstrip in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). This project, reportedly scheduled to last for approximately eight months, is a major infra-
structure initiative that is aimed at enhancing connectivity between hinterland communities while boosting their economic opportunities.
The upgrade, expected to significantly improve the quality of life of residents by enhancing access to es-
sential services and economic activities, would involve modernising the current surface, which is based on a two-layer pavement construction technique, by applying asphalt binder and mineral aggregate. This method ensures a water-resistant, skid-resistant, and
all-weather-wearing surface that is suitable for frequent use by aircraft.
Key interventions would include the application of a sand gravel levelling course followed by the construction
of a rigid concrete pavement, thereby ensuring a durable and long-lasting runway.
When completed, the improved airstrip would not only enhance mobility for residents, but would also play a
pivotal role in strengthening Paramakatoi’s growing tourism sector, making the community more accessible to visitors and investors.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill during a recent community engagement in Paramakatoi
34 TAU students earn Doctor of Medicine Degrees at 16th graduation ceremony
Texila American University (TAU) celebrated a major academic milestone on Friday, hosting its 16th Graduation Ceremony at the Ramada Princess Hotel in Guyana, with 34 exceptional candidates from the Faculty of Medicine being awarded Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees.
The ceremony marks the culmination of years of rigorous study and clinical training, offered through TAU’s robust medical education programme in Guyana, which provides a 5.5-year combined Pre-Med and MD programme for students without pre-medical coursework, and a 5-year MD pathway for those who have completed science prerequisites.
Both tracks equip students with a globally recognised medical degree, fea-
turing foundational courses such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology, followed by extensive clinical rotations across various disciplines. Additionally, students are exposed to both core and elective rotations in specialised areas like Cardiology, Neurology, Emergency Medicine, Radiology, Orthopaedics, and Critical Care Medicine.
Now that they have completed the MD degree, graduates can now pursue various specialities, such as Internal Medicine; Family Medicine; Paediatrics; Surgery; Cardiology, among others.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Robbie Rambarran, delivered the keynote address. His speech emphasised not only the importance
of the graduates’ academic achievements but also their critical role in the future of healthcare, both in Guyana and globally.
With this in mind, Rambarran encouraged the graduates to take pride in their journey and to remember the impact they can have in every patient interaction.
“As you walk out of here tonight, know that you have not only the knowledge and skill to succeed, but also the potential to be leaders and innovators in your field. The world needs your expertise now more than ever. And I have no doubt that you will rise to the occasion.”
“Remember, you have the opportunity to make a difference in every patient you treat and every life you touch. Carry that responsibility with pride, with purpose, and dignity,” the CEO said.
Further, he urged the graduates to embrace the challenges ahead with courage, clarity, and compassion, emphasising that their role extends beyond medicine to leadership and advocacy for better healthcare systems.
“Guyana and the world need your leadership. Our institution needs your empathy. And our people need your heart. So, as you take this next step, I encourage you to continue learning, continue serving, and never forget the impact you can make. Because true success
$799M Paramakatoi airstrip...
The Paramakatoi airstrip is a critical lifeline for the village. Aside from the Lethem Trail, it serves asthe main mode of transportation, and primarily facilitates the movement of goods and supplies. The announcement of this development was made by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill during a recent community engagement in Paramakatoi, where he was joined by engineers of that Ministry.
In addition to the airstrip project, Minister Edghill announced upgrades to the road network linking
Paramakatoi with other regional hubs. Sectional improvements would be made from Karasabai to Monkey Mountain, and from Monkey Mountain to Paramakatoi. These upgrades are expected to facilitate smoother transport of construction materials during the airstrip’s development and beyond.
The Minister has further assured the community that upgrades would be made to the critical road link between Paramakatoi and Kato, particularly to support quicker response times for medical emergencies. Moreover, he explained that Government is
is not only measured in degrees and titles, but in the lives you touch; the system you will improve. Once again, congratulations to each and every one of you. I wish you courage in your challenges, clarity in your choice, and a joy in your practice ahead,” he added.
According to Rambarran, Guyana has made significant strides in the healthcare sector, noting the impressive
growth in postgraduate education.
"As of 2024, IHSC offers 22 postgraduate programmes across various specialities," he stated, mentioning collaborations with prestigious international institutions like Vanderbilt University, McMaster University, and Northwell Health.
He noted major advancements, including the introduction of new doctoral pro-
grammes in urology and radiology and the upcoming launch of specialities like paediatric surgery and plastic surgery.
In highlighting Guyana’s unique healthcare achievements, he proudly encouraged the graduates to consider working in country, joining an elite team of doctors dedicated to providing world-class healthcare services to all citizens.
investing in the construction of one kilometre of internal roads through the Ministry’s Special Projects Unit (SPU).
Minister Edghill has emphasised that these projects, which would directly benefit the residents of Paramakatoi and surrounding areas, particularly through the creation of employment opportunities, are part of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration’s broader strategy to drive development in hinterland communities, ensuring that residents are fully integrated into Guyana’s growing economy.
GPHC CEO, Robbie Rambarran
Internal road near Paramakatoi airstrip
$297M expended on new district hospital, ambulances, mammogram machine for Region 9
In a major step toward transforming healthcare delivery in Guyana’s hinterland, the Ministry of Health, led by Minister Dr Frank Anthony, officially commissioned the new Annai District Hospital in the Upper Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo) on Friday.
The new hospital, built at a cost of $236 million, is fully equipped and staffed to offer a wide range of medical services. These include outpatient care, inpatient services, accident and emer-
gency treatment, maternal and child health services, non-communicable disease (NCD) management, laboratory and diagnostic testing, pharmacy services, general surgery, internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, dental care, and radiology services such as X-ray and ultrasound.
Speaking at a vibrant community ceremony, Dr Anthony celebrated the achievement and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to ensuring equitable healthcare across the coun-
try.
“Today is a day of celebration. What began as a modest health centre has now evolved into a full-fledged district hospital—equipped with a state-of-the-art surgical theatre, enhanced laboratory services, advanced imaging technologies, and modern staff accommodations,” Dr Anthony said.
The commissioning of the Annai Hospital forms part of a wider $450 million regional initiative to strengthen healthcare infrastructure throughout Region Nine. As
part of this transformation, four fully equipped ambulances, valued at $18 million each, were also handed over to the region to enhance emergency medical response. The ambulances will serve the communities of Annai, Karasabai, Sand Creek, and Yupukari, and are specially designed to navigate the hinterland’s challenging terrain.
In addition to improved transportation for patients, residents will now benefit from advanced diagnostic
health advancement, given that breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Guyana.
Previously, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) was the only public health facility offering mammography services. With this addition, residents now have improved access to early breast cancer detection, reducing the need to travel long distances for screenings.
To date, the Health
healthcare agenda goes beyond infrastructure. He encouraged residents to participate in the nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, recently expanded to include women up to the age of 45, aiming to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer across Guyana.
“Progress is not just a concept — it’s action. We are not only talking about transformation; we are delivering it,” Dr Anthony concluded, as he highlighted that in-
tools. The Lethem Regional Hospital has been equipped with a brand-new digital X-ray system and a stateof-the-art Siemens mammogram machine, acquired at a cost of $43 million. The mammography unit, renowned for its exceptional depth resolution and diagnostic accuracy, significantly boosts the hospital’s capacity for early breast cancer detection — a major public
Minister has commissioned similar machines at the Linden Hospital Complex in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), and the Public Hospital Suddie in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam).
Looking to the future, Minister Anthony emphasised that the Government’s
vestments in Region Nine are already showing tangible benefits, with patients increasingly seeking care locally rather than crossing international borders. Also in attendance at the event were Regional Health Officer Dr Cerdel McWatt, Regional Chairman Bryan Allicock, and Hinterland Coordinator for Regional Health Services Mr Michael Gouveia, who each reiterated their commitment to supporting the ongoing health sector improvements.
The health sector interventions in Region Nine represent a new era of healthcare equity and quality for hinterland communities, reinforcing the Government’s broader goal of providing world-class healthcare to all Guyanese, regardless of geographic location.
Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony and other officials inspecting state-of-the-art $43 million Siemens mammogram machine
New $236 million Annai District Hospital
One of the fully equipped ambulances
Guyana’s debt-to-GDP ratio of 16% is among lowest in the world – VP Jagdeo
– assures that future generations not burdened with debt
Guyana’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 16 per cent, is among the lowest in the world. This is according to Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo, who also explained that less than 10 per cent of revenue goes towards servicing this debt.
On Friday, VP Bharrat Jagdeo was the feature speaker at the University of Guyana’s (UG) Economic Society Forum. While there, the VP spoke on policy matters, and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s management of Guyana’s national debt.
Earlier this year when he presented the national budget, Finance Minister Dr
Ashni Singh had announced that Guyana’s debt was US$5.9 million at the end of 2024. According to the VP at the forum, Guyana once had a debt burden that was multiple times the size of the GDP. Now, the debt to GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world.
“By 2015, pre oil, our debt to GDP ratio had been reduced to one of the lowest in the entire world. It was about 40 to 45 per cent of GDP, down from 900 per cent. So, that was pre oil. And our servicing of that debt had plunged from 153 per cent of revenue to under 10 per cent.”
“And this was pre oil. Today, our debt is about 16 per cent of GDP. So definitely among the lowest
in the world. We’re using about six per cent of revenue,” Jagdeo also explained to the youth audience.
With this in mind, Jagdeo noted that the country could afford to bor-
ERC expresses condolences to family, calls for justice in tragic death of Adrianna Younge
The
Relations Commission
and
dolences to the family of Adrianna Younge on the loss of their precious daughter.
this
row to fund investments in Guyana and its people today. According to him, the debt burden as it stands today is a sustainable one.
“So, when you hear people say, oh we’re borrowing all of this money. You hear this a lot from the opposition. We have one of the lowest debt variables anywhere in the world now, coming down from that unsustainable period.”
“So, we’re not burdening future generations, with paying that debt. That is what we had to work through. The debt burden bequeathed to us, represented lost opportunities for development, because we had to take care of it,”
the VP said. Guyana’s debt has been aimed largely at developing the country’s infrastructure. Among the massive projects being undertaken through loans, with a 2030 and beyond focus, are the US$260 million Chinese funded Demerara River Bridge and the partially British funded US$190 million Linden to Mabura road.
In the case of the Demerara River Bridge, the structure will have a lifespan of 100 years… far eclipsing the lifespan of the old bridge. The new bridge will be a fixed 2.65-kilometre (km), four-lane, highspan, cable-stayed structure across the Demerara River, with the width of the driving surface being about 23.6 metres. The bridge, which features a bicycle lane, will bring an end to closures to vehicular traffic with a 50-metre fixedhigh span to cater for the free flow of vessels uninterrupted. The river will be dredged along a 13.5-kilometre stretch to accommodate large vessels.
When it comes to the Linden to Mabura road, which will eventually reach all the way to Lethem, Region Nine (Upper
Takutu-Upper Essequibo), this is a vital road network that is being utilised by thousands of persons who transport goods from the coast to the inland regions of Guyana.
Minster Singh had previously disclosed that at the end of 2023, total Public and Publicly Guaranteed (PPG) debt stood at US$4,508.8 million, up 23.4 per cent from the position at the end of 2022.
Additionally, the country’s external debt amounted to US$1,775.5 million at the end of 2023, up 13 per cent from the position at the end of 2022 on account of positive net flows from both bilateral and multilateral creditors.
Domestic debt totalled US$2,733.4 million at the end of 2023, up from the US$2,083 million at the end of 2022. This increase was attributed to the Government’s issuance of new Treasury Bills.
Further, in 2023, the total public debt service payments amounted to US$177.3 million, an increase from US$150.2 million in 2022 and this increase was driven by both domestic and external debt service payments.
Whether Christian, Hindu, or Muslim, we are united in sorrow and share
(CEO)/Secretary, Gomin Camacho, today visited the family of Adrianna Younge to offer prayers and support.
The Commission expressed its deepest con-
“The ERC strongly condemns the tragedy and stands in full solidarity with the family in their call for justice. Those involved must be
We mourn as a
for
in the pain of the tragic loss of this innocent child.
Let us remain united in prayers and pursuit of justice for Adrianna Younge,” the ERC said.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
Ethnic
(ERC), through its Chairman, Shaikh Moeenul Hack,
Chief Executive Officer
held accountable and face the full extent of the law.
nation
beloved child of Guyana, Adrianna Younge.
Chairman Moeenul Hack signing the book of condolence in the presence of Adrianna’s siblings
ERC Chief Executive Officer and secretary, Gomin Camacho, with Adrianna’s siblings
13 years
later, family’s grief resurfaces
“This time, I hope and pray that justice is served” – Sadeek Juman’s mother
“When I look at the way this little girl body was found in the pool and the marks of violence on her body, is the same as my son 12 years ago… It aches to know that people would target innocent children to do this kind of dirty work. It’s time that someone put a stop to it once and for all.”
These are the sentiments of Bibi Farida Juman, the mother of Sadeek Juman whose body was found on November 19, 2012 – one day after meeting a group of
friends at the Double Day Hotel, Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).
The woman, who could barely contain her emotions, told the Guyana Times that almost 13 years have passed but not for one single day, she doesn’t yearn to see her only son again.
“The images I have seen on social media with 11-year-old Adrianna reminds me of my son… he was taken away from us without a reason… and although the evidence was right in front our eyes, those responsible for his
death are roaming free today… but, this time, I hope and pray that justice is served… if the culprit is punished for doing this to this little girl, I will at least find some closure, that my son also received justice because I know, it is the very monster committed the act,” she told this publication.
Adrianna’s death brought back the painful memories of losing a child, Juman added, while noting that although her son’s body wasn’t burnt, his head and chest were severely swollen, his hands
“No missteps; everything will be...
He pointed out, however, that while he is supportive of the peaceful protest, these actions should not hinder the general public.
“I have no objections [to the protest] because we all want justice; we all want to get to the truth of this, persons can do so peacefully. But blocking the road for hours is something that affects other citizens… I’m totally in support of, and we will never ever not support peaceful protest.”
“All of us want the truth. That is the only thing I’m interested in; ensuring the truth leads to [justice and] whatever action has to be taken will be taken,” the Head of State reiterated.
While peaceful protest continued in Region Three on Saturday morning, the fiery unrest spread to Region Five late Saturday afternoon, as persons set tyres and other materials alight on the Belladrum Public Road on the West Coast of Berbice (WCB). However, the blaze was eventually put out by an unknown person, along with the police and firefighters, who arrived on the scene.
In just under 30 minutes burnt debris was cleared off of the roadway and traffic was flowing freely.
Commander sent on leave
Meanwhile, during his visit, President Ali also informed family members that Commander of Regional Division #3, Assistant Commissioner Khalid Mandall, has been sent on administrative leave to facilitate ongoing investigations into the young girl’s death.
He further revealed that three police officers are also currently under close arrest – updates that the family welcomed.
Earlier on Saturday, the GPF had reported that Commander Mandall was sent on admin leave to facilitate the ongoing investigation, which is being led by the Force’s Major Crimes Unit. This comes less than 24 hours after the police had reported on Friday night that the Commander was trans-
ferred to another division amidst calls for his removal.
The actions of several members of the regional police team that responded to the report of Adrianna’s disappearance are under question, with both President Ali and Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo demanding answers.
This was after the police reported initially that there was footage of the hotel, showing that the 11-year-old girl had entered a motorcar, which drove off in an eastern direction heading towards Vreed-en-Hoop.
But the family was adamant that the girl was still inside the hotel since they reviewed footage from a neighbour’s security camera, which showed no signs that the girl left the establishment at any time. She was only seen entering the premises with her relatives.
Hours after Adrianna’s body was discovered, the police admitted to releasing “inaccurate” information.
Persons questioned
According to the GPF, a number of other police ranks in the division were also questioned, and investigators have thus far contacted and questioned the proprietor of the Hotel and all employees, who were present there on the day of the incident.
“The staff and the owner [of the hotel] in custody,” President Ali further told the relatives on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the police say that investigators are still interviewing other persons who can assist with the in-
vestigations.
The Force further noted that it is also awaiting the conduct of the PME on the 11-year-old girl’s body. It said the confirmation of the Adrianna’s cause of death is a critical aspect of the investigation.
An autopsy on the girl’s body was initially scheduled to be done on Friday by Barbadian pathologist, Dr Shubhakar Karra Paul, whom the Guyana Government brought in late Thursday afternoon.
However, during a meeting with Adrianna’s parents and other family members on Thursday night, President Ali agreed to their request for an independent pathologist, thus postponing the PME.
In fact, the family’s lawyer had raised several questions about the qualification of Dr Paul, who had previously assisted local forensic experts with the identification of the nearly two dozen persons who died in the May 2023 Mahdia Dormitory fire.
Chief Medical Officer at the Health Ministry on Saturday defended Dr Paul, stating that he is “highly qualified” and his participation will ensure added impartiality and public confidence in the integrity of the ongoing investigative process.
Nevertheless, Dr Paul is expected to join Dr Collins for Monday’s autopsy. There are reports too that a third forensic pathologist, Dr Glenn Rudner, from the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York will also arrive in Guyana on Sunday to join the team.
were ‘blue’, and at the time of the discovery, his body was fresh.
This, she stated, indicated that his body was dumped in the pool not long before it was seen floating.
The grieving mother related that looking at the child’s body lying on the ground is a vivid resemblance to her son when he was pulled from the pool. “My pressure went up right away… it seemed as though it was my son lying there all over again… I had to sit for some time at work and catch myself before I continued. Something has to be done, and since my son died, I have been calling for the hotel to be closed down but here we are, 12 years later, the same thing happened.”
However, while she doesn’t condone violence, she is happy that the Younge family and the community came out to support them in calling for justice.
“At that time, it was our family alone, no one came out to support us… while we know he was murdered, the post mortem showed that he drowned… but all the evidence were swept under the carpet by a rogue policeman and his confederates, so the court had no other choice to rule against us,” she claimed.
“I guess, if we had taken the same stance as the Younge family, we would have gotten some form of justice, but we are a quiet family, and that itself was taken advantage of,” she mused.
Reminiscing on how it all happened, Juman related that her son left their Blankenburg West Coast Demerara (WCD) home on November 18, 2012 for Parika to purchase some DVDs. After purchasing them, he ended up at his grandmother at Ruby, EBE where he spent some time with her.
But after visiting his grandmother, he never returned home. As he was leaving his grandmother’s residence, he telephoned his mother and informed her that he was going to be home by 20:00h but that never happened.
Uncertain what transpired after, he reportedly ended up at the Double Day Hotel where he joined a group of friends. Due to his height, he towered over the water in the pool and as such, his mother felt that there was no way her son had drowned.
All night, his mother stayed up and attempted to contact him, but to no
avail. His phone went unanswered. It wasn’t until the next day, that a friend telephoned the now dead youth’s sister and informed her that her brother’s body was pulled from the pool.
Panicked and rattled, the family rushed to the scene but on their way received another call instructing them to go to the Leonora Cottage Hospital instead. After waiting for
alive,” Juman grieved.
Four years later, Bhagnarine Bhola, a Manager of the hotel and Lealon Johnson, 29, were jointly charged with the murder of Sadeek, but one year later, they were acquitted for lack of prosecution’s evidence.
At the time, it was reported that the young man had gotten into a heated argument with a group of men at the hotel. The men
some time, the body arrived and the parents were faced with their worst fear – identifying the battered body of their only son.
“They really beat he… really beat he…,” she recalled.
The autopsy was completed, and Sadeek was buried on November 22 –his 21st birthday.
“The most painful thing for any parent is to bury or cremate a child…at no circumstance, should a parent sit and look at their child in a box wrapped in, while knowing fully well that it would be the last you will see them… worst is the manner in which they died… that can be devastating… the family to this day, only wish he were
allegedly inflicted a severe beating on Juman. He was reportedly put in a room until night fell. When night fell they placed the still-unconscious young man in the hotel pool to give the appearance he had drowned.
Today, his mother empathises with the Younge family, as her family known what it is to lose a loved one in the most demonic way. Even though she doesn’t believe in human sacrifice, she hopes that it can end, once the source is eliminated.
She wishes the Younge family find solace and more importantly, the authorities get it right this time around, so that justice can be served.
Bibi Farida Juman and her son Sadeek Juman
Sadeek Juman with others in the hotel’s pool prior to his death
Commander of Regional Division #3, Khalid Mandall, has been sent on administrative leave
Newly crowned Miss Rupununi Ranchers 2025, 20-year-old Miralisa Gomes of Sand Creek Village, believes in the importance of creating safer spaces to empower and uplift young Indigenous women, helping them pursue their dreams and build self-confidence.
“Many young indigenous women today face teenage pressure and struggle due to lack of parental support. While there are many job opportunities out there, I believe that due to a lack of confidence and interest, some girls don’t seize them. As such, we need to create safer spaces to empower and support young Indigenous women to chase their dreams and believe in themselves,” she told Guyana Times days after winning the title.
During her one-year reign, she plans to collaborate closely with Government agencies and non-governmental organisations to launch initiatives aimed at building self-confidence among young Indigenous women, enabling them to fully realise and embrace their potential.
Gomes, also called Sakadina, which means “beginning” or “starting” in her Wapishana dialect, outshone her rivals to win the coveted title two Fridays ago. She is the eldest of three children and would have completed her secondary education at the Sand Creek Secondary School.
in Sand Creek Village. It’s a beautiful place, rich in culture and tradition, and I’m proud to call it home,” she told this publication.
This was her first pageant, and she described it as an entirely new and exciting experience, filled with learning, personal growth, and connection. She was proudly sponsored by the American House of Fashion with focus on “Preserving Indigenous Culture and Traditions in the 21st Century.”
At the event, her plan was to do her best; but winning the title was the icing on the cake. She described the crowning moment as one filled with a whirlwind of emotions.
“As the names of the second and first runners-up were called, I felt my heart beating faster. When my name was finally announced, I was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. I wanted to scream with happiness. It was a moment of pure magic and fulfilment,” she explained.
Gomes remains incredibly elated and deeply honoured to have represented her community well.
“I wasn’t just representing myself but my family, my sponsor, and my beautiful village of Sand Creek. It was a meaningful experience that taught me so many lessons and boosted my confidence in ways I never imagined. Winning this pageant reminded me of the strength that comes from staying true to yourself and stepping outside your comfort zone.”
The contest featured four female contestants, including Gomes, and five male participants vying for their respective titles but despite their differences, the experience fostered a genuine bond among them, where camaraderie prevailed over rivalry.
She recalled that her favourite part of the pageant was developing and advocating for her platform.
“It allowed me to be creative, hands-on, and to pour my heart into something I
care deeply about. I enjoyed every moment of preparing, sharing ideas, and bringing my vision to life. It was both exciting and rewarding, and I genuinely had fun with it. It connected me even more to my roots and reminded me why preserving our identity matters.”
“This pageant helped me discover a whole new level of confidence within myself. I’ve spoken at school concerts and participated in public speaking before, but this was the largest audience I’ve ever faced. It was my biggest challenge and I conquered it. I’ll carry this experience for the rest of my life, knowing that I pushed past fear and believed in myself,” she said of her biggest takeaway from the experience.
Now as the new queen, she intends to continue her advocacy in preserving Indigenous culture and traditions in the 21st Century.
“I want to use social media to raise awareness and reach out to others who share the same passion. I’ll be con-
necting with elders, local ar tisans, and other resource ful individuals who can help pass on their wisdom, skills, and cultural knowledge. My hope is to create something lasting and meaningful that celebrates our identity.”
She believes that indige nous traditions still hold deep relevance in today’s society.
“They are not just histo ry they are living knowledge, rooted in identity, respect, and sustainability. I want to highlight how we can car ry these traditions forward, adapting them with modern tools while preserving their authenticity. It's not about going back, it's about moving forward with pride in who we are,” she added.
Further, she wants to work closely with all those who hold the cultural wisdom of her people.
“I want to document their knowledge and share it in ways that reach young peo ple through workshops, social media, and school outreach. By valuing the voices of our elders and the skills passed
down to us, I hope to inspire others to embrace and celebrate our culture with pride.”
She admitted that the journey ahead would not be easy, and while teaching can be demanding, she is committed to dedicating her time after school to advancing her advocacy while fulfilling her responsibilities as Queen.
“I believe in staying organised and setting priorities. With the right balance, I
ping stone. Embrace them with courage, take things one step at a time, and grow in confidence. Believe in yourself and your purpose.” What is next for the beauty queen after her reign? Even though she loves teaching, she also sees herself one day exploring the field of tourism.
“My family owns a small business that offers accommodation, my mom prepares
raised
NEWLY CROWNED MISS RUPUNUNI RANCHERS 2025, MIRALISA GOMES
THE FEMALE AND MALE CONTENDERS FOR THE RUPUNUNI RODEO TITLES
NEWLY CROWNED RODEO KING AND QUEEN
OVERCOMING WHAT SHOULD HAVE ENDED HER: THE LIFE OF AN SJS/TEN SURVIVOR
At just 15 years old, Narifa Hira’s life changed forever. What began as a routine course of antibiotics prescribed for a minor illness, quickly spiralled into a medical nightmare—one that would leave her scarred in every possible way.
The young girl had been experiencing flu-like symptoms, including rashes on her skin, and was being treated for what doctors initially thought was a simple infection.
But within days, her body began to betray her. Her skin blistered and peeled, her lips cracked and bled, her eyes became painfully dry, and she lost the ability to speak, eat, or see clearly.
What everyone thought was a simple illness turned out to be Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/ Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (SJS/ TEN)—a condition so rare and severe, most people do not survive it. But she did.
The onset of a nightmare
On Friday, June 4, 2021, the young girl had woken up with flulike symptoms and had stayed home from school. She had visited a private medical practitioner who operated close to her place of residence, and she was diagnosed with the regular flu and was prescribed antibiotics.
However, as her symptoms intensified, she visited a private city hospital on Thursday, June 10, where she was taken off the antibiotics and prescribed cream and other ointments for the skin outbreaks, as doctors ran tests to figure out the problem.
The following day, the teen was admitted to Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) – following a referral from the private hospital – as her condition rapidly deteriorated.
While the private hospital had diagnosed her with SJS, they informed her parents of her poor prognosis: she may not survive the illness. Doctors at GPHC later discovered that the teen was also suffering from TEN.
Confused, frightened, and in unimaginable pain, Narifa found herself surrounded by strangers in sterile hospital wards, with no clear answers about what was happening to her body. The days blurred together as the pain intensified. She was unable to eat solid food or communicate clearly. The once vibrant teenager found herself confined to a bed, her spirit slipping away as her body battled an invisible war.
She remembers her fears vividly—especially the night her hands swelled so much she could barely recognise them. That night, she whispered through the pain, asking for her mother.
When the morphine started working in and before drifting into what she feared might be her final sleep, the young woman prayed— not to be saved, but for peace.
Understanding SJS/TEN
SJS and TEN are severe, potentially fatal skin reactions usually triggered by medications or infections. They begin with flu-like symptoms and rapidly escalate as the skin and mucous membranes blister and peel. SJS affects less than 10 per cent of the body’s sur-
face area, while TEN affects more than 30 per cent. Both can lead to complications like sepsis, organ failure, and even death—10 per cent of SJS patients and up to 50 per cent of TEN patients do not survive.
For survivors like Narifa, the trauma does not end with hospital discharge. Recovery can take months or years, and is often marked by long-term complications—vision problems, chronic pain, skin and organ damage, and lasting emotional scars.
Doctor with a difference
In the chaos of critical care, one person stood out to Narifa: Dr Vedika Panday, a resident in internal medicine. While many hospital staff hurried from task to task, Dr Panday saw Narifa—not just the patient, but the person. During one especially harrowing moment when Narifa’s veins became inaccessible and an IV had to be placed in her neck, Dr Panday offered her hand
treatment. She thought her introverted nature would help her endure the solitude, but the silence amplified her suffering. The pain never truly left, and mentally, she began to shut down. One day, overwhelmed by it all, she told her mother she wanted to go home to say goodbye to her family.
“I had shut down. I could not take it anymore. I chose to be selfish as I looked my mother in her eyes and said, “Please take me home, I do not want to do this any longer. I want to see my papa, my grandma, my dog and my brother before I leave this earth”. I was done with the constant tests, the bandages, the pain – it all became too much. I refused to eat. I refused to talk. I did not want to exist in that space anymore,” Narifa recalled.
After expressing these thoughts, Narifa said she heard her mother’s sobs echoed down the hallway of the hospital. But once again, it was Dr Panday who returned—not to lec-
own tears, but my eyes are so sensitive to light…I had to wear dark shades until up to April, 2022. When I had returned back to school after the summer break of 2021, a lot of my peers questioned if I was “blind”. Sometimes, I’d bump into things while walking, or close my eyes for a second when passing an area with a lot of wind, squint to see on the white board, having to have my face centimetres away from the laptop screen because I cannot see far, and constantly having to throw eye drops. These are all the things and more that made me a ‘laughing stock’,” she further recalled, as she reflected on her experiences.
According to Narifa, her trauma did not make her stronger—it made her more sensitive. Loud environments overwhelmed her and her emotions spilled over more easily. The past haunted her, with nightmares and flashbacks dragging her back to cold hospital rooms and painful procedures.
and told her to squeeze during the pain.
But it wasn’t just medical care that made an impact—it was tenderness. Narifa recalled that Dr Panday would comb her hair and often sat with her in silence when words were too much. According to the young woman, Dr Panday reminded a fading spirit that she was still human, still worthy, and still seen. Those small acts of compassion played a pivotal role in helping Narifa choose to fight again, even when she had mentally given up.
“She did not treat me like a patient or a diagnosis. She treated me like a person who needed care, not just treatment…I cannot even count how many times she quietly came in just to check on me, to make sure I was still breathing, still holding on,”
Narifa recalled of the kindness of Dr Panday during an interview with the Guyana Times.
A room called isolation
Eventually, Narifa was moved into the Burn Care Unit—a single, enclosed room meant for intense
ture or coax, but simply to sit. Dr Panday’s kindness reminded Narifa that she still had fight within her.
Healing in slow motion
Leaving the hospital was not the end of the young woman’s battle— it was just the beginning of a different kind of war. Her eyes, severely damaged, could no longer produce tears. For nearly a year, she had to wear dark sunglasses to shield her sensitive eyes. When she eventually returned to school, students whispered and mocked.
“Could you imagine a 15-yearold teenager, being forced to change and adapt to a whole new lifestyle? Could you imagine having to throw lubricating eye drops to moisture your eyes because you cannot physically produce adequate tears? Since June 2021, I haven’t shed a single, physical tear when I cried; not because I mastered the power of self-control or I do not have any emotions but because I literally cannot produce a tear of my own anymore,” Narifa explained.
“Not only can I not produce my
What recovery really looks like
Every day after her discharge was a struggle—physically, mentally, emotionally. There were many days she did not want to eat or speak. But with time and the support of a few key people, she began to inch forward. She found strength in those who checked in, who did not rush her healing, who just sat with her when she needed company.
At her lowest, she looked at pictures of her younger self and asked, “Why me?” She didn’t understand why she had survived, when survival came with such a heavy cost.
“What’s my purpose? Why did this happen to me? Did I upset God in my previous life? Is this karma? Why did he save me for me to live in misery and regret?” Narifa often questioned.
“The emotional scars and the trauma were far harder to heal than the physical ones,” the young lady, now 19, admitted.
However, she noted that despite these bouts of emotional breakdown, she is happy to have survived.
“I am happy to had been given a second chance to share and educate the world about my unfortunate experience... I had come to terms with the fact that I would never look or feel the same. I had lost pieces of myself in that hospital bed, but somehow, I found something even greater – the resilience to keep going, to see myself beyond the scars, to remember that even when everything seems broken, there is still a way forward.”
A dream reimagined
During her recovery process, Narifa said her vision became so impaired that schoolwork—especially her passion for accounting—became nearly impossible. She slowly lost motivation, letting go of the dream she had held onto for so long. Despite her disability, Narifa pushed forward. She passed her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, even topping her batch in Office Administration, thanks to extra time accommodations secured by a dedicated teacher, Miss Nirupa Manroop. And in 2024, on a whim, she applied for a job in accounting—a field she had once thought lost to her. Not only did she get an interview, but she was hired as an Accounting Officer, proving that some dreams are simply delayed, not denied.
She is now studying for a Diploma in Business Management at Nations University.
Her message to that 15-year-old girl
If she could speak to her younger self—the frightened girl in that hospital bed—she would say:
“You are not defined by the scars, the pain, or the fear. You are the girl who fought even when she did not think she could. You are the girl who, in the darkest of days, still found a way to keep going. You are so much stronger than you realise, and one day you will look at yourself and see not just the survivor, but the warrior who made it through. You are worthy of love; you are worthy of kindness.”
Narifa credits much of her survival to the people who never let her feel alone—her mother, whose unwavering love never faltered; Miss Manroop, who fought for her academic success; and most deeply, Dr Panday, who treated her soul, not just her symptoms.
Narifa said these women reminded her that healing is more than medicine—it’s human connection.
Where she stands now
Four years later, Narifa still battles anxiety, sensory overload, and the trauma of what she endured. However, she is slowly finding purpose in the pain, and using her voice to raise awareness about SJS/TEN.
Narifa explained that, “surviving SJS was not just about enduring physical pain. It was also about coming to terms with the scars it left behind, visible and internal. It took away from me things I once took for granted, but it also taught me to cherish life, celebrate even the smallest wins and hold onto hope no matter how dark it got.”
Her journey is not over—neither is her fight.
“My SJS is not a curse. It is a part of my story—and I am still writing it.”
Symptoms of SJS/TEN Narifa has endured over the years
“Pick up a book and discover the joy of reading!”
– National Park hosts enthusiastic World Book Day celebrations
They say you should never judge a book by its cover but the vibrant scenes at Guyana’s National Park during World Book Day celebrations might just prove otherwise.
From the moment you arrive, it’s clear that the day is all about joy, discovery, and most of all – having your head in a book of some sort.
On April 26, children from all across Guyana gathered under the warm sun, their excitement filling the air as they took part in a wide range of reading and storytelling activities.
The Education Ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture, made the event possible, aiming to inspire young minds and families alike.
The main message shared throughout the National Park was that reading is not just about turning pages — it’s about sharing experiences, learning from one another, and building connections.
The purpose of the day is to stimulate people to read more, emphasise the value of books and copyright, and celebrate the joy of reading.
World Book Day is essential because it serves as a reminder that everyone has a story to share, that everyone has lived an experience from which we may benefit, and— perhaps most importantly of all—that every reader has a tale that demonstrates
to them that they are not alone.
Speaking to Cindy Singh, one of the key organisers of this initiative from the Education Ministry, she revealed that this World Book Day is a key day in which the Education Ministry has chosen to capitalise on the importance it can have on the lives of students.
“We want to make sure that each person can read by the end of Grade 4, so we thought the best place is the
children’s play park, where family love and togetherness is found, and that is what we want to do; to make it entertaining and not just about picking up a book and reading. We had many activities: the fishing game for moral words, the television game that tells five stories — Guyanese stories, in fact — and they had to predict a story. We had sight words to engage with simple words, simple work. We had fun awareness to learn about
sounds, letters, blends. We wanted persons to play games that encourage literacy, the five big ideas,” she said.
“This day is a reminder of the importance of books and the impact they have on our lives. By developing a love for reading, we not only expand our minds and imagination but also become more empathetic, informed, and critical thinkers, which strengthens our brain, helps prevent age-related cognitive decline, reduces stress, and gives us a better night’s rest, as well as pleasure. Let us use this day to inspire and encourage others,” she added.
She also urged that we should work towards promoting literacy, and cele-
brate this day by spreading the joy of reading to all.
According to Singh, the children at the event demonstrated an interest in reading, in reading-related materials, in learning, and in receiving books of their interest.
“We wanted to encourage others that reading must be done at all times, even at spare time. We want to say special thanks to our donours — the challenges were a bit, but we could overcome any challenges out there.
We are encouraging others to promote reading and storytelling and learning that empowers all learners from all ages — that anyone can write, read. There’s no age limit; it’s unlimited, and anyone can be a part of
these events that can promote fun activities. We want the children to understand that learning is fun,” she noted.
World Book Day began in 1922 when its founder, Vicente Clavel, director of the Cervantes publishing business in Barcelona, thought of it as a way to celebrate the writer Miguel de Cervantes while also increasing book sales. Cervantes’ birthday, October 7, 1926, was the first-ever significant celebration. It was later shifted to April 23, which was also his date of death. It was decided that this date would be better to celebrate because it is a more appealing time of year to go exploring and peruse books outside.
Over 100 vulnerable women, teens empowered at Women’s Well 2025
More than one hundred vulnerable women and teens were given a renewed sense of hope and empowerment on Saturday at Women’s Well 2025, a transformative wellness event hosted by the Battered Women and Challenged Teens Ministries (BWCT) in collaboration with the Fix It Movement.
The event, which took place at the Guyana Nurses Association, was specially designed to support women and teens who have faced abuse, hardship, and personal struggles, providing them with a day filled with education, support, and care aimed at nurturing their health, rights, and overall well-being.
The initiative was the brainchild of overseas-based Guyanese, Dr Shondell Jackson-Wills, who is passionate about giving back to her home country. The event was organised in partnership with the Fix It Movement, another charitable organisation. Throughout the day, participants were able to access a range of free services, including medical testing, vital health screenings, massages, hearty meals, and personalised care packages containing essential supplies.
Beyond these tangible benefits, attendees were engaged in educational talks delivered by doctors and specialists from various fields. These sessions addressed critical topics such as reproductive health, mental health awareness, stress management, and learning how to “bloom where you are planted”.
Pharmacists were also present at the event, facilitating open discussions on reproductive health, medication safety, and access to care, thereby empowering women and teens to take a more informed approach to their personal health management.
Speaking with Guyana
Times, Dr Jackson-Wills explained the inspiration and heart behind the initiative, saying, “I collaborated with Fix It Movement a few months ago, and we decided that we’re going to bring this event to pass. Our goal here today is to empower and impact women to take good care of themselves. We’re going to teach them self-care, we’re going to teach them how to bloom where they’re planted, which means that we’re going to be not only teaching them that but also how to survive where they’re planted, how to strive where they’re planted.”
She further outlined the objectives of the event, stating, “We’re going to be teaching them survival skills,
we’re going to be teaching them stress management techniques.”
Reflecting on her broader charitable work, Dr JacksonWills noted that her organisation has been actively involved in charity since 2016.
“We’ve been doing charities for nine years now, since 2016. It makes me feel very good because my heart desires to work with women, to impact them, to teach them. Women are very special, we’re very special human beings, and I think a lot of times we’re being thrown to the side. So, I am happy that I was able to bring this event here today to Guyana and to be able to make an impact on the lives of women,” she said.
The impact of Women’s Well 2025 was immediately evident from the feedback of participants, many of whom spoke glowingly about their experiences.
Among them was 82-year-old Florine Dalgety, who shared that her curiosity had initially drawn her to the event but she quickly realised the profound importance of the initiative.
She said, “When I saw the groupings, I figured they don’t have that group in Guyana. When I saw that this is organised by a group that is focused on bat-
tered women and challenged teens, I had never heard of a group like that in Guyana. I knew that the battered women, challenged teens thing exists in Guyana and has been going on for years. So, because of my own interest and my own concern about transformation and rise, that is what caused me to be here. The range of things that they are focusing on is very interesting and very necessary for us to look at from an educational standpoint.”
Another attendee, Shazay Yaw, who travelled from Mocha on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD), said the event inspired her to make significant changes in her personal life.
“I’m coming all the way
from Mocha on the East Bank of Demerara. Today, I have learned the importance of mental health and how it is necessary to make a priority of your mental health. This can benefit me tremendously, especially as it relates to the number of activities that I do. I am more mindful of how many activities I take on and I’m now able to prioritise them from most to least important and get them done in an orderly and fashionable manner.”
Women’s Well 2025 successfully delivered a day of healing, empowerment, and education, reinforcing the organisers’ mission of equipping vulnerable women and teens with the tools to survive, strive, and thrive.
Some of the many books at the event
Scores of children present at the event
The Battered Women and Challenged Teens Ministries (BWCT) and Fix It Movement team
A beneficiary receiving her care package
No more 24-hour waiting period for missing persons reports – Top Cop
– new SOP comes after death of Adrianna Younge
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has announced the immediate implementation of a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for handling missing persons reports, officially eliminating the longstanding and controversial 24-hour waiting period.
The sweeping changes come amid national outrage following the tragic death of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge, whose body was discovered floating in the hotel’s swimming pool the day after she was reported missing, and after claims surfaced that police failed to act promptly on the family’s concerns.
Following the tragedy, the Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, swiftly issued a press release outlining the
new SOP aimed at reforming how the Force treats missing persons’ reports going forward.
The police are now required to act immediately upon receiving any report of a missing person, without insisting on a 24-hour waiting period. Reports must be treated with the highest level of seriousness, urgency, and professionalism from the outset, particularly when they involve children, elderly individuals, or vulnerable persons.
Additionally, whenever a missing child is reported, a “Red Alert” system will now be triggered, launching a coordinated national response involving multiple agencies.
High-risk cases, such as those involving minors or persons with disabilities, will au-
tomatically warrant the rapid deployment of additional resources.
The GPF has also committed to working closely with external agencies, including the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA), the Immigration Department, health institutions, shelters, and other stakeholders to ensure that no case falls through the cracks.
The Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) has been tasked with issuing timely and accurate public notices about missing persons, while senior officers and divisional commanders will be required to maintain daily oversight of all active cases until they are resolved.
Officers who fail to adhere to the new SOP without
a lawful justification will face administrative action under the Police (Discipline) Act and Standing Orders.
The GPF said the new measures are part of a renewed commitment to protect vulnerable citizens and restore public trust.
“The GPF takes its responsibility to protect life and ensure public safety with the utmost seriousness,” the statement read. “The implementation of this SOP underscores our renewed commitment to act swiftly, lawfully, and compassionately when a person is reported missing.”
The reforms come too late to save Adrianna Younge, but authorities say they hope the new approach will prevent future tragedies and ensure that every missing person’s case is
met with immediate and decisive action.
According to reports, young Adrianna had been with her family at the Double Day Hotel in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), on the afternoon of April 23, when
she was reported missing. Her parents immediately alerted authorities and raised alarm bells over her disappearance.
Tragically, less than twenty hours after the child vanished, her lifeless body was discovered floating in the very pool that police and family members had initially searched and declared clear. When found, Adrianna’s body bore visible signs of injuries to her hands, knees, and face, sparking further suspicion that foul play was involved. In response to the escalating tensions, President Irfaan Ali ordered a full-scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding Adrianna’s death, as well as the manner in which the police handled the initial missing person report.
Guyana, Brazil deepen health collaboration with launch of cross-border vaccination initiative
The Governments of Guyana and Brazil, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), today launched Vaccination Week in the Americas with a cross-border vaccination campaign.
Hosted jointly by the
Municipality of Bonfim and the town of Lethem, this initiative marks the third such collaboration between the two neighbouring countries in the past five years. The campaign will run from April 26 to May 3, 2025, under the theme “Your Decision Makes a Difference.”
This cross-border effort
Former Sheriff Security officer remanded for seawall murder
Aformer security officer, who was attached to the Sheriff Security Service, was on Friday remanded to prison after being charged with the murder of a man during an incident at the Georgetown Seawall earlier this month.
The accused, 25-yearold Akeem Blackman of Jonestown, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD) appeared before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where the charge was formally read to him.
Blackman was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which alleges that on April 4, at Seawall Road, Kingston, Georgetown, he unlawfully caused the death of Balram Persaud.
According to the brief facts presented by the prosecution, on the day of the incident, Blackman and Persaud were engaged in an altercation in the vicinity of the bandstand area at the Kingston Seawall. During the confrontation, Blackman allegedly dealt Persaud several blows to his head, resulting in serious injuries.
Following the altercation, Persaud was picked up and transported to a medical facility for treatment. However,
despite receiving medical attention, he succumbed to his injuries while still under care.
While the prosecution indicated that it is alleged that an altercation led to the fatal injuries, the full circumstances surrounding the confrontation were not disclosed during the court proceeding. No further details were given about what might have triggered the incident.
After hearing the facts, Magistrate Azore ordered that Blackman be remanded to prison pending the continuation of the matter. His next court appearance is set for June 6, 2025, when the case will come up again for report.
Meanwhile, the police have indicated that investigations into the incident are ongoing as they work to complete the case file.
Nine stands out with 100 per cent MMR coverage and 97 per cent for yellow fever.
Special emphasis was also placed on the HPV vaccine, which plays a crucial role in preventing cervical cancer. Guyana has increased national HPV coverage from 17per cent to 58per cent, with Region Nine already surpassing the WHO’s 90 per cent target at an impressive 92 per cent.
Mayor of Bonfim Municipality, Romualdo Feitosa Silva, welcomed the gathering with a message of unity and shared purpose, celebrating this campaign as a symbol of strong cooperation between neighbouring nations.
aims to enhance immunisation coverage and strengthen regional strategies for disease prevention, with a focus on protecting vulnerable populations from vaccine-preventable illnesses. Guyana currently offers a comprehensive immunisation programme that includes vaccines against Hepatitis B, Rotavirus, Poliomyelitis, Pneumococcal Infections, Tetanus, Haemophilus influenzae, Diphtheria, and Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR), among others.
Speaking at the launch, Honourable Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Health expressed gratitude to all stakeholders, and emphasised the importance of sustained vaccination efforts in the region.
“We have heard a lot about the importance of vaccines, and if we are still not convinced, then we risk making our efforts in vain. The evidence is clear – vaccination saves lives,” the Minister stated.
While the campaign focuses on all antigens, particular focus is being given to three key vaccines: MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), yellow fever, and Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Dr Anthony noted that Guyana has achieved significant progress, with national MMR and yellow fever coverage both at 99 per cent. Region
The Minister also announced plans to transition from the quadrivalent to the 9-valent HPV vaccine in 2025, which will offer broader protection to the population.
“This is a bold step forward in preventing HPV-related diseases, and we are grateful for the support from our international partners,” he added.
With rising measles outbreaks in several parts of the world, Dr Anthony said there is an urgent need to boost vaccination coverage. Recent data shows a concerning decline in routine immunisations in some regions, often linked to misinformation or limited access to accurate health information.
“Vaccination remains one of the most effective tools in preventing the spread of measles, therefore we must continue engaging our communities to ensure they understand the importance of immunisation, not just for individual protection, but for public health as a whole,” he said.
The Minister underscored the importance of collaborative action between jurisdictions, particularly for travellers crossing borders.
“Initiatives like this are essential. It’s not enough to act within our borders. By working together, we can ensure that people travelling between our countries are protected and informed.”
Dr Anthony also used the opportunity to highlight broader health collabora-
tions between Guyana and Brazil, including efforts in digital health, infectious and non-communicable diseases, and capacity-building.
Joint projects address diseases such as scabies, tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria, and the development of a Chikungunya vaccine, is currently underway in Brazil.
A notable trilateral partnership between Guyana, PAHO, and Brazil has facilitated training for over 1,700 future nurses through a hybrid programme developed with the University of São Paulo, aimed at boosting human resource capacity in the public health sector.
Improvements in health infrastructure were also spotlighted, particularly in Region Nine. Investments of approximately USD 25 million are underway to upgrade the Lethem Regional Hospital, including the addition of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), emergency services, and advanced diagnostic capabilities like CT scans.
The hospital is also being positioned to serve as a teaching facility, with potential partnerships with Brazilian medical institutions.
“The future of health care in our region is brighter when we work together,” the Minister concluded. “This vaccination initiative is just the beginning of what we can achieve.”
“This is an extremely important event that highlights our mutual commitment to the health and well-being of our people,” the Mayor stated. The vaccination campaign he said will cover communities in Bonfim and surrounding areas, aiming to reach populations across borders with equitable and accessible immunisation services.
“We are committed to supporting and strengthening actions that ensure everyone has access to vaccination,” the Mayor emphasised. He stressed that vaccination is not only an act of individual protection, but a gesture of collective responsibility and love.
“Each dose administered brings us closer to a safer and healthier future for our communities,” the Mayor affirmed.
The Mayor concluded with a call to action, inviting everyone to participate in the campaign and spread the message of immunisation as a shared civic duty. “Together, through unity and collaboration, we are building a healthier future for all.”
Also, in attendance as part of the Guyanese delegation were Dr Kim Eva Dickson, PAHO/WHO Country Representative for Guyana; Mr Bryan Allicock, Regional Chairman of Region Nine; Dr Cerdel McWatt, Regional Health Officer (RHO); and Dr Ertenisa Hamilton, Director of Family and Primary Health Care Services. They were joined by other senior officials from the Ministry of Health and the PAHO/WHO Guyana Office.
Akeem Blackman
Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken
Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Health, speaking at the launch of the crossborder vaccination campaign with Brazil
Mayor of Bonfim MunicipalityBrazil, Romualdo Feitosa Silva, delivering remarks at the cross-border vaccination campaign
Edghill issues stern warning against parked trucks,mechanic shops in recreational areas
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill has issued a stern warning to individuals parking trucks in recreational areas — particularly at the Lamaha Railway Embankment — where several persons have begun opening mechanic shops along the green space.
This warning was made on Saturday while the Minister was visiting the Lamaha Railway Embankment.
Minister Edghill emphasised that these green spaces were created solely for recreational purposes, allowing families, children, and the public to enjoy outdoor activities — but that is not what is currently happening.
"I'm on the Lamaha Railway Embankment, a green space that has been developed by the Government of Guyana for families, children, and people to come out and recreate. And on this embankment, we now have people opening mechanic shops, parking heavy-du -
ty trucks, and servicing those trucks on the railway embankment," he said.
The Minister noted that the Public Works Ministry has made efforts to identify the owners of the vehicles and is now using its social media platforms to inform them that they must immediately remove their trucks and cease all mechanical works, construction, or repairs on the embankment.
He also issued a warning to small operators considering similar activities on other highways, making it clear that such practices will not be tolerated.
"While I'm here on the railway embankment, let me say to any other businessman or small operator who plans to do the same — whether on Heroes Highway, the new Lamaha Street, or anywhere else — the same rules apply. We will not tolerate people using these spaces, created for the benefit of families and children, for unauthorised activities like
this. Owners of these trucks must move them immediately," he said.
Minister Edghill further warned that if the trucks are not removed promptly, the Ministry will confiscate them.
"If you don't, we will move them and confiscate them because you cannot continue to do this. At the same time, this is notice to others seeking to do the same thing, whether it's Greenfield Road, Heroes Highway, Lamaha Street, wherever — we will not tolerate it. We have to bring this to an end," he stressed.
The National Beautification Project provides leadership in scenic conservation and revitalisation as a way to motivate and accelerate community renewal and reinvestment. The Project not only aims to enhance the scenic qualities of Guyana’s roadways and urban and rural spaces, but also strives to foster a more environmentally friendly society.
Guyana delegation strengthens collaboration with India at Forensic Summit
Adelegation from the Ministry of Home Affairs, led by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Andre Ally, was in India where they undertook a series of critical engagements to strengthen forensic science, criminal justice, and law enforcement collaboration between the two nations.
The visit was part of the implementation roadmap following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on January 17, 2025, between the Government of Guyana and India’s National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU).
The delegation took part in the All-India Forensic Science Summit 2025, held on April 14–15
at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, under the theme “Role of Forensic Science in Effective Implementation of New Criminal Laws and Combating Terrorism.”
The event attracted global experts and policymakers focused on advancing forensic science as a critical pillar of national and international security.
During the valedictory ceremony, which was livestreamed via YouTube, the summit’s organisers presented a token of appreciation to Permanent Secretary Mr Andre Ally, recognising Guyana as one of NFSU’s key strategic international partners.
This symbolic gesture marked a milestone in the strengthening of Guyanese
relations in forensic science and security cooperation.
As part of the summit, the delegation explored a comprehensive exhibition of emerging forensic technologies. Key highlights included digital forensics and mobile data extraction platforms; modern DNA profiling systems; 3D crime scene reconstruction tools; forensic toxicology analysers and evidence processing kits, and Smart biometric identification and surveillance systems.
These interactions exposed the Guyanese team to tools that could directly enhance operational capabilities within the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
Following the summit, the delegation held strategic talks with the Campus Director and Faculty Heads of NFSU, focusing on designing specialised certification programmes for Guyanese officers, and collaborative curriculum development in forensic psychology, criminal profiling, and cybercrime.
Focus was also placed on establishing joint research initiatives tailored to regional crime trends, and exploring the feasibility of Guyana hosting a regional training satellite campus of NFSU in the Caribbean.
These discussions are helping to shape a tailored roadmap for long-term academic, technical, and institutional collaboration.
The delegation also paid a courtesy call on the Joint Secretary, Dr Kaghal Matha Praphullachandra Sharmaat at India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi.
The meeting deepened bilateral dialogue and reflected a shared interest in security cooperation, international education, and scientific exchange. The MEA reaffirmed support for Guyana’s vision of becoming a regional hub for forensic training and expertise.
The Joint Secretary praised the growing bilateral cooperation and reaffirmed India’s commitment to supporting partner nations like Guyana through training, research, and ca-
pacity development in forensic and investigative sciences.
The delegation also visit-
tification programmes, and accessing advanced lab infrastructure and research networks.
ed the NFSU main campus in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, for hands-on sessions, lab tours, and further planning on operationalising a forensic curriculum framework; hosting regional cer-
This mission, the Ministry notes, represents a bold step in positioning Guyana as a regional leader in forensic science and law enforcement innovation.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill standing next to one of the parked trucks along the Embankment
The Ministry of Home Affairs team at the All-India Forensic Science Summit 2025
The All-India Forensic Science Summit 2025
PS Andre Ally receiving a token of appreciation from the Summit’s organisers
Govt distributes over 280 Solar Home Systems to rural communities
Atotal of approximately 280 solar home energy systems have been distributed by the Government across Abary Creek, Mahaicony Creek, and Region Two. These distributions are part of the Government’s broader effort to improve energy accessibility and uplift rural communities.
Prime Minister (PM), Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, distributed more than 60 solar home energy systems to residents of Abary Creek, Region Five. In a subsequent outreach, the PM also delivered 85 solar home systems to residents of Mahaicony Creek.
The solar energy sys-
tems form part of a national strategy to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity to remote communities across Guyana. Designed to positively impact everyday life, the systems promote increased comfort, convenience, and connectivity.
Each solar home energy system includes the following components: one 160-watt solar photovoltaic (PV) panel, a charge controller unit, a 48-ampere-hour lithium-ion battery, two 9-watt light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, one 12-watt desk fan, and two Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports for charging mobile and portable electronic devices.
During his engagement with residents of Abary Creek, PM Phillips reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to enhancing the lives and livelihoods of all citizens through continued investments in infrastructure and energy accessibility.
He explained that, alongside expanding infrastructure development across rural and hinterland areas, parallel efforts are underway to provide clean, renewable energy solutions through the installation of solar PV farms and homebased solar panel systems in off-grid communities.
This initiative is part of the Government’s broader
strategy to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity to the hinterland, remote, and off-grid areas throughout Guyana.
In addition to the distribution exercise, PM Phillips also engaged residents on issues related to drainage and irrigation, agriculture, and public infrastructure improvements. He indicated that internet connectivity — which falls under the purview of the Office of the Prime Minister — would also be explored to further enhance the community.
Meanwhile, in Charity, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Ricky Ramraj, along with Regional Vice Chairman Mr Humace Oodit, Agriculture Coordinator Mr Tamesh
of St Monica, and Karawab.
This initiative stands as a testament to the Government of Guyana’s unwavering commitment to enhancing the quality of
Ramnauth, and other officials, distributed 135 solar home energy systems to residents of Charity, as well as to the communities
life for citizens, particularly in rural and hinterland regions. It reflects the administration’s ongoing strategic investments in infra-
structure development and clean energy.
During his address, Mr Ramraj reaffirmed the administration’s dedication to bridging the development gap between coastal and interior communities. He emphasised the importance of clean, renewable energy solutions that are tailored to meet the unique needs of off-grid areas.
Residents expressed gratitude for the initiative, noting that access to reliable energy would significantly improve their lives in the Pomeroon, and pledged to maintain and utilise the systems responsibly.
This project not only empowers communities but also underscores the Government’s steadfast commitment to building a more equitable, sustainable, and energy-secure future for all Guyanese.
PM Phillips reaffirms cybersecurity as cornerstone of Guyana’s digital future
As Guyana continues to invest in digital infrastructure and public sector innovation, Prime Minister (PM), Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, reaffirmed the Government’s unwavering commitment to advancing cybersecurity as a national priority.
Speaking at the opening of the Cybersecurity Fair hosted by the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), the PM emphasised the increasing threat posed by cybercrimes as Guyana expands its digital footprint.
He highlighted the critical need for public servants to be equipped with the skills and tools necessary to protect national systems.
According to the PM, the Government of Guyana has long recognised that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is much more than an afterthought; in his view, it is a cornerstone of national development. He added that through strategic investments in digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity, and e-Government services, the Government is ensuring that every citizen has access to the opportunities of a connected society.
Meanwhile, he cited global data from the World Economic Forum (WEF), which indicated that cybercrime cost the world economy
US$11.5 trillion in 2023 — a figure projected to more than double by 2027. He stressed that as Guyana builds out digital services, including e-Government platforms and national systems, cybersecurity must remain a cornerstone of the digital transformation agenda.
In response to these global and regional threats, the PM pointed to the Government’s strategic move in 2024 to launch 43 cybersecurity policies, standards, and guidelines aimed at safeguarding public sector systems and information.
To top it off, the PM mentioned that these measures are being implemented across Government agencies and are already yielding results with several flagship initiatives, such as the Safe Road Intelligent System (SRIS) with e-ticketing capabilities, the Border Control System with e-gates at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the Electronic Identification Card Project, and the National Health Records Management System, all improving service delivery through tech-
nology.
“To remain competitive in a rapidly evolving world, it is essential that our citizens access Government services seamlessly, securely, and efficiently. That is why we continue expanding our e-services portfolio — reducing bureaucracy and making interactions with Government agencies more convenient,” he stated.
Prime Minister Phillips also highlighted the work of the NDMA, noting the agency’s collaboration with regional and international partners. These include the 2024 CARICOM Regional ICT Sector Gap Analysis and the Digital Readiness Assessment, launched in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), both of which are helping
Guyana shape an inclusive and resilient digital future.
“These investments are already producing tangible results. More communities now have access to improved internet connectivity, Government agencies are integrating digital solutions, and public services are becoming faster and more accessible,” he noted.
The PM also praised NDMA’s role in organising the Cybersecurity Fair, describing it as a critical positive step in equipping public servants with the tools and techniques needed to secure the country’s systems and serve its citizens more effectively.
He further called for a more cohesive approach to cybersecurity and urged all sectors to work together to ensure that the coun-
try’s digital revolution benefits every citizen. “The digital revolution is upon us, and Guyana will not be left behind. Together, let us build a smarter, safer, and more connected nation — one where every citizen can securely access the digital tools that will shape our future.”
The Cybersecurity Fair brought together Government agencies, ICT professionals, and cybersecurity experts for interactive workshops, live demonstrations, and knowledge-sharing sessions designed to enhance cybersecurity awareness and best practices in the public sector.
Guyana is among several Caribbean countries partnering with a Spanish satellite operator to enhance the telecommunications sector under an initiative aimed at improving digital connectivity for citizens across the region — a move to which Guyana is strongly committed.
In 2022, the European Union (EU) signed an agreement to strengthen digital connectivity in the Caribbean, aimed at enhancing telecommunications services across the region through the Spanish satellite operator Hispasat.
This led to the launch of Project CONDOSAT in March of 2025, where several Caribbean nations gathered to learn more about this ambitious initiative designed to boost technological advancement.
Hispasat, a Spanish satellite operator and service provider, covers the Americas, Europe, and North Africa from orbital positions, offering telecommunications services.
Agri Ministry Director General Ricky Ramraj handed over the solar kit to residents
Prime Minister Mark Phillips engaging residents
The solar home energy kit components that were distributed
DEMTOCO highlights PSC’s efforts in combatting illicit trade
Just 10 years short of reaching a century of service, Demerara Tobacco Company Limited (DEMTOCO) celebrated its 90th anniversary celebration, in which the company singled out the positive efforts of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) of Guyana and the decisive steps taken in combating illicit trade, through the establishment of the Illicit Trade Desk initiative.
Illicit trade remains a significant challenge across several sectors in Guyana, posing threats not only to legitimate businesses but also to public health and Government revenue.
DEMTOCO estimates that illicit tobacco products could cost the Government over G$1 billion in lost tax revenue annually.
The recent Illicit Trade Seminar—hosted by the PSC and attended by senior Government officials— is one such example of the cross-sectoral coordination needed to stamp out this issue. Speaking at its 91st Annual General Meeting, DEMTOCO's Managing Director, Vijay Singh, thanked the PSC for their commitment to protecting the integrity of the local business environment.
DEMTOCO's Managing Director Vijay Singh
“The establishment of the Illicit Trade Desk in 2024 marked a pivotal moment for the private sector. It demonstrated strategic leadership, uniting stakeholders across industries to address smuggling, counterfeiting, and unfair trade practices. We are proud to support such an initiative,”
Mr Singh stated. He added, “Our 90th anniversary is not only a celebration of our legacy but a reaffirmation of our purpose. From our early beginnings to today, we have evolved with our consumers, our stakeholders, and the changing business land-
scape—anchored always by integrity, innovation, and a passion to win.”
As Guyana continues its trajectory of rapid economic expansion, DEMTOCO reaffirmed its commitment to contributing meaningfully to national development. “We are proud of our legacy and the role we continue to play in shaping a sustainable, transparent business environment in Guyana,” said Singh.
Beyond regulatory advocacy, DEMTOCO's asserts that its strategic direction remains anchored on four core pillars: Growth, Productivity, Sustainability, and Building a Winning Organisation.
In 2024, DEMTOCO recorded an impressive G$2.47 billion in profit after tax, reflecting an 8.6 per cent year-over-year increase. Revenue grew by 4.2 per cent to G$8.41 billion, an achievement underscored by a dynamic and strong portfolio of brands—Dunhill, Lucky Strike, and Pall Mall—as well as a consumer-focused strategy. This financial achievement is especially symbolic in a year that marked nine decades of excellence.
DEMTOCO is a publicly listed company, engaged in the importation, marketing,
GBTI unveils Mastercard 3D
Secure feature to strengthen online shopping security
Amajor innovation has been unveiled at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) with the launch of its Mastercard® 3D Secure (3DS) feature for all GBTIissued debit and credit cards.
The creation of this new card was established as part of GBTI's ongoing commitment to strengthening customer security, particularly as more individuals turn to online shopping and digital payments. This initiative aims to safeguard customers as digital transactions and online shopping continue to grow.
Mastercard® 3DS is a globally recognised authentication service that provides an added layer of protection for online transactions. During checkout at participating online merchants, cardholders may be prompted to verify their identity using a one-time passcode (OTP) sent via SMS or email. This step helps reduce the risk of fraudulent activity and ensures that only the cardholder can complete the transaction.
Some of the benefits of the Mastercard® 3DS include: Greater protection for online payments, Prevention of fraudulent activity by verifying the cardholder’s identity before the transaction is approved, early detection of
fraud, with real-time alerts if the card is used without authorisation, seamless experience: With 3DS, previously blocked or declined transactions can now be authenticated and completed by the customer, automatic enrolment—no need for a new card or any additional sign-up process, as all existing GBTI Mastercards are automatically enrolled in the programme.
Highlighting the expansion of the digital services provided by the bank, Pernell Cummings, Senior Manager – Marketing at GBTI, emphasised that the new card provides customers with a greater sense of confidence when shopping online.
“As we continue to expand our digital banking offerings, customer security remains a top priority. The introduction of 3D Secure
and distribution of internationally recognised tobacco products.
With a proud legacy spanning 90 years, DEMTOCO continues to lead the indus-
try through innovation, responsible business practices, and strong stakeholder partnerships.
DEMTOCO remains a corporate leader in respon-
sible trade practices. The company continues through advocacy and collaboration with various authorities to drive greater enforcement and awareness.
Scotiabank named Caribbean’s Best Bank 2025 by Global Finance …records multiple country wins, including Guyana
Standing out amongst scores of banks, Scotiabank has been recognised and awarded by Global Finance as the Caribbean’s Best Bank 2025, with several individual country wins, including Guyana’s Best Bank.
Global Finance Magazine (New York) selects the best financial institutions around the world every year and is a trusted standard of excellence.
This award follows the Bank of the Year 2024 title earned by Scotiabank Guyana just a few months ago, in December 2024.
Joseph D Giarraputo, Publisher and Editorial Director of Global Finance, commented on what this award means for Global Finance: “Global Finance’s Best Bank Awards honour financial institutions that excel in diversity of offerings, long-term stability, and technological innovation. The winners of this year’s awards are those banks that attended carefully to their customers’ needs in difficult markets and accomplished strong results while laying the foundations for future success.”
Nafeeza Gaffoor – Country Manager, Scotiabank Guyana, thanked the Bank’s employees and highlighted that Scotiabank has surely been making progress strategically.
“We are excited by this recognition as it shows that we are making progress against our strategy. The award reflects the hard work and dedication of our team and all that we are achieving together as we create value for our clients.
Our strong performance and introduction of innovative digital enhancements have enabled us to lead the local market. We remain focused on deepening client relationships, leading with advice, and following with solutions, as we build high-quality experiences,” she stated. The Bank is focused on making it easier for clients to do business with Scotiabank. In keeping with this, highlights of the Bank’s recent accolades include the redesigned and enhanced way for clients to bank 24/7 from their mobile phones, via the Scotia Caribbean App; as well as the upgraded Scotia OnLine Banking platform, which now includes one-time password protection and expanded bill payment options.
The Bank has also made enhancements to its merchant services, providing secure and innovative payment solutions such as the creation of a proprietary application which integrates unmanned solutions/kiosks.
Scotiabank was recognised as the Best Bank 2025 in the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Turks & Caicos.
gives our cardholders greater confidence to shop online, knowing that their transactions are backed by advanced security verification tools,” stated Cummings.
Customers are advised to look out for the Mastercard Secure Code or 3DS logos when shopping online, which indicate that the merchant supports this enhanced security feature. While not all merchants may be 3DSenabled, transactions can still be completed where applicable.
According to GBTI, this initiative is another step in the bank’s digital journey— delivering secure, seamless, and customer-centric solutions to meet the evolving needs of our customers.
For additional details, customers can visit their nearest GBTI branch or log on to www.gbtibank.com.
Scotiabank Guyana Country Manager Nafeeza Gaffoor
Regional Ex-US Congressman George Santos sentenced to seven years in prison
Former Republican congressman George Santos has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to the federal charges in New York court last August. Prosecutors had asked for 87 months in prison – the sentence Santos ultimately received –
while Santos’s attorneys had requested he serve two years, the minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft.
The sentencing marks the final step in the downfall of the novice New York politician, who was expelled from Congress after the fraud case alleged that he lied about his background and misused campaign funds to finance his lifestyle.
Santos reportedly apologised for his actions while crying in court on Friday, saying: “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.”
The judge overseeing the case appeared unconvinced.
“You got elected with your words, most of which were lies,” she said.
Santos will report to prison on 25 July.
The federal government alleged Santos laundered campaign funds to
pay for his personal expenses, illegally claimed unemployment benefits while he was employed and lied to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Prosecutors said he charged more than $44,000 (£32,000) to his campaign over a period of months using credit cards belonging to contributors who were unaware they were being defrauded.
In court last year, Santos admitted to theft and applying for unemployment benefits that he was not entitled to receive. He has also acknowledged making false statements and omissions on financial statements submitted to the House Ethics Committee and the FEC.
The former lawmaker has been ordered to pay at least $374,000 (£280,000) in restitution.
Santos’s downfall began after the New York Times in 2022 published an inves-
tigation revealing the freshman congressman had lied about his CV, including having a university degree and working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
From there, the lies continued to pile up, including allegations that he stole money from a fundraiser for a dying dog and that he lied about his mother surviving the 11 September terrorist attacks. Shortly after, local and federal officials began to investigate.
He was eventually charged with 23 federal felony crimes, and in 2023, he became the first member of Congress to be expelled in more than 20 years, only the sixth in history.
A report from the House ethics panel accused him of misusing campaign funds for personal benefits, including Botox and subscriptions on the OnlyFans website.
(Excerpt from BBC News)
TT’s Moruga braces for unrest after Shumba James killed in police shooting
Police are on high alert in the marginal Moruga/ Tableland constituency of the twin-island of Trinidad and Tobago, following the fatal police-involved shooting of Shumba James, a well-known resident and key witness in a 2011 police killings case.
James, 42, was one of four people killed in separate police shootings across the country within 12 hours on April 25.
Recently released without charge after being detained under a ministerial order during the now-ended state of emergency (SoE), James was shot alongside his friend, Visham Ryan Hosein, 33, in their home community of St Mary’s Village, Moruga, shortly after 10 am.
Earlier that morning, around 9.30 am, a suspect, Ronelle “Ratty” Marcelle, 35, was shot dead in Bethel in Tobago.
The first fatal shooting occurred just after midnight, around 12.05 am, in Longdenville, Chaguanas, where Devon Sotio, 45, was killed after a police chase.
In Moruga, the street was cordoned off for hours as residents and relatives gathered near the scene.
Tensions ran high, with
several vowing to protest what they called the “assassination” of James and Hosein.
James’ father, Frank Gill, alleged that police assassinated his son, the third of his sons to be killed by police over the years.
Gill further claimed a police officer threatened him, saying, “You’re next.” In response to the possible protest, Acting Police Commissioner Junior Benjamin said: We expect that. Every time the police take a stand, and a police-involved shooting occurs, protests often follow.”
“However, when criminals take lives, there is often silence – no protests, no reports, no outrage. We need to get this right and be fair to the sys-
tem. Once all the facts are revealed, we must stand by the truth – wherever it leads us. If those involved are found to have been armed, it suggests that their intentions were not innocent.”
Benjamin assured that the police were fully prepared for any protest activity.
“We are working to control the crime situation, and it is becoming increasingly clear that our efforts are making a difference.”
He added, “We have recorded 51 fewer murders compared to the same period last year. That is phenomenal progress. It reflects our zero-tolerance approach to crime and validates the effectiveness of our current strategies. (Source: TT Newsday)
J’ca multi-agency probe launched into dead crocodiles at sewage ponds
Amulti-agency investigation has been launched in response to the discovery of 10 dead adult crocodiles at the Greater Portmore Sewage Ponds in St. Catherine, Jamaica. Environmentalists have expressed shock after the crocodiles were discovered in the National Water Commission’s sewage ponds on Tuesday.
Minister with a responsibility for the environment, Matthew Samuda, says he has commissioned an urgent investigative tour of the facility within the next 36 hours.
“It is an absolutely heartbreaking situation. I’ve ordered an investigation. That investigation will be conducted and all results will be made public. It is very upsetting to see. I am very angry about it, but I do intend to tour the area to see what infrastructure is required to either keep wildlife out of the ponds or to ensure that they are able, if
they do get caught in there, to escape. And whatever infrastructure is required to either protect wildlife in that space or to ensure that they are able to exit as necessary, will be procured on an emergency basis to prevent recurrence,” he vowed.
Minister Samuda said experts from NEPA, the
Forestry Department, NWC and other animal experts will also visit the plant. The crocodiles have been longtime residents of the sewage ponds, which act as refuge from the surrounding urban development taking over their natural wetlands.
(Radio Jamaica News)
Trump administration reverses termination of foreign students’ visas
The Trump administration is restoring visas for hundreds of foreign students who had their legal status abruptly terminated stoking panic among many who feared immediate deportation, government officials have confirmed.
US Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Kurlan told a federal court that immigration officials are now working on a new system for reviewing and terminating visas for international students.
The announcement follows more than 100 lawsuits filed by students who were abruptly stripped of their legal right to study in US universities.
An estimated 1,800 students and 280 universities have been impacted, according to a tally from Inside Higher Ed.
Many affected students appeared to have participated in political protests or have had previous criminal charges, such as driving infractions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously said the administration would terminate status for people whose actions the administration believes run counter to US interests.
The policy has caused widespread fear and confusion across hundreds of US universities, with some students opting to leave the country pre-emptively rather than face possible detention or deportation.
The Justice Department told the court on Friday that records would be restored in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems (SEVIS), which tracks foreign students’ compliance with their visas.
But Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) still maintains the authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons.
Losing their SEVIS records left students vulnerable to immigration actions – and possible detention and deportation, according to Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School.
“What I’m hearing is that this is a reprieve for many students who have had their status reinstated in SEVIS,” Prof Mukherjee said. “But this doesn’t mean this ordeal is over for the students who have had their records terminated.”
The Justice Department and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Excerpt from BBC News)
British man ‘lynched and burned alive’ in Ecuador
ABritish man was allegedly lynched and murdered in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest area after being accused of killing a local man.
A mob is said to have stormed the police station where the man was being held, before he was taken and then burned alive.
Local reports said the unnamed male had been taken to the police station on suspicion of shooting another person dead.
The British man was reported to have been removed from the police station by the same individuals about six hours after his arrest,
and then set alight in front of police. He was said to have been handed over to police at about 6am on Sunday, and to have been murdered at just after midday the same day.
Ecuadorian newspaper Extra reported that the officers who had arrested the man had decided not to intervene to avoid being attacked themselves when a mob forced its way into the police station.
“Those two people were a community member from the area and another person of British nationality, who died due to the severity of his burns.”
The Ecuadorian man killed has been named locally as Rodrigo Chavez. It was not immediately clear if any arrests had taken place following the murder of the British national. (Excerpt from The Telegraph)
Reporting on the two deaths, a local TV station said: “In the early hours of Sunday April 20, in the parish of Playas de Cuyabeno, at the closure of an event that took place for the anniversary of the Kichwa community, an incident occurred where as a result two people died.
Former Republican Congressman George Santos
Frank Gill, the father of Shumba James
Two dead crocodiles were found together in one of the dry National Water Commission sewage ponds in Hellshire, St Catherine on April 22, Earth Day
Suspected chemical blast at Iran's Bandar Abbas port kills at least 18, injures hundreds
Ahuge blast probably caused by the explosion of chemical materials killed at least 18 people and injured more than 700 on Saturday at Iran's biggest port, Bandar Abbas, Iranian state media reported.
The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no indication of a link between the two events.
Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran's crisis management organisation, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.
"The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers," he told Iran's ILNA news agency.
"Previously, the Director General of Crisis Management had given warnings to this port during
their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger," Zafari said.
However, an Iranian government spokesperson said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation of the incident and sent to the site his interior minister, who said efforts were still continuing to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas.
The blast shattered windows within a radius of sev-
eral kilometres and was heard in Qeshm, an island 26 kilometres (16 miles) south of the port, Iranian media said.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency posted footage of injured men lying on the road being tended to amid scenes of confusion.
State TV earlier reported that poor handling of flammable materials was a "contributing factor" to the explosion. A local crisis management official told state TV that the blast took place after several containers stored at the port exploded.
(Excerpt from Reuters)
Pope Francis laid to rest; funeral brings together politicians, royalty and 400,000 mourners
Pope Francis has been buried at Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major) basilica following his funeral in the Vatican on Saturday April 26.
He was laid to rest "in the side aisle of the Basilica of St Mary Major, between the Pauline Chapel, where his beloved icon of Our Lady ‘Salus Populi Romani’ is located, and the Sforza Chapel", the Vatican said.
"The Pope is the first in over a century to be buried outside the Vatican, and his entombment was a private event, allowing for those closest to him to pay their respects," the statement adds.
The Pope's burial rite was preceded by the singing of four psalms before a final prayer was spoken.
His coffin was placed in the tomb and sprinkled with holy water while the Regina Caeli, a prayer usually sung
In a simple wooden coffin inlaid with a large cross, Pope Francis is carried to his final resting place at the Basilica of St Mary Major
to express joy at Eastertime, was chanted.
Pope Francis "touched minds and hearts" and wanted to "build bridges, not walls", said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who led the funeral service.
World leaders, including Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky; royalty such as Prince William, and 400,000 mourners
lined the streets of Rome and gathered in St Peter's Square, as Catholics across the globe bid goodbye to Pope Francis.
In Argentina, South Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo and many other parts of the world people watched the funeral from churches, Cathedrals and public spaces. (Source: BBC News)
Singapore orders foreigners' Facebook posts taken down under new election rules
S ingapore has ordered Facebook parent Meta to block Singaporeans' access to posts made by three foreigners accused of trying to influence a national election early next month on racial and religious lines.
Two of the people whose posts were blocked rejected the accusations.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority issued the orders after some posts by the foreigners
were deemed as "intended to promote or prejudice the electoral success or standing of a political party or candidate", the Elections Department and Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Friday.
The Southeast Asian city-state's election on May 3, the first under the social media rules put in place by the government in 2023, is almost certain to be dominated by the People's Action Party, which has
Around the World
Virginia Giuffre – Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein accuser, dies
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, has died by suicide aged 41, her family has said.
Ms Giuffre was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend. She alleged they trafficked her to the Duke of York when she was 17, which Prince Andrew has strenuously denied.
Relatives said in a statement on Friday that she had been a "fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse", and that the "toll of abuse... became unbearable".
"She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking," they said.
The statement described the mother of three "as the light that lifted so many survivors" and said she died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia.
West Australia police said they were called to a home in the Neergabby area on Friday night, where Ms Giuffre was found unresponsive.
A statement continued: "The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspi-
cious."
Ms Giuffre – who was born in the US – had been living with her children and husband Robert in the suburb of North Perth, although recent reports suggested the couple had split after 22 years of marriage.
In a statement, Ms Giuffre's long-time spokesperson Dini von Mueffling described her as "one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know".
She said Ms Giuffre was a "beacon to other survivors and victims" and that "it was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her".
After making her abuse allegations public, Ms Giuffre became a prominent campaigner and was closely associated with the Me Too movement.
Ms Giuffre alleged that Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to Prince Andrew when she was 17.
The prince, who has denied all claims against him, reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022. The settlement included a statement in which he expressed regret for his association with Epstein but contained no admission of liability or apology.
Ms Giuffre said she became a victim of sex trafficking when she was a teenager.
She said she met Maxwell, a British socialite, in 2000.
From there, she said she was introduced to American financier Epstein and alleged years of abuse by him and his associates. (Excerpt from BBC News)
After meeting Zelenskyy, Trump says he fears Putin ‘doesn’t want to stop the war’
Donald Trump and Volodymyr
Zelenskyy have sat down for a face-to-face talk in the opulent halls of a Vatican basilica to discuss a possible ceasefire, after which the US president accused his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of not wanting to “stop the war”.
The White House described Trump’s meeting with the Ukrainian leader before Pope Francis’s funeral as “very productive”, while Zelenskyy said on X that the talk with the US president was symbolic and had the “potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results”.
won the most seats in every vote since independence in 1965.
The rules bar foreigners from publishing online election advertising, which it defines as online materials that could help or hurt any political parties or candidates.
The government said the posts interfered with domestic politics and influenced citizens to vote on racial and religious lines.
(Excerpt from Reuters)
It was the first time that Zelenskyy and Trump had met face to face after a frosty February encounter in the White House where Trump and the US vice-president, JD Vance, berated the Ukrainian leader and accused him of ingratitude for US aid.
Trump later published a social media post criticising Putin. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” he posted on Truth Social.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ’Banking’ or ’Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” the US president wrote.
In an effort to to end fighting between Ukraine and Russia, Washington is engaging in intense mediation between the two countries, at war since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Trump acknowledged on Friday that the talks were “very fragile”, and he has warned that the US would halt its mediation efforts if the two sides did
not come to an agreement soon. Fighting continues in tandem with mediation efforts, and the Kremlin blames Ukraine for a car bomb that killed a senior Russian general near Moscow on Friday. Kyiv did not comment on the incident, the latest in a string of killings of Russian military officials over the past three years.
The day before, Russia carried out its deadliest attack in months on Ukraine, launching 70 missiles and 145 drones, mostly towards Kyiv. (Excerpt from The Guardian)
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, were deep in conversation in St Peter’s Basilica
TAURUS (April 20May 20)
GEMINI (MAY 28June 20)
(June 21July 22)
VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) (March 21April 19)
An innovative approach to finding solutions will put you in a good position to negotiate with others and persuade them to see things your way. Follow your heart.
Keep your complaints to yourself and concentrate on maintaining an upbeat attitude. A creative outlet will help ease stress and give you time to consider unique ways to use your skills.
Live and learn. Keep your eyes open, observe and gather information to help you expand your goals to suit your financial and intellectual needs. Keep the momentum going.
Be careful sharing information. Keep your secrets, intentions and goals to yourself. Map out a journey that turns your personal or professional dream into a reality.
Put your mind at ease by checking facts before deciding to change or invest in someone or something. Information is your best friend in a debate, so listen carefully.
Pay attention to what’s unfolding to avoid unwanted surprises. Someone will offer you an exaggerated point of view, hoping you’ll trust their judgment. Do things for yourself.
LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)
Opportunity is apparent. Explore the possibilities and consider what they will entail. Travel if it will help you get closer to your target or someone you want to get to know better.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)
(Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19) LEO (July 23Aug. 22)
(Feb. 20Mar. 20)
Participate in something that pumps you up and stimulates you mentally, physically and emotionally. An open mind will help you discover interesting outlets for your expertise and desires.
Don’t expect everyone to be honest with you or to look out for your interests. Fend for yourself and rely on your intuition, and you won’t be disappointed.
Make changes that add to your comfort and prompt you to be kinder to yourself. It’s time to rejuvenate and reevaluate what’s important to you. Search for ways to strike a balance between work and pleasure.
Pay attention. Someone will be eager to bait you into a no-win discussion or situation that leaves you anxious. Step away from negativity and concentrate on creative endeavors.
Avoid taking on too much. You’ll find it difficult to meet demands if you overextend yourself financially or physically. Avoid indulgent behavior and bad influences.
Peanuts
Calvin and Hobbes
Pickles
AQUARIUS
CANCER
CAPRICORN
PISCES
Punjab Kings, Kolkatha Knight Riders settle for one point each
As Arya, Prabhsimran shine for PBKS in first-ever washed-out match in IPL 2025
Punjab Kings (PBKS) have had to settle for just one point, despite scoring 201 on a slow pitch, as late-evening thundershowers washed out the chase in Kolkata. They will be disappointed, for they had done the hard work on a pitch whose consensus reading was “very, very slow”.
The one point has moved PBKS to #4 on the points table, while the lagging Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have risen to #7, with seven points from nine matches.
Despite the frustration of not getting the win, PBKS will be pleased with their openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, whose half-centuries took them to the daunting total in tough conditions. They will be especially pleased at how these batters scored the runs. They were almost obsessed with not over-hitting, holding their shape and relying more on their timing, adding 120
had scored an above-par total. On the slow track, with grip available for those bowling into the pitch, PBKS took 74 off the eight overs
for the first wicket, PBKS’ only century stand this IPL. Arya scored 69 off 35 and Prabhsimran scored 83 off 49, and even though the last six overs produced only 42 runs, PBKS were confident they
of spin between Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine. Even Harshit Rana, KKR’s slower-ball specialist, was allowed to bowl only two overs, which produced 27 runs.
Arya, in particular, was clever in his targeting of the bowlers. He took 50 off 20 balls of pace, and just 19 off 15 balls of spin. Prabhsimran took the spinners on, taking 41 off 22 balls bowled by them. Both these batters were measured in the first couple of overs, getting used to the pace in the pitch before targeting the pace bowlers.
Arya preferred timing; his first four fours were driven between mid-off and cover. Prabshimran struggled early, getting to only 34 off 32 at one point; but with an audacious switch-hit six off Narine, he turned his innings around, in the process consigning Narine to a 22-run over. Narine’s worst in all T20 cricket has been 23. Prabhsimran scored 49 off the last 17 balls he faced;
Russell managed reverse-swing, Narine and Varun conceded just 13 in their final overs, and Vaibhav Arora drew purchase when he bowled slower balls. PBKS were confident there wouldn’t be much dew either, but we were unable to find that out. (ESPNcricinfo)
Shreyas Iyer managed only five in a 40-run stand with him. That the death overs were not easy to hit only encouraged PBKS. Andre
Jackson patient as 200m World Record dream remains in sight
Although the dream of rewriting history still lingers, Jamaica’s World and Olympic medalist Shericka Jackson insists that breaking the 200m World record is not a daily obsession. Instead, the twotime World champion is taking a measured approach, focusing on building back her form as she eyes the World Athletics Championships, to be staged in Japan later this year.
Sherika Jackson made this declaration on the eve of her 200m season-opener at the Wanda Diamond League curtain-raiser in Xiamen, where she disclosed that Florence Griffith-Joyner’s longstanding 21.34-second mark remains a goal, but not a burden.
“For me, I think in 2023 I had a really good shot. And I was brave enough to say it because, at one time, I wasn’t brave enough to say I wanted to break the World record,” Jackson shared candidly during a press conference. “It is something that I still have in mind. Do I focus on it? No. I just take it each step at a time, and I think if it’s supposed to be, then it will come,” she added.
Jackson later finished second in her first outing over the distance, clocking 22.79 seconds, behind American Anavia Battle who won in a meeting record of 22.41s. Jenna Prandini of the United States rounded out the top three in 22.97s.
At 30 years old, Jackson — the second-fastest woman ever over 200m, with her blistering 21.41 run last year — remains one of the brightest stars in global sprinting. But after a 2024 campaign marred by injuries that forced her to withdraw from the Paris Olympics, her immediate focus is simply on maintaining a clean bill of health.
Jackson’s gradual ap-
proach reflects not only a mature athlete’s wisdom, but also a quiet confidence that the best is still ahead.
“I just want to stay healthy; and once I’m healthy and having some fun, then anything is possible,” she emphasized. “I just want to cross the line healthy. It has been June [2024] since I last raced competitively in the 200 metres; so, I want to just take my time and work my way back in slowly. I’m not rushing anything,” Jackson declared. (Sportsmax)
Shericka Jackson still has her eyes set on the 200M record
Chetan Sakariya puts in a dive
Prabhsimran Singh enjoys playing unorthodox shots
Rain stopped play at Eden Gardens
Priyansh Arya brought up his fifty off 27 balls
Andre Russell struck the first blow for KKR
Nicholas boodhram is ready for the high-speed showdown!
Nicholas Boodhram is set to participate in the Superbike A Class competition alongside champion riders Matthew Vieira and Kevin Persaud when action in the first round of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) circuit meet kicks off today at the South Dakota Circuit.
This is the first time that the irrepressible Nicholas Boodhram would be competing in A Class competition, but he dominated the Superstreet Class in 2023 by winning the championship, and dominated the Superstock B Class in 2024 by again winning the championship.
Who is Nicholas Boodhram?
This is a guy who grew up riding motorcycles at a young age, and always knew that he wanted to be competitive. As such, he started competing in the grass track and 125cc class. After a time, he grew past that stage, and has since been competing in the 600cc Superbike Class. Today he rides that 2020 Yamaha R6 that carries the number 97.
Before returning to motor racing in 2023, the now 30-year-old father of two, a
leading up to race day, and he should be able to do well in the high-speed showdown.
“We are competing at a high level currently. Our setup is very good, and we are seeing good laps times, so we should be fast on Sunday,” he explained.
His best lap time, thus far during practice, is 1:20 - which is not far behind Kevin Persaud’s, who is clocking 1:19.5; and Matthew Vieira, who is less than a second away. Moreover, he said, each race feels like his first, and he intends to step on the track with a positive mindset, remain focused, and work the bike to its fullest.
“I push as hard as I could…,” he disclosed.
“Our racing group is like a brotherhood; we treat each other with respect off track, but when on track, everyone wants to be number one, so it’s always competitive; but, at the same time, this motivates us to push hard,” he explained.
Nicholas Boodhram is not sure about his future in the sport, or whether he would be shifting gears, as it were, into something new; perhaps the Group Three race.
“I can’t say currently because I’m focused on the Superbike Class; but, if I do in-
former pupil of School of the Nations, has had to cross several hurdles. Eleven years ago, ‘Nick’, as he is fondly called, was involved in an accident in which he sustained major injuries and was unable to move for some time. He persevered in his quest to return to full fitness, and with assistance of his family and friends, his recovery has been nothing but miraculous.
“It was a tough journey for me, but I had the right people pushing and encouraging me that nothing is impossible to overcome. Today I am still taking therapy, but I continue to strive for the best and put the past behind me.” Boodhram told Guyana Times Sport in an interview.
“It was hard mentally and physically, but one thing I have leant is to never give up. And once you have the right support and people encouraging you, you always conquer any challenge… So, here I am today, after having two successful years in 2023 and 2024, ready for the track again,” he declared.
Competing in the Superbike A Class is no easy task, but Nick is up for the challenge.
“Racing in this Class for the first time will be a learning process, but I promise to be as competitive as possible. Coming up against Matthew, Kevin and others will not be an easy task. Yes, I know these guys are the fastest on the track, and competing against them is a great challenge.”
He explained that his lap time is good
tend to shift gears, I would be revving into one of the big classes, probably Group 3 or Starlet,” he disclosed.
Asked about possible anxieties he experiences before any race, he replied, “Coming on to race week, it always gives you butterflies, and it feels as if the day is approaching faster than expected. But that happens to any rider; it’s all about controlling your anxieties…we all have our own unique way of dealing with that.”
Nicholas Boodhram sees the participation of women in a sport dominated by men as a great accomplishment, especially for the motor racing fraternity.
“Over the years, women have been participating in various classes and types of racing; and to be honest, it is a great sight to see them competing. This should show how the sport is developing and had evolved over the years… We welcome more females to join the sport, which can make it even more competitive,” he declared.
As this particular sport continues to evolve, Boodhram said, he thinks the future of motorsport in Guyana looks promising.
“For the past three years since I came back, we have gotten a new track, new facilities are erecting, and the crowds are getting larger every race meet; so, I see us moving forward in a positive way,” he declared.
At the same time, however, he noted that while the infrastructure is being developed, getting the machines in top order and maintaining them for competition can be
challenging without financial backing. He disclosed that since his return to the arena three years ago, he has been fortunate to have
the backing of several companies, including Garuda Research Inc., Belco Eximport, Luminous, Vals Construction, Ruff, Jaigobin Hotel, Saif Auto Parts and Auto Rental, Pristine Auto Detailing, DS Jewelry, TSR Investments, and TWP Performance.
His advice to those who want to participate in motor sport is: always practice their competitiveness and speed on the track, because that is the safe environment to do so. For his fellow competitors, his advice is: “Keep doing what you’re doing, and strive for the best results.”
Apart from racing, Boodhram spends a lot of time with his son and daughter, and focuses on his work, which is in the mining sector.
Nicholas Boodhram in action
Nicholas Boodhram
Permaul, Anderson approach High
Court over ball-tampering issue
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) revealed on Saturday that it has decided to challenge the recent charges made against Guyanese duo Veerasammy Permaul and Kevlon Anderson in regard to the recent ball tampering fiasco during the final round of the West Indies Championships.
A missive from the GCB detailed that either player has denied the allegations, thus providing additional insight into the situation that had obtained in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago two weeks ago and resulted in
the pair being fined percentages of their match fees.
Permaul and Anderson have, as such, approached the High Court to have their names cleared of the staining accusation, and the GCB has expressed its full support of the Guyanese players.
The GCB missive read, “The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) wishes to publicly express its full support for players Veerasammy Permaul and Kevlon Anderson, who have approached the High Court of Guyana in a bid to clear their names following a controversial incident during
the recent Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional 4-Day Tournament fixture between Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago played at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad.
The match, which effectively served as the tournament final, was of great significance, with the championship title at stake. However, events on and off the field have cast a cloud over what should have been a celebration of West Indies cricket at its highest domestic level.
Both Permaul and Anderson were charged un-
Guyanese produce commendable performances in T&T tourney
…At the Subzone 2.3.3 Absolute and Women’s Chess Championships
Guyana’s reigning National Chess Champion, Candidate Master (CM) Taffin Khan, and Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Jessica Callender have returned home following their participation in the 2025 Subzone 2.3.3 Absolute and Women Chess Championships, hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association from April 11th to April 18th, 2025.
In the Absolute category, International Master Orlando Husbands (2291) of Barbados emerged as the overall champion, finishing with an impressive 7.5 points out of a maximum of 9.
Representing Guyana, CM Khan delivered a commendable performance, securing 5.5 points and finishing in 15th place among a competitive field of international players.
Having entered with an ELO rating of 2023, Khan experienced two setbacks, losing to Trinidad’s Vassell (1664) in the opening round and to strong contender FM Ryan Harper (2125) in round eight. Nevertheless, he demonstrated his strength with wins over Trinidad’s Sookraj (1586) and Jamaican players McKoy (1729), Stephenson (1861), and Belinfante (1898).
He drew games with his Trinidadian opponent Bisnath (1891), Jain (1910) from Jamaica, and FM Moncur from the Bahamas.
Barbadian WFM Hannah Willson (1847) delivered a stellar performance in the Women’s category, dominating the field and clinching the championship with a commanding 8 points out of a possible 9.
WCM Jessica Callender (1568) finished in 14th place with a total of 4.5 points, which included two wins and five draws, with only two losses.
After losing her first round against WCM ReiferBelle (1816) from Barbados, Callender secured victories
against Grenada’s Flanders and WCM Wahid (1588) from St. Lucia. Callender drew with Aruba’s Moreno Mora (1678), Trinidad’s Dolly (1596), Duffrin (1558) and Ali, and WCM Zara Majid (1576) from the Cayman Islands. Neighbouring Suriname’s WCM Kaslan (1740) won against Callender in the eighth round.
Callender has described her first Sub Zone tournament as an incredible experience that highlighted the opportunity to compete against top players from eight nations. She expressed excitement at losing only two games, noting that her toughest match was in the first round against eventual runner-up Barbadian WCM Chanon Reifer-Belle.
Khan commented that the nature of the games was of a high standard and quite challenging. He welcomed the experience of playing against
der the CWI Code of Conduct and, based on the documents filed in the High Court, were allegedly pressured into accepting a guilty plea by the Trinidadian Match Referee, Mr. Michael Ragoonath. They were reportedly given two options:
1. Plead guilty and accept a fine.
2. Insist on a hearing/trial and the Referee will impose a fine of 100% of the match fee and a ban.
Faced with this representation from the Referee,
Chase’s,
the two players formed the opinion that they had no choice but to plead guilty to the charge, despite previously submitting written denials to the Referee, and in the case of Permaul, maintaining his innocence at the hearing. Anderson was not afforded a hearing.
This lack of due process and the absence of a fair and transparent hearing is deeply troubling.
The GCB considers the actions of the match officials (which include the on-field umpires) to be unprofessional, unethical, and a serious breach of procedural fairness.
The Guyana Cricket Board is profoundly disappointed by the handling of this matter in Trinidad, and expected a much higher standard of governance, particularly in CWI’s premier domestic tournaments.
In light of these events,
both players have taken the bold and commendable step of seeking justice through the High Court, aiming to restore their reputations and ensure such incidents do not recur.
The GCB stands firmly in support of justice, fair play, and the rights of its players; and will continue to advocate for good governance, transparency and accountability at all levels of the sport.
This application was filed by Attorney-at-law Arudranauth Gossai.”
Dolphin both promise exciting Milo final
The 11th edition of the Milo Schools’ Under-18 Football tournament will come to a close today, Sunday April 27, but not before defending Champions Chase’s Academic Foundation and last year’s third-place finishers Dolphin Secondary have a go at each other.
other talented chess players from other countries.
The tournament featured top players from across the region, including representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Champions of each tournament would automatically earn the right to participate in the next FIDE World Cup.
The Guyana Chess Federation has congratulated Khan and Callender on their achievements, and continues to champion the growth of local players as they compete internationally.
Each team has advanced to the final on a contrasting win in the semis: Dolphin downing West Ruimveldt in a comfortable 3-1 win, while Chase’s, the defending champions, had to work a little harder, overcoming Waramuri Secondary 7-6 only on penalty kicks.
The grand final having been set, Kemron Pellew, Captain of Chase’s Academic Foundation, while discussing their tense semifinal, has expressing confidence in retaining their title.
Pellew said, “First of all, it was a very good game; it was different from (what) we (had) expected. It was very difficult…went straight down to penalties. We had some unfortunate decisions made, but we had to fight, and we did what we had to do.”
He added, “There was no conversation really; we just had to win. That’s it!” He was speaking about their conversations after regular time had ended with the game locked
on 3-3.
“There were a little nerves there; but, I mean, this is Chase, and we always fight and we have to win.”
The defender went on to share this about today’s final: “We expect it to be competitive! Very competitive! But still, this is Chase; and we will fight and we will try to win, or we will win!”
Meanwhile, the challengers, Dolphin Secondary, are high on confidence. Captain Brian Brower, in expressing their expectations for the final and what a win would mean to him, has said, “Well, I thought that we didn’t really perform at our best, but we win the game, and that’s what matter most.”
Brower, the Dolphin team’s goalkeeper, shared about the semifinal, “Our Coach just told us, ‘Just play, and see how the team is playing, and in the second half we’ll know how to work.’
That’s what we do, and we win the game. Well, we very happy to be in the finals. The expectation is a win, and bring it home for Dolphin like I said the last time.”
Expressing what the championship would mean to him, Brower said, “To me, it’s a big improvement; because we usually come to the semifinals and lose and have
to play third place. This is my first time going into the finals with Dolphin and my last year for school football, and I want to win it.”
The Milo U18 final is scheduled for 19:00hrs today at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground on Carifesta Avenue. The third-place playoff between West Ruimveldt and Waramuri Secondary would precede that game at 17:00hrs.
The teams are competing for a $300,000 grand prize.
Taffin Khan and his opponent before they got into game mode
Attorney-at-law Arudranauth Gossai
Veerasammy Permaul
WCM Jessica Callender and one of her opponents
A glimpse of what to expect in the Milo 2025 final tonight
