Sunday Magazine - March 24, 2019

March 24, 2019

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The top of Ataraipu also known as Devils Rock or Bottle Mountain in the Rupununi. (Photo by REEL Guyana)

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International Day of Forests

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orests cover one third of the Earth's land mass, performing vital functions around the world. Around 1.6 billion people - including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures - depend on forests for their livelihoods, medicines, fuel, food and shelter.

Forests are the most biologically-diverse ecosystems on land, home to more than 80% of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.

Yet despite all of these priceless ecological, economic, social and health benefits, global deforestation continues at an alarming rate - 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed annually. Deforestation accounts for 12 to 20 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

The International Day of Forests is held annually on 21 March to raise awareness of the importance of forests to people and their vital role in poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and food security.

Sustainable management of all types of forests are at the heart of unlocking challenges of conflict-affected, developing and developed countries, for the benefit of current and future generations.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on 21 December 2012, which declared that 21 March of each year is to be observed as the International Day of Forests. The resolution encourages all

Member States to organize activities relating to all types of forests. Activities expected to take place on the International Day include tree-planting and other community-

level events, and national celebrations including art, photo and film as well as social media outreach.

The resolution requests the secre-

tariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to facilitate the implementation of the International Day of Forests, in collaboration with Governments, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and international, regional and sub-regional organizations and processes as well as relevant major groups.

When we drink a glass of water, write in a notebook, take medicine for a fever or build a house, we do not always make the connection with forests. And yet, these and many other aspects of our lives are linked to forests in one way or another. Forests, their sustainable management and use of resources, including in fragile ecosystems, are key to combating climate change, and to contributing to the prosperity and well-being of current and future generations. Forests also play a crucial role in poverty alleviation and in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Every 21 March the United Nations raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests. This year the International Day of Forests promotes education to Learn to Love Forests. It underscores the importance of education at all levels in achieving sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation. Healthy forests mean healthy, resilient communities and prosperous economies.

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International Day of Forests

By Lakhram Bhagirat

N

ature has the uncanny ability to make even the most troubled soul feel at peace. It has the ability to keep us grounded and teach us compassion for all things. Nature keeps us in tune with ourselves and one of the most satisfying professions is one that involves nature.

However, in order to be satisfied with a nature-related profession, you have to be someone who loves nature. It is quite challenging to be alone for most the time, but it is also amazing to come into contact with different species of flora and fauna.

Just the thought of being at one with nature is enough to make a lot of people jealous, and Micah Davis is very much aware of that fact. He also relishes in the opportunity to be in a profession he absolutely loves. The 28-year-old father of one has been with the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development for over a decade and now serves as its Head Ranger.

Micah hails from the North Rupununi village of Toka and recalls his childhood as one that was filled with challenges and fun. For him, what kept him grounded was his oneness with nature.

“It was tough growing up in Toka because money was a big issue when I was a kid. I remember when transportation was a challenge at home and we had to walk long distances to go to find food. We would have to go to the border of Brazil just to exchange farine for other items to put in the kitchen with my father. It was all too much; by mainly just living with nature at home was what actually had me going,” Micah said.

Life for Micah never got to the point

where it was easy; however, things did get somewhat better for him when he started to attend the Annai Secondary School.

However, upon completion of his secondary education, Micah knew he could not just sit at home and do nothing.

Coming from an Indigenous community meant that he had very little opportunities for employment available to him. He knows in order for him to get a job, he would have to venture out of the community, but it was something he was sceptical about.

At the age of 18, armed with his love for nature and animals, Micah was given the opportunity to work with the

Micah and Susan with their son Micaiah

Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development as a Bird Monitor. His employment came as part of a special project that Iwokrama was conducting.

“When I had my first job as a Bird Monitor in which I actually had the oppor-

tunity to conduct outreach in communities and teach kids natural resource management and that is when I learn a lot while teaching and my love for nature continues until now.

“What we (Bird Monitors) actually did was ride a bicycle in the forest, stopping at certain points and then running some transects. This will be recording different species of birds because Iwokrama, at that time, was still working on the list of the bird species that can be found within the Iwokrama rainforest. In bird monitoring, they have a different way of recording different species of birds. We do that while stopping at a point, you will record the bird by calling or if you see it and then also we would walk a certain distance along the forest and do something called bird point counts.... you would sit and record different kinds of birds you would hear, see within a 50-metre radius,” Micah explains.

The bird monitoring gig was a temporary post with Iwokrama and in 2011, he became a permanent member of the team as a Ranger. His love for what he did was quite

evident in the way he worked resulting in Micah being appointed Head Ranger in 2012 and he continues in that position today.

“My duties as the Head Ranger is, first of all, logistics in terms of organising different things for the Rangers, but apart from that, my main role and responsibility here as the Head Ranger is conducting road patrols, which entail border patrol, road, river and then working with researchers and also conducting community outreach and dealing with tourists in terms of tour guiding.”

Micah says he is loving every minute of his job as it gives him great satisfaction to be able to connect with nature and learn so much every day. He approaches every new day as a new dawn of possibilities and endless learning. For him, no two days are the same despite him having a routine.

He urges everyone to go out, explore, discover and connect with nature, because the possibilities are endless. You never know, you may fall in love and give up your regular job for one that makes your heart race every day.

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International Day of Forests

Looking over Turtle Mountain

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Turtle Mountain, Iwokrama

he Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development (Iwokrama) was created in the “run-up” to the Rio Summit in 1992. It is a key environmental programme dedicated by the Government of Guyana, through President Desmond Hoyte, to the Commonwealth in 1989 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malaysia.

Since its foundation, through an Act of Parliament in 1996, signed off on by then President Cheddi Jagan, Iwokrama has sought to advance best practices in the sustainable management of the world’s remaining rainforests.

Iwokrama manages the 371,000 hectares (nearly one million acres) Iwokrama Forest in central Guyana to show how tropical forests can be conserved and sustainably used for ecological, social and economic benefits to local, national and international communities.

Iwokrama was originally the name of a mountain range in the forest; the word Iwokrama is from the Makushi tribal nation and means "Place of refuge". The legend is: long ago, there was inter-tribal warfare and the Makushi people fled into the Iwokrama Mountains to seek refuge.

Iwokrama is a unique institution that is firmly grounded in the reality of the people who live in tropical forests and whose entire economies rest on the fate of their environment. It aims to show that forests are “worth more alive than dead” and that you can “use a forest without losing it” .

The million-acre reserve is zoned into two areas - the Sustainable Utilisation Area (SUA), which allows managed activities and

Iwokrama Mission “To promote the conservation and the sustainable and equitable use of tropical rain forests in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general, by undertaking research, training and the development and dissemination of technologies.”

which was established in 1996.

The Centre has also produced some cutting-edge and complex benefits sharing and shareholder agreements with local communities, including a Collaborative Management Agreement that gives the NRDDB a direct say in how the Iwokrama Forest is managed.

Capacity building includes building the capacity of local, national, regional and international communities and both the Private and Public Sectors on the various facets of Iwokrama’s work – conservation, research, monitoring, and community engagement. Iwokrama played a major role in the production of a climate change manual, the only one of its kind in Guyana which is now widely used nationally and has been translated into over six languages for international use.

Over the years, the Centre has trained over 200 persons in areas of ranger training, guide training, protected areas management and collaborative management to support the Guyana Protected Areas System. Interns, volunteers and researchers come to work and conduct research at

the Wilderness Preserve (WP), which only allows low-impact research and is kept as a control area to keep a check on activities in the SUA. Iwokrama’s work is very multifaceted.

The initial work involved research to acquire baseline data to set the foundation of further scientific research and also the management of the area. The organisation also had to focus efforts on building up partnerships, including with the Macushi communities in and around the Iwokrama Forest.

Iwokrama operates in close partnership with a wide range of local, naCanopy walkway bridge tional and international partners. The Centre’s two founding partners are the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Iwokrama also has a close working relationship with the 20 local Indigenous communities in close proximity to the Iwokrama Forest. These communities fall under the umbrella organisation – the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB),

Yakarinta kids and teachers heading in forest

Iwokrama’s core values • A people centered approach to conservation and wise use; • Developing low volume, high value markets for all forest products and services; • Encouraging local, national and international partnerships for development; and • Active learning by doing

Iwokrama, and the Centre has been getting more visits from universities, schools and other environmental groups.

Inherent in Iwokrama’s successful management practices is the recognition of traditional Indigenous knowledge, which is twinned with scientific information for best results.

According to Iwokrama, conservation has to be paid for and as the saying goes "Conservation without money is just a conversation". Iwokrama has several means of support, including from the Government of Guyana, several projects which are usually secured due to competitive applications, partnerships with the corporate community and other donors, and more.

Iwokrama also has been engaging in business activities with the main aim to develop models of using the forest and sharing lessons learnt in the process. Iwokrama, currently, has two tourist lodge facilities, the only canopy walkway in the hemisphere and several tours on offer.

The sustainable forestry business commenced in 2008 and is currently certified under the guidelines of an international forest organisation. Both these businesses have been developed with the engagement of Private Sector partners.

Owing to the many activities that Iwokrama undertakes, and given the reality of public access via the road that runs through the reserve and also the bordering rivers, Iwokrama has an extensive established monitoring programme.

The impacts of public access and impacts of Iwokrama’s activities must be checked and some of the areas monitored include biodiversity, water quality, weather, traffic, waste and social aspects to name a few.

In the global context, Guyana is part of one of four remaining large tracts of intact forest ecosystems in the world known as the Guiana continued on page 5

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Sunday Times Magazine 5

International Day of Forests

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owland tapirs can restore degraded Amazonian forests by spending more time and spreading more tree seeds in areas that had been previously burned. This service provided by tapirs may be among the cheapest and easiest solutions for largescale forest restoration, according to a new study conducted at Woods Hole Research Center’s research facility at Tanguro Ranch in Brazil.

The team collected and studied almost 130,000 seeds representing 24 different species from tapir dung in degraded forests in Mato Grosso Brazil. The study, published in the journal Biotropica, shows that tapirs disperse three times more seeds in degraded forests than in primary ones, probably because they prefer spending time where resprouts are available.

Two factors contribute to the tapir’s unique role: Size and distance. Tapirs can reach up to 8 feet in length and up to 700 pounds, therefore they eat a lot. This study shows that contrary to previous belief, tapirs pass many large seeds intact and undamaged through their digestive system, with their large waste protecting the seeds from beetles. And while other large mammal dispersers like monkeys remain in healthy and intact forests, tapirs can cross open areas and thus bring seeds to a disturbed or degraded forest – ultimately increasing its plant diversity and abundance. The team believes tapirs use more degraded for-

ests due to the

presence of palatable resprouti n g plants.

“When we think of climate and forest solutions, tapirs aren’t the first thing that comes to mind, but our study shows they play a critical role in forest recovery by dispersing the largeseeded species that eventually become large trees, meaning they contribute indirectly to maintaining forest carbon stocks,” said Woods Hole Research Center Assistant Scientist Paulo Brando.

The lowland tapir (also known as the South American

or Brazilian tapir) is considered endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and vulnerable by the IUCN. Their population is dwindling in the face of deforestation and hunting.

“The role that tapirs play in seeding degraded forests is another good reason for conserving this last representative of the megafauna of South America”, said Dr Lucas Paolucci from the Federal University of Lavras and A m a z o n

Environmental Research Institute (IPAM).

The Amazon has already lost 800,000 square kilometres of forest, an area equivalent to 1/10th of the lower 48 United States, much of it to intentional burning to clear land for agriculture.

Burning also leaves forests more vulnerable to climate change-worsened extreme weather stressors, such as drought and windstorms, according to studies coauthored by Dr Brando. His research shows that, unless it recovers quickly, damaged forest risks reverting to invasive grassland. The ability of forest residents like tapirs, birds and many other animals to spread seeds into degraded areas shows natural regeneration can help tropical countries to achieve their goals to maintain and restore forest carbon stocks, biodiversity and forest ecosystem services. (Woods Hole Research Center)

Iwokrama: Preserving our forests...

from page 4

Some students at Turtle Mountain

Queens College students

Iwokrama’s work on climate change and sustainable forest management.

International Day of Forests and Iwokrama

Some Bina Hill students with Ranger James M Patterson

Shield. Guyana lies within this important landscape that has been recognised as an area where there are great chances of conservation success. The area also supplies close to 20 per cent of the global fresh water, has high biodiversity and endemism and also high cultural diversity.

There is growing international awareness of the

reality of climate change; in 2010, global CO2 emissions surpassed 35 billion metric tonnes.

Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) places emphasis on sustainable forest management and reducing deforestation as cost-effective mitigation measures, which further reinforces the relevance of

For Iwokrama, International Day of Forests is a welcome initiative, since it recognises the importance of forests which can help to bring global awareness. The theme this year is “Forests and Education”, and Iwokrama has long been playing a role through research and hosting of many groups including youth, in sharing knowledge of how a protected area set up in this special way can help contribute to issues such as sustainable natural resource management, climate change, sustainable livelihoods, part-

nerships for conservation and many more.

It is also partnering with WWF and many organisations this year on the annual activity of Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an annual global event, organised by WWF, which puts the spotlight on climate change by bringing people together, urging action against climate change, and reminding us that personal actions matter. The main and sim-

plest action everyone can take on the given date and time is the switching off of non-essential lights for one hour, symbolising commitment to taking some kind of action to address climate change. Earth Hour is observed annually on the last Saturday in March. Earth Hour 2019 will be Saturday, March 30 between 20:30h and 21:30h, local time.

It has been 30 years since the offer was made

to the Commonwealth by the Government of Guyana through President Hoyte.

Some special events are being planned, and Iwokrama would like to encourage the public to engage with it via its head office (225-1504), the media and also on its social media pages (Facebook and Instagram). (Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development)

Iwokrama River Lodge cabins

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International Day of Forests

Guyana is indeed a beautiful land with a lot more to explore than the Coast. Deep in the heart of this beautiful land are some of the most breathtaking sites. REEL Guyana recently shared some photos of some spectacular sites that are an adventurer’s dream. Here are some of those photos from REEL Guyana.

Ayangaik Mountain

Sakaika Falls, Region 7

Approaching Ayangaik Mountain in the Upper Mazaruni District

The top of Ataraipu also known as Devils Rock or Bottle Mountain in the Rupununi

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Sunday Times Magazine 7

Feature

Preserving our literary Heritage

by

Petamber Persaud

(Excerpt of an interview with Dr. Manu Chander, Georgetown, Guyana, March 2019. Chander is a Visiting Fulbright Fellow. Chander’s publications include ‘Brown Romantics: Poetry and Nationalism in the Global Nineteenth Century’.)

P

P: Very often when I’m asked about my Country, Guyana, I would direct the person or persons to our literature because our books since Raleigh’s book [The Discovery of Guyana] in 1596 to Evelyn Waugh’s books to Hudson’s Green Mansions even down to Rahul Bhattacharya [The sly company of people who care] acted as a sort of a drawing card, attracting people to Guyana, a sort of a tourism tool.

Now, your narrative of coming to Guyana is due to your interest in one of our writers; an exceptional writer, one who has produced an awful lot of work in a short

time. Share with us that narrative bringing you to Guyana.

MC: First thing I must say, since I’ve come here, everyone assumes that I have a personal relationship to Guyana because I am Indian but in fact my parents immigrated to the United States from Punjab, India. I have no biographical ties to Guyana.

My interest is largely motivated by my scholarly work – I was writing a book on colonial poetry in the 19th century, the book Brown Romantics. I was really interest in the ways writers across Britain’s empire were producing poetry that were inspired by but more importantly in dialogue with the English Romantic Poets.

PP: You talked about Britain’s empire which had a huge reach…

MC: Enormous span.

I focused on three specific areas within that. I focused on India, looking at Henry Derozio who was often called the Indian Keats, I look at Australia’s national poet, Henry Lawson, and I looked at Egbert Martin, ‘Leo’ as he

Nature so comforting and so warm Walked me through the reasons of life While the world is lit with violence Only this caused me no harm.

Nature so reasoning and convincing As the flowers showcased their beauty It knocked me down With the urge of being humble and simple while living.

Nature so cool and relaxing As one would sit with folded hands And watch the waves raced to the shore With the birds as supporters, there chirping.

BY Nickalos Mobin

was known to his readers.

He was born in 1861 thereabout and as you said before incredibly prolific especially in the decade of the 1880s. My interest in ‘Leo’ was sparked by seeing David Dabydeen’s edition of Leo’s Selected Works and in a reference to his relationship to the English Romantic namely Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelly…and that prodded me to dig deeper into his work to see what kind of relationship between ‘Leo’ and the early 19th century English poetry existed.

In the course of digging into his work, I located a number of his uncollected works including poems published in the ‘Colonist’, ‘Argosy’, ‘Daily Chronicle’…

PP: Those were all local newspapers…

MC: Yes, there were all Georgetown’s major newspapers at the time…

PP: Some of us do not know this; we need to underline that.

MC: It is good to highlight the fact; this was a period of history that is easily forgotten as is the case with ‘Leo’.

So I have uncovered a lot of work by him - poems that had not been published, essays he wrote, and one of the most exciting part was this [holding book up] edition of ‘Scriptology’ which was held Moorland-Springarn [Research Library at Howard University] in the United States and thanks to an invitation from David Dabydeen I was encouraged to do a new introduction of this for the Guyana Classics Library. All of this – Scriptology, Leo’s Poetical Works, Leo’s Local Lyrics, all the essays and all the poems that I have found – are going into a new edition, Collected Works, which I am currently in the country finishing researching.

PP: ‘Scriptology’ – an interesting title, an intriguing title…I’m looking for something [flicking pages] from the book as we going into it, a curious guy, well-read…

MC: Extremely wellread…

PP: Yes, as we find so

many references to books and writers…

MC: A whole range of writers – including one of those essays I talked about that appeared in the newspaper which talked about the genius of Edgar Alan Poe – he wrote quite extensive and astute series of observations about the works of Edgar Alan Poe. But throughout his work you would find references some of the Romantics I mentioned earlier like Tennyson and lesser known figures like Henry Kirk White, Montgomery… yes, he read copiously.

PP: It means that Georgetown was no backwater in culture and literature and Leo was from Georgetown.

MC: No, not by any means. By the 1880s, when he was writing, there was burgeoning middle class of which he was a part. And importantly also there was

an emerging middle class black audience. Martin, apart from his contemporaries, he really is the first Afro-Guyanese writers to be working in the poetic tradition. Prior to Martin, there were others - settlers who were educated abroad and came and settle in Guyana and wrote. But Martin was Guyana born and raised and spent his whole life in Georgetown…

PP: And published here…

MC: Some of his works was published here. Actually his first collection Leo’s Poetical Works was published in 1883 in London.

Copies were disseminated here [Guyana], London, and some made their way to United States. He had a very significant audience considering at the time Guyana was still a colonial outpost, not a major hub of literary production. And his work was reviewed in New York, London, excerpts of his poems appeared in Boston – yes, he had a very wide reach.

In fact, a towering figure in the American Renaissance in the 1920s and 30s, Arthur Schomburg after whom the Arthur Schomburg Library in New York is now named called Martin the greatest Negro poet in history.

PP: You mentioned the Harlem Renaissance - there was another Guyanese writer involved, Eric Walrond.

MC: Yes. In fact it was Eric Walrond who ‘is’ our link between Arthur Schomburg and Egbert Martin.

PP: Oh, research must be very interesting and satisfying.

MC: It is!

There is an essay in the ‘Crisis’ the journal of the NAACP where Eric Walrond recounts this story of going into Schomburg’s personal library and that’s where he was first introduced to Egbert Martin; Schomburg pulls a copy of Martin’s Poetical Works off the shelf and begins reading and stunning the audience and saying that this is among the highest literature we have from black people and it is not well known.

Guyanese people knew him [Leo] back in the days but he was already beginning to fade by the 1920s and 1930s from memory although the was an effort starting with Clement Gomes to solidify Martin’s important position in the history of Guyanese and West Indian Literature…

PP: Yes, I remember coming across the initiative in Kyk-over-Al of June 1946 to create Leo Medal for Poetry in his honour….

You know, you academics like to put writers and their works in categories but there are many things going for Leo apart from the fact that he was the first major black poet of Guyana, he was a writer. Let’s look at his prose writing. Let me quote him: ‘Scriptology is writing about writing, history about history, storytelling about storytelling. It is a study of its own procedure’.

Let’s talk ‘Scriptology’.

MC: It is a remarkable collection…(to be continued) Responses to this author please telephone 226-0065 of email: oraltradition2002@ yahoo.com

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World Tuberculosis Day

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ach year, we commemorate World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.

TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer. Each day, nearly 4500 people lose their lives to TB and close to 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 54 million lives since the year 2000 and reduced the TB mortality rate by 42%. To accelerate the TB response in countries to reach targets – Heads of State came together and made strong commitments to end TB at the first-ever UN High Level Meeting in September 2018.

The theme of World TB Day 2019 - ‘It’s time’ – puts the accent on the urgency to act on the commitments made by global leaders to: • Scale up access to prevention and treatment • Promote equitable, rights-based and people-centered TB response • Ensure sufficient and sustainable financing including for research • Promote an end to stigma and discrimination • Build accountability The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a joint initiative “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” with the Global Fund and Stop TB Partnership, with the aim of accelerating the TB response and ensuring access to care, in line with WHO’s overall drive towards Universal Health Coverage.

This World TB Day, WHO calls on governments, affected communities, civil society organizations, health-care providers, and national/international partners to unite forces under the banner “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” to ensure no one is left behind.

Worldwide, TB is one of the top 10 causes of death and the leading cause from a single infectious agent (above HIV/ AIDS). Millions of people continue to fall sick with TB each year.

In 2017, TB caused an estimated 1.3 million deaths (range, 1.2–1.4 million) among HIV-negative people and there were an additional 300 000 deaths from TB (range, 266 000–335 000) among HIV-positive people.

Globally, the best estimate is that 10.0 million people (range, 9.0–11.1 million) developed TB disease in 2017: 5.8

million men, 3.2 million women and 1.0 million children.

There were cases in all countries and age groups, but overall 90% were adults (aged ≥15 years), 9 per cent were people living with HIV (72 per cent in Africa) and two thirds were in eight countries: India (27 per cent) China (9 per cent), Indonesia (8 per cent), the Philippines (6 per cent), Pakistan (5 per cent), Nigeria (4 per cent), Bangladesh (4 per cent) and South Africa (3 per cent). These and 22 other countries in WHO’s list of 30 high TB burden countries accounted for 87 per cent of the world’s cases. Only 6 per cent of global cases were in the WHO European Region (3 per cent) and WHO Region of the Americas (3 per cent).

The severity of national epidemics varies widely among countries. In 2017, there were fewer than 10 new cases per 100 000 population in most high-income countries, 150–400 in most of the 30 high TB burden countries, and above 500 in a few countries including Mozambique, the Philippines and South Africa.

Drug-resistant TB continues to be a public health crisis.

The best estimate is that, worldwide in 2017, 558 000 people (range, 483 000–639 000) developed TB that was resistant

to rifampicin (RR-TB), the most efective firstline drug, and of these, 82 per cent had multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

Three countries accounted for almost half of the world’s cases of MDR/RR-TB: India (24 per cent), China (13 per cent) and the Russian Federation (10 per cent).

Globally, 3.5 per cent of new TB cases and 18 per cent of previously treated cases had MDR/RR-TB. The highest proportions (>50 per cent in previously treated cases) are in countries of the former Soviet Union. Among cases of MDRTB in 2017, 8.5 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval, 6.2–11 per cent) were estimated to have extensively drugresistant TB (XDR-TB).

About 1.7 billion people, 23 per cent of the world’s population, are estimated to have a latent TB infection, and are thus at risk of developing active TB disease during their lifetime. (World Health Organisation)

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Sunday Times Magazine

9

Health

By Dr Reaud Gafoor

Dr. Reaud Gafoor is a Consultant Urologist at Caribbean Surgery Inc., specializing in Urological cancers, Urinary Stone disease, Minimally Invasive Surgery and Kidney Transplant Surgery (fellowship trained, Melbourne Australia). He is also an Associate Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

T

he passage of a kidney stone is often described as one of the most painful experiences one can endure; according to some, it is even moreso than childbirth. In addition, stones that do not pass spontaneously can lead to blockage of the kidney, risking the loss of organ function if left untreated. Most seriously, the stagnant urine that backs up behind the obstruction can become infected, in itself a medical emergency as the resulting systemic deterioration may be life-threatening.

In addition, persons suffering from painful stone episodes lose a tremendous amount of productive time away from their jobs, significantly reducing their earning potential and negatively impacting the economy.

Luckily, with appropri-

The modern approach to urinary stone disease is centred around non- and minimally- invasive procedures; that is, surgery without a large, painful incision (or ‘cut’ to the body). To this end, the use of scopes and camera systems that offer an internal view of the organs of the patient is incorporated. Then, utilizing energy sources such as lasers, ultrasound and shock waves, the stones are broken up and can then be removed or passed painlessly. These approaches can be

rienced after surgery, and far higher successful stoneremoval rates compared to open surgery. In addition, the complication rates are far lower with these techniques.

Is surgery always necessary?

The probability of a stone passing without any intervention is mainly dependent on two factors; its location in the urinary system, and its size. A urologist will determine, based on the imaging studies done (CT scan, ultrasound or X-ray), the likelihood of a stone passing

tests, or a high level of obstruction seen on imaging, demand immediate, often emergency, intervention.

Dietary and lifestyle changes

Once someone has had a urinary tract stone, they will always be at risk of forming a stone again. The lifetime risk of stone recurrence is approximately 50%. This may be due to certain unalterable genetic or biochemical factors. However, there are dietary and lifestyle alterations that decrease one’s chances of having stones again in the future. Obesity

tion; it is recommended that stone formers squeeze fresh lemon juice, which is high in this chemical, into their water on a daily basis.

More specific dietary advice comes from an analysis of the stone. If specimens are made available thru surgery or by passage and capture of the stone, these will be sent to the lab for an investigation to characterize its type and to better allow for dietary guidance.

Some stone formers have high uric acid levels in the blood and may benefit from

ate treatment, the success rate of timely intervention (when necessary) is quite high, approaching 95 to 100 per cent, in the modern era.

Symptoms of Urinary Stones

Stones may remain silent until they become mobile within the urinary system.

The patient may complain of severe back or groin pain that comes in waves, typically; they may have burning on urination or see blood in the urine. Nausea and vomiting are common, and fever and chills with pain are signs to take seriously as they most commonly indicate that an infection is present. A medical evaluation is essential if any of these are experienced. An xray, ultrasound or CT scan may be ordered by the physician to confirm the diagnosis and plan intervention.

Management Options

applied to stones of all sizes and complexities, resulting in faster recovery times (most times patients are back to work the next day), with almost no pain expe-

spontaneously (that is, without surgery) and may prescribe a medication to help it along the way. However, there always remains the possibility of a painful stone event as the stone passes along.

Some stones may remain silent and cause no trouble. This is more likely in stones smaller than 1 cm.

However, the probability that these stone progress to cause pain or obstruction is around 75%. Larger stones are highly likely to produce complications, and for this reason, it is recommended that they are actively treated rather than observed.

There are specific situations in which surgery is absolutely mandatory, in which it would be a great hazard to health and life should surgical intervention not be executed. In particular, a urinary tract infection (as suggested by a combination of symptoms like burning while urinating, feeling generally unwell or weak, or a fever), impairment of kidney function as revealed by blood

is a significant risk factor, and losing weight is associated with decreased chances of stone formation. This is best achieved through both diet and exercise.

Dehydration is a major causative factor, and to address this, water consumption is important and a minimum daily intake of 2 litres is recommended. In addition, salt intake should be reduced, not only by reducing the amount of salt used in cooking but also decreasing intake of preserved food products that are high in sodium (for example, tinned mackerel, corned beef, sardines etc). Citric acid has a protective effect on stone forma-

the reduction of animal protein intake, in particular, red meat. Others will have to reduce daily amounts of chocolate, tea, coffee, nuts, beans, mangoes, spinach and a number of other foods that are high in a chemical known as oxalate.

An exciting time in stone surgery

Never before has it been easier, safer and more convenient to have urinary stones treated. With the wide array of surgeries available, specifically tailored to each individual stone and patient, the heavy impact of the stone disease has been softened.

10 Sunday Times Magazine

MARCH 24 , 2019

guyanatimesgy.com

Fashion

G

lobal warming is real and hitting us really hard. So in order contribute to preservation of our existence, several fashion brands have to minimize their waste by recycling. However, that alone is not enough. So here are some ideas on how to turn what is traditionally considered as garbage into interesting and elegant fashion pieces. There are guaranteed to make you stand out and send the right kind of message.

Wrist bands

You can convert your favourite chips packages into stylish pieces

This eye popping dress is made with paper cups

Perfect way to reuse those plastic and paper plates

This dress was made from soda cans and coffee packages by an 18 year old student in Colombia

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MARCH 24 , 2019

Sunday Times Magazine 11

Home & Cooking

Home Décor

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Ingredients 4 turkey wings pieces 2 tsp Cajun seasoning 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp garlic powder 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce ½ onion, finely chopped 1 celery stalk, finely chopped ½ green bell pepper, finely chopped 1 small carrot, finely chopped 6 cups water 2 chicken bouillon (Cubes) 10 sprigs thyme 1 bay leaf 1 tsp oil 2 tsp cornstarch 4 tsp cold water Parsley for garnish

Instructions 1. Season the turkey wings with Cajun seasoning, black pepper, salt, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.

2. In a large pan over high heat, add

R

enovating your kitchen with new kitchen cabinets can seem daunting, but revitalizing the heart of your home will not only help with organization when preparing meals for your family, but it will also make you feel confident when entertaining guests. If you’re still in the beginning stages of planning, consider your storage needs, kitchen size and shape, and how you can create a space that suits you and your family’s personal style.

Spice up your kitchen storage spots with decorative colors, finishes, and hardware.

Whether you prefer a traditional look or something more modern, these design ideas go far beyond plain-old cupboards.

Patterned Cabinets A classic white kitchen is timeless, but it can be a bit dull. To make it a little more interesting, add hidden details, like these diamondpatterned mesh cabinet inserts.

oil and brown turkey wings on both sides.

Remove from the pot and place on a plate. Add onion, celery, green bell pepper and carrot to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened.

3. Add turkey wings back to the pot then add water, chicken bouillon, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot. Cook for about 2 hours or until the turkey is tender.

4. Mix cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl then add to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes then remove from heat. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley. (Jehan Can Cook)

Whitewashed Cabinets • • •

•

• • • • • • •

Instructions In a pan, place canola oil over low heat and add rosemary, garlic and thyme and cook for about 3-5 minutes. You do not want the garlic to brown, if it starts to brown then lower the heat.

After 5 minutes, remove from the heat

•

• • • •

Grays can soften the contrast between black and white. It's also a complement to stainless steel in a kitchen. Oft for an ashwood or whitewash existing brown wood cabinets.

Ingredients 5 cups diced cassava (boiled) 1 tbsp crushed garlic ½ tsp rosemary, finely chopped 1 tsp thyme, finely chopped 3 tbsp canola oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt Pinch of black pepper 1 tsp Dijon mustard 2 scallion, finely chopped 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Ingredients 2 medium ripe mangoes, skinned and chopped 4 mint leaves, chopped 1 cup water juice of 1 lemon 4 tbsp sugar

Add all ingredients into a blender and puree. Pour into an 8×8 pan and freeze overnight. Cut into squares.

This can also be poured into a Popsicle mould. (Jehan Can Cook)

Corner Cabinets

a n d allow to cool. When oil is cool place in a small bowl with lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt and black pepper and whisk to combine. Toss vinaigrette along with parsley and scallion over cooked cassava and serve warm. (Jehan Can Cook)

Customize your cabinets to fit into the corners. They'll come in handy when you need extra storage space. If the odd shape doesn't suit you, opt for two slimmer cabinets on each side for slimmer things like cooking sheets and trays.

Simple and Sleek Cabinets If your kitchen is open, airy, and full of natural light, add contrast with a bold color for the cabinets.

That way, a deep gray or even black won't feel too dark.

12 Sunday Times Magazine

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MARCH 24 , 2019

Puzzles

ACROSS

1 Panhandles

5 Igneous rock, once

10 Logo

16 Nuns can't shake it

21 Mountains or river

22 Archipelago dots

23 Rita of old movies

24 A moon of Jupiter

25 Frosty coating

26 Milan's La - 27 Diamond units

28 Fixes a tooth

29 Like Prohibition

31 Dessert cart choice

33 Give feedback

35 Tolerated

36 Aileron locale

37 Cherchez la - 40 Narrow inlet

41 Piece of glass

42 Ms. Hagen

45 Price offered

46 Court figures, briefly

48 Retiree's kitty

50 Murky

52 Harped on

54 El -- (ocean current)

55 Carelessly hasty

57 Blower

58 Lorelei's river

59 Totally confused

60 Wild guess

62 Rubbed the wrong way 66 Tad

67 Trapeze artist's workspace 69 Dry red wine

71 3-D shape

72 Thick fog (2 wds.)

74 Depot info

76 Wouldn't hurt -- - 78 Holiday drink

79 Coal scuttles

80 Parrot's skill

83 Layered pasta

85 Morticia's husband

88 "Tiny Bubbles" crooner (2 wds.)

89 Hunts, with "on"

90 Vikings, often

93 Overlooks

95 Trendy

97 Say please 98 "The Wreck of the Mary --" 100 Mach 1 exceeder 101 Cloaks or monkeys 106 Glance furtively 108 Fair maiden 110 Afterword (var.)

112 From square one 113 Emerson opus 115 Striped antelope 116 Engine stats 117 Pigeonhole 118 Playful activity 120 Abound with 122 Jacques' forest 123 Well-protected 124 Amused 128 Country addr.

129 A funny Philips 130 Filch 131 Same old grind 132 Hour, for Pedro 133 Sahib's rule 135 Obligation 137 Red Sonja ally 139 Vitamin amt.

140 Like a corset 142 Highest degree 144 Weigh

148 Rockies range

10 Sajak or Trebek

150 Stockpiled

11 Ostrichlike bird

153 Overturn

12 Icy remark?

155 Snarl

13 Nonsense poet

156 Smuggle

14 Walk on in

157 Repeat performance 15 Tile mural

158 Coronet 16 Hoist

159 Bridge bldr.

17 Baba of folklore 160 Yard enclosure

18 Sentimental tune 161 Windshield fluid

19 A Mandrell sister

162 Dainty pastries

20 Took a sip

163 Capsule, maybe

30 "The Sandbox" penner DOWN 32 In that case (2 wds.)

1 Laird's accent

34 Baby whale 2 A Great Lake

38 Cosmonaut's station

3 Big umbrella

39 Destroy data

4 Lie dormant 41 Carthaginian

5 Put out of place

42 Tear out a seam

6 Scale

43 Lake near Reno

7 Woodland clearing 44 Tummy trouble

8 Mr. Blanc 46 Charm

9 PDQ 47 Opposed

49 Far afield

51 Galley implement KATHLEEN SAXE

53 Ground, as teeth

54 Twig juncture

56 Grapefruit serving

59 They may be sealed

WORD GAME

TODAY'S WORD -- REPERTOIRE

(REPERTOIRE: REP-er-twahr: A list of pieces or parts that one is prepared to perform or present.)

Average mark 30 words Time limit 40 minutes Can you find 44 or more words in REPERTOIRE?

report reporter repro retie retire retiree riot rioter ripe riper rite rope ropier rote

eerie eerier epee error peer pert peter pier poet pore port porter portiere prior

tepee terrier terror tier tire tiro tope topee toper topi tore tree trio trip

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

61 Raw cotton

63 Pounce 64 Piano-key wood

65 Monet contemporary

67 Beauty pack

68 Deep regret

69 Sugar-cane cutter 70 Herbal infusion

73 Seeped 75 Metallic sounds

77 Tomato jelly 81 Rite answer? (2 wds.)

82 Decay

84 Primitive

85 Jelly flavor

86 Camel halts 87 Podium features 91 Vicksburg fighter

92 Polio vaccine inventor

93 -- -bender

94 Hannibal defeater

95 USN ranks 96 Greet warmly

99 Put to flight

102 Mendicant's shout

103 Provoke 104 Kind of jacket

105 Awfully nice

107 "The Castle" author 109 Because of (2 wds.)

111 Teen event 114 Mr. Brynner 117 Sherpa's home 119 Orchid-loving Wolfe 121 Guys 122 Kindest regards 123 Beethoven works 124 Songbird 125 An antiseptic 126 Stretched to see 127 Went to a sock hop 130 Hidden 134 Astrologer -- Dixon 136 Reporting to 137 Romero or Chavez 138 Used the microwave 140 Swelter 141 Cato's 701 143 Jabba the -145 A.D. word 146 Duds 147 To be, in Bordeaux 149 The "it" game 151 Ad -- committee 152 Previously See 154 Ms. Zadora Solution on page 14

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MARCH 24 , 2019

Sunday Times Magazine 13

Tech

Q

ualcomm’s new VR headset will be one of the first to work as a standalone mobile headset and also connect to PCs wirelessly. The headsets will be demoed at the Game Developers Conference that’s currently going on in San Francisco, and they could arrive in stores in Asia as early as later this year, as spotted by CNET. Most mobile VR headsets don’t let you plug into your PC for a connection to additional VR gaming libraries, but Qualcomm envisions it to be possible in its new reference design called “Boundless XR.” The new headset reference design Qualcomm has laid out will work on its own as a mobile standalone headset with six degrees of freedom which also links to PCs for PC VR gaming through a 60GHz connection. The headsets are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processors.

Latency is kept at a low 16ms, according to Qualcomm’s claims. The headset is also designed to process VR technology while connected to a PC. So, in theory, it could help free up some processing power in your

PC, although it isn’t clear how much.

Any PCs and consoles you decide to use the headset with will also need to support 802.11ad Wi-Fi and run Qualcomm software. The games should be able to support the new headset without any changes, Qualcomm told CNET. Qualcomm makes a lot of VR reference designs, but only a handful of companies have taken up Qualcomm on those designs, including HTC, Lenovo, and Facebook. Many OEMs prefer to stick to making phones, tablets, and other devices. Qualcomm says the first headset with the new reference design will be a Pico Neo2 VR headset from the Chinese company Pico VR. It also says HTC Vive is another partner working to “support the new specification through hardware and content,” although since this is just a reference design, it’s possible we may never see it come to stores. If it does arrive, Qualcomm will have helped to make VR gaming just a little more convenient than before. (The Verge)

F

acebook, on Friday, updated Messenger with a new feature: the ability to quote and reply to specific messages in a conversation, making it easier to keep track of things (especially in larger group chats), as reported by VentureBeat.

The feature comes as an expansion of the company’s existing reaction emoji. Now, when you hold down on an individual message, in addition to simply adding a reaction, you’ll be able to reply with a new “reply” button, which will attach a quoted version of the original message to your response. The quoted messages aren’t quite their own message threads — they’ll still ap-

I X

iaomi announced its new gaming smartphone, the Black Shark 2 on Friday. The Verge previewed the first model last year; at the time, it seemed like a promising competitor to other gaming phone makers, like Asus and Razer. And Xiaomi is no stranger to designing and releasing highend smartphones in China and elsewhere, even if they’re still fairly new when it comes to the gaming phone scene.

To begin with, the Black Shark 2’s real kicker is its screen: it’s a 6.39-inch OLED display with an in-display fingerprint sensor made by Samsung. That’s a great feature just on its own, but Xiaomi has added a pressure-sensitive system that enables you to map the buttons located on the flanking

corners of the screen; you trigger them by pressing harder on that part of the screen.

Xiaomi says it has also optimized the phone’s display for gaming by improving color accuracy, reducing screen flicker at low brightness, and lowering touch latency to 43.5ms.

Inside, the Black Shark 2 contains the sort of high-end specs you’d expect a gaming phone to have. Specifically, it offers the latest Snapdragon 855 processor, a 4,000 mAh battery with support for 27W fast charging, and 6GB RAM with 128GB internal storage for the entry model or 12GB RAM with 256GB storage for the top-tier variant. For imaging, the Black Shark 2 comes with a 48-megapixel and 12-megapixel dual-camera combo on the back and a single 20-megapixel camera on the front.

Also, like last year’s Razer Phone 2, the Black Shark 2 contains a vapor chamber cooling system designed to keep the phone from overheating during all those games of Minecraft and Fortnite you’ll be playing. There are also optional accessories such as a handheld grip that can be attached to the phone.

Xiaomi will start selling the Black Shark 2 in “frozen silver” or “shadow black” starting today in China, at CNY 3,200 (around $480 USD) for the base 128GB model or CNY 4,200 (about $625 USD) for the model with 256GB storage. Details are currently unavailable for an international release. (The Verge)

n recent years, advances in AI have produced algorithms for everything from image recognition to instantaneous translation.

But when it comes to applying these advances in the real world, we’re only just getting started. A new product from Nvidia announced on Friday at GTC — a $99 AI computer called the Jetson Nano — should help speed that process.

The Nano is the latest in Nvidia’s line of Jetson embedded computing boards, used to provide the brains for robots and other AI-powered devices. Plug one of these into your latest creation, and it’ll be able to handle tasks like object recognition and autonomous navigation without relying on cloud processing power.

This sort of setup is known as edge computing, and because it means that the data being processed from cameras and microphones never leaves the device, the end result is usually hardware that is faster, more reliable, and more secure. So everybody wins. Past Jetson boards have been used to power a range of devices, from shelf-scanning robots made for Lowe’s to Skydio’s autonomous drones. But the Nano is aiming even smaller.

Nvidia is launching a developer kit of the Nano targeting “embedded designers, researchers, and DIY makers” for $99, and production-ready modules for commercial companies for $129 (with a minimum buy of 1,000 modules).

The company also unveiled a fun DIY project for any advanced makers: an open-

pear in line with the rest of the chat, but it seems useful enough.

It’s a pretty straightforward feature that fellow Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has already offered for a while, so it makes sense that Facebook would bring it to Messenger. The move also harkens to the company’s overarching ambition to create a cross-platform system that would unite Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram messaging — achieving comparable features on all three platforms would no doubt make that eventual merging easier when it does come around. (The Verge)

source $250 autonomous robotics kit named JetBot (above).

It includes a Jetson Nano along with a robot chassis, battery pack, and motors, allowing users to build their own self-driving robot.

With the $99 devkit you get 472 gigaflops of computing powered by a quad-core ARM A57 processor, 128-core Nvidia Maxwell GPU, and 4GB of LPDDR RAM. The Nano also supports a range of popular AI frameworks, including TensorFlow, PyTorch, Caffe, Keras, and MXNet, so most algorithms will be pretty much plug-and-play. And there’s the usual brace of ports and interfaces, including USB-A and B, gigabit Ethernet, and support for microSD storage.

Nvidia says it hopes the Nano’s price point should open up AI hardware development to new users. “We expect a lot of the maker community that wants to get into AI, but has been unable to in the past, the Jetson Nano will allow them to do that,” Nvidia’s VP and GM of autonomous machines, Deepu Talla, told reporters at a briefing.

It’s certainly true that the Nano is competitively priced, though it’s not unique in that. Intel, for example, sells its Neural Compute Stick for $79, while Google recently unveiled two similar devices under its Coral brand: a $150 devkit and $75 USB accelerator. But if this shows anything, it’s that Nvidia is entering a fertile market.

Let’s see what AI-powered creations start to grow. (The Verge)

14 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

MARCH 24 , 2019

Bollywood/Hollywood

G

ayle King is poised to sign a new multimillion-dollar contract to stay at CBS News.

Insiders believe King — who already has a $5.5 million-a-year deal — is much needed on struggling “CBS This Morning,” as news chiefs attempt to boost the show’s plunging ratings Meanwhile, all negotiations over whether her cohost Norah O’Donnell will replace Jeff Glor on “CBS Evening News” are on hold until King’s deal is signed,

Page Six has learned.

O’Donnell wants to move the show to Washington, DC, but we’re told: “Everything has gone very quiet. Nothing will be done until Gayle has signed her contract. It looks likely that she’s staying — but we don’t know what the holdup is.” CBS News staff are on tenterhooks about the possibility of the “Evening News” HQ moving to DC. “Everyone is stressed — they want to know what’s happening,” said an insid-

H

aving successfully maintained a balance between her work internationally and in the Hindi film industry, Nimrat Kaur believes that one’s presence is felt by the work he/she does and the statement it makes.

Kaur rose to fame with her performance in films such as ‘The Lunchbox’ and ‘Airlift’. In 2016, she began portraying Rebecca Yedlin in the second season of the American television series ‘Wayward Pines’ and also essayed a negative role in ‘Homeland’.

She followed it up with work back in India, featuring on the Alt Balaji web series, ‘The Test Case’.

W

ith three films in her kitty including ‘Romeo Akbar Walter’, actress Mouni Roy has managed to make a successful transition from small to the big screen. She says she is always ready to embrace the surprise that life has to offer.

“The best part of our journey is that we have to have the will to be surprised by life. I am saying from my personal experience, that if I am thinking too much about the future and running after something, I will miss out on the present,” Roy said. “So whenever an opportunity came my way, whether it was an acting assignment, dance or singing, I just tried to focus on that.”

Starting her career in 2004, Roy got noticed by the audience for her role in the TV show titled ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’. She went on to appear in shows like ‘Zara Nachke Dikha’, ‘Nach Baliye’ and ‘Naagin’ before making her Bollywood debut in 2018 with the film ‘Gold’.

Following that, her upcoming films include ‘Brahmastra’, ‘Made in China’ and ‘Bole Chudiyan’.

“Initially, I wanted to become an IAS [Indian Administrative Service] officer but no... it is great that at a very young age, I

er.

King recently impressed with her much-lauded interview with R. Kelly. If she stays, King wants to know that CBS News president Susan Zirinsky will make “This Morning” more competitive, friends say.

Asked if she’s staying, King told The Associated Press recently: “Ooh, that’s a good question. All I can say is I really love my job.

And I think it’s kind of foolish to predict the future.”

J

ennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have received the ultimate congratulatory note.

Former President Barack Obama mailed the couple a sweet note on his personalized stationery on behalf of him and

(Page Six)

Asked if she feels the need to make her presence felt in Bollywood once she finishes her international assignments, Kaur said: “Of course, you lose touch.

When I work here for a long time, I lose touch abroad and vice versa.

But I don’t know what you can actually do deliberately to make your presence felt. I believe your presence is felt by the work you do and the statement your work makes.”

The 37-year-old actress said she keeps it easy. “So, for me it is not something that is a forced thought...I keep things a little easy and organic that way,” Kaur said.

found my calling and carved my path,” recalled Roy. “This is what I want to live for, forever... my dance, my acting are what I want to live for because I am the happiest when I am performing".

Asked how the success of television helped her to enter Bollywood, the actress said: “Probably that is the reason why I got the calls for the look tests and auditions but at the end of the day, it is about my talent and if I am fitting into the character.

“Yes, of course, they can see my acting skills in the work that I have done on television, but the characters I am playing are very different from say a Shivangi in ‘Naagin’ or a Sati in ‘...Mahadev’. So I think I have to look at every character and opportunity differently and my popularity on TV won’t help if I cannot act.”

Speaking about her role in the John Abraham-starrer ‘Romeo Akbar Walter’, out on April 5 in India, she said: “It was an experience... I had to unlearn and undo a lot of things. “I am a talkative person by nature. I am always bubbling with energy and I am anything but quiet and this character talks so less, so subtle and silent.”

L

ori Loughlin allegedly agreed to lie to the IRS that the $500,000 she and her husband paid to bribe their two daughters’ way into college was just “donations.”

The former “Full House” star was caught scheming with admitted college admissions scammer William “Rick” Singer in a secretly recorded phone conversation on Nov. 29, according to the criminal complaint filed last week.

At the behest of federal investigators, Singer tells Loughlin, 54, that his charity KWF is being audited by the IRS and that he’s already alerted her fashion designer hubby, Mossimo Giannulli.

“I told Moss already and I wanted to make sure that you knew, as well, if they happened to call you, is that nothing has been said about the girls, your donations helping the girls get into USC to do … crew even though they didn’t do crew,” Singer tells her.

“So we — so we just — so we just have to say we made a donation to your foundation and that’s it, end of story,” Loughlin relies Singer answers, “That is correct.”

Loughlin and Giannulli are among 50 people charged in the widespread scam in which kids fraudulently gained admission to

wife Michelle Obama congratulating them on their recent engagement.

“Jennifer & Alex — Michelle and I just wanted to congratulate you on your engagement.

After 26 years together, we can say that whatever challenges life may bring, sharing them with someone

A

you love makes it all better,” the note read.

Rodriguez shared a photo of the letter and captioned the picture, “This means the world to us. #44” Lopez’s massive diamond ring cost close to $2 million, but a note from the Obamas? That’s priceless.

(Page Six)

t the Zee Cine awards on Wednesday night Ranbir Kapoor who won the best actor award for his performance in Raj Kumar Hirani’s Sanju, shocked the audience by thanking the director and calling him an “amazing human being” and an “amazing filmmaker”.

Hirani has been called out for sexual harassment some time ago. His name is yet to be cleared.

At the Oscars ceremony in February when Rami Malek won the best actor award for Bohemian Rhapsody during his thank you speech, he completely ignored director Bryan Singer who has been named in the MeToo movement. A source close to the Kapoor family says Ranbir has decided to keep himself distanced ftom the allegations against Hirani.

“In fact from what I hear they(Hirani and Ranbir) are planning to work together again,” informs the source.

And why not? Sanju is Ranbir’s first and only blockbuster in years.

This mere-ko-kya-lena-dena attitude is not the least surprising. In the Hindi film industry success far outweighs all moral condsidreration. It is easy to make en example out of Sajid Khan and sack him from the director’s seat in House Full 4(and that too only after leading man Akshay Kumar insisted) . But when it comes to a personality of Raj Kumar Hirani’s stature everyone, including the vocal sections of the MeToo movement, goes mum.

some of the top schools in the country, either by cheating on their college admissions tests or as fake athletic recruits.

The couple is accused of paying Singer $500,000 to get both their daughters, Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli, into

the University of Southern California as competitive rowing recruits — even though neither girl participated in the sport.

Other parents nabbed for allegedly paying bribes include “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman. (Page Six)

Crossword Solution

guyanatimesgy.com

MARCH 24 , 2019

Sunday Times Magazine 15

16 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

MARCH 24 , 2019

Fun Times

Archie

Be secretive about the ARIES way you feel and what you (March 21- plan to do. It's important to April 19) get everything in place quietly to avoid interference or meddling. Emotionally driven spending should be monitored closely.

Put your emotional energy TAURUS to good use. Lend a helping (April 20- hand, offer a hug to someone May 20) sad or make self-improvements that encourage the best in you.

GEMINI (MAY 28June 20)

Look for ways to find a solution instead of seeking to add to the disarray. Go to the root of the problem and fix it using common sense and facts.

Participate in events that allow you to show off your (June 21- creativity, wisdom and abilJuly 22) ity to help others. How you respond to problems will determine how others will treat you.

CANCER

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Dilbert

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Focus on what's important and take care of pressing matters. Assess important papers and medical issues to discover a way to improve the status quo.

Taking a day trip, visiting an old friend or relative or attending a reunion will bring back memories. Learn from experience and move forward with a positive attitude.

Don't gamble with money, LIBRA investments or joint ventures.

(Sept. 23You are best off putting your Oct. 23) time and effort into personal growth and expanding your knowledge, skills and earning potential.

Peanuts

Improve your life, home SCORPIO and relationships. Pour your (Oct. 24- energy into the changes that Nov. 22) will bring out the best in you and in the people you associate with.

Stick to the truth and SAGITTARIUS only offer what's necessary. A (Nov. 23Dec. 21) promise made will not be kept, and disappointment in someone's actions will lead you to reevaluate your relationships.

Calvin and Hobbes

Cherish what you've got, CAPRICORN and show loyalty and respect (Dec. 22- to loved ones. If someone tries Jan. 19) to disrupt your life, make it clear that you won't put up with meddling.

Do what you can, but AQUARIUS don't promise more than (Jan. 20- you can handle. Avoid unFeb. 19) certainty until you have had enough time to assess the situation and figure out the best way to handle matters.

Join forces with somePISCES (Feb. 20- one who has as much to ofMar. 20) fer as you do. There are profits to be made if you work as a team player. An idea can turn into a moneymaking opportunity.