GNN Online Newspaper - Dec 08, 2015

Tuesday December 08, 2015

REACHING OUT TO A COLLEAGUE

Commander ‘A’ Division Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken and other officials visiting injured police constable Andrew July at the GPHC today

Amaila Falls up for discussion with Norwegians in Paris -PAGE 5

TWO Murder suspects escape from police -PAGE 3

Coastal Engineering Manual being finalised Staff of Ministry of Public Infrastructure at workshop

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) is finalising a coastal engineering design manual with the support of the European Union (EU) to improve Guyana’s sea defence system.

According to a statement from the Ministry “The manual was put together by a team of four consultants, including a coastal engineering specialist; a geotechnical specialist; and an engineering specialist who would have spent time in

Guyana interacting with a number of agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD); and Central Housing and Planning Authority.”

It added that “so far, the manual is a 14 chapter document and is still being refined.”

Guyana receives support from the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) framework

which lasts from 2007 to 2013 and focuses on a number of areas including sea defences.

The production of a Coastal Engineering Design Manual is a part of the latest project under the EDF.

Focus areas in the document included, integrated planning for sea and river defence works in Guyana; the physical site conditions and data collection issues; and natural flood protection systems along Guyana’s oceanic

coast and river banks and their relevance to the shore zone management process.

It aims to provide appropriate and practical guidance for the design and implementation of coastal engineering projects in Guyana.

“These projects concern new constructions or repair and rehabilitation of existing ones; the prevention of the erosion of oceanic, estuarine, and recessed coasts; coastal flooding; and the heavy damage from wave attacks to valuable coastal commercial, urban, and tourist communities of Guyana” the Ministry said.

The Ministry today kicked off a two-day staff training workshop at Cara Lodge to inform residents about the manual and how it will be implemented.

Minister of Public Infrastructure,

David Patterson explained that coastal engineering management is particularly important to Guyana due to factors such as climate change and the fact that Guyana is below sea level, therefore Guyana must look at sustainable and long-term solutions to sea defence.

“It’s very important that we recognise that coastal engineering extends way beyond the construction of physical sea barriers,” he said.

He further said the production of a design manual and the discussions which would come out of the workshop were important in the Government’s fight to ensure that the citizenry is protected.

Similarly, EU Ambassador Jernej Videtič ,also hailed the need for sustainability in Guyana’s sea defence system.

The Ambassador said that due to the lack of adequate maintenance of existing barriers along with the gradual destruction of mangrove forests, the protection of Guyana’s coastal zone was drastically reduced.

This reduction, he said, has increased the need for rehabilitation while long-term sustainable measures became urgent.

He concluded by stressing that the manual will be a useful and easily accessible tool and he expressed hope that it will be used to build a strong strategy for Guyana.

Ramkarran debunks Rohee’s accusation of attacking the PPP

Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran, has rubbished claims by Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Clement Rohee that he is seeking to attack the Party through his writings.

Rohee, at his weekly press conference on Monday December 7 said his party has noted the relentless crusade against the Party by Mr. Ralph Ramkarran, a former executive member of the party.

According to

Ralph Ramkarran

Rohee, “Having drank the anti-PPP elixir Ramkarran is now a passenger comfortably ensconced in the APNU+AFC coalition caravan. One is left to wonder whether Mr. Ramkarran’s attacks against the PPP is more personal than political and ideological or to nestle down to pen anti-PPP vitriol that would place him in the good books of the APNU+AFC.” R o h e e ’ s comments were sparked by a Ramkarran’s statement in his weekly

“Conversation tree” blog that the “PPP is the most corrupt administration in post-independence” as he backed the government in the Specialty Hospital row.

The PPP General Secretary accused Ramkarran of seeking to corrupt the politically uninitiated through his writings and to insult those readers who know otherwise.

The PPP believes that his articles come across to readers as acts of spite rather than expressions of truth and fact.

According to the Party,

Ramkarran is out to damage the PPP by his writings knowing he cannot destroy it.

The party is claiming that Ramkarran, a former party stalwart said nothing about corruption while the party was in government for twentythree years of which he (Ramkarran) sat on the executive council for twenty-one years.

Meanwhile,

the traditional path of Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo, which is to abuse the opponent. “ W h e n they have nothing constructive to say they abuse the opponent and then attribute motives to them,” Ramkarran said while maintaining that the PPP is the most corrupt administration.

He continued “Rohee apparently lives somewhere outside of Guyana and

Ramkarran told the Guyana News Network (GNN) that Rohee is following

does not listen to the news of corruption that has been made repeatedly by people

Clement Rohee

other than myself.”

Ramkarran said the evidence of corruption under the PPP/C administration are glaring.

Pointing to a number of projects and acts by the former administration which implicates amounts it, corruption, Ramkarran said the party has failed to provide answers to a number of questions that the general public is asking and

seeking explanation.

Instead, he said the party is seeking to attack its adversary.

Robeson Benn fires back at

Vincent Alexander

Robeson Benn

Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) Commissioner at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Robeson Benn, has responded to recent statements made by

Commissioner Vincent Alexander which labelled three Commissioners of the Party ‘”hypocritical.”

In a letter to the Editor, Benn noted that, “Guyana Elections Commissioner

Vincent Alexander, in a letter to the press published on December 7, 2015, has labelled the positions adopted by Commissioners Benn, Shadick, and Gunraj as ‘....

concocted, conflictual, and hypocritical’ on the application made for GECOM’s CEO Keith Lowenfield to strike out the petition of Ganga Persaud intended to have the courts hear, examine, and determine the conduct and results of the 2015 National and Regional Elections.”

Benn said the simple facts of the matter would seem to indicate that there is much to be concerned with at GECOM, especially since Alexander is rushing to the defence of Lowenfield and to act as GECOM’s mouthpiece once more.

According to the letter, when the question was raised at GECOM’s statutory meeting as to whether CEO Lowenfield was authorized to have an application made to quash the elections petition the answer given was an emphatic “ No “

It noted that the intervention on Mr Lowenfield’s behalf at the courts remains unauthorized and he could, arguably, be held responsible for the costs incurred thereto.

According to Benn, of greater importance, however, is the question of “Justice” which Alexander, seemingly, holds in such high regard. “Would it not be fairer to say that the application to strikeout the elections petition is an attempt to deny the electorate (of all political persuasions), and the nation as a whole, the opportunity to have a full hearing, examination, and determination by the courts of the process, conduct of, and results declaration of the May, 2015, elections?”, He questioned.

Further, he questioned whether the

application suggest that GECOM is attempting an avoidance of full Court and public scrutiny with respect to its performance against its constitutional mandate.

“A delay of justice is often, familiarly, described as justice denied. In this matter, Dr Surujbally’s action of casting his deciding vote against the motion to have CEO Lowenfield withdraw the application, in his name, to quash the elections petition is most regrettable”, the letter added.

According to the PPP Commissioner, “it suggests the complete disregard for the most elementary tenets of justice in a matter of grave national importance and that no satisfaction is to be expected from the Surujbally-Lowenfield combine at GECOM – backed up by Alexander.”

STAFREI HOPKINSON ALEXANDER

ROBIN MAXWELL THOMAS

Murder suspects escape from police custody The police are looking for two murder suspects who escaped from the Mackenzie Police Station earlier today.

A wanted bulletin was this afternoon issued for the men; Stafrei Hopkinson Alexander and Robin Maxwell Thomas who were charged for the Mur-

der of Shevon Gordon which occurred at Wismar on April 04, 2015.

The Police is seeking the public’s assistance in recapturing the men. Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest the two men are asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 444-3406, 444-

3274, 444-3512, 2269941, 225-6411, 911 or the nearest police station.

All information will be treated with strict confidence.

Both are of African descent. Thirty year-old Alexander’s last known address is Lot 129, Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown,

while twenty-five yearold Thomas’ is Caneview Avenue, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

Gordon, a forty-five year-old business woman of Wismar, Linden, was shot in front of her home while she and her husband were being robbed. They were attacked by two men who demanded a bag of cash that the woman was believed to have been carrying.

She was shot while resisting the attack after which the men escaped with the bag.

She was pronounced dead on arrival at the Mackenzie Hospital.

PPP salary increase motion not on December 17 agenda-Clerk

Sherlock Isaacs

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) motion to annul the salary increases given to government Ministers, Members of Parliament and other government officials is not likely to be on the order paper for the next sitting of the National Assembly next week.

This was confirmed by Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs in an invited comment by

this publication.

“I don’t see it being on the order paper for the next sitting,” Isaacs stated.

He explained that the motion was re-submitted last week, however, “It has to be published and remain published for twelve days before it is placed on the order paper.”

He noted that the salary increase motion was going to be the subject for discussion between him and the Speaker of the

House Dr. Barton Scotland.

The Opposition motion was supposed to be debated at the November 12 sitting which was postponed by the government due to the fact that some of its Members of Parliament were scheduled to be out of the jurisdiction on official business.

That move irked the PPP which accused the government of being afraid to debate its motion.

The PPP/C took to the media to express its dissatisfaction especially since it was told that its motion would have expired on December 1, 2015 and

it was uncertain whether it could have been re-tabled.

The party however sought advice from the Clerk who informed that the motion could be re-tabled and debated after December 1.

PPP/C ‘s Chief hip Gail Teixeira told a press conference last Wednesday that the party did re-submit the motion.

Minister of State Joseph Harmon announced last week that Parliament will reconvene on December 17.

AFC believes Venezuelan Opposition victory can reverse trade embargo on Guyana

Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

The Alliance For Change (AFC) today extended congratulations to the Venezuelan Democratic

Union Coalition (MUD) on their resounding victory at the elections held on,

Sunday December 6th.

The party is of the view that this recent development can reverse the trade embargo against Guyana by the Maduro regime.

In a statement, it said “the AFC believes that it is still possible for the Maduro regime to reverse its trade embargo against Guyana, in the interest of continued good neighborly relations between our peoples.”

The Coalition has secured two-thirds of parliamentary seats.

These mid-term elections

did not however, alter presidential powers, which are still in the hands of Mr. Nicolas Maduro.

The AFC said it “remains committed, being part of the APNU+AFC Coalition government, to working with the people of Venezuela towards “closer cooperation on matters of mutual interest and benefit to our peoples.”

During the Open Government Partnership 2015 Global Summit in Mexico, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo,

OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS IN VENEZUELA

disclosed that “Venezuela has imposed a trade embargo against Guyana, refusing to buy our rice or to sell us fuel.”

He added that “Venezuela has also

sought to block oil exploration off Guyana’s coast and gold extraction in our own territory, all in clear violation of international law and treaty obligations.”

that his organization will provide the necessary support and training in the areas of Catering, Housekeeping, Food Preparation, Project Management, Proposal writing, Record Keeping and Bird Guiding, in accordance with the residents’ request. The GTA will also produce a brochure to assist with the marketing and promotion of the area.

“The objectives of the one-day session were, to broadly define tourism with specific reference to

the communities’ potential and current offerings; assess the residents’ readiness for the tourism related development in their communities; identify the benefits of tourism; discuss challenges and issues; examine possible tourism enterprises; to conduct a training needs assessment; and to elect a Tourism Committee to coordinate future initiatives and activities” the GTA said.

Tourism development in Berbice looked at festivals and Pineapple Festivals among others.

Ho w e v e r, he emphasized that harnessing the existing potential will call for a clear action plan, proper time management, p a r t n e r s h i p and teamwork.

During the interactive session, the attendees also learnt about the various elements of tourism and the importance of maintaining high standards and service.

On this note, the GTA Director assured

GTA Director, Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh addressing residents

A Tourism Development workshop was hosted by the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) in the only indigenous community in Region 6; Orealla/Siparuta recently. The workshop falls under the Hinterland Tourism Development plan and is part of the drive to develop the Berbice Tourism Circuit.

According to the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), “dozens of residents from Village, the participated in the workshop…all of the participants, who came from the two adjoining communities on the Corentyne, were eager to learn how their small villages could benefit from tourism activities

and they were also open to all the available possibilities for training and capacity building.”

The GTA adds that the residents also expressed their gratitude for the information imparted and reaffirmed their willingness to work along with the Ministry of Tourism to further develop and enhance their communities.

W h i l e conducting the session, The GTA Director, Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh acknowledged that the communities possess valuable attributes which can be refined and marketed through a series of events including Fish Festivals, Heritage Day celebrations, Regattas, Pepper Pot

Residents at the workshop

Amaila Falls up for discussion with

Norwegians in Paris

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, says that the Amaila Falls is up for discussion with Norway officials at a meeting expected to be held during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21), currently being held in Paris, France.

At the conference, the government is primarily looking to engage the Norwegian Government, source financing for ‘clean and green initiatives’ and to strengthen bilateral ties with several countries.

Jordan along with Minister of Governance, with responsibility for Natural Resources and the Environment, Raphael Trotman, are currently in Paris. Jordan, whose presence is to aid in the negotiations for financing for Guyana,

said government has a number of bold plans in train for development.

“I am here to look after the climate change funding aspect of the conference for various reasons. We have very big projects, particularly as it relates to sea defence, energy and so on. That will impact development in the country and so I am interested in that. We are also here to meet with Norway on the Amaila Falls. We are not proposing a review.

They proposed that and so if that is going to help to unlock the US $80 million, which is being locked at IDB. We will make effort to ensure that we can get the money for clean energy development,” he said.

Since the agreement was signed in 2009, Guyana has earned US$190 million.

However, the Agreement

comes to an end this year and as such it was necessary that the two nations meet. Of the total amount, US $69.8 million has been transferred to the Guyana REDD+Investment Fund (GRIF), while US$80 million was transferred to the Inter-American Development Bank for the delayed Amaila Falls Hydropower Power Project.

Trotman, who is leading Guyana’s delegation at the conference, said that while Guyana joins with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, small member states and the rest of the world to show solidarity for the cause of mitigation against climate change, Guyana has an additional agenda, which it hopes to discuss.

He pointed out that Guyana was particularly interested

BEWARE! Bandits may be posing as utility workers The Guyana News Network (GNN) has received information which suggest that there may be some men who claim they are working with the utility companies, but who are phonies.

According to the information, the men are reportedly visiting homes under the false pretense to install water fixtures and to change

bulbs for free as part of a government program.

While the information surfaced some time ago on a social media platform in an effort to alert unsuspecting residents, it is believed that it may still be relevant given unconfirmed reports of the men being spotted in some areas.

On the side of caution, residents are

therefore advised not to allow such persons into their premises, since it is believed that the man are using the opportunity to rob people at gunpoint. Persons are also advised to ensure their homes are properly secured at all times and not to open to strangers.

A security official is advising that suspected persons should be reported

in the areas of financing since the country has hectares of untouched and pristine rainforest, which can help in to mitigate the negative effects of climate change.

He added that many small States are dealing with the impact of climate change “There is a cry for compensation for loss and damage that says look, your development has led to greenhouse gases and emissions and damage to the environment and we are paying the price for it.”

In addition to seeking financing to address the implications and consequences of climate change, he said that Government was interested in the area of transfer of technology, since this can greatly advance the fight against this global problem.

According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), of particular interest to the Guyanese delegation is the GuyanaNorway agreement, which has been shadowed under a cloud of uncertainty since the change in administration.

Trotman said that a meeting has been planned with the Norwegians and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where the relationship will be

and verification should be sought from the companies when necessary.

In the past a number of robberies were perpetuated by persons who falsely posed as utility workers.

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

discussed extensively to determine a way forward.

F o r m e r President Bharrat Jagdeo had urged that President David Granger attend the conference in order for Guyana to have a voice and to make its position known.

However, the President said he has matters to attend to at home.

With regard to the conference, Jagdeo said he is pleased that there seems to be a renewed momentum after Copenhagen in 2009. He said leaders should go to Paris and push for a good legally binding agreement.

“We have a great opportunity in Paris to do what we did not do in Copenhagen when the world had expected great things and a globally binding agreement which would have been the turning

point for how we treat carbon based economies in the world. Paris offers that opportunity again,” he stressed.

According to Jagdeo, the issues have been put to the table and the position of countries are known, however, it is now up to negotiators to come up with something that is globally binding.

COP 21 is the annual meeting of all countries which want to take action for the climate. It is be held in Le Bourget, France, from 30 November to 11 December. It is one of the largest diplomatic conferences ever organized, aside from the United Nations General Assembly sessions in New York.

Guyana still awaiting response from Venezuela after military chopper landed

Audrey Jardine-Waddell

No word has been received from the Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana in relation to the Venezuelan Military Helicopter that landed at the Kaikan airstrip, Region 7, last week.

This was confirmed

by Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

Ambassador Audrey JardineWaddell during a telephone interview this morning.

A Venezuelan Military helicopter landed at Kaikan airstrip, Region 7 on Thursday, December 03 with several men, allegedly dressed in Venezuelan Army uniform

and reportedly carrying guns.

Chief-ofStaff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Mark Philips noted that the chopper took off almost immediately after landing and said investigations are ongoing to determine what would have led to the landing

and taking off.

According to information, after landing, the men were allegedly approached by two women and reportedly sought information pertaining to a particular location.

Sources familiar with the development said that the location that the men reportedly

asked the women for is actually located in Venezuela and apparently is not too far away from where the chopper landed.

A Note Verbale was subsequently sent to the Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana requesting an explanation on the incident.

tourism industry has been the availability of funds to market and sell the country, and develop product innovations among others.

Against this background, the conference provided an opportunity for discussions on the way forward for the industry, and the availability of funds for the various initiatives in selling Guyana’s tourism product.

“I must say that in the six months I have been in this position, I have been pleasantly surprised that there is funding available for tourism products and innovative resources that we can bring to the table…we can provide support to businesses

in terms of developing your product document to access those funds” Minister Hughes said.

The conference which saw the participation of other local, regional and international tourism experts, also discussed several other areas which are aimed at enhancing Guyana’s tourism product. These include; pricing and packaging, business to business marketing, and travel as a tool for education and innovations through agriculture.

The Minister said the conference’s foundation discussion was on the business of tourism and it fits into the Government’s vision for the tourism industry.

“I want to make sure

that we put more feet on Guyana’s soil, more tables at restaurants filled with people and certainly more trips to our beautiful historic buildings and of course, Rupununi, Essequibo, whatever products and services you provide, we want to ensure that the bodies to support your businesses are here.”

The event hosted at the Arthur Chung Convention Center has been identified as the culminating activity for Tourism Awareness Month 2015 which was held in November under the theme, “Growing the business of tourism through product innovation.”

by the religious leaders, while the Divisional Commander gave him words of encouragement. Coates had been attacked at his home by four armed men on November 23, 2015, during which he was shot and injured to his right foot.

The Officers and Pastors also visited Police Constable Andrew July who is a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Constable July was struck down by a fleeing motorcyclist and received serious injuries, including a broken leg, while on duty at a police roadblock on December 04, 2015.

The pastors counselled and offered prayers for the speedy recovery of the rank as well as that of the other patients in the ward.

The Guyana Police Force has been benefitting through meaningful support

being given by religious leaders attached to the Cops and Faith Community Network which had been launched on September 12, 2013.

Efforts being made to Promote Tourism sector

Minister of Tourism Cathy Hughes delivering remarks to the stakeholders. at the head table are GTA Director Indranauth Haralsingh, THAG Director Shaun McGrath and Facilitator Jennifer Barrow

The Ministry of Tourism has intentions to provide Guyanese at home with the opportunities of seeing their own country as this will help them to be the ambassadors they ought to be.

This is according to Minister of Tourism; Cathy Hughes who

noted that “for too long Guyanese have not had the opportunity to enjoy our tourism product, and therefore part of what we want to achieve over the next 12 months is to encourage them and provide opportunities at a competitive price so they can see more of our

beautiful country, so they can be the spokespersons that we need them to be.”

She was at the time addressing the Tourism Industry Conference on Monday, where she added that over years, one of the challenges facing the development of Guyana’s

Police Officials visit injured rank and City resident Senior officers of the Guyana Police Force along with religious leaders attached to the Cops and Faith Community Network (CFCN), today visited a member of the public who was shot and injured by armed

men during a robbery at his home recently, and a policeman who was injured while on duty at a roadblock.

According to a police statement, Commander ‘A’ Division Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken, along

with other senior officers and Pastors Mr. David Cole and Mr. Shane Mosley, visited Nicholas Coates at his home at Bel Air Park, Georgetown, where he is recuperating.

Prayer sessions were offered and he was given counselling

GRA Manager fingered in chicken scam:

“I never receive no money” Suspended head of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Law Enforcement Division, Troy Vannooten, who was fingered an a chicken scam earlier in September has denied allegations of corrupt practices, stating that he did not receive any money from the chicken deal.

In September of this year, a truck in Berbice heading to Georgetown with approximately 400 packets of chicken was intercepted by police at a roadblock. The police later arrested two officers who were attached to GRA’s Marine Operations Unit (MOU) after they had suspected that the operation was illegal.

Just recently, two of the junior officers were dismissed and Vannooten was sent on leave summarily, pending investigations.

But the senior staff yesterday sought to clear his name of the allegations by offering through a statement in the press that he is a “no nonsense person” who, within his capacity of enforcement officer, stamp out corrupt practices once they are brought to his attention.

The GRA staffer maintained his innocent and said that

the trumped-up internal allegations against him is mainly because that he has ruffled feathers within the governments lone tax collecting agency regarding corrupt practices.

Though it was reported in sections of the media that Vannooten, along with at least two other staffers of GRA had allegedly accepted a sum of undisclosed cash for the release of the Leyland DAF truck which bore Suriname license plates, he contends that he has never accepted bribe regarding this matter.

In a suspension missive communicated to Vannooten the Human Resources Manager of GRA cited that he breached the GRA code of conduct, offence #16 which states “failure to obey known rules and codes of conduct, conflict of Interest and post-employment codes.”

Ho w e v e r, Vannooten is maintaining that he acted within the rules and regulations of the authority regarding the detention of the Suriname lorry which had contained the 400 boxes of foreign chicken that had an aggregate street value of some 2.8 million Guyana dollars.

He argued too that at all

time his superiors were updated on the issue. “ T h e information received from the police was that they have held this truck and would like to hand it over to GRA custody since the goods are perishable. I then instructed the head of enforcement for region six Omadat Persaud to get a team of officers and proceed to the location. At the same time I made contact with about three officers from Georgetown and we went up the Corentyne” the suspended staff said.

Divulging further, he revealed that at the time there were already two GRA staffers who were found in a car in proximity of the lorry, and they were in the presence of another man who apparently was the owner of the goods. These two officers, according to him, were scheduled to travel to the interior the morning, however they were carrying out an unsanctioned exercise in region six.

In an incident report submitted to Commissioner General (CG) Khurshid Sattaur it was revealed that one of the occupants exited the vehicle and identified himself as Phillip Paruag an Enforcement Officer

attached to LIED of GRA and indicated that he had detained the truck with its contents and were escorting the truck to Georgetown for further investigation.

According to Vannooten he was told that the driver of the lorry and another male was heading to Georgetown to purchase sprout brand (animal feed) when they were approached to hire the lorry to Georgetown.

He noted too that the incident was brought to Sattaur’s attention the following morning via a mobile call. Sattaur, he said, later instructed that a sum of seven hundred thousand Guyana dollars be paid to GRA as fines.

“The CG instructed me to collect two hundred thousand GYD as conveyance as a fine for the truck that was transporting the chicken, and five hundred thousand GYD as fine for the chicken itself. I had never received no money.

The taxes that were paid to GRA was received by another staff located the GRA centralised building on camp street, and an official receipt was issued” he said.

Va n n o o t e n , who has worked at the authority for more than a twelve years said that when he informed his

immediate line manager about the findings of his investigation into this issue, and the planned course of action, his boss was not pleased.

“We had a debate about the report I complied which lasted for about two days. He told me that he wasn’t going to sign the Memo because of its content and I said to him that, what I had compiled was detailed enough to carry out a full investigation into the matter. I later sent the document to the CG and copied him” the suspended staff said.

Also, it was recommended in Vannooten’s report that the two officers initially found at the scene should be suspended

since they were culpable of malfeasance. But what was shocking to him, was that the suspension letter he received is vague and did not explained his wrongdoings in investigating the seizure of the illegal chicken.

He said he has since written to the Chairman of the board, Rawle Lucas, to have the board review the circumstances leading up to his suspension and also into departmental c o r r u p t i o n .

Vannooten said he will allow due process in the matter, however he has suffered gross embarrassment as a result of the suspension and also that he is now on the breadline for two months.

the impression that my clients are “seeking to receive large sums of money,” the Attorney said.

Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Basil Willaims was quoted as saying that Jagdeo and Ramotar have moved to the High Court seeking large sums of monies following the capping of the benefits of former presidents.

T h i s announcement was made yesterday at a press conference held by the Minister.

However, their Attorney Murseline Bacchus in a release to the media deemed the statement made by the Minister “misleading.”

The Attorney clarified that his clients are seeking a declaration that the former Presidents (benefits and other facilities) act no. 3 of 2015 does not retrospectively affect benefits which accrued to them under the former Presidents (benefits and other facilities) act of 2009.

According to Attorney Bacchus, they are also seeking “an order compelling the Minister of Finance and the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority to provide forthwith to the applicants the benefits conferred upon them by the former president (benefits and other

facilities) act of 2009.”

The 2009 act codified a regime of benefits which were historically enjoyed by every former President of Guyana, the statement added.

The Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Bill was on July 09 passed by the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Members of Parliament in the absence of the opposition Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

The matters will come up before Chief Justice Ian Chang and Justice Narendra Singh on December 11, 2015.

Troy Vannooten

Jagdeo and Ramotar Attorney clears the air on Court action

Former Presidents Donald Ramotar and Bharrat Jagdeo

Attorney-at-Law representing former Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar is seeking to clear the air on reports carried in sections

of the media which seeking to the impression that the two former Heads of State are “seeking to receive large sums of money.”

“I observe in the

press certain misleading statements attributable to the honourable Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Basil Williams, conveying

Men, boys must speak out against domestic violence –IRO

The religious watchdogs of Guyana – the InterReligious Organisation (IRO) – is of the view that one of the most critical approaches to addressing domestic violence is the ability to get men and boys to speak out against the social ill which has long plagued the domestic sphere of society.

In a statement issued yesterday, the body noted that the role of men in addressing this form of violence and exploitation has been recognized as a key aspect of prevention.

Men and boys, according to them, must be encouraged to speak out strongly against violence and exploitation and not to protect perpetrators.

“They [men and boys] must make

a conscious effort to understand fully the principle of the equality of women and men and its expression in both private and public life. At home, men must come to understand their role in modeling healthy relations and respect for male and female members of the family” the IRO contended.

According to them, it is often in the home that boys and girls first learn about the nature of power and how it is expressed. Distorted expressions of power and authority promote in children attitudes and habits that are carried to the workplace, to the community, and to public life.

Un d e r s c or i n g the fact that women are the foundation

of any society due to their inherent roles as mothers and wives, the IRO believes that violence against women is an indication of a lack of respect, value and regard for these same people who are the pillars of the society.

Further, the organization reasoned that when acts of violence are committed against a woman, they decrease her worth and value.

She loses something that cannot be replaced.

She is disempowered and disrespected.

She is destroyed and cannot function as she should. Again, no one can replace such a loss.

In light of this acknowledgement, which seems to have been ignored, the body made a call for Guyanese

to awaken to the fact that where violence exists no one can be at peace, while we are meant to live in peace.

“Peace is the natural nature of the human spirit. We are all spiritual beings residing in physical bodies.

When we commit acts of violence we are acting against our Godgiven nature. Anger is the basis of violence.

Anger destroys firstly our own internal state of peace and when we direct our anger towards another there is further destruction. Eventually we destroy not only a home, but a society and a country” the IRO said.

Just Saturday last, President David Granger, delivering the featured address at the National Adventists’

Men’s Conference called on men to assume their roles and responsibilities in society and promote respect among themselves and for their female counterparts.

He noted that for too long, women have been disrespected by the hands of men who have neglected their roles in society and as such, there is a need for the reconditioning of the minds of men to love and appreciate women in society.

Guyana is

currently observing 16 days of the Elimination of Violence Against Women with the Ministry of Social Protection leading the charge with several awareness campaign across the country.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was celebrated on November 25, and Human Rights Day will be observed on December 10.

Wakenaam residents -Minister commits to decry ferry service addressing issue

A Wakenaam resident interacting with Minister Annette Ferguson

Residents of the small island of Wakenaam in the Essequibo River, yesterday served Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson a menu of complaints, primarily centered on the operations of the ferry service.

The visit by the Minister has been an impromptu one, which was motivated by several concerns reaching the Ministry of recent.

Fist on the agenda, was the administration of the stelling, which, residents decried, was fostering the culture of erratic schedules for the ferries plying that route. The lack of standardized schedule, residents lamented, has resulted in numerous inconveniences for residents who usually have to travel to Georgetown to conduct businesses.

According to

one resident, “There are many days we come for a certain time, only to hear the ferry has left.”

He added that he would have been left at the Parika stelling on at least three occasions due to the absence of a schedule.

A n o t h e r resident also weighed in, offering that, “We are not asking for $10B or $15B to be injected into this stelling; all we’re asking is that those who are part of its administration

to do things that are of maximum benefit to the passengers.”

In addition to the lack of a schedule, residents also requested to Minister Ferguson, to address the issue of the ferry service only being available a few days each week, rather than a daily service which was historically offered.

Businesspersons in particular, stressed that the alternative of speedboats was too expensive in the long run while the erratic schedule would have severely affected their businesses.

If this issue is addressed, the residents contended, then the economic a r r a n g e m e nt s would ultimately p r o m o t e Wa k e n a a m’s development. “ T h e problem is not anything big; it’s just managerial problems here,” one man said to Minister Ferguson, adding that issues

such as a low volume of passengers should not determine whether the ferry service is available or not.

“Transport and Harbours is supposed to provide a service to the people rather than acting like a business so it does not matter if there are not enough persons,” he noted.

Assuring the residents that the issues raised will immediately addressed by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, the Minister reminded them that, “We are providing a service and this is a service that the Wakenaam people are depending on…

we can’t suffer them.”

Ho w e v e r, while she committed to addressing the issues which the Ministry is responsible for, she urged residents, particularly the business community, to play their part in promoting development in the small island.

Several visits around the island were also made to; the Wakenaam Guyana Power and Light (GPL) power plant; the construction of riprap at Maria Johanna; a visit to the Wakenaam Sea Defence Office; and an inspection of the Wakenaam Post Office.

PPP joins in observing Int’l AntiCorruption Day The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) says it recommits itself to the fight against the scourge of corruption and graft and calls on all Guyanese to be vigilant against corruption and corrupt practices.

The party joins with the rest of the world in the observance of International Day against Corruption on December, 09 under the theme “break the corruption chain”.

It noted that “Corruption attacks the foundation of democratic institutions by distorting electoral processes, perverting

the rule of law and creating unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape whose only reason for existence is to solicit bribes.”

In a statement, the PPP said “One consequence of such an aberration is the stunting of economic development and the overall good and prosperity of the citizenry as a whole.”

The party says breaking the corruption chain aims at ending poverty and ensure prosperity for all.

It further pointed that “Despite talks

about transparency, accountability and due diligence by the APNU-AFC coalition the track record of the Granger administration so far is nothing short of a complete violation of these same transparency norms which they claimed to uphold and defend when in opposition.”

It alluded to the Specialty Hospital deal which was signed with Fedders Lloyd saying it “flies in the face of everything the Ganger administration claim to hold as sacrosanct and inviolate, adding that Similar infractions

in the tendering process were evident in the award of contracts to clean up the city and in the forensic audits which were doled out to known critics of the previous administration no doubt in reward for their strident anti-PPP stance.”

In this regard

the PPP says it pledges to so everything in its power to protect the resources of the country from being siphoned off by unscrupulous elements who have access to power and influence.

According to the United Nations, Corruption is a complex social,

political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries.

C o r r u p t i o n u n d e r m i n e s d e m o c r a t i c institutions, slows economic development and contributes to governmental i n s t a b i l i t y.

Here’s why the drug that helped Jimmy Carter get ‘cancer-free’ is such a big deal Former US President Jimmy Carter announced on Sunday that his latest brain scan showed no sign of cancer, a few months after revealing that he had been diagnosed with melanoma that had spread from his liver to his brain.

Carter was being treated with a cancer drug called Keytruda that uses the immune system to fight off cancerous cells.

Keytruda, made by pharmaceutical company Merck, was originally

approved by the FDA in September 2014 to treat melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer that can also show up in other organs of the body, as it did in Carter’s case.

In someone with melanoma, certain proteins called PD-1 stop the immune system from doing its job and fighting the cancerous cells. Keytruda works by getting in the way of those proteins, allowing the immune system to access the cancer cells.

Then, with the help of

radiation therapy, which works to shrink tumors by killing cancer cells, it can knock the cancer out.

The drug is delivered intravenously every three weeks, costing about $12,500 a month. And the drug isn’t just being used in cases like Carter’s. Keytruda, which got approved to treat a form of lung cancer in October, is also being explored to treat a number of other cancers, including head and neck, breast, and bladder cancers and

Hodgkin lymphoma.

It’s also not the first cancer immunotherapy drug.

Scientists have been seriously exploring using the immune system to battle cancerous cells for decades as an alternative to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. But it’s taken a long time for the treatments to be effective in humans.

On Monday, Merck also announced that it has initiated two final phase trials using

Keytruda in patients with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called plasma cells. In November, the

FDA approved three multiple myeloma drugs, including another cancerimmunotherapy drug called Empliciti. (Yahoo)

Happy wife, happy life, the saying goes. The onus of that cliché is always

placed on the man, whose job it is to make his wife happy. However, you can

make yourself a happy wife by marrying man who is taller than you.

A survey, conducted by researchers at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, examined 7,850 Indonesian women in a long-term population study with the aim of discovering whether a taller male partner had a discernible effect on the happiness of the female.

Turns out it

does, and the happiness level the woman feels only grows as the height disparity gets bigger.

That isn’t a permanent fix for happiness, however. The feeling weakened over time and was gone entirely 18 years later. The next time a celebrity couple splits after roughly that time lapse, eyeball their height difference and see if this study provides insight into the source of

their languishing love.

“The long period of the dissipation indicates a powerful impact of male height on women’s psychology, probably prepared by evolution,” lead researcher Kitae Sohn told the Telegraph.

A big part of the

reason that happiness disappeared after 18 years? A depletion of the man’s influence over his wife. No happiness lasts forever, but it’s comforting to know we can give it a boost. (Yahoo Health)

While most of us know we need to eat more fat to feel full and help lose weight, many of us are still buying lowfat foods in the grocery store. Because low-fat has to mean lowercalorie and better for our waistlines, right?

Wrong.

A new study published in Appetite finds that a majority of low-fat foods don’t cut as many calories as you’d expect.

Researchers at the University of Toronto analyzed more than 5,700 packaged foods from grocery stores to find that about 61% of products billed as low-fat did not

have significantly fewer calories than their fullfat counterparts (in this study, a “significant” drop in calories was defined as a 25% decrease).

How’s this possible? Because when companies take fat out of foods, they add in other calorie-dense ingredients like sugar to make up for lost flavor.

In fact, many low-fat foods are higher in sugar than the full-fat versions.

But here’s the real problem: The myth that lower-fat equals fewer calories is seriously hampering our collective weight-loss efforts.

Previous research shows

Women are happier married to taller men

The scary new reason low-fat foods may be causing you to gain weight

that the mere presence of the word “low-fat” on a food label can make people eat 50% more of that food than if there was no fat claim at all.

Basically, low-

fat foods are a double whammy to your waistline: Not only can they have just as many calories as fullfat versions, they can also prompt you to eat

more than you normally would—partly because they have that health halo, but also because they lack filling fat and often have way more sugar.

Yep, pretty much

the worst weight-loss plan in history. “Read the label, and look for foods higher in fiber and lower in sodium and sugar.

Also look for foods that are less processed.” says Alyssa Schermel, MSc, a co-author of the study That means skipping the front-of-package claims altogether. Instead, go straight for the real information about the product—the Nutrition Facts and ingredients list—and you’ll make the healthier choice every time. (Adapted from Yahoo Health)

Beijing Suspends Schools, Restricts Cars on Pollution Alert Beijing has suspended schools, restricted car travel and banned fireworks and outdoor barbecuing as the Chinese capital copes with a thick blanket of gray smog that’s enveloped the city and is expected to remain in place for much of the week.

The local environmental protection bureau raised a red alert to warn of the dangers associated

with extreme pollution levels, the first time the alarm has been raised to its highest level since introduction of an emergency air-pollution response system in 2013. The iconic Bird’s Nest stadium used in the 2008 Summer Olympics enshrouded in a curtain of gray smog.

The red alert will be in effect from 7 a.m. on Tuesday to noon on Thursday, according to a report from Xinhua.

It’s not known why a red alert wasn’t issued at the end of last month when pollution levels soared.

City officials have been criticized for not acting sooner, with much of the comment directed toward the question of why the government earlier issued only an orange alert, the second highest.

According to Xinhua, the rules establishing the four-

tier emergency response system dictate that the highest alert should be issued when an Air Quality Index reading is expected to surpass 200 for three consecutive days.

The U.S. Embassy’s website classifies the current AQI as “very unhealthy.”

Under the red alert, some industrial companies must stop or limit production, outdoor construction

work is banned and primary schools and kindergartens are advised to cancel classes. Even healthy people should try to avoid outdoor activity and choose public transportation, according to the center.

Only cars with either even or odd numbered license plates will be allowed on the road on certain days under the travel restrictions, according to the protection bureau.

(Adapted from MSN)

Sheriff ’s Office said.

Deputies said Matthew Riggins drowned as a result of the gator attack. He was missing his lower extremities and part of an arm, according to deputies.

Riggins and another man were in Barefoot Bay to commit house burglaries in the

late evening hours of Nov. 12 and early morning hours of Nov. 13. Riggins and the other man were spotted on Royal Palm Boulevard, but they fled.

A K-9 and helicopter search were unsuccessful. According to deputies, Riggins called his girlfriend to say he was being chased by authorities. Riggins was reported missing later on Nov. 13 after he didn’t come home His body was

found in a Barefoot Bay lake just north of Ocean Avenue Way on Nov. 23.

While sheriff dive team members were recovering Riggins’ body, they encountered a large gator “aggressively approaching” them.

The gator was trapped by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation C o m m i s s i o n and euthanized.

“A forensic examination of the

alligator located remains consistent with the injuries to Riggins inside the alligator’s stomach,” deputies said. The other man who was with Riggins has been identified, but is not cooperating with the investigation.

Deputies didn’t say if he was charged.

(Adapted from MSN)

Alligator kills burglary suspect who hid in pond A 22-year-old burglary suspect trying to evade authorities was

killed by an 11-foot alligator last month, the Brevard County

British couple jailed for keeping Nigerian as slave for 24 years A British couple have been jailed for six years each for keeping a Nigerian immigrant as a slave for more than two decades, a London court clerk said.

Emmanuel Edet, 61, and Antan Edet, 58, were sentenced at Harrow Crown Court in northwest London late on Monday after being found guilty last month of child cruelty, slavery and assisting in illegal immigration.

The couple brought the man to Britain in 1989 when he was 14 years old, the Crown Prosecution Service said. They told the teenager they would educate and pay him, but they forced him to work long hours for no pay and threatened him with deportation if he tried to escape, prosecutors said.

He received no education and had only very limited contact with his family and the outside world. The couple took his passport, and he had no identity documents, prosecutors said.

The victim, now 40, was forced to cook, clean, garden and care for the couple’s children without any pay for up to 17 hours a day, they said. He had to eat alone and typically slept on the floor of the hall, they said.

Prosecutor Damaris Lakin said the Edets told their captive he would be arrested

as an illegal immigrant and deported if he left the house and contacted police.

“He believed this and felt trapped and completely dependent on the Edets,” Lakin said in a statement. “Emanuel and Antan Edet have cruelly robbed this victim of 24 years of his life. They have treated him with complete contempt.” “This was

a shocking case of modern day slavery,” he said.

Prosecutors said the Edets had changed the victim’s name and added him to their family passport as their son when they brought him into Britain. (Yahoo)

CHILD SHOCKED TO DEATH A Trinidad Laventille man who allegedly tried to revive his seemingly unresponsive twoyear- old step-daughter with powered electrical cords at his home has been detained by police for questioning in connection with the matter. The mother of the child is also assisting police in their investigations, sources confirmed last night.

According to reports, the infant, Kristha Knutt, who lived with her mother was said by relatives to be

suffering from a cold.

The man, on checking on her at about five o’clock yesterday morning, found her unresponsive.

The man who had a relationship with the child’s mother told police when he realised the infant was not responding he became concerned and out of sheer desperation, tried to revive her by using “live” electrical wires carrying 110 volts of electricity.

The attempt however failed and the limp child was rushed

to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. When doctors noticed two burn marks on the child’s chest, they contacted the police.

An autopsy performed later in the day revealed that the child died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, aspiration due to pneumonia and electrocution. The toddler’s grandmother Marlene Rawlins, who was at the Centre for the autopsy yesterday, suggested that little

Kristha was an abused, child and that abuse in addition to neglect, led to her death.

“I could not say what happened that night, but I am going with what the autopsy report is saying,” Rawlins said.

“I believe that he knew what he was doing and I have been warning him that what he was doing was wrong in the eyes of the Lord.”

T h e grandmother said she had always suspected that a male relative was abusing the young

child. “The baby was always crying and running away from him,” she told reporters.

“I used to warn that man not to do Kristha any wickedness and if

he was doing it, stop.

Port-of-Spain homicide detectives are continuing investigations.

(Adapted from the Trinidad Newsday)

initially from New Amsterdam, Guyana, was at Down Home bar, Waterloo Road, Carapichaima, liming when he went to the washroom. It is alleged that he was accosted by two men and robbed.

The men then allegedly stabbed Sewkaran twice in the abdomen. He ran out of the bar and was pursued by his attackers.

The men then doused Sewkaran with a flammable substance and lit him on fire. He was assisted by patrons

of the bar and taken to the Hospital and warded in a critical condition since then. On Saturday at about 7 pm, Sewkaran, who received 90 per cent burns to his body, succumbed to his injuries.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, his brother, Dhanraj, 20, said he and his brother, who is fondly called Sharma, came to Trinidad three months ago on vacation

and had plans to return to Guyana shortly.

“He has two children. His wife is in the country now and my mother is planning to come to Trinidad to see what we can do now.

How we can make the money to take his body back home or what we will do,” Dhanraj said.

Dhanraj, who described his elder brother as a quiet and good boy, questioned why

he had to die that way.

“We came together and should have been going back home together.

I want justice for my brother and hope that I get this from the police officers,” Dhanraj said.

Officers at the Freeport Police Station is now treating Sewkaran’s death as a murder and are continuing investigations into the incident.

(Trinidad Guardian)

year.

The steel company said the over-supply of steel in the international market and the drying up of orders for its DRI and steel products produced

at its Point Lisas plant has led to this temporary shut down of its operations.

The union is calling for Prime Minister Keith Rowley and

Labour Minister Jennifer BaptistePrimus to intervene.

(Adapted from the Trinidad Guardian)

Guyanese man robbed and set on fire dies Deokaran Sewkaran

Guyanese national Deokaran Sewkaran, 35, who was robbed, stabbed and set on fire by thieves on November 29 in Waterloo succumbed to

his injuries on Saturday at the San Fernando General Hospital.

According to a police report, at about 4.30 am Sewkaran,

With 17 days before Christmas, ArcelorMittal has sent home 600 workers with immediate effect.

However, Christopher Henry, president of the Steel Workers Union of T&T which represents the workers said the matter would be placed in the hands of its lawyers and may be heading to court for a final outcome.

Henry said ArcelorMittal not only laid off 800 contract workers earlier this year but sent home 600plus permanent workers weeks before Christmas.

In confirming the lay-offs, the

company, in a statement yesterday said it had no option, blaming the economic conditions in the global steel industry and its inability to reach an agreement with the union for its decision.

Last Friday, the company met with the union and said it was impossible for the company to keep workers on the plant over a protracted period without having work for them to perform.

A couple of weeks ago, ArcelorMittal, Point Lisas, announced that because of oversupply of steel in the international market and the drying up of orders for its Direct

600 workers laid off in T&T Reduced Iron (DRI) and steel products, it had to scale down its operations. The union claims a Canadian firm has been contracted by the company.

“The global steel industry is experiencing its worst recession in ten years, comparable to that experienced in the early ‘90s. Every steel company in the world is facing this difficult reality and ArcelorMittal Point Lisas has had no choice but to react to these changes in the industry,” it said.

The workers are being sent home with $2,000 each as compensation for December 7 to January 15, next

Republicans slam Trump’s ‘Muslim US ban’ call There has been a storm of condemnation from Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans after the presidential candidate called for a ban on Muslims entering the US. Rival candidate Jeb Bush called Mr Trump “unhinged”. Former US Vice-President Dick Cheney said it “goes against everything we stand for and believe in”.

The White House, UN and Muslim leaders also criticised Trump’s statement.

Trump said many Muslims nursed a

“come home” Trump’s statement was delivered as the US comes to terms with its deadliest terror attack since 9/11.

Last week a Muslim couple, believed to have been radicalized, opened fire and killed 14 people at a health centre in San Bernardino.

Trump garnered loud cheers when he repeated his ban pledge at a South Carolina rally hours after his initial statement.

But fellow Republicans lined up to condemn him:”This is just more of the outrageous divisiveness that characterises his every breath” - rival Republican candidate

John Kasich. “Donald Trump is unhinged.

His ‘policy’ proposals are not serious” - rival candidate Jeb Bush.

“Downright dangerous” rival candidate Lindsey Graham “This whole notion that we can just say ‘no more Muslims’, and just ban a whole religion goes against everything we stand for and believe in.

Religious freedom has been a very important part of our history and where we came from... It’s a mistaken notion” - former VicePresident Dick Cheney But a handful of supporters cheered Trump on, with

c ont rove rs i a l c o n s e r v a t i v e commentator Ann Coulter tweeting: “GO TRUMP, GO!” “Donald Trump sounds more like a leader of a lynch mob than a great nation like ours,’’ said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-

Islamic Relations.

Meanwhile, the Democratic mayor of St Petersburg, Florida, announced to Twitter fanfare that he was “hereby barring Donald Trump from entering St Petersburg until we fully understand the dangerous threat posed by all Trumps”.

(Adapted from the BBC)

entering the United States. A statement from Trump’s campaign team said the halt on Muslims entering the country

should remain in place “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

The statement does not specify if the proposal would affect both tourists and immigrants.

Trump’s campaign cites poll data allegedly showing “hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population”.

“Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine,” the

billionaire real estate mogul, who is leading in opinion polls among likely Republican voters, said in the statement.

“Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”

Trump has been increasingly virulent in

his remarks targeting Muslim Americans since the deadly Paris attacks, and again in the wake of last week’s shooting attack in California, which was carried out by a Muslim couple, leaving 14 dead and 21 wounded.

“Just put out a very important policy statement on the extraordinary influx of hatred & danger coming into our country.

We must be vigilant!”

Trump tweeted after the statement was released.

H i s announcement unleashed quick condemnation on Twitter. “@realdonaldtrump removes all doubt: he is running for President as a fascist demagogue,” Democratic presidential contender Martin O’Malley said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations group said: “We’re entering into the realm of the fascist now.”

(Al Jazeera)

by India’s leading diplomat in three years.

Te n s i o n s between the nucleararmed rivals have been high for decades with two of three wars fought over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. India has long accused Pakistan of supporting separatist Muslim rebels in India’s part of the territory.

P a k i s t a n National Security Adviser Nasir Khan Janjua and his Indian

counterpart Ajit Doval met in Bangkok on Sunday for the unannounced talks.

A joint statement issued after the meeting said “discussions covered peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, and other issues, including tranquility along the LoC [Line of Control - the de facto Kashmir border].

“Discussions were held in a candid, cordial and constructive atmosphere,” the statement said. “They were guided by the

vision of the two leaders for a peaceful stable and prosperous South Asia.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif met in Paris last week, apparently paving the way for the Bangkok talks, which were also attended by both foreign secretaries.

India abandoned scheduled talks in August after Pakistan insisted the Kashmir issue be put on the agenda.

The joint statement said the two countries had “agreed to carry

forward the constructive e n g a g e m e n t ”.

Since he came to power last year, the Indian prime minister has made extensive foreign trips abroad, especially to the capitals of Western industrialised

countries, with an eye to boost economic and strategic ties. (Adapted from Al Jazeera)

“hatred” towards America. In a campaign statement, he called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”.

His campaign manager said that would apply to “everybody” would-be immigrants and tourists. But Mr Trump told Fox News it would “not apply to people living in the country”, adding that Muslims serving in the US military would

Donald Trump calls for halt on Muslims entering the US

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has called for a “total and complete” block on Muslims

Surprise India-Pakistan talks spark optimism South Asia analysts expressed optimism on Monday after talks were secretly held between arch rivals India and Pakistan in the Thai capital - a move that signaled a long-awaited thaw in frigid relations.

In a further surprise move towards rapprochement, it was announced Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj will hold talks with Pakistani officials on Wednesday, the first visit to Islamabad

Pistorius granted bail after murder conviction South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail while he awaits sentence for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

Judges changed his conviction from manslaughter to murder

last week. He has already served one year in prison.

Pistorius now faces a minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment - to be set after a hearing on 18 April 2016. He will also appeal against his murder conviction in the

Constitutional Court, his lawyer has said.

This could see delays of many more months.

Now that Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail, it must have come as a huge relief that he will spend Christmas at home.

Pistorius himself looked relaxed, chatting and laughing with his legal team during the brief adjournment while the judge was considering his fate.

The double

A two-time world champion Red Bull air racer has died in a jet crash in Southern California.

The company announced Monday that 60-year-old Mike Mangold was one of two people

killed in Sunday’s crash at Apple Valley Airport northeast of Los Angeles.

Authorities say the two were in an L-39 — a high-performance jet trainer developed in Czechoslovakia — when it crashed in a

fireball shortly after takeoff. The other person on board hasn’t been identified.

Mangold, a graduate of the famous Air Force “Top Gun” fighter school, flew jets for American Airlines and competed in the

amputee’s bail application also revealed that he had enrolled to study “a BSc business with law degree” at the London School of Economics - but the university says it does not offer that degree or correspondence courses.

Pistor ius indicated in court documents that he intended to lodge an appeal to the highest court in the land. This would be the very last legal avenue available for

Red Bull Air Race World Championship, winning the overall title in 2005 and 2007.

Red Bull says after retiring from competition, Mangold was a commentator and a pilot coach. (MSN)

the disgraced athlete to overturn his conviction.

Bail has been set at 10,000 rand ($700, £450). Pistorius was deemed not to be a flight risk by Judge Audrey Ledwaba.

Pistorius can remain under house arrest at his uncle’s home until sentencing next year, and will be electronically tagged. He also has to hand over his passport.

He will be able to leave the house between

7am and midday, but will only be able to move within a 20km (12 miles) radius. He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail.

The 29-year-old killed Ms Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day after shooting four times through a locked toilet door. (Adapted from the BBC)

Red Bull world champ dies in California jet crash

Guyana Jaguars maul Red Force

Left-arm spinners Veerasammy Permaul and Gudakesh Motie shared nine wickets between them as Guyana Jaguars mauled the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force by an innings and 49 runs

yesterday, on the final day of their WICB Professional Cricket League Fourth Round match at the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair.

Permaul took five wickets for 62 runs while the 20-year-old

Motie, in his first season at the First Class level, got 4/43 as the Red Force, resuming from 51 runs for two wickets in pursuit of 266 in order to avoid an innings defeat, crashed from 136/2 to 216, shortly

before the tea interval.

Overnight batsmen Kyle Hope, the 27-year-old Barbadianborn right-hander, and former WI and Guyana lefthander, 32-year-old Narsingh Deonarine, struck 74 and 47 respectively but, when both fell before lunch, the result was never in doubt.

Hope (who was on 22 overnight), posted his highest score of the season, hitting 13 fours in his 146-ball knock, while Deonarine (10 overnight) came close to notching his second half-century of the 2015-2016 tournament; he struck

eight boundaries in his 100-ball innings.

The duo seemed untroubled in their third-wicket stand of 104 in 33 overs, but Deonarine was snapped up by close-in fielder Shimron Hetmeyer off Motie while Permaul had Hope caught behind on the stroke of lunch.

Captain Jason Mohammed (five) and his deputy Yannick Ottley (nought) were entrusted with the responsibility of guiding the Red Force batting to a measure of respectability, but both fell early in the second session.

Ottley ended

a poor game with the bat as he was bowled

by Permaul for a duck, while Mohammed (12) was trapped in front by Motie.

The out-ofform Imran Khan (two), one ball after being dropped by Leon Johnson at first slip off Permaul, gave the Jaguars’ captain another chance which he did not refuse. Steven Katwaroo (15) hung around for a short while but he was given out leg-before, after missing a yorker which struck his front boot. (Adapted from the Trinidad Newsday)

RHTYSC congratulates Fudadin The Patron, President and Members of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTYSC) today congratulated Assad Fudadin on his achievement of scoring his fifth first class century versus Trinidad in the West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League earlier in the week.

Assad, who was recently named the best Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club Cricketer in the Club’s twenty five years history, was deemed a role model to every member.

T h e congratulatory message noted that Assad is a perfect example of the Club’s

formula of success hard work, discipline, dedication, faith in the god, honesty and a strong desire to succeed against all odds.

Despite some failures at the start of the season, the Club said it was confident that it would only be a matter of time before he started to perform to his high standards.

They wished him the best in the remaining matches and is confident that he would shortly regain his place in the West Indies team.

The Club said it is very proud of Assad Fudadin and wishes to reassure him that he would continue to be in their daily prayers.

Tueasday December 08, 2015

Guyana grab 8 Gold Medals at Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships

Team Guyana at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in British Columbia Canada

Guyana again showcased its dominance in powerlifting, this time heading the recently concluded Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in British Columbia Canada.

The team produced its best ever performances to date

in its maiden appearance with an almost perfect total of 8 out of nine overall gold medals in the different weight classes.

In the women’s category at the Sub Junior level (52kg) Britney Mack took the gold medal after producing a lift of 257.5kg

In total while In the Junior Male division, (83kg class), Rudolph Blackmon managed a total 685.0kg lift for his gold medal.

In the open male, at the 74kg class Osmond Mack posted a hefty total of 650.0kg for his medal though the results of a Drug

test are still pending.

At the 93kg class Marino Jeffrey was also hauled in for testing after his gold medal winning performance of 685.0kg Total while at the 93kg class Erwyn Smith with a Total - 600.0kg carted off silver and at the 105kg class Kar-

el Mars with a total of 650.0kg took gold In the masters 2 division (50 – 60 age group), at the 74kg class Winston Stoby struck gold after lifting a total of Total - 637.5kg while 83kg class athlete Edwin Spencer combined his lifts for a Total of 482.0kg

and the gold medal At the MASTERS 4 (70 and over age group), in the 83kg class Nairanjan Singh with a total 410.0kg took first place.

The team returned home on Monday.