Guyana Times Thursday October 8, 2019

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4070

tuesday, OCTOber 8, 2019

PRICE

National Toshaos Conference

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Toshaos urged to seek tangible solutions for communities

Page 3

... PPP leaders meet with Toshaos

Elderly couple homeless after Sophia P7 fire

Ramshackle stairs P2 endanger commuters at Vreed-enHoop Stelling

Fatal drive-by shooting

Police issue P2 wanted bulletin for Linden gang members

People's Progressive Party/Civic Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali and party member Pauline Sukhai welcome Toshaos on Monday evening at a reception hosted at the Opposition Leader’s office, Church Street, Georgetown, where discussions were held on issues affecting their communities (Dexter Ceres photo)

Street race ends with 1 dead in EBE accident Page 10

Mother of 4 shot while sleeping in bed with baby, husband Page 9

Cop nabbed with ganja in car Page 11

President admits “much work” remains to be done for hinterland Page 9

Body of P8 9-year-old recovered from Kara Kara Creek

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tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Fatal drive-by shooting

Police issue wanted bulletin for Linden gang members

Wanted: Martin Fraser

Wanted: Randy Billy

Wanted: Renard Caesar

Wanted: Denzil Grant

he Guyana Police Force has issued wanted bulletins for six men for questioning in connection to the murder of Ean Williams and the attempted murder of his girlfriend, Melita Antigua, which were committed on September 28, 2019, at Lovers’ Lane, South Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Wanted are 21-yearold Martin Fraser of Lot 6 Constabulary Compound and also of Lot 227 South Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden; Renard Caesar, 23, of Lot 904 South Amelia’s Ward, Linden; Richard Caesar, 25, of Lot 904 South

Amelia’s Ward, Linden; Randy Billy, 32, also called “Mac T” of South Amelia’s Ward, Linden; Sherwin Benjamin, 31, of Lot 232 South Amelia’s Ward, Linden and 22-year-old Denzil Grant also called “Mob/Plum Ears” of Lot 232 South Amelia’s Ward, Linden.

The men were reportedly implicated in the driveby shooting which left Williams dead and Antigua battling for her life. It was reported that on September 28 at about 20:30h, the alleged gang members of a Cayanne-based Guyanese group allegedly opened fire on a car in the vicinity of Lovers’ Lane, South

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Wanted: Richard Caesar

Wanted: Sherwin Benjamin

Amelia’s Ward, Linden.

Williams and Antigua were the only two occupants.

Williams received several gunshot wounds about his body and died on the spot

while Antigua was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex. It was further reported that the car belonged to the now dead man’s cousin, Teon Allen, who was the

suspected target.

Allen, called “Spoil Child”, was previously charged for discharging a firearm and was released on $500,000 bail.

At the scene, the girlfriend of a gang member claimed that Allen missed it since he was the intended target. In August 2017, Allen was charged at the Linden Magistrate’s Court for harbouring wanted men – Mark Royden Williams and Uree Varswyck – who broke out of the Camp Street Prison on July 9, 2017.

Nevertheless, anyone with information that may

Dead: Ean Williams

lead to the arrest of the six men is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 444-3406, 444-3297, 911 or the nearest police station.

Ramshackle stairs endanger commuters at Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling

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he dilapidated structure of the Vreed-enHoop Stelling, West Coast Demerara (WCD), came under criticism on Monday morning after an elderly woman lost her balance and almost fell into the Demerara River.

The situation escalated since there were no railings for support, coupled with unsteady stairs.

It is customary for everyday commuters to lament about the structure, which is highly unsafe for young children and the elderly.

However, the incident saw many persons fuming over the unsafe structure, which could contribute to bigger problems.

The stelling, made primarily of timber, is equipped

The loading areas without any railings which pose a great danger

with two stairwells – one which extends to speedboats that are loading while the other facilitates boats to offload passengers.

One commuter, who gave his name as Ravi, said he travels four days a week to attend university. The young man said traversing the stelling at night is extremely difficult.

Adding to that, many persons find it difficult to walk on the stairway at night because of poor lighting.

“Well, I travel in the morning and then back in the afternoon…four days every week.

If classes run late, then I take the boat in the night, like 7:30 or so. The place is dark that

time because there isn’t much light out here. Sometimes I can’t see where I’m stepping and if I’m close to the edge cause there isn’t any railing at the side. If someone pushes you by mistake, then you end up in the river,” the student explained.

He added, “Some nights the water is rough and the boat would keep moving around. It is not safe for old people to cross or people with children.”

Other persons were heard squabbling about the state of affairs as they exited and entered the water taxis.

One woman briefly shared, “I think this is com-

pletely unacceptable…We don’t need anything fancy, just something safe for people”.

The Public Infrastructure Ministry had announced an overhaul of the structure, which is in dire need of a facelift but no major repairs are forthcoming. This newspaper was told that earlier this year, a few planks were changed during the rainy season. At that time, commuters were under the impression that the much-needed rehabilitation was underway.

However, only the fragmented segments were changed to prevent any accidents.

Meanwhile, taxi drivers and other vendors have long complained about the other sections, which are in an even worse state. When it rains, the roof leaks at numerous spots, damaging clothing, shoes and other products.

Additionally, petty crimes have escalated due to minimal security at night.

Over at Stabroek, there was some degree of support in the form of railings for persons to navigate their way to and from the boats. Just a few weeks ago, however, a few planks had to be changed immediately after collapsing. The aged railings also buckled and fell apart during that time.

The Transport and Harbour Department (T&HD) collects a daily fee from boat operators, and many feel this should be used towards maintenance.

news

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tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Tuesday, October 8 – 14:30h – 16:00h and Wednesday, October 9 – 02:00-03:30h and 14:30 – 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Tuesday, October 8 – 13:15h – 14:45h and Wednesday, October 9 – 14:00h – 15:30h.

National Toshaos Conference

Toshaos urged to seek tangible solutions for communities Indigenous people.

In 2017, the 11th Annual NTC Conference saw several members of the NTC Executive stage a walkout over what they described as an attempt by Government to “undermine” the issues being put forward for discussion.

Then Vice Chairman of the NTC, Lenox Shuman, had told Guyana Times that

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals are expected during the daylight hours. Clear skies and cloudy conditions are expected at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

tion, there was no Minister present until the evening.

At the time, pressing issues had included getting the Government to release the guns collected from Amerindians during the gun amnesty, which Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had promised to return.

Last year, Shuman had taken the Government to

Winds: East North-Easterly to South-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres.

High Tide: 13:01h reaching a maximum height of 2.08 metres.

Low Tide: 06:20h and 18:54h reaching minimum heights of 1.09 metres and 1.16 metres.

PPP Opposition Members Gail Teixeira, Pauline Sukhai and Yvonne Pearson at the opening of the National Toshaos Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday (Dexter Ceres photo)

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he National Toshaos Conference got underway on Monday, with National Toshaos Council (NTC) Chairman, Nicholas Fredericks urging the village leaders from across the country to put aside differences and focus on seeking tangible solutions for their respective constituencies.

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NTC Chairman Nicholas Fredericks

Bonus Ball

The conference, which will last for five days, got underway at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday morning.

Fredericks made this call during the opening ceremony of the conference, which was also attended by President David Granger, his Ministers and the Opposition.

“Toshaos, I urge you to continue to make that representation on your people’s behalf. We’re here for one week for a very important occasion and discussion,” Fredericks, who took over as Chairman last year, said.

Fredericks also noted the importance of leadership within Indigenous communities and the role it plays in justifying the holding of the annual NTC, since the very point of the exercise was to achieve tangible results.

“Use the opportunity that presents itself to us now, so we can maximise the opportunities that are being provided to us. It is a time where we have to focus. And not be distracted.

We are here for a week. Let

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us ensure we have full interactions.”

He also spoke about land titling and its importance to the Indigenous peoples.

Hence, Fredericks was happy that the project was extended. Government has been criticised previously for its slow pace in giving out land titles in accordance with the Amerindian Land Titling and Demarcation Project.

It was subsequently announced that the project, which was funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund, will be extended to 2021. These and other matters are expected to dominate discussions during the five-day summit.

Previous NTCs have had their share of controversy, as the Toshaos Council took strong action when they believed that the Government was either undermining their work or not delivering on promises to the

Indigenous dancers performing at the opening of the National Toshaos Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday (Dexter Ceres photo)

Toshaos were supposed to have presentations, and as they were trying to consolidate their position with Government so that they could have meaningful ac-

task and even revealed that the Indigenous community wanted to have “mass mobilisation” over issues with the way Government was addressing their concerns.

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TUESday, october 8, 2019

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

Liabilities, impact

of social media

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ocial media is a world within a world and for those who were born in the 21st Century, technology is only but a natural phenomenon. Cell phones, iPods, and video games are practically inevitable for teens and young adults. Along with these technologies come social media networking, which is part of the daily routine for many. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have millions of visitors daily. Facebook alone has over 500 million users which make it the most popular social network website on Earth. Research conducted by Facebook shows that 50 per cent of its users are active users who log on daily and spend over 700 billion minutes per month on the site. There is no doubt that social media and social networking are here to stay; however, added to these ‘natural’ luxuries are risks and dangers.

While these sites’ open dialogue allows individuals to express themselves, there must be some amount of user censorship not necessarily by the domain host but rather by individuals themselves. Creating a profile, giving details about yourself, hobbies and educational background are all acceptable; however, for many every aspect of their day, work and lives are posted. Like driving, the users of social media should be cognisant of the five C’s – caution, care, common sense, courtesy and consideration – as many of the things posted can arise in the future to haunt thrones.

Only recently, it was observed locally that a number of young persons were posting on social media their intent to resign from their current place of employment.

Common sense – one of the 5 C’s – would inform that such information is personal and should not be posted on a social network, as such behaviours can stymie future employment.

What if the situation changed and that person needs to stay at the current place of employment? What if an intended employer does a social media search and sees such uncouth behaviour? It is thought-provoking that an employee can overlook his /her posting on any social networking site and talk their way out of potential employment. It seems as though these consequences are often not in the minds of teens and young adults when they take to the social media world to express themselves. Interestingly, many young persons do not take into account or acknowledge the dangers of such postings on social networking sites since to them, all the social sites seem innocent.

Research has shown one of the greatest impacts of social networking is on the social skills of people.

According to a BBC report, while on one hand, social networking sites seem to bring people together and connected; on the other hand, it creates social isolation. Research has shown that older generations of networkers learnt how to communicate and interact long before networking was even a thought, but much of the younger generations do not interact socially.

According to the report, social networking has created a serious breach in the ability of young people to communicate and interact with each other.

It is clear that there is evidence suggesting that social networking can be risky to a dangerous extent, but it is an area that cannot be ignored, as it is the driving force of the world today. Like the many pleasures of life, social networking can be beneficial in moderation; however, unfortunately, moderation and the social media world do not coincide in society. As such, all one can hope for is that young people have a deeper understanding and be conscious of what they are posing on social media, taking into consideration its impact today, tomorrow and years ahead.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo enjoys a light moment with Toshaos at his Church Street, Georgetown office on Monday evening (Dexter Ceres photo)

Congratulations, Amazon Warriors Dear Editor, The dry weather game “cricket”, for now, is over in Guyana. I join with every Guyanese in expressing congratulations to the management of GAW and the Amazon Warriors for the most memorable season of CPL. Kudos!

You have all made us proud.

The games were entertaining and the crowd support was electrifying. The general conduct of the fans was excellent, the work of the traffic officers before and after the games was commendable. However, there are two things that were evident and need to be corrected for future activities.

First, after the games, or

any other event, the management of the stadium should ensure that all the bottles, boxes, garbage and other forms of disposables are removed from the compound.

In plain sight, garbage was evident at the entrance of the gate leading into the VVIP section. Heaps of bottles, boxes, bags, etc were seen throughout the duration of the games. I find it hard to believe that the officials in charge of the stadium overlooked that important entrance. That section is where the most important people of this country and even further traverse. Among the noticeable persons at the games

were Government Ministers, the Opposition Leader, presidential nominee of the PPP/C, the American Ambassador, high officials of ExxonMobil, senior public servants, the business elites and bankers.

It was indeed a disgraceful sight and demeaning of our standards.

The other issue is for the Commissioner of Police. After every event at the stadium, numerous persons get robbed, assaulted and caressed by knife-wielding bandits. I am surprised that this activity has been going on for so long and there is no active police presence between Princess Hotel and the Harbour Bridge

to protect the supporters of the event despite several reports and complaints to the Guyana Police Force.

On many early mornings after a social event at the Providence Stadium, myself and other worshipers from the neighbouring Masjids have had to assist young girls who are left stranded without passage, assist them with telephone calls or transport them to their destinations.

It is my hope that the relevant authorities can look into these matters and take corrective measures in good faith.

Yours truly, Nazar Mohamed

Granger, PNC woke up in Linden with empty promises, begged for another chance Dear Editor, Almost five years passed, five budgets presented, more than one trillion dollars squandered, David Granger and his clueless Cabinet and other big officials jetted around the world many times, frequented all the “hot” spots in Guyana, while communities like Linden were ignored and neglected. This past weekend, Granger and his PNC colleagues woke up and discovered that without Linden, they have no chance of winning the March 2 elections. They came, as usual, with empty promises, hoping they can still fool the people.

Granger decided to take the PNC to Linden to celebrate the 62nd founding anniversary of Forbes Burnham’s party. They brought supporters from all over the country, generously utilising Government resources for what was essentially the PNC launching its elections campaign. To ensure the presence of enough people, they brought out school children in their uniforms. In the process, Granger appealed to Lindeners to give him a second chance, admitting he neglected them for five years, even if he did not admit it out

loud.

In his second chance appeal, he promised them, if they give him a second chance, that he will ensure 150 new jobs will be created in 2020 by the establishment of a new call centre at Kuru Kuru.

He also promised 500 new house lots if he gets his second chance. He promised them that a Private Sector investor will build an oil refinery in Linden. Clearly, Granger and the PNC recognised that they abandoned people, including their own supporters. Linden has been loyal to the PNC, no matter what form they assumed. When they re-birthed themselves into the PNC/One R, the Linden people stuck with them. When they took on a new name – APNU – the people of Linden stayed with them. When they took on the name APNU/AFC, the people continued to support them.

But it has now been almost five years since they have had the power of Government. In those five years, they expended more than one trillion dollars. Yet Linden is no better than they were in 2015, indeed, Linden is worse than they were in 2015. The people of Linden have begun to

whisper that they were better off with the PPP. Just as people realised they were deserted by the PNC before 1992, the people of Linden know they were taken for granted by the Granger-led PNC. As they descended mightily on Linden with supporters from around the country to prop them up, in case the people of Linden did not show up, they deliberately left their associates – WPA, AFC and the several others – in Georgetown. Really, it was Granger and the PNC being as devious as they have always been, whispering it was not the PNC that abandoned Linden, it was the WPA and the AFC and all the others.

As most people in Linden went about their business, it was pathetic seeing Granger in his ‘not bothered’ pose watching the children sit there into the midnight hours, watching supporters from Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine and other parts of Region 10 being fetched there with Government resources, wondering where the people of Linden were. In his ‘not bothered’ pose, he kept waiting to see Linden turn out to salute him. They did not because in 2018 he told them to “get up and get going” and not wait for Government to make

things happen for them. The people of Linden did not forget. They also know elections are coming up and Granger and his bunch, all of whom have been incorporated into the PNC, are back with wild promises.

The PNC in the form of APNU/AFC gave up the housing programme of the PPP that brought thousands of house lots and thousands of new homes into Linden. Granger and APNU/AFC had told people before the 2015 elections that they will create thousands of new house lots for thousands of new homeowners, make it easier for them to obtain low-interest mortgages. Now, as we approach 2020, they make the promise of 500 house lots, after delivering none in five years.

But the most hurtful promise was the promise of 150 new jobs through a new call centre. In 2015, they promised thousands of new jobs with new call centres. But the first thing they did was a down-scaling of the call centre that was established under a PPP Government. The call centre in Linden that was there in 2015 because of the PPP first reduced its operation under APNU/AFC, and, by 2018, had closed its doors.

Continued on page 5

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PPP/C transformed Region 10 Dear Editor, Amidst recognition of the necessity for continued improvements, there is much evidence to confirm that a transformation of Region 10 took place under the PPP/C Government, from the sad deteriorated state it had become under the PNC leading up to 1992. Once one of Guyana’s most thriving regions and economic drivers for its bauxite production, a gradual degradation took place over decades of PNC mismanagement of this key industry; and their role in stifling developmental opportunities while in control of the region for over 50 years.

The PPP/C inherited Region 10, like most of the country, as a failed region devoid of economic viability, so much so that former President Hugh Desmond Hoyte had signalled his intention to sell the Statecontrolled bauxite industry and its appendages as scrap.

Many Lindeners and citizens residing in the region were to move to other regions or become collateral damage, as there was no financial support to advance the alternative diversification into agriculture. There was loss of jobs and massive retrenchments taking place; together with attenuating social, education and health standards, which the PNC dignified with continued false promises to residents.

It was a time of one of the greatest threats to the citizens and a test of the incoming Government, which took decisions to subsidise and re-engineer the industry in the interest of thousands of residing residents and the country at large. Incrementally, over the years, the PPP/C Administration transformed Region 10 into a region where our people’s standard of living developed many folds and a bright future was in the making.

Although one would argue and many believe that the PPP/C should have done much more, it is of note that the Administration took over the country with no money in the treasury and was highly indebted – over 94 per cent of revenue had to service the debt created by the PNC Administration. There were also many accompanying setbacks, which they had to manage, but the PPP/C did

so in improving the standard of living in Region 10 over the period. I take this opportunity to highlight some of the developments that took place under the PPP/C during the period 1993 to 2015.

Health: In the health sector, the PPP/C built and rehabilitated several hospitals, health centres and huts across the region in an effort to complement the access of citizens to medical care. Standout achievements in this respect include: 1. A new ($1.8 billion) state-of-the-art hospital at McKenzie, replacing the old hospital built by DEMBA. 2. A new hospital at Ituni 3. Complete rehabilitation of the Kwakwani Hospital (formerly built by Reynolds).

4. Several new health centres in the Berbice and Demerara River.

5. Health “huts” all over the interior areas of the regions in the interest of our Amerindian brothers and sisters, who were delighted with the development of health facilities in their communities.

6. The provision of sustained supported opportunities for our young people to study medicine and gain employment as nurses and health aids for which many are indeed thankful.

Education: In 1992, almost all of our schools in our country were in a dilapidated state, with leaking roofs, broken windows, and unsafe steps and floors. The PPP/C advanced the development interest of youths and citizens in Region 10 by building, rehabilitating and supporting several educational intuitions including: Building: 1. A new state-ofthe-art Linden Foundation Secondary School, which is comparatively the best, resource-wise, in the Caribbean.

2. New secondary schools at Wisroc ($350 million), One Mile, Kwakwani along with a state-of-the-art student dormitory.

3.

New primary schools at Watooka (formerly built by DEMBA; the new St Aidan’s Primary School at Mackenzie; Ituni;

Coomacka, Muritaro, Malali, Great Falls, 47 and 58 Miles, Rockstone and Anarika and at Riversview.

Rehabilitating and/or expanding:4. The Mackenzie High School 5. The Wisburg Multilateral Secondary School 6. Most other schools in the region. Today, most of the schools need repairs and the APNU/AFC is not doing much to maintain the schools.

Information communication: The PPP/C built the first-ever call centre in Linden at which over 100 young people from the region gained employment. It is very sad that the jealous APNU/AFC closed this centre down in 2015.

Roads: In an effort to address some of the dust issues and development requirements in the Linden community, the PPP/C resurfaced several roads and asphalt-covered the Burnham Drive public road right down to the Christianburg Burial Ground while also constructing a vehicle parking area.

In addition, the new Winfred Gaskin Highway was constructed and built a brand new road through Canvas City. The PPP/C also over the years expended millions of dollars on community roads network and continued to maintain the Linden to Kwakwani roadway over the period.

Housing: The nation has witnessed the massive housing drive at Amelia’s Ward phases 1, 2 and 3; at Block Number 22 Wismar, and at other areas in the region, where over 2500 house lots were developed and issued with massive road networks. The development approach addressed much of the housing needs of the region and remains incomparable to any initiative of housing ownership and distribution of house lots to the residents under the PNC Administration or any other period in the history of Region 10. Complementing this massive housing drive was the construction of: 1. A brand new fire station at Mackenzie.

2. A brand new courthouse at Wismar.

3. Two new police outposts at Amelia’s Ward and Wisroc.

4. * Rehabilitation of the Charles Rosa Training Centre 5. *Rehabilitation and expansion of the Technical Training Complex.

Water: Two new water treatment plants – ($1.7 billion) at Wisroc and Amelia’s Ward.

Bauxite Mining: In 1992, PPP/C inherited an agreement entered into between the departed PNC Administration and the Multilateral Financial Institutions (MFIS), which funded and placed an international mining company (MINPROC) to manage the Linden Bauxite Company (LINMINE).

MINPROC’s purpose was to determine and demonstrate whether LINMINE could be profitable, and if not, the company would have been closed by the then PNC Administration.

Although MINPROC declared that it could not see a way to make the then operations profitable, the PPP/C did not close the industry because of the unthinkable hardships that would have overwhelmed the citizens. Instead, they injected over US$5 million every year to keep the company in operation until a partner in OMAI was brought onboard to invest and manage operations, providing jobs for hundreds of persons in the region.

Other investors were encouraged to come including BOSAI, which is still here keeping the operations going. With the privatisation of LINMINE, the PPP/C Government had to find G$2.5 billion to pay off the workers. It may be recalled that during the downside in the bauxite workforce, the PPP/C had introduced the LEAP programme, providing over $700 million in loans for alternative projects to persons in the region.

Other projects done under the LEAP programme include the building of the Benjamin Centre, rehabilitation of the Mackenzie car park, enhancement of the greater Mackenzie waterfront, and many more. When an assessment of the per capita investment by the PPP/C

Concerned about competence, integrity of GECOM Dear Editor, On Sunday last I saw an American network television interview with the Head of the Broward County Elections Commission in Florida responding to questions about the competence of the administration and the integrity of the county’s elections commission.

It occurred to me, while watching this programme, that it is high time that the Chairman and Chief Elections Officer of our Elections Commission do the same and present themselves to be interviewed by our media.

Why? Because: 1. President Granger (Yes, he is still President) messed with the Commission by illegally appointing a Chairman, which resulted in a highly questionable attempt at a new national registration which, though stopped by the Chairman, is yet to be reconciled with the National Register of Registrants (NRR).

2. The Commission’s PRO persists in issuing press releases which subsequently have to be contradicted and then corrected by statements from the Chairman, leading to public confusion and an

erosion of public confidence in our Elections Commission.

3. While the Leader of the PNCR, in his capacity as President, continues to place unqualified faith in the integrity, competence and readiness of GECOM to conduct the elections, the Leader of the PPP/C does not.

All of us, therefore, have reason to be more than ordinarily concerned about both the competence and the integrity of GECOM to conduct the forthcoming elections.

It seems to me that there is a serious need for national reassurance that

our General and Regional Elections will, in fact, be free and fair.

What we do not need, going in to these elections, are any grounds for the losing party rejecting the results and protesting in the streets.

The Chairman and CEO of GECOM have a responsibility to reach beyond the task of conducting a competent, free and fair election, they have a responsibility to convince the country that they have both the will and the ability to do exactly that.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

Government in Linden was done, it would have resulted in more money spent in this highly populated PNCsupported region area than in any PPP populated area in Guyana.

Further, the PPP/C Government employed 400 community D and I workers from the region to work 4 days at 4 hours per week to maintain their community.

Electricity: Over $22 billion was spent on electricity subsides in Linden-Ituni and about $800 million in Kwakwani, over the period. In addition, the PPP/C installed solar electricity in the entire Amerindian villages in Region 10.

Agriculture: The PPP/C spent over $200 million on the agriculture roadway at West Watooka and Moblissa.

Further, a total of over $3.2 billion was allocated to the

Regional Democratic Council for capital projects over the period, which was spent on small projects such as the health centres and the rehabilitation of bridges, etc.

The PPP/C also introduced the Women of Worth (WOW) project. The PPP/C developed this programme to help single parents in 2013 and over 44 loans were issued.

The foregoing brings into perspective some of the interventions made under the PPP/C, and although there are many who have attempted to underscore these programmes, they represent factual positions that the naysayers should not attempt to discredit.

Previous PPP/C Governments did not leave Region 10 behind and the massive developmental programmes will continue under a newly elected PPP/C Administration.

Sincerely, Andrew Forsythe

Granger, PNC woke...

The ‘not bothered’ Granger did nothing about it. Suddenly, he shows up in Linden and in front of the fetched-in supporters, told Lindeners if they give him a second chance, he will bring 150 new jobs in a new call centre. Sheer hypocrisy and more empty promises.

In the meanwhile, other communities across the country that were neglected are making noises. The people of Buxton know they were neglected. The sugar workers across the country know they were neglected. The public servants know they were abandoned. Just yesterday, more than 4000 sugar workers sent a petition to Granger to correct a wrong he personally led – they have not been given a wage increase since

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the end of 2014. Granger himself led the empty promise campaign in 2015 to fool workers that they would be given an annual increase of 20 per cent. Instead, since Granger and APNU/AFC took the Government, the sugar workers have not been given a cent in increased wages. And the man he promised will build the oil refinery in Linden is the same man he took around the country to promise rice farmers they would be paid $9000 per bag for paddy. Payback time has arrived and the people of Guyana will not be so forgiving, they will not give them another chance for empty promises.

Sincerely, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

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Tuesday, OCTOber 8, 2019

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Foundation

Why students forget – and what you can do about it …our brains are wired to forget, but there are research-backed strategies you can use to make your teaching stick

By Youki Terada

T

eachers have long known that rote memorisation can lead to a superficial grasp of material that is quickly forgotten. But new research in the field of neuroscience is starting to shed light on the ways that brains are wired to forget – highlighting the importance of strategies to retain knowledge and make learning stick.

In an article published in the journal Neuron, neurobiologists Blake Richards and Paul Frankland challenge the predominant view of memory, which holds that forgetting is a process of loss – the gradual washing away of critical information despite our best efforts to retain it. According to Richards and Frankland, the goal of memory is not just to store information accurately but to “optimise decisionmaking” in chaotic, quicklychanging environments. In this model of cognition, forgetting is an evolutionary strategy, a purposeful process that runs in the background of memory, evaluating and discarding information that doesn’t promote the survival of the species.

“From this perspective, forgetting is not necessarily a failure of memory,” explain Richards and Frankland in the study. “Rather, it may represent an investment in a more optimal mnemonic strategy.”

The forgetting curve We often think of memories as books in a library, filed away and accessed when needed.

But they’re actually more like spiderwebs, strands of recollection distributed across millions of connected neurons.

When we learn something new – when a teacher delivers a fresh lesson to a student, for example – the material is encoded across these neural networks, converting the experience into a memory.

Forgetting is almost immediately the nemesis of memory, as psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered in the 1880s.

Ebbinghaus pioneered landmark research in the field of retention and learning, observing what he called the forgetting curve, a measure of how much we forget over time. In his experiments, he discovered that without any reinforcement or connections to prior knowledge, information is quickly forgotten – roughly 56 per cent in one hour, 66 per cent after a day, and 75 per cent after six days.

So what can be done to preserve the hard work of teaching?

After all, evolutionary imperatives – which prune our memories of extraneous information – don’t always neatly align with the requirements of curriculum or the demands of the Information Age. Learning the times tables doesn’t avail when running from lions, in other words, but in the modern world that knowledge has more than proved its mettle.

The persistence of memory The same neural circuitry appears to be involved in forgetting and remembering.

If that is properly understood, students and teachers can adopt strategies to reduce memory leaks and reinforce learning.

MIT neuroscientists, led

by Richard Cho, explain the mechanisms for synaptic

strengthening in a 2015 article, also published in Neuron.

When neurons are frequently fired, synaptic connections are strengthened; the opposite is true for neurons that are rarely fired. Known as synaptic plasticity, this explains why some memories persist while others fade away. Repeatedly accessing a stored but fading memory – like a rule of geometry or a crucial historical fact – rekindles the neural network that contains the memory and encodes it more deeply.

Researchers have also learnt that not all new memories are created equal. For example, here are two sets of letters to remember: NPFXOSK ORANGES For readers of English, the second set of letters is more memorable – the more connections neurons have to other neurons, the stronger the memory. The seven letters in NPFXOSK appear random and disjointed, while ORANGES benefits from its existing, deeply encoded linguistic context. The word oranges also invokes sensory memory, from the image of an orange to its smell, and perhaps even conjures other memories of oranges in your kitchen or growing on a tree.

You remember by layering new memories on the crumbling foundations of older ones.

5 teacher strategies When students learn a new piece of information, they make new synaptic connections. Two scientificallybased ways to help them retain learning is by making as many connections as possible – typically to other concepts,

thus widening the “spiderweb” of neural connections – but also by accessing the memory repeatedly over time.

Which explains why the following learning strategies, all tied to research conducted within the past five years, are so effective: Peer-to-peer explanations: When students explain what they’ve learnt to peers, fading memories are reactivated, strengthened, and consolidated. This strategy not only increases retention but also encourages active learning (Sekeres et al, 2016).

The spacing effect: Instead of covering a topic and then moving on, revisit key ideas throughout the school year.

Research shows that students perform better academically when given multiple opportunities to review learned material. For example, teachers can quickly incorporate a brief review of what was covered several weeks earlier into ongoing lessons, or use homework to re-expose students to previous concepts (Carpenter et al, 2012; Kang, 2016).

Frequent practice tests: Akin to regularly reviewing material, giving frequent practice tests can boost longterm retention and, as a bonus, help protect against stress, which often impairs memory performance. Practice tests can be low stakes and ungraded, such as a quick pop quiz at the start of a lesson or a trivia quiz on Kahoot, a popular online game-based learning platform.

Breaking down one large highstakes test into smaller tests over several months is an effective approach (Adesope, Trevisan, & Sundararajan, 2017; Butler, 2010; Karpicke, 2016).

Interleave concepts: Instead of grouping similar problems together, mix them up. Solving problems involves identifying the correct strategy to use and then executing the strategy. When similar problems are grouped together, students don’t have to think about what strategies to use— they automatically apply the same solution over and over.

Interleaving forces students to think on their feet, and encodes learning more deeply (Rohrer, 2012; Rohrer, Dedrick, & Stershic, 2015).

Combine text with images: It’s often easier to remember information that’s been

By Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg Griffin

T

here are certain characteristics of groups and individual children that increase their likelihood of struggling with reading. Find out how to use knowledge of these risk factors to help prevent reading problems for these children.

Our review of prediction studies indicates clearly that no single risk factor, on its own, is sufficiently accurate to be of practical use for predicting reading difficulties.

In combination, however, measures of various kinds of risk – individual, familial, and demographic – can provide useful estimates of future achievement levels.

Although prediction accuracy is far from perfect, errors of prediction can be tolerated as long as children’s progress is carefully monitored during kindergarten and beyond. As discussed below, how different school systems can best use the available information about risk indicators must be tailored to their particular needs, goals, and resources.

Group risk factors It is abundantly clear that some groups of children are at risk for reading difficulties because they are affected by any or all of the following conditions: They are expected to attend schools in which achievement is

presented in different ways, especially if visual aids can help organise information.

For example, pairing a list of countries occupied by German forces during World War II with a map of German military expansion can reinforce that lesson. It’s easier to remember what’s been read and seen, instead of either one alone (Carney & Levin, 2002; Bui & McDaniel, 2015).

So even though forgetting starts as soon as learning happens – as Ebbinghaus’s experiments demonstrate – research shows that there are simple and effective strategies to help make learning stick.

(edutopia.org)

chronically low they reside in low-income families and live in poor neighbourhoods they have limited proficiency in spoken English they speak a dialect of English that differs substantially from the one used in school Individual risk factors The evidence also indicates that individual children, whether or not faced with the adverse conditions just mentioned, may be at greater risk than otherwise-comparable children for reading difficulties for any or all of the following reasons: They are children of parents with histories of reading difficulty they have acquired less knowledge and skill pertaining to literacy during the preschool years, either through lack of appropriate home literacy experiences and/or as a result of some inherent cognitive limitations they lack age-appropriate skills in literacy-related cognitive-linguistic processing, especially phonological awareness, confrontational naming, sentence/story recall, and general language ability they have been diagnosed as having specific early language impairment they have a hearing impairment they have a primary medical diagnosis with which reading problems tend to occur as a secondary symptom (readingrockets.org)

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tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Gail Teixeira renounces Canadian citizenship F

ormer Opposition Chief Whip and parliamentarian Gail Teixeira has officially renounced her Canadian citizenship, paving the way for the veteran politician’s return to the National Assembly and her Party’s candidate list.

Teixeira made this revelation on Monday, on the sidelines of the first day of the National Toshaos Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

When asked, she informed Guyana Times that her documents were in fact finalised a couple months ago.

“I received my renunciation since June 26, 2019. My Canadian citizenship was renounced by the Canadian authorities. I was the first of the whole group. Everyone said they were going to, they were going to, but I was done,” she said.

Asked about a return

Former Chief Whip for the PPP/C, Gail Teixeira

to Parliament, where she has served for decades, Teixeira confirmed that she was thus cleared to return on the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) candidate list from whence potential Members of Parliament (MPs) are drawn.

In April of this year, Opposition Leader and PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo had committed to ensuring that future electoral lists submitted by his party to stand for Parliament would be free of dual citizens.

Jagdeo was at the time appearing on the “Jumpstart” radio programme on Monday morning, when he laid down his Party’s position on dual citizenship. He noted the effect a ruling on the no-confidence case in his Party’s favour at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) would have on the whole issue.

“If the no-confidence (ruling) goes in our favour at the CCJ, there will be no need for a convening of the Parliament again unless there’s an agreement.

Therefore, no dual citizen will attend the Parliament on our side,” he had said.

“When the new list is pre-

pared for General Elections, no dual citizen will be on that list,” Jagdeo further explained. “If they want to be on that list, they have to give up their dual citizenship. That’s our position.”

Resignations

Teixeira was among seven Members of Parliament (three Opposition and four Government), who had to resign from the National Assembly and as Ministers, because of their dual citizenship status, after a ruling confirmed that dual citizens could not hold those positions.

The ruling in question was delivered by acting Chief Justice Roxane George, who in January upheld the passage of the no-confidence motion against the Government, ruling that it was validly passed with the 33 majority.

At the time, the

Government not only argued that 34 was the majority of 65, but it also argued that former Alliance For Change (AFC) MP Charrandas Persaud, as a dual citizen, should not have been in the National Assembly in the first place.

The fallout from her ruling on the dual citizenship issue, however, saw Teixeira and her Opposition colleagues Odinga Lumumba and Adrian Anamayah, as well as former Ministers Joseph Harmon, Carl Greenidge, Dominic Gaskin and Dr Rupert Roopnaraine resigning from Parliament and Government, only for them to then be rehired by the Government in different capacities in the same Ministries they once headed.

Last week, Greenidge announced that his documents were successfully processed by authorities in the United Kingdom and that

he would be free to return on his party’s candidate list.

Speculation has since arisen that Greenidge could be angling for the prime ministerial spot of the coalition, especially since the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has been lukewarm about accepting AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan as the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate.

Harmon also announced that he has begun the process towards renouncing his United States (US) citizenship. It is understood that Lumumba has also moved in the direction of renunciation. However, Gaskin, who is a British citizen by birth, and Roopnaraine have made no such move. Anamayah has meanwhile already made known that for personal reasons, he would not be renouncing his dual citizenship.

Elderly couple homeless after Sophia fire

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The family’s residence in North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, that was destroyed by fire on Monday

Umawattie Premraj aka “Chinee” and her husband, Sasenarine Singh

Sophia, Greater Georgetown couple along with four other family members are now homeless after a fire of unknown origin gutted their home on Monday.

Umawattie Premraj called “Chinee” along with her husband, Sasenarine Singh, who is confined to a wheelchair, resided in their two-storey wooden home at Lot 45 North Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

Reports are the fire started at about 12:30h.

The distraught woman explained to this publication that she had just returned home with her grandchild, whom she usually babysits, and was reading a document from the child’s school when neighbours alerted her of the fire.

“She got a piece of slip in her bag and while reading this slip the boy call and tell me my kitchen on fire upstairs. So I told him that I don’t cook upstairs but he kept saying my kitchen is on fire. So when I get up and I look I see the whole top on fire and the only thing I could do is scramble my husband and bring him out and start hollering and a man

come and collect my husband and then I went back for the child,” Premraj said.

She stated that her husband’s right leg was amputated and as a result, their daughter and son-in-law were living with them temporarily to assist them.

“Since he had his surgery, we always downstairs and that is where we usually are. I don’t know what caused the fire. As for where

we are going to stay from now, I really don’t know either.”

Premraj added that the fire destroyed all of her and her husband’s valuables and clothing.

“All the room have wardrobes, three bedrooms, wall dividers, computer, television upstairs, stove, freezer, my fridge, everything is gone. The only clothing I could have saved is what

I am wearing right now. I can’t say what really happened to cause this fire,” she

lamented.

Premraj noted that by the time the Guyana Fire

Service arrived to the scene, her home was almost burnt to the ground.

8 news

tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

IN THE COURTS Illegal gun, ammo charge lands man in prison Modular…

A 29-year-old man, who was allegedly caught with an illegal gun along with matching ammunition was on Monday remanded to prison when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Kevin Bruce called “Bankey” appeared on Monday before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus where he denied that on September 26, 2019, at East

La Penitence, Georgetown, he had in his possession a .32 pistol and 10 matching ammunition while not being the holder of a firearm licence.

Police Prosecutor Adduni Innis informed the court that on September 26 at about 00:10h, ranks from the East La Penitence Police Station went to the East La Penitence location after someone called the police informing that

an unknown male was in a yard.

The court heard that as the ranks entered the yard, they saw Bruce exiting the southern door of a house with a haversack on his back. However, the court heard that when the ranks called out to the 29-year-old man, he began to run. This resulted in a foot chase.

According to the prosecutor, Bruce was apprehended and a search was

carried out on him but nothing was found. However, while at the police station, ranks observed him placing his hands in his crotch and taking out a handgun. This resulted in the rank drawing his service weapon and discharging a round, which hit the defendant to his abdomen.

Magistrate IsaacsMarcus remanded Bruce to prison. The case will continue on October 14, 2019.

Taxi driver remanded for stealing woman’s underwear, phone, cash

A

taxi driver, who is accused of breaking and entering a woman’s home and stealing a pair of her underwear, along with a cellphone and cash on Monday appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Yudhister Samjawan, of Lot 158 Third Street, Alexander Village, Georgetown, appeared before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus where he denied the charge.

The charge stated that on October 4, 2019, at West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, the 26-year-old broke into the dwelling house of Yanti Stephens and stole one phone valued $35,000, a pair of female underwear valued $400 and $50,000, property of Yanti Stephens.

Police Prosecutor Adduni Inniss told the court that on October 4, the woman was awoken by a noise and as such, she got out of her bed to investigate

when she found Samjawan crawling on her floor.

The court heard that the terrified woman raised an alarm and the man fled and hid in a nearby trench.

According to the prosecutor, the police were called and during a search of the area, they found Samjawan hiding in a trench alongside the street.

A search was then carried out on his person and Stephens’ underwear was found in his left side pock-

et. He was subsequently arrested and the charge was instituted.

The prosecutor contended that the defendant should not be granted bail, since he was positively identified by the VC. The Magistrate, after listening to the facts, sentenced the defendant to six months of community service at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. He was also instructed to take six weeks of counselling.

Store employee charged for stealing amplifier

A

n employee of Regent Household Plus was on Monday hauled before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and remanded to prison for stealing an amplifier.

Twenty-nine-year-old Rickford Atwell of Mon

Repos, East Coast Demerara, appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus and denied the charge which stated that on October 2, 2019, at Regent Household Plus, he stole one amplifier worth $45,000, property of Saied Amid.

The court heard that Atwell was employed by the Virtual Complainant’s father and worked at his store on Regent Street, Georgetown.

According to the prosecution’s case, the business place was closed and the normal afternoon checks on em-

ployees’ bags were carried out when the amplifier was discovered in the defendant’s bag. As such, the police were called and Atwell was arrested. Magistrate IsaacsMarcus remanded Atwell to prison. The case will continue on October 21, 2019.

Body of 9-year-old retrieved from Kara Kara Creek

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he body of nine-yearold Imani Leech was on Monday retrieved from Kara Kara Creek at Mackenzie, Linden, following a search led by residents of the neighbouring Speightland

body was discovered floating in a section of the Creek at approximately 12:30h on Monday after residents who formed a search party ventured out by boat on the waterway. Following the discov-

The area where nine-year-old Imani Leech slipped and fell into the creek

community.

Leech went missing after he fell into a section of the Kara Kara Creek in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) on Saturday.

His partially decomposed

ery, Police visited the location and removed the body, which was then transported to a mortuary in the Linden community.

Guyana Times understands that Leech, who re-

cently moved with his mother to the Lower Kara Kara, Speightland area, was sitting on a wooden bridge at the Creek with his mother and other relatives some time after midday on Saturday when he “slipped” into the waterway. Relatives told this publication that the child’s aunt, who was sitting next to him, had grabbed his hand, resulting in both slipping into the creek. However efforts to save the duo only resulted in the child’s aunt being saved.

“He was on the bridge and he foot get slip and he aunty hold he and all two of them go out together. Plenty people went in the water (searching), because we shout for people.

That’s the reason why the aunty get saved,” a female relative had indicated.

Searches were conducted for the child by residents and Police thereafter, but yielded no results until Monday’s tragic discovery.

“People came and they searched and they say that when the water settle, they will go back and search.

Other than that, nothing. We went back and we ain’t see

Dead: Nine-year-old Imani Leech

he,” the child’s aunt had told this newspaper.

Following the incident on Saturday, the child’s mother, who is a Police Officer, wept uncontrollably.

At the scene on Monday, a resident noted that it was “a very sad day” for the community. The child’s mother travelled to Georgetown on Monday to make funeral arrangements. The now deceased child was a Grade Five student of the Regma Primary School in Linden.

Y

…pipe dreams? our Eyewitness was intrigued to read that the Private Investor who’d promised in Feb 2018 that he’d have a modular refinery ready “within a year” – meaning

by Feb 2019 is still at it. He’d worried that only the PNC was working on “Guyana time”! To us mudlandrs, meeting deadlines – even constitutional or self-imposed ones - are such a bore. Spontaneity is our thing, man!! Go with the flow!!

Back in 2018, the highly-hyped plan by the (former?) rice marketing magnate was to put up a 10,000bpd modular plant that would cost some US$100 million at Linden and provide scads of jobs for that community that had become the cynosure of political eyes. At the time, your Eyewitness had some serious doubts on the viability of the plan – which still remain. Even though we’re now told, the plan is downsized to start with modules producing only some 4000bpd and costing US$36M. The big question was why Linden?? Two years before,the same businessman had announced with the same amount of gusto - that he’d be launching the production of Industrial Hemp from the same locale. This was going to be the next best thing that would lift Guyana out of its poverty stricken status. Oil was not to come until a few months later with the Exxon strike. Was he now moving into oil refining after no progress on the hemp front and he’d already bought land?

Anyhow back to the questions. With these modular refineries, it’s most attractive feature in they can cut down on transportation costs by locating near the source of the crude. That’s not an inconsiderable saving when you think of running a pipeline from the source or shipping it in by tankers. At the time, the hemp/rice maven had insisted that he’d be purchasing crude from the open market until oil starts flowing from the Exxon field in 2020.

Both of these options meant that the fella would be shipping crude up the Demerara River with its notorious bar and all - piling up costs. But the sourcing of the crude oil just didn’t make sense. There are hundreds of variations in the composition of crude – and modular refineries are pretty much customised to deal with oil of a specific composition. Had he tested the Guyana sweet and light to determine his needs?

Then there was the marketing. Guyana uses approx.

13-15,000 bpd. Was SOL, Esso and Guyoil going to give this new kid on the block their business as opposed to their own refineries?? Then, what was the fella going to do with the 26% waste products since he wasn’t going to go further upstream?

Dumping them into the bauxite lakes? …education Caretaker President David Granger seemed to’ve hit a raw nerve in his WPA partner over his refusal to go along with their unconditional, universal cash transfer proposal of US$5000 or GY$1.3million (at the latest exchange rate!) per family - annually. Granger insists he’s guided by the homily not to hand out fishes, like Jesus, but to teach folks how to fish, like Peter.

He insists that education will liberate all Guyana from the shackles of poverty. But it’s clear he’s spent too much time in the barracks, locked away from the reality of Guyana. The question is, what does “education” mean for Guyanese? The experience over the course of our history – especially after independence under his mentor Burnham says this.

The brightest students will get admitted into Medical and Engineering schools. The next in line will earn MBA’s, LLB’s and ACCA’s and go on to manage the top students.

The third tier students – like Granger - will enter politics and run the first two batches.

The failures will go into crime and control the politicians and businesses!! …development What has Patterson’s achievements at MPI been?

Incomplete, chaotic ECD widening; Burnhamite blackouts; a fraudulent new DHB design bid; still incomplete CJIA modernisation.

But paradigmatically of his ineptness, he can’t even get elevators working on the EBD crosswalks!!

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

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tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Mother of 4 shot National Toshaos Conference President admits “much work” remains while sleeping to be done for hinterland in bed with baby, husband A mother of four of Front Road, West La Penitence, Greater Georgetown is presently battling for her life at a city hospital after she was shot while asleep in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Injured is Alicia Henry, who was shot in her back while she was asleep with her husband and her baby at their home. The shooting occurred at about 02:00h.

Reports are that gunmen on motorcycles opened fire in the neighbourbood and bullets hit the walls of Henry’s wooden home.

However, one of the bullets penetrated the wall and struck the sleeping woman. Her 11-month-old baby as well as her husband were not injured.

When this newspaper visited the area neighbours recalled that they heard a

they welcomed participants in the National Toshaos Conference.

In the statement, the People’s Progressive Party noted that by the Government’s own admission last year, it has not issued any land titles since coming

President David Granger during his address

I Alicia Henry

neighbours realised what had occurred.

According to reports, the injured woman’s bedroom is towards the front of the house which faces the public road.

This newspaper was told that motorcycles were heard

The house in which the mother of four was shot

series of loud noises like firecrackers exploding.

A female neighbour, stated that it was Alicia’s family began shouting for help that

Development Strategy, several programmes, including multi-year projects, were identified that focused specifically on the development of Amerindian communities – the Amerindian Land Titling Project, the Community Development Plans, the

passing through the street when the shots were fired.

According to neighbours, the injured woman had been rushed to the hospital where she was admitted.

n the wake of stinging criticism from the parliamentary Opposition over his Government’s reversal of Indigenous peoples’ rights, President David Granger has admitted that much more work remains to be done in the hinterland.

Granger was at the time speaking at the opening ceremony of the National Toshaos Conference at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre on Monday, where he delivered the feature address.

Only on Sunday the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had called out the Government for its poor track record in office when it came to Indigenous people, in particular their land rights. At the conference on Monday, Granger admitted to the gathering that the Government still has work to do, even as the country is months away from elections.

“We have made great progress in hinterland human development over the past four years. There is still much more work to be done.

The gap between hinterland and coastland remains wide,” Granger said.

He added that the NTC, in accordance with the

Amerindian Act, is responsible, among other things, for the preparation of plans for promoting hinterland human development. “The Council must do so. I look forward to working with the NTC to further hinterland human development,” he said.

Further elaborating on the role of the NTC, Granger pointed out that the conference presented an opportunity to self-analyse and review the progress that was made since last year’s NTC. “The National Toshaos’ Council’s Conferences are annual opportunities to expedite plans for social and economic improvement. These conferences are occasions for Indigenous leaders to review the progress they made in developing their villages and to renew their commitment to improve the lives and livelihoods of their people and to repair and remodel their Village Improvement Plans (VIPs) for future years,” he also said.

Reversal

In a statement on Sunday, the parliamentary Opposition took the President to task for his Government’s record on Indigenous rights, even as

A scene from the opening ceremony of the NTC

to office. This, according to the party, is despite the fact that when it left office, there was US$10.7 million put aside specifically for land titling.

“In 2018, Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Affairs admitted before the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources that no titles or extensions of lands to Amerindian communities had been issued by his Government. Demarcation of titled lands is now at a standstill.”

The party also pointed out that due to the Government’s repudiation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy and its related initiatives designed to further national and Indigenous peoples’ development, years of hard work have been jeopardised.

“Under the Low Carbon

Project for Hinterland Electrification and the Hinterland ICT Project, all were fully funded.”

“All have stagnated due to the Government’s reluctance to move on these issues, or, they have been tarnished with corruption and/ or monies have been squandered due to corruption. The Government’s alternative of a Green State Development Strategy remains a mystery with no specific initiatives to address the developmental needs of the people,” the party added.

The PPP was also critical of the Village Improvement Plan initiative touted by the President on Monday.

According to the party, it violates the autonomy granted in the Amerindian Act. This plan, according to the party, may end up stalling the titling process even more.

10 news

tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Street man wanted Street race ends with Norton for illegal gun, ammunition 1 dead in EBE accident T A 25-year-old man is now dead after the vehicle in which he was travelling turned turtle on the roadway before slamming into a fence after its driver lost control while attempting to overtake another car in a street race.

Dead is Leroy Cummings of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).

Meanwhile, the driver of the now damaged vehicle has been identified as 23-yearold Totaram Munishwar, also of Tuschen, EBE. The other two passengers, one of whom is Cummings’ younger brother, were treated at the hospital and sent away.

Reports are that Cummings along with his brother and two of their friends were imbibing at a popular sports bar on the EBE. This newspaper was told that the men met other friends there, all of whom

were travelling in the other vehicle that Munishwar was attempting to overtake when the accident occurred.

Reports are that around 00:30h on Monday, the quartet was in Munishwar’s vehicle, (PVV 4886) along the De Kinderen Public Road, West Coast Demerara (WCD), trailing behind their friends in the other car, PMM 4818, which was being driven by 20-year-old Saeed Alli.

According to reports, the two drivers reportedly began to race. However, as they approached a turn, Munishwar attempted to overtake his friend’s vehicle while another vehicle was approaching from the opposite direction.

The bright lights of the approaching vehicle allegedly caused Munishwar to swerve from colliding but in doing so, he lost control of his vehicle, which turned turtle and then ended up

crashing into a fence.

A police source close to the investigation told this newspaper that the driver and occupants from PVV 4886 were immediately pulled out of the mangled car and rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, WCD. However, Cummings arrived there in an unconscious state and due to his serious condition at that time, he was referred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital. However he died while on the way to the WDRH. The police source also told this publication that both drivers were tested for alcohol and results revealed that their levels were above the legal limit. The two drivers are presently in police custody as the investigation continues.

he Guyana Police Force (GPF) is seeking the public’s assistance in finding 38-year-old Alfie Norman Garraway, who is wanted for questioning in connection to the illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

The police, in a wanted bulletin, stated that Garraway had the illegal items in his possession at

Wanted: Alfie Norman Garraway

Norton Street, Lodge, on October 5, 2019.

His last known address was given as Lot 71 Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown.

Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Garraway also called “Alfie” is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 226-1389, 2267476, 911 or the nearest police station.

Lions Club takes vision screening to Graham’s Hall Primary

Cubana Air tragedy victims remembered

Air Cubana Monument Site, Turkeyen Campus, University of Guyana (DPI photo)

F

orty-three years later, 11 Guyanese, who died during the Cubana Air tragedy, were remembered on Sunday.

The 11 were among 73 passengers and crew members who were killed after two bombs exploded on a Cubana Airline flight off the coast of Barbados back in 1976.

A remembrance ceremony was held at the Cubana Air Tragedy Monument Site at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus.

In his remarks, President David Granger

said that a disaster is a natural catastrophe. “This act was a deliberate, premeditated crime, causing great suffering, distress and destruction and must be described as a tragedy.”

The tragic incident is remembered by the placement of wreaths and a reflection of that unfortunate day.

The Guyanese who were killed included: Seshnarine Kumar, 18; Ann Nelson, 18; Eric Norton, 18; Rawle Thomas, 18; and Jacqueline Williams, 19, all students on their way to study medicine and engineering in Cuba. Others who perished

were relatives Violet and Rita Thomas, nine-yearold Sabrina Harrypaul, Margaret Bradshaw, Raymond Persaud, and economist Gordon Sobha.

Among the other victims were five Koreans and 57 Cubans, including 24 members of the 1975 Cuban national fencing team, who were returning home after winning gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Championship games.

Investigations had revealed that CIA-linked anti-Castro Cuban exiles conspired with members of the Venezuela Secret Police to bomb the Cuban aircraft in protest of Castro’s dictatorial policies in Cuba.

Four men, who had joined the plane in Trinidad and disembarked the aircraft in Barbados, were subsequently arrested and tried in Venezuela in connection with the bombing and murder of 73 persons.

Two of them were sentenced to 20 years in prison, another was acquitted and subsequently moved to the United States, while the other escaped from Venezuela and fled to the United States.

Students of the Graham’s Hall Primary School along with members of the Lions Club during the screening exercise

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he Lions Club on Monday engaged students of the Graham’s Hall Primary School in a vision screening exercise, with the aim of detecting sight disorders at an early age.

A vision screening, also called an eye test, is a brief exam that looks for potential vision problems and eye disorders. Vision screenings are often done by primary care providers as part of a regular checkup. On October 10, International Sight Day will be celebrated.

During the activity, the Club was able to achieve its target of 100 individuals. Students were sourced from the Grades One to Six classes, within the age range of six to 12.

Chairperson of the Lion’s Services for Children, Ambika Singh said it was a joint effort between different branches of the organisation.

“We’re collaborating with the Lions of East Demerara.

The optometrist is here doing the screening with the children and we’re also doing this in keeping with one of the five service ar-

eas of the Lions, which is vision. This is Vision Month so we’re doing it with that and in keeping with our district goals,” Singh posited.

A significant percentage of screened students displayed conditions which may require them to wear glasses. This publication was told that the Club will assist in providing them with the necessary resources.

“The students who we would have detected so far, we have quite a few on our high priority list to do follow-ups. So we’re not just stopping here with vision screening at the school.

With most of the students, I got feedback that some of them cannot afford the spectacles and whatever is needed to correct their problem.

This is where we will continue to the end and see them through to ensure that they get everything they need.”

Vision screening is a very important way to identify vision problems. During an exam, the doctor looks for eye disease and checks to see if the eyes are working properly. Children with

a family history of childhood vision problems are more likely to have eye problems.

Teachers of the school would have also capitalised on the opportunity to get screened.

“We came with the intention of screening children but teachers also asked.

There was need for them.

Some of them said they were having problems with their vision so we assisted the teachers as well. We covered screening for teachers,” the Chairperson highlighted.

Another such activity will be done at the Vreeden-Hoop Primary School on Friday.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, common eye disorders include refractive errors, macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, amblyopia and strabismus.

Important practices to maintain good sight include having a balanced diet, healthy weight, regular exercise, sunglasses and protective eyewear and knowing your family medical history or other risk factors.

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tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Police unearth, destroy small ganja field on WCD P

olice ranks in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) on Monday managed to locate a patch of land that had been cultivated between bushes on which 750 cannabis sativa plants were growing.

According to Commander of that region, Senior Superintendent Linden Lord, an operation was carried out between 10:15h and 11:00h on Monday where several ranks from the La Grange Police Station conducted a “drug farm eradication” at the Inner Bagotville Backdam, West Bank Demerara.

He noted that each of the suspected cannabis sa-

A section of the cannabis plants that were uprooted and destroyed on Monday in Region Three

tiva plants measured between one to 12 inches in height and that they had

been planted on five sections of the land (beds).

Commander Lord ex-

plained that the policemen uprooted all of the plants and destroyed them, ex-

and proceeded to conduct a search on the vehicle.

A large quantity of mari-

juana was discovered in the trunk of the vehicle.

Both men were immediately arrested and are in police custody where investigations are ongoing.

This newspaper was told that the men travelled to Georgetown with the illegal substance with the aim of distributing/selling to customers. Berbice and Linden have been identified as two leading areas in Guyana where marijuana is cultivated on a large scale and then sold to various locations throughout the country.

Cop nabbed with ganja in car

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policeman found himself in hot water after he was nabbed by his colleagues on Monday afternoon with a large quantity of marijuana.

Reports are at about 15:00h, Police swooped down on one of their own in the vicinity of Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

This newspaper was told that a corporal, attached to a police station in Berbice, was in his motorcar when the vehicle was stopped.

There was another male occupant inside the car.

The cops then ordered that their colleague and his passenger exit the vehicle

cept for two plants that had to be lodged and taken

for analysis. When the police ranks arrived at that location, there was no one around.

It is unclear who planted the cannabis at that location and as such, no arrest has been made.

Investigations are continuing.

According to the Region Three Police Commander, even small numbers of “ganja” plants, once destroyed, make a difference since it prevents the cultivators from accessing the illegal substance to sell to the public.

He added that more drug eradication activities are slated in the near future in his region.

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tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Teen placed in psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide …says conditions inhumane, NGOs outraged

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eports that a 15-yearold girl who attempted to take her own life has been placed in the National Psychiatric Hospital at Canje, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), has sparked outrage from several agencies.

The teenager has since said that she cannot live under those conditions and is pleading for assistance.

She was reportedly placed there with only a piece of sponge to sleep on, which she said is smelly and the surroundings are unsanitary and inhumane.

Only recently British

High Commissioner Greg Quinn renewed calls in support of the decriminalisation of attempted suicide. In Guyana, suicide or attempted suicide is considered a criminal offence with punishment ranging from five to ten years’ imprisonment.

It was in July that the British High Commissioner made the call as he noted that suicide was removed from the list of criminal offences in England and Wales since 1961 and such actions should follow through for Guyana as well because it eliminates the stigma for surviving family members.

In Guyana, there is a hold-

ing centre for criminal juvenile offenders but none for juveniles who have issues in association with suicide attempts.

Meanwhile, following several attempts at suicide, Police took the teenager to the National Psychiatric Hospital where she was admitted.

According to a source close to the institution, it is the protocol to have persons on suicide watch placed in a ward without anything but a mattress to sleep on.

In this case, the mattress is just a piece of sponge.

According to the teenager, she attempted to take

National Psychiatric Hospital at Canje

her own life on numerous occasions because she was sexually molested but relatives did nothing to help her.

“I am not going to be able to live here. I can’t live under these conditions,” she said.

The Caribbean Voice, an

Wife pleads for assistance after husband dies at sea

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mother of six is pleading for public assistance after her husband died at sea in April.

Narainee Chunilall of Number 56 Village Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), is seeking help to ensure that five of her six children can complete school.

The 33-year-old lost her husband six months ago when crew members returned to shore with his body and reported that he died at sea.

She said she has been able to get part-time employment at a bar in addition to domestic work she does around the village. She

added that her greatest financial support is from her parents. She also has a little kitchen garden to supplement her meagre income.

Chunilall told this publication that no Government official has reached out to her since the tragedy.

“I want some assistance with my children to support them so they can go to school regularly,” she noted.

With children aged 17, 16, 15, 14, 12 and 10-years old, Chunilall noted that her 17-year-old daughter has completed school but the others attend school when she can afford it.

Recently, she visited the Office of the Prime

Minister in the region where Representative Gobin Harbhajan, who is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Guardians on the Upper Corentyne, advised her to apply for public assistance for some of the children.

In April, 41-year-old Deolall Sooklall of Number 56 Village departed the Number 66 Fisheries wharf and days later his family did not hear from him. This raised some suspicion and as his family made inquiries, they were told that the other fishermen, who Sooklall worked with, made a report to the police in Berbice that he had collapsed on the vessel.

Narainee Chunilall

According to reports, the man was unresponsive and the vessel returned to shore so that he could receive medical attention. However, Sooklall was pronounced dead.

NGO which focuses on anti-violence with a specific focus on mental health issues inclusive of suicide and social justice, has expressed outrage.

Managing Director Bibi Ahmad told this publication that the teenager would have been diagnosed by a medical person at the National Psychiatric Hospital.

“They had to do an assessment of her before they put her into that facility and her mother would have signed a consent form before she could have been placed there.”

However, Ahmad said that if there are reports of sexual assault, the psychiatric hospital should investigate further and get the Child Care and Protection Agency involved.

“The Child Care and Protection Agency should be involved because it is a minor,” Ahmad explained.

Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency, Ann Green when contacted told this publication that she was unaware of the situation but promised to investigate.

Meanwhile, weighing in on the issue, head of the Humanitarian Mission Guyana Inc, Suresh Sugrim noted that there are no centres for underage persons who need special attention, noting that there is a huge stigma attached to the National Psychiatric Hospital.

“These are teenagers who are in need, should be handled and taken care of differently from adults. The human rights activists need to be called in to remove that child from that institution immediately. I was offering the Mission’s facility at Port Mourant for full-time counselling for adolescents, and because of politicians in the region and their self-interests, it was shut down,” Sugrim said.

The Mission, two years ago, had given a section of the building at Port Mourant to the Public Health Ministry for that purpose.

“Without proper sleep, attention and professional medical help, nothing is going to change in the mental state of these adolescents!

Isn’t a mental institution partly medical? Why is this place dirty and smelling?

Why is it lacking the proper necessities a mental institution should have?” he questioned while noting that such situations could be one of the contributory factors of the region having such a high suicide rate.

Efforts to get a comment from the National Psychiatric Hospital were futile.

(Andrew Carmichael)

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Tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

First Lady opens 1-month ICT workshop for Mahdia

First Lady Sandra Granger listens to a group of students from the Mahdia Primary and Secondary Schools as they welcomed her with a medley of national songs

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irst Lady Sandra Granger opened an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) workshop for 30 residents of Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

During a simple ceremony held in the Regional Boardroom, the First Lady underscored the importance of technology to youth and community development, especially in providing greater access to employment. She also emphasised that it was important that

the hinterland was not “left behind” in this modern age of technology.

“We think of the young people, who are going to be the ones who will be leading this country and who need the skills of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to be able to survive and thrive in the 21st Century and Mahdia, like many of our hinterland areas, must not be left behind,” Granger is quoted as saying by the Public Information and

Press Services Unit of the Ministry of the Presidency.

The First Lady, according to the Public Information and Press Services Unit, added that her focus on ICT was to ensure that young people in Guyana do not just become consumers in a technologically driven world, but can also “write programs and develop software”. She encouraged the participants to consider the types of businesses that they could establish with the knowledge that they would acquire.

“Think about the possibilities and where you can create your niches. You can do it by yourself or you can do it with a group of friends you trust,” the First lady advised.

Board of Industrial Training (BIT) Vice Chairman Donald Ainsworth; Mahdia Mayor David Adams; Region Eight Regional Executive Officer Mitzy Campbell and Regional Chairman Bonaventure Fredericks also attended the workshop.

Agri Ministry pushes for healthy living through GRAIN-H

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he Agriculture Ministry, through its recently launched Guyana Re-aligning Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health (GRAIN-H) programme, continues to promote healthy living throughout Guyana.

According to the Department of Public Information, the GRAIN-H project is a collaborative effort between the Ministry and Region Four’s Regional Democratic Council’s (RDC) Health Department. It is aimed at ensuring that all Guyanese have access to harmless and nutritious food and live with a physical, psychosocial, and culturally health status.

Welcoming the Ministry’s donations, Chairman of Demerara-Mahaica, Region Four, Genevieve Allen remarked, “we are heartened with this promise that has delivered and we look forward to the project being fully implemented… I must congratulate the staff of the Buxton Health Centre. This project was a brainchild coming out of their efforts… we are working towards a

Some of the tools handed over to the Buxton Health Centre

more nutritious and healthy people in Guyana,” stated Genevieve Allen.

Doctor-in-Charge and Family Medicine Specialist, Aneisha Moore-Throne, said: “I do trust that the gifts that would have been given to us by the Ministry of Agriculture would be so

used in a manner that would cause us to indeed look out and look forward to a more healthy Guyana.”

While the Buxton Health Centre is the first to receive aid for their kitchen garden, the delivery services continue daily to the other remaining health facilities.

Bmobile, Huawei join forces with UWI for world-class innovation lab

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T has received yet another notch in its belt and is one step closer to becoming a technologically developed nation, thanks to a tripartite agreement between The University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus, bmobile and Huawei for a state-ofthe-art innovation lab.

The bmobile-UWI Innovation Lab powered

by Huawei was officially launched at UWI on September 26. The lab, which is the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean, is ultimately designed to accelerate the digital competence and capabilities of TT. Housed in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The UWI, the world-class laboratory is set to propel academic research, and facilitate testing and development of new and innovative tech-based products and services; towards commercialisation of unique intellectual property. It will also serve as a training ground for students and ICT professionals to hone their skills.

When complete, the bmobile-UWI Innovation Lab powered by Huawei, will be outfitted with a full range of equipment from ICT giant, Huawei, and configured to resemble the bmobile network. It is therefore fertile ground for research in areas such as mobile and fixed networks, optical transmission, IP networks, core and IT. At the launch, TSTT CEO Dr Ronald Walcott noted that lab marked a significant achievement for both education and technology in TT. “In order to

gether, we drive that critical innovation and digital transformation.” Copeland thanked TSTT and Huawei for the collaboration which helps the Campus realise its Mission Trinidad and Tobago.

Jeff Jin, CEO of Huawei TT, emphasised the importance of industry-university partnerships while cementing Huawei’s unwavering commitment to Trinidad and Tobago. Jin stated, “Huawei believes that Trinidad and

Collaboration is the key to innovation. TSTT CEO Dr Ronald Walcott (from left); Professor Brian Copeland, Pro Vice Chancellor and campus Principal (UWI); and Huawei’s CEO Jeff Jin shake hands at the launch of the bmobile UWI Innovation Lab powered

by Huawei

ensure that technological developments remain relevant in this ever-changing digital landscape, we must pursue strategic collaborations and partnerships to support technology advancements, as a means to ensure that we take full advantage of the current dynamism which can redound to economic success.

Indeed, there is sufficient evidence gleaned from numerous studies that there is a direct correlation between ICT development, including high-speed broadband penetration, and economic growth,” shared Walcott.

Walcott added that the lab is intended to be a beacon of ingenious creativity that can possibly lead to the creation of next-level products, services and prototypes. It will also provide an opportunity for creative minds and tech-savvy individuals to fulfil their desti-

ny by providing the impetus and fertile environment for innovative development.

The establishment of the lab also aligns seamlessly with UWI’s mission to advance learning, create knowledge and foster innovation for the positive transformation of the Caribbean and the wider world. Pro vice-chancellor and campus principal, Professor Brian Copeland stated, “Preparing for and adapting to the increasingly digital present and future will determine the rate at which our region benefits from the opportunities that digital transformation will inevitably present for sustainable development.

Therefore, the establishment of an Innovation Laboratory is an investment in our collective future. And this partnership with TSTT and Huawei is a historical one as, to-

Tobago is perfectly poised to become the centre of innovation in the Caribbean region. Huawei attaches great importance to development in technology and research in TT and the wider region.

Therefore, for this innovation lab, we will provide over 100 pieces of industry-leading equipment that will deepen collaboration with the university, enterprise and industry leaders in carrying out research and development in new tech-

nologies, like AI and cloud computing, to help accelerate the digital transformation of TT.” The bmobile-UWI Innovation Lab powered by Huawei is a milestone for both education and technology and supports TT’s national ICT plan. It will play a key role in contributing to the research needed to ensure that TT is technologically attractive and competitive on the world stage. (T&T

Newsday)

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tuesday, october 8, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

Canadian Opposition Leader slams PM Trudeau as a fraud in key election debate

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anada’s main opposition leader repeatedly attacked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday during a pivotal televised debate, calling him a phony and a fraud who did not deserve to be re-elected on October 21.

Opinion polls show Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives with a real chance of defeating the ruling Liberals, whose campaign stumbled last month after images from years ago emerged showing Trudeau in blackface. Trudeau has repeatedly apologized for the images.

The two-hour debate - the only one to be held in English, the language spoken by twothirds of Canada’s 38 million population - has traditionally been regarded as an important way of winning the minds of voters.

In one of the few truly memorable moments, Scheer noted the Liberal leader had not at first disclosed how many times he had put on dark makeup.

“He can’t even remember how many times he put blackface on, because the fact of the matter is he’s always wearing a mask,” said Scheer.

Man killed for TT$300

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elatives of Christopher “Springy” Moore, a man who was shot in front his home on Indian Walk, Princes Town on Sunday afternoon, say his murder may have something to do with an altercation which he got into over $300 the day before.

According to reports gunshots were heard at about 5 pm on Perry Young Road, Indian Walk on Sunday.

When residents checked Moore was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head.

Newsday was told Moore had gotten into an altercation with a man at a bar the night before, over $300 which he was owed.

Relatives were told Moore confronted the man about the money and he refused to pay, the conversation eventually got heated and the man who owed money allegedly smashed a bottle on the ground.

The man’s phone fell during the altercation, and ended up in Moore’s possession. He allegedly went back to meet Moore to get

the phone, but this time he went with another man. The three were at Moore’s house talking when a gunshot rang out.

Moore was dead and the men had escaped. Police are now on the lookout for the two men. Relatives described Moore as a giving person.

“Everyone had their bad ways, but to me he was a darling. He would do anything to help someone. He was the kind of person that would give his last – that is the kind of person he was to me,” said his fiancé of four years.

She told Newsday he was a jovial person who would usually play pranks to make people laugh. The fiancé expressed shock over his death. She told Newsday because he was such a prankster when she first heard of his death she thought it was a joke.

“I thought it wasn’t real,” she said. She said they had plans to marry next year.

Southern Division police are continuing investigations.

(T&T Newsday)

“Mr Trudeau, you are a phony and you are a fraud and you do not deserve to govern this country.”

The debate format - which grouped six party leaders on one stage - meant Trudeau could not respond directly to the remarks. During the evening, participants often talked over one another and were sometimes hard to understand.

Trudeau came under frequent attack from his rivals and stumbled on occasion over his words.

The Liberal leader, turning to face Scheer, accused him of trying to give tax breaks to Canada’s richest people.

“You did not answer the

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau gesture to each other as they both respond during the Federal leaders debate in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, October 7, 2019 (Justin Tang/Pool via Reuters)

question on why you are lowering taxes by C$50,000 for multimillionaires,” Trudeau

told his rival, whom he accuses of harboring an extreme right-wing agenda.

Scheer also blasted Trudeau for a watchdog’s ruling that the prime minister and his team inappropriately tried to help a construction company in the predominantly Frenchspeaking province of Quebec avoid a corruption trial.

“When did you decide that the rules don’t apply to you?” he asked Trudeau.

“The role of a prime minister is to stand up for Canadians’ jobs, to stand up for the public interest, and that is what I’ve done and that is what I will continue to do,” replied Trudeau.

Scheer is facing questions about why he did not disclose he has dual Canadian-US citizenship. (Reuters)

Democrats subpoena Pentagon, White House budget office in impeachment probe

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ongressional Democrats issued subpoenas to the Pentagon and the White House budget office on Monday as part of their impeachment inquiry, seeking documents related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold military assistance from Ukraine.

The subpoenas follow a whistleblower’s allegations that Trump leveraged $400 million in aid to secure a promise from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate political rival Joe Biden, and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian en-

ergy company.

The taxpayer funds had been approved by Congress to help Ukraine protect against Russian aggression.

“The committees are investigating the extent to which President Trump jeopardized national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election and by withholding military assistance provided by Congress to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression, as well as any efforts to cover up these matters,” according to a statement from three House of Representatives panels leading the inquiry.

Biden is a leading contender in the Democratic race to face Trump as he seeks re-election in November 2020.

The Department of Defense and the White Office of Management and Budget must turn over the documents by Oct. 15, they said.

The Pentagon was prepared to work with Congress on questions related to Ukrainian aid, said spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell.

The new subpoenas follow those issued to the State Department and White House in recent weeks by the House Intelligence,

Oversight and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Democrats also have called a number of U.S. diplomats to Capitol Hill for closed-door testimony this week as they build their impeachment case against Trump, while the White House considers ways to slow down the process.

Trump has denied he did anything wrong in the July 25 call in which he asked Zelenskiy to work with his personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani and U.S. Attorney General William Barr to look into the Bidens. The White House released a summary of the call. (Reuters)

filing said the organisations are "implicated in human rights violations and abuses".

Rights groups say Beijing is severely persecuting the mostly Muslim Uighurs in detention camps. China calls these "vocational training centres" to combat extremism. The Commerce Department said in its decision on Monday that these 28 entities are implicated in "China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups."

Xinjiang province's Public Security Bureau is on the list, along with 19 other smaller government agencies.

Hikvision, Dahua Technology and Megvii Technology are among eight commercial groups on the list, all of which specialise in facial-recognition technology.

Hikvision is one of the largest surveillance equipment manufacturers in the world. The US and China are currently in the midst of a trade war, and have sent delegations to Washington for a meeting about the tensions later this week. (BBC)

US blacklists China organisations

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he US has blacklisted 28 Chinese organisations for their alleged involvement in abuses against ethnic Uighurs in China's Xinjiang province.

The organisations are now on the so-called Entity List, which bars them from buying products from US companies without approval from Washington.

The 28 targets include both government agencies and technology companies specialising in surveillance equipment.

It is not the first time the US has put Chinese groups under a trade ban.

In May, the Trump ad-

Human rights groups say up to one million Uighurs and other Muslims are in detention centres in Xinjiang

ministration added telecommunications giant Huawei to the Entity List because of security fears over its products.

A Commerce Department

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tuesday, october 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Venezuela giving away oil to Cuba

Venezuelan PDVSA oil tanker Rio Arauca, recently abandoned by her crew, lies at anchor in the Tagus River, arrested by Portuguese authorities for nearly two years due to unpaid debt

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acing the risk of losing oil production capacity, Nicolás Maduro’s regime has developed a seemingly counterintuitive solution to keep the wells pumping: give away crude to Cuba.

Petróleos de Venezuela’s trouble selling to international markets because of US sanctions is Havana’s windfall, amid Maduro’s decision to increase oil shipments to the island to free up space in the country’s filled-tothe-brim storage tanks.

“Suddenly Christmas came early in Cuba due to the situation in Venezuela as a result of the sanctions imposed by the United States. This is a windfall, a gift that they are getting suddenly and was unexpected,” said Jorge Piñón, director of the Latin American Energy Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

Washington’s sanctions have led PDVSA to lose clients, forcing the state-run company to store crude. But the tanks are now full, and given the risky choice of stopping production, the regime is choosing to send more oil to Cuba, even though that does not provide any hard currency to state coffers.

“Now they are using Cuba to store Venezuelan crude and refined products, maybe thinking that they can use the installations on the island as a transshipment point,” Piñón said.

But those oil shipments to Cuba — that as of now total 3 million barrels — will end up becoming a gift, said Juan Fernández, PDVSA’s former executive director of planning, It may be that Maduro is asking Cuba to store those millions of barrels on the island for him, or that he is asking Havana to help resell oil to bypass the sanctions, but in the end the gains will remain in Cuban hands, he said.

“In the oil shipments to Cuba, Venezuela earns absolutely nothing.

There are commitments to provide Cuba, but they only paid hard currency for the first shipments. … What has been sent to the island for years covers the intelligence services that (Cuba) provides the regime,” Fernández said.

The Caribbean island, which for years benefited from billions of dollars in oil provided yearly by Venezuela, began to suffer fuel shortages after Caracas began cutting down its aid, from 120,000 barrels per day at its

peak to less than 50,000 by early this year.

Venezuela faces serious production problems that have cut output to 1 million barrels per day from a peak of 3.3 million barrels when former President Hugo Chávez, the founder of Maduro’s socialist movement, took power in 1999.

Washington’s sanctions on PDVSA earlier this year were a knockout blow to the already stumbling oil company, closing down access to the U.S. market and forcing friendly countries like China to turn down Venezuela’s oil.

The sanctions changed the nature of PDVSA’s problems, said Francisco Monaldi, an energy expert at the Baker Institute at Rice University, in a recent interview.

“As opposed to what was happening before, when the problem was that production would fall and as a result so would sales, now the problem is that they can’t sell what they produce and that is why exports have been adding up to only half a million barrels” per day, Monaldi said. “Except that now that is not sustainable because the tanks inland are now full and they have between 10 to 20 million barrels stored in oil tankers.”

Sending oil to Cuba to free up storage space makes sense from an operational point of view, said Piñón, because it allows Venezuela to preserve its output capacity and keeps wells pumping.

“Whenever you have to shut down an oil well you have problems, because it is extremely hard to get it going again, given that you will lose the original pressure of the reservoir,” Piñón said.

“From the first time that I entered the doors at Shell from the university, the first thing I was taught is that you never, never, never shut down a well that is under production because reactivating it again is almost impossible,” he said. (The Miami Herald)

France’s Prime Minister signals support for immigration quotas

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rench Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has declared his support for a series of measures that would tighten the number of migrants allowed into the country, including the possibility of introducing immigration quotas.

“Today, the French asylum system is saturated,” Philippe said in his opening remarks on Monday before the National Assembly.

“The question of being steered by targets and admissions for residency is not a taboo. I’m not afraid of thinking about the idea of quotas.”

Citing government figures, Philippe stated that France saw a 22 percent increase in asylum applications in 2018, while the rest of Europe recorded a 10 percent decrease.

In 2017, more than 100,000 people requested asylum in the country, although it was unclear how many were eventually accepted.

Philippe also challenged the controversial state-funded healthcare programme, aide médicale d’Etat (AME), for undocumented workers.

Introduced under the so-

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe

cialist government of Lionel Jospin in 2000, AME currently benefits around 300,000 people and costs the state €1bn (US$1.1bn) a year.

“France should take care of all those who live in its territory,” Philippe said.

“But it should be neither more, nor less attractive than its neighbours.”

Aside from asylum seekers, Philippe said the government should also reconsider the family reunification status, a visa for spouses and children under the age of 18 with a parent already living in France, which currently brings in around 90,000 im-

migrants a year.

The debate, which also included remarks from France’s Foreign, Interior and Health ministers comes just weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron announced a tougher stance on immigration.

“France cannot host everyone if it wants to host people well,” Macron told French radio station Europe 1 in September.

Macron’s shift to the right has drawn criticism from his political opponents.

Some have also questioned his timing and motives ahead of the upcoming 2020 municipal elections.

“It’s a little surprising that Macron decided to put this question on the table when actually the main questions of today are much more about social issues, pensions and unemployment,” Bruno Cautres, a political science researcher at Sciences Po told Al Jazeera.

“So we are all wondering why Macron is deciding to do this right now.”

Mariam Traore, a high school teacher living in eastern Paris, said she had similar suspicions about Monday’s debate.

“I don’t understand why we’re having this debate at a time when we have a number of concerns in this country that are frankly more pressing,” Traore told Al Jazeera. “These kinds of political tactics just end up fuelling the far right.”

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, accused Macron of “using immigration as an electoral element he pulls out his hat a few weeks before elections because he thinks it will attract French who see the reality in front of them.” (Al Jazeera)

Wildlife trafficking on the rise all across Latin America

A lion (Panthera leo) is seen in its cage at Santa Cruz Foundation on October 7, 2018 in Bogota, Colombia

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he illegal wildlife trade is increasing all across Latin America, the first high-level conference on the issue in the Americas was told.

After drugs, guns and human trafficking, wildlife trafficking is the world’s most lucrative organised crime with an annual value of around $20bn (£16bn) each year, according to a 2016 report by Interpol and the UN environment programme.

As the world’s most biodiverse continent, home to roughly 40% of the world’s plant and animal species, Latin America is a hub for the criminal trade. Wildlife trafficking is increasing in most countries in the region, including the conference’s host, Peru, said the head of its forestry and wildlife service, Luis Alberto GonzalesZuñiga.

“It’s not stalled, or declining, it’s on the rise. It’s a globalised business and it needs a globalised response,” he told the Guardian.

Whether it is the trade in live wildlife or dead animals and their parts, the countries from which they originate need to take the crime more seriously, said Salvador Ortega, Interpol’s head of forest crime for Latin America.

They need to understand that they are part of the supply chain for a transnational criminal organisation, he told the Guardian.

“Corruption is the most disruptive element for our investigations in this region,” Ortega added. “[It] damages international police cooperation and transnational investigations which are fundamental to combat a crime whose origin may be this region, but whose destination is the regions which finance these crimes.”

While collectors in the US, Europe and the Middle East largely drive the smuggling of live specimens, east Asia, particularly China, is a major destination for wildlife parts, Ortega noted.

The poaching of jaguars, the largest big cat in the Americas, for teeth, skin and bones has grown for the first time since the 1970s to feed rising demand for Chinese traditional medicine and exotic jewellery. It is linked to increased Chinese investment in the region, experts say.

The threatened carnivore was the image chosen

as the emblem for the initiative launched in Lima on illegal wildlife trade last week.

Revered by several pre-hispanic cultures, the animal continues to hold a mystical appeal for the continent’s many peoples even as it faces new threats.

Lishu Li, programme manager for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in China, said that the government there was taking “serious actions to combat the illegal wildlife trade” with more prosecutions, longer jail terms and fines.

Sue Lieberman, vice president for international policy at the WCS, said there were strong incentives for the region to combat wildlife trafficking beyond fighting crime.

“Ecotourism for one is really important source of foreign exchange,” she said.

“But if you don’t have wildlife to view people aren’t going to come.

“If enforcement is increased and governments collaborate more with each other I believe we can stop this in time,” she added.

Both the UK and the US governments have backed this summit, which is a follow-up to the illegal wildlife trade conference in London last year.

The UK environment minister, Zac Goldsmith, commended the conference.

“We need to make sure this wildlife trade doesn’t drive further biodiversity loss and damage fragile ecosystems,” he said.

A US State Department spokesperson said the country was a “leader in the global fight against wildlife trafficking, a serious transnational crime that threatens security, undermines the rule of law, fuels corruption, robs communities of legitimate economic livelihoods, and pushes species to the brink of extinction”.

An executive order signed

by President Trump in 2017 “specifically recognised wildlife trafficking as one of four priority areas in efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organisations”, the spokesperson added.

The 27 mostly Latin American and Caribbean countries at the conference agreed to share intelligence and enforcement and take the crime more seriously.

The next meeting was scheduled to be held in Colombia in 2021. (The Guardian)

16

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, october 8, 2019

Regional

Bolivia wildfires in east Barricades burn as Haiti enters 4th week extinguished by rain

H

eavy rains have extinguished wildfires which destroyed more than four million hectares of land in eastern Bolivia in recent months, officials say.

"It has rained all across Chiquitanía and our satellite no longer shows any active forest fires," a Santa Cruz province official said.

The fires triggered mass protests against the environmental policies of President Evo Morales.

Hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the President on Friday.

The Environment Minister of Santa Cruz province, Cinthia Asín, said that firefighters would continue to monitor the area for another 24 hours to make sure none of the blazes would reignite.

Santa Cruz province was the hardest hit by the fires

Video published by Bolivian daily La Opinión showed firefighters jumping with joy as the rains first started.

It is not yet clear if the fires in other areas of

Bolivia have also been put out by the rains.

The fires first started in May and worsened in August with Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)

Friends of Nature Foundation (FAN) estimating that more than four million hectares of land have been destroyed across Bolivia.

Nearly 2.9 million hectares of grassland and forest were burned in the Chiquitanía area alone with almost half of that land in protected areas, including in the Otuquis national park, according to Asín.

Santa Cruz is the region hit hardest by the fires and its residents have been urging President Morales to declare a national emergency in the hope that more international aid would reach the area.

Morales did request international aid, but stopped short of declaring a national emergency. (Excerpt from BBC News)

of deadly protests

H

aiti has entered its fourth week of protests that have paralysed the economy, the Associated Press has reported.

According to the news entity, “Opposition leaders asked supporters to gather in front of the National Palace to demand the resig-

nation of President Jovenel Moïse, who had been scheduled to attend a government ceremony nearby. The call came after thousands of Haitians marched in front of the United Nations' headquarters on Friday in one of the largest demonstrations in weeks.”

T&T Budget 2020 presented

Macri seeks boost from young voters with employer tax cut incentive

A

rgentine President Mauricio Macri announced a tax incentive proposal aimed at boosting employment among young people on Monday, in a bid to gain ground with a voter demographic that contributed to his poor showing in an August primary.

Macri, in the final stages of his re-election campaign, said in a series of tweets he

would propose a year-long tax break of 100 per cent for employers that hire workers aged between 17 and 24 who are seeking their first jobs, or who have less than a year of work experience.

Employers would receive a 75 per cent tax cut in the second year as part of the incentive to hire young people.

“Young people in Argentina face many barriers to getting their first job.

We will lower taxes to make it easier to access quality work,” Macri tweeted.

He offered no further details on how the tax break would apply to employers, but a press release sent by Macri’s coalition said a company that hires an eligible young worker who earns 35,000 pesos monthly would receive a tax break of 5500 pesos per month.

The proposal by Macri,

whose voters are typically over the age of 50, signals an attempt to target an important voting bloc just 20 days before an election he is widely expected to lose.

Macri’s resounding defeat in the August 11 primary vote by Peronist opponent Alberto Fernandez came as a shock to pollsters who predicted a much narrower difference between the candidates. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Jamaica to pioneer Caribbean Green Bond listing

P

rime Minister Andrew Holness on Monday announced that Jamaica has been given the green light to list the first-ever Caribbean Green Bond on the stock market.

Holness, who was delivering the keynote at the Green Climate Fund Private Investment for Climate Conference (GPIC) in Incheon, the Republic of Korea, said the Green Climate Fund approved the listing, which will place Jamaica as the Caribbean country of choice to conduct climate-smart and sustainable business.

In leading the charge to build resilience, the Prime Minister underscored that the Government has taken a holistic view at new, viable and sustainable pre- and post-disaster arrangements for managing financial risks from disasters.

“We have developed a

Prime Minister Andrew Holness speaking at the Green Climate Fund Private Investment for Climate Conference (GPIC) in Incheon, the Republic of Korea (Photo: OPM)

broad framework for disaster risk management, including a National Disaster Risk Financing Policy that provides for financial risk protection, including budgetary contingency funds

and State contingent debt instruments such as catastrophe bonds, and catastrophe linked insurance.

We have also established a contingency fund, the National Catastrophic

Disaster Reserve Fund and have started to build up a strong fiscal buffer; while improving insurance of public assets and incorporating disaster risk analysis in public sector investments and overall development planning,” said Holness.

He also announced that Jamaica has joined the Finance Ministers Coalition for Climate Action to ensure continued efforts to climate proof the economy.

In that regard, Holness stated that the Government recognises the critical role that Finance Ministers play in addressing and preparing for the climate crisis nationally, regionally, and globally. Finance Ministers are expected to ensure the continuation of knowledge exchange and best practices in planning concrete, effective policy and tax measures to build resilience. (Excerpt from Jamaica

Observer)

Ecuador protests continue, Police taken hostage

A

bout 50 Police Officers have been taken hostage in various locations in Ecuador, protests continue against the end of fuel subsidies, blocking roads and highways in the country.

President Lenin Moreno

says he will not bring back subsidies and has declared a two-month national emergency.

The protests were originally led by transport unions who have since stopped their action.

Indigenous groups have

since taken the lead in the protests. Other sectors are calling for a national strike on Wednesday.

Ecuadoreans say abolishing fuel subsidies has also led to rising prices for consumer goods. About 20 people have been arrested

for raising food prices, the Government said.

They had been overcharging for products such as corn, onions, carrots and potatoes, which are subject to price controls, the authorities said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Finance Minister Colm Imbert delivers the 2019-2020 fiscal package in Parliament

F

inance Minister Colm Imbert on Monday delivered the Trinidad and Tobago Government’s 2020 Budget in Parliament, announcing an estimated revenue of TT$47.749 billion and total expenditure of TT$53.036 billion, resulting in a fiscal deficit of TT$5.287 billion..

The theme of the 2020 Budget was “Stability, Strength and Growth”.

The budget was based on a projected oil price of US$60 and a gas price of US$3 per MMBtu. The highest allocation went to education and training, amounting to TT$7.5 billion, with national security getting TT$6.044 billion and health being allocated $6.084 billion.

The Tobago House of Assembly was allocated TT$2.283 billion. This included TT$2.033 billion for recurrent expenditure, TT$231.6 million for capital expenditure and TT$18 mil-

lion for the URP Tobago.

Here are some highlights: * No more need for life certificates to be presented to the Treasury by pensioners who possess computerised birth certificates. * Elimination of arrival forms at airports. * Removal of all taxes and duties on LED bulbs for five years. * Increased investment tax credit for energy companies from 20 per cent to 25 per cent to stimulate exploration and development investment from January 1, 2020. * On-the-job-training stipends increase by 10 per cent and increase intake for the programme to 8000 trainees from December 1, 2019 * Increase of minimum wage from US$15 to US$17.50 per hour from December 1, 2019, to benefit 194,000 persons (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Earthquake rattles 3 Caribbean islands

A

n earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 rattled three Caribbean islands early Monday, but there have been no reports of injuries or damage, the Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) said.

SRC said that the quake occurred at 06:23h (local time) and was felt in St

Lucia, Dominica, and the French island of Martinique.

It said that the quake was located at Latitude: 14.61N, Longitude: 60.43W and at a depth of 20 kilometres (km).

The quake was felt 72km east of Fort-de-France, Martinique, 88 km north east of Castries, St Lucia and 131km south east of Roseau, the Dominican capital. (CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, october 8, 2019

17

Around the World

Turkey-Syria border: Trump threatens Indian selfie deaths: 4 drown in reservoir to “obliterate” Turkish economy in Tamil Nadu P resident Donald Trump has threatened to destroy Turkey's economy if Turkey goes "off limits" after his surprise decision to pull US forces out of north-eastern Syria.

In a series of angry tweets, Trump defended the move that could open the way for Turkey to launch an attack on Kurdish fighters across the border.

The withdrawal was heavily criticised even by Trump's Republican allies.

Kurdish forces were key US allies in defeating the Islamic State in Syria.

The US has some 1000 troops across Syria and about two dozen had been pulled out from the border area, according to a senior State Department official.

The withdrawal was described by the main Kurdish-led group as a "stab in the back"

The withdrawal was described by the main Kurdish-led group as a "stab in the back", and critics say it could facilitate

an IS resurgence and leave Kurdish forces at risk of being attacked by Turkey, which regards them as terrorists.

But Trump warned Turkey not to take advantage of his decision – which goes against the advice of senior officials in the Pentagon and State Department – saying he could "destroy and obliterate" its economy.

Last year, the US raised tariffs on some Turkish products and imposed sanctions on top officials as relations between the two NATO countries worsened over a number of issues.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his aim is to combat Kurdish fighters in the border area and set up a "safe zone" for up to two million of the more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey. (Excerpt from BBC

News)

Women drown as migrant boat capsizes off Italy

A

t least 13 women, some of them pregnant, drowned when a boat crowded with migrants capsized in the Mediterranean moments before they were due to be rescued.

Italian officials said at least a dozen other people

are still missing.

The boat tipped over in bad weather near the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The United Nations says more than 1000 people have died in the Mediterranean so far this year trying to make the perilous journey to Europe.

Italy's Coast Guard said it had launched a rescue mission late on Sunday after being alerted to an overloaded and badly listing boat about 11 kilometres (six nautical miles) from Lampedusa.

But as the rescue ships approached shortly after midnight on Monday,

"adverse weather conditions and the sudden displacement of the migrants" caused the boat to capsize, it said.

The boat had earlier left the Tunisian coast with about 50 people on board, Italian media reported. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

Tamil Nadu is home to many dams and reservoirs that are popular with visitors

A

newly-married woman and three of her family members drowned in a reservoir after trying to take a selfie, said Police in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The dead were among a group of six who held hands and stood in waist-deep water near Pambar dam before one of them slipped, pulling the others.

The woman's husband was able to save his sister, but the others drowned.

A

President since Jimmy Carter had voluntarily released his tax returns before or upon taking office.

In his 75-page decision on Monday, Judge Victor Marrero called the President's claim of immunity "repugnant to the nation's governmental structure and constitutional values", writing that he would not allow a "categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity from judicial process".

"The only thing truly absolute about presidential

rotesters began gathering in Baghdad’s Sadr City district late on Monday after overnight clashes with security forces spread to the vast, poor swathe of the Iraqi capital for the first time killing 15 people.

The night of violence pushed the death toll after a week of unrest to 110 people.

They were mostly protesters demanding the removal of the Iraqi Government

US President Donald Trump said he would make his tax returns public during the 2016 campaign

immunity from criminal process is the Constitution's silence about the existence

and contours of such an exemption," he wrote. (Excerpt from BBC News)

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Death toll climbs as Iraq unrest hits Baghdad's volatile Sadr City

Judge orders Trump to hand over 8 P years of tax returns

judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to hand over eight years of his tax returns to New York investigators.

The Judge rejected arguments by the President's lawyers that Trump enjoyed total immunity while in office.

The ruling helps an investigation into hush money paid to two women who claim they had affairs with Trump.

Prosecutors said in a court filing that every US

The young married couple, from Bargur in Krishnagiri, were visiting relatives in Uthangarai along with the bridegroom's sister, The Hindu newspaper reported.

The three entered the water together with three teenage siblings when one of them, a boy aged 14, slipped and dragged his two sisters aged 18 and 19 with him, along with the newly-married woman and the bridegroom's sister.

and overhaul of its political class, as security forces carried out a heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrators.

The spread of the violence into Sadr City on Sunday night poses a new security challenge for authorities dealing with the worst violence in the country since the Islamic State group was defeated nearly two years ago. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Hong Kong Police stage show of force on streets, jeered by residents

Extinction Rebellion: Climate H protest brings London to standstill H undreds of climate protesters have blocked roads in central London to launch a two-week protest as thousands of activists are expected to descend on the British capital aiming to occupy key sites around Government Departments and the Houses of Parliament.

Extinction Rebellion activist groups from across the country on Monday took drums and banners to 11 sites around Westminster, besieging bridges and roads

Protesters marched from the Houses of Parliament down Whitehall

leading to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Across the capital, meanwhile, signs reading "Business as usual = death" popped up on bridges and train stations.

As some protesters marched from the Houses of Parliament down Whitehall, a street lined with Government Departments and Ministries, a group of performers wearing crimson gowns took their silent walking protest to the iconic Trafalgar Square. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

ong Kong Police staged a show of force on Monday night in a district hit by some of the most violent clashes with protesters in recent months, but instead of being confronted by demonstrators were jeered by onlookers.

Many Hong Kongers say Police have used excessive force against protesters – some of them school students and young adults – and want an independent inquiry into Police action.

“The Police are ridiculous, they are out of control,” said a 22-year-old man watching the Police who gave his name only as James. “We are sticking to our beliefs and trying to express our voices to the Government, but they

use force to try to make us afraid and try to make us stay at home.”

Police arrived in vans at several locations in the Mong Kok district and marched down the street, some beating shields, but were outnumbered by media and onlookers and withdrew to cheers. (Excerpt from Reuters)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

Tuesday, OCTOber 8, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES

Now’s the time to act.

Take care of your responsibilities and don’t worry about what others do.

Arguing won’t solve anything, but it will slow you down and hold you back.

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

If change is what you need, be the one to make it happen. If you hesitate, someone will make choices for you that are not in your interest. Personal growth is encouraged.

(March 21April 19)

dilbert

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

Calvin and Hobbes

Do something that will boost your confidence.

Discuss what you want with a partner or co-worker. Keep the peace at home and work.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Traveling, attending business meetings and exploring new possibilities will help you move forward.

Digest the information you receive, make a choice and act with confidence. A chance to start anew is within reach.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Live within your means and stick to practical activities. If you overstep your limits, you will have to backtrack. Don’t underestimate a challenger.

LIBRA

Say yes to fun, love, exploring new avenues and finding what you want out of life. Don’t put up with negativity or people who are holding you back.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO

SUDOKU

You’ll stand out if you step up and do what needs to be done. Be assertive and open about what you want to see happen. Be a leader and set a good example.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Don’t share your feelings or plans. Avoid interference by carefully getting everything in place. Personal change is apparent.

Compassion, understanding and being part of the solution rather than the problem will help you ward off negativity and people who are trying to lead you astray.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Finesse and charm will help you get things done your way. Changing the way you treat someone will have exceptional results.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Be observant. Simplify your life and focus on following a tight budget. Set your goals and do what it takes to meet them.

solution for LAST PUBLISHED puzzle

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

You can be creative without overdoing it. A minimalist approach to life will help you flourish in ways you never imagined. Set your priorities. Romance is heightened.

tuesday, october 8, 2019

19

Raptors, Lowry agree to 1-year, US$31M extension

T

oronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry agreed to terms on a one-year, US$31 million contract extension, according to a published report Monday.

Agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports told ESPN of the deal for the five-time AllStar, who previously was slated to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Raptors have yet to publicly comment on the reported contract extension.

“We are so appreciative of how Masai (Toronto president Masai Ujiri) and Bobby (general manager Bobby Webster) handled every aspect of this negotiation,” Bartelstein told ESPN. “Once again, they displayed how they look after their players in a first-class manner, especially someone like Kyle who they recognize has such a legacy with the franchise.”

Lowry is set to begin his eighth season in Toronto, making the 33-year-old the longesttenured active member of the Raptors.

Lowry averaged 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and a career-best 8.7 assists over 65 games last season for Toronto. He stepped it up a bit in the postseason, averaging 15.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 24 games as the Raptors went on to capture their first NBA title in franchise history.

Lowry has averaged 14.4 points, 6.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds over his career with the Grizzlies, Houston Rockets and Raptors since being selected by Memphis with the 24th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft.

Coach ready to forge new path to title The Toronto Raptors may not be favoured by many to defend their NBA title after losing star Kawhi Leonard to the Los Angeles Clippers, but

Kyle Lowry goes on the drive against Klay Thompson in the 2019 NBA finals

head coach Nick Nurse said predictions didn’t matter and his team would forge a new path to the championship.

In one of the wildest close seasons of free agency in recent memory, Leonard joined up with Paul George to form a formidable pair under Doc Rivers, while Anthony Davis joined LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers to create a monster duo of their own.

With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signing with the Brooklyn Nets - although the former is

expected to miss the year with a torn Achilles - it’s easy to see how other teams are only becoming stronger by forming blockbuster pairings.

But Nurse said he felt good about his own team and they were setting “super high” goals again this season.

“Predictions don’t really factor too much into what you do,” Nurse told reporters in Tokyo on Monday ahead of two preseason games against the Houston Rockets.

“We have a lot of confidence in our team, we like the players we have, and I say there’s lots of paths to the title. Last year we found one, this year we’ll have to find a different one.

“I always think that our objective is to win and win big.”

With the departure of Leonard, forward Pascal Siakam is a big part of the Raptors’ future following a breakout season in which he was named the NBA’s most improved player and was influential in the finals triumph over the Golden State Warriors.

“I think Pascal is going to make another jump. I think he’s going to improve immensely,” said guard Kyle Lowry.

“His talent is so much, the sky’s the limit for Pascal. And for me, my job to help him is to keep him going, put him in good spots to be successful. But sometimes just get out of his way and let him be great,” he added with a smile.

With the Raptors in Japan for the week, Lowry was also reminded of the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics and said he’d jump at the chance to play for Team USA. “If I’m chosen, I’m in. If (USA Basketball managing director) Jerry (Colangelo) and coach Pop (Gregg Popovich) make that call, I’m in.

Hopefully I am here and trying to win another gold medal for my country,” he said.

“It’s an important thing for me to represent my country at the highest level.”(Reuters)

Japan Typhoon could hit Rugby World Cup and F1 Tottenham Captain

to miss rest of 2019

T

ottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is set to miss the rest of 2019 with a dislocated elbow but does not need surgery, the club said.

Lloris, injured during Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Brighton, is not expected to train again until next year.

He fell awkwardly as he failed to hold a third-minute Pascal Gross cross, with Neal Maupay nodding in the loose ball.

"Although surgery will not be required, our club captain has suffered ligament damage," Spurs said in a statement.

"He is not expected to return to training before the end of 2019.

"Hugo is currently in a brace and will now undergo a period of rest and rehabilitation." (BBC Sport)

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont (left) gave a speech alongside Japan's Emperor Akihito during the opening ceremony

T

he organisers of the Rugby World Cup and Formula 1 bosses are monitoring a powerful typhoon forming to the south of Japan which could bring fierce winds and torrential rain over the weekend.

Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) says Typhoon Hagibis is expected to reach the highest level of "violent".

The JMA added: "It could be the strongest to hit Japan this year."

World Rugby says it is heading in a "north-westerly direction" and could bring disruption to southern Japan.

The typhoon is predicted to hit the southern island of Kyushu on Saturday.

There are two fixtures on the island over the weekend - a potentially crucial match for Ireland against Samoa in Fukuoka on Saturday, while Wales face Uruguay in Kumamoto on Sunday.

World Rugby insists it has a "robust contingency plan in place" should the adverse weather impact tournament fixtures.

However, any games cancelled at the World Cup because of the weather are registered as scoreless draws.

Ireland need a bonus-point victory against Samoa to ensure their passage through to the quarter-finals.

Wales might have already sealed their place in the quarter-finals before they face Uruguay with victory over Fiji on Wednesday, and head coach Warren Gatland says he does not want to "waste any negative energy on something that I can't change".

Scotland face hosts Japan further north in Tokyo this weekend, a game they must win to stand any chance of reaching the last eight, and prop Gordon Reid says the weather "does not matter".

"We're from Scotland. Rain. Hail. It doesn't matter. We've coped with a lot more," said Reid.

Meanwhile, motorsport's governing body the FIA is also monitoring the situation ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.

In 2014 the race was affected by bad weather, and was halted prematurely when Jules Bianchi crashed heavily, suffering severe head injuries which led to his death nine months later.

(BBC Sport)

Hugo Lloris is the Captain of Spurs and France

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

tuesday, october 8, 2019

Pee Wee Tournament

St Agnes, St Ambrose, Genesis among winners T

he final round of the Courts Pee Wee 11 and Under football tournament continued over the weekend, with the teams competing to book a spot in the upcoming knockout rounds.

During the final round-robin stage, the likes of St Ambrose, Redeemer, St Agnes, North Georgetown, and Genesis had comprehensive victories. While the 2018 top two – St Pius and West Ruimveldt – both had walkovers.

St Ambrose made light work of Plaisance Boscoe in a 3-0 affair. Keandre Carr opened the scoring in the third

minute and the remainder of St Ambrose’s goals came in the second half. Trimain Bishop netted a double in the second segment (17th, 31st) to seal the 3-0 win.

Redeemer Primary enjoyed a victory by the same margin when they met with Ann’s Grove. After playing with a deadlocked score for the entire first half, Redeemer sought to distance themselves from their opponents in the second.

Degwayne Wong found the back of the net in the 20th, while Nickolas Watts netted twice in the 34th minute and 40th minute for the 3-0 victory.

St Agnes Primary continued their momentum with a shocking win over the once-dominant Timehri Primary. The scorers, Darius Charles (18th); Cleon London (32nd) and Shaquille Dalrymple (40th), netted one each for the win.

Genesis Primary also tasted victory when they were made to battle Craig Primary. Ezekiel Yard netted a brace early on (2nd and 4th minutes) to give his team the lead. Devin Atkinson looked threatening for Craig with one in the 15th, but Jaren Boucher scored again for Genesis in the 38th for a 3-1 win.

Results on Saturday:

St Ambrose 3 v Plaisance Boscoe 0 Goalscorers St Ambrose Keandre Carr 3rd Trimain Bishop 17th, 31st Ann’s Grove 0 v Redeemer 3 Goalscorers Redeemer Degwayne Wong 21st Nickolas Watts 34th, 40th St Agnes 3 v Timehri 0 Goalscorers St Agnes Darius Chester 18th Cleon London 32nd Shaquille Dalrymple 40th Genesis 3 v Craig 1 Goalscorers Genesis Ezekiel Yard 2nd, 4th Jaren Boucher 38th Craig Devin Atkinson 15th Smith Memorial 2 v Maes 4

A glimpse of the action

Yamamoto to make F1 debut in Japanese Grand Prix practice

J

apan’s Naoki Yamamoto will make his Formula 1 debut when he drives a Toro Rosso in first practice at his home grand prix on Friday.

The 31-year-old reigning champion in Japan’s Super Formula and Super GT series will drive Pierre Gasly’s car.

Frenchman Gasly will return alongside Daniil Kvyat for the rest of the weekend at Suzuka.

Yamamoto is backed by Honda, Toro Rosso’s engine partner and the owner of the Japanese circuit.

In Super GT, he team-mates with 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button.

Last year, the Briton said he thought Yamamoto was talented enough to be in F1.

Yamamoto said driving an F1 car had been “a dream of mine since I was a kid”, adding that he first watched them in action at Suzuka 27 years ago.

“To get this chance at Suzuka - a very important circuit for all Japanese racing drivers - in front of such a big crowd of Japanese fans, will make the experience even more special,” he said.

“I have prepared as well as possible for this, spending time as part of the Toro Rosso team at several grand prix weekends, and I have also worked in the Red Bull simulator.

Katsuhide Moriyama, head of brand and communications at Honda, said: “We hope Naoki makes the most of this opportunity, that he learns from it and that it helps him as a racing driver.

“We also hope that seeing

Naoki Yamamoto (right) is former F1 world champion Jenson Button’s team-mate in Super GT

Yamamoto on track will serve as an inspiration to young Japanese drivers, so that in the near future we can once again have Japanese drivers competing in Formula 1.”

The senior Red Bull team, who also use Honda engines, have yet to confirm who will partner Max Verstappen next year, but motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has been quoted saying the seat is between Alexander Albon, who was promoted in place of

Gasly in the summer, and the Frenchman.

Honda have been planning their engine usage in recent races to ensure all four of their cars are in the best possible competitive shape for the home grand prix.The race weekend faces the possibility of being affected by typhoon Hagibis, which is in the western Pacific Ocean and tracking towards Japan. Heavy rain and strong winds are projected for qualifying day on Saturday.

Goalscorers Smith Memorial Ricquan Alexander 22nd, Anthony Charles 27th Own goal Maes Mike Holder 9th,23rd Elijah Bynoe 29th Own goal 19th FE Pollard 2 v St Margaret’s 1 Goalscorers FE Pollard Dequan Thom 6th Davaughn Inniss 37th St Margaret’s Damare Burke 33rd North Georgetown 2 v Uitvlugt 0 Goalscorers Jaheim Gillard 17th Manwhar Khan 36th Tucville v JE Burnham Tucville won via walkover

Marian Academy 1 v Soesdyke 1 Goalscorers Marian Academy Romario LaRose 9th Soesdyke Shaquille Caleb 33rd St Stephen 3 v Mocha 1 Goalscorers St Stephen Wandel Jupiter 4th,8th Shawn Serrette 16th Mocha Terry Bruce 13th St Pius vs Enterprise St Pius won via walkover West Ruimveldt 2 v South Ruimveldt 0 Goalscorers West Ruimveldt Hakeem Thorne 15th Emanuel Phillips 21st

Murray rallies to win in 1st round in Shanghai

A

ndy Murray rallied past Argentine qualifier Juan Ignacio Londero 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Monday to reach the second round of the Shanghai Masters in China.

The former world No. 1, continuing his comeback from January hip surgery, broke serve in the sixth game of the deciding set, then fought off two break points while serving for the match to get the victory in 2 hours, 18 minutes.

“The court is by far the fastest conditions that I have played in since I came back. I really struggled with that early on. I was mistiming the ball,” said Murray, who returned to singles last month in Cincinnati. “I felt quite slow on the court, and he was pretty much dictating all of the points.”

Murray is 5-6 in his singles comeback, reaching the quarterfinals of the China Open in Beijing last week.

“I think each week I have been feeling good, better. In the beginning I didn’t necessarily feel good. But last couple of weeks have been, I think, much improved,” Murray said. “My movement overall has been very good in comparison to what it was over in the States, and I’m hoping that’s something that can get a little bit better.”

He will next face 10th-seeded Fabio Fognini. The Italian dispatched American Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-2 in the first round.

Murray is 4-3 all-time against Fognini, the last time coming at Wimbledon in 2017.

“I have always had tough matches with him,” Murray said.

“He’s not an easy guy to play against.

Unbelievably talented guy.”

Other seeded players advancing were No. 9 Frenchman Gael Monfils, who beat Italian

Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-3, and No. 15 Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, who outlasted Radu Albot of Moldova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil took down 14th-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 7-6 (2), 6-2.

Denis Shapovalov of Canada won 27 of 29 points on his first serve to get past Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-2 and set up a second-round match against top-seeded Novak Djokovic.

Second-seeded Roger Federer, a twotime champion of this event, will face Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain in the second round. Ramos-Vinolas defeated Croatian Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4.

British qualifier Cameron Norrie broke serve five times en route to a 7-5, 6-2 win over France’s Gilles Simon and will face the third-seeded Daniil Medvedev in the second round. (Reuters)

Andy Murray

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CPL final ‘watch party’ to be hosted at D’Urban Park A

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The Minister went on to express hope that Guyana could some day host the final blockbuster event. Additionally, Dr Norton has assured that all measures, including security, would be put in place to ensure that the game was enjoyed with optimal pomp and the usual exhilaration displayed by Guyanese.

“Hopefully, in the near future, Guyana will be able to host the CPL finals, but for now, we still want to create an environment where our people can physically come together with their fellow Guyanese who will be just as ecstatic and fervent about every wicket and every

Social Cohesion Minister with responsibility for sport, Dr George Norton while enjoying the play-off atmosphere at the National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara

boundary the Warriors make this Saturday,” the Social Cohesion Minister posited.

On Saturday, October 12, the Guyana Amazon Warriors will play their fifth CPL final in the seven-year tournament, signal-

Terrence Ali Intermediate Championships…

GDF win overall, Halley is best boxer

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hamar Halley and Mark Crawford of the Forgotten Youths Foundation Gym were adjudged the best boxers after a weekend of riveting boxing action.

Meanwhile, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) took home the overall win once again.

The GDF gym once again dominated Terrence Ali National Intermediate Boxing Tournament, coordinated by the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GBA).

The GDF gym, which has now copped the title in consecutive years, brought home six individual weight class titles to lift the trophy once again.

GDF’s Quacy Abrams fought in the flyweight category and by the end of Sunday evening, he defeated all the other pugilists in the category for a win. Junior welterweight Orland Grenville, welterweight

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Cranston Mc Allister, middleweight Jermin Jones, heavyweight Damian France and super heavyweight Kevin Hunt, all of the GDF, won their individual categories to push the GDF to an overall victory.

Forgotten Youths Foundation and Rose Hall Jammers tied for second place.

Halley and Crawford both fought valiantly for the Forgotten Youths Foundation, as they copped the best elite and best youth boxer awards respectively. This is the second consecutive best boxer accolade that Halley has copped. The 19-year-old is yet to be defeated in his amateur boxing career. Earlier on Sunday night, Halley had won the lightweight class while Crawford won the youth bout. In other results, Andre Best won the bantamweight category.

The Terrence Ali tourney ran from Friday, October 4 to Sunday, October 6.

ling the team’s consistency.

The Warriors have dominated the competition this year, having won all 10 of their preliminary matches and the first qualifier game, which saw them automatically advancing to the final

at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Toruba, Trinidad and Tobago. Guyana’s opponents will be decided on Thursday, October 10, when the Barbados Tridents battle the Trinbago Knight Riders for the other final spot.

Chandrika delighted with his performances in Canada

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ight-handed opening West Indies batsman Rajendra Chandrika stated that he was delighted with his consistent performances in Canada.

Chandrika, who represented West Indies in five Tests, featured for Vikings Cricket Club in the recent annual Toronto and District Cricket Association Super9 50-over 2019 tournament.

Vikings eventually won the tournament, humbling arch-rivals Centurions by six wickets at King City Ground, Toronto. Chandrika churned out a fine batting display as well, scoring an attractive 60 in the championship contest.

In the Super9 competition, which began in May, Chandrika chalked up over 540 runs, including a brilliant 110, his only century this year, against Islanders Cricket Club.

The 30-year-old Chandrika, who played 59 First-Class matches, also showed his batting talent for Hawaiian Arctic Club at the Scarborough Cricket Association Premier League limited-over tournament.

Chandrika scored three fifties in six games for Arctic, who were led by former Guyana and West Indies player Royston Crandon.

According to Chandrika, who last represented the Caribbean team against India in 2016, he still wants to wear the prestigious colours again. Once he continues to play competitive

cricket and make runs consistently, he believes his chance will come about once more, sooner rather than later.

“I had a great time in Canada playing for both Vikings and Hawaiian Arctic; I enjoyed my games thoroughly and was glad to score some runs,” he stated.

Chandrika, who started plying his trade in Canada in 2013, declared that Toronto cricket was very competitive and he would have also learnt a lot to keep improving his game in every department.

“Cricket in Canada has been very competitive, especially when you have players from around the world playing here on a regular basis and also some of Canada’s top national players on show, so definitely I will be back here next year,” Chandrika, who made his Test debut against Australia at home in 2015, disclosed.

He is now planning to return to his native Guyana to commence preparations for the upcoming franchise cricket; he knows a good First-Class season will see him back in the five-day version.

“I am confident of getting big scores in local cricket and then at the regional level while I am planning to play professional cricket in Trinidad and Tobago very early next year as well,” an enthusiastic Chandrika said.

Rajendra Chandrika

22

tuesday, october 8, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

“The club will not tolerate disorderly conduct,” says Crawford

ꟷ Memorial Race switched to November 17

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he Ryan Crawford Memorial Turf Club and Sports Facility (CMTCSF) at Alness Village on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice has postponed its October 13th race meet to November 17, 2019.

This is to facilitate the Jumbo Jet Car and Bike Show, which will be held at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

Thus far, over 20 horses have been confirmed for the event, which consists of seven categories of races; thus the day promises to be an exciting one.

Speaking to Guyana Times Sport in regard to this development, Memorial Turf Club President Marcel Crawford Jr said: “We have had a lot of horses registering for the event. Despite the date being shifted, we are confident that on the chosen date, the excitement will still be there, as horse-racing fanatics come out in their numbers. As you know, one of the feature events will be the Alness Classic, which will be tabled as the Crawford Memorial Stakes in honour of my parents. We are happy to have Banks DIH as a major sponsor, Poonai Pharmacy, Jumbo Jet and many others. Come the day of the race, we at the club will not tolerate misconduct, so we are asking everyone to come out and support and enjoy themselves.”

The feature event of that meet is the Alness Classic race, set to be run over a distance of 1200 metres for a win-

Part of the action that occurred on June 2 at the CMTC track

ning purse of $240,000 and trophy.

The race for the H & Lower category of animals will also be run over a distance of 1200 metres, and will have a winner’s purse of $240,000 and a trophy.

Other events listed on the card are as follow: The J and Lower horses will race over a distance of 1000 metres for a first prize of $200,000 and a trophy.

The race for 2-Year-Old maiden horses will be run over 900 metres for a winning prize of $150,000 and a trophy.

The L1 and Lower race for horses 3 years old and over, to be run over 1000 metres for the winner’s prize of $100,000 and a trophy.

The L2 and Lower race for horses 3 years old and older will be run over 1000 metres for a winner’s prize of $80,000.

And the L3 Unclassified race, wherein animals would be covering a distance of 1200 metres for a winner’s prize of $60,000.

This meet will be run under the rules of the legislative draft of the late Marcel Crawford. All bookings must be done with a deposit of $5000; and if there are less than five horses in a race, the prize will be reduced.

Individual trophies and other incentives will be given to riders who have performed exceptionally well at the meet.

For more information, persons are invited to contact Marcel Crawford Jr on 678-5342 or 600-7690.

GAICO Construction seals Taking Canada by storm: Ramdhani major chess sponsorship siblings win doubles tournament

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GAICO staffer Natasha Lakraj (centre) presents a cheque to GCF Treasurer Davion Mars while GCF Secretary Aneesa Maryam Hussain (right) and GAICO Office Manager Champa Maraj (second left) and other GAICO staff look on

G

AICO Construction has presented its sponsorship package for four Grand Prix chess tournaments being staged by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF).

The construction firm, at its Georgetown office on Friday, October 4, handed over a cheque for $320,000 to the GCF to cover prizes for the events.

GAICO Office Manager Champa Maraj extended her company’s support to the GCF at the simple presentation ceremony. “GAICO is a one-hundred-per-cent Guyanese company and Managing Director Komal Singh is always in support of Guyanese activities which promote youth initiative and harmony,” she said.

G C F Treasurer Davion Mars expressed his gratitude to GAICO for being the premier sponsor of the series and out-

lined the purpose of the competitions.

“The Grand Prix initiative is a points-based system recently implemented which will aid in the selection of Guyana’s best chess tal-

Grand Prix Point Standings

Wendell Meusa – 20 Pts Taffin Khan – 15 Pts Loris Nathoo – 12 Pts Davion Mars – 9 Pts Shiv Nandalall – 7 Pts Glenford Corlette – 5 Pts Frankie Farley – 4 Pts Joshua Gopaul – 3 Pts Justino Da Silva – 2 Pts Ethan Lee – 1 Pt

ents, who will go on to represent Guyana at the 2020 Chess Olympiad in KhantyMansiysk, Russia,” Mars related.

The first GAICO tournament concluded on Sunday, September 29 at the National Racquet Centre and Wendell Meusa emerged undefeated. Senior player Glenford Corlette was the only player to secure a draw with Meusa while other players lost their matches to the tournament leader. Former junior champion Joshua Gopaul dominated the junior category, and Samirah Gobin of Al Ghazali Islamic Academy was adjudged the best female player.

The second GAICO Grand Prix is set to begin soon and would be open to all chess players.

The combatants will record more wins, losses, and draws from the gruelling confrontations expected over the chess board.

he Yonex Alberta Series #1 Tournament over the weekend got a double dose of badminton excellence, as siblings Narayan and Priyanna Ramdhani put on a great show for the tournament, which was hosted at the Sunridge Badminton Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, from October 4-5, 2019.

The Ramdhani siblings took home gold in the Mixed Doubles C Flight division while Priyanna won the women’s singles & doubles in the B-Flight.

The exhibition of talent and skill was described as an “extremely great performance” from the Guyanese duo, especially given the fact that they went up against top competitors in the number oneranked Pan- American country.

In the mixed doubles event, the siblings breezed past the quarter-final stage on a bye, but met with Archangelo and Archelle Ouano of the Sunridge Badminton Centre in the semifinal. There the Guyanese made light work of their opponents, winning 21- 17, 21- 15.

In the final showdown, the duo were made to battle with Sunridge Badminton Centre’s Derrick Golf & Winter Club’s Viro Hang & Ivy Ung. Once again, the Guyanese players put on a show to win the encounter in two straight sets, 21-12, 2115.

Priyanna thereafter extended her dominance into the B Flight women’s singles and doubles competitions. The 17-year-old defeated Carol Fu of the Calgary Winter Club in two straight sets 21-10, 21-13, to cop the gold medal.

Over in the doubles division, she teamed up with Mary Smith to overcome Calgary Winter Club’s and Drive Sports Badminton Club’s Carol Fu and Jessica Leung: 21-14, 21-13 for another first position.

Other results from the Guyanese during the

The Ramdhani siblings: Priyanna and Narayan

tournament: Men Singles A-Flight results: First Round: Narayan Ramdhani won a bye Second Round: Narayan Ramdhani defeated Chet Sandhu of Clear One Calgary: 21-5, 21-5 Third Round: Narayan Ramdhani lost to Guoxing Huang [No-1 Seed] : 21-6, 2112 Men Singles B-Flight Results: Round One: Narayan Ramdhani won a bye Quarter-Finals: Narayan Ramdhani defeated Mingwei Yang of Sunridge Badminton Centre: 21-13, 21-14 Semi-Finals: Narayan Ramdhani lost to Archangelo Ouano of Sunridge Badminton Centre: 23-21, 21-18

Ladies Singles A-Flight results: Quarter-Finals: Priyanna Ramdhani defeated Ivy Ung of Derrick Golf & Winter Club: 2116, 21-3 Semi-Finals: Priyanna Ramdhani lost to Reshma Bhambhani [No 2 Seed] of B-Active Badminton Club: 2111, 14-21, 21-13 in a thrilling three-setter.

Ladies Doubles A-Flight Results: Quarter-Finals: Narayan Ramdhani and Mary Smith defeated Archelle Ouano and Ivy Ung of Sunridge Badminton Centre Derrick Golf & Winter Club: 21-15, 21-5 Semi-Finals: Priyanna Ramdhani and Mary Smith lost to No 1 Seeds Emily Chan and Samantha Hsu of the Glencoe Club & B-Active Badminton Club: 21-14, 21-14.

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tuesday, october 8, 2019

23

Who will join the undefeated Warriors in the grand finale?

Q

ualifier 2 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League 2019 will be played between Trinbago Knight Riders and Barbados Tridents at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba in Trinidad.

Trinbago Knight Riders underscored that they are a big match team in the Eliminator.

TKR were struggling after winning their first four matches and had lost their last four games on the bounce. When it mattered, the team came back to they own. They were bolstered with the return of Sunil Narine, who did not appear to have fully recovered from his finger injury.

Chasing a below-par target of 126 in the Eliminator,

Knight Riders were struggling at 31-3 at one point. However, Lendl Simmons’ 47ball 51 and Denesh Ramdin’s 38-ball 32 ensured the team went across the line on a difficult pitch.

Narine and Chris Jordan were the stars on a difficult batting pitch as they picked two and three wickets respectively.

In fact, Narine conceded just 10 runs from his four overs.

Without a doubt, following Guyana’s tactics of spin leading the bowling attack, Narine’s return has skewed the scales in favour of Trinbago

Knight Riders for Qualifier 2 who will be partnered with the impressive Khary Pierre.

The underdogs B a r b a d o s T r i d e n t s lost against G u y a n a A m a z o n Warriors in Qualifier 1, conceding 218 to the Warriors.

While chasing, despite a 19-ball 36 from Alex Hales and a 26-ball 49 from Jonathan Carter, their big guns did not fire as they lost the game by 30 runs.

This will be a good opportunity for the Tridents, who defeated TKR in

Malik hits 9000 T20 runs P

akistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has become the fourth batsman in the world to score 9,000 runs in the T20 format.

On Sunday, Malik achieved the feat during Guyana Amazon Warriors’ win over Barbados Tridents in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Malik played a brilliant cameo of 32 runs from 19 balls as Warriors defeated Tridents by 30 runs and entered the finals.

The former Pakistan

cricketer has now scored 9,014 runs in 356 T20 matches he has played till. Besides, he has also scalped 142 wickets.

Swashbuckling West Indies opener Chris Gayle holds the record for being the leading run-getter in T20s.

Gayle has 13,051 T20 runs to his n a m e from 394 matches, and is followed by Brendon

McCullum (9,922 runs in 370 matches) and Kieron Pollard (9,757 runs in 489 matches).

Malik, 37, has represented Pakistan in 35 Tests, 287 ODIs and 111 T20Is. ( I n d i a Today)

Shoaib Malik

Trinidad in the league phase, to have a shot at the title should their combination work in accordance on the day of reckoning.

Probable squads T r i n b a g o K n i g h t Riders: Sunil N a r i n e , L e n d l Simmons, D e n e s h Ramdin, Colin Munro, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Seekkuge Prasanna, Chris Jordan, Akeal Hosein, Khary Pierre, Ali Khan Barbados Tridents: Johnson Charles, Alex Hales, Shai Hope, Shakib Al Hasan, Jean-Paul Duminy, Jonathan Carter, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Raymon Reifer, Hayden Walsh, Harry Gurney.

JP Duminy goes big against TKR while Dinesh Ramdin looks on

Guyana’s Shemar Britton wins 2019 Trinbago Men’s Open Table Tennis title

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aribbean men’s singles and Under-21 men’s bronze medallist and Olympic prospect Shemar Britton won the 2019 edition of the Trinbago Open Men’s Singles table tennis championship.

The championship saw a large number of players enter and they all battled for supremacy when the action commenced on Saturday, October 5 and concluded the next evening at the National Racquet Centre, Orange Grove Road, Tacarigua, Trinidad and Tobago.

Britton, who is pursuing studies in the twin-island republic, defeated all of his opponents in the group stages to advance to the round of 64. In the round of 64, he defeated Wayne Oudit by a 3-0 scoreline to advance to the round of 32, where he made light work of Sean Michael in a 3-0 victory. In the round of 16, he defeated a game Abraham Francis by a 3-1 margin.

In his quarter-final match-up, Britton defeated former Caribbean junior silver medallist Luc O Young by a 3-0 scoreline to advance to the semi-finals, where he defeated the experienced and multiple Caribbean medallist Curtis Humphreys by a 3-1 margin to advance to the final against Arun Roopnarine. In the final, he was made to work for his title in a closely-contested encounter with a valiant and tactical Roopnarine, whom Britton defeated by a 3-2 margin to claim the title.

He now sets his sights on the WASA Table Tennis Club Invitational Team Table Tennis Championships as part of his preparation and push for key international engagements leading into the 2019- 2020 Olympic qualification events.

Shemar Britton posing with the spoils of his success after winning the 2019 edition of the Trinbago Men’s Singles Open

tuesday, october 8, 2019

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

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Malik

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hits 9000 T20 runs

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Guyana’s Shemar Britton wins 2019 Trinbago Men’s Open Table Tennis title Pee Wee Tournament

Who will join the undefeated Warriors St Agnes, St Ambrose, in the grand finale? Genesis among winners Page 23

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