Guyana Times - Wednesday , May 15, 2024.pdf

from Guyana

…restricts sale of water shipped by Guyanese company …DDL calls on Govt to review trade policies with T&T

High Court throws out BK's challenge of quarry licences granted to Nazar Mohamed

Prisoner escapes from Lusignan Prison

Over 3000 migrant children enrolled in Guyana’s school system

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, May 15 – no retraction and Thursday, May 16 –00:00h-01:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, May 15 –09:20h-10:50h and Thursday, May 16 – 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. Thundery to light rain showers are expected at night. Temperatures should range between 24 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 09:48h and 22:45h reaching maximum heights of 2.09 metres and 2.03 metres.

Low Tide: 16:04h reaching a minimum height of 1.11 metres.

T&T blocks imports of $20M in packaged milk from Guyana

…restricts sale of water shipped by Guyanese company …as DDL calls on Govt to review trade policies with T&T

espite efforts by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to increase trade and the movement of goods within the region, a Guyanese company has once again had its exports blocked by a sister Caribbean country, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).

At an emergency press conference called on Tuesday, Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) Chairman Komal Samaroo revealed that four 20 ft shipping containers of packaged milk and bottled water were recently blocked by Trinidadian authorities from entry into that country. The milk, according to him, was worth approximately US$100,000 (Gyd$20 million).

“This development is

formed them that blocking the imports of the milk was based on Trinidad’s Animal Disease and Importation Act 2020. However, Samaroo described this process as “onerous and stringent.”

“DDL finds these requirements contrary to the spirit of intra-regional trade, especially since we are reliably informed that Guyana has no such reciprocal requirements for the importation of similar products from Trinidad and Tobago.”

“DDL therefore requests that the government of Guyana take note of these developments and seek to ensure that there is balance and equity in our trade relations with Trinidad and Tobago,” Samaroo further said.

Samaroo noted that

of grave concern to DDL, since it inhibits its ongoing efforts to meaningfully contribute to the food security efforts of the CARICOM region. DDL exported to Trinidad and Tobago during the month of March, four 20ft shipping containers of these products based on an evaluation of the Trinidad market by a Trinidadian business enterprise, which determined a desire for these products by the Trinidadian consumers,” Samaroo said.

“Regrettably, the two containers of packaged milk were denied entry and returned to Guyana, while the bottled water products have been restricted from sale pending the completion of an unconventionally exhaustive examination of these bottled water products,” Samaroo explained to the media.

He further related that on May 13, DDL had engaged with a team from the Trinidadian Ministry of Trade, where the topic of the rejected milk exports was discussed. According to Samaroo, the officials in -

these products have been exported to other Caricom territories with no such problems. As such, this is the first time they’ve encountered non-tariff trade barriers during their exports of their diversified line of products.

The executive also confirmed that Caricom Chairman, President Dr Irfaan Ali, was briefed on the situation. According to him, President Ali was “very shocked” and he added that he was confident the President would take action. He also assured that they would be pursuing every avenue to ensure redress is received, even hinting at the possibility of approaching the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

“We believe we will be having discussions with the government. And we believe this matter requires Caricom attention. You cannot be promoting trade on an uneven playing field, where you have ready access but nobody has access to your market. That cannot work,” Samaroo said.

Samaroo noted that they worked alongside an established importing company in Trinidad before exporting that had assured them that they satisfied all the restrictions. In fact, Samaroo revealed that these products are Food and Drug Agency (FDA) certified.

It would not be the first time Guyana has experienced hurdles exporting products to Trinidad. Years of battling with hinderances to the transshipment of certain products, such as honey, into Trinidad and Tobago, resulted in reports last year that legislation was before the Parliament of the twin-island Republic to resolve the decade-old issue.

Trade barriers by T&T

The Guyanese private sector has for years been lamenting about the various trade barriers in place by Trinidad, which serves to block Guyanese exports to that market, and which are not being adequately addressed by the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom’s) Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

In 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, with the two countries agreeing to work with each other in eradicating trade non-tariff barriers,

as well as in the areas of infrastructure development and transportation.

Among the resolutions contained in the MoU, was for the two parties to work assiduously on the removal of barriers to the trade of agricultural products throughout the Region. This includes phytosanitary standards. According to the MoU, “the parties agree to work with each other in the areas of trade and investment, agriculture and food security, security, energy, and infrastructure, and other areas as may be determined, with the aim of developing a strategic co-operation partner for the mutual benefit of their respective countries and the wider Caribbean Community.”

It goes on to state that non-tariff barriers and “other impediments to the flow of goods and services between them”, as well as promoting co-operation in the areas of sports, culture, tourism and education, will be pursued under the MoU.

In his first address in February to Caricom Heads of Government as Chairman of the group, President Ali had made an urgent call for regional leaders to remove trade barriers among their countries and more so, challenged citizens to pressure them to do so.

DDL Chairman Komal Samaroo

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Disrespect for our roadways

Five persons have lost their lives on Monday in yet another horrific accident on Guyana’s roadways, as citizens continue to express outrage that calls for better usage of our roadways seems to be falling on deaf ears. Time and time again, this newspaper has expressed shock over the road carnage. We support Traffic Chief Mahendra Singh for reprimanding drivers for their reckless usage of the roadways when he said that Monday’s tragic loss of lives could have been avoided.

Singh said: “It is an unfortunate loss, and I think it is one that could have been prevented had drivers been responsible enough to recognise that it is not all about speed and to get people quickly where they want to go; they must recognise that they have a role to play to keep the passengers alive.”

There is no doubt that there is always an element of risk whenever someone uses the roadways, be it a motorist, passenger, cyclist or pedestrian. This is somewhat inherent, since it is believed that accidents will happen. In addition, disobedience of basic traffic etiquette and other rules exacerbate the risks.

Seemingly common now is the disrespect for designated major roads. Many drivers, including some within the public transportation system, refuse to adhere to what is mandatory. As a result, a number of accidents occur frequently at some of those points. Similarly, the practice of running red lights and the green signal that allows pedestrians to cross continues unabated, predominantly by minibus drivers. The danger this poses needs no explanation.

While there is a plethora of traffic violations on a daily basis, some appear more prominent. Undertaking, cutting in front of a vehicle, a minibus conductor sticking out an arm to do likewise from the other side seem to be the new norms of driving. Aside from the obvious danger, especially to young and inexperienced drivers; and beside being an irritant, it is blatant bullyism, and a potent source for road rage.

It appears that those who engage in such practices do not see themselves as being errant, or what they do as a traffic violation. Lanes that allow for turning-on-red are abused and used as if they are the right-of-way. Speeding is foremost, causing areas that are supposed to be free of minibuses to become dangerous.

Adding to the woes of those who abide by traffic rules is that they are verbally abused when trying to stave off a potential transgressor.

Only a few weeks ago, the business umbrella organization the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) blasted the Guyana Police Force (GPF) as well as the Government for its passive stance regarding the continued reckless use of the roadways, more specifically by truck drivers.

The GCCI had, at the time, said the ongoing misuse of the roadways by these trucks, coupled with the absence of effective management, monitoring, and enforcement by the Police Force, creates an alarming and unacceptable level of risk.

GCCI said, “We urgently call upon the Guyana Police Force and the Government to cease their passive stance and take immediate decisive actions to rectify this growing public hazard. It is imperative that measures are implemented to ensure compliance with road regulations and to safeguard the safety and security of all road users.”

While we commend the efforts of the Guyana Police Force in its road campaigns, what is desperately needed is a sustained national campaign to reduce traffic violations, and let the law take its course on the errant ones, regardless of who they are. The carelessness exhibited puts all road users at risk.

It must be noted that drivers are not the only violators of traffic rules, for some pedestrians are equally guilty. Aside from the common jaywalking, they cross busy intersections when not authorised, and refuse to use the overhead pedestrian walkways, thereby bringing danger to themselves and others. Like errant drivers, they seem empowered to not observe basic traffic rules. This will change only when there is a constant stream of violators making their way up the stairs of courts across the country. There is a hope that that is not wishful thinking.

Current council of Guyana Press Association should excuse itself

Dear Editor,

Professional associations play a crucial role in advocating for standards, providing professional development, and safeguarding the interests of their members. With World Press Freedom Day still fresh on our minds for all that it represents, I am compelled to point out the governance vagrancies of the Management Council of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), based on its gross disregard for financial accountability; for the perpetuation of naked, grave and egregious breaches of the Association’s Constitution; and for the inherent democratic deficiencies of the current leadership.

I begin by pointing out that it has been more than a year since the Annual General Meeting (AGM), curiously described as a General Members Meeting, was called and the scandalous elections were held for a new Management Council. However, incredibly, that meeting has not yet ended! As a reminder, after the elections were completed, the meeting, held on May 14, 2023, was suspended, to be continued later.

More than a month after that - June 13, 2023 - the executive used its Facebook page to announce that the meeting will continue on July 8, 2023 at the Theatre Guild in Georgetown. The agenda items included an “update” on the organisation and a vote on amendments to the GPA’s Constitution. It pains me to point

out that, as per the GPA’s Constitution, since these matters were not on the agenda for discussion at the May 14 meeting, continuation of that very meeting cannot introduce new matters. It only requires very basic reading and comprehension skills to deduce this, if one glances at the GPA’s Constitution.

I should point out that Denis Chabrol, a floor member of the Council, proposed the idea of amendments to the constitution, but on my objection, it was agreed that this matter could not be addressed at the meeting, because members could not possibly have been asked there and then to propose changes to the constitution and vote on it on the same day.

The response to the call for a continuation of the meeting was abysmal. There was no quorum, so the meeting could not go ahead. For reference, a quorum for such meetings is quarter of the voting membership of the Association, and at the elections, 96 members voted.

Despite all the machinations it deployed to get 70 votes, it could not persuade 25 persons to show up for the continuation of the meeting.

Yet, the GPA, in a July 8, 2023 statement posted to its Facebook page, said that since there was no quorum, the Council opted to have a brief consultation on proposed amendments to the GPA’s Constitution, and then it made the remarkable claim that “a number of members from various

media houses provided suggestions,” seeking to slyly convey the impression that some sort of broad-based consultation was had.

In any case, it was promised that a new date would be announced for the continuation of the meeting, but there has since not been a word on this. If you don’t believe me, do a quick check of the GPA’s Facebook page. So, yes, incredibly, an Annual General Meeting cannot be concluded one year after it started!

Editor, what makes this more incredible is that this is the first meeting of members being held in six years; yes, the first and only! Doesn’t this signal great apathy among members? Doesn’t it signal that members do not want to get involved in the shenanigans of this current council? Isn’t it time that this executive excuse itself?

If you don’t believe me, check the photos of the World Press Freedom Day event held at Moray House in Georgetown. Barely a handful of journalists turned up to the event. Empty chairs in a small room reads more of an embarrassment, if anything else.

Editor, please indulge me to point out just one of two of the crass amendments proposed by the Executive – yes, proposed by the Executive, and not members. The proposed amendment is for (1) the life of the elected leadership executive to be extended from two to three years, and (2) for a president to be eligible to

run for office for not two, but THREE consecutive terms! That the Executive could think members would even consider this is as vomitus as the proposal itself. Editor, it compels me to remind you that this council was elected through dubious and undemocratic means. A year ago, I pointed out that the last remaining members of the past council, all of whom stood for office and were re-elected, dictated that the council would not accept applications from new members (members whom it suspected would vote for me), while it renewed and accepted membership from those it was sure would support Nazima Raghubir’s candidacy. And then voting by proxy (in favour of Raghubir) took place for those who could not attend, without any explanation of how voting by proxy would take place. Once voting commenced, proxy sheets appeared from the left side of the auditorium, where Raghubir and those who supported her were gathered.

I had petitioned, joined by editors of several media houses, for the voter’s list to be produced, but none was produced until I was able to get on the stage on the day of the vote and was able to take pictures of it. It confirmed our suspicions that the council had allowed membership of those who did not qualify, as per the GPA’s Constitution, to be voting members.

Ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the New York Police Department (NYPD) delegation were part of a fitness run and cycling activity conducted in the National Park on Tuesday morning. Visiting NYPD First Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tania Kinsella, was part of the event. The team was introduced to some of the handlers of the canines and horses of the GPF's Mounted Branch who were out in the National Park conducting their daily exercises. (GPF photos)

Indian

Indentured wages

Ravi Dev

The Indian Indentureds (Girmitiyas”) were brought to work in the fields - to replace the “field slaves”, and not the house slaves or those who worked in the factories, even though this would begin to change in the decades following the abolition of indentureship in 1917.

As field labourers, their wages were not as straightforward as was described in the indenture contract they signed in India. Rather than daily wages, over 90% of them were paid for “tasks” completed. Since these tasks were established by the managers and overseers, and were based on the work performed by the seasoned ex-enslaved Africans, there were very few Indentureds who could complete their assigned task in one day. That task would have to be completed the following day, but that time was not counted.

The bulk of the work in the estate fields was forking, cane cutting, punt-loading, and weeding. For the first three tasks, ablebodied men were preferred, but strong women were also assigned to punt loading of the “cut-and-drop” canes. Weeding was for men of inferior physique and for women.

For field work, even though they were contracted to work seven hours per day, work generally lasted ten to twelve hours; and,

as such, the workers left their homes before sunrise and arrived on foot after sunset. During the “off” season, when factories were not “grinding”, the hours of work were the stated seven to eight hours, excluding the time spent trudging the one to five miles between the logies and the fields and back. Workers would generally work six days a week, with Sunday off, but Saturday was truncated somewhat, because they had to show up to be paid.

Incidentally, husbands were fined if their wives did not show up to work.

According to a 1924 report, the weekly average wage (including for females as well as males, children, invalids and convalescents) for the period of 4 years ending 1912 was $1.17. On the assumption that all the workers worked for 6 days, the daily average is 19.6 cents. Overall, throughout the indentureship period, the average wage of males did not average more than 1 shilling, and for females, half of that – even as the cost-of-living rose inexorably.

It was only due to the workers’ rental of small plots of land -- averaging between a quarter of an acre to an acre -- from the estates for some $4-$8, that they were able to survive by planting rice, vegetables, and later ground provisions, or minding a cow. Yet, from this income, most squeezed their bellies to save and accumulate small savings. The official study done in 1924 showed that, after working for ten years to qualify for a full or assisted return passage, an average worker would have had a DEFICIT between income and expenditure of $288.60!!

Current council of Guyana Press...

Some may argue that Raghubir’s 70 votes to my 25 was a large margin, but if one were to subtract all of those who did not qualify to vote but did vote (either in person or by proxy), and add the legitimate members of the press who did qualify, the odds would have been easily stacked against Raghubir and the current council. It’s no whimsical assumption when one considers the fact that the editors of 10 media houses petitioned for membership for those who were refused, and petitioned for the release of the voter’s list in the interest of transparency and accountability. My media house alone had over 10 legitimate members who qualified for voting rights, but were denied membership over the blanket position that no new members would be accepted until a new council is elected.

An almost instant glance at the voter’s list, I had pointed out, revealed thereon those who did not qualify for voting membership of the GPA, including a taxi driver, a farmer, and a Bollywood radio host. Raghubir knows the farmer well, as he previously worked with her, and he recently applied to work at my news organization. She also knows very well the former cameraman who worked with her, and had left the profession and was working as a taxi driver at the time of the elections.

But for argument’s sake, let’s forget all of them and just look at two on the current executive leadership: Secretary Iva Wharton and Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer Ariana Gordon. The GPA’s Constitution demands that a voting member be someone who “devotes a major part of his/her time and earns a major part of his/her income from journalism”, and that person would have to be “involved in the practise of journalism for “three consecutive

years” in order to be entitled to the membership.”

Editor, at the time of the GPA’s elections, three consecutive years had not elapsed since Ms Wharton ended her stint as head of the Public Relations Department at the Ministry of Communities (now Ministry of Housing and Water). And the same goes for Ms Gordon, who was employed at the Press and Publicity Unit of the Office of the President. Both had devoted a major part of their time and had earned a major part of their income from their government jobs, not journalism, up until at least August 2020, when the new Government was sworn-in.

Let me further remind you that, before calling elections, Ms Raghubir had squatted in office for three years after her legitimate time in office had ended. She used the excuse of COVID-19 social distancing guidelines even when business had returned to normal, and even when such Annual General Meetings were effectively held by organisations way larger than the membership of the GPA.

Even in those five years, the GPA council had failed to meet the basic requirements of the GPA Constitution. Not a single general members meeting was held in those five years, and as I pointed out above, the one called for her re-election is still ongoing.

Let’s get to finances. Not a single financial report was provided to members in the five years that Raghubir served her first protracted term in office. Indeed, even at the meeting for the election of the new executive, no financial statement was provided – a basic norm of any AGM by any organisation.

Clause 20.1 of the GPA’s Constitution states thus:

“The Council shall cause to be kept proper books of accounts with respect to:

(a) all sums of money re-

ceived and expended by the Association and the matters in respect of which such receipts and expenditure take place

(b) all sales and purchases of goods by the Association

(c) the assets and liabilities of the Association.

Members have absolutely no idea of the spending of the GPA’s funds, including millions of dollars collected from Open Society Foundations.

Editor, the GPA’s Constitution, at clause 10.1, dealing with disciplinary powers, points out the following: “The Council shall be empowered to warn, admonish, reprimand, suspend or terminate the membership of any member who commits an act or conducts himself in such a manner that the Council shall deem him to have:

(a) violated any such standards of professional conduct as may be established or prescribed;

(b) act (sic) in breach of any rule made by the Council or in breach of the Constitution of the Association;

(c) brought or is likely to bring the practice of journalism, journalists or the Association into disrepute.

Editor, it is spectacularly clear that the current council is in violation of all the counts that call for disciplinary action. Will they not bow in shame and discipline themselves; and to use local parlance, just beat out?

The indefinite suspension of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) due to the council’s inability to secure a quorum highlights a significant disengagement of the membership base. This issue underscores a deeper problem of declining trust and respect for the Association's leadership among its members.

The rigging of elections within the GPA not only undermines the Association’s democratic foundation, but also compromises its role as a model of journalistic integrity. Such actions jeopardise the Association's credibility and diminish its authority to advocate for journalistic standards.

The failure to reconvene the AGM almost a year later reflects an inability of the current council to command the respect and engagement of its journalists. This lack of engagement gives the current council no locus standi to act in the interest of Guyanese media workers.

For an association that represents the press, the stakes are particularly high, as public trust in journalism is critical to the functioning of a democratic society.

Therefore, Editor, this Council should, in disgrace, excuse itself.

Yours sincerely,

Neil Marks Journalist Former President of the Guyana Press Association

Indian immigrants forking to aerate cane roots

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2024

Page Foundation

2.

4. In a school, the ratio of pupils to teachers is 5:1. If the teachers

1. Profusely (A) Wildly (B) Healthily (C) Colourfully (D) Plentifully

2. Squalor (A) Filthiness (B) Ambiance (C) Security (D) Strength

CSEC MATHS

In the figure above, OPQ is mapped to OP’Q’. What type of transformation has taken place? (A) Shear (B) Reflection (C) Rotation (D) Translation

6. A circle of diameter 24 cm has a radius of (A) 2cm (B) 6cm

(C) 12cm (D) 4cm

7. If 2 is divided by 1x 10-2, the quotient is (A) 0.002 (B) 0.01 (C) 0.02 (D) 0.0001

8. A = { 1, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17} What is the common factor? (A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 10 (D) 15

9. During a Mother’s Day sale, there is a 10% discount off the marked price of cellular phones. What will a customer pay for a phone with a marked price of $30,000? (A) $10,000 (B) $24,000 (C) $27,000 (D) $20,000

10. A dinner for a family of four cost $12,000 plus 12% tax. The total bill was (A) $26,000 (B) $13,440 (C) $10,000 (D) $14,400

3. Deficit (A) Error (B) Defect (C) Balance (D) Shortfall

4. Rectify (A) Determine (B) Correct (C) Erase (D) Alter

6. Concise (A) Verbose (B) Garrulous (C) Succinct (D) Voluble

7. Difficult (A) Straight-forward (B) Trying (C) Simple (D) Accessible

10. Total (A) Overall (B) Part (C) Fraction (D) Incomplete Choose a word that is similar in meaning to the indicated word

5. Grandeur (A) Splendour (B) Harmony (C) Opulence (D) Sumptuousness

8. Well-being (A) Speed (B) Safety (C) Caution (D) Care

9. Overwhelm (A) Overcome (B) Overpower (C) Overreact (D) Overarch

Regional bodies globally have increased attempts to manage tensions between nations – Greenidge

…urges Centre for Border Studies to zero in on Guyana-Venezuela border analysis

With the launch of a Centre for International and Border Studies (CIBS), Government’s Advisor on Borders, Carl Greenidge is of the view that one of the primary challenges the center will first face, is analysing issues related to the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy.

The launch of CIBS took place on Monday at the Herdmanston Lodge, Georgetown. The Center, an independent think tank, is the product of collaboration between academics from the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States, Asia and Africa.

In his feature address to the attendees, Government’s Advisor on Borders Carl Greenidge recalled that the Foreign Affairs Ministry was mandated since 2017 to establish a Border Institute.

He lauded the fact that a project similar to that one could finally be completed and was optimistic that the center would, among other things, ignite wider interest in border studies, while at the same time

“In 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was mandated to start doing some work on a border institute. That work wasn’t completed. But I made the point to emphasise that it isn’t a unique path that you are taking. By way of the Center for Border Studies.

You’ve gone further than occurred in 2017 and you are to be commended for this,” Greenidge said.

“One looks forward to you (will get) not only the skills to help you and the

data to undertake the analysis, but in ensuring that an interest in the community and a commitment by governments and institutions can be maintained in these issues that have to do with systematic border management,” Greenidge said.

When it comes to the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy, Greenidge was of the view that analysing issues related to it may form one of the center’s early challenges. According to him, “part of the challenge, I think, that our center will face, is to help to explore issues that may arise from the management of the tensions that arise from contested space.”

Greenidge also spoke about the mechanisms for resolving border controversies. While the United Nations (UN) is the most well-known of these mechanisms, Greenidge also noted that regional organisations have also been

stepping up, likely a reference to the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which played an important role in getting Guyana and Venezuela to the table last year to sign the Argyle Agreement.

“There are mechanisms in place, of a kind. At the level of the United Nations, to help manage that. Increasingly we see that at the regional levels, across the globe, regional bodies are taking responsibility for trying to manage those types of tensions. I think its mistakenly felt that in Latin America, this problem doesn’t arise,” he said.

“But of course, if you look at the statistics, Latin America has had its wars over territories in the 19th century and military conflict even in 20th century. And therefore, it isn’t going to be enough, pursuing that the existing frameworks, especially if they might be concocted in circumstances where the concoctions

may not be done in a timely manner or in a manner that is entirely functional.”

Heavily evidence based Meanwhile, Director for the Center Dr Mark Kirton, who previously served as the University of Guyana’s Dean for the Faculty of Social Sciences, spoke about what persons can expect from the center. He made it clear that the center’s work would be heavily evidence based.

“The Center for International and Border

Studies is aimed at undertaking rigorous evidence-based research on issues which are important, both in terms of development efforts and also security and other issues.”

“So, we see regional integration as a critical issue. We see the issue of using multi-disciplinary focus. And we will focus on issues such as contested borders, issues of border security, development trajectory of the Amazon and the Guiana Shield.

Agriculture, food and energy security. Charges related to climate change,” Kirton said. Plans for the center include offering mentorship to students and establishment of both an online and physical library, dedicated to border studies. CIBS also aims to build strategic institutional linkages and to provide training and mentorship opportunities for young researchers and practitioners. (G3)

Guyana’s Advisor on Borders, Carl Greenidge

A section of the attendees at the launch of the Centre for International and Border Studies (CIBS), at the Herdmanston Lodge, Georgetown

Free… …education

Back in 2023, during the Budget Debate, the Minister of Education had announced that, by 2025, tuition at UG would be eliminated!! And a bold beginning was made retroactively in this direction when it was announced by Pressie that all GRADUATES who’d remained in our dear Mudland and had student loans outstanding would now have that albatross removed from around their necks!!

Guyana would once again have FREE education from nursery to university!! But unlike with Burnham, where the education got you larwah, this time there would be jobs available for our university grads!! And that’s another reason that the Opposition should’ve been dancing in the aisles, since it was Desmond Hoyte who’d introduced tuition - after the PNC’s founder leader Burnham had continued the Jagan policy of free tertiary education!!

In all fairness to Dessie, however, tuition was part of the bitter medicine he’d been forced to swallow from the IMF in 1989. He had to grovel, because the “goadie-inducing” debt inherited from Burnham effectively forced Guyana into international receivership! The IMF “conditionalities” demanded privatising the Burnham-nationalised economy - and imposing tuition to attend UG.

When Jagan was returned to office in 1992, he couldn’t very well return free tuition, since we were still being “mannersed” by the IMF!! Bharrat Jagdeo, as president, had to perform a Herculean task to get the PNC’s US$2.1B debt written off. So, when the PNC replaced the PPP in 2015, they could’ve easily removed the tuition from UG, but not only did they not do it – they actually RAISED it!! So, they should’ve run around the floor of the National Assembly with Priya on their shoulders last year, no?!! But now that we’re gonna have free university education, your Eyewitness sees some challenges ahead. Right off the bat, the Government’s gotta find a method to ensure that tertiary educational needs at our stage of development are satisfied. At the moment, half of the UG grads come out with degrees in International Relations, Sociology, and subjects in the Humanities. And they whine about not getting employment as “university graduates”!! Tell your Eyewitness, for goodness’ sake, what use is an IR graduate to a businessman trying to ensure his business pulls in a profit to pay the said graduate?!

Guyana needs technical personnel for all the jobs opening up in the oil and gas sector and the coming downstream industries. Plus specialists for the diversification of the agriculture sector, that’ll keep us viable after the O&G runs out. Meaning that UG needs a radical makeover in its structure and curricula. It gotta be more like a polytechnic and an agricultural university.

Would you believe there’s a Tokyo University of Agriculture? Maybe that’s why their Waygu beef sells at US$300 per pound!!

Free must be focused!!

…the children

Fat lot of good free tertiary education’s gonna do when teachers from nursery to secondary schools have been striking for – among other things – the right to strike and still be paid!! Now, what kinda education they’ll be passing on to our children – our country’s future?? That they really don’t have to work when they get their “education”??

Your Eyewitness knows there’s been this woke critique of our educational system since the days after slavery: that it’s supposedly indoctrinating us into willingly being trained to work for “the man” – who’d then get all the moolah while we get the scraps!!

But jeez!! That kinda socialist and communist thinking has been thrown out for ages. Why, even the PPP - which was the first to adopt and the last to hold out –has just announced its “bye-bye birdie!!” Now, what your Eyewitness thinks is that the teachers’ motto should be “Ever forward – never backward!!”

And as such, they should sit down with the Government to negotiate a decent wage structure going FORWARD!!

…advice

Your Eyewitness has some free advice for the Opposition: quit whining!! Even their supporters are getting sick and tired of their complaining about the PPP’s full court press of their constituency.

Why don’t they try campaigning in the PPP’s supposed “strongholds”??

Nigel Dharamlall questioned by Police over new sexual assault allegations

Former Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall turned himself in to Police for questioning in relation to the new sexual assault allegations made against him by a young woman.

Last week, the 28-yearold complainant – a former staff at the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry –alleged that she was sexually molested twice by the embattled former Minister. During a virtual press conference last Friday, the woman revealed that she had filed a comprehensive Police complaint, and expressed her hope for a thorough investigation and eventual justice.

On Tuesday morning, the Guyana Police Force’s Corporate Communications Unit disclosed that Dharamlall was being interrogated at the Cove and John Police Station.

“Relative to the sexual assault allegations levelled against former Minister Nigel Dharamlall, at 09:20h this (Tuesday) morning, Mr Dharamlall turned himself in to Police at Cove and John Police Station, ECD [East Coast Demerara]. Investigators are currently questioning him in relation to the allegations made,” the Unit said.

Dharamlall’s legal team, led by Attorney-atLaw Bernard DaSilva, had

accompanied him to the Station.

After several hours of interrogation, the lawyer told reporters, his client is cooperating. At the time, he explained it was unlikely that Dharamlall would be released.

“He is cooperating with the Police… He just conducted an interview of which he denied all the allegations and the Police will have to take it from there… [But] he was interviewed uninterrupted,”

DaSilva said, adding that “There are certain procedures that the Police have to enforce. He has passed through the records; he has to be booked – those type of things. So, the Police are still doing that, but as far as the interview was concerned, which is my concern, that is over and he’s now being processed.”

DaSilva went on to say that “Bail cannot be decided at this stage primarily because the OC (officer-in-charge at the station) doesn’t have that jurisdiction to consider bail.”

According to the lawyer, given the nature of the crime and the prominence of the suspect, bail would have to be determined by the hierarchy of the Police Force.

Over the weekend, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had told the Guyana Times that while a complaint of misconduct was lodged in Division 4C (ECD), the matter is also

engaging the attention of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary.

Nevertheless, up to Tuesday evening, senior Police officials confirmed that the suspect was still in custody and could not say whether he would be released during the course of the night.

During a virtual press conference on Friday, the 28-year-old complainant detailed two separate incidents of sexual molestation by Dharamlall.

The first, she revealed, was committed back in September 2020 at State House in Anna Regina, where she was invited by the then Minister to be interviewed for a job. She claimed that upon arriving, she was taken into a bedroom, where she was sexually assaulted. She described feeling trapped and violated as she resisted the official’s advances.

The woman revealed

that the second incident occurred in 2021 at the former Minister’s residence in Cummings Lodge. She admitted that she was hesitant to report the matter, considering the extent of corruption within the Police Force, and more importantly, she did not want her name to be dragged through the mud. However, hours after the accusation surfaced,

the former Government official issued a statement vehemently refuting the claims made against him. He expressed awareness of the alleged complainant’s press conference, where she levelled “malicious” allegations against him. He began by outrightly denying each accusation put forth by the woman.

“For some while hitherto, I was privy to rumours that (named person) was making unsavoury comments in relation to me, but I made a deliberate effort to ignore them. I have known (name provided) personally for several years, and have always maintained a most civil and cordial relationship with her, including socialising on many occasions. Her demeanour towards me changed fundamentally after I rebuffed her advances and spurned her attempts to engage in an intimate relationship,”

the statement said.

“Thereafter, (name provided) embarked on a campaign to malign and tarnish my reputation. This was manifested through several fake profiles on social media, surreptitious leaks of information to the traditional media, and a whisper campaign to anyone willing to listen. It really begs the question as to what has reignited this quest by (named person) to sully my good name, particularly at this time. Her latest attempt bears testimony to this.

“I have already engaged and instructed Attorneys-at-law, who are reviewing the statements made by (named person) with a view (to) instituting legal proceedings against her and other persons associated with propagating these falsehoods, as may be necessary,” Dharamlall said in the missive. (G8)

Nigel Dharamlall being escorted to the Cove and John Police Station on Tuesday morning by his lawyer

Over 3000 migrant children enrolled in Guyana’s school system

…all teachers will be trained to be bilingual – Education Minister

Over 3000 migrant children from countries including Venezuela, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago are enrolled in Guyana’s school system.

This is according to Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, who on Tuesday said that majority of the learners are enrolled in primary schools across the country where they are benefitting from quality education, hot meals and other forms of assistance being provided to Guyanese learners. This comes at a time

when the government is forging ahead with plans to make Spanish a commonly used language in Guyana, and by extension in schools.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Manickchand underscored the importance of education in the modern world, and explained that her ministry’s policy of no child left behind applies to school aged migrant learners.

In this regard, she explained that works are ongoing to better integrate them into the classroom.

“For the first-time last year, we did NGSA and be-

cause we have such a high migrant population, we offer the students who speak or derived from a Spanish speaking country, Cuba or Venezuela, the ability to write their papers in Spanish so they could have read it in Spanish and written in English, or read English and written in Spanish... And we actually saw the children doing a lot better when we offer that humane pathway,” the education minister shared.

Revised curriculum

The Education Ministry through its Distance Learning Department and Literacy Unit at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), will be revising the primary and secondary school curriculum to include Spanish and improve literacy among learners.

The first phrase of this initiative will see the ministry equipping leaners with certain Spanish resources in their independent book bags including a Spanish dictionary and multiple Spanish texts that are age appropriate.

Meanwhile, the second phrase will see teachers being trained to administer Spanish in schools through the provision of curated material which will be produced by the ministry.

According to Manickchand, the revised curriculum and other components of the project will be instituted in the new school term in September.

“This same NCERD here, the productions unit has created material that could be used by even non-Spanish speaking teachers to bring us to a place where we could give basic Spanish instruction. So, the intention of the president which is to make us a bilingual country, we're trying to meet that intention with the resources, we have Coursera with whom we have engagement that was launched at a stadium is designing courses for Spanish for all of our teachers. So, all of our teachers are going to get training on the Coursera platform to deliver Spanish in their classrooms,” Manickchand added.

In 2023, President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced that Spanish will become a

mandatory subject in primary schools as part of the government’s commitment to enhance education at all levels across the country.

To deliver on this commitment Guyana is con-

rangement is still being ironed out, while the country trains theirs.

Manickchand highlighted that about 80 per cent of the country’s secondary schools have Spanish teach-

sidering sourcing Spanish teachers from Cuba and Mexico to begin the rollout of Spanish as a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools across the country.

Minister Manickchand said the details in this ar-

ers; however, many more human resources will be needed to ensure the comprehensive roll-out of this initiative.

The ministry will also consider the services of retired teachers to help deliver Spanish classes. (G1)

Education Minister Priya Manickchand during a press conference held at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) on Tuesday (photo source: Newsroom)

Prisoner escapes from Lusignan Prison

Law enforcement officials are currently engaged in a search operation for convicted prisoner, Jose Awad, who escaped from the Lusignan Prison, East Coast Demerara on Tuesday after he was left unsupervised while performing labour duties.

According to the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), the incident occurred at around 13:00h as the inmate was labouring at the snackette in the compound of the Cecil Kilkenny Training School.

Awad of Redlock Lima Sand, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) was serving two years jail term for breaking and entering and simple lar-

ceny. On Tuesday, the prison service said that the man was left unsupervised for a short period of time when he made good his escape. Several search teams are in different areas in an effort to recapture the inmate.

Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, has since made an appeal to members of the public, relatives, and friends to give any relevant information about the whereabouts of the escapee, so that he can be captured and returned to the prison.

An appeal was also made to the escapee to surrender himself to the police or relevant authority, to avoid any serious confrontation that is

likely to result in the use of force.

All information, the prison service said, will be treated with a high degree of confidence and also the rights of the escapee will be respected and upheld.

Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Jose Awad is asked to contact the Officer-in-Charge at Lusignan Prison or the nearest police station.

The prison service also stated that the supervising officer would be placed under close arrest while the prison service and the police force conducted their investigation.

Just three months ago, two prisoners, Keon Webster

and Kareem Douglas, escaped from police custody just before reaching Lusignan Prison. Both were handcuffed together but managed to flee when the officers opened the van door.

The escapees ran towards the public road, Webster still wearing a handcuff on his left hand. Despite a chase, they disappeared into the prison farm. Authorities launched a search with a joint task force, and Webster was recaptured days later at the Stabroek Market, Georgetown. However, Douglas remains on the run.

Investigations later led to the officers who were transporting them to be placed under close arrest. This in- cident follows the recent escape of Akeem Wong, serving time for rape, from Mazaruni Prison in Region Seven. He had a history of criminal activities, including association with unsavory characters and prior charges for robbery and murder.

He was shot dead by police at Groete Creek Backdam, Essequibo River

in

food

63-year-old charged for sexual activity with a child …wanted bulletins issued

for 2 in relation to rape

A63-year-old man was on Tuesday granted bail when he appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court charged for engaging in sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16 years.

Ruben Oselmo, of Karrau Village, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) appeared before Magistrate Teriq Mohamed where the charge of sexual activity with a child under 16 years' Contrary to section 11 (3) of the sexual offenses act, Chapter 08:03 was read to him.

He pleaded not guilty and was granted $100,000 bail. The case was adjourned to May 28.

Meanwhile, there has been an upsurge in sexual-related offenses in Region Seven.

On Tuesday, police issued two wanted bulletins for men whom they want for questioning in relation to

similar offences.

Lindon Daniels is wanted in connection with three counts of rape while

Carl Gibbs of lot 5 Public Road, Paradise, East Coast Demerara is wanted by the police for questioning in relation to the offence of rape. The police did not provide an address for Daniels. (G4)

Charged: Ruben Oselmo

Wanted: Carl Gibbs

Wanted: Lindon Daniels

Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) after he gruesomely chopped to death David and Elizabeth Gomes on March 8 at their Saxacalli home. Wong reportedly approached the Gomes residence seeking

and directions but later murdered the duo and took some of their valuables. (G9)

Escaped prisoner Jose Awad

Education Ministry’s project Warning letters sent to 9 contractors for failing to meet deadlines, substandard work

The Education Ministry has issued several warning letters to nine contractors for breaching their stipulated contractual deadlines as well as for producing substandard work.

This announcement was made by Education Minister, Priya Manickchand on Tuesday while providing an update on infrastructural works being undertaken by the ministry.

The ministry is currently building and rehabilitating numerous facilities across the country, and according to Manickchand the issue of faulty work and delayed project timelines are vast and as a result, herself along with a technical team from the ministry has been meeting with contractors and consultants once and sometimes twice a month to ensure that projects are on track.

On this point, she disclosed that government will pursue liquidated damages from contractors for the delays suffered in the execution contracts.

The names of the contractors, who were given the warning letters were not revealed.

“We are starting and hope to finish more than 30 secondary schools across this country in under five years. And we haven't changed out contractors and we haven't changed out what had become a culture. So yes, we are suffering from people who are crossing over timelines, and contractors

I'm talking about and it is a challenge,” the minister said.

“But the question for us as a country is, do we just throw up our hands or do we insist on a change of culture amongst contractors? And I hope that's what across the sector's we're trying to do,” she added.

Further, when asked about dividing projects into lots to allow for works to be conducted simultaneously, Manickchand pointed that government has explored this option already and is still experiencing delays.

For example, in June 2023 some six contracts to

the tune of $688 million was rewarded for the construction of the Christ Church Secondary School while another six contracts valued at $253.8 million was reward for the construction of the St George’s Secondary School.

Both projects carried a deadline of approximately seven months and are behind schedule.

According to Manickchand the St George’s Secondary School is about 75 per cent complete while Christ Church Secondary School is 35 per cent complete.

“Sometimes what happens is that because some of it is prefab off site, you can change from 35 to 80 per cent in a week because you brought your prefab stuff and put it up. And am not sure what is remaining but I am happy that the contractors are seeing that the wider public is interested in how they perform and is insisting that they perform according to contract,” the minister explained.

It was disclosed that the ministry is hoping to have the facilities commissioned for the new school term come September, which is beyond their contractual deadline.

Stern warning In April during a meeting with representatives of ministries and agencies responsible for awarding and monitoring government contracts, President Dr Irfaan Ali ordered that penalties outlined in a number of government contracts be enforced for companies that continue to default on their contractual obligations.

During said meeting, the Head of State also instructed that project updates for several ongoing works be completed for review and according to Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, works are ongoing to fulfill the president’s order.

The project updates were provided to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall while the Ministry of Finance was tasked with calculating the liquidated damages.

Liquidated damages re-

fer to a provision allowing for the payment of a specified sum in the case of a breach of contract. In this case, the President says the government will go after those defaulting contractors that have gone past their project deadline and the justifiable extensions.

“All projects beyond the contracted time, where we have exhausted justified extensions, (we will) issue a

letter today instructing that the liquidated damages be instituted immediately. We cannot tolerate this.”

“The Minister of Finance (Dr Ashni Singh) will ensure that the internal auditors clarify the related damages and ensure that they’re calculated and deducted,” Dr Ali had said at the time.

Further, the Head of State had disclosed that actions must now be taken to

strengthen project management teams in the public sector.

As a result, the Attorney General’s office will now have a specialised unit dealing with contracts and project management, as part of efforts to ensure compliance.

Dr Ali noted that all project managers and senior engineers under this unit will be properly qualified.

“We are adopting a

no-nonsense approach in contract management. We are going to have an independent team managing and reviewing project files so that we have project audits. As project engineers and project managers you have to ensure that your files are updated, your minutes are recorded and signed. As we take action, we have to get paper work intact,” the head of state had said. (G1)

2 GTT employees injured as tower collapses in Kwakwani

Two employees of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) found themselves injured on Tuesday afternoon when the company’s communication tower in Kwakwani, Region Ten (Upper Demerara – Upper Berbice), collapsed.

Following the incident, the company issued a statement acknowledging the temporary disruption of services in the affected area.

GTT’s Chief Operations Officer, Randall Hewitt, in the statement said “unfortunately, our communication tower in Kwakwani has suffered major structural damage. This has

caused a disruption in communication services in the community.”

Expressing relief amidst the chaos, Hewitt added, “we are relieved to report that medical personnel have informed us that the injuries are not life-threat-

ening.” The injured employees were taken to Linden Public Hospital for further medical treatment.

With the tower rendered inoperative, communication with the Kwakwani area stands severed. Hewitt outlined the next steps, stating, “Our technical team will assess the situation to determine the cause

of the damage and to devise a plan for restoring services as soon as possible.”

Assuring the public of ongoing updates, Hewitt affirmed, “We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates on the status of tower restoration. Our paramount concern remains the well-being of our injured employees.”

Essequibo Coast man jailed for narcotics trafficking

An Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) man was on Tuesday jailed for one year after he admitted to having a quantity of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

Vaughndel Tobin of Charity Back Street, Essequibo Coast, appeared before Magistrate Tamieka Clarke at the Charity Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking contrary to section 5 (1) of psychotropic substances (control) Act, Chapter 10:10.

Following his guilty

plea, the Magistrate Clarke imposed a one-year jail sentence on the 25-year-old man. Meanwhile, also on Tuesday, Romario Walcott, 26, who appeared before the same magistrate but at the Anna Regina Magistrates’ Court was remanded to prison on a charge of wounding.

Walcott, a labourer of Queenstown, Essequibo Coast, pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on May 5, at Henrietta Essequibo Coast he wounded Tulsie Ram.

He is charged with felonious wounding under Section 57 (a) of the Criminal Law Offences Act, Chapter 8:01. This case was adjourned to June 5. (G4)

Mill operator on bail for illegal gun, ammo

Amill operator was on Tuesday granted bail when he appeared before Magistrate Rhondel Weever at the Wales Magistrate’s Court.

Daughton Jackson, 31, of West Minister, West Bank Demerara, pleaded not guilty to the offenses of unlawful possession of a firearm without license and unlawful possession of ammunition without license contrary to section 16(2) (a) of the Firearm Chapter 16:05.

Jackson was placed on bail of $150,000 for unlawful

possession of a firearm without license and $100,000 for the offense of unlawful possession of ammunition without a license. This matter was adjourned to July 4, 2024.

Police had stated that at about 12:30h on Sunday last, acting on information received ranks went to a home at West Minister, West Bank Demerara. Upon arrival, contact was made with a 31-year-old mill operator. He was told of the information the police were in receipt of that he had a gun and asked whether he was the

holder of a firearm license, and he answered “No”. (G4)

Charged: Daughton Jackson

Jailed: Vaughndel Tobin

The tower that collapsed injuring the GTT workers (Mark Goring photos)

Ramsammy’s Ruminations

Nagamootoo’s shameless celebration of APNU/AFC’s total betrayal of Guyana

For almost four years, I ignored Moses Nagamootoo. But ignoring his recent shameless celebration of the PNC/APNU/ AFC’s assumption of government on May 11, 2015, and the just-more-than five years of disaster in government would be an abrogation of our responsibility to the truth.

The just-over-five years in Government, with Moses Nagamootoo as the Prime Minister, was one of the most colossal of failures by any Government in the history of any country in Caricom.

During the period of 1,959 days, as recently recounted by Clement Rohee, Moses Nagamootoo was a rubber-stamp PM, and President David Granger was mostly missing in action (MIA). The most remarkable things that happened during that disastrous period were: the violation of Guyana’s Constitution, an attempt to rebrand Guyana in the colours of the PNC and AFC, the stagnation of the economy, and the loss of jobs for more than 50,000 Guyanese.

When Nagamootoo joined with Granger and ignored the names of eighteen highly-regarded Guyanese to be named as Chair of GECOM, the APNU/AFC Government deliberately breached the constitution.

When President Granger proceeded to name James Patterson as the Chair of GECOM, it was a blatant violation of the constitution. Nagamootoo supported this travesty. The Caribbean Court of Justice had to intervene and declare that the action was a blatant disregard of the constitution.

Nagamootoo had to know at the time that Granger was violating the constitution in order to fill the position with his “Bollers”. Burnham had a Chair of the Elections Commission named Bollers, who did Burnham’s election-rigging bidding. Patterson was going to do Granger’s bidding in a clumsily disguised start to an election-rigging process. Nagamootoo, who had written and spoken voluminously on the PNC’s rigging of elections, had to have known the intent of the PNC at the time.

This is what he was celebrating, betraying the Guyanese people over and over again.

On December 21st 2018, soon after a good thrashing at the LGE 2018, when the PPP won almost two-thirds of all available local government seats, the PPP won a No-Confidence Motion in Parliament. The Parliament reflected the LGE 2018 results and the general feeling of hopelessness in the country. As the Parliament ended with the passing of the No-Confidence Motion, and the PNC was stunned that its supporters did not come to their rescue with any kind of meaningful protest, Nagamootoo led a press conference admitting that the NoConfidence Motion was passed in accordance with the constitution and in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Parliament. He conceded that elections must be held by March 21st 2019, that is: within 90 days of the passage of the No-Confidence Motion. Yet, less than 24 hours later, they were pressuring the Speaker to reconvene Parliament because 33 could not be greater than 32, with Nagamootoo using some kind of voodoo measurement scheme comparing half-bottle and quarter-bottle rum to prove that 33 is not greater than 32.

The constitutional requirement of 90 days for holding elections was totally dismantled. Instead, just as they stupidly tried convincing the Guyanese people, who laughed at them, that 33 could not be greater than 32, they stretched 90 days into almost a year. Nagamootoo was one of the cheerleaders for this reckless disregard and blatant violation of the constitution and the intelligence of the Guyanese people. This is what he was celebrating on May 11, 2024.

It is one thing to betray the people, but one would think that he would be contrite enough to remain quiet. Yet, his belligerence would not allow him, and instead of apologizing to the people, he celebrated what he and the PNC/APNU/AFC accomplished -- the torching of the constitution.

Nagamootoo completely ignored that they governed a period of total economic stagnation. Sugar was downsized and on the pathway to total closure, with more than 10,000 directly losing their jobs and thousands of others suffering the economic backlash. During that period, almost 50,000 people lost their jobs, in mining, agriculture, services.

They promised a reduction of VAT, and they claimed they kept the promise by reducing VAT from 16% to 14%; but they added VAT to hundreds of items, including water, electricity, education, vitamins, various food items. Internet, etc.

They closed the Housing Ministry, downgraded the scholarship programme, took away the disciplined forces’ annual bonus and the “Because We Care” cash grant to school children, and the water and electricity subsidies for pensioners. They raised more than 200 taxes. They promised workers dramatic raise in wages and salaries; instead, they raised their own salaries and benefits by between 50 and 100%, while freezing wages for sugar workers and giving out minimal salary increases for public servants, telling them their turn will eventually come. They promised young people jobs and free university education, but they never got around to those promises, telling the youth to cook dog food, plantain chips, cook-up and sell by the roadside. When young people asked why there was no place for them, they told the young people they must await their turn.

This is the legacy Nagamootoo wanted to celebrate. It is shameless. After hiding from the public for several years, Moses Nagamootoo emerged launching a book filled with misrepresentations, misinformation and embellishments. Most of the people he had choice attacks for have ignored him, as I have done. Calling me “foul-mouth” did not in any way fazed me, and I was never going to take him up on this, even though many persons called me to respond. It was so out-of-place when, during the launch, he called for unity when, both in the book and during the launch, he continued to use misinformation and misrepresentation to sell his book. Truth is: Nagamootoo is loathed among the Guyanese citizenry.

12th annual turtle festival 271 turtles released into Rupununi River

The Yupukari Village Council and Turtle Monitors in collaboration with the Caiman House Inc (CHI) over the weekend held their 12th annual turtle festival in Yupukari Village, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) in an effort to raise awareness of their community-driven turtle conservation work.

This initiative aims to increase the yellow-spotted river turtle populations and ensure its sustainable use through a community-led approach. Some of the activities conducted by the project include the monitoring of turtle nests (in-situ and ex-situ monitoring), rescuing turtle hatchlings from flooded beaches and carefully rearing them for a year prior to their release at the festival.

This year’s turtle festival was a success and saw a total of 271 turtles being released into the Rupununi

River by the participants. These turtles had been rescued the previous year by the turtle rangers during monitoring exercises across

Dr Leslie Ramsammy

eight beaches around Yupukari village along the Rupununi river.

Launching of the “Wildlife and People of the Rupununi” book

Education Ministry-GTU talks reach deadlock as Union presents new demands

…teachers are being misled by Union – Manickchand

Conciliatory talks between the Education Ministry and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) will reconvene on Monday after both parties reached a deadlock during discussions on Tuesday.

In an interview with Guyana Times following the meeting on Tuesday, Chief Education Officer, Saddam Hussain disclosed that GTU presented new demands that were not discussed during the first engagement on Monday.

The CEO contends that the proposal put forward to the ministry does not align with the purpose of the conciliation process, which was to come to an agreement on the period for paid salary increases for teachers.

“GTU has asked for some time to go back to their membership because we objected to some of the proposals, they have put forward… Our contention was that it (document presented by GTU) may not have anything to do with the time frame but of course that is not the position held by GTU,” Hussain told this publication.

On Tuesday, Hussain

told this publication that the engagement between the ministry and union was fruitful on Monday, however, he shared that the union’s new demands have changed the tone of the mediation.

“Every discussion is fruitful, it’s a ventilation of views on both sides and that happened but I can tell you that I am not as optimistic as I was yesterday (Monday)… We went to the Ministry for them to be the mediator and conciliator in determining what time frame should be the agreement so we are going to work towards getting that done,” the CEO added.

Conciliatory talks between the two parties were facilitated following the issuance of a letter from the Education Ministry to the Labour Ministry requesting that Minister Joseph Hamilton intervene in the matter with the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU).

On Monday, GTU’s President Mark Lyte told media operatives that the document outlining the union’s terms and conditions for the resumption of work aims to pave the way

for further discussion.

However, efforts to contact GTU officials on Tuesday for a comment on these developments proved futile.

The request made by the Education Ministry was provided for under the provisions of the 1990 Memorandum of Agreement “the avoidance and settlement of disputes” between the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers’ Union and the Labour Act, Cap. 98:01, which allows the impasse in respect of the timeframe to be referred to the Labour Minister for Conciliation.

271 turtles released into...

Toshao of Yupukari village, Shamir Khan, highlighted the importance of this project in relation to the unpredictable weather “The weather is not predictable now. Two years ago, we had eggs in the sandbank, and they were all flooded out –except for the ones that we rescued. So that’s how important this turtle monitoring is in Yupukari” he stated.

“Let sense prevail”

Meanwhile, Education Minister Priya Manickchand has called for “sense to prevail”, noting that any disruption in schools will result in learning losses for students.

“Any teacher who stays away from a classroom will cause some disruption and it will have a negative impact on the system and on children and we are concerned about that…The deadlock is the Union saying they want salary increases from 2019 to 2023 and the ministry or the Government of Guyana is saying we are ready, willing and happy to engage on salary from 2024 onwards,” Manickchand said at a press conference in Kingston, Georgetown on Tuesday.

The minister contends that teachers are being misled by Union and explained that government is trying to figure out the best way forward.

“I am calling on everyone to let sense prevail, let humanity prevail…every day lost is a day we cannot get

back and while we will do what we can in the ministry to recover what is lost, I am advising that it is better to prevent than to fix,” she said.

Resumption of strike

The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) resumed strike action across the country on Thursday last, after talks between the union and Education Ministry reportedly broken down.

Teachers had only on March 6 returned to the classroom, after striking for some four weeks.

As a result, the teachers, through their union, had ended the strike and agreed to return to discussions with the government regarding salary increases.

When the strike had ended, the Union and the government were engaged in discussions on issues affecting teachers.

McDonald later told media operatives that the decision to resume the strike is because the union believes there is nothing forthcoming from the Government as it relates to collective bargaining.

The government has already addressed over 20 issues affecting teachers, aimed at improving their working conditions and overall welfare.

In fact, at the time of the last strike, President Dr Irfaan Ali had reminded that he has already met with teachers across the country and outlined the government’s plan to improve their livelihoods.

Moreover, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had calculated that at the end of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government’s first term in office, graduate teachers would have benefited from salary increases amounting to nearly 50 per cent.

Further, on April 19, the High Court had ruled in favour of the GTU, and stipulated that teachers’ salaries should not be deducted following their participation in the recent strike.

The High Court had also ruled against government’s decision to discontinue the deduction of union dues from the salaries of teachers for the GTU.

This came on the heels of the Guyana Government’s refusal to negotiate for that salary increases for the period December 2019 to 2023, but instead was ready to do so for a multi-year agreement starting 2024.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall has since said government will appeal the ruling at the level of the Guyana Court of Appeal, with the likelihood that the case will go to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Guyana’s final court of appeal. (G1)

WBD man electrocuted while making illegal connection to house

The book consists of fifteen chapters grouped in four broad areas; the status of wildlife populations; local uses of wildlife; co-existence between humans and wildlife; and wildlife management and conservation initiatives in the Rupununi.

The turtle conservation project in Yupukari began in 2011, when researcher Jeff Slocum got a few residents interested in turtle conser-

During the festivities on Saturday, multiple booths were set up, these booths offered attendees with a variety of activities such as an opening parade, turtle egg collection training, video screenings, information awareness, caiman education, educational quiz games, blindfold pin-thesweets, turtle enclosure visit, wood carving and a visit to the Wabbani crafts building. Meanwhile, the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme (SWM) took the opportunity to launch a new book “Wildlife and People of the Rupununi”. This publication is a collection of engaging articles on the technical and scientific work completed by the SWM Programme in Guyana, namely Region 9, between 2018 and 2023.

vation, however the first festival was held 2013 under the theme ‘Nurturing Community Research to Protect our Environment’, the premiere turtle festival held in Yupukari, Rupununi, saw the release of 57 turtles to their native habitat after a year of “head starting”a kind of re-introduction program. The festival has grown tremendously since and is now implemented as part of the Regional Turtle Conservation Management Plan. community-led approach.

Thirty-six-year-old Rondel Wilson, a taxi driver of Church Street, Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was on Sunday afternoon electrocuted while trying to run electricity to his house.

Based on reports received, at about 12:10h Wilson’s motionless body was found in a nearby drain.

Reports are that the taxi driver had set up an illegal electrical diversion system in his building, with several live electric wires were in close proxim-

ity. Residents in the area reportedly heard a loud noise sounding like an explosion as Wilson was tending to the wires at the time.

His body was found lying motionless in a nearby drain by neighbours who summoned the police.

Upon arrival, the police checked the body for marks of violence, but none was found.

Wilson was then escorted to the West Demerara Regional Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. The body was then transported to Ezekiel Mortuary awaiting post-mortem examination. Investigations are ongoing. (G9)

Education Ministry officials and GTU representatives during the discussions on Tuesday

Dead: Rondel Wilson

FROM PAGE 15

A participant releasing a yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) into the Rupununi River

High Court throws out BK's challenge of quarry licences granted to Nazar Mohamed

…says BK failed to prove any wrongdoing on Govt agencies’ part

An application made by BK Quarries Incorporated, challenging the quarry licences granted to Hadi’s World – a company owned by businessman Nazar “Shell” Mohamed – has been tossed out by the High Court on the grounds that it failed to make a compelling case for judicial review.

The legal challenge to Hadi World’s four quarry licences was first filed by BK Quarries Inc., owned by businessman Brian Tiwarie, back in 2021. BK had named Hadi’s World, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the

parties, BK Quarries failed to prove its grounds for the challenge or whether any breach to the law had occurred.

Moreover, the judge

the triumph of justice in the case. According to him, they have already invested heavily in the quarry. As such, he was pleased and relieved with the judgement.

This is not the first time BK was unsuccessful in the case. In its initial filings, BK Quarries had also named GGMC’s Commissioner Newell Dennison as a respondent. However, the Commissioner of GGMC had applied to be removed as a party to the proceedings.

Back in 2022, Justice Persaud had granted the application on the ground that there was “no cause of action disclosed against him”.

Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), in its challenge on the grounds that BK’s own application for a quarry license was being blocked.

In his May 13 ruling, however, Justice Gino Persaud had found that after careful consideration of all the affidavits and written submissions filed by the

ruled that the decisions of the EPA and GGMC, were not unlawful, unfair, unreasonable, arbitrary or a breach of natural justice.

As such, BK was ordered to pay sums of $500,000 each to GGMC, EPA And Hadi’s World, all within six weeks.

In comments after the ruling, Hadi World’s owner Nazar Mohamed, hailed

As such, he had been deleted from the proceedings and BK was ordered to pay him $250,000 in costs.

BK Quarries had also previously filed an application for the GGMC to disclose several documents, including documents submitted to it by Hadi’s World in its quarry license applications. That application,

TikTok creators file suit to block divestment or ban law

Agroup of TikTok creators said Tuesday they filed suit in US federal court seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app used by 170 million Americans or ban it, saying it has had "a profound effect on American life".

The TikTok users suing include a Texas Marine Corps veteran who sells his ranch products, a Tennessee woman selling cookies and discussing parenting, a North Dakota college coach who makes sports commentary videos and a recent college graduate in North Carolina who advocates for the rights of sexual-assault survivors.

Donald Trump's one-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen was back on the witness stand on Tuesday. And he detailed a 2017 Oval Office meeting where Trump, who was then the newly-elected U.S. president, agreed to a plan to secretly reimburse Cohen for a hush-money payment the Attorney made to a porn star. "Although they come from different places, professions, walks of life, and political persuasions, they are united in their view that TikTok provides them a unique and irreplaceable means to express themselves and form community," said the lawsuit. (Excerpt from Reuters)

was also denied by Justice Persaud who held that “[BK Quarries] has not demonstrated any exceptional circumstances to justify the disclosures sought”.

According to the Judge, “the application for disclosure seems to be an attempt to obtain as much information as possible to unpick GGMC’s decision and seems to be a fishing expedition”. On that occasion, BK had also been ordered to pay $150,000.

In its application for judicial review, BK Quarries through its lawyer Siand Dhurjon, complained that despite raising several objections, the GGMC and EPA went ahead with the

granting of the licences to Hadi’s World which has no expertise in the quarrying industry.

Among other things, the company had sought an injunction to prevent Hadi’s World from occupying or taking any steps to develop 16,500 acres of land recently awarded by the GGMC as four quarrying licences.

Dhurjon had said that BK Quarries applied for a quarrying license for an area in Itaballi, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) in August 2018 and is still awaiting a response regarding its application.

Hadi’s World, BK Quarries had said, only applied for its quarrying li-

cense in December 2020.

BK Quarries contends that the EPA illegally waived the requirement for Hadi’s World to be subjected to performing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of four quarrying operations for the reason that the operations “would not significantly impact the environment”.

Considering this, Dhurjon had asked the court to grant an order of mandamus to compel the GGMC to take all steps necessary to see to the 2018 application by BK Quarries for a quarry license over the area of 9364 acres designated by the GGMC. (G3)

Azruddin Mohamed of Hadi’s World (left) with Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat back in 2021. Also in the picture is GGMC Commissioner Newell Dennison

BK International CEO Brian Tiwarie

Argentina inflation crests near 300% as monthly rate slows

Argentina's annual inflation rate hit near 290 per cent in April, the highest in decades, but showed signs of cresting as the monthly rate slowed down more than analysts expected amid a tough austerity drive by libertarian President Javier Milei.

The embattled South American country posted a monthly consumer price rise of 8.8 per cent, still sky-high but down for the fourth straight month since a peak over 25 per cent in December. It was also slightly below forecasts of a nine-percent rise.

Inflation in the 12 months through April landed at 289.4 per cent, only slightly higher than the annualised rate a month earlier, the official INDEC statistics agency said on Tuesday.

Shopkeepers and consumers, however, said that although monthly inflation readings have slowed, the change has yet to be fully felt on the ground.

"No matter how much the inflation rate goes down, which is what everyone says, it is not reflect -

ed here because look, there are items that should have gone down, but haven't," said Sandra Boluch, 50, a fruit and vegetable seller in Buenos Aires. She said her store had been forced to raise workers' salaries, because their rents had increased, while input costs of things like plastic bags had gone up, all feeding back into the sticker price for carrots and

Pundits: Another early election could doom DLP

If an early election is called in Barbados any time soon, it will be a case of too little too late for the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) who would face another massive loss at the polls.

That s the feeling of political scientist Dr Kristina Hinds, in response to the latest development in the Party with General Secretary Steve Blackett being suspended by the General Council Thursday night.

Hinds also believes some parties should step back, or even step away so new political leader Ralph Thorne could rebrand the Party and present a new vision to the country.

We do not know when a General Election may be. This is precious time that is being wasted by the DLP. If a General Election is called sooner than people expect, then certainly it is too little too late for the DLP, Hinds said on Friday.

She said should the full five-year cycle be used by the incumbent Government, however, the DLP might be

Dr Kristina Hinds

able to get its house in order.

If the election is called on schedule, I do believe they have enough time to make some of the changes needed to at least capture some seats.

Political scientist Devaron Bruce said that due to the recurring infighting within the party, the DLP had no viability. Barbadians will not take them seriously, but I won t say these issues will lead to the death of the Party.

(Excerpt from Nation News)

Young: T&T now paying US$1M for Dragon Field taxes

Trinidad and Tobago Energy Minister Stuart Young said on May 13 that Trinidad and Tobago is already paying an unstated portion of over US$1 million (TT$7 million) per year in taxes to Venezuela for the much-awaited Dragon Gas Field.

He was replying to a listed question by Pointe-aPierre Member of Parliament (MP) David Lee in the House of Representatives, asking what payments will the National Gas Company (NGC) make to Venezuela before gas is produced based on Venezuela's licence granted to Shell and the NGC.

Young expressed his confidence in the deal going ahead, hinting that the US

apples.

"These (prices) increase a lot and then that's reflected elsewhere. Where? In the merchandise," she said. "Transportation is more expensive, diesel prices go up, everything goes up. So no matter how much we try to reduce prices, we can't."

The Government of Milei, which inherited a major economic crisis, has touted its success lowering monthly inflation, which has dropped this year since a December peak after he took office and sharply devalued the local peso currency.

"Inflation is being pulverised," presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni wrote on X after the April data was released. (Excerpt from Reuters)

authorities did recognise the need for an extension to their Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) licence to Trinidad and Tobago.

He said the OFAC licence was not granted to Shell, but specifically to the T&T Government and expires at the end of October 2025.

"Shell was not the applicant nor the holder of that licence."

He said days ago, Shell's number two executive told him that Shell has not requested any 15-year extension of the OFAC licence, unlike what Young said Reuters had wrongly reported.

"What I can tell the people of T&T is that I continue to be directly in conversation with those in the White

House responsible for OFAC etcetera, as we pursue the interest of T&T.

"At this stage there is absolutely no indication of anything that will be deleterious to our specific amended licence .

"And they recognise as well, that for us to be able to pursue and bring this has to market an extension will be necessary and we don't foresee any difficulties with that."

Young said the payments due to Venezuela consisted of royalty, a special commission of five per cent, surface tax and social contributions totalling US$1 million, and a confidential signing bonus.

(Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

Police injured in protest over Mexico missing students

Twenty-six Police Officers were injured in Mexico City on Monday in clashes with protesters who threw firecrackers.

The protesters were taking part in a demonstration demanding justice for 43 students who disappeared in 2014 from the town of Ayotzinapa in southern Guerrero state.

They were angry at the release from pre-trial detention last week of eight soldiers suspected of involvement in the students' disappearance.

The disappearance of the 43 and the botched investigation into it has long incensed not just their families but also human rights activists in Mexico and abroad.

City officials said that 26

8 farm workers dead,

Eight persons have been confirmed dead after a bus believed to be carrying migrant farm workers crashed on a state highway in north-central Florida on Tuesday. Forty-five persons have also been injured according to emergency officials.

In an article from CNN, the Florida Highway Patrol reported that approximately 53 farm workers were aboard the bus when it collided with a 2001 Ford Ranger at approximately 06:35h. The bus then exited the roadway and ran through a fence before overturning.

Authorities believe based on the extent of the damage, the death toll may increase.

There s a high probability this may be beyond eight fatalities, Lieutenant Patrick Riordan of the Florida Highway Patrol said at a news conference at the scene. He revealed that some of the injured were in serious condition.

In a news conference Tuesday evening, Juan Sabines, the Mexican consul in Orlando, said the victims were all from Mexico and were in the United States on temporary agricultural worker visas. (Jamaica Observer)

officers had sustained injuries from the firecrackers, including to their arms, legs and buttocks, and had been taken to hospital for treatment.

The protesters dispersed after the altercation.

It is not the first time demonstrators have gathered at the Z calo the central square in the capital to draw

attention to the lack of progress in bringing those behind the students' disappearance to justice.

In March, a group broke down one of the doors of the presidential palace with a lorry, reportedly venting their anger at not having been received by the President, Andr s Manuel L pez Obrador.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

crash

Police in Peru reported 13 persons killed in a crash on a highway in the South American country's Andean region, according to a radio announcement on Tuesday, marking the latest fatal accident in a place where such accidents are frequent.

The crash involving a vehicle belonging to the Interprovincial Civa transport company took place at 06:30h (1130 GMT) near Vinchos as the bus travelled from the capital Lima to Ayachucho, local authorities

said in a statement. They initially reported 14 injured, but Police Colonel Jhonny Valderrama later told Canal N television there were at least 18 injured. Seven ambulances were dispatched to the site as well as around two dozen health personnel, Ayacucho district authorities said, adding that the injured had been taken to three separate hospitals for treatment.

Health personnel remain at the site, authorities said.

(Reuters)

A greengrocer counts Argentine peso bills at a local market in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 11, 2024 (Reuters/Irina Dambrauskas photo)

Students take part in a protest over the disappearance of the 43 students of the Ayotzinapa teaching training school in 2014 in front of the Palacio Nacional (National Palace) in Mexico City on March 6, 2024 [Getty Images]

Around the World

OIL NEWS

Oil settles lower as inflation data gives way to market jitters

Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah, battles rage in northern Gaza

Israeli tanks pushed deeper into eastern Rafah on Tuesday, reaching some residential districts of the southern Gazan border city where more than a million people had been sheltering and stoking fears of further civilian casualties.

Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday, after US data stoked concerns that interest rates may stay high, but potential risks to supply from Mideast tensions and wildfires in Canada put a floor under prices.

Brent crude futures settled down 98 cents, or 1.18 per cent at US$82.38 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled down US$1.10, or 1.39 per cent at US$78.02 a barrel.

US producer prices increased more than expected in April, feeding fears the Federal Reserve may keep borrowing costs elevated to fight inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he expected US inflation to keep declining through 2024, but warned he was less confident now, since prices rose more quickly than expected through the first quarter.

"The inflation story is not under control that is pulling demand back a bit and the thing that rubbed a little salt in the wound was Powell's comments," said Tim Snyder, economist at Matador Economics.

US consumer price data is expected today and will affect the timing of rate cuts that could spur economic growth and oil demand.

Another stronger-than-expected inflation reading could feed worries that a too-hot economy will force the Fed to raise rates again, which could hinder growth.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stuck to its forecast for relatively strong growth in global oil demand in 2024 and said there was a chance the world economy could do better than expected this year.

OPEC's monthly report said world oil demand will rise by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 and by 1.85 million bpd in 2025.

Energy markets were also watching wildfires in remote western Canada that could buoy prices by disrupting oil supplies.

Firefighters on Monday were racing to contain one blaze in British Columbia and two in Alberta near the heart of the country's oil sands industry.

Canada has a 3.3 million barrel per day (bpd) production capacity, and is a key supplier of heavier crude.

"Spreading wildfires in Alberta oil sands impose downside risks to our constructive Canada production outlook as massive fires in the same region eight years ago triggered a temporary shutdown of over one million bpd oil production," said Goldman Sachs analysts in a note.

Meanwhile, conflict in the Middle East could be lending a floor to prices. Israeli tanks pushed deeper into eastern Rafah, reaching some residential districts of the southern border city where more than a million people had been sheltering.

"Uncertainty over Rafah and the blowback from that is keeping the market on edge as well," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.

US crude oil and gasoline inventories fell last week while distillate stocks rose, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute (API) figures on Tuesday. Official inventory data from the US Government is due today.

The API figures showed crude stocks were down by 3.104 million barrels in the week ending May 10, the sources said on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.269 million barrels, and distillates rose by 673,000 barrels. Brent crude futures edged down 62 cents, or 0.74 per cent to US$82.74 a barrel by 1640 ET shortly after API data was published, and WTI crude futures fell by 68 cents, or 0.86 per cent to US$78.44 a barrel. (Reuters)

Israel's international allies and aid groups have repeatedly warned against a ground incursion into refugee-packed Rafah, where Israel says four Hamas battalions are holed up. Israel says the operation is needed to root out the remaining fighters.

Fighting has intensified elsewhere across the Gaza Strip in recent days, including in the north, with the Israeli military heading back into areas where it had claimed to have dismantled Hamas months ago.

Fierce gun battles were continuing late on Tuesday in northern Gaza's Jabalia, a

sprawling refugee camp built for displaced Palestinians 75 years ago.

"Many people are being trapped in their houses. We lost contact with some relatives after they were warned by the army in phone calls to leave and they refused," Nasser, 57, a father of six, told Reuters, using an international phone card.

In Rafah, which borders Egypt, Palestinian residents on Tuesday afternoon said they could see smoke billowing above eastern districts of the city and heard explosions after Israel bombarded a cluster of houses.

Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said it had destroyed an Israeli troop carrier with an Al-Yassin 105 missile in the eastern AlSalam district, killing some crew members and wounding others.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the report.

Biden slaps new tariffs on Chinese imports, ratcheting up trade war

US President Joe Biden has slapped major new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminium and medical equipment, taking potshots at Donald Trump along the way as he embraced a strategy that s increasing friction between the world s two largest economies.

The Democratic President said on Tuesday that Chinese Government subsidies ensure the nation s companies do not have to turn a profit, giving them an unfair advantage in global trade.

American workers can outwork and outcompete anyone as long as the competition is fair, Biden said in the White House Rose Garden. But for too long, it hasn t been fair. For years, the Chinese Government has poured State money into Chinese companies it s not competition, it s cheating.

China immediately promised retaliation. Its Ministry of Commerce said Beijing was opposed to the tariff hikes by the United States

and would take measures to defend its interests.

Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, including a quadrupling of EV duties to more than 100 per cent and doubling the duties on semiconductor tariffs to 50 per cent.

The new measures affect US$18 billion in imported Chinese goods including steel and aluminium, semiconductors, electric vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes, the White House said. The EV figure, while headline-grabbing, may have more political than practical impact in the US, which imports very few Chinese EVs.

The US imported US$427 billion in goods from China in 2023 and exported US$148 billion to the world s number-two economy, according to the US Census Bureau, a trade gap that has persisted for decades and become an ever-more sensitive subject in Washington.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was appalled by Israel's escalation in and around Rafah

and by Hamas' indiscriminate firing of rockets there, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Trump's attacks on his trial judges trigger widespread calls for violence

On a recent Tuesday morning, a visibly-frustrated Donald Trump sat through a tense hearing in the first-ever criminal trial of a former American President. During a break, he let rip on his social media platform.

New York Justice Juan Merchan, Trump declared on Truth Social, is a highly conflicted overseer of a kangaroo court. Trump supporters swiftly replied to his post with a blitz of attacks on Merchan. The comments soon turned ugly. Some called for Merchan and other Judges hearing cases against Trump to be killed.

Treason is a hangable offense, one wrote.

They should all be executed, added another.

The April 23 post by Trump and the menacing responses from his followers illustrate the incendiary impact of his angry and incessant broadsides against the judges handling the criminal and civil suits against him. As his presidential campaign intensifies, Trump has baselessly cast the Judges and Prosecutors in his trials as corrupt puppets of the Biden Administration, bent on torpedoing his White House bid.

Comments calling for violence against judges handling Donald Trump s legal cases regularly appear on

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Russia's Putin due to meet Xi Jinping

in Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin's Beijing visit on Thursday is likely to be light on hard deals, but will mark the start of his new presidential term with a show of support from his most powerful political partner, Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Putin's two-day mission the first visit of his new term is expected to highlight the pair's vaunted "no limits" partnership in defiance from pressure from the United States over Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed Putin's trip on Tuesday, saying that Xi and Putin would exchange views on ties and "international and regional issues of common concern".

While diplomats and analysts expect Putin to push Xi for further support for Russia's war economy, from

machines and chemicals to help its military industries to more discounted oil and gas purchases, Putin's trip is likely to be heavily symbolic of a shared world view centred on countering a US-led order.

"China is Russia's strategic partner this is the path chosen by the President of Russia and the leader of China and nothing is going to change that no matter what the West tries to say or do," a Russian official said on condition of anonymity.

Putin will discuss economic ties with China's premier Li Qiang and visit Harbin, a northeast city with deep Russian influence.

Putin's arrival follows a mission to Beijing late last month from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in part to warn China's top diplomat Wang Yi against deepening military support for Russia.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

People and rescuers work to recover the dead body of a Palestinian trapped under the rubble of a house hit in an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, May 14, 2024 (Reuters/Ramadan Abed photo)

US President Joe Biden has said he wants to win this era of competition with China, but not to launch a trade war [Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters photo]

DAILY HOROSCOPES

(March 21-April 19)

Base your decisions on facts, not on hearsay. Be aware of hidden costs and false information. Be bold and ask direct questions. Don’t reveal personal information.

Discipline and control will be necessary when dealing with personal matters. Protect your emotional well-being, physical health and credibility. Work on your own projects.

(May 21-June 20) (April 20-May 20)

Keep a low profile. You’ll accomplish your objective if you go about your business and focus on what matters to you. Refuse to let anyone thwart your plans. Seek out like-minded people.

(June 21-July 22)

(July 23-Aug. 22)

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

You can make a difference if you look for an original way to be helpful. Give your time or effort to a cause or donate items you no longer use. Focus on saving money.

Stand back, be an observer and use your intelligence to decide the best way to handle unstable situations. Invest in yourself, update your skills and ensure you understand the ins and outs.

You’ll gain insight if you pay attention to detail. Gather information, be resourceful and devise a sensible plan; victory will follow. Opportunity is apparent, so don’t hesitate.

Look for opportunities to do something that picks you up. A financial change will help lower your overhead and save you money. Don’t be afraid to shake things up.

Unusual pastimes and people will grab your attention. Embrace experiences that touch your heart and make you think about what matters most. Work to make your life more stable.

Be resourceful, ask questions and adjust whatever doesn’t feel right. Don’t let pressure break you down. Keep on your toes and promptly deal with challenges.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Get out and gain experience. Interact, listen, ask questions and set aside time to think about your options. Refuse to let domestic situations wear you down.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Take one step at a time. Think matters through and act when you’re ready. Agree to someone else’s plan only if it takes you where you want to go. It’s impossible to please everyone.

Focus on doing what’s best for you and taking better care of yourself and what and who is important to you. A firm commitment will put your mind at ease.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

IPL 2024: Delhi Capitals vs Lucknow Super Giants…

Lucknow's playoff hopes all but gone

–

Delhi Capitals signed off the league stage with a 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in Delhi, and, in so doing, have kept themselves in contention for a top-four finish, even if only mathematically.

LSG, with one game left, against Mumbai Indians, aren't out of the running either, but both teams would have to depend on other results to go their way if they are to make the top four.

From 44 for 4 in a chase of 209, LSG took the contest to the last over, thanks to Nicholas Pooran's 61 and Arshad Khan's unbeaten 58 from #8. However, Rasikh Salam defended 22 off the final over to hand DC their seventh victory of IPL 2024.

On a high-scoring surface, DC had to post 200 or above to have a shot at collecting two points. After being asked

smashing six off Mohsin Khan, Porel pummelled three fours and a six in Arshad's second over. In the following

to bat, Abishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs shone with fifties to power DC to 208 for 4. With the ball, Ishant Sharma ripped through LSG early on with three wickets, and even though Pooran and Arshad tried their best, LSG kept losing wickets at the other end, and eventually fell short.

Hope and Porel's powerplay

DC lost aggressive opener Jake Fraser-McGurk in the first over, when he was caught at long-on off the leftarm quick Arshad. But Porel and Shai Hope didn't let the wicket slow them down. After

over, Hope targeted Yudhvir Singh and hit 4,4, and 6. By the end of four overs, DC had raced to 51 for 1. The duo didn't spare Naveen-ul-Haq either, as he ended up conceding 17 runs off his first over.

DC ended the powerplay on 73 for 1, with Porel batting on 43 off 16.

The middle overs’ slowdown

Porel raced to his fifty in 21 balls, but hit only eight runs off his next 12 balls, thanks to LSG's spinners, who exerted pressure in the middle overs. Rahul brought

in Ravi Bishnoi immediately after the powerplay, and bowled Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda from the other end. Bishnoi broke the 92-run second-wicket stand between Porel and Hope in the ninth over, when Hope thrashed a full-length wide delivery straight to cover, where Rahul took a stunning

looked far away. But they still had Stubbs, and after scoring seven off his first nine deliveries, he took off, first smashing Arshad for two fours and a six in the 16th over, and then Naveen for two sixes and a four in the 19th, to get to his fifty in 22 balls. His unbeaten 57 off 25, and a quickfire 33 from Rishabh Pant, lifted DC to

low catch to dismiss him for a 27-ball 38.

After only 17 came off the next 15 balls, Porel fell to Naveen's slower ball in trying to go big. Bishnoi finished with 1 for 26 from his four overs, as DC accumulated just 42 runs from overs 7 to 12.

Stubbs’ blitz lifts DC

After 15 overs, DC were 136 for 3, and the 200-mark

208 for 4, with 72 runs coming off the final five overs.

Ishant rips through LSG Ishant, the Impact Player, made an impact straightaway by removing three big guns - Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hoodain his first three overs. Axar Patel's dismissal of Marcus Stoinis - stumped by Pantmeant LSG were reeling at 44 for 4 in no time.

Pooran's counter-attacking fifty

Despite the early blows, LSG were still in the game, thanks to Pooran's big hitting. He hit Axar for 4, 6, 4, 6 just after the left-arm spinner had removed Stoinis off his first ball. He went on to smash four more fours and two more sixes after that over - this included a reverse-sweep over extra cover for a six off Kuldeep Yadav. At the halfway stage, LSG were 97 for 5. Pooran, however, fell to Mukesh Kumar's slower short ball, angled away from his hitting arc. He sliced it to Axar at extra cover, and departed for a 27-ball 61. At

Delhi Capitals (20 ovs maximum)

Jake Fraser-McGurk c Naveen-ul Haq

b Arshad Khan 0 Abishek Porel c Pooran

b Naveen-ul-Haq 58

Shai Hope c Rahul

b Ravi Bishnoi 38

Rishabh Pant (c)† c Hooda

b Naveen-ul-Haq 33

Tristan Stubbs not out 57

Axar Patel not out 14

Extras (w 8) 8

TOTAL 20 Ov (RR: 10.40) 208/4

Did not bat: Gulbadin Naib, Rasikh Salam, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed

Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Jake FraserMcGurk, 0.2 ov), 2-94 (Shai Hope, 8.3 ov), 3-111 (Abishek Porel, 11.1 ov), 4-158 (Rishabh Pant, 16.2 ov) • DRS

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Arshad Khan 3-0-45-1 Mohsin Khan 4-0-29-0

Yudhvir Singh 2-0-28-0

Naveen-ul-Haq 4-0-51-2

Ravi Bishnoi 4-0-26-1

Krunal Pandya 2-0-20-0

Deepak Hooda 1-0-9-0

Lucknow Super Giants (T: 209 runs from 20 ovs)

Quinton de Kock † c Mukesh Kumar

b Sharma 12

KL Rahul (c) c Mukesh Kumar b Sharma 5

101 for 6, it seemed like LSG had lost control of the chase.

Arshad goes bang, bang There was more entertainment when Arshad came out all guns blazing. Striking at 175.5, the left-hand batter muscled five sixes and three fours to keep LSG in the game till the very end. His unbeaten knock brought down the equation to 29 off the last 12, but Mukesh and Rasikh finished with two excellent overs at the death, denying him any more boundaries, and LSG fell 19 runs short of the DC total. (ESPNCricInfo)

Nicholas Pooran clubbing one for six

Tristan Stubbs provided Capitals with a late lift, courtesy of a 22ball fifty

Abishek Porel celebrating his 21-ball fifty with a salute

Abishek Porel and Shai Hope brought up a fifty stand in 23 balls

as Capitals sign off with win

Demerara Pitbulls clinch championship of inaugural T10 Blast

The Demerara Pitbulls, with the ability to strike the ball to all parts of the ground, romped to victory in the first-ever Guyana T10 Blast by defeating Essequibo Jaguars by two wickets in rapidly fading light on Monday evening at the Enmore Community Centre ground, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Having won the toss, the Pitbulls put the Jaguars in to bat first, and restricted the Jaguars to 96 runs for the loss of six wickets. Kevon Jawahir and Dwain Dick top-scored with 29 runs each, while Seon Glasgow contributed 21 runs to the Jaguars’ total.

Keon Sinclair and Leon Swamy, prolific with their line-and-length consistency,

destroyed the Jaguars’ batting attack; and with a target of 97 runs set by the Jaguars from their allotted 10 overs, Pitbulls’ Junior Sinclair displayed his ball-striking ability in establishing the foundation for his team.

Sinclair led the batting attack in smashing 36 runs, and Damian Vantull did not miss out on the action, as he scored 22 runs. These two gladiators calmly went on to secure the title.

Dwain Dick, Ashmead Nedd and Nial Smith each took two wickets, while U19 player Mavindra Dindyal secured one wicket.

In the semi-final match played earlier in the day, Essequibo Jaguars defeated Essequibo Anacondas by sev-

en wickets in a rain-affected affair that was reduced to six overs per side, while the Demerara Pitbulls defeated Berbice Caimans by three wickets.

Quentin Sampson made the highest individual score of 83*, and left-arm spinners Devon Lord of Berbice Caimans and Ashmead Nedd of Essequibo Jaguars had the joint best bowling figures of 4-6.

In individual accolades, Christopher Barnwell was adjudged the ‘Most Valuable Player’, while Quentin Sampson was adjudged ‘the Batsman with the Most Runs’, and ‘the Bowlers with the Most Wickets were adjudged to be Ashmead Nedd and Veerasammy Permaul.

GFF Women’s League Division One, Round Two…

GDF FC extend lead to 6 points

– after victory over Potaro Strikers

As the season winds down, the Guyana Defence Force Football Club have asserted their dominance atop the Women’s League Division One Round Two standings by a six-point lead culled from a 9-0 win over Potaro Strikers FC.

In the May 11 matchup, played at Rivers View Ground in the Potaro, the Georgetown side overpowered Potaro Strikers with their relentless attacking strategy. Pacesetter Glendy Lewis found the net in the 4th minute, and added two more stunning goals in the 7th and 35th minutes as the army squad continued to push hard, breaking through the home team's defences.

Jalade Trim scored twice in quick succession, in the 8th and 21st minutes; while

KFC Elite League…

Shenessa Cornelius added another goal in the 31st minute to bring the GDF tally to six by halftime. In the second half, Cornelius extended her tally with another goal in the 70th minute. Then Sandra Johnson struck in the 80th minute and Glendy Lewis did likewise in the 85th minute to secure a comprehensive 9-0 victory for Guyana's premier women's club.

Guyana Defence Force now have twenty-seven points from nine consecutive wins. The Guyana Police Force are in second place with twenty-one points tallied from seven wins and two losses. Fruta Conquerors FC hold on to third position with thirteen points earned from four wins, one draw, and four

Clubs, referees participate in Round 1 Review sessions

Officials of the ten clubs participating in the KFC Elite League Season Six Round One tournament, along with referees, have engaged in comprehensive review sessions conducted by the Guyana Football Federation's Technical and Referees Departments on May 11 at the Federation's National Training Centre at Providence East Bank Demerara.

The one-day assessments were held to pinpoint areas for improvement as the GFF prepares to kick off Round Two on May 24. Round One commenced in February and concluded this month after 45 matches.

GFF President Wayne Forde, Technical Director Bryan Joseph; Head of Referees, Lenval Peart; and Referee Instructor/Assessor Natasha Lewis were all in attendance at the reviews.

The club session saw participation from representatives of Guyana Defence Force FC, Slingerz FC, Guyana Police Force FC, Santos FC, Den Amstel FC, Fruta Conquerors FC,

Monedderlust FC, and Buxton United FC.

Valuable insights were shared on the organisation of Round One of Season Six, and topics covered included fixture alterations, team uniformity, and controversial refereeing decisions.

GFF President Wayne Forde shared that discussion with officials of the elite clubs was frank and

engaging, resulting in the resolution of several areas of concern by the end of the session.

“I was pleased with the level of participation, and I want to thank all of the representatives for attending the review last Saturday. Football stakeholders share a unified goal, which is the advancement of the sport in Guyana, with the Elite

League playing a key role in our strategic development strategy,” Forde has said.

“We are all looking forward to the start of the second round of the KFC Elite League Season Six, later this month,” Forde added.

During the second assessment session, overseen by Referee Instructor/ Assessor Natasha Lewis,

match officials assigned to Season Six underwent a thorough evaluation, during which they were briefed on the concerns raised by players and coaches. Controversial decisions were scrutinised, and a refresher on the game's rules were provided where necessary. The interactive sessions also emphasised the importance of consistency and sound decision-making in officiating.

Lewis stressed that these discussions are key to “raise the standard of refereeing, protect the image of football, protect the players, and ultimately allow the league to run smoothly” for Round Two.

GFF Technical Director Bryan Joseph added that it was “a great initiative that allowed the coaching staff to openly discuss challenges experienced in the first half of the league. The referee committee was also happy to share their thoughts on improving the relationship with the clubs on and off the pitch. We look forward to the other planned workshops, all designed to make our league better.”

losses.

Potaro Strikers FC remain in fourth place with five points, comprising one win, two draws, and five defeats. At the bottom of the table, the Parkuri Jaguars FC sit in fifth place with one win, one draw, and six losses to their name.

Champions of the inaugural Guyana 10 Blast, Demerara Pitbulls

The GDF Women’s outfit prior to their victory over Potaro Strikers last weekend

A snippet from the various review sessions held with clubs and referees

Kickoff of ExxonMobil U14 tourney shifted to May 25

School football enthusi-

asts will have to wait another week to witness the commencement of action in the ExxonMobil Boys and Girls Under-14 Schools’ Football tournament, as announced by coordinators Petra Organization during a ball- distribution exercise on Tuesday.

Petra Co-Director Troy Mendonca has revealed that the tournament will kick-off next Saturday, May 25th, instead of the initial commencement date of Saturday, May 18th. According to Mendonca, this is owing to an overwhelming interest of schools wishing to compete in the tournament.

“Ms. Latiff would’ve alluded to the response by teachers and students to this team briefing, and that in itself is an indication as to the response from schools as it relates to the tournament. And so, having taken that into consideration, we’re forced right

A

now to shift back the tournament one week,” Mendonca shared about the postponement.

The tournament was set to feature 32 Boys’ Teams and 24 Girls’ teams playing in a round-robin Group stage first, before moving on to the Round of 16. However, Guyana Times Sport has been able to confirm that 40+ schools have shown interest in the Boys’ tournament; creating good headaches for the organizers.

Despite the change to the kickoff date, the Petra Organization continued with their customary ball- distribution exercise, which was carried out on Tuesday at the National Racquet Center on Woolford Avenue in Georgetown. There, Ministry of Education (MoE) Allied Arts Representative Towanna McCalmon was on hand to not only encourage discipline and fair play among the students, but to speak to the positive

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McCalmon addressed the students by saying, “At the Unit of Allied Arts, we support every sport discipline which is being done in our schools, which helps our learners to become well-rounded and disciplined individuals. Football is no exception, and with this tournament, we continue to see rapid growth in talent amongst our boys and girls.”

Dowridge

to the Champions League finals

t's a dream come true!"

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Dowridge emerged as the lucky winner from thousands of entries, seizing what many consider a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Guyanese football enthusiasts to experience the pinnacle of club football live.

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Dattadeen congratulated Dowridge for the promotion's top prize, and urged him to fully relish his London excursion, all compliments of the sports and virtual gaming company.

Meanwhile, the promotion, which required iBET customers to spend $2000 or more to qualify, offered consolation prizes, one of which — an iPhone 15 Pro — was won by Neeraj Khan.

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Dellon Caesar, who took home the third-place prize of a 55” Samsung Smart TV, expressed his disappointment at not winning the trip to the Champions League finals. However, he found solace in concluding the promotion with a prize.

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Flow named official Telecommunications supporter in the Caribbean

C&W Communications has been announced as the Official and Exclusive Telecommunications Supporter in the Caribbean for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Part of the Liberty Latin America group of companies, C&W Communications is the leading entertainment and communications provider in the Caribbean with operations in 20 markets with the brands Flow, Flow Business, C&W Business and BTC.

The company’s services are underpinned by over 50,000 kilometres of the most modern subsea and terrestrial fibre networks in the region.

As the Official Telecommunications Supporter for the event in the Caribbean, C&W Communications will provide innovative telecommunications services and support to ensure seamless connectivity and communication throughout the tournament. From high-speed internet access to reliable mobile networks, C&W Communications will play a crucial role in keeping players, officials, fans, and stakeholders connected and engaged during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

C&W Business will also provide internet connectivity services for the tournament’s official media hub at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Barbados, the host venue for the final. This firstof-its-kind remote media hub for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will feature minimum 200Mbps download/upload speeds and can facilitate 200 travelling journalists from around the world who will be able use the hub as a central location for the tournament where they can view all tournament matches and participate in a full-range of in-stadia media activities.

Chief Executive Officer, C&W Communications, Inge Smidts said: “C&W Communications has a long and proud history of keeping the Caribbean connected to the things that matter most, and this partnership underscores our dedication to supporting the love of cricket, camaraderie, and the spirit of competition – values that resonate deeply with us as an organisation, our customers and the communities we serve.

“As the official Caribbean telecommunications and ICT provider for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, we look forward to connecting millions of fans across the Caribbean and around the world to the excitement and passion of this premier sporting event.”

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 Tournament Director Fawwaz Baksh said: “Cricket possesses immense power to unite people and the strategic partnership between ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and Flow allows us to do this, as we aim to develop the sport of cricket across the Caribbean and partner with Corporate Caribbean and other stakeholders.

“We are thrilled to have Flow as the exclusive Presenting Partner for the

T20 World Cup’s volunteer programme, and we look forward to ensuring this collaboration helps us to deliver an out of this world tournament.”

More than 900 volunteers from across the West Indies will participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Volunteer Programme, which will serve as a cornerstone for supporting various aspects of the tournament including hospitality, logistics, and fan engagement.

As the Presenting Partner for the Volunteer Programme in the Caribbean, Flow will also play a pivotal role in ensuring volunteers are fully prepared to elevate the experience when tens of thousands of fans, media, players, and officials visit the West Indies in June.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 blasts off on 1 June with the tournament’s first match featuring USA taking on Canada at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Match tickets, including party-stand tickets for Caribbean fixtures, and hospitality packages are available at tickets.t20worldcup. com. Box offices across the Caribbean are now open and tickets are available for sale there.

Petra’s Nareeza Latiff-Boston and Co-Director Troy Mendonca, alongside MoE’s Towanna McCalmon, are surrounded by faces that would feature in the upcoming ExxonMobil U14 tournaments

Petra Co-Director Troy Mendonca

(L-R) Senior Marketing Manager Omar Dattadeen, Keith Dowridge, General Manager Abigail Primo-Chase and Brand Ambassador Rawle Toney

Chief Executive Officer, C&W Communications, Inge Smidts

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 Tournament Director Fawwaz Baksh

Dellon Caesar and his third-place prize of one 55” Samsung TV

Guyana semi-final on June 27

India will play the second semi-final of the men's T20 World Cup on June 27 at Providence in Guyana, if they qualify for the knockouts stage. The ICC's playing conditions for the tournament, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, confirms this.

India have likely been allotted the Guyana semi-final because of the match timings. The first semi-final in Tarouba, Trinidad, is a night game, set to be played from 8.30pm local time on June 26which in India is 6am on June 27. The Guyana semi-final, however, will start at 10.30am local time, which is a far more TV-friendly 8pm in India.

The final in Bridgetown, Barbados, is also a day game, starting 10am local time on June 29, or 7.30pm in India.

The playing conditions have also confirmed that there will be no reserve day for the second semi-final. Instead, there will be 250 minutes of extra time allotted to the match - rather than the 190 minutes allotted to the first semi-final and the final, which have reserve days - to try and ensure a finish in case there are weather interruptions.

This additional hour of extra time has been added on because the tournament schedule allows no time for a reserve day, with only a one-day gap between the second semi-final and the final.

The second semi-final could be in for a tight squeeze in case of persistent rain, particularly because in semi-finals and finals at ICC events, a decisive result can only be achieved if both teams have batted for at least ten overs each.

In most T20 games, the team batting second only has to bat for five overs for a result to be achieved in shortened games, and this remains the case for the majority of games at the T20 World Cup, except the three knock-out games. This was also the case for the semi-finals and final of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. (ESPNCricinfo)

edge Golden Jaguars 2-1 in first friendly

The

to an entertaining encounter as the home team opened a two-match friendly series with a pulsating 2-1

Caribbean

Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz opted for a starting XI that read: Captain Daniel Wilson, Goalkeeper Jumaine Cumberbatch, Jeremy Garrett, Curtez Kellman, Quincy Adams, Leo Lovell, Amos Ramsey, Ryan Hackett, Darron Niles, Stephen McDonald and Kelsey Benjamin.

The boisterous patrons at the Hasely Crawford Stadium

to

works, when Ezekiel Kezar capitalized on a wayward play in Guyana’s back-line. Kezar made the break away and met Cumberbatch well outside his box, winning the challenge to put Trinidad ahead by 1.

Then in the 39th, Kevon Woodley received a soft past beyond several of the Guyanese defenders. As the Golden Jaguars’ defense and keeper looked to the referee for the offside call, Woodley had no trouble beating Cumberbatch to secure their second strike.

After the 2-0 lead at the half, a clever Kelsey Banjamin netted Guyana’s consolation early in the second segment. A series of ‘back passes’ among the Soca Warriors resulted in one pass going awry, and as such, Benjamin capitalized to chip one in for Guyana.

Following the clash, Golden Jaguars Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz reviewed his team’s performance.

“Useful exercise. Good opportunities for us to see some players, you know, getting to play this game. So, very useful exercise for us tonight,” Shabazz began.

“Our game is built on trying to build it out of the back. I felt that when we went down, we started to become a little bit predictable and lose confidence, but at the half, we tried to get them to raise it a bit. So, the tempo in the first half is not what we would

have liked. Yes, we were moving the ball. Yes, we had possession, but we were not really threatening them.

“In the second half, I thought we moved the ball more purposeful, and we were able to get into some better positions to threaten the opponents in the first half. I thought in the second half we dominated, and we had our chances. Of course, they had their chances, but I would say it was pretty even in the second half. In the first half, I felt Trinidad and Tobago were superior to us,” Shabazz concluded, responding to an inquiry of whether or not Guyana was ‘second best’ on the night.

Guyana will face off with Trinidad again tonight in the second of the two friendlies at the same venue. The Trinidad friendlies are a part of the Golden Jaguars’ preparation for their upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying matches in June.

Guyana can expect a serious influx of India fans in the lead-up to the semi-final on June 27

The Golden Jaguars and the Soca Warriors will meet again tonight at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, T&T (TTFA Photos)

Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago was treated

victory over

counterparts Guyana.

had to wait until the 28th minute

witness some real fire-