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GUYANA DAILY NEWS IMPORTERS: GOVERMENT FAILING TO STOP SURINAME SMUGGLING PAGE 2
Many local importers have complained about Government’s failure to curb smuggling of goods from Suriname, which they claimed is causing tremendous financial burden on their business. One prominent importer in Georgetown told the Guyana Daily news that he cannot compete with items smuggling through Suriname. He identified items like Ocean Brand Sardine, Jack Mackerel, Plastic Bags, 1 Liter oil, 5 Liter oil Evaporated Milk and Condensed Milk. “Our import duty on these items are in excess of one million dollars per container and the smugglers are paying nothing, how can we compete?” the importer said. He further noted, “The government continues to lose millions in custom duty, this is why they have to tax water and electricity from the poor, one importer complained that these smuggled goods are not checked for quality, labelling requirements and the other hassle we have to go through from Food & Drugs.” Interestingly, one importer pointed out that the label ingredient of the Evaporated and Condensed milk which is being smuggled from Suriname contains the same ingredient that was rejected by Food and Drugs resulting in significant loss to the importers. “These are the reasons why import revenue have decreased sharply and importers complying with the law suffers the consequence,” said the businessman. He also stated that Styrofoam is still being smuggled from Suriname and still being sold throughout the country. “What happen to the green economy the Government continues to tout?” Smuggling of these items from Suriname into Guyana could be costing the treasury as much as $1 billion in revenue loss while the illegal cross-border entry of consumer goods manufactured in various other countries including India, China, Vietnam and countries in South America continues to render the playing field uneven for the many local importers. The
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more serious losses were accrued to the treasury since the mark up that vendors get on consumable items is lower than the taxes that they are required to pay to the state. The estimated losses resulting from the evasion of the various taxes could well exceed $1 billion considering that importers are operating legally.
Picture Showing Smuggled Items From Suriname
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS Press Statement Garnishment of bank accounts
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By: Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP.Attorney-at-Law The pronouncement by the Finance Minister in his budget speech that the Income Tax Act will be revised to authorize the GRA to “garnish” funds from bank accounts held by tax payers who have outstanding tax arrears has caused great anxiety and concerns both to the business community as well as the ordinary citizen. You will recall that earlier this year, the Government passed a law that allows the GRA to go into a person's bank account without notifying that person and without providing any reasons. Now again, we see another attempt to invade the privacy of persons' bank accounts by this Government. These signals drive fear in the minds of every single Guyanese. It also does not inspire the confidence of the business community both locally and internationally. No one will ever be comfortable with the tax authorities having a power to raid their bank accounts with no reason given. It simply smacks of authoritarianism and interference with property rights which are protected by the constitution. After all, money is property. What is of greater concern is the intention to “garnish” people's
accounts and to seize therefrom, monies and to apply those monies to liquidate outstanding taxes. In my humble view, this is not only a misuse and abuse of garnishment but it is also draconian. Garnishment is a proceeding whereby a person's property or credits in the possession or under the control of another, are applied to the former's debt to a third person. Simply put if A owes B and C owes A, B can garnish the money which C owes to A from C, in satisfaction of the debt which A owes to B. Clearly this is not what the Minister is speaking about. The Minister is speaking about a situation where if A owes taxes to GRA, GRA will have a right to go into A's bank account and take money therefrom in satisfaction of the taxes which are owed. This is not and has nothing to do with garnishing. This is simply the seizing of monies in satisfaction of taxes owed without due process. Significantly, garnishee is a court driven process where all the parties concerned are legally represented or, at least given the opportunity to retain counsel and are afforded a fair and adequate hearing before a Judge. These important safeguards and fundamental aspects of due process are conspicuously absent from the Minister's formulation. I presume that a Bill will have to be tabled in the National Assembly conferring this power upon the GRA. Unless this Bill meets the litmus test of constitutionality, fairness and due process, it will be vehemently opposed by the PPP in the National Assembly.
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS
LOCAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Guyana Made Strides In Combatting HIV In Guyana there are approximately 7000 persons living with HIV. The National Aids Program Secretariat (NAPS) has revealed that there has been a decline in the number of new AIDS cases over the past five years. Research has shown that males are more affected in Guyana, whereas persons between the ages of 25 and 49 has the highest number of cases of infection. Minister of Health Dr. George Norton noted that Guyana has made some strides in the fight against the dreaded disease. The Minister noted “We must acknowledge that Guyana has achieved remarkable progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The country has demonstrated a steady decrease in the number of AIDS cases and the number of AIDS-related deaths,” The Minister further stated that data gathered suggests that the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among women attending antenatal clinics decreased from 3.1 percent in 2003 to 1.9 percent in 2015. Reports further suggests that Interventions for key populations at higher risk, which include men who have sex with men, female sex workers, transgender, miners and loggers – being a group that is disproportionately affected by HIV – saw a combined total of 14,942 persons being reached and some 6,755 tested and aware of their status during the first half of 2016. According to Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, The world has committed to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. “We are seeing that countries are getting on the FastTrack—more than 18 million people are on life-saving HIV treatment and country after country is on track to virtually eliminate HIV transmission from mother to child” he noted. “We are winning against the AIDS epidemic, but we are not seeing progress everywhere. The number of new HIV infections is not declining among adults, with young women particularly at risk of becoming infected with HIV” the director noted.
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS
LOCAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Police Force Gets New Gym The Seelall Persaud Fitness Centre, which is located in the compound of the Felix Austin Police College was officially declared open on Wednesday. The facility which cost some $21.2 million is fully equipped with some $6 million worth of equipment. The facility will be open to all members of the Guyana Police Force both present and past. Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan said the facility will play a great role in ensuring that police men and women keep in shape as is required by the job in which they do. “It is important for us to understand that law enforcement, being an indispensable institution, to ensure law and order, requires certain facilities of the personnel that populate it,” the minister said. “And the administration of the day does make that special effort to ensure that these facilities are provided,” he added. Police Commissioner Persaud also explained that the the gym was part of an initiative aimed at building the Moral of the GPF. “The Force management team having considered that morale in the Force was extremely low, decided on a range of initiatives to rebuild morale in the Force,” the top cop noted. “Some of the welfare initiatives would have included initiatives targeting both members of the Force and their families, he further noted. Seelall also stated, “The objective of the fitness centre is to improve the health and well-being of the persons that use it.” The top cop also applauded the efforts of Assistant Commissioner, Nigel Hoppie, for his efforts in making the gym a reality. The gym will be managed by Assistant Commissioner, Paul Williams, Mr. Williams stated that he hopes that in the future, each division of the Police Force would become equipped with a similar facility.
We Are Not Manufacturing Crime Statistics - Ramjattan Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan on Wednesday refuted claims that the crime statistics being reported by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) were not reflective of the current crime situation. Speaking at the signing of a 3 million Euro agreement between the Guyana government and the European for the Seaport Cooperation Programme (SEACOP), Minister Ramjattan said that ““those nay-sayers who are giving the impression that we are manufacturing the statistics, that is not true, and this administration, and this Ministry and all those involved in law enforcement are not going to do that..” Ramjattan said that some 300 persons have already received training at a regional and international training level since the coalition administration took office last year resulting in better trained police ranks. The Security minister said that more people are coming forward and speaking out and giving statement resulting in in more crime being reported. He said that all things are helping in reinforcing a “renewed confidence” in law enforcement. Minister Ramjattan made reference the murder of a Berbice carpenter for which the mastermind, US-based Guyanese Marcus Bisram, behind that homicide is now wanted by Interpol for not only allegedly paying to have the carpenter murdered but also being accused of paying officers at the Skeldon Police Station to corrupt the file. There were allegations that Bisram also attempted to bribe the family. The minister also urged more citizens to speak out against rogue cops. “Massive amounts of drugs, cocaine, meth, and cannabis sativa have this appealing effect on even law enforcement officers getting corrupt,” Minister Ramjattan said about the number of former police officers reported in the press in connection with criminal activities. “That is why I told the people, I want them to speak out against rogue cops and cops that are corrupt,” Ramjattan said on his recent trip to Skeldon, “silence would be condoning and silence is violence.” Guyana is now part of 26 other countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean which have signed on to the SEACOP programme. As part of the project, the United Kingdom will provide an advisor to the Ministry of the Presidency from January 2017. EU Ambassador Jernej Videtic said the Guyana Public Security Minister, partnership in the initiative would have a global impact since Guyana is seen as a Khemraj Ramjattan trans-shipment point for narcotics.
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS President Granger Lauds Guyana/Barbados 50-Year-Old Friendship PAGE 8
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President David Granger and First Lady, Ms. Sandra Granger joined Barbadians to celebrate that nation’s 50th Anniversary of Independence at three national events, which were observed with pomp and ceremony, despite inclement weather that resulted in major schedule changes. The Head of State attended the Toast to the Nation event held at the Barbados Defence Force Headquarters at St. Ann’s Fort, the Reveal of the 50th Anniversary of Independence National Monument at The Garrison Savannah and the Golden Anniversary Spectacular Mega Concert at Kensington Oval. Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, who welcomed the President and First Lady to the event, described the Guyanese Head of State as his friend and colleague and emphasised the 50-year-old friendship between the two countries. Speaking at the Toast to the Nation event, he said, “I am very pleased to have here… my friend and colleague, the distinguished President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. His presence here, this evening, is of great importance because Guyana in 1966, as well, on May 26 went into Independence and earlier this year itself celebrated its Golden Jubiliee. I was there for that celebration and I am very pleased to welcome President Granger and Mrs. Granger here to Barbados. The warmth and the hospitality and the generosity of Guyana can be unbounded.” That generosity was illustrated later in the evening when President Granger delivered a gift of a painting depicting the national bird of Guyana, the Canje Pheasant, which was created by Guyanese artist, Ms. Merlene Ellis, to the people of Barbados on the occasion of their 50th Independence Anniversary. The President also gifted Prime Minister Stuart with a Winslow Craig crafted, wooden sculpture called the ‘The Chief Witness to the Environment’. Reading the artist’s description of the work, the Guyanese Head of State said “The visual imagery is derived from a combination of Indigenous Guyanese petroglyphs, patterns and weaving designs.” Presenting the gifts, he said, “We would like you to have these two gifts as a symbol of the 50-year friendship between our two countries, which is seen today November 30 and of course the fact that Barbadians have been coming to Guyana for over 50 years as welcomed migrants.” Significantly also, Guyana has played a role in the Barbados celebrations with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) delighting the crowd gathered at the reveal of the National Monument event with a spectacular fireworks display. In addition, weather permitting, GDF paratroopers, supported by the Air Corps will display their skill, at today’s Independence parade at the Garrison, Savannah, which had to be rescheduled from yesterday, because of heavy rains, which resulted in some flooding. A total of 25 GDF members are participating in the Independence activities. Also attending the 50th Anniversary of Barbados Independence events is Prince Henry of Wales, KCVO, familiarly known as Prince Harry. The Prince, who delivered a message on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II at the Toast to the Nation event, and will be arriving in Guyana on December 2, 2016, greeted the President and the First Lady at the Toast to the Nation President David Granger event.
LOCAL
GUYANA DAILY NEWS Opposition Leader Begins Consultations For New GECOM Chairman PAGE 9
Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition and former P)resident, Bharrat Jagdeo and team comprising of People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Members of Parliament on Wednesday began conducting public consultations to find suitable nominees for the post of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Guyana uses the Carter Centre formula for selecting a new chairman whereby the law requires the Opposition Leader to come up with six nominees for the post and submit those names to the President. The President would have to choose the new chairman from among those six nominees. If he for whatever reason is not pleased with the names submitted the Opposition leader would have to submit six new nominees. In a statement from the office of the leader of the opposition, Jagdeo said in pursuit of the practice of inclusionary democracy he has provided an opportunity for citizens’ participation through their respective organisations in the process of the nomination of individuals to be submitted to the President for selection of the new Chairman of GECOM, in keeping with Article 161 (1) (2) of the Constitution of Guyana. “These engagements saw wide-ranging discussions on the importance of a strong and effective GECOM and the submission of names to be considered for the appointment of a new Chairman,” Jagdeo’s office said in a statement. The Opposition leader and the delegation of PPP/C parliamentarians consulted with representatives of the Christian, Hindu, Muslim and labour communities at the Parliament Building. Jagdeo related that consultations will continue today with the private sector, youth, women, indigenous leaders, professional bodies and other prominent
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Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The current chairman of GECOM, Dr Steve Surujbally, has indicated to President David Granger that he intends to resign with effect from November 30, 2016. This would have marked the last day for Dr. Steve Surujbally as Chairman of the GECOM, however the administration is insisting on a seamless transition which lead Dr. Surujbally to announce that he might have to hold the position until the transition is completed. GECOM sets policy for voter registration, maintains the voters’ list and administers all national, regional and local government elections within the legislative framework.
Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition and former P)resident, Bharrat Jagdeo
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS Red House Hosts Reflection On The Life And Work Of Fidel Castro Members of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), officials of qualifying it as the most important event that happened in PAGE 11
the Cuban Embassy and guests, gathered on Wednesday evening on the terrace of the 19th century, 3-storey colonial style Red House, located in High Street for an evening of reflection on the life and work of the late leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz. Former President Donald Ramotar, politician and former president of Bharrat Jagdeo, General Secretary of the PPP Clement Rohee, along with the Cuban Embassador, Consul, and guests enjoyed narrations on Castro’s life. Cuban Embassador, Julio Cesar Gonzales Marchante, was the first to take the podium. He emotively expressed the impact of Castro, not only in the shaping of Cuba, but in the world, as the titan and leader that he was. Marchante spoke of the many privileges that Cuba enjoys today thanks to the sacrifice made by Castro and the ‘Rebeldes’ (denomination given to the Cuban guerrilla) back in the 50s when they battled the ‘empire of the north’, as Cubans like to refer to USA, and won. Marchante stated that –“Fidel built a nation and a principle. A path to follow”- stressing on the need to continue to harvest his ideal, and the cause he sacrificed for. The Cuban ambassador also mentioned the privilege of serving in Guyana in representation of his country. Finishing his speech with part of the historic discourse given by Fidel on May 1st 2000, later declared by the government as ‘Cuban Oath’: “Revolution is the sense of the historic moment; is to change all which must be changed; is complete equality and liberty; is to be treated and to treat others as human beings; is to emancipate ourselves by ourselves and with our own efforts; is to challenge dominant powerful forces within the social and national scope and realm; ;is to defend values in which we believe at the price of any sacrifice; is modesty, unselfishness, altruism, solidarity and heroism; is to fight with audacity, intelligence and realism; is to never lie nor violate ethical principles; is the profound conviction that exists no force in the world capable of confounding truth and ideas Revolution is unity, is independence, is to fight for our dreams of justice for Cuba and for the world which is the base of our patriotism, our socialism and our internationalism,” Fidel Castro Ruz. Former president Donald Ramotar took the podium and with fervor in his voice narrated the countless times he had the opportunity to speak with the late mandatary. “Today he rests”- he started –“but for us, the generation that I grew up in, Fidel Castro was dominant in our lives. From the time I joined the party he was already a centrum of his nation and Latin America. The relationship between Guyana and Cuba has come a long way. Cheddi Jagan met Fidel in Habana in the 60s, and was a tremendously courageous thing to do at that time, when the majority of LatinAmerica and the Caribbean leaders refused to recognize the Cuban government”- Ramotar mentioned how he is proud to support the Cuban Revolution from the very beginning, he stated that this was not only a revolution “transcended Cuba”,
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Latina-America and the Caribbean.” Ramotar referred to Fidel as a leader with charisma.
Leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz
continued on next page...
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS Red House Hosts Reflection On The Life...cont... PAGE 12
“He was a thinker, a philosopher, and he stood up as a state’s man from the very beginning”, he stated how he showed his solidarity to every important revolutionary movement in the world, putting Guyana in his ‘to do agenda’. “We have lost a giant, a titan”- he emotively said“he was a product of his time, he was from the generation of fighter such as Mandela, Che Guevara, Kwame Nkrumah, Ho Chi Minh and our own Cheddi Jagan. We have lost a giant”- he finished. General Secretary of the PPP followed, by describing his personal experience with the Cuban leader during his visits to the Caribbean Island. “Fidel was bold enough to engage problems, because he had the force of argument, he had the logic, the stature to debate issues, to engage in polemics and to advance his views in a way that many left convinced, that those views and those ideas were practical and could be for the develop if not implemented.” He continued by stating that Fidel was a ‘nationalist and internationalist’, due to the contributions not only to his country but for the diaspora. Mr. Rohee stated that despite the many contradictions about Fidel’s mandate, Cuba enjoys of a renowned health and education system, and has been a herald in the development of the national culture, making of this nations a “respected country”. He finished by saying that “Fridel came from the mountains and is going back to the mountains, as a revolutionary, a man who was faithful to his ideas, a man who believed in his people.” The session continued with the intervention of member of the PPP, and former president Bharrat Jagdeo, who briefly narrated paths of the Cuban leader’s life and how it ‘touched’ the life of others. “I’m clear that Fidel will long be remembered, because he is a concept. He has become an idea. Ideas live long in people’s hearts and mind. This idea epitomized progressive thoughts, leadership and empathy with struggling people.” The death of Fidel Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, has been a tremendous shock not only for the Cuban people, but for the world. Fidel, who was the head of state of the largest of the Antilles for over 50 years, was an example of commitment and dedication to a cause that he believed just. He believed in ‘One America’. One America without distinction of races, power or wealth. He believed in solidarity and the fraternity of people. He followed the principles of Socialism as Marx and Engels stated it. And worked in order to create a nation that followed this concepts. Many criticized his ‘bold’ ways to direct a country, others thanked the many benefits received from his revolutionary
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methods. Fidel was a contradictory figure, but there is no doubt that was a leader. He would take the ‘heat’ of the situations, and make himself responsible for his actions. He represented Cuba. His home, his land his ‘patria’. Earlier this week the Cuban consul announced that, a condolence book will be opened from 9:00hrs to the e18:00hrs, for members of the public who would like to sing in behalf of the departure of the Cuban leader. The condolence book will be opened until this Sunday 4th of December.
Cuban Ambassador, Former president Donald Ramotar and General Secretary of the PPP, signing the book of condolences at the Cuban Embassy
REGIONAL
GUYANA DAILY NEWS Violent Protests Follow Preliminary Election Results In Haiti PAGE 14
By Caribbean News Now contributor PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti -- A few hours after the publication on Monday night of the preliminary results of the presidential election of November 20 in Haiti, supporters of other parties and candidates, who challenged the declared victory of Jovenel Moïse, took the streets in sometimes violent protests. Gunfire from automatic weapons of unidentified origin has been reported, causing panic among the population in some areas, with violent actions by protesters increasing. On Tuesday, residents reported tensions where individuals threw stones and erected barricades of burning tires. Other spontaneous and violent demonstrations were also reported, where gunshots were heard according to reports. The police had to intervene with tear gas in a stronghold of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s Fanmi Lavalas party in order to regain control of the situation and disperse the protesters. The US embassy in Portau-Prince has confirmed demonstrations, gunfire and tyre fires in the centre of the capital. Camille Edouard. Jr., the minister of justice and public security, deeply concerned by the rise in the violence of the past 48 hours in the capital and some other areas, wrote to government commissioners to ask them to apply law in all its rigour against the troublemakers, HaitiLibre reported. “The Minister of Justice… wishes to express his deep concern at the increase in violence. In order to counteract any slippage, the minister urges you to apply in all its rigour, the law against the troublemakers and thus maintain public order,” the letter said. Meanwhile, the main three losing candidates have challenged the victory of Moïse, of the Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale (PHTK) (Haitian Bald Head Party) and the chosen successor of former president Michel Martelly, who won the majority in the first round, with 595,430 votes (55.67%). Jude Célestin, a candidate for the presidency under the banner of the Alternative League for the Progress and the Haitian Emancipation (LAPEH), who came second with 208,837 votes (19.52%, has rejected the results and declared that he will go into the legal battle to seek the truth. André Michel, LAPEH’s the lawyer, announced the challenge and mobilization against "the electoral coup" by Moïse. “We reject the results of the votes,” he said. Jean-Charles Moïse, a candidate under the banner of Pitit Dessalines, who came third with 118,142 votes (11.04%,
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claimed that no candidate can win the presidential election in the first round, according to his calculations derived from the copies of the official voters lists (Procès Verbaux, PV) that he holds, and rejected the results of the presidential election. He announced that he would contest without violence the results of the November 20 elections using all legal means to bring the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to respect the popular vote. Maryse Narcisse, the presidential candidate of Fanmi Lavalas, who came fourth with 96,121 votes (8.99%), also rejected the election of a candidate in the first round, and stated that the results are "an electoral coup" against which her party had warned since the beginning of the vote tabulation. She announced that Famni Lavalas will contest and calls on citizens to remain mobilized to demand respect for the verdict of the ballot boxes. An exception among the main losers, Jean Henri Céant, the presidential candidate under the banner Renmen Ayiti, who came fifth in the ballot, on Tuesday declared on local radio that he had phoned Jovenel Moïse to congratulate him on his victory. Edmonde Supplice Bauzile, the presidential candidate under the banner of the party Fusion of the Haitian Social-Democrats (FUSION), who came sixth in the ballot, also congratulated Jovenel Moïse and affirmed not wanting to contest the result. (Caribbean News Now!)
Protesters burning tyres in the street in Haiti
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Torrential Rains Hit The Caribbean creating a high risk of landslides of the saturated ground.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- Torrential rains and flooding hit several Caribbean islands this week, bringing some relief to a drought in the region so severe that Suriname is considering exporting its water to hard-hit islands by towing it in giant bags made from PVC-coated fabric. Heavy rain and flooding impacted Barbados on Tuesday as the Caribbean island celebrated its 50 years of independence, when Britain’s Prince Harry arrived just in time for the storm and the celebration. "I've never seen rain like this ... never," he told a group of welcoming dignitaries. Guadeloupe reported over three inches of rain on Tuesday – about a third of the island's November average – and St Lucia reported almost four inches, which is more than half of its monthly average Schools in Saint Lucia were closed on Tuesday but reopened on Wednesday although some showers and cloudy weather were expected to continue. In St Vincent and the Grenadines, a number of homes were destroyed by the storms. The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) ordered schools to remain closed on Wednesday, and urged residents to take appropriate precautions. More torrential downpours were expected in some areas on Wednesday,
(Caribbean News Now!)
NOAA water vapour image
First Referendum Since Independence Is Cause FST GEORGE’S, o r CGrenada e l(GIS) eb ration, Says Grenada PM -- Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr seats in a general election. Yet another bill, seen as favouring the Keith Mitchell says the country should be celebrating the fact that a referendum on the constitution has been held for the first time since independence was attained in 1974. Mitchell was speaking in the wake of opposition inspired comments suggesting celebration after none of the seven proposed bills achieved a two-thirds majority. Mitchell’s New National Party controls all 15 seats in the House of Representatives after Grenadians voted to remove the National Democratic Congress (NDC) from government nearly four years ago. “The only celebration we should have in this is the fact that we brought in for the first time and initiative that has never been attempted .Only thing I would have been celebrating is the fact that we have started a process,” Mitchell said during Tuesday’s post cabinet news briefing. “So I think history would record during the period of my term in government the fact that we have started a process of looking and attempting to change our constitution,” he added. Opposition surrogates spearheaded a NO campaign by encouraging voters to vote against all seven bills. One of the Bills would have given the opposition representation on an Election and Boundaries Commission, which was supposed to have replaced the current Parliamentary Elections Office. “How do I celebrate when we have a constitution that says the governor general is appointed on recommendation of the prime minister?” the prime minister asked. “The governor general then turns around and appoints the supervisor of elections. He turns around and is accountable to the governor general and appoints all presiding officers, poll clerks and everything that exists in an election period. Nothing about consulting an opposition,” he noted. Another bill, if passed, would have guaranteed a leader of the opposition in the parliament once one party wins all 15
opposition, would have allowed Parliament to set the date for general elections. The current constitution gives the prime minister the power to call an election anytime he wants. “So I am in a position that the system we have decides for us that the influence of the government of the day can be unnecessarily too much. Who has lost?” Mitchell asked. “If you are thinking numbers and gain, you would have to say Keith Mitchell has gained if that is your concept. That is not my concept. I have gained nothing. So those who are celebrating they are celebrating the gain of somebody else and this is quite fascinating,” he concluded. (Caribbean News Now!)
Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS
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Trinidad And Tobago Education Failures Are An Abuse Of Human Rights, Says Law Professor news story in which parents were seen petitioning for
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- Trinidad and Tobago boasts of having free universal education for its citizens, despite the stopgap measure of an entrance examination to secondary school that results in children as young as 11 competing for limited places in the better-equipped public schools, known as “prestige” schools. The reality is that education in Trinidad and Tobago is neither free (while subsidised, there are still costs attached) nor universal (many of the government schools are poorly equipped and inadequately staffed). Now, one educator, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, the dean at The University of the West Indies’ Faculty of Law, and the wife of former prime minister of St Lucia Dr Kenny Anthony, has called on the state to live up to its responsibilities. In a guest post at the hard-sitting news site Wired868, Belle Antoine argued that things like education and healthcare are human rights; “rights, not privileges, or handouts”. Antoine was also careful to make a distinction between the government and the state, which she called “a neutralised concept that goes beyond particular administrations and political timeframes”: “Human rights have long gone past the limitation that the subject of rights only involves what we call civil and political rights -- that is, the right to life, to expression, movement, etc. Rather, the more recent understanding of rights is that they also involve what we call economic, social and cultural rights; namely, the rights to education, to health, to work, the environment and to culture. “Significantly, we have moved away from the selfimposed limitation that economic, social and cultural rights are merely unenforceable ideals. Rather, the international community now accepts that these kinds of bread and butter rights are just as vital, and in some ways more directly important, to the central dignity and equality of mankind. “Accordingly, international conventions and protocols have been signed and developed to ensure that they have tangible and concrete meaning. Ultimately, what this means, is that states now have direct legal obligations to promote and protect such rights.” Referring to the 1999 San Salvador Protocol, which raised the bar for human rights by protecting economic, social, and cultural freedoms, Antoine noted, “The bottom line is that we can no longer turn a blind eye to the State’s duties to promote, provide and protect rights to education, to health, to work, to culture and to the environment. Notably, this jurisprudence calls on states to ‘progressively realise’ these rights. What this also means is that a state cannot regress or go backward in their provision. Her point -- supported by examples of inadequate pay and lousy working conditions, as well as the recent denial of access to government-subsidised tertiary education for people over the age of 50 -- is that Trinidad and Tobago has slipped backwards. Referring to a
government intervention to upgrade one particular primary school, Belle Antoine concluded: “We have become so [de]sensitised to suffering, so unaware of and cynical about our place in the world that, on the night that the story of the kneeling parents was aired, the people-meter question was whether it was ‘politically motivated’.” Wondering if the race of the protesters might have had anything to do with the way in which the media house framed the question, she added: “Race and ethnicity should not make any difference to our entitlements and rights as citizens of this nation that we say that we want to build.” Race does not typically factor in to students’ admission to desirable secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago, where -regardless of economic reach -- citizens are intended to have access to an education. In fact, says Patrice Cox-Neaves, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, the original concept of universal education was one in which the child was at the centre, supported by the ministry of education, school administration and teachers on one hand, and parents on the other. Just as importantly, because schools across the country were supposed to be of the same high standard, children would attend schools in their catchment area. “The idea was to be able to deal with everybody,” she explained. “It was about equity.” (Caribbean News Now!)
Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
St Kitts-Nevis Citizenship Programme Changes Designed To Attract Investors Of Good Character BASSETERRE, St Kitts (SKNIS) -- Owing to the challenges servicing this entity.” He noted that although the CBI faced by the St Kitts and Nevis citizenship by investment (CBI) programme, there was a need to reengineer, reorganize and recalibrate the programme, thus allowing it to attract investors of good character to make a substantial contribution to the development of the Federation. Les Khan, chief executive officer of the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU), said that, during the 2013-2014 period, volume within the application process was significant, hence the reasons for the changes. He explained that changes took place firstly within the Unit, which now boasts of a management team of very experienced and qualified persons. “[We have] individuals with varying backgrounds who add to our process of decision making and [who] make it much more solid and all encompassing,” said the CEO. “We have streamlined our operations; we have put a system into production and this is the first workflow system in citizenship by investment programmes in the world. So as a leader in the programme, here is St Kitts and Nevis again leading on the technology front.” Khan noted that the system was implemented last year and 100 percent of the service providers are using the system. He added that the system allows the service providers to input applications as they get them and within a very short time frame – about two days, they receive acknowledgement from the unit. “So we can track the applications as they come in from a service provider. We know what they are working on and we can also track them through our department and this is where workflow becomes a very critical factor for us to become more efficient,” he said. “By putting in the system, making the changes, adding more due diligence providers allows us to handle the volumes as they come in. Again, changes in the department in terms of how we vet applications allow us to have checks and counter checks in our process.” The CEO said that during the period of recalibration, other programmes in the region such as in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and Dominica took the opportunity to promote themselves, noting that the local CBI programme could not have been promoted because reforms were being made to the process. “We took that time to make the changes and there were lots of other changes that were implemented. We established a technical committee, for example, for denied files, which need to then address a backlog of files,” he said, adding that there were 1,600 outstanding files during the period the unit was being restructured. “We had to address these and as a result of that build back confidence with our service providers. We also changed the model of engagement to ensure that everyone knew they were part of our process – the client, the agent, the developer, the service provider and at the end of it the whole department that is
programme was at a low during the restructuring period, getting the unit to function as a team and to be more professional and service oriented was a key driver. Khan added that this afforded him the opportunity to be confident whenever he traveled overseas to promote the CBI programme, as the unit had done what it had to do to get the programme back up and running. (Caribbean News Now!)
Les Khan, CEO of the CIU, said that changes to the CBI programme will attract investors of good character
REGIONAL PAGE 20
GUYANA DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
It's Not As Painful As You Said This Morning!' Rihanna Teases Prince Harry As They Take HIV Tests Together To Mark World Aids Day In Barbados Daily Mail, The pair (pictured) have taken the tests in Bridgetown on the island of Barbados as his tour of the Commonwealth island comes to a close. The intimate moment came after the pair had sat side by side in the early hours of this morning at a concert to celebrate Barbados' 50th anniversary of independence but exchanged just a few words. Both Rihanna and the prince tested negative after waiting 20 minutes at the HIV drop-in centre which targets men. It was the second time that Harry had taken a test in public in ďŹ ve months in an attempt to reduce the stigma surrounding the virus. The prince had teased the singer that the test, taken on World Aids Day, would be painful and winced as the needle went into his ďŹ nger.
Prince Harry and Rihanna taking an HIV Test
INTERNATIONAL PAGE 21
GUYANA DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn To Be Proclaimed King Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is set to be proclaimed Thailand's new king, 50 days after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The head of the National Legislative assembly is expected to publicly announce the prince's acceptance of the throne later on Thursday. He will then become King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the Chakri dynasty. King Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning monarch, was loved by Thais. He died on 13 October The government declared a yearlong official mourning period. Maha Vajiralongkorn was given the title of crown prince, making him the official heir, in 1972. The late king was widely seen as a pillar of stability during seven decades of political turmoil in Thailand. His son is yet to enjoy the same level of popularity as his father, and spends much of his time abroad. The crown prince had been expected to become king the day after his father died but Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha at the time said that he had asked to delay the official proclamation so he could mourn. His accession to the throne will end a period of uncertainty during which Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, a 96-year-old former prime minister, has been serving as regent. Thailand's monarchy is protected from criticism by tough lese-majeste laws, which restrict media discussion about the royal family's role, including in the international press. Most ordinary Thais know only a few details about who the crown prince is and how he lives his life. In recent years he has tried to improve his
profile - important because the king is traditionally seen as a guiding force in Thai politics, which is highly polarised. A formal coronation will not happen until after King Bhumibol's cremation, expected next year. Bhumibol's own coronation took place four years after his brother King Ananda Mahidol died of gunshot wounds in mysterious circumstances. (BBC)
The monarchy is accorded enormous respect in Thailand(REUTERS)
INTERNATIONAL PAGE 23
GUYANA DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Ukraine Tests Missiles Near Crimea Despite Russian Ire Ukraine has begun surface-to-air missile tests over the Black Sea, west of the Crimea peninsula. Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014, had called the planned tests a provocation and threatened to shoot the missiles down. But on Thursday Russia's air transport agency said Ukraine had moved the border of the test area further away, apparently reducing Russian concerns. A Ukrainian official said the tests were in line with international law. Earlier this week, Ukraine issued a warning defining an area in the north of the Black Sea that aircraft should avoid on Thursday and Friday. Russia's defence ministry had said the area "violates the territorial sea borders of the Russian Federation", in a note delivered to the defence attache at the Ukrainian embassy, according to Interfax news agency. Russia issued a warning that missiles detected in the specified area would be destroyed and, if the missiles posed a threat to Russian objects, launchers would also be targeted. But on Thursday, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) said the boundaries of the danger zones had been moved to the west, "outside the borders of the Russian Federation", according to Interfax news agency. A Ukrainian military official said the exercises were being carried out at least 30km (19 miles) from Crimean air space and in accordance with international law. "Therefore it would be wrong to reproach Ukraine," Volodymy Kryzhanovsky told the Ukrainian 112 TV Channel. In early 2014 Crimea became the focus of the worst
East-West crisis since the Cold War, after Ukraine's proMoscow president Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power by violent protests in Kiev. Russian forces seized control of the Crimean peninsula, and the territory, which has a Russianspeaking majority, voted to join Russia in a referendum that Ukraine and the West deemed illegal. Russia has held large military exercises near Ukraine's borders since the annexation, including large-scale drills in and around Crimea in September. (BBC)
Recent Ukrainian military exercises have taken place further away from Crimea(EPA)
INTERNATIONAL PAGE 24
GUYANA DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Russia 'Not Seeking Conflict' - Putin Tells Nation Russia is "not seeking conflict with anyone", President Vladimir Putin has said in his annual Kremlin speech to parliament and the nation. "Unlike some foreign colleagues who see Russia as the enemy, we do not seek - and never sought - enemies. We need friends," he said. But "we will not permit harm to our interests", he added. He said Russia was ready to work with the new US administration to fight terrorism. Mr Putin has previously said he hopes for better relations with the US once President-elect Donald Trump takes office. He praised the courage of Russian military personnel fighting rebel groups in Syria, in support of President Bashar al-Assad - and drew applause in the ornate Kremlin hall. "Of course I'm counting on joint efforts with the US in fighting a real - not invented - threat, that is, international terrorism," he said. He also warned that any attempt to "break the strategic parity" could be globally catastrophic - an apparent reference to the Russian-US nuclear balance. US and EU politicians have criticised the heavy Russian bombing campaign in Syria, especially in Aleppo. They say Russia should strike harder against so-called Islamic State (IS), instead of backing President Assad's forces, who are accused of grave human rights abuses. 'Independent course' in EU Mr Putin also saw scope for better relations with some EU countries, despite the EU sanctions imposed because of Russia's intervention in Ukraine. He spoke of widening the Russian-led Eurasian partnership, saying: "I'm convinced that this conversation is possible with states of the European Union, where there is growing demand for an independent, subjective, political and economic course. And we see that in the results of elections." Most of his speech focused on Russia's economic and social challenges. On the problem of corruption he said "it
has become an unfortunate practice here to whip up a media frenzy around so-called high-profile cases". "The fight against corruption is not for show," he stressed. Last month Russia's Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev was charged with taking a $2m (£1.6m) bribe to endorse a state takeover in the oil industry. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. He is the highestranking Russian official held since the 1991 coup attempt in what was then the USSR. Mr Putin also said Russia was putting in place an outstanding anti-doping system, in the wake of the Olympic doping scandal. In a humiliating blow to Russian sporting pride, Russian athletes were banned from the 2016 Rio Olympics and Paralympics because of allegations of doping. (BBC)
President Putin's state-of-the-nation speech was televised live and lasted one hour 12 minutes(EPA)
INTERNATIONAL
GUYANA DAILY NEWS Trump Interviews Generals For His Cabinet After Criticizing Them PAGE 26
Washington (CNN)The parade of administration hopefuls passing through the Trump Tower lobby includes quite a few who have worn stars on their shoulders -- the kind of military men President-elect Donald Trump derided during the campaign as "embarrassing." Trump is interviewing current and former military brass for Cabinet positions, including erstwhile CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, retired Marine Corps Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis and the former head of Southern Command, Gen. John F. Kelly. He's already appointed retired Gen. Michael Flynn as his national security adviser and met with Adm. Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command. The unusually public process -- typically conducted behind closed doors -- has raised concerns about a Cabinet more heavily weighted toward military rather than civilian leadership. At least one of Trump's potential picks would require Congress to waive legal barriers to service members serving in civilian positions. And some of the military men in Trump's orbit have faced questions about their performance or judgment. The names being floated may reflect the President-elect's predilection for leaders with a "tough guy" profile, but they also mark a 180-degree turn from some of the insults he leveled at military figures during the campaign. Trump's pivot to Pentagon expertise as an incoming commander in chief isn't that unusual. US leaders have long turned to military experience to help them guide the civilian ship of state. "It's not unprecedented," said Richard Kohn, professor emeritus of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who pointed to three four-star generals President Barack Obama included early in his administration. "You put people of distinguished accomplishment in these positions," Kohn said. Obama named retired four-star Gen. James L. Jones as his national security advisor, retired four-star Admiral Dennis Blair as his director of national intelligence, and retired four-star Gen. Eric Shinseki as his secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Both his predecessor, President George W. Bush, and President Ronald Reagan named four-star generals as their secretaries of state. "What might be unusual is the public way in which this is being displayed by Trump," said Kohn, who focuses on issues of war and security, "so we hear about all these people being considered, as opposed to having the announcements after they've been decided." Also unusual: Trump's comments about military figures during the campaign, which were perhaps unprecedented for a presidential candidate, one who presumably learned respect for military leaders as a military academy student in his teens. RELATED: Trump offers Flynn job of national security adviser Trump repeatedly criticized a Gold Star family whose son died in the line of duty in Iraq. He said Republican Sen John McCain of Arizona was "not a war hero" because he'd been captured as a Navy pilot in Vietnam. He proposed committing war crimes, such as killing the families of terrorists, despite the Pentagon's opposition to such policies and in November 2015, boasted that, "I know more about ISIS than the generals do." At a September commander in chief forum on MSNBC, Trump said military generals were "embarrassing" to America and had been "reduced to rubble" under Obama. And he suggested that he'd clean house if he got to the White House, appointing "different generals, to be honest." As Trump began considering generals for a slew of Cabinet positions, former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers told CNN's "New Day" last month why there are concerns about "a military attitude in the civilian position." "When you get to that defense secretary role, it has to be a broader, strategic impact brought to any decision you make in any strategic event you make around the world -- including, by the way, acquisitions of weapons," Rogers said. This is one reason for a 1947 law that requires a sevenyear window before military leaders take the helm at the Defense Department. The question of how to balance civilian and military power has been around for millennia. Plato wrestled with it around 380 BC in "The Republic," a Socratic dialogue that examines the order of a just city-state. The question, as he put it, is 'who will guard the guardians?' Almost 1,600 years later, France's World War I Prime Minister, George Clemenceau, declared that "war is too important to be left to the generals." His point was that broad strategic considerations are best guided by democratically-elected representatives of the people and not an elite group of tactical experts. Howard Gardner, a psychology professor at Harvard University, said Trump is drawn "toward leaders who have a 'tough person'
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
profile" like Russian President Vladimir Putin, "what psychologists call 'the authoritarian personality.' " Gardner added that, "We have yet to see what happens when those leaders don't bend to Trump's will." Trump seems to be choosing people who supported him throughout the election process or individuals who signal beliefs and loyalties that will appeal to his constituencies, Gardner said. "Since a big source of support for Trump were military leaders and veterans, it is natural for him to turn to that constituency." Gardner added that, "Also, they tend to obey orders." Kohn notes that many of Trump's prospective hires parted ways with the Obama administration, and in cases such as Flynn's -who was pushed out as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 after two years -- have been quite vocal about their unhappiness taking direction from the current White House. "It's interesting to me that President Obama chose three people who were known to be very independent-minded, known to have disagreements with the Bush administration before him, and Trump is doing the same thing, picking people who had disagreements with the Obama administration," Kohn said. The "different generals" making the passage through the Trump Tower's lobby include Mattis, who is reportedly being considered as a defense secretary, though he would need a congressional waiver from the 1947 National Security Act to take the job. The Washington-state native, who retired in 2013, hasn't been a civilian for the requisite seven years. Some question whether he'd be right for the job. Erin Simpson, former CEO of Caerus Associates who served as an advisor in Afghanistan to the NATO-led security mission there, has written that Mattis is a legendary commander, but illsuited to the bureaucratic job of running the Pentagon. "He is a warrior and a leader of men. He is not, however, a man for all seasons," she wrote on the website War on the Rocks. "He is not a politician, or a wonk, or a bureaucrat. To ask him to be any of those things would be like trying to keep a wave upon the sand." RELATED: David Petraeus shared classified info. Now can he be secretary of state? Kelly, Mattis' friend and Marine Corps colleague, is reportedly being considered as a possible Homeland Security secretary. And Petraeus is on the list of candidates for secretary of state. Petraeus is widely respected for his experience on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and for developing counter-insurgency strategy -- alongside Mattis -- that is credited with reversing the violence in Iraq in 2007. But the former CIA director is burdened by his guilty plea to a misdemeanor for mishandling classified information. Petraeus gave classified materials to a woman he was having an affair with and then lied about it to the FBI. The other generals Trump is considering are also shadowed by controversy. Flynn, the future national security advisor, has potential conflicts of interests because of consulting work he has done for Turkish and Russian clients. And he has expressed views on Islam, terrorism and Asian countries that many see as extreme. Human Rights Watch has said Flynn has "contempt for the laws of war" and "a deeply disturbing disregard for human rights." Rogers, the head of the NSA, most recently courted controversy by visiting Trump Tower without informing his superior officers. (CNN)
INTERNATIONAL PAGE 27
GUYANA DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Study Finds Millions Of China's 'Missing Girls' Actually Exist It sounds like the plot of a mystery novel. A controversial onechild policy that resulted in as many as 60 million "missing girls" in China, the most populous country on Earth. But in a new study, researchers suggest that around 25 million of these girls aren't actually missing, but went unreported at birth -- only appearing on government censuses at a later stage in their lives. "Most people are using a demographic explanation to say that abortion or infanticide are the reasons (these girls) don't show up in the census and that they don't exist," said John Kennedy, study co-author and political science professor at Kansas University. "But we find there is a political explanation." When China implemented the one-child policy in 1979, the government expected local family planning officials to enforce it. However, implementing the rule proved harder in villages, where officials were also members of the community. Kennedy -- who spent long research stints in rural China -- discovered that in many cases, village officials turned a blind eye to children born outside the one-child policy. They'd let them go unreported in order to maintain good relations with the villagers. Kennedy said that by the mid-1980s, the Chinese government relaxed one-child policy rules in rural areas, allowing villagers to have a second child if the first was a girl. Yet in the 1990s, Kennedy discovered that lax policy enforcement had allowed families in rural areas to bypass the policy. A farmer Kennedy spoke with shed light on the situation when he introduced his elder daughter and son by name, but referred to his middle daughter as the "non-existent one." "He told us that his first daughter was registered but that when his second child, a daughter, was born they did not register her and instead waited to have another child. The third child was a boy; they registered him as the "second" child," said Kennedy. Looking at official government censuses When China implemented the one-child policy in 1979, the government expected local family planning officials to enforce it. However, implementing the rule proved harder in villages, where officials were also members of the community. Kennedy -- who spent long research stints in rural China -- discovered that in many cases, village officials turned a blind eye to children born outside the one-child policy. They'd let them go unreported in order to maintain good relations with the villagers. Kennedy said that by the mid-1980s, the Chinese government relaxed one-child policy rules in rural areas, allowing villagers to have a second child if the first was a girl. Yet in the 1990s, Kennedy discovered that lax policy enforcement had allowed families in rural areas to bypass the policy. A farmer Kennedy spoke with shed light on the situation when he introduced his elder daughter and son by name, but referred to his middle daughter as the "non-existent one." "He told us that his first daughter was registered but that when his second child, a daughter, was born they did not register her and instead waited to have another child. The third child was a boy; they registered him as the
"second" child," said Kennedy. Looking at official government censuses In October 2015, China scrapped its one-child policy amid concerns over the economy and its aging population. The country is infamous for its gender imbalance. Analysts have predicted that some 24 million Chinese men of marrying age will find themselves lacking wives by 2020. Kennedy hopes that findings from his study suggest that China's "marriage squeeze" -- where young men can't get married owing to a lack of women -- might not be as serious as previously thought. In 1958, China introduced 'hukou' or household registration laws that offered state welfare benefits to those connected to it by birth registration. Those whose births aren't registered can't benefit from this system to this day. "They can't get a job or feel like a part of society," said Kennedy, who hopes that his study will encourage the Chinese government to help register those who remain unregistered to this day. (CNN)
INTERNATIONAL PAGE 29
GUYANA DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
A Day Like Today If you are a lover of Pop-Rock and Fusion, you have probably heard of the American duo ‘Twenty One Pilots’. And if that is the case, then name Tyler Joseph might sound familiar. Joseph was born in Columbus, Ohio, on December 1st, 1988. He grew up with two brothers, Zack, Jay, and a sister, named Madison. His mother, Kelly, was a math teacher at Olentangy Orange High School's and his father, Chris, was a coach at Worthington Christian High School from 1996 to 2005. Joseph was a basketball lover form a very small age. He would appear at his father’s training sessions after school, and aim for the ‘high basket’. Joseph assisted to the Worthington Christian secondary school, were he played point guard for the school’s basketball team. In 2008, the team placed second in the Division IV state tournament. After seeing a songwriter perform at a High Street club, he rejected a basketball scholarship offer from Otterbein University and began playing music, after finding an old keyboard in his closet, and mimicking radio melodies. Twenty One Pilots was formed in 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. Initially an idea from Joseph, he eventually called his high school friends Nick Thomas and Chris Salih to form a band. He came up with the band's name while studying ‘All My Sons’ by American playwright, essayist, and figure in twentieth-century Arthur Miller. On December 29th, 2009, they released their debut album ‘Twenty one Pilots’, and began touring Ohio. Followed by their second album, ‘Regional at Best in 2011’. Twenty One Pilots' third album, ‘Vessel’, was released on January 8, 2013. The band's fourth album, ‘Blurryface’, was released on May 17th, 2015. Joseph and drummer Josh Dun embarked on an international world tour in 2016, known as the ‘Emotional Roadshow World Tour’. The band started to be known by their original and ‘bold’ style of performing Pop-Rock. They would make of the stage a theatre, in which their songs could come to life. Up to date, the bands success have been explosive. Their song ‘Heathens’ became an anthem for the 2016 American superhero film, ‘Suicide Squad’. On November 20th, the band was awarded with two trophies; Favorite Pop-Rock Band and Favorite Alternative artist. Joseph todays stands as an artist revelation. Making sure that him and his partner in music Josh Dun reach to the ‘summit’ of their career with a steady pace. Allowing their creations to continued being enjoyed, and remain of their audience memories for the years to come. Source: http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/tyler-joseph.html
American musician and rapper,Tyler Joseph
American musical duo 'Twenty One Pilots' (from left to right: Drummer Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph)
The duo at the AMAs 2016, receiving their award of Favorite Pop-Rock Band and Favorite Alternative artist
CLASSIFIEDS PAGE 30
WANTED
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GUYANA DAILY NEWS
VACANCY
Fast Growing Food Distribution Company Seeking Canter Driver. Must Have A Driver License And Valid Police Clearance. Some Experience Necessary. Call For Interview Tel # 231-8344 Or 223-1034
VACANCY
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Vacancy Exists For A Dentures Technician Call Tel: 231- 6338 Lot 12 & 13 Sheriff Street, Subryanville, Georgetown.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
VACANCY
SERVICES
One Pharmacy Assistant Please Call 231-5900 **** One Lab Assistant Please Call 231-5900 **** One Lab Technician Must Have A Diploma In Medical Technology, Be Able To Work As Part Of A Fast Moving Team. Must Be Licensed Please Call 231-5900
Tattoo Removal, Laser Lipo, Hair Removal and more. For more information call Skin Care Clinic on Tel: 231-5900.
PAGE 32
Samuels Leads Comilla Victorians Past Rajshahi Kings off to a shaky start after losing Imrul Kayes early, but Samuels partnered with Ahmed Shehzad, who made 46 off 41 balls, to make the run chase a fairly routine one. Samuels’ knock, which came from 41 balls, included four sixes and a couple of boundaries led the team home with eight balls to spare.
W
est Indies veteran batsman Marlon Samuels crafted a determined and unbeaten 55 as he led Comilla Victorians to a convincing 8-wicket win over Rajshahi Kings in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Wednesday. Chasing a modest 124/7 Comilla got
Earlier, Rajshahi won the toss and electing to bat seemed in good shape as Mominul Haque and Nurul Hasan got the team off to a strong start. The team, however, failed to capitalise on the platform and as a result of quick wickets lost in the middle-order, lost momentum in crashing to the small target. Mohammad Saifuddin accounted for three wickets which earned him the Man of the match award, while skipper Mashrafe Mortaza picked up two scalps. The win was the second in a row for the Victorians and moved the team up to sixth spot. (SportsMax)
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Jamaican Sprint icon, Merlene Ottey Weighs In On Bolt's Legend Status me, just to watch him run is amazing. It's a pity he has to retire soon, but I am very thankful and very grateful to Usain, he is a legend," said Ottey in an interview with The Gleaner during the I Am Bolt documentary premier in London.
A
debate has been raging as to whether or not, soonto-be-retired sprinter, Usain Bolt has achieved the status of legend. Iconic Jamaican sprinter, and a legend in the country, Merlene Ottey, has weighed in on the argument, and has no doubt about the big man's status. "For
Bolt's rise to prominence and eventual dominance in the one and 200-metre sprints, where he won 11 World Championships gold, and nine of medals of the same calibre at the three Olympics he has been to, is no surprise to Ottey. "When he was about 15, I saw him at the Junior World Championships, I thought to myself that this is a star. People tend to forget about his earlier years and they probably recognised him in 2008, but Usain was already born, he was a champion from before that," said Ottey. Ottey hasn't done too badly on the world stage either, winning three silver and six bronze at the Olympic Games, added to 14 World Championships medals, the most of any female athlete in history. (SportsMax)
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T&T To Face Costa Rica In CONCACAF Under-20 Championship Under the new format, designed to increase the number of meaningful, competitive matches, the top two teams from Groups A, B, and C will advance to the Classification Stage, where the Confederation’s four tickets to the World Cup at this level will be determined in round robin play among two groups of three teams each. The top two teams of each of the two Classification Stage groups will qualify as CONCACAF representatives to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017. For the draw, the Participating Member Associations were ranked and separated into four pots, based on their performance over the last four editions of the competition.
T
he CONCACAF Under-20 Championship draw has pitted Trinidad and Tobago’s young Soca Warriors against hosts Costa Rica, El Salvador and Bermuda in Group C of the tournament, which will be held in San Jose next year. In Group A, defending CONCACAF Under-20 Champion Mexico was joined by Antigua & Barbuda, Honduras and Canada, while the United States, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Haiti will contest Group B. The National Stadium and Estadio Ricardo Saprissa will both be used for the tournament, to be played in a new format consisting of a group stage, a classification phase, and the grand final.
Mexico, as current CONCACAF Under-20 Champions was seeded in position A1. The United States, as the best-ranked CONCACAF team in the last edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, was placed in position B1 and Costa Rica as host, earned position C1. The remaining teams, from pots 24, were drawn in order and placed in the group position drawn from Pots A, B and C. The positions of each group winner and runner-up from the group stage were then drawn in group pairs, randomly into the two groups (D and E) for the Classification Stage. (SportsMax)
PAGE 36
Timani Returns For Wallabies As Genia Absence Is Confirmed ready to go. I think we'll need that extra grunt in there for this game," said Cheika. "They have a pretty good guy backing up [Vunipola] who is new on the scene in [Nathan] Hughes. He's a pretty sizeable chap himself and a pretty good ball carrier. "It's not in response to what the other team does, it's what I think we need to win this game." Nick Phipps will start at scrum-half after Stade Francais refused to release Genia for international duty, with Nick Frisby listed among the replacements.
A
desire for additional power at the back of the scrum has led to Austrlaia boss Michael Cheika picking Lopeti Timani to take on England. Lopeti Timani has returned to the Australia XV for Saturday's match against England, while Will Genia's absence has been confirmed. Coach Michael Cheika hopes placing Timani at number eight and moving David Pocock to flanker will boost the Wallabies' physical attributes after a 27-24 defeat to Ireland last weekend. Nathan Hughes replaces the injured Billy Vunipola at the back of the scrum for England, and the Australia coach insists his team selection is not a reaction to how Eddie Jones' side will line-up. "He [Timani] will give us a lot of punch and strength in attack and defence. That extra weight he's got, his ball carrying and strong defence, it's going to be a very physical game and he's fresh now after a couple of weeks off and
Cheika wants his forward pack to put in the effort to ensure Phipps and fly-half Bernard Foley are not successfully shut out of the game by England, as they were during the 3-0 series defeat in June. "Our forwards are very clear that that can't happen. We need a platform and if Nick Phipps is targeted it's because of the forwards and not Nick Phipps," he said. "They go hand in hand and I'm not going to be pointing the finger at him for that." Rory Arnold has been left out of the 23-man squad, while Tom Robertson has been included following an injury to Allan Alaalatoa. Australia team: Isreal Folau, Dane Haylett-Petty, Tevita Kuridrani, Reece Hodge, Sefa Naivalu, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps; Scott Sio, Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu, Kane Douglas, Rob Simmons, David Pocock, Michael Hooper, Lopeti Timani. Replacements: Tolu Latu, James Slipper, Tom Robertson, Dean Mumm, Sean McMahon, Nick Frisby, Quade Cooper, Henry Speight. (SportsMax)
PAGE 38
Ireland's Payne To Miss Start Of Six Nations With kidney Injury
A
kidney injury will keep Jared Payne out for the next three months, ruling him out of the early stages of Ireland's Six Nations campaign. Ireland and Ulster centre Jared Payne will miss the start of the 2017 Six Nations with a kidney injury that is expected to rule him out for three months. Payne was replaced in the first half of Ireland's 2724 victory over Australia at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday and will be out of action for 12 weeks. The 31-year-old is likely to be unavailable to Joe Schmidt for the first three matches of the Six Nations campaign against Scotland, Italy and France. If Payne's recovery goes to plan, he could possibly feature in the final two fixtures versus Wales and reigning champions England. Andrew Trimble sustained a tendon issue in his foot during the same match and is expected to be out for two weeks. (SportsMax)
PAGE 39
Brazil Team Honored As Experts Study Possible Fuel Problem
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imultaneous tear-filled tributes were held at packed stadiums in Colombia and Brazil for the victims of this week's air tragedy that claimed 71 lives when a chartered plane crashed while ferrying a scrappy, small-town soccer team to the finals of a prestigious South American tournament. The tributes took place We d n e s d a y n i g h t a s c r a s h investigators aided by dramatic cockpit recordings were studying why the British-built jet apparently ran out of fuel before slamming into a muddy mountainside just a few miles from Medellin's international airport. In the sometimes chaotic exchange with the air traffic tower, the pilot jet requested permission to land because of "fuel problems" without making a formal distress call. A female controller explained another plane that had been diverted with mechanical problems of its own was already approaching the runway and had priority, instructing the pilot to wait seven minutes. As the jetliner circled in a holding pattern, the pilot grew more desperate. "Complete electrical failure, without fuel," he said in the tense final moments before the plane set off on a four-minute death spiral. By then the controller had gauged the seriousness of the situation and told the other plane to abandon its approach to make way for the charter jet. It was too late. Just before going silent, the pilot said he was flying at an altitude of 9,000 feet and made a final plea to land: "Vectors, senorita. Landing vectors." The ecording appeared to confirm the accounts of a surviving flight attendant and a pilot flying nearby who
overheard the frantic exchange. These, along with the lack of an explosion upon impact, pointed to a rare case of fuel burnout as a cause of the crash of the jetliner, a BAE 146 Avro RJ85 that experts said was at its maximum range on the flight from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. "The airplane was being flight-planned right to its maximum. Right there it says that even if everything goes well they are not going to have a large amount of fuel when they arrive," said John Cox, a retired airline pilot and CEO of Florida-based Safety Operating Systems. "I don't understand how they could do the flight nonstop with the fuel requirements that the regulations stipulate." British aviation experts will investigate the black box and flight data recorder. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said Thursday that the key instruments offering clues to what happened to the plane will be brought to Britain in the coming days for study. While the experts worked, thousands of white-clad supporters of Medellin's Atletico Nacional club jammed the stands of the 40,000-seat stadium where the team had been scheduled to play a Copa Sudamericana finals match against Brazil's ill-fated Chapecoense. With the words "Eternal Champions" blazing on a big screen, the normally combative Atletico fans put sportsmanship first and paid tribute to the rival team, which they've urged be named the champion. The names of each of the 71 victims of Monday night's crash was read aloud while a military band played taps and Black Hawk helicopters that helped in the rescue operations that pulled six people alive from the wreckage flew
overhead.In the stands, mourners stood for a minute of silence holding candles a n d s i g n s r e a d i n g " We ' r e a l l Chapeconese" and "Soccer has no borders." The emotional high point of the tribute in Medellin was an address by Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra, who traveled to the city along with a military cargo plane to help repatriate the bodies of the mostly Brazilian victims. He highlighted the fact that both teams shared the same green and white jersey colors, a sign to him of unity amid tragedy. "We Brazilians will never forget the way Colombians lived as their own this terrible, terrible disaster that disrupted Chapecoense's dream," the normally stone-faced political veteran said while wiping away tears."You offer us enormous comfort — a light in the darkness when all of us are trying to understand the unexplainable." Across the continent, in Brazil, the mood was even more somber as residents of the small agricultural city of Chapeco gathered in the team's stadium for a Roman Catholic Mass with relatives of the victims and the players who didn't travel with the team to Medellin. At the same time they had expected to be home watching their team on TV, more than 22,000 Chapecoense fans cried as they watched videos of tributes that poured in from all over the world. They then cheered the names of each of the dead players as well as the appearance of 5-year-old mascot Carlos Miguel, who usually appears on the sidelines of games in a Chapeco Indian headdress and who many had feared was on the doomed plane.
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Brazil Team Honored... Con’t...
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hape, as the team is called locally, reached the top of South American soccer without any superstars or any players from Brazil's celebrated national team. It was in the fourth division just seven years ago and only reached the first division in 2014. Its run to the finals of the Copa Sudamericana impressed fans across the continent as it knocked out some of South America's legendary teams. "We are the champions because we deserved this title," said goalkeeper Nivaldo, who was held back so he could prepare for his 300th game with the club Sunday in the last game of the Brazilian league season. "And we needed to be here with this crowd as much as they needed us here." Three of the team's players are among the crash's survivors. Doctors said Wednesday that they remained in critical but stable condition. One player, Jakson Follmann, had his right leg amputated, while defender Alan Ruschel was recovering from surgery for a spinal fracture. (SportsMax)
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