GNN Online Newspaper - FEB 08, 2016

Monday February 08, 2016

hamilton says it’s A

“Vampire Budget” -PAGE 6

Chinese businesswoman

killed in foiled robbery -PAGE 3

Parliament office preparing documentary for Golden Jubliee In observance of Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary, the Parliament of Guyana is preparing a documentary in the form of a photographic slide show, depicting parliamentary

activities occurring during the period 1953 to the present time.

In this regard, it is seeking the assistance of citizens who may have memorabilia in the form of photographs or videos of parliamentary

events which took place during that period. It is asking that this be lent to the Parliament or to reproduce them for its use.

According to a statement on the Parliament’s website, the Parliament Office

PNCR holds General Council meeting The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) held its first General Council Meeting for the year 2016 at its Congress Place, Sophia Headquarter at the weekend.

The General Council was held under the theme “The Year of Renaissance.”

The party’s Chairman, Basil Williams told the gathering that the meeting was taking place in the year of celebration, Guyana’s 50th Independence anniversary, the 1st Anniversary of

will scan and return all photographs and videos received as a consequence of this appeal.

It is asked that all questions be addressed to the Public Relations Department on telephone 226-8456-

9 ext 250 or email proparliament@ g m a i l . c o m .

The Parliament Office will appreciate it, if it can receive responses to this request on or before Monday, 29th February, 2016.

had passed away in the period between General Councils. The General Secretary’s Report was presented by Mr. Oscar Clarke, CCH. He brought the meeting “up to date” with the state of the Party’s Secretariat, the youth and women’s arm of the Party and all Party regions (local and overseas), and the work of the Secretariat during the period between General Councils.

According to the PNC statement, Clarke reported to the General Council that the state of the Party was strong, poised and ready for local government elections and that the Party must use the local government elections to recapture the hopes and dreams of the founding fathers for a united Guyana.

operators and it’s only about 13 people who are probably threatened,” the union quoted the Minister as saying.

the signing of the Cummingsburg Accord; and the holding of Local Government Elections.

A statement from the

PNCR, noted that Williams thanked Party members for their hard work, steadfastness, sacrifice and for staying

the course. In addition, he told the General Council that winning the upcoming local government elections was

pivotal to the achievement of the “good life.”

The feature address was delivered by Party leader and President David Granger. He reminded that there were 40 days left before local government elections and charged the General Council to make every day count.

Following his address there was a panel discussion on local government elections. A lively plenary during the second session examined the Party leader’s address, the General Secretary’s report and a strategy for victory.

The General Council concluded with a summation and charge which was given by Granger.

Meanwhile, a minute of silence was observed for Party members who

young females, the union said it learnt, were told they could be further employed to cut and load canes, if they wished.

“This morning, over fifty planters were reportedly told by GuySuCo officials that if they did not to take up employment at Uitvlugt Estate and did not agree to accept severance pay within three days, it would be regarded by GuySuCo that they have opted to leave the Estate’s employ,” GAWU said in a statement.

The union condemns the so-called interviews at the instance of GuySuCo

with the workers and the high-handedness adopted. The Union also wishes to point out that the interviews are being conducted behind the backs of the workers’ Unions – GAWU and NAACIE.

GAWU, in its statement pointed out that Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder had given the assurance that the workers should not be worried since their jobs were not

on the line. “As it stands now, we don’t think any worker will be retrenched at all. In terms of field operations, there is a total of about eleven hundred and something field

Sixty Wales workers given marching orders-GAWU The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) says that as at February 05, 2016, some sixty workers undertaking various tasks in the Wales fields and the factory were given marching orders by officials of the Guyana Sugar Corporation ( G u y S u C o ) .

GAWU today said that the 60 were told that they were no longer engaged in employ of the Estate on the ground that they were temporary workers.

These workers worked previous crops at the Estate. A few of them, including

Granger and Trotman differ on opposition’s non-representation on State Boards

President David Granger

Days after Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman told the media that the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU+AFC) government is not worried about the non-participation of opposition members on State Boards, President David Granger has come out with a different position on the issue.

Opposition leader

Bharrat Jagdeo has said that he needs assurance from the government that it will not impose on the operation of the boards, citing the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Board as a case in point.

However, Trotman told a post-cabinet press conference last week, “we’re not worried… we have sought as a responsible government to keep one space open

on most of the boards; at least the important ones; for the parliamentary opposition. It is up to the parliamentary opposition to say that they are going to take up those places or not,” Trotman said.

He added that the invitation to have an opposition representation on the boards shows that the government is committed to inclusive governance, noting that, “The question of whether this will harm inclusivity should be put to the opposition, not the government because we have kept a promise and we have shown that we are interested in inclusive governance…

We have not laid down any conditions for those

Minister Raphael Trotman

than a confrontational manner.

“We will continue to try and I hope that the leader of the opposition will review his decision on the participation on the state boards.”

He believes that Jagdeo’s argument that the government will control the Boards is not a strong one, while emphasizing the importance of

places to be taken up, we just said for the Leader of the Opposition to name a nominee on behalf of the opposition.”

On the other hand, the President on Friday said his government will continue to press the opposition to take up its position on the Boards. He is hoping that Jagdeo will rethink his decision in keeping with the government’s policy of inclusivity.

“In keeping our own philosophy, we would like to ensure that our policies are discussed with the opposition prior to being announced, for

example, the budget. The Minister of Finance did call in the opposition,” the President stated.

According to Mr. Granger, a consensual, collaborative, and corporative way is the method to move the country forward, rather

those Boards in running the country.

So far, the coalition government installed five State Boards since it assumed office.

Armed bandits last night shot and killed forty-four year old Sue Di Wong during a foiled robbery attempt at her restaurant at Number 57 Village in Corentyne, Berbice.

The incident occurred around 19:45 hours when the businesswoman, her husband and two sons, were having dinner in their restaurant

which was closed for business at the time.

Police say the two men, one of whom was armed with a firearm, entered through an open door in an apparent robbery attempt.

Wong’s husband and two children reportedly ran out of the building and began to raise an alarm, at which stage the

armed man discharged a round that struck Sue Di Wong to her head. The two men then escaped.

The businesswoman was taken to the Skeldon Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

A man has been arrested and is in police custody assisting with the investigations.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Chinese businesswoman killed in foiled robbery

Auto dealers call for review of tax structure The Guyana auto dealers association says it wants government to reconsider the import restriction on vehicles four years and older, as was announced in the presentation of the 2016 National Budget on January 29.

The auto dealers believe that the tax structure on new vehicles would end up making it more expensive to acquire a car.

“We the auto dealers of

Guyana respectfully ask that the tax structure be reconsidered so that the perfect balance can be found between revenue earning, newer models and affordability,” said the body.

While the import taxes on vehicles newer than four years old with 1500 CC engines have been reduced by 68 percent and the import taxes on those with 2000 CC engines have been

slashed by 85 percent, the association is contending that the actual cost of the vehicles plus the new taxes would make acquiring such vehicles prohibitive. According to the association, “the import duties paid on these will in most cases still be way higher than the current flat rate structure taxes that we currently pay on vehicles that are older than four years old, and since the

purchase cost overseas will be higher (based on the newness) and the import taxes will be higher it’s obvious the cars will be much higher in overall cost.”

Most stocked and affordable vehicles are between the years 2002 and 2010, most of them ranging from $2M to $3M for those made from 2002 to 2007 and few between $3M and $4M. The Association reasoned that with the proposed import restriction would result in Guyanese

paying a minimum of GYD$3 million for a vehicle “which knocks out the most purchased and afforded models currently in Guyana.”

Vehicle owners, the association argued,

would now find it even more difficult to pay their monthly installments to either banks or auto dealers because already they “barely qualify and barely make the necessary payments.

PPP wants Diplomatic community to pay close attention to LGE The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is calling on the Diplomatic Community in Guyana to pay close attention to the upcoming Local Government Election (LGE) scheduled for March 18.

PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee told the media at his weekly press conference today that his party has noted the contributions and offers made to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by the donor community here. In this respect it noted that Canada and India have already made significant contributions to GECOM

with India contributing $8.3 Million and Canada CDN$20,000.

“These contributions are viewed by the Party as (an) investment in the democratic, grass roots governance process. In this respect, the Party is of the view that it behoves the Donor Community to ensure that the Local Government Elections produces greater inclusion, civic responsibility, empowerment and participation on the part of the electorate in the seventy-one (71) Local Authority Areas where elections are scheduled to be held”, Rohee said

Rohee said the party wish to draw to the attention of the Diplomatic Community that “all is not well at GECOM since there has been no improvements whatever in the policy, administration nor operational levels there.

He said Elections Observers are advised to keep a close watch on the process where alpha splits would be used to determine the numbers of polling stations to be used and the number of electors that will be allowed to vote at

those polling stations.

The Party urges the diplomatic community to view with skepticism, statements made by the Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Vishnu Persaud who in a letter published in the Kaieteur News of January 4, 2016 stated “Guyana can look forward to fair Local Government Elections.”

According to Rohee, the PPP views this statement as extremely puzzling, if not disturbing, especially in light of a subsequent statement made on January 19, 2016, a mere two (2) weeks after his Deputy had spoken.

In a statement, Mr.

call centres at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo and Enmore East Coast Demerara and one chip factory at Leguan, will be completed by June of this year, while the chip factory at Wakanaam will be discontinued He told the house

that “we are unable to complete the chip factory at Wakanaam because it was built on land deemed by the Sea Defence Board to be prone to flooding …poses a risk to the entire operation.”

The Leguan project will now include a road and a bridge to get to the facility since he said “the building in Leguan was constructed without any consideration how either a plantain or a person can get into the factory from the main roadway when it became operational...”

The project will be completed in the first half of 2016 and will benefit residents in the community in which it operates.

These ventures are anticipated to provide 600 jobs.

Additionally, $212M was budgeted for the development of industrial estates under the Ministry of Business.

Minister Gaskin said the projects were sitting in the “pipeline for decades.”

One of the industrial estate, according to him, will be developed at Lethem which will be able to accommodate 100 businesses and another at Belvedere, Region to accommodate 20 businesses.

“These projects have been languishing in the pipeline for over a decade and our government will complete them so

Clement Rohee

Keith Lowenfield, GECOM’s Chief Executive Officer, had declared that GECOM has a “shortfall in the number of election’s day staff ” notwithstanding several advertisements which did not attract the requisite number of suitably qualified persons to fill existing vacant positions, these include ; Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers, Poll Clerks, etc.

In addition, Rohee said the party has also raised its concerns and reservations with respect to voting by the Disciplined Forces.

Three Rural Enterprise Development Projects to Continue

Government has taken a decision to complete three of the four projects started under the Rural Enterprise Development Program in 2014 by previous the administration.

This was disclosed by Minister of Business;

Dominic Gaskin during the presentation of his budget debate speech in the National Assembly this afternoon.

He noted that $195M was provided in this year’s budget to complete the projects.

Gaskin disclosed that the

The Central Immigration and Passport Office at Camp Road, Georgetown, will only be open for business from 0700h. to 1200h. tomorrow Tuesday February 09, 2016.

According to the

Police, the early closure is to facilitate maintenance works to equipment.

The general is asked to take note.

The Guyana Police Force says it regrets any inconvenience c a u s e d .

appropriate work space can be provided for investors in value added industries who have the potential to export and earn foreign earnings for our country” he said.

For the total of $40M, the Coligden estate will also undergo major capital works which will includes two heavy duty brigdes will have to be built for vehicles that transport goods to and from the businesses operating in the site.

“We anticipate that by the end of next year, these estates will create 1500 new jobs which is expected to increase as occupation increases” he said.

Passport Office closes at noon tomorrow for maintenance

President Granger attends 208th anniversary of Congregational Church

President Granger meets the Ministers and Leaders of the Congregational Church on his arrival at the National Cultural Centre for the anniversary celebration

President David Granger called on the Congregational Church of Guyana to lead efforts, as it once did, in rebuilding communities and villages through education, social services and leadership.

Speaking at the 208th anniversary celebrations of the Guyana Congregational Union (GCU), which was held at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) yesterday under the theme “GCU

on the move, creating the right image”, President Granger said that the Congregational Church has been the midwife of community life and worship for many Christians in villages for over 200 years and has a longstanding record of stewardship.

“I have been impressed by the extent and expanse of the congregations from Albion to Zoar in Plaisance – what I called the ‘A to Z’

of churches.

The Congregational Church has been the light of Christianity in Guyana.

Congregationalists have given light to communities for over two centuries,” President Granger said.

He expressed g o v e r n m e n t ’s appreciation and congratulations to the Guyana Congregational Union for its service to the nation, noting that there is much to celebrate.

Congregationalism pioneered religious education for the enslaved populations of Guiana, establishing schools to teach the poor; forging strong ties with our rural communities and villages and always working in the interest of the lesser fortunate, he said.

“This nation is eternally indebted to Congregationalism for the role it played in education, both during and after the dark age of enslavement....

Congregationalism was integrated into the communities in which they ministered.

Churches were more than houses of worship; they were classrooms of learning; they were community centres...

Congregationalism and communitarianism in Guyana are inseparable,” the President said.

To this end, he said, as Guyana prepares to

host Local Government Elections and to celebrate our 50th Independence Anniversary, dubbed “The Year of the Renaissance”, now is an opportune time for the Church and Guyana to reclaim the spirit of community solidarity – communitarianism – which characterised the church’s early work in here.

The Guyanese leader promised said his administration will strengthen community cohesion, community d e v e l o p m e nt , community policing and community schooling, all in the interest of building a stronger more united society.

He pointed out that too frequently communities are affected by serious social problems; anaemic economies; dysfunctional families; crime and misdemeanours; infrastructural

damage, decay and deterioration; insecurity; interpersonal violence; alcoholism and drug abuse; depopulation; youth unemployment and poverty and work must urgently begin to address these issues.

Meanwhile, Former Chair of the GCU, Pastor Oslen Small, in giving an overview and history of the GCU, pointed out that it is the President, who is also a historian, who provided the information that was needed to gather the overall history of the Church in Guyana.

He said that the Church’s beginnings date back to 1808 when Mr. John Wray, from the London Missionary Society (LMS), arrived in Guiana, which was then ruled by the Dutch.

By 1883, the British Congregational Union of Guiana was formed.

Today, it has Churches in almost all ten regions of the country.

GECOM Supports Youth Initiative on Voter Education Campaign Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield said because of the wide gap between Local Government Elections, a culture may have developed, where people view these polls as unimportant.

The Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n (GECOM) has met with representatives of Youth Challenge Guyana, The National Coordinating Coalition and the National Youth Council, to discuss the facilitation of training and support for their joint programme titled “Voter Education Project”.

The programme is being funded by the United Stateds Agency

for International Development (USAID) through Counterpart International.

The Voter Education Project is designed to lend support to the electorate as well as candidates, targeting young people, women and special interest groups.

The Representatives explained that the project will establish “candidate hubs” across the country, where trained personnel will

be available to answer questions on Local Government Elections.

Youth friendly publications will also be produced to strengthen awareness.

Deputy Chief Election Officer, Vishnu Persaud indicated that GECOM can provide existing literature and check materials produced through the project to ensure that the information being disseminated is accurate.

However, through these awareness campaigns that can be improved.

“I am very happy with this initiative and we are willing to provide guidance on information

accordingly. We can aid in providing trained personnel to offer guidance and information to your representatives”, Lowenfield said.

Ministry of Social Cohesion reaches out to Mocha Arcadia residents

Minister of Social Cohesion, Ms. Amna Ally (first, right) and Mrs. Carol Corbin (third, right) distributing packages at the Mocha Primary School.

Residents of Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara are the most recent beneficiaries of another outreach exercise conducted by the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Caring for Others (Guyana) Incorporated.

Dozens of children and their parents turned up yesterday at the Mocha Primary School for the activity, where they received packages containing

clothing and books.

Previously, Minister of Social Cohesion Ms. Amna Ally had said that these exercises are geared toward bridging the gaps of poverty and inequality countrywide.

She was assisted with today’s distribution

by Mrs. Carol Corbin.

Over the past few weeks, several communities, including Unity Village, West Coast

Berbice; Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara and some communities in the Pomeroon River, have benefited from similar programmes.

The items distributed were donated by the Caring for Others (Guyana) Incorporated, an international human services organisation which gives aid to vulnerable groups globally.

2016 National Budget deemed “Vampire Budget” -as debates continue in the National Assembly

Opposition Member of Parliament Joseph Hamilton says the 2016 Budget will make Guyanese poorer.

He uttered this sentiment during his presentation in the National Assembly as the budget debates got underway this afternoon.

Hamilton who addressed the House just after government Member of Parliament Michael Carrington questioned whether the “good life” promised by the coalition will be seen in the 2016 budget.

Carrington spoke about the development taking place in Guyana, which according to him is evident. He believes the only ones who are not seeing the

development are those that are blind.

He boasted about the $230B budget presented by the coalition government despite inheriting a system that had many challenges.

H o w e v e r , PPP/C Member of Parliament Hamilton disputed the arguments put forward by his colleague from the government bench.

“Where is the bake and salt fish? Where is the pepper pot?

Where is the curry?

I kept looking for the bake and salt fish for the poor people…it was elusive for the ordinary people,” Hamilton told the House amidst loud heckling from the government b e n c h e s .

He said most of the budget measures will make the lower middle class poor

and the poor poorer. there will be more continue in the the He opined that the drinking of spirits.” National Assembly debates t h r o u g h o u t government will The suck the life out of the poor and the powerless, deeming it a “vampire budget.”

According to him, government is encouraging more use of alcohol by lowering the tax on the commodity.

He said “the cheaper the spirits is more spirits will be drank…

week.

Haiti’s President steps down leaving no successor Haiti’s President Michel Martelly has stepped down at the end of his term amid tension over how he is to be replaced.

No successor has yet been chosen as opposition supporters challenge a deal to select an interim leader.

The last-minute deal aims to prevent

the country from plunging into an immediate power vacuum.

In a speech, Martelly said his biggest regret was that January’s presidential election had been postponed.

The runoff vote to elect his successor was shelved because of fears of violence and allegations of fraud.

The first day of carnival has been called off over the threat of more opposition protests.

Haiti, which is the western hemisphere’s poorest country, is still struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake in 2010.

Three killed at opposition JLP mass meeting

escorted from the stage as the shooting sent other politicians, as well as supporters and journalists scampering.

“The incident originated from within the crowd. It Three people are include a known was not a case where dead and two others gangster, 22-year- anyone sneaked up; hospitalized following old Javin Campbell. it happened from a shooting at a rally The gunshots rang out within the mass of the opposition shortly after 10 p.m., gathering,” head of Jamaica Labour Party as Opposition Leader the St James Division, (JLP) rally in Montego Andrew Holness was Senior Superintendent Bay last night. addressing the crowd. Steve McGregor said.

Police say the dead He was quickly JLP general secretary

Dr Horace Chang said the shooting was frightening and worrying but said he did not want to speculate about a motive. The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper quoted him as saying that he would “allow the police to investigate and come up with their own findings”.

“We have to take a responsible approach.

We can’t allow ourselves to inflame

an already bad situation,” said Chang.

He said he knew two of the victims.

The shooting brought the JLP rally to a premature end, and Holness said he was disappointed.

However, he stressed that the party’s campaign, ahead of the February 25 elections, would continue.

Before the gunplay began, the Opposition Leader had outlined

his plans for his first 100 days in office.

He said if the JLP was elected to power, his administration would start the process of introducing legislation to establish a fixed election date and a fixed term limit for the prime minister; and hold a referendum ‎on the Caribbean Court of Justice and the buggery law.

the presence of active Zika virus in urine and saliva samples.

President of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Dr. Paulo Gadelha, says the virus’ ability to infect other people through the

two body fluids requires further study, and the discovery does not yet merit any additional health recommendation.

However, because of what has been found, he recommended that

pregnant women take special precautions, given the reported link to microcephaly.

Puerto Rico declares state of emergency over Zika outbreak A state of emergency has been declared in Puerto Rico over the Zika virus, with at least 22 people infected, including a pregnant woman and a man who developed a paralysis syndrome that has been linked to the mosquito-borne virus.

Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla announced that the State Emergency and Disaster Administration is creating a task force to deal with the crisis.

A price freeze has been ordered on products needed to prevent the disease.

According to officials, the pregnant victim is

in her first trimester of pregnancy. There is particular concern over pregnant women contracting the virus, as it is suspected to be linked to microcephaly, a defect in which babies are born with small heads and brains. In Brazil, there have been thousands of cases of women giving birth to babies with this condition.

In the other case of note, a man diagnosed with Zika has developed GuillainBarré Syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. It has been associated with viral or bacterial infections.

Puerto Rico reported its first case of Zika in December 2015.

Meantime, scientists at Brazil’s premier staterun research institute for tropical diseases say they’ve discovered

India’s Economy outpaced China in 2015 in the last quarter, its pace of expansion was faster than the growth posted by China in the same quarter.

India measures the economy over a fiscal rather than a calendar year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government said growth for the fiscal year ending March 2016 is forecast

to accelerate to 7.6%.

However, some economists say the latest growth figures are at odds with other data for Asia’s third largest economy, including weak exports, railway freight, cement production and investment and flat order books.

A year ago India’s statistics ministry revised GDP growth rates

higher - closer to that of China - by updating the base year used for price comparisons.

It’s fair to say there’s been a lot of scepticism about India’s GDP data since the government revised the way it calculates those numbers in January last year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been travelling the globe and telling companies to come make in India.

But the country is still a difficult place to do

(BBC) According to a report from the UN Human Rights Council, the Syrian government has carried out a state policy of extermination against thousands of detainees.

UN human rights investigators accuse President Bashar alAssad’s regime of crimes against humanity.

The study says both loyalist and anti-

government forces have committed possible war crimes as many detainees were tortured, some were beaten to death, and others died from lack of food, water, or medical care.

“Government officials intentionally maintained such poor conditions of detention for prisoners as to have been lifethreatening, and were aware that mass deaths

of detainees would result,” UN human rights investigator Sergio Pinheiro said in a statement.

“These actions, in pursuance of a state policy, amount to extermination as a crime against humanity.”

The findings come from interviews with hundreds of witnesses and cover the period since the start of anti-government protests in March 2011. The report says

thousands of detainees have been killed while in the custody of warring parties in the past four and a half years.

Investigators suspect tens of thousands of people are detained by Syria’s government at any one time. It describes the situation of detainees as an “urgent and largescale crisis of human rights protection”.

Their accounts “paint a terrifying picture of the magnitude

On Saturday, Beyonce released a previously unannounced new single, with a politically charged video.

On Sunday, she performed at half-time of the 50th Super Bowl, American football’s end-of-season extravaganza and the mostwatched television event of the year in the United States.

Soon after, she announced a 40-date world tour that will start in late April in Miami.

But it was her Super Bowl show in California, referencing celebrated black figures of the past and recent black history that gained the headlines.

In it, she refers to the Black Lives Matter movement, details what it is to be black in 2016 United States and sings: “I like my baby

hair with baby hair and afros, I like my Negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils.”

In what mic.com described as “one of the most political music videos in recent memory”, she is seen lying on top of a New Orleans police car that sinks into water, a clear reference to Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged mainly black communities in 2005.

New South Negress journal wrote that, in the video, Beyonce “becomes every black southern woman possible for her to reasonably inhabit, moving through time, class, and space”.

It was this song she launched into at the Super Bowl.

Even before the performance, when images of the backing

artists were posted from backstage, plenty of people picked up on the visual reference - the berets of the Black Panther Party.

A militant organisation that rejected the non-violent ideals of Martin Luther King, the party was set up 50 years ago to defend black people against violence.

The group was established in Oakland, barely 40 miles (64km) from the stadium in Santa Clara where Beyonce performed on Sunday.

At one point, the singer and her backing dancers raised a fist into the air, mimicking the Black Panthers’ salute.

The reference did not go unnoticed: At the end of the musical segment, which also featured Coldplay and Bruno Mars, a

(BBC) Official figures show that India’s economy grew at an average rate of 7.5% in 2015, faster than the 6.9% growth in China.

India’s government said GDP growth in October to December was 7.3%, a slight drop on previous quarters which were revised sharply higher.

Even though the economy lost steam

business in, and while the government has been working to try to reduce bureaucracy some laws that could

help ease problems are still stuck in parliament.

Perhaps when that changes we’ll really begin to see the impact of faster growth.

of the violations taking place,” it said.

The civil war in Syria has claimed an estimated 250,000 lives so far.

About 4.6 million people have fled Syria, while another 13.5 million are said to be in need of humanitarian assistance inside the country.

Both government and rebel sides are accused of violence against people they detain, the investigators say, but the vast majority

are being held by government agencies.

A pattern of arrests since March 2011 targeted Syrian civilians thought to be loyal to the opposition, or simply insufficiently loyal to the government.

Senior government figures clearly know about and approve of the abuse, says the report entitled Out of Sight: Out of Mind: Deaths in Detention in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Syria Exterminating Detainees- Report

Why Beyonce’s Super Bowl show was so significant

compilation aired showing some of the most memorable Super Bowl performances of the past.

Among them was Michael Jackson’s show in 1993, but in truth, that performance had been marked by Beyonce already.

Beyonce has hailed Jackson’s influence in the past, saying “Michael Jackson changed me, and helped me to become the artist I am”.

At one point, Beyonce and her dancers formed a large ‘X’ shape. They also formed an arrow, straight lines and a triangle, but it was this particular formation that people noticed.

Malcolm X, the black civil rights leader, was shot dead in 1965.

Three years ago, Beyonce’s sister, Solange Knowles, was seen carrying a placard quoting Malcolm

X in protest against the decision to acquit George Zimmerman of the murder of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida.

It wasn’t strictly part of the performance, but images later did the round on social media of Beyonce’s dancers holding a sign while in the centre of the field.

Mario Woods, 26, was shot dead by police in San Francisco in December.

Pressure by civil rights groups has led the US Justice Department to open an investigation into the shooting.

Police in cities throughout the US have been subjected to intense scrutiny for using excessive and lethal force against suspects, many of them black

Monday February 08, 2016

Cameron, Nanthan never had board approval for Chanderpaul’s inclusion in Australia series

WICB president Dave Cameron (left) and vice-president Emmanuel Nanthan

A report into alleged interference in the selection process has determined that the two highest ranking officials of the West Indies Cricket Board, spoke without “approval” when they backed the retention of Shivnarine Chanderpaul for the Australia series.

WICB president Dave Cameron and his vicepresident, Emmanuel Nanthan, had supported C h a n d e r p a u l ’s selection last May after the Clive Lloyd-led

selection panel had decided to drop the veteran left-hander.

In a media release at the weekend, the WICB said the findings of the report showed that both Cameron and Nanthan had spoken in personal capacities.

“The findings stated that the actions of the president and vicepresident to support the selection of Shivnarine Chanderpaul for the home series in May last year, were personal statements

and were done without approval of the Board of Directors,” the release said.

Chanderpaul was controversially left out of the squad for Australia series following a run of low scores in previous series against South Africa and England.

According to media reports at the time, Cameron attempted to have Chanderpaul included against the will of selectors.

The report, conducted by human resource

specialist Colin Barnett, was commissioned by the WICB after head coach Phil Simmons controversially claimed last September that there had been “outside interference” in the selection of the one-day squad to tour Sri Lanka.

Two other selection cases came under scrutiny of the report, namely the Test squad to Australia last December and the cancelled oneday international series against Zimbabwe.

According to the release, the report found no discrepancies in these cases. “The other findings reported support the roles of the director of cricket (Richard Pybus) and

the selectors and that they were following the existing selection policies and guidelines.”

The report also put forward a list of recommendations to improve the overall selection process, among these the refining of selection policies, updating the terms of reference for selectors and advising the public on selection criteria.

Simmons stunned the cricket fraternity ahead of the Test tour of Sri Lanka last year when he told a media conference that the selection of the tour had suffered from “outside interference”.

The Trinidadian, who had then been only recently appointed,

said he and Chairman Lloyd had agreed on the need for Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard to be recalled to the ODI squad only to be outvoted by the three other selectors Eldine Baptiste, Courtney Walsh and Courtney Browne.

Simmons said those with influence had interfered to ensure the two players remained sidelined.

He was subsequently suspended for the Sri Lanka tour, but reinstated for the Australia series following an inquiry.

(Adopted from ST JOHN’S, Antigua -CMC)