GNN Online Newspaper - FEB 12, 2016

Friday February 12, 2016

Give public servants 50% salary increase

School boy dies in Corentyne accident

16 year old dies in Corentyne accident -several others injured, one critical A teenage boy was killed in an accident which occurred in the vicinity of Bengal in East Berbice, Corentyne, last night.

The boy was identified as sixteen year old Narvin Boodhoo of Crabwood Creek.

The accident

reportedly occurred when the bus which was travelling from Albion to Skeldon attempted to overtake a car.

The bus jammed the other vehicle sending the car crashing into a parked lorry.

The bus reportedly

toppled several times.

The bus driver of the minibus was said to be speeding.

He subsequently fled the scene.

The Skeldon High School was pronounced dead on arrival at the Port Mourant Hospital.

Only 55% state forest handed out- Jagdeo clarifies Opposition Leader; Bharat Jagdeo told the National Assembly this afternoon that only 55% of the state forest was given out.

He was at the time responding to claims made by Minister of Natural Resources; Raphael Trotman that 100% of Guyana’s productive forest being shared out by the past administration.

During his presentation yesterday, Trotman said “all 100% of productive forest was shared out prior to us assuming g o v e r n m e n t .”

However, Jagdeo today stated that “the fact is, about 55% of the State forest is being given out so far in our history. It is about 7M hectare of about 12.5M hectare. Of the 55%, just about 40% are under extraction.”

He further deemed the PPP administration the “best stewards of the forest” noting that We kept the forest intact, we negotiated a ground breaking deal to sell forest carbon; largest per capita forest deal in the world… we are using monies from that agreement

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

1.7M hectares (pre 1992 era). The difference is that we gave out 568 concessions in the state forest permits, totaling to about 2M, close to what Barama has, but there is 73 community forest groups, included there and the 73 community forest organizations employs directly, three thousand people and indirectly 600 people and these are leases that are controlled by a large is being used in the by an international the small miners” number of people.” budget to complete agreement and we under the Guyana/ Guyana’s deforestation this without Norway Agreement. rate was recorded projects and the forest did are intact because styming the extraction Jagdeo added that at 0.062%. they are monitored of log or stopping “Barama alone had

Opposition walks out during budget debate Following the Opposition Leader’s speech in the National Assembly this afternoon, his colleagues walked out of the National Assembly.

This move was made as Prime Minister; Moses Nagamootoo was about to begin his presentation.

This is the second year that the opposition walked out of the

National Assembly during the budget debates on the grounds that the leader of the opposition was supposed to speak before the Finance Minister wraps up the debates and not before the Prime Minister.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland asked the opposition to reconsider their move, however, his request

fell on deaf ears.

As Jagdeo and his colleagues walked out, Prime Minister N a g a m o o t o o shouted “cut and run, cut and run.”

The Budget debates conclude today with five days next week set aside for the consideration of estimates.

Ramjattan accuses Opposition of double standards on increase in gun licence fee

Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

The increase in gun licence fees that was announced in the 2016 National Budget was an initiative of the former Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic administration.

This revelation was made by Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan in the

National Assembly on Thursday during the Budget debates.

He told the House that the decision was made at the level of Cabinet some three years ago, however, it was kept in the pipeline due to political reasons. .

“They did not implement it probably for political reasons but it was debated

and they passed it at the Cabinet,” said Ramjattan.

The House was also informed too that then Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon signed a Cabinet paper in 2012 to increase licence fees for shot guns from

$2,000 to $5,000 per year and handguns from $5,000 to $20,000.

The Minister is appalled that the opposition is making it an issue now. “I don’t know what they rowing about,” Ramjattan said.

Ramjattan explained that the coalition government was proceeding with that decision because it is necessary.

Rohee, at a press conference on Monday February 1, severely criticized was the government’s move to increase the fees to acquire firearm licences, noting that it was a “lazy” approach to boost revenue collection.

“I believe that the fees are very exorbitant.

Increasing of fees for different licences was not the best way to go in increasing revenues.

Raising

Clement Rohee

revenues by increasing the fees in licences is what I understand the Opposition Leader described as a lazy way to go to raise revenues.

It’s an extra penny out of your pocket and anyone who wishes to have an extra penny in their pocket should be given that kind of saving grace,” Rohee stated.

Contrary to Rohee’s utterances, opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, during a snap press conference following

the presentation of the Budget on Friday January 29, said he had no issue with the increases. “Gun licences, I don’t have a problem with gun licences increases; it’s the other increases,” Jagdeo said.

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan during the presentation of the 2016 Budget announced that the rifle licence fee would be increased from $5,000 to $40,000 and the dealer’s licence from $7,500 to $150,000.

some of the initiatives will unfold at the level of policy formulation while others have advanced to the level of programmatic engagement.

From a programmatic perspective, he explained that the Breakfast Initiative will be rolled out in four coastal schools, inclusive of Buxton and Enmore, even as its implementation continues in the hinterland and will be expanded to cater for 81% of the hinterland schools.

For this programme a total of $1.9B has been budgeted. As a consequence jobs would also be created for approximately 200 persons.

The Ministry is also actively pursuing World Bank funding for a successor

project for the University of Guyana (UG).

Minister Roopnaraine explained that the Bank has also indicated its preparedness to consider a new project to facilitate a complete schools’ curriculum review.

In addition, a facilities audit would also be undertaken in 2016.

This assessment should provide information on the deficits of each and every public education institution with regard to the stipulated standards, Minister Roopnaraine explained. He told the House that in 2016, some audits were already conducted from the manpower and facilities’ perspective.

Teenage mothers to be re-integrated into schools School-aged mothers will be given an opportunity to complete their education as the Ministry of Education has recognised the need for them to be reintegrated into the school system.

This was disclosed by Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine during his contribution to the 2016 National Budget debate. He was addressing the House on the focus of the Education Ministry’s agenda.

This is one of the areas that will be addressed by the Ministry launches new initiatives for the enhancement of the education sector.

The sum of $40.3 B has been allocated to the sector in

the 2016 budget.

Other areas of concerns identified to be addressed by the Ministry include: the need for psycho-social support programmes for schools and residential facilities, provision of more opportunities for continuous professional development and the widening of the scope of the

Learning Channel and the Ministry’s radio broadcasts, expansion of the Skills for Life Training programme generally, with emphasis on the hinterland areas and, the need for accommodation for teachers in the hinterland.

The sum of $ 80M has been budgeted for the latter.

M i n i s t e r

Roopnaraine noted that a number of initiatives are envisaged and provided for in the 2016 Budget in response to these challenges, and in pursuit of the educational objective, which the APNU + AFC Coalition government has set for realisation by 2020.

He explained that

More than 650 homes to receive power for the first time-Patterson In admitting that the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) continues to have many challenges, Minister of Public infrastructure David Patterson told the National Assembly that government is committed to resolving these.

Installation of a new board was highlighted as one such initiative aimed at turning things around at the Power Company.

“It is expected that there should be an improvement in the management of the

Corporation, as well as, the quality of service to its users,” the Minister said.

Residential, commercial, and industrial consumers are expected to benefit from April 1, 2016 from the increase in rebate by GPL from 10% to 15%.

The Electrification Programme is being supported with a loan of US$5M from the Inter America Development Bank (IDB).

GPL is now required to fund some of the expansion works in unserved areas.

In this regard, Minister

Patterson revealed that over 650 house lots will be provided with electricity for the first time at a cost of approximately $70M. Other areas will be examined and implemented during the year.

He said government remains keen in pursuing hydropower and proposes to spend $7.97M for renewable energy projects in schools and hinterland hydropower system.

Minister Patterson said this sum has been allocated to the Guyana

Energy Agency (GEA).

According to him, meetings have already been held with the Brazilian company, Construtora Queiroz Galvão, which has shown interest in continuing its hydropower project here in Guyana in Mazaruni, Region 7.

The government, while in opposition had disapproved the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, which was started under the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration, citing gross irregularities

Minister Patterson

and loss of valuable taxpayers’ dollars. The coalition government has said the project would have to be re-examined and properly executed.

However, the opposition maintains that the

project was feasible and that the move by the government will stymie progress in Guyana.

The government has since been sending mixed signals on whether it will proceed with the project.

Raise teachers’ salaries-Priya Manickchand

Priya Manickchand

In her presentation on the National 2016 Budget on Thursday, Former Education Minister Priya Manickchand pressed the government to immediately table the Education Bill in the National Assembly and increase salaries for teachers.

The Coalition

government promised salary increases to teachers during its 2015 elections campaign.

The Education Bill was scheduled to be presented in the National Assembly before it was prorogated and later dissolved by the former President; Donald Ramotar.

Manickchand said the Bill

is therefore long overdue.

Calling for the increase in salaries for teachers, she said “If you can’t give the teachers the increases that you promised then give them the duty-free concessions they earned under the previous government.”

She further called for the restoration of the $10,000

cash grant for students in public schools.

Lamenting that the budget is not a fresh budget as proposed but a copy of the PPP’s budget, she said there needs to be innovative ideas that will compliment what the PPP has already done.

Opposition disrespects government- Trotman Minister of Natural Resources; Raphael Trotman during his presentation during the 2016 Budget debate on Thursday, stated that the actions of the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) is a disrespect to the government.

He said “there was gross disrespect shown recently in this house when the Minister of Finance gave his address at his budget presentation and the Leader of the Opposition chose to sit in the members’ gallery and failed to sit here and listen to the Minister of Finance.

Mr. Speaker, past leaders of the Opposition, the Honorable Mr.

Hoyte, the Honorable Mr. Corbin and the Honorable Mr. Granger never ever disrespected the Finance Minister, the way this disrespect was heaped on this government” He said the disrespect is also manifested in the oppositions move to appoint members of important state boards.

He noted that “there was disrespect shown in failing to honor the Herdmandston process by not taking up seats on boards and committee as we agreed that the opposition would always have a seat reserved for them on every board and every committee.”

He told the

Minister Raphael Trotman

Assembly that “in the past whenever an invitation came from the office of the president, the opposition never failed to respond in the national interest to that invitation. We may not have always

respected the persons we had to meet, but we always respected the office of the President and always attended when invited to participate in talks.”

The PPP has refused to nominate a representative for

the Boards of the Guyana Power and light, the Guyana Energy Agency and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority.

The Opposition leader had stated that the opposition will not submit nominees for

membership on some state boards unless it is given the assurance that government will not impose itself in their running.

Increased business and tourism activities in January-CJIA CEO The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), which is the country’s port of entry has seen an increase of 1,061 passengers in January 2016 when compared to January 2015.

Figures released by the Airport’s statistics department today indicate that “17,728 passengers arrived last month compared to 16,667 passengers for the same period in 2015.” This accounts for a six percent increase in arrivals.

According to Ramesh Ghir, CJIA’s Chief Executive Officer, the proliferation in passenger numbers is due to leisure

travel and increased business and tourism activities.

Analytical data also indicate that the airlines – Caribbean Airlines, Dynamic Airways, COPA, Suriname Airways, Fly Jamaica and Insel Air – have recorded an increase in passenger movement for the month.

“Our forecast for the next few months indicates there will be a huge influx of visitors to celebrate our Golden Jubilee activities in May. Management for its part will be working to advance our infrastructure and services

provided including Immigration and Customs to ensure a smooth process through the terminal

building,” he added.

Meanwhile, in anticipation of a modernized terminal building and

extended runway, the CEO along with other Government officials have been aggressively courting

a number of North American and Latin American airlines to ply the Georgetown route.

Harmon says “gov’t tackling corruption,” Jagdeo says gov’t lost right to speak on corruption Minister of State Joseph Harmon says the coalition government met the country in a corrupt state, however, Opposition Leader Bharat Jagdeo argued that the government lost all right to speak on the issue of Corruption.

During his presentation on Budget 2016 in the National Assembly today, Minister Harmon stated that “Corruption eats away at the moral fabric of a society… this is the ranking we found when the APNU+AFC government came into office. The Tr a n s p a r e n c y International Index

for 2006- out of 166 countries, Guyana was at 121, in 2007; it was 123, in 2008, it was 126…in 2012, it was 133, 2013; 136, 2014; 124” He noted that this was reduced to 119 in 2015 and is “going down” noting that the government is working to put measures in place to decrease corruption and encourage foreign investors to enter the economy.

He said “We trust that the measure we put in place will solve this perception and provide a quality of public service which can make us proud and say to all that we are a country serious about

doing business.”

S p e a k i n g immediately after Harmon was Opposition Leader; Bharat Jagdeo who told the house that the coalition government has lost all moral to speak about corruption after voting down the Motion tabled by the PPP in the National Assembly to have Members of Parliament declare their assets to the Integrity Commission and file their income tax returns for the last ten years.

He told the house that “the members on the other side lost all moral to speak about corruption

Minister of State Joseph Harmon

when they vote against the motion that we presented to this parliament to have the past ten years of tax records of the members of this parliament made public and would have seen the submission

to the integrity c o m m i s s i o n .”

According to the Tr a n s p a r e n c y International Corruption Index, corruption is defined as comprising illegal activities, which are deliberately hidden and only come to light

through scandals, investigations or prosecutions.

A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Give public servants 50% salary increase-Jagdeo The coalition while on the campaign trail leading up to May 2015 polls promised public servants a 20% salary increase in the first 100 days if elected to office.

However, this has not yet materialised eight months in office.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan during the presentation of the 2016 national Budget announced that the government is awaiting the completion of Opposition Leader given to Ministers of can get the same… the Public Service Bharrat Jagdeo is government, Members a 50% on a $50,000 Commission of calling on the coalition of Parliament and to $75, 000 base” the Inquiry before any government to give other government opposition leader salary increases were public servants a 50% officials. “If Ministers told the National offered. He said once salary increase this year. got a 50$ increase on Assembly during his it is completed, the He compared this a $500,000 base then budget presentation government will take figure to the increases at least public servants this afternoon. immediate steps to Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

engage the unions, particularly the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).

While no salary increase was given the Minister announced measures to improve workers’ income. He proposed to amend the Income Tax Act to increase the income tax threshold to $660,000, from $600,000. With this measure, he said over 68,000 workers will be removed from the income tax roll, in addition to the fact that workers have an additional disposable income annually.

Public Servants received salary increases at different

rates in the 2015 budget, ranging from 6.0% to 26.4%.

Additionally, every part time hourly paid cleaner received $313 per hour, reflecting a 54% increase. All Public Servants making less than $500,000 per month were also given a $50,000 grant at the end of December, 2015.

This, the Opposition Leader said was not enough given the huge promises made on the campaign trail.

Ironically, under Jagdeo’s tenure as President public servants got a mere 5-7% salary increases over the years.

taken into custody.

In addition, ranks conducted a search at a checkpoint at Itaballi on a man in whose possession was found 894 grams of marijuana. He has also been arrested.

A search was conducted on a house at Tabatinga, Lethem, during

which 5 kilograms of marijuana were found.

A man and a woman were arrested and are in police custody assisting with the investigations.

Charges will be made shortly against the five in custody.

Police make numerous ganja busts

ranks received a ‘tip off ’, and proceeded to a small camp located along Coconut Dam in Belle Vue village where a 24-yearold farmer of Heat Burn Village, East Bank Berbice and a 33-year-old cane harvester also of Heat Burn Village were found. Both

Police have arrested five persons, a female and four males in separate ganja busts on Wednesday at Belle Vue Village, East Bank Berbice; and Itaballi and Tabatinga in Lethem

(Region Nine).

Four kilograms of marijuana were found around 11:20 hours Wednesday, at a camp at Belle Vue Village during a search.

Reports are that the

Police ranks discovered an unlicensed shotgun along with two matching cartridges at a mining camp Honey Camp, Issano.

The discovery tody assisting was made on with the inThursday Feb- v e s t i g a t i o n s . ruary 11, 2016 during a raid.

A man was arrested and is in police cus-

men could not give an explanation for being at that location. A search was carried out on the farmhouse where a bag was found.

The bag allegedly contained five plastic parcels where portions of the illegal plant were found.

The two men were

Unlicensed shotgun discovered at mining camp

‘Star Wars’ production company charged over Harrison Ford’s broken leg British workplace safety authorities are prosecuting the production company behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” over a 2014 accident that left star Harrison Ford with a broken leg.

Britain’s Health and Safety Executive, or HSE, announced Thursday it was prosecuting Foodles

Production (UK) Ltd. over four alleged breaches of health and safety law.

The charges relate to a June 2014 accident at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Ford, then 71, was seriously injured when a heavy hydraulic door hit him on the set of the Millennium Falcon, his character

Han Solo’s spacecraft.

By law, employers must take reasonable steps to protect workers -- this is as true on a film set as a factory floor,” the HSE statement said. “We have

investigated thoroughly and believe that we have sufficient evidence to bring the case to court.”

Company representatives are set to appear May 12 in a court

in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, to face the four charges.

HSE said Foodles was the company responsible for producing the smash hit film and, as such, was responsible under British health and safety law for managing risks involved in the production.

The company is based at the same west London address as a number of Disneyowned companies, including ESPN. Disney

A planned antiBeyonce rally is being countered with calls for the singer’s supporters to get in “Formation.”

Those in support of #BoycottBeyonce are being asked to gather outside the headquarters of the National Football League in New York City at 8 a.m. on February 16, according to a posting on Eventbrite.

“Are you offended as an American that Beyoncé pulled her race-baiting stunt at the Superbowl?” the invitation asks.

“Do you agree that it was a slap in the face to law enforcement?”

“Come and let’s stand together,” the notice

says. “Let’s tell the NFL we don’t want hate speech & racism at the Superbowl ever again!”

But that invitation sparked a call for a counterprotest, asking Beyonce supporters to also show up.

“When Black women affirm Blackness/Black womanhood, they are attacked and silenced,” says the posting, which invites women to dress in outfits inspired by the “Formation” video or the Super Bowl performance.

“This is a counter protest to ... a racist, ahistorical attack on the Black Panther Party and Beyonce, plus an excuse to celebrate a

very awesome song and #BlackGirlMagic m o m e n t . ” The controversy began when the singer dropped her music video for her song “Formation” on Saturday.

In the song Beyonce speaks of her heritage with lyrics such as “My daddy Alabama/ Momma Louisiana/ You mix that Negro with that Creole/ Make a Texas bamma” and declares, “I like my baby hair, with baby hair and Afros/ I like my Negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils.”

The video, which pays homage to New Orleans and includes references to Hurricane Katrina’s

devastating aftermath, also features a scene of a young AfricanAmerican boy wearing

purchased Lucasfilm from “Star Wars” creator George Lucas in 2012.

Ford acknowledged the accident, which required surgery, through a spokeswoman shortly after it occurred. He later teased the movie’s director, J.J. Abrams, about the incident during promotional appearances in December.

(Adapted From CNN)

a hoodie before a line of police officers while the words “Stop shooting us” appear on a wall.

(Adapted from CNN)

Protests planned against and for Beyonce

Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra to launch Hema Malini’s first music album on Valentine’s Day The megastar Amitabh Bachcan is coming in support of his co-actor Hema Malini who is all set to launch her first music album and also encouraging her in this new venture will be her husband and veteran star Dharmendra.

The Sholay actors are coming together on Valentine’s Day to unveil the Hindi song ‘Aji Suniye To Zara’ sung by Hema Malini and singer turned politician Babul Supriyo.

The youthful number that was shot in Goa also features Hema Malini as a ‘Dreamgirl’ whom the young guys turn

to for dating advice. The video also stars TV actors Vipul Roy, Mishal Raheja and Aishwarya Sakuja along with Babul Supriyo.

The veteran actress also expressed her desire to work with Amitabh and her husband Dharamji on the musical front wherein she wants to sing a duet with ‘Amitji’ (as she fondly addresses Amitabh Bachchan) which will be penned by her husband and popular actor

Dharmendra. (Bollywoodhungama.com)

What your urine color means about you Clear If your urine looks like water, you’re probably overhydrated, says Jane Miller, MD, associate professor of urology at the University of Washington. You likely aren’t doing yourself any harm, but there’s no data to support the need for drinking eight or more glasses of water a day, Miller says. Plus, you’ll just wind up spending half your day in the bathroom if you’re drinking too much.

Pale Yellow You should strive to have light yellow pee, somewhere between clear and the color of apple juice. You’re probably sufficiently hydrated if your pee is pale yellow, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything about your health beyond that if your pee is darker

or lighter, says Miller.

Bright Yellow If your pee looks like a neon billboard, blame B vitamins, Miller says. Riboflavin (B2) is naturally fluorescent when exposed to UV light. It might be jarring to see, but it’s nothing to worry about. Your body excretes the riboflavin it doesn’t need through urine, which is why excess amounts, either consumed in food or through taking supplements, could make your pee look bright yellow.

Brownish-Yellow While you might assume it means you’re super dehydrated, it really just means your pee is extra concentrated, says Miller. “Just because urine is concentrated doesn’t mean you

Brown Brown urine can be associated with myoglobinuria, or the presence of myoglobin — a protein found in muscle — in the urine. It’s most commonly associated with rhabdomyolysis, or “rhabdo,” which is a form of muscle damage that causes muscle fibers to die and be released into the bloodstream.

Without prompt medical care, rhabdo could lead to lasting kidney damage.

Orange We wouldn’t blame you for freaking out if your pee showed up blue in your bowl. But if you’re being treated for a UTI, strange greenish-blue pee could be a side effect.

That’s because Uribel, a medication used to treat urinary symptoms and irritations, contains methylene blue, a dye that can show up in your urine.

Likewise, if you’re being treated with Phenazopyridine, a urinary tract analgesic used for UTIs or bladder irritation, your pee could turn orange. This is a normal side effect of the medication, and should clear up when your treatment is finished. In both cases, consult with your doctor if you’re concerned!

Greenish-Blue or

Pink or Red

are dehydrated. Your kidneys are very good at concentrating urine to keep you from becoming symptomatically dehydrated.” That said, if your urine is dark often, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to drink more water, especially if you’re exercising a lot.

A crimson hue could mean a few things. The least worrisome would be that you’ve been eating lots of beets, says Miller. In large amounts, the pigments in beets can actually turn your pee red. This discoloration isn’t harmful and should resolve fairly quickly, says Miller. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to get your urine tested for blood, which is another reason your pee might be red.

Bloody urine could be a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI) or urinary stones, which are usually accompanied

with pain and discomfort.

Kidney, ureter and bladder cancers can also present with blood in the urine, and typically don’t have other symptoms, such as pain, associated with the bloody urine, says Miller. “Although all important, this is the most serious, and why you should let your [healthcare] provider know — even if it goes away quickly — because some cancers bleed intermittently.” (Health)

Doctor Performs Surgery on Wrong Newborn Baby

A Tennessee couple is outraged after a doctor mistakenly performed tongue-clipping surgery on their son after mixing him up with another baby.

Not long after baby Nate was born at University Medical Center in Lebanon, he went for what was supposed to be a routine physical. A few hours later, he was brought back to his parents.

“At that point the nurse started to mention the procedure they had done,” his mom, Jennifer Melton, said.

They were confused. The nurse explained that surgeons had cut the flap of skin beneath Nate’s tongue. The little boy did not need the procedure, which had been intended for another child.

“Essentially they took our child who was healthy from the room and cut his mouth,” Jennifer said.

“At that point I began to cry hysterically.” The family’s attorney called the mistake “recklessness.”

“There is no excuse on operating on the wrong baby, none,” Clint Kelly told WTVF. The doctor who performed the procedure reportedly admitted his mistake, writing in a progress report: “I had asked for the wrong ... and I admitted my mistake and apologized.” “We don’t know if the child will have infant. I had likely performed the procedure on The family is now concerned about speech problems or eating problems,” said.

(Adapted from Yahoo) an infant different than the one I intended to how little Nate will develop as he grows. Kelly

Jamaica Elections: Portia ahead of Holness in favorability Poll Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has rebounded to improve her chance of securing victory in the upcoming general election, after an unprecedented stumble in favorability rating four months ago.

With two weeks to go before Jamaicans go to the February 25 polls, Simpson Miller, gunning for a second consecutive win, has surged past Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader Andrew Holness.

Simpson Miller lifted her political stock from a dismal 36 per cent favorability rating in September 2015 to 45 per cent in February 2016, the latest Gleanercommissioned Bill Johnson polls have found.

“Her favorability has increased while her unfavourables have decreased, and that is a very nice position for her to be in,” Johnson said. Contrastingly, the exercise carried out on February 4, 5, 6 and

7, found that Holness had slipped marginally from 43 to 42 per cent with another 42 per cent regarding him in an unfavourable light.

The prime minister’s positive show in the latest survey is in comparison to Holness’ December 2011 favorability rating of 47 per cent when 34 per cent regarded the JLP leader in a unfavourable light. Johnson suggested that Holness peaked out in September 2015.

According to Johnson,

the 23 per cent that were undecided in September has fallen to 16 per cent. “He is not making a good impression on the people who were unsure how to rate him four months ago.”

With elections looming large, 42 per cent regards Simpson Miller as unfavourable, a nine per cent drop from the 51 per cent she had to endure in September 2015, but much higher than the 37 per cent four years ago on the eve of

the December 29 polls.

As it was at the time of the last general elections and again, in September of last year, 13 per cent say

that they were undecided about Simpson Miller.

(Adapted from the Jamaica Gleaner)

Bolivia’s President seeks probe of contracts that went to ex-lover’s company Bolivia’s President Evo Morales on Thursday asked the Bolivian congress to form a commission to investigate complaints about alleged influence trafficking in the awarding of $566 million in government contracts to a Chinese firm that employs a former lover of his.

In a statement to the media in La Paz, Morales asked Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, who presides over congress, to organize a

legislative commission to investigate alleged irregularities involving CAMC Engineering.

“If they think there’s influence trafficking that they should investigate, we have nothing to hide. And if they want to go to any part of the country or the world, let them go to investigate,” the president said.

The accusations of influence peddling against the president for awarding the contracts to CAMC arose because the company’s

commercial manager in Bolivia is Morales’ former girlfriend, Gabriela Zapata, with whom in 2007 he has acknowledged fathering a baby boy who died shortly after birth.

The controversy surrounding Zapata, 29, has been seized upon by the media. In an interview with Red Uno television, Zapata denied the accusations and said she will sue anyone accusing her of benefitting from influence peddling.

Venezuelans may not be able to buy basic goods, like diapers or medicine – but don’t you dare take away their malls.

In a country that prides itself on beauty and fashion – even as its economy continues tanking – a decision to limit mall hours to save electricity has riled up many in this South American nation.

But not for the reason you may think.

Malls have become a haven for Venezuelans as the country has become one of the most violent in the world.

In many areas, they are also the only places to see movies.

Venezuela’s socialist government is asking more than 100 malls to close or generate their own power four

hours each day, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Now the lines usually seen at supermarkets – where people can spend hours in line to buy a loaf of bread – are cropping up at the malls.

Officials say the measure will help the economically embattled country cope with problems at hydroelectric

She said that her duties at CAMC are those of commercial manager and that she never got involved in

contract negotiations.

Meanwhile, Morales said that on Wednesday he had asked Controller General Gabriel Herbas

to investigate whether or not administrative irregularities exist in the Chinese firm’s contracting practices.

During the press conference last week where he disclosed that he fathered a child with Zapata, Morales noted that the government had cancelled one of the contracts awarded to CAMC after the company failed to complete the work on schedule. (Adapted from Fox n e w s l at i n o / E F E )

Venezuela’s government limits mall hours, depriving clientele of cherished haven

plants due to a severe drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Venezuela has grappled with

blackouts for years, including one that took President Nicolás Maduro by surprise as he delivered a national

address on live television. Caracas occasionally shuts down because of citywide loss of power and rural areas see regular rolling blackouts.

Electricity here is virtually free, giving Venezuelans little incentive to conserve. (Adapted from Foxnewslatino)

Suicide bomber gets cold feet, refuses to kill however, completed their grisly mission and walked into a crowd of hundreds at Dikwa refugee camp in northeast Nigeria and blew themselves up, killing 58 people.

Later found by local self-defense forces, Strapped with a booby- teenage girl tore off the the girl’s tearful trapped vest and sent explosives and fled as account is one of the

by Boko Haram to soon as she was out of first indications that kill as many people sight of her handlers. at least some of the as possible, the young Her two companions, child bombers used by

Boko Haram are aware that they are about to die and kill others.

“She said she was scared because she knew she would kill people, but she was also frightened of going against the instructions of the men who brought her to the camp,” said Modu Awami, a self-defense fighter who helped question the girl.

Her story was corroborated when she led soldiers to the unexploded vest,

Awami said Thursday by phone from the refugee camp, which holds 50,000 people who have fled Boko Haram’s Islamic uprising.

The girl is in custody and has given officials information about other planned bombings that has helped them increase security at the camp, Satomi Ahmed, chairman of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency,

told reporters.

The extremists have kidnapped thousands of people and there are fears they may be turning their captives into weapons. Boko Haram’s 6-year-old Islamic insurgency has killed 20,000 people, made 2.5 million homeless and spread across Nigeria’s borders.

(Adapted from MSN)

McDonald’s Happy Meal hasn’t been touched in 6 years It’s no secret that fast food is a less-than-optimal fuel for your body. But somehow, the fact that it takes so darn long to decompose shocks us every time. Take this Happy Meal, for example. Alaska resident Jennifer Lovdahl said she and her husband purchased it in 2010 -and that it has hardly changed a bit since then.

Her husband, Dr. Shawn Lovdahl, told HuffPost he and Jennifer originally purchased the

Happy Meal as a way to teach patients at their chiropractic practice about healthy nutrition.

And they’d hardly peeked at the meal until now.

“I showed [the Happy Meal] to a junior high class about three years ago,” he said. “But it’s been over a year since I last looked.”

Really, though, it’s no surprise the meal didn’t rot. Tons of home experiments have shown that fast food meals tend to keep their appearance

Instead of the wrath of God, a group of students in Colombia experienced the rash of God. About 20 students at the Institución Educativa Gilberto Echeverri Mejía in Rio Negro, a town on the outskirts of the city of Medellín, experienced a burning rash on their foreheads after receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday.

“Immediately the students threw water on themselves and then noticed they had burn marks,” Paula Pérez Villa, a teacher at the school told “El Colombiano “ newspaper.

Ash Wednesday, the first day in Lent in the Catholic Church, is a holy day where ashes made from Sunday are blessed and palm branches of the placed them on the previous year’s Palm heads of participants.

over time. This could be due to artificial ingredients in the food, such as preservatives, or it could be that the shape of burgers and nuggets makes them dry out quickly and therefore avoid molding, as Serious Eats hypothesized in 2010.

M c D o n a l d ’ s believes the latter.

“Decomposition of food happens under certain conditions,” McDonald’s spokesperson Lisa McComb told HuffPost

Wednesday. “Any food -- whether homemade, store bought or from a restaurant -- can dehydrate in a dry environment, [and] therefore not decompose.”

You’ve probably heard that preservatives are bad for you, and that’s sometimes true. But generally speaking, the real danger of eating regular fast food is the high sodium, high fat and high sugar content of the food. (Huff Post)

Ash Wednesday worshipers in Colombia hit by mysterious burning rash on forehead

de Pereira experienced burns after receiving the ashes as well.

At that time, Andrés Felipe Vasquez, the vicar of the parish, said that the situation could have been caused by an allergic reaction to the ash and ruled out superstitious issues in the case.

(Foxnewslatino)

This isn’t the first bad ashes. Last year, time Colombia has parishioners in the been hit by a rash of village of San Antonio

Russian PM warns of world war if ground troops sent in to Syria Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned that the deployment of foreign ground troops in the Syrian conflict could result in a world war.

Medvedev was quoted as saying in an interview published late on Thursday by the German newspaper Handelsblatt that “a ground operation draws everyone taking part in it into a war”.

When asked about a recent proposal from

Saudi Arabia to send in ground troops to Syria, the Russian prime minister answered that “the Americans and our Arab partners must consider whether or not they want a permanent war”.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Moscow, said Medvedev’s comments were an explicit warning to the United States and its regional allies, including Saudi Arabia.

“He basically told them to back off on sending troops because if they did, this might result in some sort of interminable or even a world war,” Challands said.

Medvedev also criticised Western powers’ refusal to collaborate with Russia in Syria.

The prime minister said ties at the level of defence departments were only sporadic.

US defence chief Ashton Carter, meanwhile,

welcomed a commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand its role with ground troops in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

At a gathering of more than two dozen defence ministers at NATO headquarters, Carter said on Friday key ally the United Arab Emirates agreed to send special forces soldiers to Syria to assist in the development of local Sunni Arab

fighters focused on recapturing Raqqa, ISIL’s de facto capital.

Carter declined to say how many Emirati commandos would go to Syria. He said they would

be part of an effort led by the US and bolstered

by Saudi Special Forces to train and enable local Arab fighters who are motivated to recapture Raqqa.

(Adapted from Al Jazeera)

recent years to rock the country’s overpopulated prisons, some of which are largely controlled by cartels.

Fighting broke out before midnight in two areas of the Topo Chico prison between supporters of a gang leader known as “Zeta 27” and another group, Nuevo Leon state Governor Jaime Rodriguez said.

“Topo Chico is a...very

old prison. A prison with very difficult security conditions,” said Rodriguez, who survived two assassination attempts while opposing drug cartels as mayor of a suburb of Monterrey, Mexico’s third most populous metropolitan area and home to many of the country’s largest corporations.

A 2014 human rights report faulted Topo Chico for not preventing violent incidents.

The prison has long housed members of

the Zetas, known for extreme violence.

One Zetas leader was stabbed to death there in September.

It was not immediately clear how the victims died but Rodriguez said there was no gunfire.

Flames licked the night sky after inmates set light to food storage areas. Milenio TV reported that inmates’ relatives who had been within the prison’s premises for conjugal visits had seen inmates with burns. Twelve people were injured,

five seriously, the state government said.

Pope Francis is set to begin his first visit to Mexico as pontiff on Friday.

Next week, he will visit a prison in border city Ciudad Juarez, once one of the world’s most violent cities.

In 2012, at least 44 inmates died in another Nuevo Leon prison when members of the Zetas plotted with prison guards to stage an elaborate escape.

(Adapted from MSN)

advanced countries, but activists say there is still a stigma attached to birth control in some Latin American countries because of the edict.

The Vatican has so

far not addressed the issue of contraception in relation to the Zika crisis. In its announcement on Wednesday, the WHO said: “Women who wish to terminate a

pregnancy due to a fear of microcephaly should have access to safe abortion services to the full extent of the law.” (Adapted from Fox News)

Drug cartel battle kills 52 in Mexican prison A battle between the feared Zetas drug cartel and rivals at a prison left 52 people dead in the northeastern Mexican city of Monterrey, authorities said

yesterday, days ahead of a planned visit by Pope Francis to another jail in Mexico’s far north.

The incident was one of the worst in a series of deadly riots in

A Roman Catholic group appealed to Pope Francis on Wednesday to allow Church members to “follow their conscience” and use contraception or to let women have abortions to protect themselves against the Zika virus.

Catholics for Choice, a liberal advocacy group based in Washington, said in a statement it would run ads in the International New York Times and El Dario de Hoy in El Salvador on Thursday, the eve of a papal trip

to Cuba and Mexico.

“When you travel tomorrow (Friday) to Latin America, we ask you to make it clear to your brother bishops that good Catholics can follow their conscience and use birth control to protect themselves and their partners,” the ad will say, according to advance excerpts released in the statement.

Catholics for Choice asked Francis, Latin America’s first pope, to “really stand in solidarity with the poor”.

“Women’s

Catholic group urges pope to allow contraception to fight Zika decisions around pregnancy, including the decision to end a pregnancy, need to be respected, not condemned,” it said.

The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at the moment of conception and that abortion is killing.

It bans artificial birth control such as condoms, arguing that they block the possible transmission of life.

The ban, enshrined in Pope Paul’s 1968 Encyclical “Humanae Vitae,” is widely disregarded in many

Friday February 12, 2016

GCB congratulates Windies U-19 on reaching World Cup final The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has extended congratulations to the West Indies Under-19 squad for reaching the final of the 2016 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup. West Indies defeated host nation Bangladesh by three wickets to book their spot in the final having last been in a final since 2004.

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) extends congratulations to West Indies Under-19 Team on reaching the ICC U-19 World Cup 2016 Final, by virtue of defeating Bangladesh on Thursday.

“The GCB is delighted with the performances of the Guyanese boys, Shimron Hetmyer, Tevin Imlach and Keemo Paul who have all contributed significantly

in the team’s success.

The Board gives credit to its Professional Cricket Development Structure, which encompasses collaborated training between established senior contracted players and emerging national players under the academy programme,” the statement says.

GCB adds that this collaborated component of cricket development,

has advanced valuable support to all players involved, providing a great blend of youth and experience, and promoting the treasured purpose of technical soundness, Physical Fitness, Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle and Mental Toughness.

The GCB is of the view, that these youths maturity, grit and determination are

semblances of the product of future great cricketers who have been nurtured under a purposeful and meaningful professional cricket Development structure.

According to the GCB, “we encourage the West Indies U-19 team to continue to demonstrate attributes of professionalism – to be goal oriented and

tolerant by exhibiting an unwavering commitment towards attaining set individual and group goals. With such talented youth players, we are confident that they will lift the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016.”

A fascinating final is expected when the flamboyant Caribbean boys meet India on Sunday, February 14, 2016.