Guyana Times - Thursday, July 7, 2022

Management shake-up at CGX, new Exploration Manager, CFO P7 appointed …as company prepares to drill Wei-1 well offshore Guyana

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 5062

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

PRICE

Agreement signed between Guyana, Barbados for increased exports …food terminals in both countries to be established

$100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE: Success accident

P10

Fisherman was chased to his death – sister

Page 3

…Barbados market for beef, corn, coconut & soya exports

Govt committed to ensuring pupils receive high-quality secondary education – Education Minister

Teen fined $75,000 for robbing US P8 citizen

Page 17

Alcohol dispute ends in brutal chopping P8 Lone bandit caught on P11 CCTV footage driving away with $2.7M car

…as over 16,000 students sit NGSA Sugar shortage

Disciplinary action for any Uitvlugt Factory Police rank breaching GPF to start producing policies – Top Cop warns 1000 bags per day to meet demand – GuySuCo source …as wholesalers suspected of Page 9 smuggling commodity to Venezuela

Page 15

Pensioner dies after falling from P 2-storey house 14 2 unvaccinated men latest P17 COVID-19 deaths

2 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Police Service Commission functional – AG …says Govt remains committed to complying with Constitution

M

aking it clear that the Police Service Commission (PSC) is functional even though not fully constituted, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, has insisted that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government is one that remains committed to complying with the Constitution.

During his weekly programme “Issues in the News”, Nandlall spoke about Government’s record of constitutional compliance. One area in which the Government has been criticised is its appointment of acting Top Cop Clifton Hicken at a time when there was no Opposition Leader.

Responding to the utterances of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Roysdale Forde, SC, Nandlall noted that the PPP/C Government complies with the Constitution,

and in cases where constitutional requirements cannot be met, the doctrine of necessity applies.

“Mr Forde is accusing our Government of constantly violating the Constitution.

I reject that contention. Our Government complies with the Constitution. And whenever we cannot comply with the Constitution, we make that public, and we invoke the relevant doctrines that are available,” he said.

“For example, the doctrine of necessity, when we are forced not to comply with the strict provisions of the Constitution, because of the absence of certain things that make compliance impossible, the doctrine of necessity avails us to comply with the Constitution and subsequently seek compliance when the particular situation rectifies itself.”

This is what happened when the Government, through Minister

of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira, did reach out to Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton for consultations on Hicken’s appointment, after both Norton and the Police Service Commission had been appointed.

Norton has since ruled out such consultations until he has had his day in court regarding the PSC. Norton moved to court seeking to quash the appointment of the PSC. In his Fixed Date Application (FDA), Norton has also contended that Hicken’s appointment is unilateral, and not in keeping with Article 211 of the Constitution.

In his FDA, Norton has asked the High Court to quash the recent appointments of the Chairmen and members of the Police Service and Integrity Commissions, who were sworn in before President Dr Irfaan Ali on May 31.

tion with the President for the appointment of a Police Commissioner and the appointment or appointments of Deputy Commissioner of Police until the FDA is determined.

PSC

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

Pending the hearing of his application, the Opposition Leader, through Forde, is requesting an injunction prohibiting Findlay and Gajraj, as well as the commission members, from exercising any of the functions, duties, obligations, and/or powers vested in them.

Additionally, he is seeking an injunction barring the PSC Chairman from engaging in meaningful consulta-

Former PSC Commissioner Clinton Conway, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, had recently contended that because the PSC is a five-member body, the current four members cannot act as commissioners. But Nandlall noted that even though the Police Service Commission is not fully constituted, it is still functional.

“Our Constitution specifically says that notwithstanding a vacancy existing in any of the service commissions, those service commissions, provided there is a quorum, then those commissions can act.

“The Constitution also says that notwithstanding a vacancy, the commission can still act. And the actions or decisions of the commission will not be affected by that vacancy,” Nandlall fur-

ther said during his programme.

According to Nandlall, this is a principle of law that exists throughout the world, and in many corporate statutes. He noted that the drafters of the Constitution intended for the smooth running of a commission despite a vacancy.

The new members of the PSC who were sworn in are: Attorney-at-Law Lloyd Mark Conway, businessman Ernesto Choo-a-Fat, and Pastor Patrick Findlay, who serves as Chairman.

Businessman Hakeem Mohammed was sworn in at a later date.

The PSC is vested with the authority to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in high offices within the Police Force, or even remove them from office.

The PSC also deals with the promotion of Policemen above the rank of Inspector.

The Government had, on June 28, 2021, rejected as “unlawful and illegal” a list of purported promotions of members of the Police Force issued by the PSC. (G3)

3 Agreement signed between Guyana, Barbados for increased exports NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Thursday, July 7 – 23:00h-00:30h and Friday, July 8 – 23:30h-01:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, July 7 – 09:40h-11:10h and Friday, July 8 – 10:40h-12:10h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery to light rain showers are expected during the day and night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 10:28h and 22:59h reaching maximum heights of 2.34 metres and 2.37 metres.

Low Tide: 16:26h reaching a minimum height of 0.88 metre.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2022

LOTTERY NUMBERS M

09 11 15

18 21 22

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FREE TICKET

Bonus Ball

DAILY MILLIONS

09 11 18 24 25 LUCKY 3

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3

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DRAW DE LINE

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COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Crude Oil

$99.93/barrel

Rough Rice

$290.61/ton $555.80/ton

London Sugar

Live Spot Gold

Change % -0.75 +0.09 0.00

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1743.70

$1744.70

Low/High Change

$1732.40 +5.00

$1773.10 +0.29%

…food terminals in both countries to be established …Barbados market for beef, corn, coconut & soya exports

T

o further facilitate relations between Guyana and Barbados, and collaboration in a number of areas, including agriculture and food security, an agreement has been signed by President Dr Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados.

The agreement, called the Saint Barnabas Accord, was signed on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 43rd Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government meeting, and it paves the way for the two countries to further dialogue in nine specific areas. It is an updated agreement, since a previous Saint Barnabas Accord was signed between the two leaders.

“Among those areas are agriculture, aquaculture and food security. Other areas captured in the agreement are mining and quarrying; tourism and international transport; trade and business development; energy; manufacturing; education, technical and vocational training, including capacity building; cooperation in security and bilateral integration measures,” the Office of the President announced.

Meanwhile, information released from the Barbados Government Information Service revealed detailed information on the areas of cooperation in the agriculture sector for which the accord will provide.

The St Barnabas Accord states that Barbados and Guyana have agreed to twin the work programmes of their respective Agriculture Ministries, which also entails an exchange of officials from each other’s Ministries.

A Joint Working Group on Food and Nutritional Security, comprising Ministries responsible for agriculture and health; state-owned agricultural and marketing corporations; and private sector representatives, will also be created.

The accord also caters for “export from Guyana to Barbados of beef, corn and soya, coconut and coconut products, fruits and vegetables, poultry and poultry products, and other products as may be determined; export from Guyana to Barbados of shade houses; export from Barbados to Guyana of one thousand (1,000) artificially inseminated black belly sheep in tranches.”

It also states that a company will be established to manage the black belly sheep production, and a youth programme will be

President Dr Irfaan Ali and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley (left) after the accord was signed

created that includes differently- abled persons to work on a rotational basis on a fifty (50) acre farm in Guyana.

President Ali had previously announced that several acres of Guyana’s land would be allocated to be utilised by Barbadian farmers. According to the accord, Guyana will be leasing land to Barbados at concessional prices “for the purpose of joint partnership in animal husbandry and poultry-rearing (including poultry feed production); and for the production of flowers, food crops

inclusive of breadfruit, cassava, plantains, pineapple, bananas, passion fruit, oranges and coconuts.”

A community will also be identified in Guyana to partner with Barbados farmers for the large-scale cultivation of black belly sheep.

Food terminals with operational plant and facilities would also be established in both countries for local use and for export, while a trade hub would also be developed in Barbados.

The two countries will also be working closely to-

gether on the “Vision 25 by 2025” initiative that seeks to increase food security and slash the food import bill of the region by 25 per cent in the next three years.

Barbados will also be participating in a meeting to be convened by Guyana to analyze gaps in the initiative.

“Guyana to provide Barbados with an aquaculture plan that will include processing and packaging of fish. A technical team to visit Barbados to assist with the advancement of this project; Barbados and Guyana Agriculture Ministries to establish a youth exchange programme for aquaculture training”, the accord also establishes.

It also caters for the “early commencement of work by officials of the two countries for the standardisation and harmonisation of protocols and procedures on sanitary and phytosanitary issues, to facilitate timely approval and resolution of issues.”

Guyana will meanwhile be providing Barbados with the tissue culture for the planting of cherries, grapefruit, dragon fruit, breadfruit, and other food crops for a project to be undertaken by the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC). (G3)

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THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

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

Importance of parents E

very year, in June, United Nations General Assembly set aside a specific day, recognised as Global Day of Parents, to honour parents throughout the world.

In Guyana, it is no different, there are a lot of parents who should be thanked for their unwavering commitment and unending sacrifice towards the good upbringing and development of their children.

On Wednesday, at the beginning of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), there were a lot of heartwarming photos of parents hugging and kissing their child/children as they spoke positive words of encouragement to them before the sitting of the examinations. The images showed genuine love and interest in the children and their welfare.

While there are a lot of children who have to be thankful in Guyana, there are many who have been left abandoned, neglected and forgotten about. Another militating factor which plagues not only Guyana but the Caribbean is the absent role of the father, the flip side of which invariably leads to increased cases of single parent mothers.

These dynamics, which some sociologists argue is a product of years of social and cultural degradation of the psyche of the slaves and indentured labourers at the hands of colonial masters so that they can effectively maintain control, have left an indelible mark on the characterisation of our people.

While there is no recent local statistics to go by, which is an indictment on our research and analytical institutions, the Guyana Bureau of Standards, in collaboration with UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s FUND), had outlined some time ago, in its Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), that “almost one third (29 percent) of all children under 5 years are living in a household without their biological father. One in three children (30 per cent) comes from the poorest quintile, whereas one in eight (13 per cent) comes from the richest quintile.” Taking into consideration the prevalent cases of child neglect and proliferation of single mothers, it can be rationally construed that that figure has increased.

According to the United Nations, “many men have difficulty assuming the responsibilities of fatherhood, often with damaging consequences to families, and inevitably society at large. Some fathers inflict domestic violence or even sexual abuse, devastating families and creating profound physical and emotional scars in children. Others abandon their families outright and fail to provide support. Researchers continue to explore how the presence or absence of fathers can affect children in areas such as school achievement and crime.”

Sadly, too many children in Guyana are left without the critical nurturing support of a wholesome family unit during the most crucial years of their upbringing, leading them down a narrow path of anger and self-denigration.

The spin-off effects of this leaves the young ones susceptible to negative influences such as gang-related crimes, drug abuse, and from a sociological perspective, the perpetuation of the deserting cycle as the child becomes an adult.

There is no denying that in recent years there has been an increase in crimes being carried out by juveniles.

In the crime waves of 2008 one can recall the names of young lads such as Otis Fifee, Jermaine Charles, Robin Chung, among many others who were on the register of notorious criminals in Guyana.

Through the process of educating, we need to propel a greater awareness of just how important is the role of both parents within the construct of the family.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday received a courtesy call from Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Guyana, Carlos Amador Perez Silva, who was accredited in April 2022. The Venezuelan diplomat was accompanied by Counsellor Moisés Chávez (Office of the Vice President photo)

It’s democracy v plutocracy – this is the endgame for our planet

By George Monbiot

I

t feels like the end game. In the US last week, the third perverse and highly partisan Supreme Court decision in a few days made American efforts to prevent climate breakdown almost impossible. Ruling in favour of the state of West Virginia, the court decided that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not entitled to restrict carbon dioxide emissions from power stations.

The day before, in the UK, the Government’s climate change committee reported a “shocking” failure by Boris Johnson’s Administration to meet its climate targets. So stupid and perverse are its policies on issues such as energy saving that it’s hard to see this as anything other than failure by design. On the day of the Supreme Court ruling, the UK Government also announced that it intended to scrap the law protecting the UK’s most important wildlife sites.

But the final straw for me was a smaller decision. After two decades of disastrous policies that turned its rivers into open sewers, Herefordshire county council, following a shift from Tory to independent control, finally did the right thing. It applied to the Government to create a water protection zone, defending the River Wye against the pollution pushing it towards complete ecological collapse. But in a letter published last week, the UK’s Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, refused permission, claiming it “would impose new and distinct regulatory obligations on the farmers and businesses within the catchment”. This is, of course, the point.

It’s the pettiness of the decision that makes it so shocking. Even when the cost to the Government is small, it seems determined to destroy everything good and valuable about this country.

It’s as if, when Ministers go to bed, they ask themselves, “What have I done to make the UK a worse place today?”

Just at the point at which we need a coordinated global effort to escape our existential crises – climate breakdown, ecological breakdown, the rising tide of synthetic chemicals, a gathering global food emergency – those who wield power string razor wire across the exit.

When I began work as an environmental Journalist in 1985, I knew I would struggle against people with a financial interest in destructive practic-

es. But I never imagined that we would one day confront what appears to be an ideological commitment to destroying life on Earth. The UK Government and the US Supreme Court look as if they are willing the destruction of our life support systems.

The Supreme Court’s ruling was neither random nor based on established legal principles. It arose from a concerted programme to replace democracy in the US with judicial dictatorship.

As Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has documented, hundreds of millions of dollars in dark money (funds whose sources are unknown) were poured into the nomination and confirmation of the three Judges appointed to the court by Donald Trump. Among the groups leading these campaigns was Americans for Prosperity, set up by the Koch brothers: oil tycoons with a long record of funding right-wing causes. As an investigation by Earth Uprising shows, there’s a strong correlation between the amount of oil and gas money US Senators have received, and their approval of Trump’s Supreme Court Justice nominations.

Once the favoured Justices were in place, the same networks started using their financial power to steer their decisions. They do so through “amicus briefs”: advice notes to the court supporting a plaintiff’s position. The judicial process is meant to be unswayed by political pressure, but amicus briefs have become one of the most powerful of all lobbying tools. As Whitehouse points out, the funders of these briefs are “not just ‘friends of the court’ – in many cases, they are quite literally friends of the Judges they have put on the court”.

While some oligarchs lobby within the judicial system, others operate to great effect outside it, distorting public perceptions about such rulings through a barrage of propaganda in the media.

No one, arguably, has done more to stymie effective environmental action than Rupert Murdoch.

In this case, the Supreme Court has strayed way beyond its mandate of interpreting the law, into the territory of the executive and the legislature: making the law. It is imposing policies that would never survive democratic scrutiny, if they were put to the vote. By seizing control of regulatory power, it sets a precedent that could stymie almost any democratic decision.

All this might seem incomprehensible. Why would anyone want to trash

the living world? Surely even billionaires want a habitable and beautiful planet? Don’t they like snorkelling on coral reefs, salmon fishing in pristine rivers, skiing on snowy mountains?

We suffer from a deep incomprehension of why such people act as they do.

We fail to distinguish preferences from interests, and interests from power.

It is hard for those of us who have no desire for power over others to understand people who do. So we are baffled by the decisions they make, and attribute them to other, improbable causes.

Because we do not understand them, we are the more easily manipulated.

The media often represent politicians’ interests as if they were mere political preferences. Very rarely is the lobbying and political funding behind a decision explained in the news. The Conservatives don’t permit intensive livestock units and sewage treatment works to pour filth into rivers because they like pollution. They do so on behalf of the powerful interests to whom they feel obliged, such as the water companies and their shareholders, the farming lobbies, and the billionaire press.

But even financial interests fail fully to explain what’s going on. The oligarchs seeking to stamp out US democracy have gone way beyond the point of attending only to their net worth. It’s no longer about money for them. It’s about brute power: about watching the world bow down before them. For this rush of power, they would forfeit the Earth.

All these cases expose the same political vulnerability: the ease with which democracy is crushed by the power of money. We cannot protect the living world, or women’s reproductive rights, or anything else we value until we get the money out of politics, and break up the media empires that make a mockery of informed political consent.

Since 1985, I’ve been told we don’t have time to change the system: we should concentrate only on single issues. But we’ve never had time not to change the system. In fact, because of the way in which social attitudes can suddenly tip, system change can happen much faster than incrementalism.

Until we change our political systems, making it impossible for the rich to buy the decisions they want, we will lose not only individual cases. We will lose everything. (The Guardian) George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

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Foundation

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Jack and the Beanstalk

Sets Example 1: Kyesha was in Maths class with her friend Angie. She whispered to Angie that she had just bought a set of clothes. The collection includes a coat, a hat, a scarf, gloves, and boots. Their teacher, Mrs Glosser, overheard the conversation and asked them: What is a set?

Solution: Luckily for Kyesha and Angie, their classmate Eduardo had a Maths dictionary with him! He quickly looked up the word "set" and defined it for the class as shown below.

A set is a collection of objects that have something in common or follow a rule. The objects in the set are called its elements. Set notation uses curly braces, with elements separated by commas. So, the set of outwear for Kyesha would be listed as follows: A = {coat, hat, scarf, gloves, boots}, where A is the name of the set, and the braces indicate that the objects written between them belong to the set.

Every object in a set is unique: The same object cannot be included in the set more than once.

Example 2: What is the set of all fingers?

Solution: P = {thumb, index, middle, ring, little} (mathsgoodies.com)

O

Jack and the Beanstalk first appeared as The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean in 1734. Featured illustrations are by Arthur Rackham, 1918 edition of English Fairy Tales retold by Flora Annie Steel.

nce upon a time there lived a poor widow and her son Jack. One day, Jack’s mother told him to sell their only cow. Jack went to the market and on the way he met a man who wanted to buy his cow. Jack asked, “What will you give me in return for my cow?” The man answered, “I will give you five magic beans!” Jack took the magic beans and gave the man the cow. But when he reached home, Jack’s mother was very angry. She said, “You fool! He took away your cow and gave you some beans!” She threw the beans out of the window. Jack was very sad and went to sleep without dinner.

The next day, when Jack woke up in the morning and looked out of the window, he saw that a huge beanstalk had grown from his magic beans! He climbed up the beanstalk and reached a kingdom in the sky. There lived a giant and his wife. Jack went inside the house and found the giant’s wife in the kitchen. Jack said, “Could you please give me something to eat? I am so hungry!” The kind wife gave him bread and some milk.

While he was eating, the giant came home.

The giant was very big and looked very fearsome. Jack was terrified and went and hid inside. The giant cried, “Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!” The wife said, “There is no boy in here!” So, the giant ate his food and then went to his room. He took out his sacks of gold coins, counted them and kept them aside. Then he went to sleep. In the night, Jack crept out of his hiding place, took one sack of gold coins and climbed down the beanstalk. At home, he gave the coins to his mother. His mother was very happy and they lived well for sometime.

Jack climbed the beanstalk and went to the giant’s house again. Once again, Jack asked the giant’s wife for food, but while he was eating the giant returned.

Jack leapt up in fright and went and hid under the bed.

The giant cried, “Fee-fifo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!” The wife said, “There is no boy in here!” The giant ate his food and went to his room.

There, he took out a hen. He shouted, “Lay!” and the hen laid a golden egg. When the giant fell asleep, Jack took the hen and climbed down the beanstalk. Jack’s mother was very happy with him.

After some days, Jack once again climbed the beanstalk and went to the giant’s castle. For the third time, Jack met the giant’s wife and asked for some food.

Once again, the giant’s wife gave him bread and milk. But while Jack was eating, the giant came home. “Fee-fi-fofum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!” cried the giant. “Don’t be silly! There is no boy in here!” said his wife.

The giant had a magical harp that could play beautiful songs. While the giant slept, Jack took the harp and was about to leave. Suddenly, the magic harp cried, “Help master! A boy is stealing me!” The giant woke up and saw Jack with the harp. Furious, he ran after Jack. But Jack was too fast for him. He ran down the beanstalk and reached home. The giant followed him down. Jack quickly ran inside his house and fetched an axe. He began to chop the beanstalk. The giant fell and died.

Jack and his mother were now very rich and they lived happily ever after.

Pottery Puzzle: Piecing it all together

A

rchaeologists uncover all kinds of artefacts among ancient ruins, like ornate jewellery, simple baskets, and stone tools. One of the most common items found at archaeological sites is pottery, or objects made of clay.

Looking at a single pot might tell you how old it was or how it was made. Looking at a group of pots might tell you how a society was organised.

In ancient times, pottery was used to make many everyday things, such as dishes, cooking pots, and jars for storing food.

Pottery was also used to make precious items, from sacred statues to musical instruments, like flutes.

There’s another reason why pottery is a common discovery: it

doesn’t disintegrate or decay as easily as things made of wood or cloth. Sometimes pottery is found in one piece, especially when it’s found in a burial or offering. Most of the time, pottery is found broken into many pieces.

It can be a big challenge putting all the pieces back together, especially when some pieces are missing. Archaeologists read the parts like pieces of a puzzle.

They can tell which pieces go together by their shapes and colours.

Decorate, shatter, and piece together your own pottery artefact: a flowerpot. As you design your flowerpot, imagine archaeologists finding it.

What would it tell them about you?

Supplies • A ceramic flowerpot (made of clay or terracotta) • Paint or markers

• Piece of paper and a pencil • Stencils of different designs • An old pillowcase • Rubber band • Hammer • Newspaper • Scotch tape

Decorate your pot Imagine you are an artist who designs and decorates pottery for people in your community.

Your next assignment is to decorate a flowerpot.

Before you begin, think about who will use your flowerpot: an important public figure? A local family? Will you use geometric designs, or symbols and images that reflect your community?

• Choose your design and sketch it out on a piece of paper. You can do this several times until you are happy with the way it looks.

• Make the design on your ceramic flowerpot using paint or

markers. Wait for the paint to dry.

Turn it into ruins!

Imagine your community is abandoned over the centuries.

Buildings collapse and many personal belongings are broken and buried. Your precious flowerpot is shattered and scattered among the ruins.

Smash the flowerpot using a hammer. If you need help, ask an adult to do it for you.

Piece it all together Now, imagine one thousand years have passed since you designed your flowerpot. An archaeologist discovers the site where your community once stood.

After months of digging, she unearths many pieces of pottery. If you were that archaeologist, could you put the pieces together?

• Take the larger pieces of the shattered flowerpot out of the pillowcase and spread them on a newspaper.

• Try to reassemble the flowerpot piece by piece. Tape both sides of the pieces together with Scotch tape.

Dig deeper: mixed-up artefacts When archaeologists find pieces of artefacts at a site, how do they know which ones go together?

When archaeologists find pieces of pottery, they’re faced with some big challenges: they have no idea what the original object looked like, the pieces may be mixed in with pieces of other artefacts, and several pieces might be missing. Try this challenge: • Decorate two flowerpots.

Then, break them in the pillowcase, and try to put them back together. Is it harder to do it this time? Why?

• Ask a friend to decorate a flowerpot with designs and then break it in a pillowcase.

Then, decorate another pot yourself and break it in another pillowcase. Now switch pillowcases, and try to put each other’s pieces back together. Does it take longer? Can you figure out what the designs are?

• By yourself, or with a friend, decorate flowerpots and break them. This time, remove a few pieces from the pillowcase and put them aside. Then try to put the rest of the pieces together without the missing pieces. How does this change the activity?

(Adapted from the American Museum of Natural History Ology website via startwithabook.com)

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Management shake-up at CGX, new Exploration Manager, CFO appointed …as company prepares to drill Wei-1 well offshore Guyana

A

s the time draws nearer for Canadianowned company CGX Energy Incorporated to drill its Wei-1 well in the Corentyne Block offshore Guyana, the company has undergone some major changes at the top.

These changes include the naming of a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), George Davis, who will be taking over from Hill York Poon. Poon will be retained as CGX’s Director of Finance. Meanwhile, Paul Langlois has been appointed as the new Exploration Manager.

Davis, CGX explained in a statement on Tuesday, has over 20 years of financial and leadership experience, having worked with publicly listed international companies in a variety of sectors including mining, energy, and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the company explained that Langlois has over 18 years of exploration and development experience across multiple basins including North America, Gulf of Mexico, Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South Asia.

Langlois, according to CGX, has held various senior-level positions at Unocal, Chevron, Cobalt, and Tiburon. He was also responsible for numerous international geological assessments and field developments.

According to Gabriel de Alba, Co-Chairman of CGX's Board of Directors, these appointments will complement the team the company has assembled to drill the Wei1 well, which was slated to be drilled this month at a cost of approximately US$93 million.

"I am pleased to announce the appointment of George Davis as CGX's new CFO. We are excited to have such a qualified professional fill this important executive leadership role. George's extensive experience in senior leadership roles in finance and his demonstrated success working with public companies has helped prepare him for this critical role as CGX embarks on the drilling of the Wei-1 exploration well with its partners.

“I am also very pleased to welcome Paul Langlois to the operational team at CGX. His expertise and leadership will add to the superb team that we have assembled to drill the Wei1 well," de Alba further said.

Meanwhile, Executive Co-Chairman of CGX, Professor Suresh Narine was also optimistic that the management shake-up would have a positive effect on the company’s drill campaign for the Wei-1 well.

"On behalf of CGX's Board of Directors, management and shareholders, I thank Hill York for the many contributions she

CGX’s operations offshore Guyana

made to the company in the transitionary role she has played since November 2021. Ms Poon will take up the position of Director of Finance with CGX, continuing to support the company and George in his new role as CFO. With George and Paul’s addition to the CGX team and Hill’s continuing efforts, the company is

well-prepared as it embarks on the Wei-1 drilling campaign," Narine said.

CGX and Frontera Energy Corporation, its joint venture partner, had previ-

ously commissioned an independent report which had revealed that they were potentially sitting on 4.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in the Demerara and

Corentyne oil blocks under their control.

In February of this year, the partners had announced an oil find of 177 feet of oil-bearing reserves at the Kawa-1 well in the Corentyne Block. Since then, however, the company has been making moves to scale back its presence in the other blocks.

It was announced that CGX had reached an agreement with the Government to relinquish larger sections of the Demerara and Corentyne Blocks, which will potentially go to auction in September.

Both the Corentyne and Demerara Blocks have been in CGX’s hands for some time without being drilled.

Back in May 2019, the Strategic Joint Venture between CGX and Frontera was approved to farm in to two shallow-water offshore Petroleum Prospecting Licences for the Corentyne and Demerara Blocks.

Both of these blocks are adjacent to ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block, where multiple discoveries have been made. The farm-in joint venture allowed Frontera to acquire a 33.333 per cent working interest in the two blocks. (G3)

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Accused in Corentyne doublefatality for trial next month

Dead: Toney Lakeram

Dead: Felicia Fernandes

he driver who has been charged in the hit-and-run accident that occurred on the Number 70 Village Public Road on the Corentyne Coast in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on March 18 last, in which two lives were lost, will go on trial next Monday for three other offences.

Vivendra Ramdharry, 37, of Number 69 Village, Corentyne, has already been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. It is alleged

that on March 18, he drove motor van PVV 1015 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the deaths of 28-year-old Felicia Fernandes of Coverden, East Bank Demerara and 19-year-old Toney Lakeram, a carpenter of Number 71 Village, Corentyne.

He has already been placed on $250,000 bail in relation to those charges, but has now been slapped with two counts of failing to render assistance after an accident and one count of failing to report the acci-

T

dent. In relation to the latter three charges, Ramdharry will go on trial from August 11, his lawyer Bernard Da Silva has informed.

Concerning the death by dangerous driving charges, Guyana Times understands that Ramdharry and the relatives of the deceased persons have taken a “certain course of action,” which may result in the charge being withdrawn by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

As a conditionality attached to bail, the accused was ordered to lodge his passport with the court.

The matters are being heard by Senior Magistrate Alex Moore at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.

Police have said that the accident occurred at about 23:20h on the Number 70 Public Road, Corentyne, and the vehicles involved are an electric bike that Lakeram was riding and a motor van that Ramdharry was driving.

Reports are that the van was speeding along the roadway when it collided with the electric bike and barrelled into Fernandes,

…COP and (PNC) angst

O

Vivendra Ramdharry

who was reportedly a pedestrian, before continuing on its journey. As a result, the duo, having sustained injuries about their bodies, were picked up in an unconscious state and taken to the Skeldon Public Hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival.

Ramdharry was arrested at Kitty, Georgetown the day after the accident.

The vehicle he was reportedly driving was found extensively damaged at a house at Number 69 Village, Corentyne, Berbice. (G1)

Teen fined $75,000 for robbing US citizen

A

n 18-year-old man accused of robbing a United States citizen has pleaded guilty and been fined $75,000 after appearing before Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan in that Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Stephon Hope, 18, of ‘B’ Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was arraigned before the Chief Magistrate charged with robbery with violence, contrary to Section 222 (a) of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act. The allegation he faced detailed that he robbed a 61-year-old woman at the Rima Guest House in

Stephon Hope

Georgetown. Having pleaded guilty to the offence, he has accordingly been fined; and failure to pay the fine will see him spending eight weeks in prison.

Meanwhile, in another matter, Alfred Joseph, called ‘Tata’, 22, of 44 Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, was charged for stealing from a businessman of Zeelugt, EBE. Joseph was arraigned on Wednesday before Leonora Magistrate Zameena AliSeepaul, and after pleading guilty to the charge, has been fined $80,000 or an alternative of four months’ imprisonment. (G1)

Alfred Joseph

Alcohol dispute ends in brutal chopping

A

miner is now in a critical condition after he allegedly was chopped and beaten by co-workers on Monday evening during a row over alcohol at a backdam in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Injured is 41-year-old

Ryan Joseph of the North West District (NWD), Region One (BarimaWaini). Although he had received severe injuries since Monday evening, the man is yet to get transportation to take him from the Puruni Landing in Region Seven to

Injured: Joseph

41-year-old

Ryan

where he can access proper treated at a hospital.

Reports reaching this publication indicate that the miner was paid a pennyweight of raw gold on Monday, and after being

Fixing...

paid, he proceeded to imbibe with co-workers, one of whom is his employer’s nephew. Later in the evening, Joseph and this nephew, along with two other co-workers, became embroiled in a fight over the purchasing of alcohol.

During the fight, Joseph was badly beaten and chopped about his body. It is unclear why persons have waited until now to take the injured man to an appropriate facility to seek medical attention.

The man’s “friend” who spoke with this publication indicated that she has since contacted the Bartica Police Station to have cops escort the man to the nearest medical facility.

When contacted, Region Commander Dion Moore said he has not received any information on the incident, but will look into the matter.

pposition Leader Norton’s using his legal myrmidon to wage a rearguard action against President Ali’s appointment of Hicken as Commissioner of Police.

He forgets that this particular myrmidon just happens to be the protége of the man he threw out as Opposition Leader, and it’s quite possible that he might be getting set up for a fall!! Of which the same myrmidon might very well be chosen to take his place!! Ah…the intrigues of polititricks!!

Norton’s been joined by several other worthies from the Opposition camp to challenge the appointment. HIS argument started out with: “…the Public Service Rule state that acting appointments must be given to the most senior officer. Based on the current structure and line of statutory succession, Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Williams remains the next in line. Mr Clifton Hicken is an Assistant Commissioner, and therefore is junior in rank to Williams.”

Problem is, when Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud retired, the most senior officer in the GPF was David Ramnarine, followed by Clifton Hicken. Then President Granger bypassed these two officers and appointed four Deputy Commissioners – including Paul Williams - and a Commissioner, Leslie James; ALL of whom were juniors to Ramnarine and Hicken. Hicken had therefore been wrongfully pipped by Williams, and President Ali was merely rectifying a historic wrong!!

Granger justified his appointment of Leslie James as COP - while overlooking Ramnarine, who had acted in that capacity for several months - thusly: “I relied very heavily on the advice I got from the PSC, so as far as the selection process is concerned, I can justify my decisions, and I am sure the Chairman of the Commission can also justify his recommendations.” The Chairman of the PSC just happened (!!) to be Paul Slowe, whom he had just appointed!! As usual, the Sanctimonious Gangster just loved to advise HIMSELF!!

But President Ali’s authority was affirmed by no other than another Police Critic, former Asst Commissioner of Police Clinton Conway, recently: “The appointment of Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of Police is the sole authority of the President. Art 211 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana states, ‘The Commissioner of Police and every Deputy Commissioner of Police shall be appointed by the President acting after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and Chairperson of the Police Service Commission after the Chairperson has consulted with other members of the Commission.” It is pellucid that the President does not have to get agreement with anyone, including the Police Service Commission, to appoint a Commissioner of Police or Deputy Commissioners.” (!!)

So, the other tact taken by Norton has been to challenge the legitimacy of the Public Service Commission.

He “tryin’ another t’ing”!!! …on Roads There’s the old cliché “a picture is worth a thousand words”. But the pic in one of the dailies of the roads in Tuschen was actually worth a book. A book that exposes the dangerous lies that some Opposition social media miscreants (SMM) are spreading to “undermine” the Government – but in the process are ripping our country apart. Right after the PM took that band of Ministers to listen to the problems of their community, the SMM were giving it their (divisive) spin. “Only African village streets are so decrepit, and it’s because the illegal PPP cabal want Afro Guyanese “at the bottom of the ladder”!!

But the pic of Tuschen’s streets shows a scene of even more desolation and neglect – and the interviews that accompanied it revealed a tale of such official indifference as to be criminal. And a Govt Minister lives there?? The point, of course, is that Tuschen has a majority of Indo-Guyanese.

So, if anything, it showed the PPP to be an equalopportunity discriminator!! …Uitvlugt Sugar Factory The mechanical breakdown caused by a damaged gear forced the Uitvlugt factory’s closure since March. The question when it gets going again is whether it’ll be able to produce sugar at a competitive price!!

Never did…never will!!

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

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

NEWS

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Sugar shortage

Uitvlugt Factory to start producing 1000 bags per day to meet demand – GuySuCo source

…as wholesalers suspected of smuggling commodity to Venezuela

T

he Uitvlugt Sugar Estate factory is gearing up to begin producing 1000 bags of sugar per day from this weekend – a move which is expected to bring some relief as citizens continue to complain of an apparent shortage of sugar on the local market, a situation which is driving up prices where the commodity remains available.

Citizens have been complaining of an apparent shortage of sugar on the local market, something which has persisted for some two months.

On social media, hundreds of persons have shared their experiences of a sugar shortage at their local shops, and in some cases, supermarkets.

“I just went to four shops and there was no sugar… ended up paying $180 per pound of sugar in the sugar-producing Republic of Guyana,” one person commented.

“Sugar is scarce on the West Coast (of Demerara)… whoever has, they selling for $200 a pound,” another individual stated.

Another social media user contended that “I paid $1200 for 4lbs of sugar two days ago. What is going on in this country?”

Guyana Times also spoke to several persons, who indicated that none of their local shops are selling the product. One individual told this publication that she resorted to buying imported white sugar.

Where is the sugar going?

When asked about the widespread reports of a sugar shortage, a senior official at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) contended that this should not be the case. It was noted that some 18,000 bags of sugar were sold by the Corporation last week.

The official revealed that GuySuCo officials had found out that some wholesalers have been buying the commodity in bulk and sending it to Venezuela, where it is sold for higher prices.

“It’s not a suspicion,” the official contended. It was disclosed that on June 5, 2022, some 2000 50kg bags of sugar were shipped to the North West District (NWD) – a region which reportedly does not consume that much sugar.

“Region One has a population of 26,000…

Georgetown has a population of about 90,000 people and they don’t use so much sugar in a week,” the offi-

cial reasoned. “So, what are they doing with the sugar?”

As a result, GuySuCo had taken a decision to only sell sugar to three categories of users: supermarkets, bakeries, and manufacturers.

While the local shops may not have had access to the commodity for resale, the official insisted that the supermarkets have access to the product.

However, when the Uitvlugt Estate resumes sugar production at 1000 bags a day, the goal is to restart the sale of sugar to wholesalers. Moreover, it was noted that when drier weather prevails, the Uitvlugt Factory can produce 2000 bags of sugar per day.

“And Guyana don’t use more than 3000 bags of sugar a week,” the official pointed out.

At this point when the sale of sugar is resumed to wholesalers, it is the hope of GuySuCo that they service the local market first.

“The Corporation has to be careful because our mandate is to supply to Guyana…once [we start] reselling to wholesalers from next week, what the wholesalers do with it, that’s out of our control,” the official explained.

Assured of no shortage

Reports of a sugar shortage on the local market have reached Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who raised the issue with GuySuCo on Wednesday morning.

In discussion with the top management of the sugar company, the Minister was assured that there was no shortage of sugar.

“I’m not aware of it. I met GuySuCo this morning (Wednesday), and they assured me there is no shortage of sugar…I told them to call in the distributors and inform them what are the views around the country, of people saying sugar short and the price gone up…they told me, they assured me, there is no shortage of sugar,” Mustapha said when contacted by this publication for a comment on the issue.

He said the suspicion at the moment was that “some people want to create a shortage”. Against this backdrop, he warned that any supplier hoarding in a bid to increase the price for the commodity would be dealt with accordingly.

TURN TO PAGE 10

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Success accident

Fisherman was chased to his death – sister

Dead: Ajay Ali

By LaWanda Mc Allister

F

amily members of 22-year-old Ajay Ali who was killed in a fatal accident along the Success Public Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD), have said Ally had been chased to his demise.

Ali, late father of one, and of Unity Village, Mahaica, ECD, was on Monday evening struck down and killed by a motor car driven by a 46-year-old resident of Cane Grove, ECD. The driver alleges that he was proceeding along the Success Public Road when Ali suddenly ran into the path of his vehicle.

As a result of the collision, Ali received injuries about his body, and was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Speaking with this publication on Wednesday, Ali’s sister Tresha Narine contended that her brother had not intentionally run into the path of the vehicle, but rather was being chased by a group of men.

“He left home the night and went out with his friends. Based on what we were told, he went into the shop at the Success Road to buy something when a guy look at him just so and ask him why he looking at him.

He then told the boy, ‘How you know I looking at you if you didn’t look at me?’

“As soon as he said that, the boy and a group of boys approach him and start hitting him and slapping him up in his head. We heard that he get vex and start quarrelling and walk out the shop. Shortly after, one of the boys went to a car and pull out a crowbar and they start chasing him,” Narine said.

She added that her brother started running until he got to the edge of the road, and within the blink of an eye, the motorcar struck him off his feet.

“When he got knock, he flung up in the air, and when he fall, he hit his head at the edge of the road. He didn’t have the chance to say nothing, not even a goodbye.

It was a whole misunderstanding. Also, if that driver was not driving so fast, he could have just break his foot or something, but he was speeding,” Narine is contending.

Narine said that after the fatal crash occurred, the family received a telephone call from her brother’s friends, saying that he was involved in an accident and that they should come to the

scene immediately. She said the family did not know of the severity of the accident until they got to the scene.

“When they called me, they lied to us. They didn’t want us to know that he died on the spot because my mother was with us. We thought that it was a minor accident and that he maybe broke his foot or something, but when we got there, they already cover him up with a sheet,” the sister recalled.

“We were in so much shock that we started

screaming to the top of our lungs, hoping that that would bring him back, but no matter how hard we screamed, he was not waking up, he was just lying there. My brother had so much plans,” the woman cried.

Ali, who worked as a fisherman, was married and had a two-year-old son.

Narine has said she is hoping that her family gets justice for her brother’s death, because he should not have met his demise in that

manner.

“Nobody in their right senses will never run over a road with traffic like that.

He was being chased…

When we went and find out, we were told that he did not run over the road, he didn’t even reach the middle of the road,” the sister explained.

It is unclear if the males who were chasing Ali have been identified and/or arrested. However, the driver of the motorcar has been taken into Police custody to assist with the investigation.

Uitvlugt Factory to start...

The Minister had directed further questions on the matter to the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at GuySuCo, Threbowan Shiwprasad as substantive CEO Sasenarine Singh was on leave. When contacted, Shiwprasad indicated that he was in a meeting and asked this publication to call back at a later time.

However, subsequent calls went unanswered.

Meanwhile, GuySuCo, in a subsequent social media post, said that the price for a 50kg bag of sugar is $9900.

This publication understands that anyone desirous of purchasing sugar can

do so directly at GuySuCo, but the minimum number of bags to be bought is 50.

Sugar production

It was reported two days ago by GuySuCo that the Uitvlugt Estate Factory team has successfully completed machinery and steam trials with the installation of a new gearbox, a critical part of the factory’s operations.

The Uitvlugt Factory has been out of operation since March of this year after a mechanical issue was detected, forcing the estate to call off its first crop for 2022.

The issue has since been rec-

FROM PAGE 9

tified.

The mechanical issues developed at the Uitvlugt Factory earlier this year dealt a significant blow to the estate’s sugar production target for first crop of 4000 tonnes. The estate was only able to produce 66 tonnes.

In 2021, total sugar production stood at 58,025 tonnes. This was a significant reduction in comparison to the 88,868 tonnes produced in 2020. However, it is projected that the sugar sector will grow by some 11.8 per cent this year, with GuySuCo targeting 65,000 tonnes of sugar.

NEWS

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New laws, amendments consistent Lone bandit caught on CCTV footage driving away with $2.7M car with growth of Guyana’s jurisprudence – Nandlall

S

ince assuming office almost two years ago, the PPP Government has passed new laws and amended existing ones in an effort to keep pace with the growth of the country’s jurisprudence.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, has assured that such works will continue, because Guyana is a sovereign country and must tailor its legal system to meet the idiosyncrasies and peculiarities of society.

He made this statement while addressing scores of residents during a recent ministerial outreach to Buxton/ Friendship, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

He explained that Guyana, like other Commonwealth countries, inherited its legal system from the British.

Although this system is not perfect, he pointed out, “it is regarded as the most perfect man-made system in the world; that is the beauty of the British legal system.”

He, however, said this does not mean Guyana is not working on developing its system.

For context, he referred to a recent decision by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in which it ruled that the law which empowers the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to direct a magistrate is void.

The CCJ held that a law that renders the magistrate’s professional decision-making subject to the dictates of another official cuts straight through Article 122A of the Constitution of Guyana, and must be declared void to the extent of its inconsistency with that Article.

Article 122A (1) provides

that “All courts and all persons presiding over the courts shall exercise their functions independently of the control and direction of any other person or authority; and shall be free and independent from political, executive, and any other form of direction and control.”

The statute in question is Section 72 of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, which outlines the procedure for committal of an accused person to stand trial. It confers the DPP with the authority to direct a magistrate, after the discharge of an accused person at the end of a preliminary inquiry (PI), to reopen the said PI and commit the accused person once he/she is of the opinion that a prima facie case has been established to warrant a committal.

The Attorney General said Government is in the process of correcting this law to amend the deficiency highlighted by the country’s highest court.

“If that court says the thing is wrong, then we have to comply with that. That is what the doctrine of separation of powers says,” he added.

Section 72 of the Act will be amended to allow the DPP, if aggrieved by the decision of a Magistrate to discharge an accused person at the end of a preliminary inquiry, to now now make an ex-parte application to a Judge of the High Court for a warrant to arrest and commit the discharged person for trial. The Judge may grant that application only if he is of the view, from the evidence that was placed before the Magistrate who discharged the accused person, that such a course of action is required.

In keeping with the above pronouncements and sentiments expressed by the CCJ, and in due regard to the doctrine of separation of powers, the Government intends to table a Bill in the National Assembly seeking to amend Section 72 of the Act in the manner and form recommended by the CCJ. In keeping with Government’s policy of consulting with important stakeholders on matters of national importance, the AG, on June 15, transmitted copies of the Bill, along with an invitation for their comments, to the DPP, Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC; Senior Police Legal Advisor Sonia Joseph; President of the Guyana Bar Association, Pauline Chase; and President of the Berbice Bar Association, Horatio Edmonson.

In August 2021, almost three years after the CCJ had struck down Guyana’s colonial-era cross-dressing law, the Government passed a Bill to decriminalise cross-dressing. That Bill removed Section 153 (1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, which had prohibited every person who, “being a man, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in a female attire; or being a woman, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in a male attire.”

Among other things, the CCJ had found that the law was unconstitutionally vague, and contrary to the rule of law in that it violated the rights of equality and non-discrimination guaranteed by the Constitution. (G1)

A

The car which was stolen

lone bandit has been caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) driving away with a $2.7M Toyota Axil motorcar at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

Reports are that the bandit escaped with motorcar HD 3599 at about 03:00h on Wednesday, July 6. The owner of the car, Steve Felix, told Guyana Times that the taxi driver who was robbed was renting the car from him. He said he purchased the car about three months ago.

According to Felix, he was contacted by the taxi driver on Wednesday last and told that on Tuesday evening he had parked the car in his

yard before retiring to bed.

However, at about 03:00h on Wednesday, the bandit broke into his house and stole a number of items, and when escaping, he drove away with the car.

“He said they took money, laptop, tablets, the car keys,

and the car,” Felix detailed.

Felix said a report has been made at La Parfaite Harmonie Police Station and the taxi driver has been arrested. However, he was released from Police custody 72 hours later after CCTV footage from the area was reviewed and showed the lone bandit entering the yard and driving off with the car. “…the man’s face was covered up. He walked to the yard and, sometime later, we saw the car driving out of the yard,” Felix said.

Felix said he was informed by Police officers on Wednesday morning that his car was found on the LindenSoesdyke Highway. He said that based on what he was told by the law enforcement officer, the car was stripped.

“From what he told me, the car was stripped and there are things that are missing from it,” Felix has said.

Police are still investigating. (G9)

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Pensioner dies after falling from 2-storey house

A

pensioner has died after falling from the upper flat of his two-storey home on Tuesday.

Dead is Narain Ramaswami, 71, of Lot 64 Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara. Police have said the man’s body was found at around 14:00h on the day in question.

Investigations revealed that Ramawami had lived alone in the two-storey wooden-and-concrete building in Goed Fortuin, and had been a known alcoholic. He had last been seen by neigh-

bours on Sunday last, and is believed to have fallen through a flooring from the upper flat to the lower flat, where he met his demise.

The man's body was escorted to the West

Demerara Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted shortly.

An investigation has been launched.

NEWS

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Disciplinary action for any Police rank breaching GPF policies – Top Cop warns

W

hile addressing newly-promoted junior ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Tuesday, acting Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken warned that disciplinary action would be taken against any rank found in breach of existing policies.

At the time, Hicken was reminding the ranks of how professionalism is paramount, for the public to have confidence in the Police Force.

“You are ambassadors of the organisation, you are the faces of the organisation, you are the broader side of the pyramid...you are at the operational level of the pyramid and this means that, inevitably, you are interacting with members of the public on a

Some of the newly-promoted junior ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Tuesday (GPF photo)

daily basis, more often than us at the senior level.

“As such, your deliberation with members of the public whom you are employed to

serve and protect will speak volumes of the Guyana Police Force. Your actions will impact the organisation positively or negatively. In this

regard, unethical behaviours will not be condoned,” acting Police Commissioner Hicken said.

Furthermore, he noted,

that senior officers, along with himself, were building bridges at the senior level, making it imperative that continuity reached the level of junior ranks. “...it is very important for you to understand that when reports are made at the stations or outposts, people expect Police to respond. Police should follow up occurrences and give timely feedback to victims/complainants in relation to the status quo of the investigation,” he said.

In addition, he said that the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) would conduct inspections to ensure that there were adequate supervision and command and control at the divisional level, sub-divisional level, and the level of the station sergeant

to enhance performance with a view to meet the demands of the public.

“Crime prevention strategies must be championed at the level of the junior supervisors who are more often than ever in the communities responding to reports or on patrols, hence it is very necessary for interactions, information sharing and other activities that can help to prevent youths from being forced into community or peer pressure to commit breaches of the law,” Hicken posited.

The Top Cop urged the newly-promoted ranks to fan out in the communities and engage in constructive activities, that will target youth development. This posture, he believes, will earn the respect of the public. (G9)

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$25M in street lights for Region Over 150 persons benefit from CIOG medical outreach 3 communities in 210 days

T

housands of residents within six low-income communities in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) are soon to benefit from a street light installation project under the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP).

The communities to benefit are Schoonord; La Parfaite Harmonie; Westminster; Onderneeming, Recht Door Zee, and Lust-en-Rust, the Ministry said in a release on Wednesday.

Scope of works include

the supply and installation of 80-watt stand-alone solar integrated street lights, with the lamp including a solar panel, charge controller, and battery. The contract was awarded to N Balgobin & Sons Contracting Services & Electrical Supplies and has been divided into two lots.

Sixty-two street lights will be installed during Lot One to the tune of $12,671,360.

Meanwhile, Lot Two will see the installation of 60 street lights at a cost of $12,530,000. Pole planting is ongoing, and the

installation of the street lights is slated to commence in the coming days. The project is set to run for a period of 210 days.

AHUAP is executed by the Housing and Water Ministry through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). It is designed to enhance the quality of life for low-income populations through better access to housing, infrastructure, and improved accessibility and mobility.

T

he Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), in collaboration with the Executives and Members of Peters Hall Masjid, held a medical outreach for the general public at the Peters Hall Masjid on Sunday.

The primary purpose of the outreach was to provide medical assistance to the community and surrounding areas in general. The residents were able to have their blood pressure and glucose lev-

els tested while accessing HIV and STD testing, mental health and eye care services, COVID-19 vaccination and booster shots, along with medical advice from general and specialty doctors.

The medical team was able to provide care to more than 150 persons inclusive of children, the elderly, and the differently able.

Along with the medical care provided, the residents present were issued with packages that included basic necessities, inclu-

sive of face masks, clothing, and Pampers (both children and adults), sustenance and over-thecounter and prescription medication.

The outreach was supported by the Guyana Cancer Foundation, Mike’s Pharmacy, National Blood Transfusion Services, the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, GPHC Eye Care Team, and the Regional COVID-19 vaccination team.

NEWS

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Govt committed to ensuring pupils receive highquality secondary education – Education Minister …as over 16,000 students sit NGSA

Ariel McDonald

Jeremiah Daley

Johnte Asana

Kayla Patterson

Kelly Sudasiday

he National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) began Wednesday with more than 16,000 students sitting the examination nationwide.

On Wednesday, the students completed the English and Science sections and today, the examination will conclude with Mathematics and Social Studies.

Speaking with Guyana Times, after day one of the examination, students from various schools across Georgetown related facing challenges and difficulties in the Science section, specifically paper two.

Kayla Paterson of St Angela’s Primary related, “It

was really good, but Science Paper Two was a little bit hard for us today.”

Paterson, who is aiming to become a student of St Joseph Secondary, expressed that science was the only area she may have fallen short in and she would be well prepared for today’s challenges in Mathematics and Social Studies. “…I will be ready…,” she said.

“Science paper two hurt we head. I have to go home tonight (Wednesday night) and study for Social Studies,” Kelly Sudasiday of St Agnes Primary said.

“It was good but it’s was hard, really hard,” Ariel

McDonald of St Gabriel Primary said of the day’s examination.

She said that she would be studying extra for Mathematics.

Meanwhile, other students shared that the exams went smoothly as studies paid off.

“It was good, I think I passed,” Johnte Asana of St Margaret’s Primary said.

“It was easy; I’m prepared for tomorrow, I studied,” Jeremiah Daley of St Agnes Primary said on Wednesday.

The NGSA will conclude today; students are scheduled to sit Mathematics Papers 1 and 2 in the morning and Social Studies

Papers 1 and 2 during the afternoon.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand, during an update on Wednesday, said that she anticipated positive outcomes, given the resources and the many initiatives applied to prepare students for the major examination.

Manickchand visited the Bel Air Primary School, Georgetown ahead of the exams on Wednesday, and extended best wishes to the students there.

“We are very glad to be able to run off these exams, particularly because we made specific efforts to make these children ready,” the Minister is quoted by the Department

of Public Information (DPI) as saying following her interaction with students.

She added, “We are very confident that we are not going to be seeing some of the results that some of our sister Caricom countries have been bawling about recently.”

Like the rest of the world, schools in Guyana were closed for two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While virtual teaching became common during that period, in April this year, schools fully reopened for face-to-face learning.

The closure, Manickchand said, posed a number of challenges in terms of effectively delivering quality and equitable education to the nation’s children, particularly those in far-flung areas.

As a result, the Government implemented some very bold initiatives to ensure students were able to tackle the learning loss resulting from the prolonged school closure. These included the consolidation of the curriculum to enable students to catch up on work they missed out, and facilitate their re-entry into classrooms.

“We prepared work

T

2 unvaccinated men latest COVID-19 deaths

T

wo unvaccinated men who were infected with the novel coronavirus have died, taking the country’s death toll to 1258.

The latest casualties were aged 66 and 73, and both resided in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

Meanwhile, the country has recorded 144 new cases of the virus, taking the total number of cases detected to date to 67,843.

There are 39 persons hospitalised, two of whom are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while 700 persons are isolating at home. In institutional quarantine, there are two individuals. Total recoveries stand at 65,844.

Meanwhile, the rollout of the second doses of COVID-19 vaccines for children aged five to 11 will commence this week, and parents have been urged yet again to get their children vaccinated.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Tuesday had said that 4000 children between the ages of five and 11 have already taken their first doses. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to boost these figures.

Meanwhile, in the 12 to 17 age group, 35,006, or 48.1 per cent, have taken one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of this number, 25,647, or 35.2 per cent, are fully vaccinated.

Adult vaccination is progressing slowly. First doses stand at 442,872, or 86.5 per cent, while second doses are at 343,640 or 67 per cent.

Additionally, 68,984 booster doses were administered.

If anyone is displaying

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD JULY 6, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

144

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

39

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

700

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

2

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

2

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

36,708

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

31,135

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

67,843

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

65,844

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED FULLY IMMUNISED

REGION 1

2600

REGION 2

2962

REGION 3

8464

REGION 4

33,711

REGION 5

2473

REGION 6

6560

REGION 7

2514

REGION 8

886

REGION 9

4081

REGION 10

3592

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask.

443,802 343,575

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020

1258

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

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

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

any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional in-

formation, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline on 231-1166, 226-

7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health. gov.gy.

sheets, we taught on the television channel, we have a video prepared for every single topic. We have an entire website dedicated to quizzes that we prepared that are specific to these topics, and so there is little else that could be done by the Ministry to prepare these children,” the DPI further quoted the Minister as saying.

She said Government was committed to ensuring pupils receive a high-quality secondary education.

“Our commitment to you is that we are working hard to ensure all the schools deliver a very high-quality education, so, if you get Campbellville Secondary, you must be confident that in five years, you will be a student to whom value was significantly added, and who will be productive in society once they leave the school,” she declared.

The Education Minister also thanked teachers and parents for their dedication and hard work in preparing students for the examination.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Monday, Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson had stated that 16,250 Grade Six students were expected to sit the NGSA. Last year, the examination was postponed for nearly five months owing to the peaking of the COVID-19 pandemic and was written in August 2021.

Education Minister Manickchand had explained that the 2022 examination was prepared similarly to the 2021 examination, covering topics up to the Grade Five level based on the consolidated curriculum. (Amar Persaud)

Thursday, July 7, 2022

18

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Brazil hands over “Cocaine Antigua’s ban on same-sex acts ruled unconstitutional King of Milan” to Italy

Rocco Morabito (centre) was on the run for decades in Uruguay and Brazil

O

ne of Italy’s most wanted men, mobster Rocco Morabito, has arrived in Rome after being extradited from Brazil, where he had been in hiding.

Known as the “Cocaine King of Milan”, Morabito was arrested in May last year in a joint operation by Brazilian and Italian Police.

The 55-year-old will serve a 30-year prison sentence for drug trafficking.

The mafia boss spent decades on the run using a fake identity in South America.

Police finally tracked him down last year to João Pessoa, a port city in north-eastern Brazil, where he was arrested along with another member of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia group, Vincenzo Pasquino.

Pasquino has since been sentenced to 17 years in prison for drug trafficking.

The arrival of Rocco

Morabito in Rome ends a decades-long manhunt.

Born in the Calabrian town of Africo and with family ties to mafia boss Giuseppe Morabito, Rocco Morabito became a key figure in the ‘Ndrangheta, the sprawling criminal network which controls much of the cocaine trafficking in Italy and beyond.

As a young man, Morabito soon made a name for himself as a prolific drug trafficker in Milan, establishing key cocaine smuggling routes from South America into the Italian city. Sharply dressed in double-breasted suits he could often be seen mingling with the city’s jet set and soon came to the attention of Italian Police, who put him under surveillance.

He was recorded trying to broker deals to import more than a tonne of cocaine from South America, but disappeared shortly afterwards.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

US investors form venture to pursue oil and gas projects in Venezuela

T

wo US investment funds on Tuesday said they formed a joint venture with a Venezuelan firm to pursue oil and gas exploration and production projects in the USsanctioned South American country.

Gramercy Funds Management and Atmos Global Energy said their joint venture would work with an arm of Inelectra Group, a Caracas-based firm that holds a stake in the Gulf of Paria East oil project off Venezuela’s eastern coast, where it found oil in

2001.

US companies are barred from doing business with Venezuelan State-run oil firm PDVSA, a policy begun in 2018 by the Trump Administration and continued under US President Joe Biden.

The companies did not disclose the size of their investment in the oil venture.

Spokespeople did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Any effort is subject to approvals by the United States and Venezuela, the companies said.

Ali Moshiri, a US executive and former chief of Chevron Corp’s Latin American operations, set up an investment fund in 2019 to pursue energy projects in Venezuela. The partners aim to “contribute to balancing oil supply and demand”, he said in a statement.

The oil effort “will be beneficial to US interests in the region and the US economy by lowering fuel prices for American consumers”, said Matt Maloney, a partner at Connecticut-based emerging market investor Gramercy.

(Reuters)

A

law criminalising same-sex acts between consenting adults in Antigua and Barbuda has been declared unconstitutional.

The country’s high court ruled on Tuesday that the law contravened constitutionally guaranteed rights to liberty, freedom of expression, and protection of personal privacy.

Campaigners say it is a major victory in a country where homophobia is rife.

The case was brought by a gay man in sync with two rights groups.

The two groups, Women Against Rape and the Eastern Caribbean Alliance

for Diversity and Equality (ECADE), have welcomed the ruling against the Sexual Offences Act 1995.

The 1995 Act has its roots in British colonial-era legislation that forbids “buggery” and “indecency” and hopes are now high that the ruling will pave the way for similar moves in neighbouring islands.

“We are very much hoping the Antigua ruling will prompt other legal systems in the Caribbean to review their laws and policies, and how they impact on vulnerable populations,” Women Against Rape President Alexandrina Wong told the BBC.

ECADE says seven Caribbean countries still have versions of statutes that prohibit same-sex intimacy. Although rarely enforced, campaigners say they marginalise LGBTQ people, while tacitly sanctioning violence and discrimination against them.

In Antigua and Barbuda, on paper at least, same-sex acts could incur a 15-year prison sentence, while in Barbados the penalty is cited as life imprisonment.

The group has been fighting to overturn anti-gay legislation in several Caribbean nations.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Jamaica confirms 1st case of monkeypox

J

amaica has confirmed its first case of monkeypox.

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

The patient is a male who recently travelled from the United Kingdom. He presented to the public health system on July 5 having arrived in the island some five days earlier.

The patient has been isolated while having confirmatory tests done and his close contacts quarantined following contact tracing which will continue if necessary.

The confirmation of the case has triggered Jamaica’s emergency protocols in line with international health regulation guidelines, Tufton said.

“Among other things our emergency operation centre has been activated. A review of all isolated facility is to be

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton

done to look at the capacity to manage both monkeypox and COVID-19,” he said.

A surge in monkeypox cases has been reported since early May outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.

To date, more than 5000 monkeypox cases have been reported from 53 countries

worldwide that do not normally report the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms of monkeypox include skin rash, fever, headache, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion, and can last up to two to four weeks. (Jamaica Observer)

Argentina jails ex-military officers Migrant deaths highlight growing for crimes during dictatorship desperation in Guatemala

A

n Argentine judge sentenced 19 former military officers to prison on Wednesday for crimes against humanity committed during the country’s brutal military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s, including for kidnappings of auto plant workers.

The latest trials in Argentina follow last week’s Colombian truth commission report, following that South American country’s decades-long bloody internal conflict, as pent-up demands for justice yield some gains.

The sentences handed down by the federal court in the capital Buenos Aires include convictions for forced disappearances, homicides, torture, as well as the abduction of children, crimes

committed against some 350 victims during the military regime that ruled the country between 1976 and 1983.

The dictatorship left as many as 30,000 disappeared persons, according to human rights groups, although determining precise figures remains a topic of debate.

Former General Santiago Riveros, previously convicted in other trials for human rights violations, was among those sentenced. He was ordered to serve a life term behind bars after being found guilty of more than a hundred crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder, according to Wednesday’s verdict.

Convictions handed down also covered charges that seven workers were

kidnapped at a Mercedes Benz plant in the Buenos Aires suburbs beginning in 1976 by military forces with the backing of company executives.

According to the charges, executives complained to military authorities that the kidnapped employees either belonged to unions or sought to organise workers.

The abducted workers were taken to the infamous Campo de Mayo military compound, a secret facility that functioned like a concentration camp, and six of them officially remain missing though all are presumed dead.

Nearly 6000 detainees likely passed through Campo de Mayo. (Excerpt from Reuters)

S

ilence echoed in the dusty streets of the Indigenous Mayan Kiche community of Tzucubal in Guatemala’s western highlands on a recent afternoon, as a few children rode by on bicycles.

The community was in mourning after two local teenagers who had left for the United States were found dead late last month in an abandoned trailer in Texas. A total of 53 people from Mexico and Central America died after being trapped inside the vehicle in the sweltering summer heat on the outskirts of San Antonio.

This past weekend, neighbours and fami-

ly members gathered in Tzucubal to remember two of the Guatemalan victims: cousins Pascual Melvin Guachiac, 13, and Juan Wilmer Tulul, 14.

Pascual’s childhood home buzzed with activity as his grandmother, Manuela Coj, worked alongside other family and friends to prepare food for people visiting to express their condolences.

“Our family is saddened by the loss,” she told Al Jazeera in her native Kiche language, speaking through a translator. “His dream was to finish his studies there in the United States. He wanted to leave a better future for his family members.”

The young boy had planned to join his father, who had been in the US for a year. But in the wake of the tragedy, his father returned to Guatemala to be with the family.

Down a narrow, unpaved road and along a footpath that passes through a cornfield, sits the home of Pascual’s cousin, Juan.

His father appeared overwhelmed with grief.

“My sister and brotherin-law are in pain; neither can speak,” the victim’s uncle, Manuel Tziac, told Al Jazeera. “My nephew left just weeks ago. There is a dream that ended on the way. He died due to poverty.” (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

19

Around the World

battles to push back Russian OILNEWS OIL NEWS Ukraine advance in northern Donetsk Oil slides 2% to 12-week low on fears of global recession

O

il prices slid about two per cent to a 12-week low in volatile trade on Wednesday, extending the prior session's heavy losses as investors grew more worried energy demand would take a hit in a potential global recession.

Looking ahead, analysts polled by Reuters forecast US crude inventories fell about 1.0 million barrels last week. A drop in crude stockpiles could support prices.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, was scheduled to issue its inventory report at 16:30h.

EDT (2030 GMT) on Wednesday. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports at 11:00h EDT (1500 GMT) today.

Both reports were delayed one day by the US July Fourth holiday.

Brent futures for September delivery fell US$2.08, or 2.0 per cent, to settle at US$100.69 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 97 cents, or 1.0 per cent, to settle at US$98.53.

Both benchmarks closed at their lowest since April 11, in technically oversold territory for a second straight day.

US diesel futures also fell over five per cent.

Trade was volatile, with both crude benchmarks up over US$2 a barrel early on supply concerns and down over US$4 a barrel at session lows. Crude futures have been extremely volatile for months.

On Tuesday, WTI slid eight per cent while Brent tumbled nine per cent, a US$10.73 drop that was the third biggest for the contract since it started trading in 1988. Its biggest drop was US$16.84 in March.

Analysts at investment banks Goldman Sachs and UBS said oil prices dropped due to recession fears.

UBS cited numerous reasons, including "the unwinding of the oil trade as inflation hedge, a stronger US dollar, hedge funds reacting to negative oil price momentum, producer hedging, and new mobility restriction concerns in China".

With the US Federal Reserve expected to keep raising interest rates, open interest in WTI futures fell last week to its lowest since May 2016 as investors cut back on risky assets.

"There are undeniably concerns about recessionary demand destruction, plus, WTI open interest at multi-year lows has created a bit of a liquidity crunch," said Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho.

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the outlook for the global economy had "darkened significantly" since April and she could not rule out a possible global recession next year given the elevated risks.

US job openings fell less than expected in May, pointing to a still-tight labour market that could keep Federal Reserve policy aggressive as it tries to bring high inflation down to its two per cent target.

Oil prices were also slammed by a soaring US dollar In China, the world's biggest oil importer, the market worried that new COVID-19 lockdowns could cut demand.

China's crude oil imports from Russia in May soared 55 per cent from a year earlier to a record level. Russia displaced Saudi Arabia as top supplier, with refiners grabbing discounted supplies as Western countries sanctioned Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Further pressuring oil prices, Equinor ASA said all oil and gas fields affected by a strike in Norway's petroleum sector were expected to be back in full operation within a couple of days. (Reuters)

U

kraine has so far staved off any major Russian advance into the north of its Donetsk region, but pressure is intensifying with heavy shelling on the city of Sloviansk and nearby populated areas, the Ukrainian military said on Wednesday.

Russia and separatist proxies were already in control of the southern part of Donetsk province when they effectively completed the seizure of the neighbouring Luhansk region on Sunday with the capture of the city of Lysychansk, much of which now lies in ruins.

Moscow says ejecting the Ukrainian military out of both regions is central to what it calls its "special military operation" to ensure its own security, a more than four-month-

Smoke rises after shelling during Ukraine-Russia conflict in Donetsk, Ukraine, July 6, 2022 (Reuters/Alexander Ermochenko)

long offensive that the West calls an unprovoked war.

Donetsk and Luhansk provinces comprise the Donbas, the eastern, heavily industrial region of Ukraine that has become Europe's biggest battlefield for generations and over which Russia wants to wrest control for separatists it supports.

US tightens sanctions on Iran; targets Chinese, Emirati firms over oil

T

he United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a network of Chinese, Emirati and other companies that it accused of helping to deliver and sell Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products to East Asia, pressuring Tehran as it seeks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement the network of people and entities used a web of Gulf-based front companies to facilitate the delivery and sale of hundreds of millions of dollars in products from Iranian firms to China and elsewhere in East Asia.

Washington has increas-

M

have escaped during prison breaks in Nigeria since 2020.

Loud explosions and gunfire were heard near the Kuje medium-security prison, just outside the capital, on Tuesday night when the attack happened.

"We heard shooting on my street. We thought it was armed robbers," a local resident told AFP news agency. "The first explosion came after the shooting.

Then a second one sounded and then a third."

ingly targeted Chinese companies over the export of Iran's petrochemicals as the prospects of reviving the nuclear pact have dimmed.

In Doha last week, indirect talks between Tehran and Washington ended without a breakthrough over how to salvage the deal, under which Iran had

reined in its atomic programme.

Then US President Donald Trump abandoned the pact in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, spurring Iran – which says its programme is for peaceful purposes – to begin violating the deal's atomic limits.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

UK PM Boris Johnson “up for a fight” as clamour to quit grows

B

ritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied pressure to quit on Wednesday from senior ministers and a mounting rebellion within his ruling Conservative Party, saying he will fight off any attempts to oust him over a series of scandals.

After more than 40 resignations from within the Government and with many Conservative lawmakers in

open revolt, some Cabinet Ministers went to Downing Street to tell Johnson he needed to go, a source said.

One encouraged him to make a dignified exit by setting his own timetable rather than face a confidence vote.

Many lawmakers said it was now a question of when, not if, he has to go.

On Wednesday night, the Attorney General for England and Wales, Suella

Nigeria Kuje prison break: More than 400 missing from Abuja jail ore than 400 prisoners are missing following a raid on a prison in Nigeria's capital Abuja, officials say.

Four inmates, a security guard and several attackers were killed after the prison was targeted on Tuesday night, according to officials.

Islamic militants are suspected of carrying out the attack, and dozens of jihadists are thought to be on the run.

More than 5000 inmates

Meanwhile, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday its armed forces had destroyed two advanced US-made HIMARS rocket systems and their ammunition depots in eastern Ukraine, an assertion later rejected by Kyiv.

Moscow said it had destroyed two launchers for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems

(HIMARS) that the United States and its allies have been supplying to Kyiv.

It also said Russian forces destroyed two ammunition depots storing rockets for the HIMARS near the frontline in a village south of Kramatorsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region – the main focus for Russian troops after the capture of Luhansk on Sunday.

The Ministry released video footage which it said showed the strike. Reuters could not independently verify the strike.

Ukraine's general staff rejected Russia's account later on Wednesday. In a post on Twitter, it said the claims were "fake" and that it was using the US-supplied HIMARS to inflict "devastating blows" on Russian forces.

(Excerpts from Reuters)

As well as the four inmates killed, 16 others were also injured during the attack, Nigeria's correctional service said.

A number of high-profile detainees, including suspected militants and jailed politicians, were in the facility at the time of the attack. But the correctional service said jailed senior officials were not among those who had escaped.

Almost 1000 inmates were in the facility when the attack took place, ac-

cording to officials. Almost all of them initially escaped, but 443 have since been recaptured.

Defence Minister Bashir Magashi told reporters the attack had "mostly likely" been carried out by militant group Boko Haram and that 64 jailed jihadists had escaped from the prison.

"None of them are inside the prison, they have all escaped," he said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the weekly question time debate, in Parliament in London, Britain, July 6, 2022 in this screen grab taken from video (Reuters TV via Reuters)

Braverman, called on Johnson to resign and became the first cabinet minister to say they would run to replace him in any Conservative Party leadership contest.

"I do think the time has come for the Prime Minister to step down," Braverman said on ITV. She said she did not want to resign from her post. "If there is a leadership contest I will put my name into the ring."

Dozens have publicly criticised Johnson's integrity after he was forced to apologise

for appointing a lawmaker to a role involved in pastoral care, and had not recalled being briefed that the Minister had been the subject of complaints about sexual misconduct.

It is the latest crisis to hit his administration after months of scandals and missteps, including a damning report into parties at his Downing Street residence and office that broke strict COVID-19 lockdown rules and saw him fined by Police.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

20

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

(March 21-April 19)

Opposition will sprout if you don't keep your thoughts secret. Bide your time, rethink your strategy and build a solid argument with reasonable suggestions to satisfy challenging opponents.

Use your energy wisely. Arguing will eat into your time and set you back. Work under the radar, and finish what you start. Indulgence will leave you with a lack of resources.

DILBERT

(April 20-May 20) You've got the drive to turn your ideas into something concrete. A physical effort to follow through with your plans will make you feel good about yourself and what you have achieved.

(May 21-June 20)

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

You'll have a short fuse. Before letting someone aggravate you, think about what's transpired. Adjust your attitude to avoid getting into an unnecessary argument that could lead to emotional turmoil.

Spread joy, be generous and make a difference, but don't go hog-wild. Offer reasonable suggestions, pitch in and lend a helping hand. What you do will count for more than what you say.

(July 23-Aug. 22) Change your routine, let your intuition guide you and your imagination lead you on an adventure. Embrace what life offers and let the experiences that follow usher in personal growth.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22) A steady pace will get you where you want to go. Refuse to let emotional misunderstandings lead to regret.

Listen, ask questions and confirm facts before passing along information.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

Change the way you live. Discuss your intentions with someone who can offer insight. Let your imagination take you on a journey that helps you discover what you want to do next.

Follow your heart.

Stick to the truth, and question anything that sounds absurd. Show how dedicated you are by nurturing meaningful partnerships. Focus on improving your lifestyle and cutting costs.

Don't strain your relationships.

Take your time, listen carefully and offer only positive advice. Getting along with those closest to you will encourage compromise and peace.

YESTERDAY'S WORD

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Push yourself as hard as possible; leave nothing to chance or unfinished.

Don't be railroaded into someone's dream when you have plans of your own. Self-improvement will pay off.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Don't argue. Give others the same freedom that you wish for, and do your best to keep the peace. Channel your energy into better handling your money and tidying up loose ends.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

21

WI “A” to face Bangladesh “A” in four-day Tests, 50-Over matches S

T JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) today announced the match schedule for the West Indies Men’s “A” Team series against Bangladesh Men’s “A” Team in August.

The series will be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia, and will feature two four-day first-class matches and three 50-over matches from August 4 to 20.

This will be the first West Indies Men’s “A” Team series since 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic restricted opportunities, and the resumption of West Indies Men’s “A” team matches sees the return of a key development opportunity for players pushing for selection to the West Indies senior team and for emerging players to build their first-class

The West Indies “A” team during their warm up game with the Bangladesh senior team

international experience.

Roland Holder, CWI Senior Operations Manager, has said the series would provide exposure for a number of

players, and noted it is part of the CWI commitment to continually develop talent for the international level.

Holder has said: “We are

pleased to have confirmed the itinerary for the Men’s “A” Team series with the BCB, and we are excited to host Bangladesh in the region again. This is a vital part of the development of our

players in the pathway toward full international selection, and no doubt this upcoming series of matches in Saint Lucia will provide a platform for further exposure and progress.”

He added that CWI and BCB are in the planning stages of a reciprocal tour by West Indies “A” to Bangladesh in 2023.

BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury has said the “A” Series provides an excellent opportunity for players of both teams to prepare for international commitments.

“The international schedule is getting busier by the season, and therefore it is very important for the cricketers to keep themselves ready through good, competitive cricket. We thank CWI for accommodating the “A” tour. The four-day Tests and the One-Day matches will be invaluable experience for the players,” he noted.

“The BCB and CWI share a warm, longstanding relationship, and have worked tirelessly to make this tour happen. I hope we will see more reciprocal programmes between the two boards in the future,” he said.

MATCH SCHEDULE At Daren Sammy Cricket Ground 4-7 August: 1st Four-Day Test – local start time 10am (9am Jamaica) 10-13 August: 2nd FourDay Test – local start time 10am (9am Jamaica) 16 August: 1st 50-Over match – local start time 9:30am (8:30am Jamaica) 18 August: 2nd 50-Over match – local start time 9:30am (8:30am Jamaica) 20 August: 3rd 50-Over match – local start time 9:30am (8:30am Jamaica)

International Football…

“WE ARE ROBBING OURSELVES AND THE SPORT OF ITS GREATNESS” Manchester City’s Raheem

-Michael Johnson says Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah don’t get enough credit

F

ormer Olympic champion Michael Johnson, who won two gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Games, believes that Jamaican sprinting icons Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah are underappreciated.

In an interview with Athletics Weekly, the former 200m and 400m World record holder offered an interesting new lens to look at the sport, saying we should focus on head-to-head duels, rather than fixating on times.

Johnson has said that nowadays track and field is too focused on the times, and not focused enough on the rivalry and the storytelling behind the scenes as well; and the women’s 100m rivalry between ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah is a perfect opportunity to showcase that.

“Yeah, I mean, I would say that it’s a perfect example of the problem, because I don’t think that Shelly-Ann FraserPryce or Elaine ThompsonHerah get enough credit for what they’ve done in the sport, because we’re so focused on times,” said Johnson. “So, you know, right now I can see that, you know, what’s going to happen most likely with Elaine is there’s going to continue for the remainder of her career, unless she breaks the world record in the 100m. A focus now on whether she breaks the world record or not, and if

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah

she doesn’t, you know, there’s a danger that people will be disappointed,” he said.

The 29-year-old ThompsonHerah is a five-time Olympic champion and the 100m and 200m title holder from both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. At 35, Fraser-Pryce has three Olympic gold medals – eight medals in total – including the gold-standard 100m crown won at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012. She is also a nine-time World champion and the reigning World gold medallist at 100m.

“I mean, then the fact that you have at the same time these two women from this very small island who go headto-head, you know, at these championships; and they, between the two of them, they’ve won the gold medals in the 100m over the last four Olympic Games,” said Johnson.

The current 100m world record has stood since 1988.

Florence Griffith-Joyner, also known as Flo-Jo, became the

only woman ever to break the 10.5-second barrier with a run of 10.49 at the US Olympic trials in 1988. Since then, many have deemed the mark impossible to beat – not least because of controversy regarding possible wind assistance at those trials.

Johnson feels that instead of focusing on the world record, we should be focused more on these athletes and their ability to deliver when it counts at championships.

“You know, that’s incredible, and I think that should be celebrated. And I think if we were focused more on these athletes and their ability to deliver when it counts at championships and win the head-to-head battle, as opposed to, well, this time and what was the wind and, you know, is it a national record, and how close is it to the world record and all of those things, I think we are robbing ourselves and the sport of its greatness,” he said.

(Sportsmax)

Sterling agrees to join Chelsea

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anchester City forward Raheem Sterling has agreed personal terms with Chelsea.

The 27-year-old has one year left on his contract at City, and had attracted interest from major clubs overseas.

City signed Sterling from Liverpool in a £49m deal in 2015, and he went on to score 131 goals in 339 games.

Should the deal be completed, Sterling - who has 77 England caps - will become Chelsea’s first major signing since they were taken over by a consortium led by Todd Boehly this summer.

It is expected that the deal would be done in time for Sterling to link up with the Chelsea squad before they leave for their pre-season tour to the United States next week.

BBC Sport understands all parties have been amicable in these decisions, but Sterling wanted a fresh challenge and was impressed by Blues manager Thomas Tuchel’s vision and the role outlined to him.

Other major clubs, including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, were interested in Sterling, but the player was swayed by Chelsea’s publicly and privately stated desire to sign him.

City wanted Sterling to stay, and he has no ill feeling towards the club or manager Pep Guardiola. However, he views this as the most important

Raheem Sterling has scored 120 goals for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. Only Sergio Aguero (124) has managed more for the club since the manager’s arrival in 2016

contract of his career, and wants to play a pivotal role at a club challenging for all the major honours.

Sterling still has team and professional targets he wants to fulfil, including winning the Ballon D’Or. Apart from Manchester United players, only John Terry and former City team-mate Fernandinho have won more than his four Premier League titles. However, he is still to win a Champions League.

Sterling instigated the conversation about his future with City, and it is understood he appreciates the space he has been given to make his decision.

Sterling boosts Chelsea’s attacking options. Tuchel was looking to boost his attacking ranks after Romelu Lukaku rejoined Inter Milan on a season-long loan.

The Belgium striker was the Blues’ top scorer last season with 15 goals in all competitions, narrowly ahead

of Kai Havertz (14) and Mason Mount (13).

Since Guardiola became manager in 2016, only Sergio Aguero (124) has scored more goals for City than Sterling (120). Sterling scored 13 goals in 30 Premier League appearances last season, as he won his fourth league title, his ninth major honour in seven seasons with City.

But his opportunities were restricted by last summer’s signing of Jack Grealish, while forwards Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez have arrived at Etihad Stadium this summer.

Sterling was on the bench for both legs of the Champions League semi-final defeat by Real Madrid, and the epic final game of the season against Aston Villa. However, he did spark that memorable lastday comeback by setting up Ilkay Gundogan’s crucial first goal as City came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and pip Liverpool to the league title.

(BBC Sport)

22 West Indies looking to dominate Bangladesh at Providence today CLASSIFIED THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

By Brandon Corlette

T

he fans and players will be hoping that rain stays away from the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, EBD because the West Indies and Bangladesh will today be locking horns in the third and final T20I from 13:30h Eastern Caribbean time, and Nicholas Pooran and his troops would want to ensure that Bangladesh stay winless in a T20I match on Caribbean soil.

Rain had washed out the first T20I, which was to be played in Dominica, but West Indies rallied to a victory in the second T20I on Sunday last.

Speaking to the media on the eve of the match, Pooran has said the men in maroon will be looking to ‘close out’ the series. "When we come to Guyana, we feel like we are in a good place. Looking forward to the game, hopefully we get good weather," Pooran has said.

From a team perspective, Pooran has said he has been impressed with some young players putting up their hands for selection for the T20 World Cup later in the year. The former Guyana Amazon Warriors captain

Bangladesh players warming up with a game of football (Brandon Corlette photos)

has said a series win against Bangladesh would give West Indies confidence in this hot summer of cricket with India and New Zealand, who are set to tour the Caribbean next.

Reflecting on the two matches, Pooran said, he has been impressed with Hayden Walsh Jr, who came up trumps and showed some consistency. Pooran has also been impressed with the returning Obed McCoy. "It was nice to see Hayden's contribution, Obed coming back into the team and giving us that impression, and we are looking forward to see him have a good summer. With the bat, Brandon King has been impressive, but I do not want to single out

anyone, but we are doing well collectively,” he has said.

“T20 cricket is an inconsistent brand of cricket, and it is difficult for guys to perform day in day out, but it is good to see guys contributing," Pooran has said.

The left-hander has said he is feeling ‘well’ with the bat, and he did his job in the second T20I in Dominica, but he would have wanted to score more runs.

Pooran also shared his sentiments on Keemo Paul, whom he has described as a player with a lot of potential and talent, but one who needs to be managed and monitored. "His skills (are) exceptional, I think he will be a star for us, but we need to manage

him," Pooran explained.

Another son of the soil, Romario Shepherd, has also bowled well in this series, and would want to extend his consistency.

Due to the rain on Wednesday morning, the players had a shortened practice session, whereas, in the afternoon, Bangladesh had a bit more of an

extended session.

After a win on Sunday last, West Indies may play an unchanged team, while Bangladesh will be hoping to gain momentum heading into the ODI series. Shakib Al Hassan, who has shown form in the Test series and in both T20Is, will be the key man for Bangladesh. <West Indies (probable XI):> 1 Kyle Mayers, 2 Brandon King, 3 Shamarh Brooks, 4 Nicholas Pooran (capt & wk), 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Odean Smith, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Obed McCoy, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Hayden Walsh Jnr. Bangladesh (probable XI): 1 Litton Das, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mahmudullah (capt), 5 Afif Hossain, 6 Nurul Hasan (wk), 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.

McGill Superstars commence tour of Barbados with one victory, one loss

Rupununi FA male and female senior leagues 2022…

Paiwomak and FC Basin male teams into North Rupununi quarterfinals …Titans male and female teams edge closer

Titans United FC male and female goal-scorers

P

aiwomak FC and FC Basin male teams are safely into the quarterfinals of the 2022 Rupununi Football Association (RFA) senior league, as action in the penultimate round of the North Rupununi leg continued on Saturday last at the Annai Sports Ground.

At the end of four rounds, Paiwomak head the standings in Group A with 10 points despite a 0-0 draw against a determined Challengers outfit. In a fast-paced game with few clear chances, Challengers and Paiwomak battled valiantly for 90 minutes, and a draw was quite likely a fair result for both teams.

Challengers will now come up against Surama in the final match of Group A, which will be played this Saturday. Either team still have a chance of qualification with a victory.

In the females’ encounter, defending champions Paiwomak limped to another draw against a youthful Challengers team.

The 0-0 result means that with three draws and a win from four games, Paiwomak have only six points, and can be overtaken if Challengers, with five points, win their game in hand on Saturday against Surama.

In Group B, FC Basin males and Strikers FC females are comfortably into the quarterfinals. Falcon males must win or draw their last match against FC Basin on Sunday to go through to the North Rupununi

playoffs. A defeat for the Falcons would mean that Strikers go through on goal difference.

In East Central, Group A Galaxy Warriors female team lost by a 1-4 margin to Flash FC, which have now moved to the top of the points’ standings with 11.

Juliet Roberts opened the scoring for Flash FC in the 30th minute, and strikes from Odessa Dorrick in the 37th minute, Merriza Augustine in the 59th minute, and Shonnate Thomas in the 62nd minute saw Flash winning comfortably.

Latoya Dorrick scored a consolation goal for Galaxy Warriors in the 43rd minute.

In the male game, Galaxy United and Flash FC battled to a 3-3 stalemate. Felix John netted all three goals (30th, 35th, 89th) for Galaxy Warriors, but goals from Leyland Roberts in the 13th minute, and a double from Kim Dorrick (35th, 70th) ensured that the points were shared.

At the Far East Ground in Central Rupununi, Tabatinga’s male team recorded a 5-0 win over Far East United to move to 19 points and remain in the second position on the points table. Emerick Williams (2nd, 75th) and Carlos Isaacs (10th, 38th) got on to the score sheet with a brace each, while Ricardo Martin rounded off the scoring in the 89th minute.

Over at Gladiators Ground, Shenika Xavier opened the

scoring for Snatchers FC in the 15th minute in their female match, but Eleni Araujo equalised for Gladiators FC in the 55th minute, and the match ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

Gladiators FC have moved to the top of the female points standings with 17, but can be overtaken by Guyana Rush Saints who have a game in hand and are on 16 points.

In the male match, an Orlando Francis strike in the 42nd minute, followed by an Antonio Dutra strike in the 80th minute, was enough for Gladiators FC to take care of business against Snatchers FC by a 2-0 margin, to hold down the third position with 15 points.

At Aishalton Ground in Deep South Rupununi, Titans United male and female teams comfortably defeated Potarinau Sky Kings female team 3-1 and Shirriri FC male team 6-1 in the first leg of the South Central/ Deep South Rupununi playoffs.

Pauline Ambrose of Potarinau Sky Kings opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, but a strong second half by the home team saw Faustina Ernest with a goal in the 56th minute, Melessa McCracken doing likewise in the 71st minute, and Vanytta DaSilva following suit in the 79th minute, complete what was eventually a comfortable victory for Titans.

In the male match, Ben Realine netted a helmet-trick for Titans United with goals in the 5th, 19th, 32nd and 49th minutes, while Raphael James netted a double through strikes in the 43rd and 64th minutes. Simon Peter netted the consolation goal for Shirriri FC in the 68th minute.

Shirriri and Potarinau Sky Kings FC now have substantial deficits to overturn if they would have any hope of qualifying for the quarterfinals when the return legs are played on July 16th, next.

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cGill Superstars Sports Club have commenced their tour of Barbados with a win and a loss in the first two games played. The local contingent lost their first game, against Wanderers Cricket Club, by 37 runs, but bounced by to win their second game, against the Barbados Defence Force, by 13 runs.

In the first game, a T20 encounter, McGill took on Wanderers Cricket Club at the Wanderers CC Ground on Monday. Wanderers took to the field aiming to set a huge total, since they had the home advantage; but the Guyanese side showed great fight and restricted them to 102-8 in their allotted 20 overs.

Ronico Ross top scored for Wanderers with 20, but no other player could pass the twentyrun mark. The McGill bowlers were impressive on foreign territory, bowling a tight line and length to give a good account of themselves. Daniel Basdeo took 2-20, Keshram Seyhodan took 2-22, Ganesh Puran took 2-20 and Narendra Persaud took 1-10.

Needing only 103 for victory off 120 balls, McGill lost it all and found themselves at 28-6 inside of ten overs. The turf was difficult to read, and the Wanderers bowlers used their home advantage well.

In the end, they bowled out McGill for 65 runs made in 16.2 overs.

Leading the charge for Wanderers were Jazz Griffith with 3-12, Kymani Richardson with 3-5, Javon Richards with 2-10, and Samuel Quallis with 1-12.

McGill’s second game was a 40-over matchup against the Barbados Defence Force, played at the Police SC Ground on Tuesday.

Batting first, McGill mustered 122 in 31.5 overs, with Travis Persaud contributing a resilient 43.

After Persaud was dismissed, no other batsman contributed anything of substance, and the

Defence Force made inroads that gave themselves an excellent shot at 123 for victory. Their main bowlers were Dario Burnham with 4-6 and Waldron Bowl with 3-13, while Shaquille Carrington, Andrew Bledman and Dario Belle each bagged a wicket.

At their turn at the crease, BDF were given the shock of their lives when the Guyanese side clamped down on them, ceasing the flow of runs. Their first four batsmen were dismissed with ease, but the partnership of Jamar Gittens (41) and Wayne Pierce (27) frustrated McGill. However, excellent bowling figures from Ganesh Puran, whose 4-22, when added to Travis Persaud’s 3-24 and Keshram Seyhodan’s 2-49, was enough to restrict the BDF to 109 all out.

McGill batsman Travis Persaud said after the games, “Well, firstly, over here is very different from back home. We played our first game at Wanderers and we lost due to the fact that we didn’t get much pitch practice at home, due to the inclement weather.

We bowled well, having limited Wanderers to 102 in 20 overs, but we found it difficult to bat on the surface, (which) offers a lot of pace and bounce. Especially the spinners, since they extract a lot of bounce from the surfaces here.

“Against Barbados Defence Force we redeemed ourselves.

We went back to the drawing board and corrected our mistakes, so that we won’t suffer another loss. Some of the guys are still trying to adapt to the conditions over here, and are finding in difficult. I’m using my experience to try to overcome the conditions, having played regional cricket on similar pitches around the Caribbean.

“I think, all in all so far, we have been playing good cricket, and we just need to correct a few things and we should be able to win the remaining games.”

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THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

Tahir, Shamsi headline GAW International players

…Tallawahs, Royals, Kings announce int’l players

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he stage is now set for the hosting of the Hero Caribbean Premier League’s 2022 Player Draft tomorrow, as the remaining teams have announced their international signings for this season.

Guyana Amazon Warriors Closer to home, the Guyana

Amazon Warriors announced on Wednesday morning their overseas signings for the 2022 season, which gets underway on 31 August.

The running man Imran Tahir will be back with the Amazon Warriors for the fifth consecutive season. Tahir is the record wicket-taker for the franchise with 60 wickets from

43 matches.

Tahir will be joined by fellow South African wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who has had Hero CPL experience with the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots from 2015 to 2018. Shamsi, the number one ranked bowler in T20 Internationals, has 33 wickets at the CPL. The Amazon Warriors’

EBFA Senior League…

Agricola, Timehri, Swan register commanding victories

T

he East Bank Football Association (EBFA) have witnessed a scintillating line-up of games over the weekend, as their Senior Men’s League continued at the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF’s) National Training Centre at Providence, EBD. In a line-up that intensified prevailing rivalries, Timehri Panthers trounced St. Cuthbert’s Jaguars 8-2 on the back of a Tyrone Burnette hat-trick; Swan Football Club stunned Friendship All-Stars 6-4, while Agricola Red Triangle brushed aside Diamond United 8-0.

Contesting the feature match on Sunday, Timehri Panthers paced themselves well to defeat St Cuthbert’s Jaguars and take full points, despite their opponents showing some early signs of a fight. Burnette opened the scoring in just the 5th minute, but St. Cuthbert’s Jaguars fired back with a goal of their own, to draw even in the 18th minute through Shawn Paul.

Orin Solomon then tucked Group A Team Agricola Red Triangle Grove Hi-Tech Herstelling Raiders Diamond United Samatta Point Kaneville Mocha Champs Group B Timehri Panthers Soesdyke Falcons Swan FC Kuru Kururu Warriors Friendship All-Stars St Cuthbert’s Jaguars

in a double in the 23rd and 26th minutes to restore the ascendancy to Timehri, and St. Cuthbert’s Jaguars then reduced the deficit in the 35th minute when Ravon Andrews scored.

That was the last goal for St. Cuthbert’s, as the reigning league champions on the East Bank wrested total control.

Shawn Steele scored in the 39th minute to restore the two-goal cushion for Timehri.

Burnette was again on target in the 46th and 71st minutes to complete his hat-trick. Jarel Walcott (60th) and Antwone Denny completed the job for Timehri Panthers two minutes later.

In Sunday’s main supporting game, Swan Football Club notched their second victory when they stormed to an exciting 6-4 win over Friendship All-Stars. Leading the way was 14-year-old Anderson Webber, who enjoyed a good day at the office with five goals, also known as a glut.

He rocked the nets in the 21st, 49th, 65th, 68th, and

74th minutes, after teammate David Lonke opened the scoring in the 10th minute.

Friendship All-Stars got their goals from Jamal Scott with a hat-trick in the 13th, 26th, and 29th minutes, while Shamar Montooth converted in the 16th minute.

Meanwhile, in the lone encounter on Saturday at the same venue, Agricola Red Triangle made light work of Diamond United, another young team in the tournament, whom they humiliated 8-0.

Teenager Eon Daniels led the way with a hat-trick, which came in the 66th, 72nd, and 73rd minutes, while elder statesman Kacy John supported well with a brace in the 69th and 78th minutes.

Inking their names on the score sheet were Linden Pickett (16th), Jadon Paul (37th), and Brian Price (76th), as Agricola maintained their unbeaten run thus far with their third win in as many matches. The top two teams from each group would advance to the semi-finals following group play.

Latest Points Table P 3 4 4 3 3 3

W 3 3 2 1 1 0

L 0 1 2 2 2 3

GF 17 19 12 5 3 1

GA 0 4 7 12 22 12

GD 17 15 5 -7 -19 -11

Points 9 9 6 3 3 0

4 3 3 3 3 4

3 3 2 1 1 0

1 0 1 2 2 4

26 16 9 9 9 5

5 2 10 11 20 24

21 14 -1 -2 -11 -19

9 9 6 3 3 0

batting has been bolstered with the addition of South Africans Colin Ingram and Heinrich Klaasen and Ireland international Paul Stirling.

The Amazon Warriors will have six more spots to fill at the Hero CPL Draft.

Jamaica Tallawahs Left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir will be joining the Jamaica Tallawahs for the first time, having represented the Barbados Royals last season, when he claimed 11 wickets at an average of 13.54.

The other four overseas players have all had experience with the Tallawahs in the past.

Nepalese leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was with the franchise in 2020, when he took 12 wickets and went at an economy rate of just 5.27 runs an over.

Imad Wasim, Chris Green and Miguel Pretorius were all with the Tallawahs in 2021, and will return this season as overseas signings.

While the Jamaica Tallawahs have seven more spots to fill, the Barbados Royals have 5 more spots, after locking in 5 international players.

Barbados Royals Quinton de Kock, who will appear at Hero CPL for the first time, is bringing with him a huge amount of experience. De Kock has played more than 250 T20 matches for South Africa and franchises around the world.

He will be joined by fellow South African David Miller, who will be playing for his third Hero CPL team, having previously appeared for the Jamaican and Saint Lucian franchises. Miller has more than 8,000 T20 runs at a strike rate of 138.

Pakistani batter Azam Khan is returning to the Royals for a second successive season, having made his Hero CPL debut in 2021.

Afghan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman will be with the Royals in 2022, having previously played for the Jamaica Tallawahs. Mujeeb has raced to almost 200 T20

wickets, and has become a sought-after bowler around the world.

The final overseas spot will be filled by South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch, who recently joined the Rajasthan Royals at the India Premier League.

Expressing his thoughts on the team’s overseas signings, Head Coach Trevor Penney has said: “We are delighted to have signed some of the best overseas players of the T20 format, who we feel will complement our retentions perfectly.

Quinton is a proven match winner who has delivered for both his country and all the franchises he’s played for around the world, and we are delighted that he’s chosen the Royals as the team to start his CPL journey at.

“On the other hand, having worked closely with David Miller and Corbin Bosch at the Rajasthan Royals, we know exactly what they bring to the table, and at the same time, they also understand the philosophy of the Royals perfectly.

“We are also happy to have the energy and excitement that Azam Khan can bring to the group, having seen him perform for us last season, while Mujeeb ur Rahman is a world-class spinner who has made his name plying his trade in T20s globally, and is a quality and

potentially effective addition to our spin department.

“From my perspective, these signings are an indication of the kind of cricket we want to play here at Barbados, and I’m confident, going into the drafts, that we’re building a talented and dynamic squad to vie for the title this season,” added the 54-year-old Penney.

St Lucia Kings St Lucia Kings have opted for another year with some familiar faces.

Faf du Plessis, who captained the Kings to a second successive Hero CPL final in 2021, will return for this season. He will be joined by Tim David and David Wiese, who were both instrumental in the Kings’ success during the 2021 season.

This season will also see the return of Scott Kuggeleijn, who played for the Kings in 2020 and finished as the tournament’s leading wicket taker that season. The Kings have one more overseas spot left to fill, and this will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Kings will have six more spots to fill at the Hero CPL Draft, with details of these picks released during the draft show which will be broadcast this (today) Thursday 7 July – at 9am Eastern Caribbean Time.

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022

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

Pg 23

South African Imran Tahir, Guyana Amazon Warriors’ highest wicket-taker, will return for another season with the local franchise in the Hero CPL

Tahir, Shamsi headline GAW International players …Tallawahs, Royals, Kings announce int’l players

EBFA Senior League…

Agricola, Timehri, Swan register commanding victories

Pg 23 Swan FC goalscorers, Anderson Webber (left) and David Lonke

West Indies looking to dominate Bangladesh at Providence today Pg 22

Keemo Paul and Obed McCoy

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