Guyana times 13 august 2017

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

Issue No. 3300

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Sunday, August 13, 2017

PRICE

Works begin on deplorable Lethem road

$120 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

“I hope you will become stronger and recognise your intrinsic value” – First Lady P18

Decomposed body found in Black Bush P15 Polder

… light vehicles, rations allowed to pass Page … fuel to be available today 9

7-year-old dies in Capoey Lake accident

Page 14

Page 3

Digicel offers all-expensepaid package for CPL fans

Tapirs in Corriverton becoming extinct Page 13

2 years later

Law Reform Commission yet to be established

… as PPP blasts Govt for collecting millions but failing to deliver Page 9

GDF rank dies after crashing into parked truck P8

Diocese P17 of Guyana celebrates 175th anniversary Region 2 rice woes

Farmers continue P11 to battle paddy bug infestation …as GRDB denies “seldom” visit by officers

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SUnDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

East Canje murder/suicide

Couple had division of property case in court

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he East Canje, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) couple, whose deaths rocked the community on Friday, had disagreements regarding their properties and were battling a division of property case in the High Court, relatives confirmed.

Businessman Rudolph Blair, called “Rudy”, 46, reportedly stabbed his wife, 42-year-old Rhonda Blair, twice at their Lot 91 Coburg Street, Cumberland Village, East Canje, home close to midnight on Thursday, before escaping to an empty plot of land behind the house, where he shot himself twice after a standoff with the Police on Friday morning.

While many, including close associates and relatives of the couple, knew that their relationship was very troubled, the news of their deaths shocked everyone.

Guyana Times understands that the couple had been separated for several months and their divorce is being processed in court.

A relative of the now dead man told this newspaper that the couple’s most recent misunderstanding was over their Rosignol, West Bank Berbice, property.

The entrepreneurs were the owners of the Stretch ‘D’ Dollar Supermarket chain, which started in Cumberland back in 2002, then expanded to Rosignol in 2010 and at Pitt Street, New Amsterdam, in 2013.

In recent years, the businesses began losing profits and Blair had been having difficulty meeting financial obligations to a financial institution for a loan he had taken to establish the

Dead: Rudolph Blair

Dead: Rhonda Blair

$83 million outlet at New Amsterdam, this newspaper was told. The bank had reportedly made an attempt on foreclose last year and all the stock was sold out.

However, negotiation put a hold on the foreclosure.

Guyana Times was told that Rhonda had turned the Rosignol outlet into a church, reducing income and the ability of the couple to meet their financial obligations to the bank.

According to the relative, Rudolph wanted to sell the West Bank Berbice property to repay the loan for the Pitt Street outlet, which was reopened about two months ago but was operating on a smaller scale.

However, his wife had objected because she wanted to hold onto the church, which the relative said was “dark” but refused to go into details.

The family member continued that after the New Amsterdam supermarket was reopened, Rhonda began making demands, since her name is also on the transport, for the business to be closed on Saturdays,

despite them not being Adventists.

Moreover, the relative further revealed that because of the financial strain, the businessman was forced to sell vehicles in an effort to keep up with bank instalments.

Additionally, two months ago, he sold another property he owned. He then purchased a car and operated it as hire but it could not bring in the amount of money needed to prevent the bank from foreclosing.

According to Police reports, Rhonda Blair’s body was discovered about 00:05h on Friday in her backyard with two stab wounds – one to the left side breast and the other to the right side neck. Meanwhile, Rudolph Blair’s body was discovered with two suspected gunshot wounds to the left ear and left side chest, about 08:40h in some bushes at the back of his premises. His licensed .32 pistol with six live rounds and one spent shell were found next to his body, the release said.

After the couple separated months ago, Rhonda Blair had moved in with one of her friends at Ithaca, West Bank Berbice, and on Thursday, she had left to go to the New Amsterdam outlet to conduct business but did not return.

The friend then made a report to the Police, who accompanied her along with the couple’s son to the East Canje home, where Rhonda’s body was discovered in a pool of blood.

At that time, her husband was the prime suspect and at about 05:00h, the Police received information that he was in the bushes. A standoff ensued between the man and the Police, during which the Police and relatives tried unsuccessfully to convince him to turn himself in.

It was reported that the man told relatives not to go closer to him, saying that he was “okay”. Shortly after, a gunshot was fired and he went silent. The Police then went in search of him and found his body on a plot of land covered with large trees about 60 metres from his fenced yard.

NEWS

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, August 13 – 08:30h-10:00h and Monday, August 14 – 09:30h-11:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday, August 13 – 07:50h-09:20h and Monday, August 14 – 08:50h-10:20h.

FERRY SCHEDULE Parika and Supenaam departure times - 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Thundery to heavy rain showers can be

expected in the morning, while light rains showers with sunny intervals can be expected in the afternoon. Clear skies are expected in the evening, with temperatures ranging between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from Easterly to East South-easterly and East North-easterly between 1.78 metre to 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 08:14h and 20:37h reaching maximum heights of 2.58 metres and 2.55 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 01:45h and 14:09h reaching minimum heights of 0.59 metre and 0.68 metre respectively.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2017

LOTTERY NUMBERS K

02 05 06

13 14 23

11 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

DAILY MILLIONS 02 03 09 10 13 LUCKY 3 4 7 9 Afternoon Draw

8

1

3

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

05 10 13 14 16 18 21 DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

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SunDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Digicel offers all-expensepaid package for CPL fans

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he latest Digicel promotion, launched on Friday, will see customers across the Caribbean vying for a chance to win an all-expensepaid trip for them and their ‘crew’ to the finals of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), to be held in Trinidad and Tobago.

Customers simply need to activate a data smart bundle from now until August 31, and they could be jetting off to the finals with three of their friends, on an amazing package that includes roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodation, ground transportation to and from the finals, plus stipend.

In addition, customers in CPL countries who activate a data smart bundle automatically go into the draw to win regular season CPL match tickets.

“CPL, and cricket in general, is a big love among the Caribbean people, and we are happy to be helping them to come out and support their teams,” Head of Sponsorship, Ben Bradley, explained.

He also noted that this is about Digicel leveraging its platforms and its latest offerings, like smart bundles, to help customers stay connected to the things they love.

Data smart bundles allow prepaid/

Win an all-expense-paid trip for them and their ‘crew’ to the finals of the CPL in Trinidad

postpaid customers to browse, stream, share and chat to their heart’s content on Digicel’s superfast 4G network, plus enjoy rollover data and talk.

In addition, to ensure maximum turnout at the games, Digicel is giving customers even more chances to win CPL match tickets - by downloading the MyDigicel app and playing

one of the cool CPL games in the CPL FanZone.

Digicel’s CPL smart bundles’ promotion is available to customers in Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, The British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

7-year-old dies after car nosedives into lake A n accident at Capoey Lake, Essequibo Coast has claimed the life of seven-year-old Wesley Benn and injured others.

The car in which Benn and others were travelling took a nose dive off a bridge and into the lake at approximately 16:00hrs on Saturday.

According to reports, the child’s fellow travellers were able to exit the vehicle but the boy was not so fortunate. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Suddie Public Hospital. An investigation has been launched.

The GPF had recorded 26 fatalities for the first quarter of 2017. This is a decrease from the 2016 fig-

clists, four were motor cyclists, and four were occupants of the vehicles in which they were travelling.

Private cars accounted for most of the vehicles involved, standing at 12, while there were four pedal cycles, three minibuses, four motor lorries, four hire cars, one motor pickup, and four motor cycles.

ure, when 29 fatalities occurred in the first three months of the year.

The police say that serious, minor and damage accidents have been reduced by 23.3%, 36% and 37% respectively.

Of the 26 persons who lost their lives, seven were drivers, six were pedestrians, five were pedal cy-

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sunDAY, august 13, 2017

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

Editorial

The Venezuelan conundrum

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aking a break from his summer vacation to consider the continuing and escalating crisis in our next-door neighbour, Venezuela, US President Donald Trump announced, “We have many options for Venezuela; and by the way, I’m not going to rule out a military option.”

Against that background, the statement on Venezuela by the Chairman of the HoG Conference, Grenada Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, following the end of the 38th CariCom Heads of Government (HoG) Conference in Grenada, is salutary: “We reaffirmed our guiding principles to the rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy, as well as the fundamental principles of non-intervention and non-interference in the affairs of states…Concern with the difficult economic and social situation in Venezuela, in particular the increase in violence and polarization between the Government and the Opposition and its effect on the people of Venezuela, and recognizing the need to find a solution for the present situation which ought to seek internally.”

Calling for the Venezuelan Government and its Opposition to “resume dialogue”, Dr Mitchell reaffirmed that CariCom was willing to facilitate such a dialogue. Several members of CariCom are also members of the “Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America” (ALBA), which was a Venezuelansponsored Caribbean initiative extending the PetroCaribe oil facility into other economic areas to its members. The rest of Latin America, including the Organisation of American states (OAS), have also expressed their disquiet at the deteriorating situation in Venezuela - especially after the disputed results of the recent elections held by the Government but boycotted by the Opposition, to form a Constituent Assembly to revise their Constitution.

Up to now, while it has long signalled it was seeking regime change in Venezuela since the Chavez presidency, with the destabilising effect any further deterioration of the Venezuelan crisis would have in the region, the US has tried to facilitate a regional response, especially via the OAS. Historically, because of the unfortunate fallout from previous US military interventions in the region, other Latin American countries are expected to oppose return to that tactic.

As a next door neighbour of Venezuela, Guyana has to be especially concerned with the recent descent into an almost anarchical state in that country -- which has the largest reserves of oil in the world, and is the third largest supplier of petroleum to the US. That such a country can reach a stage where hunger stalks the land and Venezuelans have to cross their borders into neighbouring countries - including Guyana - in a desperate search for food is an object lesson for us.

Here, the present Government is unfortunately giving the impression that, with oil having been discovered off our shores, our assets and prowess in agriculture can be neglected, and even jettisoned. Venezuela was “flying high” when oil was above US$100/barrel, and neglected agriculture and other areas of the economy that could have provided a diversified base. With oil now stubbornly below US$50, the Venezuelan Government has discovered that farming and other entrepreneurial activities cannot be turned on like an oil spigot. Once that expertise is discarded, it is very difficult to rebuild.

In the meantime, scoffing at what he called President Trump’s “bluster”, President Maduro has offered to meet him on the sidelines of the upcoming UN General Assembly Meeting next month. The White House later released a statement effectively denying the request: “Trump will gladly speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that country.”

The US Government has slapped a series of sanctions against Maduro’s administration in response to a crackdown on Opposition leaders and the recent election of the constituent assembly, but has held off from cutting back imports of petroleum products for fear of a blowback on its economy.

Pre-empting US VP Pence’s six-day tour of Latin America, the community, which had criticised Maduro’s actions, blasted the US’ suggestion at a foreign minister’s meeting of the trade bloc Mercosur. The interests of the US and the region are best served by non-interventionary measures.

A floral display is pictured inside the Gothic room of Brussels' town hall during "Flowertime" event in Brussels, Belgium (Reuters/Francois Lenoir)

Refuting false charges again (Part 2) Dear Editor, I am ready to argue that: NICIL was not lawless, and was good for Guyana; that the only fiasco about Amaila was the then Opposition withdrawing its support and scuttling the development of a waterfall which had been identified in an internationally-supported programme of the mid-1970s as one of the best to match our domestic needs; and that the major embarrassment in Guyana must be the inability of this Coalition Government to find anything substantial to support its allegations of corruption of hundreds of billions of dollars in annual budget expenditures whilst the PPP/C was in office.

In the unwarranted and unjustified attack on former President Janet Jagan, that letter writer displayed his alarming prejudice and beliefs generated by the hostile propaganda of the 1950s and 1960s. Though Mrs Jagan was not born a Guyanese, she was a Guyanese of greater faith than many

born here. It was Former President Janet Jagan -with her understanding of how badly many AfroGuyanese felt about losing elections one after another to the PPP -- who, after our 1997 elections, despite the sense of unhappiness throughout her party about accepting another injustice, signed that Herdmanston Accord which provided for constitutional amendments to put limitations on the powers of the President and the Executive, and brought forward our next elections by two years.

Former President Janet Jagan signed the Agreement, and it was former President Bharrat Jagdeo who assented to the ensuing amendments. However, as he once quipped, one amendment he wouldn’t assent to would be an amendment that said the PPP shouldn’t win an election!

The letter writer must have been carried away with his jaundiced views in bringing up the name of

Roger Khan. An unprejudiced review of our media from the months preceding our 1997 elections unto today would reveal that a criminal fringe of mainly Afro-Guyanese men took over Buxton, and, styling themselves as ‘Freedom Fighters’, launched attacks on mainly Indo-Guyanese, at the same time ‘disciplining’ Blacks who did not meet their pleasure. With our security forces being remarkably unsuccessful in apprehending them, Roger Khan -- a man with contacts in almost all circles in Guyana -- took on himself and some associates the task of apprehending them. It was a period when Guyanese and Guyana were put to a severe test; maybe it is still too early for a true and complete telling. Suffice it to say that it was a troubled time, a period when a President could have become very protective of himself and party.

I want to assure the writer and the public that we value excellence no less, but

excellence must be judged in context. A major plank of the PPP and PPP/C is to prefer policies and programmes which would entrain and benefit the larger number, and provide for growth upwards from the widest base.

We are wary of trickle-down approaches.

The CCJ would rule on a former two-term President running again for office; if allowed, the Guyanese electorate will have its say.

Whatever the case, we are free to reconsider whatever we intended. There are many countries which allow former Presidents to run again after an absence of one or two terms. Former President Jagdeo would now be eligible to be President again in perhaps every country of the world save for the USA, and what appears to be the evolving practice in China.

Yours truly, Samuel A A Hinds Former Prime Minister and former President

Whatever happened to the Green Volunteer Corps?

Dear Editor, Could someone advise what has happened to the ‘Green Volunteer Corps’ (GGVC) that was registered under the M&CC and overseen by the Council under the stewardship of the Town Clerk?

It was formed a while back by the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) under the mayorship of Mayor Hamilton Green, when Patricia ChaseGreene was then Deputy Mayor and Royston King was Town Clerk.

We were told at its

launch that the Green Volunteer Corps, which was going to be 1000 strong and purportedly financed by the business community, was going to bring about change to the Garden City, and would have received identification material, including tee-shirts, hats and cards.

Was this another failed project by the Georgetown Municipality, like the threeday Green Conference and Expo held on the Independence Ground in 2015 -- which turned out to be a dreadful flop? Was it an initiative that the Council

enthusiastically started up but, like so many other things, was unable to sustain? Or was it just a con job to seem to be in sync with the President’s Green Agenda?

And what about the 1000-tree planting initiative? The other plans for making impressive strides in Georgetown toward eco-friendliness, for helping our over 200,000 residents live better, greener lives?

Cities around the world are identifying ways of making their environment healthier and more livable

through the improvement of air, water and land; but in Georgetown, all that is happening is talk, talk, and more talk.

Georgetown, instead, is becoming better known for sprawling slums and polluted drains; deteriorating and unsafe buildings; chaotic traffic that cannot be corrected by the implementation of a draconian and illegal parking meter system; and considerable air pollution.

Sincerely, Anu Bihari

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Perhaps Dr Adu-Krow was misquoted?

Dear Editor, The Caribbean Voice notes an article in a section of the local media in which PAHO’s Dr Adu-Krow is quoted as saying that the suicide rate in Guyana has ‘plummeted to 20.6 per 100,000 people.’ Actually WHO figures indicate a rate of 30.6 and a global ranking of number two. Perhaps Dr Adu-Krow was misquoted.

Not that we’re not thrilled by the significant reduction from 44.2 in 2012 and a global ranking of number one, but we are bemused by the implication that this reduction is due to the work of the Government of Guyana (GoG). Actually, this reduction is due much more to the work of NGOs like The Caribbean Voice (TCV) and very little to GoG efforts.

In fact, TCV has an ongoing campaign organised and run by almost 70 volunteers in and out of Guyana.

It is built on five pillars training, information dissemination and awareness building, lobbying and advocacy, counselling interventions (over 300 cases in three years), and building stakeholders’ collaborations (such as with Annual National Anti-Violence Candlelight Vigil to mark World Suicide Prevention Day, Sept 10).

The programme includes five different workshops: youth & students, teachers, community outreach, train the trainer, and employees.

Seven dedicated sub-groups in six regions (with plans to set up same in the other four regions), managed by a passionate leadership commit-

City Constabulary is not a member of the Joint Services Dear Editor, Reading some of the press releases emanating from the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown gives one the distinct impression that City Hall is making a concerted effort to take us back to the days of the fantastical tales.

Imagine, City Hall is expressing disappointment that its Constabulary force is not being kept in the loop with classified intelligence and security briefings from the Joint Services, and of its Constabulary force’s non-inclusion in pursuing and rounding up the recent prison escapees. Can you imagine that? The Constabulary?

Oh please let us get serious!

Are we talking about the same security outfit that allows three-card trick men to operate on the pavements with impunity; that allows street vending of pesticides, which is illegal given that these poisons are very dangerous to the environment and human health, especially those of children and the elderly; that scurried for cover when the Cambio opposite its headquarters was being robbed by previous prison escapees; that

cannot stop the daily petty robberies around the municipal markets; that sent home three women constables with immediate effect because they became pregnant? Now c’mon, get real.

But, most importantly, does the Town Clerk not know the City Constabulary is not a member of the Joint Services?

Before seeking collaboration with the national Police, the Council needs to first face the challenging task of turning around this disreputable department and instilling a productive law enforcement environment that inspires confidence in both the law enforcement community and the citizenry it protects and serves.

The Council has to establish a no-nonsense approach to cleaning up corruption within the Constabulary.

Rooting out corruption can only be accomplished by putting in place a clear line of communication with the citizenry, so as to enable the reporting of corrupt constabulary behaviour without fear of retribution.

Best regards, Sambu Jacobus

tee, ensure that our work is continual, ongoing, holistic, collaborative, and comprehensive.

Meanwhile, we commend doctors being trained in the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme [mhGAP], but WHO have actually strongly advocated for integration of mental health care into the current primary health care system, as critical to address mental health issues, including suicide.

Training of doctors is just the start of such a process, and by itself it has negligible impact. As WHO indeed pointed out, “Successful scaling up is the joint responsibility of governments, health professionals, civil society, communities, and families, with support from the international community. The essence of mhGAP is building partnerships for collective action”; in other words, an integrated health care system and concerted collabora-

tion by all stakeholders.

The article goes on to talk about vaguely defined ‘suicide deterrent’ measures that we have heard about before. However, given that the Government rejected something as fundamental as decriminalizing attempted suicide because supporting the bill would have meant the Opposition would get credit, it explains quite clearly that Government’s actions are premised on gaining political mileage, rather than genuinely addressing suicide and mental health in general.

So we wonder whether that is why the Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Plans, drafted under the previous Government and subsequently fine-tuned by officials of the Health Ministry, have been shelved by the current Government.

Sincerely, Annan Boodram The Caribbean Voice

Sending text messages from Digicel to GTT

Dear Editor, GTT has announced that, for more than three months, its customers have been unable to receive text messages (SMS) from Digicel customers because of programming problems on the Digicel network.

GTT became aware of the issue from feedback from its customers. Having determined that problems on the Digicel network have been causing this issue, the GTT technical team has been providing assistance to have the issues on that company’s network resolved.

To date, and despite the

continuous guidance and assistance from the GTT team, the problems on the Digicel network causing this issue have not been rectified.

GTT customers continue to have the ability to send text messages (SMS) to the Digicel customers, and GTT remains committed to having its technical team work with its counterparts at Digicel until their customers are able to resume communication on the SMS platform as soon as possible.

Sincerely, Allison Parker Public Relations Officer

Gaps in tendering system

Dear Editor, I was moved to write this letter: to highlight to the Government and peoples of this country the practice of low-tendering, and the way it is abused by some contractors.

I was inspired to do this piece after reading a daunting headline in a national newspaper, “Shoddy Work…emergency works for Sand Creek Secondary”, on Tuesday, 8th August, 2017.

This writer is a proud and loyal tax-paying citizen, and so I found this to be extremely annoying, disappointing, and even painful.

It is unfair to us, as citizens of this country, to receive such haphazard work from contractors. Moreover, I wish to list some of my concerns that cause contractors to underperform in such projects.

Firstly, in both the previous and current Governments, there definitely appears to be a certain level of corruption and favouritism in the system of tendering. This infiltrates the entire process (transparency and accountability), and in some cases translates into the termination of genuinely awarded contracts so confederates of those in power can be awarded the contracts.

I am currently in possession of damning and deadly evidence that could prove extremely embarrassing to the Government of the day.

However, I have not released this to the public just yet.

Further, the policy of tendering usually dictates that the lowest compliant tenderer wins. This is where the danger lies, because if

contractors will tender the lowest cost possible for infrastructural and capital works, it is sometimes confusing to my mind that the evaluators, the Cabinet and/ or the Ministry cannot understand that this will usually reflect low quality/shoddy work.

In the case of security services, one stands bewildered as to how the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), the ministries’ evaluators and others involved can award tenders at times to certain security firms when it is obvious that they: will recourse to improper payments (underpayment of workers); lack the proper supervisory and training programmes, which are costly; and would resort to theft of taxes. For security tenders and others which are tendered extremely low for awards, some contractors are known to be involved in the large scale theft of Value Added Taxes (VAT).

I thought it pertinent once again, as I have been doing over the years, to showcase the gaps in the tendering system that contractors have taking advantage of relentlessly. In the previous and current administrations, there have been clear instances of corruption and manipulation.

I hope that the ‘powers that be’ look at this observation very seriously. I would advise that an investigation be launched into such areas which are being exploited by dishonest contractors both in the construction field and the security industry.

Yours sincerely, Roshan Khan Snr

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Foundation

Glaucoma worldwide. But the good news is that blindness is preventable if glaucoma is picked up early enough.

So what is glaucoma? Well, there are several types and are a group of diseases causing damage to the optic nerve by

O

shape. Normally, our body is good at balancing the production of that fluid with the removal of the fluid so that there is equilibrium. But if the fluid isn’t being drained properly, the fluid will build up in the eye. That fluid build-

Anu Dev

n Friday night, when I looked at our Warriors vs Trinidad Knight Riders game and that umpire missed that straight LBW on Munro (who went on to clobber us over the boundary again and again), I knew exactly how Leo “the lip” Durocher felt, and saw that umpire developing glaucoma?

I was fuming!

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been in my “ENT and Ophthalmology” rotation.

We didn’t rotate through either of those specialties in our fourth year so there’re a lot of things that are relatively brand new to learn about.

Our ophthalmology class last week focused on glaucoma. One of the most important points that stood out from the lecture was the importance of early screening for glaucoma. Unchecked, glaucoma can progress to irreversible blindness. In fact, glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness

“I never questioned the integrity of an umpire. Their eyesight, yes.”

– Leo Durocher, baseball manager the effects of raised pressure in the eyes. The optic nerve is responsible for carrying visual information from our eyes to our brain to interpret.

Our optic nerves aren’t capable of fixing themselves or regenerating if they’re damaged, so the damage is irreversible.

Our eyes are full of fluid that fills out their spherical

up leads to increased pressure in the eyes. That increased pressure is what damages the optic nerve and eventually leads to blindness.

And while it might seem like that pressure build-up within your eyes might be quite painful, it’s actually painless. And that’s the thing about glaucoma – the most common type, chronic open-

angle glaucoma, actually doesn’t have any symptoms.

There’s no warning shot before your vision deteriorates.

But as I said, glaucoma can be diagnosed before it causes blindness. You just need to go in and get your eyes checked.

And if you do have glaucoma, there are medical and surgical options to manage your glaucoma and prevent a deterioration in your vision.

And glaucoma isn’t something that only happens to older people. Anyone can get glaucoma, so everyone should get their eyes checked at some point.

Persons with risk factors for glaucoma should especially get their eyes checked. Having a family history of glaucoma puts you at a higher risk of having glaucoma. Diabetes also increases your risk of glaucoma and with there being such a high incidence of this disease in our country, it makes regular eye check-ups even more necessary.

Persons who have had a traumatic injury to their eyes are also at a greater risk of developing glaucoma and it is recommended that they get their eyes tested yearly.

So if you haven’t had your eyes checked recently, make a plan to get them tested soon!

So we’ll all be able to enjoy our cricket a lot longer – and question the eyesight of those umpires!

(Part two)

BY JULIE TILSNER

It's worth noting, too, that regardless of when tween 'tude sets in, boys and girls tend to act out differently. "Girls get dramatic and overreact, while boys alternate between withdrawing and being defiant," says Lowry. When Maura Rhodes, a mom of four in Montclair, NJ, mentioned that she didn't want her children to grow up to be rude or ugly, her 10-yearold daughter, Eliza, fixated on the wrong message.

"You just called me ugly!" she cried, and ran upstairs to her room, threw herself across her bed and sobbed.

"Of course, I was referring to ugly behaviour" says Rhodes. "But Eliza homed in on the 'u' word and decided I was referring to her appearance—because, after all, she's a tween girl, and what else do tween girls care about?"

By contrast, Dawn Blanchfield's 12-year-old son, Kyle, is now bigger than she is and has taken to playing the tough guy.

"He'll do that 'Yo, dawg, what up?' posturing. It can actually be intimidating to the entire family, but I don't think he realizes that," says the mom of two from Sacramento, CA.

The blunder years?

Life with a tween, boy or girl, can be baffling, challenging and a little scary sometimes – but it's also rewarding. "It's been fun to watch Eliza's interests and talents emerge as she comes into her own," says Rhodes. "It's also extra gratifying when she wants to cuddle or chat."

Some tips to help you both make it safely to the other side:

1. Maintain your parental status

This is not the time to try to be your child's friend.

Despite appearances to the contrary, "he's looking to you to help him get through this confusing stage," says Linda Sonna, PhD, author of The Everything Tween Book. "Ultimately, he'll take his cues for how to

behave from the way that you deal with a given situation."

2. Draw clear lines in the sand

You'll need to come up with some new rules as your tween exercises his growing independence.

Start by figuring out what's most important to you, like right and wrong, honesty and grades, and let go of stuff that doesn't matter in the long run-keeping his room neat or wearing clean socks.

Then "make sure your kid knows where the nuclear switch is," says Jhoanna Wade, a mom of three, including a now 13-year-old, in New York City. "I'll ignore eye-rolling or heavy sighs, but my daughter knows that it's crossing the line to raise her voice or walk off in the middle of a conversation."

Same goes in the Blanchfield household: If Kyle keeps acting up after his mom tells him that his behaviour is not okay, she'll often ask his stepdad to reinforce the message that he needs to listen to his mother and act in a more appropriate manner around his baby sister.

Communicate as clearly and as calmly as you can as soon as any un-acceptable behaviour begins. Try not to wait until it's out of control and your kid is screaming that he hates you.

3. Choose a tween-appropriate punishment for infractions

When your child was a toddler or pre-schooler – or maybe even as recently as a year ago – you could pretty much get her to do what you wanted with positive reinforcement (praising her for being good, showering her with stickers) and the occasional time-out. With a tween, however, most parents find they have to bring out the big guns; very few older children are likely to change their behaviour based on, say, the promise of an ice cream cone if they can go a week without stomping around the house. (parenting.com)

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sunDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Thief beaten, handed over to Police A

resident of Liverpool village on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice is now in Police custody, having received a sound thrashing from the villagers of Alness -some distance from his home village -- when he was caught at the foreshore in his failed attempt to escape apprehen-

Several pieces of gold jewellery were also missing.

Kendall added that the man gained entry into the house by climbing into the verandah, and then prising open a glass slide-door. When leaving, the man removed four

dah and dea inside the house.

Right away ah leff the market…”

She said she rushed to her Lot 108 Alness Village, Corentyne home to find the thief surrounded by irate villagers.

The woman explained that when she went into the

Desire Kendall was not home when her house was broken into

bed, while a wardrobe was broken open and its contents were thrown out. A clothes horse was also broken, while suitcases were upturned.

The Lot 108 Alness Village house

sion after allegedly burglarizing a market vendor’s home.

The man, who gave Police his age as 35, had allegedly broken into the home of Port Mourant marker vendor Desire Kendall, a 37-yearold mother of four, who sells ground provision and fruits.

She was not at home when the incident occurred.

According to Kendall, she was in the market selling when she received telephone

One of the ransacked bedrooms

The hammer and cutlass used to open one of two ‘piggy banks’

calls from neighbours.

“They call and tell me that somebody jump in the veran-

house, she discovered the entire house ransacked. Clothing was scattered on the floor and

“He take out all the clothes from the closet, and move the chairs to see what under the chairs,” she explained. A cabinet with dinner wear was also disarranged.

Kendall showed this publication a hammer and cutlass which she said were found in a chair along with other house breaking implements. Lying next to them were two broken ‘piggy banks’.

“All the money from them gone, and I only get back some.

I don’t know how much I had inside, but I know I had some $5000 bills, and none of them they find on him,” she said.

louvre panes from the window situated at the back of the building to create a space to crawl through. He then made a hole in the fence and ran, but villagers were alerted and went after him.

Kendall said she was told

that neighbours were alerted by the constant barking of her dogs and the sound of hammering inside the house.

Police took the man into custody and returned to the vendor the items found on the suspect.

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SunDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

GDF rank dies after crashing into parked truck

A

Staff Sergeant attached to the Guyana Defence Force was killed after he crashed into a parked truck at Camp Stephenson, Timehri, East Bank Demerara.

Dead is Omawale Sibdannie of Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.

Based on reports received, the now dead man was driving his motorcar, and as he took the turn, he crashed into the back of a truck on Thursday.

As a result, he sustained head injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Traffic Chief Deon Moore, when contacted, told media operatives that the crash was not being treated as an accident, since it did not happen

on public roads.

Relatives of the dead man are, however upset, since information about the accident is not forthcoming and they called for a thorough investigation to be conducted into the man’s death.

Onika Sibdhannie, sister of the dead man recalled receiving a telephone call from an officer informing her that her brother was involved in an accident and that he was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Without hesitation, family members travelled to the hospital but had to wait for three hours before they received information about his condition.

Initially, they were told that that the injured soldier

Dead: Omawale Sibdannie

was being treated and as a result, they would not be allowed to see him. “At that time, we

were not aware that he had died it was after we started to make enquiries, we were told that he was no more,” the angry sister stated.

Another relative noted that Sibdhannie has been a part of the Defence Force for several years and was not sure the season for the reluctance by authorities to release information on the accident.

He stated that all the information that is being passed on to the family is contradictory and it is based on this that they will seek an audience with the hierarchy of the Force to get some answers as to what really transpired.

An investigation is ongoing.

1 remanded, 5 fined after Onderneeming drug raid

D

avid Marcus, called “Cook up”; Sanjay Gajardar, Kelly Cayne, Robert Benjamin, Balram Kanhai and Salim Narine where on Friday arraigned before Suddie Magistrate Esther Sam on an allegation detailing that a police raid conducted at Onderneeming, Essequibo

Coast on August 8, 2017 netted them in possession of 30 grams of cannabis.

Police officers disguised as civilians had reportedly observed them from a distance bracing a fence in a yard at Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast, smoking the illegal substance and passing the narcotic

to each other.

Police eventually approached the group and were able to confiscate leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis. The men were told of the offence, cautioned and arrested, while the prohibited substance was tested and found to be cannabis, thus the men were

charged with the offence.

Almost all members of this group pleaded guilty to the charge, and each was fined $5000 and was ordered to do three months’ community service. However, Marcus pleaded not guilty to the charge, and was remanded to prison until August 22.

Looking back…

W

…at “ancestral” lands

ell, the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into “ancestral lands” looks like it’s determined to plough ahead into an area of national life that’s sure to create scads of tension. We’d all better watch out - and duck when the sparks fly!! Established

by President Granger to fulfil one of the APNU/AFC’s Manifesto promises, he included even the lands of our Indigenous Peoples in the CoI’s mandate!!

Not surprisingly, the latter folks cried “foul!!” and the CoI backed off. Your Eyewitness isn’t sure what “backed off”, means legally, and suspects it was just a feint for the CoI to get going -- and down the road, the Indigenous Peoples’ land ownership issue will be reopened. And that’s when sparks will fly!

Indigenous Peoples’ lands issue, after all, isn’t just a matter for Guyana and Indigenous Peoples. When the British agreed to give Guyana independence, Stephen Campbell, the Indigenous Peoples leader, was there with Burnham to negotiate in 1965. The right of Amerindians to the lands they were inhabiting was part and parcel of the Independence Agreement - “Annex C”. Just as how the British is a party to the 1966 Geneva Agreement on Venezuela’s Border controversy, so it’s a party to the Indigenous Peoples’ land rights. If the present Guyana Government decides to mess with those rights, the Indigenous peoples can appeal to the British.

And while they’re at it, they can also go to the UN, where a host of resolutions have sanctified Indigenous Land Rights. In fact, in seeking to clarify the land rights of the descendants of African ex-slaves by using the term “ancestral lands”, the Government may’ve just done an injustice to those folks -- who just happen to be their most strident supporters.

“Ancestral lands” is what the legal folks call a “term of art”; that is, it has a very specific definition. And it sure doesn’t include lands that were BOUGHT by folks’ ancestors - even though that might’ve been done over a century ago!

“Ancestral lands”, or “ancestral domain”, or “ancestral rights” PREDATE the coming of the White man and his colonial enterprise when he introduced the notion of “land titles” and “real property” and so on. The Africans who bought land after slavery did so under the latter legal regime, and all rights as well as obligations flow from that. They just can’t arbitrarily (and conveniently) baptise their present claims as “ancestral” and derive rights pursuant to that legal notion.

What the CoI can do is to determine who actually owns the lands bought after slavery -- which is quite disputed, since the lands were sold jointly; and the descendants are legion -- and dispersed.

…at youth

While you, dear reader, might have some problems picturing your Eyewitness as a dissolute youth; indeed, he was. And that’s why he’s forced to rise to the defence of that unfortunate demographic during this “Youth Day” being observed. And the adjective “unfortunate” is deliberate. The point of the matter is that while all and sundry concede that it’s the duty of parents and the other societal institutions to socialise youths to become right-acting citizens, it’s the youths who get blamed when they act up.

Hey!! When that happens, all it means is the societal institutions have FAILED; and to blame youths is to blame the victims! Let’s consider ONE of the objected-to youth (mis)behaviour -- those pants that’re worn so low on the hips one can see the crack/crevice/fissure of the wearer. Now, during your Eyewitness’s “disco days”, his parents just refused to buy him the shiny, gaudy, nylon tight pants then in demand!!

When he bought one from his allowance, they locked him out of the house!!

…at garbage promise

Yup! Your Eyewitness isn’t talking about the “promise on garbage”. Even before the present pile-up, he knew the Town Clerk’s promise to use three new garbage collectors plus city sanitation workers was worse than a “cack”.

It was garbage.

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

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SunDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Works begin on deplorable Lethem road …light vehicles, rations allowed to pass …fuel to be available today

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he deplorable “road” leading to Region Nine (Upper Takutu– Upper Essequibo) has reportedly resulted in a fuel shortage at Lethem, but efforts are now underway to fix the trail.

Lethem residents and minibus operators plying the Lethem–Georgetown route have of recent been calling on the authorities to repair the road. The operators have complained bitterly about the state of the road, contending that it is plagued with humongous potholes and broken and washed away bridges.

Over the past few days, the stretch of road at an

area called ‘Hunt Oil’ in the vicinity of the LethemKurupukari roadway in North Rupununi has been flooded and rendered impassable, resulting in several heavy-duty vehicles such as fuel trucks being stranded, causing Lethem to face a shortage of gasoline.

Guyana Times was told that the Macedo and Lammy fuel stations have been without gasoline for now several days, while the Takutu Gas Station sold its last bit of fuel on Friday.

This shortage causes a major loss of revenue for the Region, since vehicle owners are going over to neighbouring Brazil to fuel up.

However, even then, the burden has increased on vehicle owners, since they are forced to pay some $125 more per litre over the border in Brazil than the cost here.

This newspaper understands that Regional Contractor JR Ranch commenced remedial works on the Hunt Oil stretch of road on Friday afternoon, and is expected to fully complete the works by Monday latest.

It has been reported that in the meanwhile the contractor has rendered assistance to some of the stranded commuters plying the route.

Guyana Times was told that as at Saturday midday,

Contractors working on Saturday morning to repair the deplorable road on the Linden-Lethem trail

the contractor was able to partially repair the road and

make it passable, but only to light vehicles. This publica-

tion was told by sources in the region that just before midday on Saturday, trucks laden with ration and other commodities crossed the road at Hunt Oil Stretch and arrived in Lethem.

While it is unclear whether the road would be re-opened to heavy vehicular traffic during this weekend, sources say the fuel tankers that were stranded in Annai were expected to cross over into Lethem at sometime on Saturday evening.

Rambarran, who is renting the Macedo Gas Station, one of the facilities that were forced to close down operations after running out of fuel, had indicated that gasoline will be made available for sale today.

2 years later

Law Reform Commission yet to be established …as PPP blasts Govt for collecting millions but failing to deliver

T

he Law Reform Commission (LRC) has one of the most vital functions of any commission in Guyana. It is supposed to reform and upgrade all possible legislation in Guyana, in order to ensure they are in line with international best practices.

But after approaching the National Assembly, passing the Law Reform Commission Act, and appropriating millions for the commission’s establishment, Government has failed to establish this entity.

At a recent press conference, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall blasted Government on for this discrepancy. He noted that no one knows how the money which was appropriated for the commission was spent.

“In the National Assembly, we budgeted over two years ago for the establishment of a Law Reform Commission,” Nandlall said.

“You will remember that the Attorney General came (and) had that as part of his budget. We appropriated money for that,” Nandlall reminded.

“They brought a bill as well, so there is a Law Reform Commission Act on how the commission will be constituted. We have heard nothing about the Law Reform Commission, and we do not know where the money has gone,” he declared.

“Where has the money gone?” he asked. “There’s no such commission appointed or established, so where is the (money)?”

At least $20M had been included in the 2017 budget estimates for the purchase of office furniture, laptops and desk top computers, and to rent a building. At the time, the building had not even been identified to the public,”

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall

Nandlall reminded.

The Commission’s mandate According to the Law Reform Act, No. 4 of 2016, the commission will have the duty to “keep under review all the law applicable to Guyana with a view to its systematic development and reform, including in particular the modification of any branch of the law, the elimination of anomalies, and the repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments.”

The commission is also mandated by the law to “receive and consider suggestions for the reform of the law”. These suggestions, according to the Act, can be made on the invitation of the commission, and can come from Judges, public officials, lawyers and the general public.

The commission also has to “prepare and submit to the Minister specific programmes for the examination of different branches of the law with a view to reform, including recommendations as to whether such examination should be carried out by the commission or some other body.”

In order to fulfil its functions, the commission is al-

lowed to set up “law reform committees” that would examine particular aspects of the law to make their recommendations. Staffing of these committees, according to Section 8 (2) of the Act, do not have to be restricted to legal professionals.

Last year, however, the fact that the bill allows the President to make appointments to the commission did not sit well with the parliamentary Opposition. Nandlall had been vociferous in declaring that nominees should be made from different groups.

In its recommendations, the PPP had noted that the Association of Legal Professionals, the University of Guyana, Private Sector Commission, the religious community, labour unions, human rights groups and the political opposition should be

represented.

During his budget presentation, Attorney General Basil Williams had argued that the commission would undo the laws Guyana inherited from the United Kingdom

before independence, “many (of which) are archaic and irrelevant to our society.”

There are a number of legislative acts likely to be scrutinized and changed if the commission comes on stream.

Those include laws pertaining to the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), laws criminalising same sex relations, and laws regarding possession of marijuana.

10 news

sunDAY, august 13, 2017| guyanatimesgy.com

Lima Sands residents calling for Police outpost

R

esidents living in the community of Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast, are calling on the Public Security Ministry to construct a Police outpost in their area, since there is reportedly an increase in illegal activities.

Residents related to this publication that a few unemployed teenagers in the area are involved into illicit activities, and as such, the Police outpost would help curb the amount of nefarious activities going on in the community.

Echoing similar sentiments to those of residents is People’s Progressive Party Councillor, Cleveland Simon, who related that residents also met with him and raised

their concerns about the situation.

Simon, who sits on the Local Government Committee said Amerindians living in

Tapakuma and Lake Mainstay also requested the establishment of a Police outpost in their

area.

He said if the outpost is established, then residents from three communities will benefit from the services. Speaking on behalf of residents, Simon said often times things happen in Amerindian communities and the closest Police station is in Anna Regina, on the Essequibo Coast.

By the time the report is made, the suspect would have already left the community, often times fleeing into the interior; hence the crimes are always left unsolved.

Simon therefore called for the establishment of the Police outpost in an effort to create a safer community for those living there. The residents in

Wuk pan dem!!

S

Councillor Cleveland Simon

the respective areas also called for an increase in police patrols. (Indrawattie Natram)

Councillor call for removal of VAT from school uniforms …say parents feeling burdened

P

eople’s Progressive Party Councillor Arnold Adams has called on the Coalition Government to be considerate and remove the 14 per cent VAT on school uniforms.

Speaking at the Regional Democratic Council’s August meeting, Adams said parents are finding it difficult to send their children to school in the present economic situation.

Contending that VAT

Councillor Arnold Adams

is charged on almost every item related to children’s schooling, Adams commented that parents have complained of feeling burdened, especially those with many children to send to school.

The councillor said parents feel extra burdened,

especially since elimination of the $10,000 school voucher. Adams said it becomes an issue when children do not attend school, but Government needs to understand that parents cannot afford many things, especially in a struggling economy.

“There has been a decrease in the number of children attending school, but have we ever wondered why that is so? It’s because parents cannot afford (to send their children to school); and there (are) no proper incentives offer to actually help parents,” Adams said.

He therefore called on the Ministry of Education or the President of Guyana to assist parents by introducing some assistance that can help parents to send their children to school.

atiricus was ecstatic as he hurried over to the Back Street Bar. This was a special time of the year - IT WAS WARRIORS’ TIME!! The fellas’ favourite team - bar none - would be arriving this week for four games, and today was the planning session for the four days they’d be going to the ball game. This was like a campaign, like in that movie on the Dunkirk landing that ended WWII!!

“Well chaps, ‘e all come dong pan abee, yuh know,” said Bungi. “Dem bais play all dem game outside, and yuh see how dem lose all t’ree?”

“Yep!” agreed Satiricus fervently. “But weren’t most of those fans in Florida from Guyana?”

“Not because they were wearing Warriors T-shirts mean they were REAL Guyanese,” said Hari darkly. “They’ve been living outside too long.”

“Yes!” said Bungi. “An’ dem na gat nobaddy fuh play obeah pan de adda team.”

“Well, that’s why we’re taking you to all four games in Guyana Bungi, ole buddy!” said Satiricus enthusiastically as he ordered another round of beer. “You have to wuk pon dem right here in Guyana!”

“Yeah,” agreed Hari. “It’s clear those islanders were able to play their obeah on our boys with nobody to counter them.”

“Me guh gat fuh get me real strang stuff,” said Bungi as he looked to Satiricus. “Put dong t’ree baatle high wine.”

“OK,” said Satiricus. “What else?”

“An bunjal two fowl cack fuh me eat,” continued Bungi, this time to Hari. “But save de four foot fuh me wuk de obeah a’ de groun’.”

“OK,” said Hari. “My wife wondered why you need so much chicken to eat.”

“Budday, tell yuh wife fuh na ques-chan wan obeah man,” answered Bungi. “She duz aks she dacta wha’ mek ‘e does put mass pan ‘e face when he aparate pan she?”

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SunDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

Region 2 rice woes

Farmers continue to battle paddy bug infestation … as GRDB denies “seldom” visit by officers

What would be the economic impact of oil on Guyana’s development? (Part II)

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oday’s article is the final piece of a series of articles on the emerging oil-and-gas sector in Guyana. It is fitting that I conclude this subject matter by examining in some more detail the likely economic impacts of oil on the economy. I shall therefore do so from the point of view of two scenarios – best case and worse case -- using the figures I computed last week.

The first being in a worst case scenario, we assumed Guyana should earn approximately US$34.5 million, representing earnings from royalties only at current oil price on the world market, which is below US$50 per barrel. And in the best case scenario, we established oil earnings should be about US$247million, or Gy$50 billion. Hopefully, depending on production, this could be greater.

The table below illustrates some key macroeconomic indicators which were extracted from the Bank of Guyana’s Annual Report for 2016.

Key Macroeconomic Indicators

G$ Billion

GDP at market price

711.7

Aggregate expenditure

775.7

Resource gap

64.1

National Budget (2017)

250

Production (GDP by sector) Sugar

15

Rice

36.8

Gold

171.1

Bauxite

19

Timber

8.3

Other (fish & shrimp, beverages, foods, re-exports, vegetables, rum & spirits)

46.3

Projected Oil revenues (worse case)

7

Projected oil revenue (best case)

50

GDP at market price recorded as at the end of 2016 was $711 billion; aggregate expenditure was recorded at G$775.7 billion, giving rise to a resource gap of $64.1 billion (BOG annual report, 2016). ‘Resource gap’ in economic terms is defined as the difference between investment and domestic savings.

Using these indicators as the basis for the sake of computing and interpreting oil revenues relative to GDP, oil revenue will contribute about 1 percent to GDP from this perspective - that being revenues from royalties only. In a best case scenario, we could deduce from the table above that oil earnings represent about 20 percent of the national budget (2017 national budget) and 7 per cent relative to GDP. It would be interesting to know how the oil revenues will be spent; or, rather, how it would be allocated in the economy. At this stage, we do not know if the country will receive that amount in the best case scenario, hence these variations are premised on pure assumptions.

In order for there to be positive economic impacts, there needs to be identified a series of developmental avenues that will create and foster long-term growth and development for the economy. For example, how will the local private sector benefit?

What portion of the revenues will they be able to capitalise on?

What opportunities are going to be available? Currently, a few private companies have established strategic alliances with the oil companies, to lend support services.

These are, of course, positive for the economy; but how many are local companies? Guyana is historically known for receiving what I would describe as ‘drizzles’ from such like foreign direct investments. Take, for example, gold: large foreign companies operate in the gold mining sector, but the greater part of the profits is redirected to the foreign country. I am afraid that it would appear that a similar pattern is developing with the emerging oil-and-gas sector. We have seen that one local law firm publicly announced a large number of foreign companies are rushing into Guyana to get a bite of the oil benefits. The good thing about this is that it will boost the confidence level of both foreign investors and local businesses in the economy, and in turn consumer spending as well. Confidence in an economy is of critical importance. However, the downside to this would be that the greater part of the profits will be shipped out to the foreign countries, so Guyana will never experience the larger and broader benefits that it may bring or generate.

With that said, I now conclude the oil discussion, and we now have to wait and observe how the oil-and-gas sector will actually develop; what decisions policymakers are going to make in these regards, and how those decisions would impact the economy in real terms. Of course, as these developments materialise, this column will weigh in on those matters. We can only hope for the best at this point.

(For comments, questions and responses on articles featured in this column, readers can reach the author at jbinsights@outlook.com).

R

egion Two (PomeroonSupenaam) rice farmers continue to battle a severe case of paddy bug infestation which has recently plagued them, causing loses in their crops and revenue.

In a strange case, the paddy bugs have attacked and continue to suck the nutrients of the young rice plants.

In combating the infestation, farmers continue to spray and conduct demonstrations, especially in the evenings when it is believed the bugs are more prevalent.

"The bugs are still in the field, not as thick as before but… they are affecting the young rice plants," a concerned rice farmer from Perseverance, Region Two stated.

The spraying exercises are being conducted between 16:00h and 17:00h with the use of motor blowers.

When Guyana Times visited rice farmers in the Annandale and Capoey areas, they related that every three

An Essequibo Coast farmer spraying his crop for bugs

days they have to spray for the insects.

However, since the spraying is being done privately with the use of pesticides purchased by the farmers, they are now worried since more money from their rice budget has to be spent on buying pesticides.

On August 5, 2017, this publication first reported the paddy bug infestation in an article titled “Region Two rice farmers battling paddy bugs”, where it was revealed

A farmer shows paddy bugs along with worms affecting his crop

that regular field visits by the Board were “seldom”.

This prompted the farmers to call on the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) field staff to be more visible and to offer their expertise.

However, the GRBD denied that its field officers were not providing adequate advice for rice farmers in Region Two. According to the GRDB, a team of officers including an entomologists visited the region as recent as

July 24 and 25, 2017, for outreach sessions at Hibernia, Airy Hall, Cullen, Aberdeen, Devonshire Castle and Maria’s Delight, which saw some 76 farmer attending.

The GRDB claimed that outreach sessions were also held with farmers of Adventure, Pert, New Road, Vilvoorden, Sommerset, Lima and Columbia, Region Two. The farmers are however calling on the Agriculture Ministry to provide them with the much needed assistance.

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SunDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Mid-year report

Worrying trend of economic woes highlighted – economist

A

dvisor to the Opposition on economic issues, Peter Ramsaroop, has said that following a scrutiny of Guyana’s mid-year report, he has concluded that there are worrying statistics which will lead to more economic woes for the country.

A look at the figures revealed that the overall balance of payments recorded a deficit of US$46.0 million in the first half of 2017; this compared to a surplus of US$12.1 million in the first half of 2016.

According to Finance Minister Winston Jordan, the unfavourable current account position was due to a higher trade deficit in merchandise and services, caused mainly by an in-

crease in the value of imports.

This, according to Ramsaroop, is the Minister deciding that it was not his mismanagement of the domestic economy that caused this, but rather it was exogenous factors completely external to Guyana over which he had no control.

Ramsaroop added that Guyana has lost more on its export earnings than several years combined, with even gold beginning to free fall, losing in excess of $400 million for just the first half of the year, compared to the previous year.

The Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), which is financed by both local and foreign funded sources, expended $15.8

billion during the first half of 2017 and while this is a 19.8 per cent increase over the first half of 2016, it is in fact only 27.9 per cent of the PSIP’s budgeted allocation of $56.8 billion.

This means, Ramsaroop noted, that Government failed during its time in office to even spend its own budget to provide much needed services to the Guyanese people.

Jordan, he added, again blames delays in the project implementation as a result of a dearth of procurement planning, apparent lack of capacity, and delays in the tender process.

“But a look at the implementation of the foreign-funded projects also reveals a dire situation.

Jordan blames everyone else and says these were plagued by delays emanating from the late finalisation of a number of financing agreements with both multilateral and bilateral development partners and the subsequent setting up of the project implementation unit.”

As such, a mere 29.6 per cent of the budgeted sum of $22.1 billion of the foreign-funded portfolio was expended.

sion in the rice and fishing industries. Indeed, it was a ballooning year for the rice industry whose growth increased by a whopping 31.6 per cent over production in the first half of 2016.

This was due mainly to favourable prices on the world market, strong demand, and entry into new markets, such as Mexico and Cuba.

But what else has been happening on the international front.

The foreign reserves ap-

pear to be drying up and this new Administration seems at this point in time incapable of brining any new investments or monies into the country, monies the country desperately needs.

The Government’s mouthpiece is now calling for the establishment of a Council of Economic Advisers to aid in the stimulation of growth in all the various sectors.

According to that editorial “The truth is the economy is limping at an anaemic two per cent growth rate due to the lack of foreign investment, which means that the economy has been starved of capital.”

A look at the report reveals, at the half year, total public debt amounted to US$1,637.7 million, representing an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to the 2016 half year position.

Of the total public debt, external debt amounted to US$1,200.7 million or 73.3 per cent, while domestic debt was US$437.0 million or 26.7 per cent, reflecting a marginal increase in both external and domestic debt.

14:00hrs on Thursday.

The 67-year-old who lives alone had left her home at around 06:30hrs that Thursday to attend to a sick relative, but was later contacted by her son, who asked if she had left a door open.

Responding in the negative, the woman rushed

home to find a ladder braced at the back of her house, and a window and the door wide open. Guyana Times was told that the perpetrator had used a ladder to climb onto a shed in the elderly woman’s yard, before breaking a window and entering the home. turn to page 16

Trends

A recent editorial carried by the unofficial Government’s mouthpiece openly now questions what it calls ‘worrying trends’ and points to the very report Jordan released.

It poignantly states the 2017 mid-year economic report is something of a mixed bag, in the sense that while revenue has increased by 13 per cent or $97 billion, and production in some sectors has increased, the decline in others would be cause for concern.

It concedes the overall growth in the economy in 2017 was led by the expan-

Peter Ramsaroop

Thieves rob ECD pensioner

D

etailing how her home had been broken into and her belongings stolen, distraught pensioner Angelica Rodriguez of “M29” Chateau Margot, East Coast Demerara said the incident occurred at some time between 07:00hrs and

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SunDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Tapirs in Corriverton becoming extinct

By Andrew Carmichael

Integral Humanism and Constitutional Change

I

n Guyana, while the Government seems to have lost its appetite for constitutional change, it has seemingly become the victim of its own rhetoric, and several international and local organisations have been making persistent (if discreet) interventions to remind the Government of its promise. Back in 2015, at the submission by its “Steering Committee on Constitutional Reform” to PM Moses Nagamootoo, President David Granger expressed reservations about suggestions garnered in a cloistered “room”. He impressed the need for wider consultations; and towards this end, a bill was laid in Parliament and sent to a Select Committee for scrutiny. It proposes a “Constitutional Reform Consultative Commission” comprised of representatives of a wide cross-section of Guyanese society, and will be mandated to take the widest possible societal submissions.

Coincidentally, over the past year, there have been, in India, countrywide seminars, conferences and Ravi Dev other events to consider the ideas of a seminal but relatively unknown Indian political visionary - Deen Dayal Upadhyaya -- on how a state ought to be constituted along lines different from those bequeathed by the British and the United States. In language that ought to resonate in Guyana -- where we have been wrestling to write a more autochthonous constitution to deal with our unique circumstances -- Upadhyaya had, in 1965, proposed a paradigm that was rooted in Indian perspectives on man, society, state and nation.

In a critique that is now commonplace in our “postmodern” era, Upadhyaya outlined his theory of “Integral Humanism”. He reasoned that, even in Europe, the institutions of governance take into cognisance the nature of the specific societies. Continental democracies, for instance, are much more aware -- and make provisions for “national/ group” characteristics -- than England, where that country’s history made it much more sensitive to the imperatives of “individualism”. Context, it is now accepted, is as important as ideals; and why should India (or Guyana) do otherwise?

Upadhyaya pointed out that the ideology of Fabian Socialism, introduced by Nehru in India and the more explicitly Marxist-Leninist Communist parties (Russian and Chinese-influenced), was based on a Marxist analysis of society. This was premised on a view of human nature that accepted conflict between man and society -- and between groups in society -- as inevitable; yet did not have an approach to eliminate it, excepting for it to teleologically end in the utopian “dictatorship of the proletariat”. But this view of human nature as “homo economicus”, said Upadhyaya, was incomplete, and led to distorted policies and institutions -- and unhappy and unfulfilled citizens.

Harking back to Indian philosophy honed over thousands of years, he pointed out that the individual is the composite of body, mind, intellect and soul. Each aspect must be catered to for progress of the individual - and ultimately the society - since there is no “society” without the individual. Such an arrangement of societal functions Upadhyaya called “Integral Humanism”. Each aspect of the individual generates specific needs that are respectively: individual bodily/material needs; societal status/wealth/power needs; peaceful social relations needs; and finally, identification with an ultimate reality (“spiritual”) need. In Hindu philosophy, as Upadhaya pointed out, these are four “Purusharthas of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, which must be fulfilled for the achievement of the joint objectives of individual advancement and social welfare.

In the end, since the individual is constituted by his societal relationships, the arrangement of the institutions in society that mediate these relationships -- marriage, family, property, caste/class, community, guild, schools, state, etc -affects the achievement of all the other ends of man, and is thus seen as fundamental. In Indian philosophy, these arrangements are one aspect of what is called “Dharma”. A tremendous amount of confusion has been created by the West in equating “Dharma” with “religion”. The latter has elements that are PART of the former, but barely scratch its surface, and because of this, “religion” has caused so many conflicts.

Dharma encompasses those eternal principles which sustain an entity – individual or collective -- and inevitably, each entity has its own Dharma. For a state, Hegel referred to its “Geist”. In modern constitutional law, as we were informed

by Justice Chang recently, there is a “basic structure” that can be altered only by the will of the people. This is the Dharma of the country, and it must be autochthonous.

T

he bordering town of Corriverton is known for the Tapir vehicle.

The vehicles which were locally made were mostly used as a means of public transportation. Today, the signature vehicle of Corriverton is fast becoming extinct.

Passengers who once craved to travel in the wagon-typed vehicles, are now shunning them. According to some residents of that town, cars are more comfortable. “If you have a child, dey want de child sit on you lap an you still have to pay

AINLIM former assemblers, Patrick D’ Andrea, 66, who now resides in Canada, the vehicles were designed by the British for basic transportation in the 1970s.

He said AILIM stopped production because they were not allowed to import parts into the country under the Burnham Administration. “When the first Tapir was completed, it was a happy and sad day because on testing, the vehicle driver died; Terry Marques, his death was of no fault of the Tapir but his own. He applied more speed than the vehicle could handle… it

Cars are pushing the Tapirs out of business at the park

for the child,” a 29-year-old female told this publication.

She said as a result of a bad experience, she will not be going into Tapirs again.

“Tapir make me think twice about wearing a short dress or skirt…”

With the introduction of hire cars in Corriverton, Suschilla (only name given) says she is able to travel alone.

The vehicles were locally manufactured at Associated Industries Limited (AINLIM) in Georgetown during the 1970s and later on, parts were fabricated by fabricators in Corriverton.

According to one of

toppled causing his death.”

Meanwhile, some Tapir owners explained that the vehicles were relatively cheap during the 1980s.

Owners of Tapirs in order to stay in the transportation business were forced to equip themselves with modern vehicles.

One operator, Ganesh “Bama” Bola of Crabwood Creek, who operated a Tapir for 22 years, said in recent years operators were forced to modernise those vehicles, by tinting the windows and windshield, raising the back of the vehicle and having defining music. While passengers craved for these chang-

Some Tapirs are now being converted

es, it made their ride more strenuous as they were being forced to bend more forward to see where they were going.

The once popular Tapirs started to lose popularity around 2007, forcing some operators out of business.

Others realised they had to modernise in order to stay in business.

Tapirs were only used on the Upper Corentyne and transported passengers between Number 50 Village and Molson Creek between 1981 and 2006. When hire cars started to be introduced into the system, they slowly took over the transportation industry in Corriverton.

Another Tapir owner, Sunil Dhanie of Crabwood Creek, said he can no longer use that vehicle to transport passengers. According to the 40-year-old, he has been in the business since 1984. “I just using it for private since dem passengers refuse to travel in the Tapir.” He now operates a car.

In Corriverton, while a few Tapirs still operate, today passengers can be seen saying no to Tapir operators and at the same time trying to get a car to stop for them.

Dayram “Star Black” Kawlasar, who owned three Tapirs, says adults start-

ed to refuse to travel in the Tapirs by 2007. However today he still operates two but only to transport children to and from school.

The first car to operate

One of the first assemblers of the Tapir in Guyana, Partick D'Andrea

as a public means of transportation was HB 6434.

According to that operator, persons started showing a preference for his car. “The passengers demand grew and other car owners followed.”

Today, Corriverton’s roads looks more like the other towns in Guyana apart from the periodic passing of a ‘Corrriverton Tapir’.

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SunDAY, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Decomposed body found Younge’s Take in Black Bush Polder Youths, peace and

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he unidentified corpse of a male wearing a pair of brown trousers and a grey long-sleeved shirt was on Saturday afternoon spotted in a canal by a farmer attending to his rice fields about two hundred metres off the main access road at Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder Corentyne, East Berbice, Region Six. Fished out of the canal by a tractor owned by the Black Bush Polder Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) working under police supervision, the body was observed to be that of someone apparently in his mid-forties, and it was in an advanced state of decomposition.

Villagers say they cannot identify the body, and Police are searching their missing persons’ database to determine the identity of the

M

Police removing the body on Saturday afternoon

man.

A funeral parlour contracted to keep bodies discovered by police in similar

circumstances has refused to accept the body because of its advanced state of decomposition, thus the body was

taken to the Port Mourant Hospital Mortuary.

Police are investigating this discovery.

social justice

illions of people around the world yesterday celebrated International Youth Day 2017 (IYD) under the theme “Youth building Peace”, with renewed emphasis being placed on the role that could be played by young people around the globe in reshaping the individual destinies and development goals of their respective societies.

The day designated by the United Nations also recognises the need for youths to play a role in the prevention of conflict in their communities, as they work harder with various organizations to achieve social justice, sustainable peace, equality and inclusion.

It underscores, too, the importance of civic activism and Michael Younge youth involvement at every tier of decision-making within their communities and Governments, in order to achieve long-term security and peace, as well as the development of key strategies to end armed conflict and economic inequality.

And while countries in the developed world continue to seize every opportunity to empower their youths and harness their potential through guaranteed involvement at every important power-broking forum in their democracies, the Caribbean is seriously lagging behind.

Some countries here are still struggling to complete youth policies that could serve as a blueprint on how Governments can work with youth to achieve their wider political, social and economic goals. Also, enough is not being done by regional Governments and stakeholders to tackle core problems which are threatening the forward movement of young people, and in turn reducing their desire to get involved in meaningful civic engagements, politics, and the overall thrust to change their world.

Piecemeal and sometimes selective attention is being given to devising strategies to tackle youth crime and unemployment, and a plethora of other social challenges that are facing youths within the region. This is despite the fact that billions of dollars in donor aid and support programmes flow to the region yearly for these purposes. The agencies and regional bodies responsible seem not to be able to get past conducting research studies and submitting key status reports on the problems. Even though recommendations are made, very few are implemented, and even fewer are successful in causing a direct reduction in the levels of unemployment and crime in the Caribbean.

Caricom has also failed its youths in this respect. The regional bloc continues to be a talk-shop, serving as a forum where the wastage of tax-payers’ dollars on white elephant projects take on a highly ceremonial and boring tone; and appear to be the order of the day, with few making any significant headway in addressing the real issues facing youth.

Caricom is also failing to use youths as a vehicle to drive its technological agenda. While it believes that it is accomplishing a great lot through its ambassadorial projects, the statistics tell no lie, as serious lapses continue to be made in creating badly needed behavioural changes among youths to win the fight against HIV/AIDS, non-communicable diseases, and a further degradation of ethics and morals.

In Guyana, the situation is worse. While youths continue to be touted as the future of this country, enough is not being done to translate words into action. The unemployment rate is still very high. Underemployment is a normal phenomenon for highly skilled and qualified young people who opt to stay at home and serve, as opposed to leaving these shores. This, in turn, has resulted in the level of youth crime rising gradually.

The new APNU/AFC (A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change) Government, which galloped on the backs of youths to secure power, is now failing to do anything meaningful for them. It has drafted a poorly-thought-out and intellectually bankrupt National Youth Policy that is void of new and fresh ideas, and which will have to be supervised by a highly incompetent Education Minister. No new investments are being made in young people that were not made by the former PPP Government under a different name. In fact, the APNU/AFC have reduced, in several areas, the scale of investments made by the PPP that had a direct and indirect effect on the lives of youth. The Government continues to demonstrate its resentment for youth by the selective employment and installation of senior citizens -- no disrespect intended -- over youths in key decision-making bodies and agencies. By its very actions, it has failed to recognize that youths are the only ones who could devise newer and more innovative reforms that could transform several sectors in this country that have been dogged by nonperformance over the last few years.

Young people have not been formally called upon by the Government to organize themselves into groups, to have their say and make meaningful national presentations on public service reforms and the future of the sugar industry, despite steps to take action soon in these areas. Youths are only visible and meaningful to the Government for window dressing purposes.

The attainment of peace, political sustainability, and socioeconomic growth is not possible without the meaningful involvement of youths. Surely the Government knows this, and will pay more attention to its politics in this respect.

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UG launches workshop on green growth T

he Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Guyana has spearheaded a seven-day workshop under the theme “The Resource based Economy and Environment; Cooperation and Coordination for green growth” to embrace the general thinking of the green economy approach, which commenced on Saturday at the University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus.

This programme, described as the brain child of Senior Lecturer, Dr Thomas Singh, was engineered by Conservation International (CI) Guyana and the Guyana Forestry Commission among other local organisations, which was conveniently timed to coincide with the global movement towards a “green economy” according to Head of the Economics Department, Dr Sydney Armstrong.

“So is our nation, positioning itself in terms of its national strategy heading to the green economy. So as the University of Guyana repositions itself to lead for playing a critical role moving towards growth and development, “going green”, this initiative has definitely been one to which it will be very important and helpful in terms of disseminating information.”

Senior lecturer and the driving force behind the workshop, Dr Thomas Singh

During the course of the workshop, renowned economists will be delivering lectures and the participants will have the opportunity to engage in discussions.

Dr Armstrong further noted that at the end of the day, the dissemination of information will put participants in a position to continue to discourse beyond the workshop setting, taking back to their respective organisations, valuable information.

Dr Hector Edwards echoed the position of Armstrong, as he postulated that as we embrace the green economy approach, it is important to note that change would not occur

without first recognising that not only is there another way of doing things but rather a better way of doing same.

“I think the green economy approach is one that should be accepted as the better way of doing things and one which we embrace.

This workshop is intended among other things, to do just that; enlighten us and force us to embrace that that there is a better way.

This is the commencement of a process that overtime will see us all accepting that green economy is the best approach for us to develop as a nation,” Edwards said.

He further lamented that as much as there may be other things that may be influencing us and shaping our thinking, he made it clear that while there may be things “offshore”, we need to understand that “onshore “there are a lot of things to be done.

“So as we start the socialisation process, I hope that we all will embrace the things that we are told at this workshop and also spread the good news to other persons, and so you will be ambassadors…” he urged.

C o n s e r v a t i o n International’s (CI) Dr David Singh announced that the organisation will be awarding scholarships to

three of the participants at the end of the programme, as he stressed on CI’s “We need nature” slogan, while highlighting our collective need to protect nature in order to thrive and survive.

Meanwhile, Vice Chancellor Ivlaw Griffith briefly addressed the gathering as he officially opened the floor for the commencement of the workshop.

“I’m delighted that we’re doing this especially since we as a nation are in a fossil fuel mode. Notwithstanding the pursuit of fossil energy, oil and gas, we are at heart an agricultural society. We cannot in a moment of anxiety in the interest of oil and gas forget the essence of who we are to diminish the attention paid to agriculture, to greening, so in

Vice Chancellor Ivlaw Griffith delivering the opening address

the context of that I want to thank Dr Singh and all the organisers…” he elucidated.

The Vice Chancellor concluded his opening speech by posing a question to the floor, asking “What happens after this?”, as he recognised that ever so often there are valuable moments which sometimes are tend to be defined as the “alpha and the omega”.

“There is an opportunity to make this the alpha (beginning) but not the omega (end) and so I look forward to hearing a little bit more about what will follow this, what will follow this in the context of extending opportunities within these environments and beyond this environment, and what tangible next steps beyond the educational conversations we might have,” he advocated.

Thieves rob...

FROM PAGE 12

The woman and her son entered the home to find it completely ransacked, and a number of her belongings, including two cell phones, a weeding machine and an undisclosed sum of cash, missing.

This newspaper was told that another resident of the area was recently robbed, and the alleged perpetrator -- from Martyrs’Ville, Mon Repos, ECD -- was caught and charged with the offence. But following the fire that demolished the Camp Street Prison, the man was released from prison on bail, and has reportedly been seen lurking in the area. This was reported to

the Police, who have now launched an investigation into the matter.

Only recently, 72-yearold Mohamed Subhan and his 83-year-old bedridden wife Khairool Subhan -- of Craig, East Bank Demerara (EBD) -- were attacked by a group of bandits. In that incident, the husband was awoken by noises coming from the door which leads to a room in the upper flat of the house that he and his wife reside in alone.

Upon inspecting, he noticed a crowbar stuck by his bedroom door, as a robber was making efforts to extract the bolts and gain entry into the room.

Subhan immediately called for assistance from his neighbours, and telephoned his son, television personality Neaz Subhan, who resides in Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

This publication understands that when the elder Subhan made calls for his neighbours, the bandit who was attempting to break in his bedroom fled the scene.

Prior to that incident, a 54-year-old woman and her 81-year-old mother of Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD) were robbed of more than $100,000 in cash, along with gold jewelry, in a daring daylight attack.

news

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Anna's

Rejecting State control of the media

W

ith the recently amended Broadcasting Act, television and radio stations will be forced to provide free air time to the Government of Guyana. TV stations will subsequently incur an annual loss of at least $15 million (at approximately 45k/hour/day).

Those who cannot comply will be crushed by heavy penalties, ranging from fines of up to GY$1 million and one year imprisonment, cobbled with the confiscation of all equipment (Amendment Section 4).

Those who feel that the content submitted to be aired does not fit the criteria of a “Public Service Programme” are left a mere twenty-four hours to contest, but will be forced nevertheless to air it, whether in exchange of a fee or not.

This therefore means that licence holders have no say in the type of content aired, and must subsequently suffer the Government’s violation of their press freedom. Curiously, the amended Bill is vague in its description of what a “Public Service Programme” is, except to say that it is one “produced for the purpose of informing and educating the public, and promoting Anna Correia policies and activities of the Government that benefit the public as a whole” (Section 2).

However, the amendment seems more keen on dictating how TV and radio stations dispose of their air time, by giving the Government full rights to review and adjust daily schedules (Part 2 of Bill). This means that in addition to imposing a substantial financial loss on licence holders, Government also reserves to right to intrude in the internal management of private companies, while engaging in unfair competition with other entities seeking to reserve air-time. (Ironically, the Government caused the catastrophic decimation of the rice sector in 2015, on the basis that the State must not intervene in the Private Sector).

As a result, we’re looking not only at the undermining of press freedom, but also at the encouragement of bad market practices, as well as dictatorial procedures geared towards increase State control over private companies.

By now it is public knowledge that the Government of Guyana has little regard for the law if the law doesn’t complement its agenda. President Granger has enforced this belief in his recent rejection of Chief Justice George-Wiltshire’s ruling on the GECOM issue, by bluntly stating that the matter would be dealt with based on his personal “perception” of the Constitution and not its actual legal interpretation. It is therefore unsurprising that such a scurrilous amendment be allowed for adoption in the Parliament of Guyana without the consultation of stakeholders, in particular television and radio licence holders.

This attack on one of the pillars of democracy – press freedom and freedom of expression – is a double-edged sword which seeks to intimidate the Private Sector while simultaneously feeding the nation propaganda in guise of programmes claimed to “benefit the public as a whole”. Who determines what programmes are beneficial to the nation when the coalition Government has eliminated national consultations, inclusivity, majority consensus and the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from its policymaking?

Perhaps, in light of its declining popularity due to austere economic measures and contractionary fiscal policies, discriminatory practices and party paramountcy encouraged by the leading People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), this move is the coalition’s desperate attempt to reinforce its communication strategy with hopes of reviving public trust in its leadership. However, it has only succeeded in amplifying the growing fear of Guyana regressing to an era of dictatorial rule, while embarrassing Guyanese by provoking the ire of the international community.

Through this prohibitive amendment, the Government is set out to control the press, and President Granger’s calculated appearances in the media coupled with his reticence to give open press conferences, leads us to believe that he might very well assent this Bill unless relentless pressure convinces him to do otherwise.

Until such time, this remains a violation of press freedom which reeks of authoritarianism and suggests that the democratic process of nation-building has been interrupted by the regime.

It is the responsibility of all Guyanese, Diaspora, Private Sector and civil society included, to act against the oppression of press freedom in Guyana. The media must continue to act as a watchdog of the Government, and solicit the solidarity of the international community. We must reject State control of the media in Guyana; the era of dictatorship must remain behind us.

Contact sundayarrow@gmail.com

Diocese of Guyana celebrates 175th anniversary

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o commemorate its 175th Anniversary in the Provence of the West Indies, the Anglican Diocese of Guyana on Saturday hosted a Youth Festival on the lawns of Austin House, and youths throughout the Diocese engaged in a fun day of interaction and shared the experience with the wider society.

The event concluded with a fashion extravaganza.

on the first of the month.

All in all, it was a day of fun activities, socialisation, music and laughter, as the church celebrated its milestone event.

The Bishop of Guyana, Rt Reverend Charles Davidson, expressed gratitude to the various sponsoring agencies, while inviting the general public to support and participate in the celebration, which commenced today and concludes

Youth from the Diocese engaged in a game of musical chairs

As part of the celebrations, both youths and older members of the Anglican Church participated in various games, most popular being the “musical chair”.

In addition, the sweet sound of steelpan music being played by a number of youths of the denomination permeated the atmosphere and lent to the ambience of the occasion.

A wide array of dishes was also prepared and served, metemgee being the main dish served, as Emancipation was observed

in December.

A member of the Public Relations and Coordinating Committee revealed that the day’s event was strategically held to coincide with the International Youth Day under the theme “Youth Building peace”, engaging youths from various Diocese across Guyana, Suriname and Cayenne.

“It’s just a day for young people to come out, have a good time, participate in the activities, learn about what is going on from the different organizations here,” the

Bishop of Guyana, Reverend Charles Davidson, speaking with Guyana Times

representative related.

Head of the Organising Committee Father Monzale Alves, also spoke to Guyana Times and walked us through the various activities approaching the grand celebration in December.

Since its establishment on August 24, 1842, the Anglican Church has played an important role in the development of Guyana, more particularly the development of youth, which is significant in its contribution to the education sector.

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sunday, august 13, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

“I hope you will become stronger and recognise your intrinsic value” – First Lady

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irst Lady Sandra Granger told members of the Guyana Girl Guides Association that it is her hope for them that they become strong women, who are conscious of their value and self-worth. Granger, who is the patron of the organisation, was at the time speaking at the closing ceremony of a one-week camp and workshop, which were held at the Girl Guide’s Pavilion on Brickdam on Friday evening.

The camp, titled Camp GIRLS, an acronym for “Growing, Inspiring, Reaching, Learning, Sharing,” which was a merger of the Girl Guides National Camp and the ‘Be the Best You’ Workshop, which focused on young girls from the East Coast of Demerara, West Coast of Demerara and Georgetown and exposed them to a wide spectrum

of subjects. These included self-esteem and caution in Internet surfing, modern etiquette and dining out, caring for the environment, sports for development, women and work.

The First Lady said the camp is timely as it is geared towards equipping young girls to deal with some of the challenges which they may face. Noting that the world is now much more complex and difficult to negotiate than the one, which she would have been raised in, the First Lady said women must now become stronger and more conscious of their value.

She encouraged the young girls to take note of their conduct as they embark in any chapter of their lives, particularly the world of study and work, so that they gain and maintain the respect of their peers and other members of

the society.

One aspect of the camp’s sessions focused on the protection and preservation of the environment, as the country continues to pursue the ‘green’ state development policy. Speaking

on this issue, the First lady told the young girls that this is yet another critical area given the current impact of global warming and climate change.

The First Lady also addressed the subject of diet

and exercise as she noted that healthy lifestyles are important. With non-communicable diseases being a public health issues in Guyana and the wider Caribbean, Granger urged the girls to make healthy

and wise choices, which can give them the best out of life.

The First Lady, who has been working closely with the Women Across Differences (WAD) and other non-governmental organisations and Government agencies to tackle teenage pregnancy, also used the opportunity to speak to the young Guides on the realities of this problem. She urged the girls to make the best of the education they would have received over the past week and to ensure that they use it to make choices for themselves and their future.

Meanwhile, Schemel Patrick, who coordinated the week’s events, said it is an annual event which was merged this year with the ‘Be the Best You’ workshop, aimed at empowering young girls to be the best that they can be.

tage. The police was thorough in their investigation,” the company stated.

It added that the motive of the “copper convicts” was, in this instance, financial gain, since they had stolen copper cable, which has lucrative value in the scrap metal market.

GTT has issued a warning to saboteurs who are still lurking around, awaiting opportunity to vandalise the company’s property.

“The saboteurs of the company’s fibre-optic cable, whose intention is to deliberately affect us from Doing More for our customers and Guyana, are still out there. Let’s con-

tinue to work together to find them. Thieves and saboteurs must not affect your telecommunication services,” the local telecommunications giant has appealed to the public.

The company is hoping that collective efforts would locate such vandals and deter any other such persons from destroying its fibre-optic cables.

“The company has every confidence that the excellent collaborative work between the Guyana Police Force and good Guyana will lead to the eventual arrest of vandals and saboteurs,” GTT said in its statement on Saturday.

The telecommunications giant is also urging members of the public to call its confidential hotline on 0908 or 226-2764 if they see any suspicious activities.

Of recent, the spate of attack on GTT cables has escalated. In fact, only last month, there were some instances when the company’s cables were sabotaged. As a result of the vandalism, Linden, Ituni, Kwakwani, Mabura, Mahdia, Troy Mining, and communities in Bartica were affected.

Subsequently, CEO of GTT, Justin Nedd, had called on Guyanese to assist the company to capture the van-

dals, and had even offered a reward of $10 million in this regard. He had called the attack a destruction of GTT’s communication infrastructure by persons who had clear motives. GTT workers discovered, on July 24, that the company’s Blaze fibre-optic cables at one location were sabotaged just one day before they were launched; and in February, a similar act of vandalism was perpetrated on the company after the GTT had just launched its high speed LTE broadband in Essequibo.

The estimated losses had amounted to some $50 million.

First Lady Sandra Granger with officials and members of the Guyana Girl Guides Association as well as participants of the Camp GIRLS 2017 at the Girl Guides Pavilion, Brickdam

GTT pleased with Police work in nabbing cable vandals

G

TT is pleased with the efforts of the Guyana Police Force in arresting and prosecuting two vandals who had, in recent times, been among persons sabotaging its fibre-optic cable.

Twenty-two-year-old Ricky Singh of Lot ‘F’ Grove, East Bank Demerara was on Friday placed on $350,000 bail after he pleaded not guilty to a charge detailing that between July 22 and July 24, 2017, at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, he was caught vandalising and stealing the GTT fibre-optic cable.

Twenty-four-year-old fisherman Sanjay Seecharran

of Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara was also recently jailed for three years after confessing to stealing fibre-optic cable from GTT. GTT has since expressed its gratitude to the Guyana Police Force for the prosecution of these two rogue elements whose theft had affected voice and data services to more than 20,000 customers in several communities.

“The arrest and conviction of one of the accused is significant, since it follows shortly on the appeal by both the Government and GTT for the public to report attempts or acts of vandalism and sabo-

sunDAY, august 13, 2017

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Injured Bolt fails to finish final Champions race as GB take shock relay gold Chelsea beaten at

home in 1st game

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Sprint Legend Usain Bolt suffered an injury in his final competitive race

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here was a hugely dramatic end to Usain Bolt's final race as the iconic sprinter pulled up injured in a 4x100m relay won by Great Britain.

Bolt's illustrious athletics career finished on a painful and shocking note at the IAAF World Championships, the iconic sprinter pulling up with an injury as Great Britain claimed a shock gold.

Great Britain and the United States came into the straight with a slim lead over the Jamaicans. Bolt picked up the baton from Yohan Blake, changed hands as he traditionally does, and stepped on the gas to go in hunt of Christian Coleman and Nathaneel Mitchell-Blake.

Then there was a grimmace, followed by a short pause from a packed London Olympic Stadium as the realisation

that Bolt would not finish his final race, sung in very quickly.

No sooner had that happened though, than the epic battle in front of Bolt began to take over from the sadness of the moment.

Mitchell-Blake, with a millimetre on Coleman, strained for the line, as did the shorter Coleman.

The immediate joy after going through the tape for the quartet of Chijindu Ujah, Adam Gemili, Daniel Talbot, and Mitchell-Blake, was unmatched over the nine days of competition.

Great Britain clocked 37.47 in the win, ahead of the US' 37.52, and Japan's 38.04. (Sportsmax)

Mayweather is 'scared' of fighting me – McGregor M ayweather, 40, said on Thursday that the bout "won't go the distance".

Speaking at a media workout on Friday, McGregor, 29, said: "You know what I heard him say yesterday? Nothing. I saw a man scared... I saw a man trying to talk himself out of it.

"I'm preparing to win, and to win in devastating fashion."

UFC lightweight champion McGregor, who has never boxed professionally, is due to face Mayweather in a 12-round super welterweight bout that could earn both men about $100m.

Mayweather, who retired in 2015 with an unblemished 49-0 record, has beaten boxers such as Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya during his professional career and is aiming to surpass 1950s heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano's mark and move to 50-0.

But McGregor said he expects to defeat the American within 12 rounds.

The Irishman said: "The story of the fight will be waiting to see who takes a step back first.

"We all know Floyd is a great defensive boxer and he isn't going to

McGregor trained in front of reporters at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas

keep coming forward like he says. If he does, it's going to be a quick night for me.

"I have been boxing my whole life so this is not a new experience for me.

The critics say that Floyd has been there before. They discredit my training, my skills, my accomplishments.

"This isn't new to me though, just like boxing isn't new to me. I will rule over MMA and boxing with an iron fist after August 26."

Get all the latest boxing news sent straight to your device with notifications in the BBC Sport app. Find out more here.

remier League champions Chelsea suffered an embarrassing home defeat on the first Saturday of the new season, having two men sent off as unfancied Burnley beat them 3-2 at Stamford Bridge.

Antonio Conte's disjointed side struggled from the early stages when captain Gary Cahill was dismissed for a lunging tackle and they found themselves three-nil down at halftime to a team who gained only seven points away from home all last season.

Wales international Sam Vokes scored two of the goals and Stephen Ward the other.

New signing Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid came on to pull one back midway through the second half and then provided an assist for David Luiz, but in-between midfielder Cesc Fabregas was also sent off for a second yellow card.

It was a dispiriting afternoon for Conte, who won the title in his first season at the club but has complained that Chelsea have not signed enough new players while allowing several to leave.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp protested that Watford's stoppage-time equaliser by Manuel Britos in an entertaining 3-3 draw should have been disallowed for offside.

Britos was standing almost on the line before nudging in the loose ball after Simon Mignolet pushed it onto the bar.

M’Baye Niang of Watford battles with John Terry and Nathaniel Chalobah of Chelsea

"We were unlucky in the end," Klopp said. "The equaliser was offside. It’s obvious because the linesman is on the line.

He needs to see it.

"We would have had defensive areas we need to work on if we’d won 3-2. We were the better team, we should have won."

After the opening game of the season on Friday produced seven goals and a late winner for Arsenal, who beat Leicester City 4-3, the two teams at Vicarage Road served up more of the same entertainment for a worldwide television audience -- including some poor defending. The home side, under new manager Marco Silva, led twice through Stefano Okaka and Abdoulaye Doucoure but Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, with a penalty, both equalised.

Debutant Mohamed Salah seemed to have won the points for the visitors before Britos's dramatic late intervention.

Promoted Huddersfield Town, playing in the top flight for the first time since 1972 and widely tipped for relegation, cruised to a 3-0 win away to Crystal Palace. Record signing Steve Mounie, the Benin striker from Montpellier who cost 13 million euros ($15.36 million), scored once in each half after Palace's Joel Ward put through his own goal.

Wayne Rooney scored on his return to Everton from Manchester United to give the Merseysiders a 1-0 victory at home to Stoke City. It was his 199th Premier League goal and first for Everton since 2004.

Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazi, on loan to West Bromwich Albion from Al Ahly, scored on his debut in the 1-0 win at home to Bournemouth.

There were no goals on the south coast between Southampton and Swansea City. That meant the Saints have not scored at home in their last six games.

Promoted Brighton were playing at home to Manchester City in the late game on Saturday. (Reuters)

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sunDAY, august 13, 2017

Dhawan hits hundred before Sri Lanka strike back

I

ndia's Shikhar Dhawan smashed his sixth hundred and added 188 in an opening partnership with KL Rahul before Sri Lanka's spinners fought back to halt the touring side's progress in the third and final test on Saturday.

India reached the close of play on 329 for six, after losing no wickets in the first session, with Wriddhiman Saha unbeaten on 13 and Hardik Pandya not out on one at stumps.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, India captain Virat Kohli could not have asked for a better start as his side began their bid to complete a series whitewash over the hosts.

Following wins inside four days in Galle and Colombo, the world's topranked side have opened an unassailable 2-0 lead and the injury-hit hosts face another stiff task against Kohli's men in the finale.

On a surface ideal for batting, India's openers picked up boundaries at

fight back.

The 26-year-old, replacing the injured Rangana Herath, also removed the dangerous Kohli with the right-handed batsman out for 42 after getting an edge to slip.

Ravichandran Ashwin (31) was the only wicket to fall to the faster bowlers when he edged Fernando to wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella after the hosts had taken the second new ball.

Left-arm wrist spinner

Kuldeep Yadav was the only change for the touring side, called up as a replacement for suspended left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.

The hosts have been hurt by injuries throughout the series and will be missing both spin spearhead Herath and paceman Nuwan Pradeep. Middleorder batsman Dhananjaya de Silva was dropped after scores of nought and 17 in Colombo. (Reuters)

SCOREBOARD Shikhar Dhawan

will and made Sri Lanka pay for their profligacy with Dhawan given a reprieve on one, his edge flying through the slip cordon off left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando.

The left-handed batsman went on to hit 17 fours in his 123-ball knock before he was out for 119, hitting a sweep shot off left-arm spinner Malinda

Pushpakumara straight to Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal at square leg.

Pushpakumara had also provided Sri Lanka a breakthrough in his first over when he dismissed Rahul for 85. The 30-yearold, playing only his second test, later bowled an outof-sorts Ajinkya Rahane for 17, to end the day with figures of 3-40.

A century once again eluded Rahul, who was dropped twice during his innings, as he was caught at mid-on trying to hit a lofted shot. It was his seventh consecutive score of 50 or more.

Left-arm wrist-spinner Lakshan Sandakan then got Cheteshwar Pujara (eight) to edge one to slip as Sri Lanka continued to

India 1st innings S Dhawan c Chandimal b Pushpakumara 119 L Rahul c Karunaratne b Pushpakumara 85 C Pujara c Mathews b Sandakan 8 V Kohli c Karunaratne b Sandakan 42 A Rahane b Pushpakumara 17 R Ashwin c Dickwella b V. Fernando 31 W Saha not out 13 H Pandya not out1 Extras (b-6 lb-5 nb-2)13

Total (for 6 wickets, 90 overs)329 Fall of wickets: 1-188 L. Rahul,2-219 S. Dhawan,3-229 C. Pujara,4-264 A. Rahane,5-296 V. Kohli,6-322 R. Ashwin To bat: K. Yadav, M. Shami, U. Yadav Bowling: Fernando 19 - 2 68 - 1(nb-1), Kumara 15 - 1 - 67 – 0, Karunaratne 5 - 0 23 - 0 Perera8 - 1 - 36 - 0(nb1), Sandakan25 - 2 - 84 – 2, Pushpakumara 18 - 2 - 40 - 3

Holder helps Windies Jamaica earns bronze dominate at Derby in women’s 4x100 W

est Indies continued to dominate under-strength Derbyshire on the second day of their day-night tour match.

The tourists, 340-3 overnight, declared on 427-3 as

tet - Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Holder - were all in the wickets as they warmed up for the first day-night Test to be held in England.

However, Gabriel, play-

Friday's centurion, in reaching three figures against an inexperienced county attack which included two teenagers and four others under 25.

Opener Kraigg

Brathwaite, who fell cheaply for the second time in the match to give 16-year-old seamer James Taylor his maiden first-class wicket, will be the only West Indian to feel he missed out. (BBC)

SCOREBOARD

Shai Hope (107) and Roston Chase (110) reached their centuries.

Captain Jason Holder (348) then led the way with the pink ball, which will also be used in next week's daynight Test against England at Edgbaston.

After Derbyshire were bowled out for 181, the Windies opted to bat again and were 60-1 by close of play at Derby.

Only teenager Calum Brodrick (52), on his firstclass debut, and opener Ben Slater (39) passed 20 for the hosts.

The Windies' pace quar-

ing his first game of the tour, sent down 20 no-balls as his nine overs cost 64 runs.

Keeper Shane Dowrich had a busy day with five catches off the seamers as well as a stumping off Chase's off-spin when Brodrick was the eighth man out after adding 55 with stand-in skipper Tony Palladino.

West Indies had not registered a century in their first two tour games against Essex and Kent, which were both drawn.

But earlier in the day, Hope and Chase joined Hope's brother Kyle,

West Indies 1st Innings K Brathwaite lbw b Milnes 3 K Powell lbw b Palladino 92 K Hope b Sonczak 105 S Hope not out 107 R Chase not out 110 Extras 10 (lb 3, nb 7) TOTAL 427/3d (100 Overs) Did not bat: J Blackwood, SO Dowrich †, JO Holder (c), KAJ Roach, AS Joseph, ST Gabriel BOWLING: T Taylor 19-3-940, Milnes 21-2-94-1, J Taylor 14-1-63-0, Palladino 13-1-441, Cork 16-2-66-0, Sonczak 16-1-60-1, MacDonell 1-0--0 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (KC Brathwaite, 3.2 ov), 2-159 (KOA Powell, 32.4 ov), 3-231 (KA Hope, 57.2 ov) Derbyshire 1st Innings B Slaterc †Dowrich b Joseph 39 C MacDonell c †Dowrich b Roa ch 9 T Wood c Powell b Gabriel 15 C Brodrick st †Dowrich b Cha se 52 H Hosein †c †Dowrich b Holder 4 T Milnes c †Dowrich b Holder G Cork c Powell b Holder T Taylor c †Dowrich b Gabriel 9 A Palladino (c) c Holder b Cha se 18

M Sonczak c Blackwood b Roa ch 9 J Taylor not out 0 Extras 26 (lb 1, nb 24, w 1) TOTAL 181 all out (51.3 Overs) BOWLING: Gabriel 9-264-2, Roach 13.3-5-31-2, Holder 13-1-48-3, Joseph 12-3-32-1, Chase 4-3-5-2 Fall of wickets:1-25 (CM MacDonell, 5.5 ov), 2-78 (TA Wood, 17.5 ov), 3-78 (BT Slater, 18.2 ov), 4-91 (HR Hosein, 21.6 ov), 5-94 (TP Milnes, 23.5 ov), 6-100 (GTG Cork, 25.2 ov), 7-115 (TAI Taylor, 29.4 ov), 8-170 (CAJ Brodrick, 44.4 ov), 9-177 (AP Palladino, 48.6 ov), 10-181 (M Sonczak, 51.3 ov) West Indies 2nd Innings K Brathwaite c Cork b J Taylor 11 K Powell not out 41 J Blackwood not out 5 Extras 3 (lb 1, nb 1, w 1) TOTAL 60/1 (16 Overs) Yet to bat: KA Hope, SD Hope, RL Chase, SO Dowrich †, JO Holder (c), KAJ Roach, AS Joseph, ST Gabriel BOWLING: Milnes 6-4-22-0, T Taylor 5-0-19-0, J Taylor 3-014-1, Palladino 2-1-4-0 Fall of wickets:1-45 (KC Brathwaite, 11.4 ov)

A

Tori Bowie seals her double gold at the championships

new-look Jamaica 4x100-metre team finished on the podium of the women's event at the IAAF World Championships of Athletics in London, finishing third behind the United States and Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The United States team of Aaliyah Brown, Allyson Felix, Morolake Akinosun and Tori Bowie were just too good for the rest of the field, winning in 41.82.

The victory meant Bowie became the first double gold medalist at the world championships. At the same time, Felix earned a record 15th medal at the world championships in a career going back to 2005.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 42.12 finished just ahead of the Jamaicans, 42.19.

The British side benefitted from a mistake on the final changeover of the Jamaican team of Jura Levy, Natasha Morrison, Simone Facey, Sashalee Forbes.

Facey, trying to place the baton in the hand of Forbes, missed, and had to do it again.

During the miss, the British team, gained all the time.

By the time the change was made, the Jamaicans had moved from a close first, to third.

There would be nobody to stay with Bowie, so a close first, was in essence, a silver medal position, and though Forbes ran well to stay ahead of Germany's Rebekka Haase, she could gain no ground on the two in front of her.

Trinidad and Tobago's team of Semoy Hackett, MichelleLee Ahye, Khalifa St Fort and Kelly-Ann Baptiste, were sixth in 42.62, finishing behind Switzerland, 42.51, but ahead of Brazil, 42.63, and the Netherlands, 43.07. (Sportsmax)

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U-17 Lady Jags “against the odds” against Cuba – CONCACAF U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers

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T

The Cubans will be looking for a victory today

he U-17 Lady Jags’ starting XI will remain unchanged for today’s clash with Cuba in game three of their Group D CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers, to be held at the National Track and Field Facility at Leonora, WCD. Having already lost the opening game against Barbados by 5-1, only a win by a large margin can give the Lady Jags any hope of qualifying, as the winner of the group is guaranteed automatic qualification while the best second place teams have a shot at qualifying also.

However, that is a long shot, to say the least, as the Cuban team possesses superior technical skills and is a well-oiled unit on the pitch.

The score line in the Cuban game against Barbados on Friday does no justice to the team’s ability.

At a pre-game conference on Saturday, Cuban Head Coach Lazaro Ruis noted the importance of his side not taking the game against

Guyana for granted, as each game is different and football is an unpredictable game.

Ruis revealed that his side will be more structured in their approach to today’s game, as they do not want to repeat a scoreless match like what obtained against Barbados.

Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF’s) President, Wayne Forde, contended that while the Guyanese team is inexperienced, there has been a great improvement from when he first saw the team practising three weeks prior to the tournament.

The hosting of the Group D qualifiers is a launching pad for the development of women’s football in Guyana, according to Forde; and after

the GFF Training Facility is built, there will be even more strides in getting the game up to scratch.

Forde also maintained that while hosting the tournament has been a challenge, the federation has risen to the occasion and pulled off a well-coordinated and

well-planned tournament.

Today’s game begins at 17:00hrs at the National Track and Field Facility at Leonora, West Coast Demerara and admission is free. The GFF President is urging fans to come out and support the Guyanese team in their bid for victory.

GUYSA ‘Kings of the Wicket’ on today

T

op local cricketers will be engaged today as the Guyana Students Association (GUYSA) of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus hosts Kings of the Wicket at the Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) Ground in Georgetown.

The event, rescheduled from August 6 due to rain, will be a seven-a-side six- over cricket tournament with teams coming from all parts of the country to showcase their power-hitting ability in a very short format of leather ball cricket.

Food and drinks will be on sale at the venue, and there will also be an admission cost of $500 attached to the event. There is no registration fee attached.

The Guyanese Students Association (GUYSA) is a non-profit organization established on 1st January, 2016. GUYSA is the official student representative body for all Guyanese students within the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). Its aim is to assist in the welfare of Guyanese students, promote Guyanese cultural ethnicity, create opportunities to develop the skills of members, and contribute to the community. The first ball bowls off at 9:00h.

The Lady Jags will be looking to upset their Cuban rivals

CAREBACO 2017

Guyanese juniors keep up good performance on day 2

L

ike they did on the opening day, Guyanese junior badminton players have maintained their winning ways on day two of the Caribbean Regional & International Badminton Championships, being at the National Racket Centre in Tacarigua, Trinidad &Tobago.

Guyana’s junior players all moved through to the semi-finals and medal rounds on Friday, August 11.

The following information provides the results at the end of a good day on the surface for the Guyanese: Priyanna Ramdhani has entered the Under-17 Girls Singles/ Girls Doubles/ Mixed Doubles semifinal, while the following players also moved in to the semis: Tyrese Jeffrey -- Under-17 Boys Doubles/ Mixed Doubles; Akili Haynes -- Under-17 Boys Doubles; Jonathan Mangra -- Under-19 Boys

Day two action in CAREBACO 2017

Doubles; Ambika Ramraj -- Under-19 Girls Doubles.

The following are results from matches played on Day two: Under-13 Boys Doubles QuarterFinals: Vikash Mootoo (Gy) and Romer Pena (Dom) lost to James Babwah and Nicholi Marcano (Tri): 21-17, 21-17.

Under-17 Girls Singles Quarter-Finals: Priyanna Ramdhani (Gy) defeated Chequeda DeBoulet (Tri): 21-15, 21-8.

Under-17 Boys Singles Quarter-Finals: Tyrese Jeffrey (Gy) lost to Leon Cassie (Tri): 21-18, 1621, 15-21 Under-17 Boys Doubles Quarter-Finals: Tyrese Jeffrey and Akili Haynes (Gy) defeated Luke Lutchman and Aidan Mootoosingh (Tri): 21-14, 21-15.

Under-17 Girls Doubles Quarter-Finals:

Priyanna Ramdhani (Gy) and Imani Mangroe (Sur) defeated Sandhya Cassie and Chequeda DeBoulet (Tri): 21-14, 21-12.

Under-17 Mixed Doubles Quarter-Finals: Priyanna Ramdhani and Tyrese Jeffrey (Gy) defeated Vance Juteram and Chequeda DeBoulet (Tri): 13-21, 21-13, 21-16 Under-19 Boys Doubles Quarter-Finals: Jonathan Mangra (Gy) and Cesar Brito (Dom) defeated Aleem Ali and Nathaniel Joseph (Tri): 21-7, 21-13.

Under-19 Girls Doubles Quarter-Finals: Ambika Ramraj (Guy) and Shemara Lindveld (Sur) defeated Demi Ramdial and Johannah Walker (Tri): 21-6, 21-10.

Under-19 Mixed Doubles Quarter-Finals: Jonathan Mangra and Ambika Ramraj (Gy) lost to Renaldo Sinanan & Amanda Ramsingh (Tri): 21-13, 21-19.

22

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sundAY, august 13, 2017

Last lick is best lick!!

Amazon Warriors vow to shine in front of home fans ...Guyanese fans always provide the oomph!!

T

he Guyana Amazon Warriors have certainly not had the start to their 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign, with three losses from as many matches. But based on T-20 contests in general and right her in the Hero CPL all is not lost Guyana can still qualify for the playoffs and even go on to win the tournament.

Warriors’ fans should remember that Trinbago Knight Riders, formerly Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel,

emerged champions in 2015 after recovering from winning one out of their first four games. And more recently, in the 2016 edition, the Stars, previously the St. Lucia Zouks, on the back of a remarkable revival midway through the tournament, recovered from three down out of four matches to close the first phase with six wins out of 10 matches and qualify for the playoffs.

While it is the worst start by the Warriors who are the most consistent team in the League overall, being three-time finalist in the five-year existence of the League, this is the first time they have opened away from Guyana so late in the season. Their vociferous home fans have always been an important factor in their wins as the proverbial “twelfth man” with their energy pushing the team to greater heights.

Speaking to several members of the team via telephone, they expressed confidence in their abilities and expect as a unit to improve as

the tournament progresses. It is men who make their history, and if history has its way, then they could be one of the four teams qualifying for the playoffs.

At the end of the Warriors’ clash with Trinbago Knight Riders, which was a tough loss based on a questionable decision and too many dropped catches, they were placed fifth on the sixteam points table, ahead of St. Lucia Stars.

Judging from their performances in the first three matches, the Warriors have not been dominated, but have been subdued by their counterparts at some key moments in all of their clashes, and have failed to recover afterwards. The coaching staff led by Roger Harper, have a big role to play especially in such circumstances. They must concoct the right chemistry in the team to get past this hurdle, in order to get on the positive side and gain momentum for the remainder of the League. They cannot allow the team to get too tense because of the unfortunate start.

At the moment, they must focus on getting to the winning path

The experienced players such as captain Martin Guptil and Rayad Emrit will need to work together (CPL T20 via Getty Images)

and maintain that course while they pay keen attention to results involving teams in the top four, as negative outcome for those teams could assist with their qualification eventually. As suggested home advantage would be pivot-

al in the upcoming matches, since four of them would be played at the Providence Stadium – stomping ground of the Warriors, and the place where they have won 70% of all matches played against opponents.

Crix gives away Strikers FC, Rising Stars and Lazio post wins 32 CPL tickets S GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 League

trikers Football Club has taken pole position in the point’s standings following the start of the second round of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)/ National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) Thunderbolt Flour Power Intra Association Under-17 League in Bartica.

Playing at the Bartica Secondary School ground on Thursday and yesterday, Strikers FC posted back-to-back wins, edging Potaro Strikers 2-1 yesterday whilst blowing away the challenge of River’s View FC on Thursday.

Auditor at the column, Elisa Howard (Marketing Supervisor) and Manager Alvin Wilson emptying entry boxes to fill the rotisserie

M

assy Industries, sponsors of the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the staging of the 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League, have, under their Crix brand, made 32 customers happy by giving them tickets for the four upcoming Warriors’ home matches, to be played between August 17 and 22nd at the National Stadium at Providence, EBD. The winners were awarded via a promotion which entailed the purchase of 4 packs of any size Crix to receive a coupon for the chance to win a cricket ticket, besides receiving a premium - jars, bowl, t-shirts, free products and caps.

The drawing was held on Saturday at the Bounty Supermarket on Water Street under the watchful eyes of an auditor for transparency purposes.

The promotion was held at the following venues: Georgetown - Bounty Regent, Bounty Kitty, Bounty Grove, Bounty Water St, Massy Stores, Rams, S & S Mahaica, S & S Lusignan. Essequibo—Jaigobin’s Supermarket, Imam Bacchus Supermarket, Safeway Supermarket, B Jones Supermarket.

Berbice – Jay’s Supermarket, M. Alli Supermarket, Good Life Supermarket and Price is Right.

Promotion mechanics: Drawing was done today, 12th August, at Bounty Water Street. Thirty-two (32) tickets were given out. There were 8 winners per cricket game.

An auditor was there for transparency purposes.

Ravun Lyken and Elijah Fraser were the players hitting the back of the net in yesterday’s win, Raymond Bacchus hitting in Potaro Strikers consolation goal.

Against River’s View, the players on target were Andre Burnette with a hattrick. Lyken tucked in the other.

Also posting victory yesterday was Rising Stars Football Club, which blanked Lazio 6-1 on account of goals from McQuain Smith, who netted a hat-trick; Keenan Harper, Ian Gomes and Marcus McKenzie were the other goal scorers. Lazio’s

Part of the action in Bartica

lone response came off the boot of Ariel Burnette.

Lazio were, however, in winner’s row in the first match of this second round on Thursday, which followed the official march past of

teams. They blanked Potaro Strikers 2-0, thanks to goals from Ariel Burnette and Ezekiel King.

Matches will continue at the same venue on Wednesday from 14:00hrs.

ESPN, Future Stars maintain winning streak in Xtra Beer Futsal Tournament A ction in the Xtra Beer-sponsored Futsal tournament got underway on Friday night, and saw ESPN and Future stars racking up consecutive victories.

In game six of the first round, ESPN needed only a single goal to get past Hustlers, as Kevon Lythcott was on target in the 6th minute.

The youthful Future Stars, who have arrived on the Futsal scene with a bang, played out a goalless normal and extra time to go to penalty kicks with Samaroo Dam. The resulting penalty kicks were won by Future Stars by a margin of three to two. Earlier, the Silver Bullets struck twice without reply in their game with Tucville. Their hero was Damion Williams in the 10th and 23rd minutes.

Back Circle suffered an upset, as

Lot-20 pressured them into scoring an own goal to give away the victory.

Dave and Celina’s All-Stars quietly disposed of Bagotstown Warriors through Kenard Simon in the 4th and Joel McKinnon in the 12th minutes to win 2-0.

The Tajoe’s Admiral United were handed a loss, as Showstoppers needed a solitary goal from Marvin Josiah in the 11th minute to go through to the second round.

In a closely contested game, Agricola eventually emerged 2-0 victors when they clashed with Speed Boat, as Collis Samuels notched up a brace in the 3rd and 10th minutes, with Amoniki Buntin (7th minute) being the lone goal scorer for Speedboat.

In the final first round game between Tiger Bay and Gully Side, pen-

alty kicks were needed, and the former duly won 1-0 on sudden death.

In round two, Back Circle redeemed themselves against Silver Bullets by winning 1-0 through a Jermaine Beckles goal in the ninth minute.

Lot-20 maintained their winning ways, this time against Tucville, as the game went to penalty kicks, only for Tucville to lose 3-2.

ESPN also needed penalty kicks (2-1) to win against Dave and Celina’s All-Stars, while Future Stars downed Tiger Bay 1-0 thanks to Jamal Cozier, who scored in the 4th minute.

Bagotstown Warriors won 2-1 on penalties, to hand Hustlers their second defeat of the night.

Tajoe’s Admiral United defeated Agricola 2-0 on penalties.

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sundAY, august 13, 2017

23

Patriots crush struggling Stars to remain perfect

E

plan of bowling full and wide paid off as the batsman sliced a catch to a wide slip placed in the 17th over.

After scoring five runs last weekend on the spongy pitches of Florida, Lewis feasted on a batting beauty, and the Stars’ wayward bowling unit - 16 wides were part of 23 extras - hitting five fours and seven sixes.

His wagon wheel was heavily weighted to the leg side, as

Mohammad Nabi came to the crease at the fall of Lewis and sent five of nine balls faced to the boundary. Mayers’ first ball to him strayed on the legs and was pulled past fine leg for four and Nabi powered Mayers over cover for four and six through the wind in the final over to finish unbeaten on 24 off 9 balls. The flourish helped Patriots equal the 196 posted by Barbados Tridents two nights earlier on the same ground as both the highest CPL total at the venue and for the 2017 tour-

vin Lewis struck the highest score of CPL 2017, bashing 92 off 52 balls as St Kitts & Nevis Patriots maintained their record as the only unbeaten team in the competition.

They thrashed St Lucia Stars by 33 runs and are looking strong contenders to make the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Lewis wakes up

No mercy Nabi

Evin Lewis of the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots plays a slog sweep during his innings of 92 (CPL T20 via Getty Images)

he punished the bowlers for straying on his pads with authoritative flicks to fine leg.

He motored to 88 off 46 balls when rain stopped play after 15.2 overs, causing a half-hour delay. A century had seemed certain, but Lewis struggled to regain his touch after play resumed, scoring four off six balls.

Eventually, Kyle Mayers’

nament.

Hafeez swan song

Despite the Pakistan Cricket Board’s demand for all players at the CPL to return home immediately, Mohammad Hafeez, Hasan Ali and Kamran Akmal had at least one more night to leave a mark on CPL 2017. It started off poorly for Hafeez

SCOREBOARD St Kitts and Nevis Patriots C Gayle * b Taylor 12 E Lewis c Cornwall b Mayers 92 M Hafeez lbw Taylor

0 B King c Fletcher b Sammy 11 D Thomas † b Shillingford 9 C Brathwaite c Fletcher b Taylor 21 M Nabi Not out 24 J Carter Not out 4 Extras (16 wd,7 lb)23 Total (6 wickets, 20 overs) 196 Did not bat : H Ali, S Badree, T Shamsi Fall of wickets : 1-35 (C Gayle,2.5), 2-37 (M Hafeez,2.6), 3-84 (B King,7.2), 4-139 (D Thomas,14.3), 5-150 (E Lewis,16.5), 6-181 (C Brathwaite,18.6) BOWLING: Taylor 4-0-46-3 ( wd 2), Cornwall 1-0-16-0-0-1 ( wd 7), McClenaghan 4-0-40-0 ( wd 3), Shillingford 4-0-22-1 ( wd 2), Sammy 2-018-1, Mayers4-0-34-1 ( wd 2), Samuels 1-0-13-0 St Lucia Stars

J Charles c Thomas b Hafeez13 A Fletcher b Nab i 48 K Akmal † c Brathwaite b Hafeez5 M Samuels c & b Hafeez 21 S Watson c Carter b Nabi 12 D Sammy * b Shamsi 3 K Mayers st Thomas b Nab i 20 R Cornwall Not out 23 M McClenaghan b Ali 4 S Shillingford Not out 7 Extras (4 wd,3 lb,)7 Total (8 wickets, 20 overs)163 Did not bat : J Taylor Fall of wickets : 1-32 (J Charles,3.3), 2-49 (K Akmal,5.5), 3-85 (M Samuels,9.6), 4-93 (A Fletcher,11.6), 5-106 (D Sammy,14.1), 6-112 (S Watson,15.2), 7-134 (K Mayers,17.3), 8-139 (M McClenaghan,18.1) BOWLING: C Brathwaite 2-016-0 ( wd 1), Badree 2-030-0-1, Hafeez 4-0-22-3, Ali 4-0-42-1, Shamsi 4-0-351 ( wd 3), Nabi4-0-15-3

with a golden duck at the hands of Jerome Taylor on leg before decision that may have been missing leg stump, but by the end of the night he created more positive memories, nabbing 3 for 22 after entering in the fourth over to stifle the Stars chase.

Johnson Charles fell to Hafeez’ third delivery for 13, skying a slog that eventually came down into Devon Thomas’ at point after running out from behind the stumps for the take. Akmal’s brief but charmed stay finally ended after six balls, caught at mid-off in Hafeez’ next over by Brathwaite. He took his final wicket - a fortunate return catch off a full toss to Marlon Samuels - on the last ball before drinks to make it 85 for 3, snatching back momentum from the Stars that had been seized by

Darren Sammy, captain of the St Lucia Stars is bowled (CPL T20 via Getty Images)

Andre Fletcher and Samuels.

No mercy Nabi Part Deux

Stars’ top-order has been starved of meaningful contributions early in CPL 2017 but it looked like they were going to get a major one from

Fletcher, who had reached 48 at a strike rate of 150 to give Stars hope. But after Hafeez’ spell ended, Nabi replaced him and struck at the end of his first over, spearing in a yorker length ball to beat Fletcher.

After left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi beat Darren Sammy with a quicker ball in the 15th, Nabi made further inroads when Shane Watson lunged at a flighted delivery and skied a catch to long-on. Mayers was stumped off a charge down the pitch for Nabi’s third to put the Stars seven down.

Nabi should have had another before his spell ended had Brathwaite held on to a relatively straightforward chance coming in from the boundary offered by Mitchell McClenaghan.

It hardly mattered though and by the time he grabbed the cap from the umpire for the last time on the evening, he had figures of 3 for 15 and Stars’ equation was 58 off two overs. Some lusty hitting from Rahkeem Cornwall in the final over narrowed the final margin. (Cricinfo)

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

SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2017

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Last lick is best lick!!

Amazon Warriors vow to shine in front of home fans

...Guyanese fans always provide the oomph!!

Pg 22

Amazon Warriors home fans should be assured of an improved showing by their beloved team

Pg 23

Patriots crush struggling Stars to remain perfect

Tabraiz Shamsi (left) and Mohammed Nabi of the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots celebrate the wicket of Andre Fletcher (CPL T20 via Getty Images)

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August 13, 2017

Star Times Bollywood:

Alia Bhatt: ‘Working with my father is special’Page 14 FREE DISTRIBUTION

Page 3

Recent study highlights impact of forest destruction and conservation on wildlife in Guyana

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Feature

the presentation of the project through my participation in the Miss India Guyana 2017 pageant. I express much gratitude to the GIVE Foundation for awarding me such recognition for the work I have been doing.

“Apart from being overjoyed and genuinely satisfied, I feel a sense of reward when I see smiles on the faces of children we have helped. Also, being able to impact the many lives of innocent children and to pave a brighter future for Guyana have added to my joy. Being a strong, young woman and a role model to youths,

Ashmini Ramnauth is on a mission to empower youths and families in an effort to ultimately eradicate a growing social issue, child neglect

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n an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Ashmini said her interest in addressing the issue of child neglect was prompted when she joined the Miss World Guyana pageant in 2016 as a contestant.

“I was given an opportunity to launch the project under the pageant’s linked charity called Beauty With A Purpose. It was the Miss World Guyana pageant that helped me to secure a voice and launch the project on official grounds,” the 21-yearold recalled.

focused on “building strong foundations for family life and bringing society as a whole to help in the upbringing of our Guyanese children”.

Ashmini noted that the project is mainly focused on youths and families in Region 5 (Mahaica-Berbice) because she grew up in that area and is cognizant of the challenges faced by youths in that region.

“I have taken keen interest in the affairs of the children of Region 5 because of being born in that area,

group of persons is to host seminars and various workshops with schools, providing counselling sessions and various talks with the help of printed resources, such as pamphlets and brochures. I work with a particu-

tunity to address this social issue of child neglect. This year, I received the GIVE Foundation award, titled ‘Beautiful Heart Award’, for

Children bring much joy to Ashmini's life, hence her project is very close to her heart

Apart from her humanitarian work, Ashmini loves pageantry. In the Miss India Guyana 2017 pageant, she was awarded the ‘First Princess’ title, copping the People’s Choice award; she was also a Miss World Guyana 2016 finalist; and the Miss World Guyana top model 2016.

Due to the platform afforded to her through her involvement in pageants, Ashmini started her project, “Let’s join hands, tie the knot and fill the gaps”.

She said it was initiated because of her “love for underprivileged children in society” and her observations on how children suffer due to neglect.

She believes that child neglect leads to other social issues, such as suicide, teenage pregnancies, unhealthy teen relationships and abuse. Via this project, which started in February 2016, the humanitarian is

where I also currently reside. I am also a regional ambassador for the region, a title that has afforded me the opportunity to help with child neglect, which is prevalent in Region 5. Though there are organisations doing commendable work in the area of child neglect, one being CHILDLINK, I think more can be done,” she declared.

Ashmini outlined that the project’s main objectives/ aims are to acquire sufficient funds to supply hot meals to children countrywide (initiating a feeding programme); assist children with shelter by constructing an orphanage with branches throughout Guyana; and to start a non-governmental organisation to address the basic interests and welfare of children.

“The project is about curbing the issue of child neglect through the school system. What we do as a small

lar school in doing this on a regular basis during the academic terms so as to ensure we create an effect on children who are suffering from various causes of neglect, and also involving teachers to help curb this disheartening issue,” she noted.

Since the project’s launching last year, Ashmini and her team have conducted a few feeding programmes with hopes of expansion.

Sadly, due to limited finances, challenges arose in being able to adequately provide basic necessities for children who are neglected. Nevertheless, with the support from the public, close friends and families, Ashmini ardently continues to help in whatever way she can.

“I have received accolades, apart from regional recognition, for the work I have been doing via this project. Personally, I feel very grateful for the oppor-

less of the odds,” expressed Ashmini.

Outlining her future plans, Ashmini said she would like to have regular feeding programmes for underprivileged children; support children financially throughout their academic lives; and expand her project’s guidance and counselling sessions. Hence, she encourages kind-hearted individuals and corporate Guyana to help in forwarding her humanitarian work.

“A special ‘thank you’ to all those who would have contributed one way or the other to this project. If you would like to contribute to my project or find out more about it, please contact me on my Facebook page, Ash

Establishing lasting friendships

I want to continue to influence the younger generations to believe in themselves and to aspire to be great regard-

Ramnauth; Instagram at ashramnauth; or email ashmimiramnauth@yahoo.com,” she stated.

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Sunday Times Magazine

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Feature

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he large South American animals that dominate nature documentaries, including jaguars and tapirs, are the species most likely to be locally extirpated [wiped out]. While such species require extensive areas of healthy forest habitat to survive, deforestation leaves them with less each year. In addition to suffering from loss of habitat, high hunting pressure has resulted in their local extirpation in many areas. Now there is increasing evidence that loss of these animals will affect the ecosystem services tropical forests provide, including food for indigenous peoples and the carbon storage that mitigates global climate change.

In recognition of these threats, some scientists argue that logged forests should be used to complement national parks and improve forest connectivity. Tropical forests managed primarily for the extraction of timber and other forest products cover over 400 million hectares, half of all tropical forests. It seems logical that more responsible logging could improve the suitability of these managed tropical forests for wildlife, but it is still poorly known whether large animals tolerate logging because so many logged forests are also over hunted.

A new study, led by Anand Roopsind and researchers from the University of Florida, Stanford University, and James Cook University, sheds light on the impacts of responsible tropical forest management practices on large animals. In a forest in Guyana, they

I

quantified the impacts on wildlife from the combination of subsistence hunting by indigenous peoples and reduced-impact logging.

The multiple-use forest, where the study was conducted, known as the Iwokrama Forest, integrates logging, tourism, and full legal access and user rights for local indigenous communities. The authors used laser-triggered camera traps to collect pictures of animals in logged and unlogged forests and worked with local communities to collect hunting data, which included maps where hunting occurred, species, and numbers of animals hunted. They observed very similar levels of animal diversity and activity in the logged and unlogged forests. Pumas and jaguars, the largest carnivores, also favoured the logged areas. Where hunting pressure was highest, fewer of these animals were photographed, but their populations were still sustained. According to co-author, Professor Francis Putz said: “Although the study was limited to one site, it showed that populations of large animals are retained in selectively logged forest, but the importance of Iwokrama’s control of poaching should not be underestimated.”

How has Iwokrama been able to implement sustainable logging while conserving wildlife? First, it prohibits hunting, other than for subsistence purposes by indigenous people.

This policy conserves wildlife while enabling indigenous people to continue their customary livelihood practices. Second, the indigenous commu-

Male jaguar (Panthera onca) using the logging roads photographed by camera traps

Adult puma (Puma concolor) and cub making use of the logging roads for traversing the forest

nities that traditionally used these forests are shareholders in the timber business. Third, the forestry operations are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which has high standards for socially and environmentally responsible logging.

Dr Raquel Thomas, a director at

Iwokrama, believes that “Iwokrama is meeting its mandate of contributing to the science that will improve tropical forest management. A large component of that mandate involves working with communities who are the traditional custodians of these forests. Iwokrama can share

ter, and the former swears to protect the latter. However, the Sanghachalak of HSS explained the organisation’s wider perspective.

For HSS members (Syamsevaks and Sevikas), it is a little different. They have a duty to protect not only sisters, or relatives, but their community (Samaj) and country as well - a duty to protect Dharma. And this leads directly back to the core of HSS’ “Service to Humanity”. The Sanghachalak illustrated it this way: “It’s as if we are all in a boat, which we all have a

these lessons with the global conservation community to build more sustainable models for forest utilisation and conservation of biodiversity”.

The researchers emphasized that further exploration is needed of forestry practices that maintains biodiversity, especially the populations of large animals.

Text provided by Dr Anand Roopsind, whose background is in forestry/conservation. Roopsind recently completed his PhD at the University of Florida and hopes to have a positive influence on forest conservation in Guyana. The information featured today was done for a recent publication on Iwokrama as part of Roopsind’s studies. It highlights important findings for wildlife management in timber concessions in Guyana. Roopsind and his team found that logging isn’t the main threat to wildlife, rather the synergy that occurs when access in not controlled. Illegal hunters use the roads and deplete wildlife populations. He also found that hunting by indigenous peoples for food didn’t have a negative impact. (Cover photos: Jaguar and puma by National Geographic; anteater by Conrad Taylor)

Asst. Supt Singh (right) helps to tie a Rakhi on the National Flag of Guyana

Rakhi tied to the Bhagwa Dhwaj

n its effort to promote Indian culture and foster better societal relations, the Hindus for Selfless Service – Guyana (Hindu Swyamsevak Sangh - HSS) recently hosted a simple Raksha Bandhan ceremony at the Leonora Synthetic Track, West Coast Demerara.

Tying Rakhis has long been a tradition of HSS, much like anywhere else in the world - but with a difference.

Traditionally, Rakhis are tied on the wrists of a brother or ‘protector’ by a sister or someone considered to be a sis-

Poster presentation on large mammal conservation from a community training workshop at the Bina Hill training institute located in North Rupununi

Asst. Supt Singh addressing the gathering

duty to protect. Should someone bore a hole in the boat, we would all perish.” The responsibility to protect therefore lies with each of us, equally.

Present at Raksha Bandhan ceremony was Assistant Superintendent of

Police, Ramesh Singh. The Police have a similar motto to HSS: “To Serve and Protect”.

Asst. Supt Singh took the opportunity to advise the youths present at the event to stay on the straight and narrow, even though it is easy to be swayed

into wrongdoings. While not using the term, he was advising the youths to stay on the path of Dharma.

To symbolise its duty to our nation and Dharma, the HSS’ Bhagwa Dhwaj (flag) and National Flag of Guyana were hoisted and both tied with Rakhis by the Sanghachalak, Asst. Supt Singh and Ms. Sandy Basdeo of the New India Assurance Co. This was followed by tying of Rakhis on all present, while ShrimatiLoveena Ji of the Nirvana Humanitarian Foundation sung Raksha

Badhan Bhajans.

The Hindu Sywamsevak Sangh continues with its mandate to preserve Dharma, foster better social relations, instil discipline, promote culture and preserve traditions through these programmes, regular Shaka sessions and addressing issues of concern of the nation.

Raksha Badhan was celebrated on Monday, August 7 with the hope that the significance of the Rakhi extends from brothers and sisters to husbands and wives, teachers and students, neighbours and all citizens of Guyana alike.

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Sunday Times Magazine 5

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Literary Corner

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n the story of how the snake lost his legs, the moon is portrayed as a sympathetic deity who looked into the future, and saw that a terrible drought was impending. She called to Mantis, “You must take your wives and children and all the birds and animals and move from this area, for soon there will be nothing here but a desert,” she warned him.

So Mantis told everybody, and all the animals packed up and trekked away to places. All but the snake, which in those days had legs like other animals.

He was lazy, and did not believe Mantis.

“No, I will stay here. Your drought will not worry me,” he said. But soon, when no rain fell and the grass shrivelled and all the little fat frogs hopped away, the snake grew thin and hungry and decid-

L

ong ago, when animals were still new on earth, the weather was very hot, and what little water there was remained in pools and pans. One of these was guarded by a boisterous baboon, who claimed that he was the “lord of the water” and forbade anyone from drinking at his pool.

When a zebra and his son came down to have a drink, the baboon, who was sitting by his fire, jumped up. “Go away, intruders,” he barked. “This is my pool and I am the lord of the water.”

“The water is for everyone, not just for you, monkey-face,” shouted back the zebra's son.

“If you want it, you must fight for it,” returned the baboon in a fine fury, and in a moment the two were locked

ed to follow the others.

By then, however, the land had become a desert, and each weary foot the snake put before him sank in the hot sand. At last, in desperation, he cried, “Oh Moon, I am ashamed of myself. Save me from the sun and I will change my ways.”

The moon took pity on the creature, and in a moment the snake found that his

shrunk away, and on his gleaming skin he could glide easily across the hot sand without sinking into it as before.

(A tale from Africa)

in combat. Back and forth they went, until with a mighty kick, the zebra sent the baboon flying high up among the rocks of the cliff behind them. The baboon landed with a smack on his seat, and to this day he carries the bare patch where he landed.

The zebra staggered back through the baboon's fire, which scorched him, leaving stripes across his white fur.

The shock sent the zebra galloping away to the plains, where he has stayed ever since. The baboon and his family, however, remain high up among the rocks where they bark defiance at all strangers, and hold up their tails to ease the smarting rock-burn of their bald patched bottoms. (A tale from Africa)

A

traveller who stopped to rest under a nut tree noticed a huge pumpkin growing on a thin vine.

"How foolish are the ways of nature," the traveller muttered. "If things were as they should be, this big, strong tree would hold the large pumpkins, and the spindly vine would hold the nuts. Now if I made the world, that is how I'd have done it!"

At that moment, from high up in the tree, a small nut fell and hit him squarely on the head. Startled, he looked up into the branches and thought, "Forgive my arrogance! If it were a big pumpkin that fell out of the tree onto my head, it most certainly would have killed me!"(A tale from India)

legs had

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here was once a man who had a beautiful cat. She was so loving that one day he wished out loud, "Dear Cat, if you were only a woman, I'd marry you!"

Aphrodite, the goddess of love, heard his wish and changed the cat into a beautiful woman. The man and the cat woman were married and lived quite happily together until one night…

The beautiful woman was sitting on her bed and

Black

into the room came a mouse.

She crouched on her hands and knees, pounced on the mouse, and began to eat it, much to her husband's alarm!

Aphrodite looked down from the clouds and, seeing this, turned the woman back into a cat. Aphrodite chuckled, "I can change the outer appearance of a creature, but to truly make a difference, I guess I must change its inner character first!"(A tale from Greece)

Notice to Readers If you have a poem and/or short story you would like to publish on our Literary Corner page, please email them to guyanatimes@gmail.com.

Kindly include your correct name and a contact number in your email. If you have any questions, please call 223-7230 or 223-7231.

Black is the colour of my true love’s sanity As he stares in the mirror full of vanity Black is the colour of my true love’s booze Beating, shouting, slapping, another unique bruise Black is the colour of my true love’s heart Bleeding steadily from love’s failed dart Black is the colour of my true love’s blood As it rushes downwards to sink in the mud Black is the colour of my true love’s soul Buried deep in that dark hole Black is the colour of my true love’s coffin As I dance on his grave; back to my own origin Poems by R. M. Hayles

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Sunday Times Magazine

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Travel & Tourism

B Victoria amazonica at Buffalo Pond (Photo

uffalo Pond, near Karanambu Lodge on the Rupununi River, is accessed via a tiny stream.

Hundreds of Victoria amazonica cover almost the entire surface of this small, shallow oxbow lake. The air at the pond is filled with a light, sweet, fragrance of

the lilies.

The pond can also be quite busy with several species of heron (capped, striated, boat-billed, black-crowned night-) and egrets (snowy, great, cocoi).

Wood storks, black-collared and great black hawks lurk in the trees at

the water's edge. A few giant river otters can also be seen popping their heads up beside distant lily pads.

Buffalo Pond offers adventures and an idyllic opportunity for birding and fishing enthusiasts to experience nature at its best.

by Rick Wright)

A cool evening boat ride at Buffalo Pond (Photo by Thomas Wilusz)

Buffalo Pond is a seasonally flooded pond and nesting ground for water birds and Arapaima near Karamanbu

Aerial view of the pond taken by a drone (Photo

by Andrea and Salvador)

Creek leading to the pond (Photo by

Andrea and Salvador)

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Sunday Times Magazine 9

Health

Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day

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esearch shows people who gulp a glass of H2O when they’re thirsty get enough to stay healthy and hydrated. Water-rich foods like soup, fruit, and vegetables and drinks like juice, tea, and coffee all help you get your fill.

You might need to drink more water if your urine

is dark yellow, you don’t go regularly, you're very active, or you live in a hot climate.

Eggs Are Bad for Your Heart Eating an egg or two a day doesn’t raise the risk of heart disease in healthy people. Yes, the yolks have cholesterol, but for most of us, the amount found in any one food isn’t as bad for you as the mix of fats from ev-

erything you eat. What’s more, eggs have nutrients, like omega-3s, that may lower the risk of heart disease.

Antiperspirant Causes Breast Cancer Some scientists think the chemicals found in antiperspirants and deodorants can be absorbed through your underarm. The idea is they end up in breast tissue and make tumors more likely.

But the National Cancer Institute says there’s no evidence connecting either product with breast cancer.

Being Cold Gives You a Cold No matter what your grandma might've told you, spending too much time in the cold air doesn’t make you sick.

One study found that healthy men who spent several hours in temperatures just above freezing had an increase in healthy, virus-fighting activity in their immune systems. In fact, you’re more likely to get sick indoors, where germs are easily passed.

You Need a Daily Multivitamin You may have heard that a multivitamin can make up for nutrients that aren't in your diet.

Researchers don’t all agree on that point. But if your doctor tells you to take vitamin, do it. And if you’re pregnant, you need to take folic acid to lower the risk of birth defects. Still, the best way to get your nutrients is to eat a diet filled with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and healthy oils.

Eat Breakfast to Lose Weight Eating breakfast does help some people lose weight. It can stave off hunger, and it might prevent random eating later in the day. If you’re not a breakfast fan, you can still slim down. In a study, a university in the US found that the non-breakfast crowd didn’t overeat at lunch and dinner, and they ate about 400 fewer calories a day. The bottom line: Skipping breakfast may help some healthy people

shed pounds.

Green Mucus Means Infection Studies show that green or yellow mucus is slightly more common in certain bacterial infections. But it’s not a sure sign that you have one or that you need antibiotics. A sinus infection can cause clear mucus, and a common cold can turn it green.

Sugar Makes Kids Hyper Sugar isn’t good for kids, but research shows the sweet stuff won’t cause them to act out, hurt their schoolwork, or make them unable to focus. Since many parents believe there’s a link, though, they expect their kids to behave badly after eating sugary food.

So, they’re primed to notice it if it happens.

A Toilet Seat Can Make You Sick Don’t stress if you can’t cover the seat.

Toilet seats are usually pretty clean -- it’s bathroom doors, door handles, and floors that tend to be covered with bugs like E. coli, norovirus (a.k.a. “stomach flu”), and the flu. Cover your hand with a paper towel before you touch doors or handles, and use hand sanitizer or wash afterward.

Cracking Joints Causes Arthritis You may think bones or joints rub together to cause the noise, but that’s not so. It results from a gas bubble that forms between the bones and “pops.” Studies show it doesn’t cause or play a role in arthritis.

However, if you feel regular or severe pain when you do it, see your doctor.

(WebMD)

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Fashion

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andica Favorite describes herself as a “geometrical designer” who loves to showcase her unique styles.

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Tandica said her first experience in the fashion industry was at a Guyana Fashion Week hosted by veteran designer, Sonia Noel.

“I have always had a passion for fashion, since from the age of 12. I kept sketches of my ideas and dreamt of one day showcasing it, and I did! My pieces always tell a story based on the season of my life. I’m thankful for the guidance and encouragement I have received from fellow designers, such as Nelsion Nurse,” the designer expressed.

Tandica mentioned that thus far she has launched eight fashionable clothing collections under her label, Favorite's Ensemble. Her most recent collection was ‘Expression of Freedom’, which was done in celebration of Emancipation.

Apart from fashion, Tandica is a talented contemporary dancer.

For more information on the designs featured this week, visit Favorite's Ensemble on Facebook.

Designer Tandica Favorite

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Sunday Times Magazine 11

Home & Cooking

Recipe of the week

Ingredients: 1 (1/4oz) package active dry yeast 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup water 1/2tsp salt 1 1/2tsp extra-virgin olive oil 1/2lb ground beef

1/2tsp crushed garlic 1/2tsp Italian seasoning Salt and pepper to taste 1/2lb mozzarella sliced or shredded 1/2 cup pizza sauce 1/2 cup pineapple chunks Slices of tomatoes (optional)

&

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epurpose old, damaged or about-to-be discarded items into smart-chic containers. If the items don't have drainage holes, add some. Or keep the plants in their pots so you can easily slip them out of the container to dump excess water.

Colourful purses, small tote bags and other handled handbags make fun and fashionable plant holders. Lining them with plastic will keep the potting soil from staining the fabrics. Hang the handles from hooks on a wall, slip them over fence posts or dangle them from tree branches.

Instructions:

To make dough, stir together yeast, 1tbsp flour and 1/4 cup warm water and let stand until it foams, about 5 minutes. If the mixture doesn’t foam, discard and use fresh yeast. Stir 1 1/4 cup flour and salt in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, oil and 1/2 cup warm water and stir until smooth. Add remaining flour and stir together.

This dough will be wetter than other pizza dough. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly flour hands to prevent sticking while kneading. Place in a bowl, cover with a towel and allow to double, about 1 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To make crust, don’t roll the dough, stretch the dough with your hands until the dough forms a 14 inch circle.

To make topping, mix ground beef, Italian seasoning, crushed garlic, salt and pepper together. Brown meat in 1tbsp of olive oil, then stir meat to break up into smaller pieces.

Spread spaghetti sauce over the top of the pizza dough leaving a 1 inch border. Spread mozzarella cheese over the spaghetti sauce, then sprinkle ground meat, pineapple and tomatoes.

Bake until golden brown and cheese is bubbling about 15 to 20 mins.

(Recipe and photo from www.jehancancook.com)

Decorative or storage baskets come in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes and colours to complement any of your favourite container flowers. To help wicker and woven-wood baskets last longer, treat them to a coat of varnish or polyurethane and line them with plastic before adding the plants.

Home Help Place a button at the end of a sticky tape roll so the end will be easy to find.

After you have cleaned your paintbrushes, rinse them in a little fabric softener to make them softer for the next job.

Give tired or tattered old hats new life as a hanging garden. Baseball hats make instant pot covers: Simply open the sizing tabs in back, slip the opening around the base of the plant and snap the tabs closed again. On straw, felt or fabric hats, cut a hole into the front or top and gently pull the plant stems through the hole.

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Puzzles

Crossword

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109 Flat-needled trees ACROSS

110 First and third Moth's lure 111 Ordained Actress Dianne -115 Witty fellow

Win every game

116 Dancer -- -Ellen Chubby Upright timbers

117 Kind of candle

118 In a halting manner Point of debate

119 Ike's opponent -- Vanilli

121 Provide capital Pajama coverers

123 Fill with Watching

125 Past the freshness date Weeper of myth

126 Physics Nobelist -- Bohr Nash of limericks

127 Dry land Athenian market

128 Twig-and-mud homes Luzon people 129 Make a remark Unforeseen problems 130 Chasm Hard to pin down

131 Like circus lions Omitting none

132 Pesky insects Mottos

133 Squints at Clubs and hearts

Feminine suffix DOWN List detail

1 Stews over USN rank 2 Devoted Dromedary

3 Baja pal Glistened 4 Supervisors Trophy

5 Victoria's realm "-- the Dragon"

6 Chicken morsels Ten-speed

7 Mother of Horus Fragrant shrubs

8 Anka's "-- Beso" Team setback Showed disapproval 9 Included

10 Even smaller Does it wrong

11 Layers of foul air Museum display (2 wds.)

12 Clowns' getup "What was -- -- do?"

13 Antiquity Finishes ahead of

14 Majority's choice Copied

15 Fiesta decor Stir-fry pans 16 Beseech "Bali --" 17 Record, as mileage Informal chat or article

18 "Das Boot" craft (hyph.)

Charles Lamb

19 Actress -- Oberon Meadow rodent

20 Church reading Trait determinant

30 Switch positions Spice up

32 Maj. ocean Extol 34 Sparkling Fringe benefit 74

37 Overfeeds Lunar phenomena

75

38 Taiga denizens -- and Perrins

76

39 Not occupied Like hard cider

77

41 10 sawbucks (hyph.)

Slow pitch

78 42 Surround Twangy, as a voice

80

43 Half of zwei Longings 81

44 Tea-party crasher Swing a scythe

82

45 Teutonic war god Easel partner

83

46 "Don't tell ---!"

Leather punches

85

47 Lab slide dye Foam

86

48 La -- tar pits Memsahib's nanny

87

50 Sighed with delight Letter slot (2 wds.)

89

51 Poet Hart -Forest mom

90

52 Farm enclosures River blockers

54 Cleveland exurb Court order 55 Skin -- truly

56 Guthrie's genre Corporate suff.

58 Carpentry joint Flower arranging art

59 Baking-powder ingredient Octopus habitats 60 News Lounges around

63 Diplomat -- Deane Low voice

64 Beagle features Meal

65 Running mate Bog material 66 Taunted Little creeks

68 Eye part Sitcom demo

69 Chief god of Memphis Less reputable

70 Long-distance charges Offbeat

72 Some narcs Trail behind 73 Undiluted Slow gait

Caves, often Zenith opposite Heeded the alarm Lie dormant Arizona city Muni and Newman Warble Scout's rider Disney site Famous trail (2 wds.)

Trapped like -- -Unsinkable -- Brown Pizazz Put on

KATHLEEN SAXE

WORD GAME TODAY'S WORD -- DETAILS WORD GAME by Kathleen Saxe TODAY’S WORD -- DETAILS (DETAILS: DEE-tales: Individual parts or items; particulars.)

Average mark 45 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 73 or more words in DETAILS? dais dale date deal dealt deist deli delta dial diel

diet dilate distal east edit tail tale teal tidal tide

tied tilde tile adit aide ailed aisle alit aside idea

ideal ides idle isle islet istle lade ladies laid lase

last late lead least lest lied list said sail sale

salt sate seal seat seta setal side sidle sild silt

site slat slate sled slid slide slit staid stale stead steal stela stile

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of "s," such as "bats" or "dies," are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a "d" or an "s" may not be used. For example, if "bake" is used, "baked" or "bakes" are not allowed, but "bake" and "baking" are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

91 94 95 96 97 99 100 101

103 104 105 106 107

Yellow parts Egyptian cat goddess Dates regularly Tennis officials Feathery headpiece Amazon menace Like old cars Fills the suitcase (2 wds.)

Most urgent Scale notes Writer -- Tolstoy Pluck a banjo Dashboard feature

108 Certain wolf 110 Yielded 111 Gown

112 Related to Mom

113 "Oklahoma!" aunt

114 Textile workers

116 Tool with jaws

117 Minute opening

118 Cigar end

120 Math branch

122 Mr. DeLuise

124 Youth org.

Solution on Pg 13

guyanatimesgy.com

Sunday Times Magazine 13

AUGUST 13, 2017

Tech

i

Phones have been at the forefront of smartphone photography since the beginning. And with the 10th anniversary iPhone coming in just a few short weeks, Apple is gearing up to prove it’s got the best camera tech around.

While the specifics of the iPhone 8’s camera are unknown — how many megapixels it captures, what kind of optical zoom it will offer — what is known is the kind of software updates Apple is bringing to iOS 11 to improve how you shoot and edit your photos.

Here’s how Apple is putting photography front and center in iOS 11.

to create a bokeh effect, in which the subject in the foreground is in focus and the background is blurred.

The feature, which Apple calls Portrait mode, since it makes for some great portrait shots, is currently in beta, but will get a full release with iOS 11. The final version of Portrait mode will see significant improvements including the ability to capture images using the camera’s flash and HDR features, as well as its image stabilization capabilities.

That means those fancy photos you take of your cat sitting on your couch like a little gentleman will look even better with iOS 11.

Live photos will be worthwhile

Apple managed to pique photographers’ interest with Live Photos thanks to the upcoming addition of three new settings for the feature: Bounce, Loop and Long Exposure. Bounce lets you

Portrait of an iPhone

Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus sports two distinct camera lenses: a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens with a 2x zoom. By combining the two, the company is able

play your video forward then backwards, creating cool physics-breaking effects like jumping out of a pool cannonball-style, while Loop repeats a clip over and over.

Neither of those is particularly unique, though, as social media sites like Instagram (FB) and Snapchat (SNAP) already let you create similar effects.

But Long Exposure — the effect that holds a camera’s shutter open longer than normal and is responsible for those slick photos of highways with car headlights that look like long streaks — looks genuinely fun. It’ll also likely make for some interesting shots from Apple’s army of users.

High Sierra, though, Apple is bringing those editing tools to the surface. That means instead of a relatively blank list of tools, Photos will now provide you with a list of options to adjust your images.

Apple is also adding a new Curves tool that lets you adjust the contrast of your images and Selective Color that gives you the ability to only change certain color ranges.

The tech giant says it will also now let you open thirdparty editing programs like Pixelmator from the Photos app and save y o u r

Editing gets real

Apple’s Photos desktop app has plenty of solid built-in editing features. The problem is they’re all hidden by default. With macOS

Tech News

adjustments back to the app.

Apple says that changes you make to your images won’t be destructive, either. So even if you really mess up a photo, you’ll always be able to return it to its original form with ease.

You’ll also now be able to edit your Live Photos in the Photos app. That means you can shorten the shot, change the frame it begins or ends on, and even edit the key, or lead, image for the Live Photo.

Those are the biggest changes expected from Apple’s Photos software, for now.

But chances are the iPhone 8 camera will sport new features, as well. (Yahoo)

Tech Tips

Apple to discontinue Turning Down the iPod Nano and Shuffle Volume for Young Ears

D

T

hey were the company's last two music players without the ability to run streaming service Apple Music and hadn't been upgraded for ages.

The move is part what's been described as a "simplification" of the iPod range to

leave just the Touch model.

That product, which is like a slimmed down iPhone but without the ability to be used as a phone, has been updated.

Nanos and Shuffles have already been removed from Apple's online store and will

Crossword Solution

soon be made unavailable for purchase from physical stores as well.

The two discontinued models could only play songs downloaded from iTunes or from physical singles or albums.

When it was released in 2005, the Shuffle was controversially innovative by dropping the screen, leaving users blind to which of the potential 500 songs stored on the 2 gigabyte handset would play next.

Arriving in the same year, the Nano was a replacement for the iPod Mini and kept the screen.

At its peak, arguably when the 7th generation model was released in 2015, it could store up to 4,000 songs across 16gb on a range of six colours.

They're also direct descendants of the original iPod introduced by thenCEO Steve Jobs in 2001.

Apple stopped making the original model in 2014, saying it could no longer source the necessary parts.

(BBC)

epending on the device, you may have built-in controls to limit the volume, or you may have to find an app that you like to do the job.

With either approach, you can override and lower the phone’s default maximum audio level and decrease it, say to 75 or 80 per cent of what the phone can actually produce.

Google’s Android operating system (which often warns users when the volume is set too high) comes in many versions across the various phone and tablet models, so the controls you have will vary. Some Android versions do come with their own tools, like recent Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy Note gadgets, which include a setting to limit the maximum volume.

To use Samsung’s controls, go to the Apps screen, open the Settings icon and select Sound and Vibration, and then Volume. (Menu names may vary based on Android version.) There you can set the default volume for many of the phone’s functions, including ringtone, system alerts and media.

To lock the levels, tap the three-dot ‘More’ options menu on the screen and choose Media Volume Limiter. Once you enable the feature, you can set a custom maximum volume level and secure it with a PIN code.

If your version of Android does not come with volume-limit controls in the settings, you can find apps in the Google Play

Volume Limiter (Limit & Lock) is one of the apps that can control the maximum sound output on an Android device

store to lock the sound levels. These include Volume Limiter (Limit & Lock) and Limit Volume.

Apple includes volumelimiting controls in its iOS software. To set a level, open the Settings app, select Music and, under the Playback area toward the bottom of the screen, tap Volume Limit. On the next screen, drag the slider to

your preferred level. (You can prevent someone from changing it back in the Restrictions area of the iOS settings.) For educational purposes, Apple’s site has information about sound and how it affects hearing.

If you prefer a hardware solution, headphones that limit the volume are another way to protect young ears.

14 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

AUGUST 13, 2017

Bollywood/Hollywood

Sanjay Dutt: ‘Was very nervous on first day of ‘Bhoomi’ shoot’

S

anjay Dutt, who is making a comeback to films with “Bhoomi”, shared that he was really nervous on the first day of the shoot.

“I was very nervous on the first day but when the first shot was okay, I got into the rhythm,” he said, during the launch of his movie’s trailer.

The “Munna Bhai” star also re-

vealed he launched the trailer on August 10 to mark his daughter Trishala’s birthday. “Yes, it was an intentional decision. It is her birthday today. We miss her here. No better day to release the trailer,” said Dutt.

The trailer shows Sanjay and Aditi sharing a strong bond, but a tragic turn of events gives a traumatic twist to their lives. The trail-

er brings forth the anger and the love that a hurt father nurtures.

“Bhoomi” is slated to release on September 22. The Sanjay Dutt starrer is all set to lock horns with Shraddha Kapoor’s “Haseena Parkar”, which also releases on September 22. (ANI)

Alia Bhatt: 'Working with my father is special' A

lia Bhatt is excited to be part of the “Aashiqui” franchise. She said the upcoming film, in the movie series, will be special as it’s her father and director-producer Mahesh Bhatt’s home production. Alia, who made her Bollywood debut in “Student of the Year”, is collaborating with her father for the first time.

The third instalment in the musical romance film series will see Alia opposite Sidharth Malhotra.

There were reports that Alia was not too keen on doing the film, but the actress took to Twitter to rubbish such stories.

“Never ever said anything about not wanting to do ‘Aashiqui 3’! No idea where this is coming from,” she wrote.

In another tweet, the actress said the project would take time. “‘Aashiqui’ is a very special brand and working with my father for the first time is equally special! All things take their time. This will too.” (PTI)

Salman Khan to return money to distributors for losses from '‘Tubelight'’

W

hen Salman Khan united with Kabir Khan for “Tubelight”, the hopes were really high.

But that could not be, as “Tubelight” was declared flop at the box-office and distributors had to bear huge losses for the film.

Recently, it was reported that the actor promised the distributors to pay the losses.

And it seems like he is all set to keep his promise.

Trade analyst Komal Nahta confirmed on Twitter that the “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” star will refund money to distributors and exhibitors as compensation for losses suffered from “Tubelight”. The amount to be

refunded would be half of the total losses suffered by distributors over the film.

According to reports, Salman had promised to return his distributor’s money by the end of July, but he got busy with 2017 IIFA Awards. (ANI)

Taylor Swift gives testimony at sexual assault trial

T

aylor Swift has taken to the stand to explain her side of the story in the most epic way during the on-going court battle against DJ David Mueller.

During a meet-and-greet back in 2013, Swift was allegedly groped by Denver radio DJ David Mueller as the pair posed for a photo with his girlfriend. He later lost his job with KYGO, and sued Swift for US$3 million in lost earnings. She countersued

for sexual assault, and both suits are now being heard in one trial. Swift is countersuing for US$1.

During his deposition in court, Mueller said that his hand was touching Swift’s skirt after he put his arm around her and their arms crossed.

He said his hand was level with her ribs and “apparently it went down”.

When directly asked if he had in fact grabbed her buttocks, he said, “No, I did not.”

K

Explaining how it made her feel, Swift said: "I remember being frantic, distressed, feeling violated in a way I had never experienced before. A meetand-greet is supposed to be a situation where you're thanking people for coming, you're supposed to be welcoming people into your home, which is the arena for that day, and for someone to violate that hospitality in that way, I was completely stunned."

The case continues.

Kim KardashianWest responds to 'mommy shaming'

im Kardashian West is used to criticism, but she is not about to let people call her a bad mother.

The reality star recently found her parenting being questioned online after she shared a photo of her 20-monthold son Saint in his car seat.

Some pointed out that the toddler should be in a rear-facing seat for his safety.

Kardashian posted a video on her site on Thursday, explaining that her son is fine in the forward-facing car seat.

"What people didn't know is that Saint is now the weight and the height requirement to sit forward facing," she said.

"Saint actually weighs more than North [her 4-year-old daughter], if that is believable."

It's just the latest instance of Kardashian West being mommy shamed. She was criticized last month for dressing her daughter in what appeared to some to be a child-sized corset. The mother of two denied that she had outfitted her daughter in a restrictive garment.

"I would never put my daughter in a corset," she tweeted, along with a video of the outfit. "It's a dress I bought that is a cotton fabric that laces up & looks like a corset! Just decoration." (CNN)

guyanatimesgy.com

AUGUST 13, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 15

16 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

AUGUST 13, 2017

Fun Times

Archie

Consider how you can ARIES make improvements to your (March 21- living space or arrangeApril 19) ments. Be open to suggestions and willing to work as a team player. Avoid indulgent tendencies. Live within your means.

An emotional matter TAURUS will spin out of control if (April 20- you let stubbornness take May 20) charge and anger prevail.

Stay home and work on inner growth, not on trying to change someone else.

Make changes behind GEMINI closed doors. The less you (May 28- let others know about your June 20) plans, the easier it will be to get things done without interference. Improve your living arrangements.

Walk away from an impulsive situation. Disregard any(June 21- one trying to take advantage July 22) of your kindness. Explore a creative outlet that will ease stress. Make romance a priority.

CANCER

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Dilbert

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

If you learn something new, it will encourage you to expand your friendships and interests. A friend or relative will offer information that will help you make a decision about your future.

Socializing will give you a platform to air your thoughts, but don't let your opinions get you into a squabble. Carefully choose what you say and to whom you say it.

Impulse will be the enemy. Stay calm, channel your energy into something worthwhile and avoid any confrontation that will be emotionally draining. Think before you take action.

Leave room for personal SCORPIO growth. Attend a retreat or (Oct. 24- make special plans with someNov. 22) one you love. Romance will improve your life. Exploring different lifestyles will encourage better health.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Peanuts

Bring about the changSAGITTARIUS es you want to see happen.

(Nov. 23Discipline and hard work will Dec. 21) not be in vain. Socializing will help you drum up the support you need to achieve your goals.

Calvin and Hobbes

Stick close to home and CAPRICORN nurture the relationships (Dec. 22- that are important to you.

Jan. 19) Don't feel threatened by what someone does or says. Secure your possessions and assets, and protect your personal information.

Don't get upset over AQUARIUS nothing. Jealousy or stub(Jan. 20- bornness will not help you Feb. 19) keep your relationships with others running smoothly.

Give people the benefit of the doubt. Avoid acting on an assumption.

Express your feelings PISCES (Feb. 20- about your work, personal reMar. 20) lationships and home environment. Sharing with someone who cares will lead to positive changes that will improve your life.