GNN Online Newspaper - Dec 10, 2015

Thursday December 10, 2015

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OPERATION DRAGNET A SUCCESS STORY

GOV’T SCRAPS LAND DEAL BETWEEN JAGDEO AND ED AHMAD -PAGE 2

Gov’t scraps land deal between Jagdeo and Ed Ahmad

ED AHMAD

Minister of State Joseph Harmon today announced that the government has taken a decision to scrap a lease for 3.41 acres of state land that was issued to Ahmad, of

Ozone Park, New York, friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo.

At his weekly postcabinet media briefing today at the Ministry of the Presidency, the Minister disclosed that

the plot of land was leased for GYD$500,000 yearly to Generation Complex Inc, whose head is Ahamad for the construction of a 150 room Hotel, including Bars, and a Casino.

In detailing the deal which he described as a “backdoor arrangement,” Harmon said Ahmad applied for the land on May 22, 2008 and on May 27 the application was approved. On May 29, Harmon said that a survey was done one day later and the said survey was registered on May 29. On May 30, according to the Minister the land was issued to Ahmad.

“Notice has to be served when you

are doing a survey on surrounding land owners and they have to be given an opportunity to object,” Harmon explained to the media. Further, he explained that there is usually a time specified for them to file objection to the Lands and Survey Commission.

With the deal being concluded in one week Harmon questioned if it can be called “administrative e f f i c i e n c y .”

He chided the previous administration moving ahead with the lease while it was the subject of a dispute between the then government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

In addition, the Minister disclosed that while Ahmad made an initial payment of $500,000 for the lease, no other payments were made after.

“G o v e r n m e n t has taken steps to have it terminated and brought back to government use,” Harmon told the media.

According to Harmon, “So when

Mr. Jagdeo speaks of corruption and to bring the evidence, here it is.”

Efforts to contact Mr. Jagdeo for a comment on the matter by this publication proved futile, since his phone went unanswered.

Ahmad is awaiting sentencing in January 2016 after he was convicted for real estate fraud in the US.

AML/CFT amendments to be laid in Parliament Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) have been approved by Cabinet and will be laid in the National Assembly shortly.

T h e s e amendments relate specifically to provisions

in response to matters that were recently raised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

According to Minister of State Joseph Harmon, “Last week I indicated to you that there was a greater emphasis on terrorist financing and therefore some of these amendments

are meant to deal with that and they cover in a particular sense the due diligence and beneficial ownership.

They also target financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorism financing, the strengthening of the supervisory regime by expanding the financial intelligence unit and the proper criteria to be utilized by supervisory a u t h o r i t i e s .”

T h e

The altering of the rules governing Per Diem allowances, which now allows Cabinet Ministers to travel without subsequently accounting for the monies provided by the state is “clearly a reflection of the Government’s move of taking care of the boys and ensuring that the status that they desire and anchor so much for; because there is this obsession with status

and prestige rather than paying attention to Peoples business”.

This is according to Opposition’s Chief Whip; Gail Teixeira during a Press Conference today.

According to reports, President David Granger, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Cabinet Ministers are not required to account for the monies spent on State trips abroad,

following a change by the Finance Ministry to the policy relating to Per Diem Allowances.

This change was made effective by an internal circular in June this year, monies given for state travels for accommodation, meals and travel will be treated as final charges, therefore no refund is necessary.

Pre 1992 (when the PNC was in office), the minsters were not

amendments, approved by Cabinet, were proposed by Attorney General Basil Williams.

Williams also had earlier disclosed that following a meeting with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in Trinidad and Tobago recently, Guyana was lauded for its efforts in complying with some of the requirements.

He said that nine of the CFATF

required to account for their spending, however it was changed under the PPP. Ms. Teixeira explained that under the PPP administration, “Cheddi Jagan (former president) reduced, whether you are a government minister or the president or a public servant or a technical officer…we cut that down and Ministers had to account for when they

MINISTER BASIL WILLIAMS

recommendations dealt with terrorism and as a result of the attacks which took place in Paris, France, pressure was mounted to get countries to implement

core recommendations on terror financing.

Guyana is now required to report to the next CFATF plenary in May 2016, on its compliance status.

Gov’t changes rules on accounting for overseas travel expenses Gail Teixeira

travel and stuff like that.”

According to information these senior functionaries also receive other benefits including housekeepers, assistants,

gardeners, free fuel, living accommodation; and in some instances, telephone as well electricity subsidies.

U.S. to bring drug trafficking charges against high-ranking Venezuelan military officials The United States will bring formal drug trafficking charges against a number of highranking Venezuelan military officials, including multiple generals, a Spanish news source reported.

Two federal prosecutors told ABC , a leading newspaper in Spain, that the U.S. did not want to be seen as influencing the recent parliamentary elections in the South American country and for that reason are holding off on announcing the charges for a few more days.

The newspaper also stated that these charges are not connected to the recent drug trafficking arrests of two nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s wife,

who are set to face trial in the United States on Dec. 17.

No evidence has been made public that directly links Maduro to the drug trade, but his wife’s two nephews, Efraín Antonio Campos Flores and Francisco Flores de

Freites, reportedly told the Drug Enforcement Administration that they were acting in connection with Diosdado Cabello, speaker of the National Assembly, and former Venezuelan Minister of the Interior Tareck el Aissami — both close

allies of the president.

ABC reported that the new charges were based largely on the testimony of alleged Colombian drug traffickers detained

by U.S. authorities, who gave details about how the Venezuelan military facilitated the

shipment of cocaine through the country.

While this is not the first time Venezuelan officials have been rumored as involved in the drug trade – a major from the country’s army reserve was caught with 667 kg of cocaine in a small aircraft in 1983 – experts say government involvement began to flourish under the late President Hugo Chavez and continued under the command of Maduro.

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal published a report – citing the U.S. Justice Department – that said an investigation by federal prosecutors in New York and Miami and a DEA unit found “extensive evidence” to suggest Speaker Cabello was one of the heads of

a suspected trafficking cartel involving military officers and top government officials.

News of the new drug trafficking charges comes days after Maduro and the rest of the Chavista loyalists suffered their worst electoral defeat in recent memory.

The National Electoral Council confirmed earlier this week that the opposition gathered under Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) obtained the 112 seats needed to get the supermajority.

It is the first time the opposition has wielded power since Chavez kicked off the nation’s socialist revolution in 1999.

Maduro announced that he would arrange a meeting with the elected congressmen to speak about the country’s economic situation.

However, opposition leaders spoke in strident terms, a prelude to what’s likely to be a period of intense political fighting in a deeply polarized country mired in an economic crisis. (Fox News Latino/Yahoo)

World Human Rights Day….

Gov’t says it supports Human Rights; PPP disagrees Minister Volda Lawrence

As Guyana joins with the rest of the world to observe “Human Rights Day”, the government says it will persist in honouring the human rights of all citizens including parents, workers, union members, political party activists, devotees to their various religious persuasions, or whatever other subcategories Guyanese feel comfortable

aligning themselves.

While noting that ‘EVERY HUMAN BEING, regardless of her/ his race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, educational achievement, political connection, economic power or social influence, is entitled to her/his human rights, Minister of Social Protection; Volda Lawrence called upon various sections of

society to step up the fight for equal human rights.

M i n i s t e r Lawrence called upon persons that “would have experienced violence of any kind to seek couselling, speak to someone do not take matters in your hands, divorced parent to remember the human rights of your child(ren), public servants to remember that they have a responsibility to the citizens under the Constitution to deal fairly with issues, Guyanese to renew our covenant with each other to ensure that we all HONOUR, RESPECT AND uphold the human rights of each other as our Constitution proclaim.”

She noted that a number of activities were engaged in to bring awareness and to sensitize the populace of the effects of Violence in the society, families, and communities.

Ho w e v e r, despite its claim to support Human Rights, the PPP is of the view that this is not reflected in its everyday functions.

The PPP is of the view that since its assumption to office the APNU+AFC has embarked on political witch-hunting of individuals perceived to be supporters of the PPP/C, violating their rights.

“Thousands have been fired thus depriving

Clement Rohee

them from earning a living; a fundamental human right because of racial and political discrimination and victimization” the party stated.

The PPP says it “takes the opportunity of International Human Rights Day to draw attention to what appears to be a creeping dictatorship in the country where the

human rights of several individuals perceived to be sympathetic to the PPP were blatantly violated including the right to work and to earn a living.”

This year’s Human Rights day is being observed under the theme ‘From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: education for all’.

Govt complains to UN about violation of airspace by Venezuela As the investigations continue into the landing of a Venezuelan aircraft at the Kaikan Airstrip, the Guyana government has registered its concerns at various levels.

State Minister Joseph Harmon while giving an update on the matter noted that government will not accept the excuse given by the Venezuelan.

On December 3 around 10:45 hours a Venezuelan registered helicopter landed on an airstrip at Kaikan, Region 7 with approximately eight heavily armed Venezuelan soldiers.

After they enquired from two women if the area was Sanguan, a farm in Venezuela and were told no,

they re-boarded the helicopter and left the area.

While conceding that it could indeed be a mistake, Harmon said “Sometimes you can actually say these things happen because when you are flying across jungle territory, the definition of the border is not so clear.”

“We cannot accept that to be the position in this case because a Venezuela Military pilot must know where he is going, he must see that this is not Venezuelan territory.

I can understand if it’s a civilian aircraft that he might have been disoriented from where he actually is,” Harmon added.

In this regard, the government has written to the

Minister Joseph Harmon

Venezuelan Embassy here complaining about the incident. It has also sent a report on the matter to the United Nations (UN) registering its concern over the violation of its airspace and territorial integrity by Venezuela.

Presently Guyana and Venezuela are currently involved in a border controversy which escalated in May of this year after it was announced that oil was discovered here.

Venezuela has since issued a maritime

decree claiming most of Guyana’s Atlantic waters.

The Guyana government has since opted for a juridical settlement and is seeking the legal opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the 1899 arbitral award.

Ve n e z u e l a remains fixed in its claims over portions of the Essequibo but has failed to show any evidence that the decision handed down more than a century ago by the United Nations is in fact illegitimate as it claims.

Family of slain cop to get $1M

from Government

The funeral of the late Constable Antonio Dawson

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, today at his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing, announced that the family of the

late Police Constable Antonio Dawson, who was killed in the line of duty in September, will receive $1 million from Government.

Twenty-eightyear- old Dawson who was attached to the Impact base at Brickdam, died at the Georgetown Public Hospital

Cooperation (GPHC) on September 18, after he was stabbed several times while attempting to arrest a man.

Dawson, while attempting to arrest a man who was reported to have been acting in a suspicious manner at the Gafoor’s Complex at Houston, was stabbed several times by the suspect who then committed suicide.

The Constable, who had only joined the force a little over a year ago, is survived by his two children (ages 3 and 1) and his common- law wife, mother and father.

Harmon said, “Cabinet approved the sum of $1 M to be paid to the children of the deceased Police Rank and their mother.

Cabinet deliberated on this matter extensively and recognised that in circumstances where persons have given service to the disciplined services, that we need to ensure that in the event of their death, we have to put in place a stronger regime of measures that will take care of the families of those persons who die in the line of duty.”

He noted that

the provision of payment to the family is as a result of a Cabinet decision that was made in 2002 and which has continued.

The Minister added that Cabinet has given Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan the responsibility of revisiting such situations since the regular provisions of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Dependant’s Pension Fund would not cater for ranks who die young.

GuySuCo likely to achieve its 2015 target by Monday The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is expected to achieve its 2015 production target within the next few days.

This seems very possible given that the second crop production tallying 143, 184 tonnes as of today with a year- to- date total of 224,327 tonnes.

The corporation had set this year’s target at 227, 443 tonnes which is just over 3,000 tonnes. The last time the corporation achieved a second crop target was in 2004.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Errol Hanoman had earlier told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that GuySuCo could likely surpass its target as well by at least 6,000 tonnes. With three estates operating, there is the likelihood of this occurring. Two Berbice estates, Albion and Rosehall, and Enmore are expected to continue operations until December 21.

The new crop

is expected to begin by the end of January, 2016, Hanoman told GINA. During the out-of-crop period, maintenance will be done on all the estates.

Meanwhile, the second conciliation meeting with GuySuCo, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Ministry of Labour is set to take place tomorrow.

Following earlier meetings between the union and sugar company on the Annual Production Incentive

(API), the union had called out the workers on strike in October after rejecting the company’s offer of 2.7 days. Again, the union encouraged the workers to down tools in late November,

Permanent Secretary (PS), Ministry of Education Delma Nedd, the sets will be used to bring recorded lectures and educational televised programmes, produced by the Guyana Learning Channel, to several classrooms across the country.

Nedd, who collected the sets on behalf of the Ministry from Commissioner General,

GRA Khurshid Sattaur, at the GRA’s headquarters, explained that as soon as the Ministry heard about the donation, it put together a list of schools, which would benefit from the intervention.

Chief Education Officer (CEO), Olato Sam who joined Nedd at the exercise, applauded the GRA for coming on-board in support of the Ministry’s goals. Sam noted that all education stakeholders need to work in tandem, if the sector is to be successful and achieve the best possible outcomes.

“We alone as the Ministry of Education cannot effectively deliver the task of educating the nation’s children. Clearly for us to be successful, we need a broader based sector approach and this is why we certainly welcome the gesture,” he said.

Sattaur explained that the donation is in

GRA donates 59 TV sets to Education Ministry The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is the latest stakeholder to come onboard to support the Ministry of Education in realising its stated goals of integrating and utilising more fully, the use of technology in education delivery.

Today, the revenue entity donated fifty-nine 21-inch television

sets to the Education Ministry. This comes just a few weeks after Samsung provided an innovative smart school classroom to the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School.

The sets will allow for even more students to benefit from educational television programming in the classroom. According to

and after the union had called off the strike, talks had resumed but ended in deadlock, hence the move to conciliation.

It was pointed out recently by Hanoman, that were it not for the

previous three- day strike in October, and the man-days lost, the set production target would have been achieved since the end of November, according to GuySuCo’s calculations.

Commissiner General, Guyana Revenue Authority Khurshid Sattaur hands over the TV sets to the Permanent Secretary (PS), Ministry of Education Delma Nedd keeping with the Revenue “Quite often at Authority’s mission of sensitisation seminars and promoting compliance with career fairs, the feedback Guyana’s Tax, Trade and from students is that ‘GRA Border laws and regulation, is out to rob people’, Public through education, Relations Officer, Melissa quality and responsible Baird explained. She noted enforcement programmes, that this is a notion that thereby contributing to has no doubt been passed the economic wellbeing of down by adults who are Guyanese. The GRA had not fully educated on the previously presented 15 roles and responsibilities sets to the Ministry in 2010. of the Revenue Authority.

Operation Dragnet already a success story-Harmon Newly formed operation Dragnet has already been yielding success, so says government.

This was the report Cabinet received from Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan during its December 8 deliberations.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said the success of the joint service operation which was formed just over a week ago is being measured by the reduction in criminal activities and increased interdiction of criminals.

“It is clear that the numbers are up, there is more interdiction of criminal elements and more is being done to prevent the level of crime taking place,” Harmon

told reporters during his weekly post-cabinet media briefing today.

On December 1 the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) launched operation Dragnet aimed at tackling crime and combatting any terrorist threat that may confront Guyana. It will conclude on June 1 next year.

The operation will see joint patrolling by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) across the country.

“Operation Dragnet is a joint services operation in which the joint services in coordination with other law enforcement and government agencies

will conduct intensified security operations throughout Guyana,” Minister of State Joseph Harmon told reporters at his last press conference. He explained that all statutory security operations will be integrated into operation “Dragnet” with the end result that there will be enhanced national security.

O n l y Wednesday morning the Guyana Police force came in for high praises for its quick response to a robbery in South Ruimveldt, Georgetown which led the killing of two alleged criminals that were engaged in a gunfire with the police.

The police recovered an unlicensed

9mm. Luger pistol with 3 matching rounds and an unlicensed .38 revolver with 4 matching rounds and 2 spent shells from the perpetrators.

Reference was also made to the discovery of a go-fast boat, believed to have been involved in illegal activities in the area

of Shell Beach, North West District recently.

Go-fast boats are known to be used by drug traffickers.

accidental… to make them look incompetent and unable to provide for their communities and to execute the budgets.

The implementation of the Budgets in the RDCs are terrible… it has never been that bad” Ms. Teixeira said.

It was also noted that the lack of respect for the Regional Chairpersons from the REOs are causing other heads within the RDC to follow suit.

The opposition believes this development is a deliberate strategy to undermine the productiveness of the Regional Democratic Councils in its constituents.

It is calling for the Ministry of Communities to look into the issues raised and for the Regions to ensure that the awards for contracts are made available to its councilors, ensure the infrastructure

committees have copy of the awards since they are required to monitor the projects, the functioning of the Regional Administrative Council and presentation of financial reports among other methods.

The PPP won regions one, two, three, five, six, eight and nine at the 2015 Regional Elections.

Uncooperative REOs stymying development of Regions - PPP

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is accusing Regional Executive Officers (REO’s) of stymying the development of the seven Regions in which the party won at the 2015 Regional Elections.

During a press conference today, Sectorial spokesperson on Local Government and Regional Development/ Communities; Colin Croal, noted that the non-functioning of the REO’s causes the slow implementation of regional projects.

He added that the REOs who are the clerk of the

COLIN CROAL

councils are not attending Regional Democratic Council’s meetings, therefore are not aware of the decisions that are made to be implemented.

Croal explained that “one may want to say that we had a late Budget presentation and approval. But having have the project approved, the projects would have already been determined on their submission by the various programs so all it was required for the procurement to be done and then the implementation, we have in some cases, the procurement not

being done as yet.”

He added that following the transfer of the procurement of drugs and supplies to the Regional authorities from the Ministry of Health, there is still a large amount of monies at the Region one council which has not been used.

Also at the press conference was opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira who noted that it is not a case of inexperience as some REOs would have served in different capacities within the RDC’s before. “ T h e s e developments are not

West Coast family beaten and robbed by bandits

The house and business entity which was robbed. [iNews’ Photo]

Police are investigating a robbery which occurred early yesterday morning when two bandits beat and robbed a MetenMeer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara, family.

The two armed bandits confronted businessman Ravindra Persaud, known as “Ravo” and demanded cash and valuables.

According to Persaud, the men placed a

gun to his head as they demanded money and jewelry.

He said he offered whatever cash he had in his possession which was about $45,000.00. However, not being satisfied, the men, who seemingly were bent on having jewelry, threatened to kill Persaud’s five year-old son.

Persaud said he and his wife began screaming after the threat to kill their son.

The bandits in turn

threatened to kill all of them if they continue to scream. He said he was severely beaten after the men insisted on having jewelry.

A traumatized Persaud said that the dissatisfied bandits fired a number of shots in the house. According to information, a female neighbor who went to offer assistance was also beaten by the bandits.

The family operates a grocery shop and pool bar.

production facility.

First Bauxite Corporation is a Canadian natural resource company engaged in the exploration and development of bauxite

deposits in Guyana.

The global demand for ceramic proppants is forecasted to grow at a healthy rate, both in the USA and worldwide as the hydraulic fracturing

application in the oil and gas industry becomes better understood and more countries identify reserves and permit fracking.

While she worked at Le Repentir Cemetery, her son was working with another sub-contractor.

Meanwhile the relatives of the other suspected bandit, 22 year old Sherwaine James also known as 2Pac, were not very accommodating as the relatives of Blackman.

James’ family shut their gate and said that they had no interest in speaking with reporters and were only interested in hearing from the persons that claimed they were robbed by the two young men and other company.

They also said that they wanted to meet face to face with the police ranks who were on the operation

at the time and who opened fire on the men.

That family claim that the men were killed while being unarmed.

The police said that the men were killed during an exchange of gunfire.

Residents of the area where the shooting took place were very high in their praise to the police for their quick response and intense engagement that led to the demise of the men.

Both of the men who were killed are from Tucville and unconfirmed reports suggest that the police are suspicious that the others who managed to escape may also be from the same area.

First Bauxite Corp. says gov’t grants two-year extension Canada-based; First Bauxite Corporation has been given a two year extension to the starting date for the construction of its Bonasika ceramic proppant project, in Guyana “Proppant is a solid material, typically treated sand or manmade ceramic materials, designed to keep an induced hydraulic fracture open, during or following a fracturing treatment. It is added to a fracking fluid which may vary in composition depending on the type of fracturing used, and can be gel, foam or slickwater-based.”

The Company reported this week that the Government of Guyana has granted

the extension from January 31, 2016 to January 31, 2018 on certain conditions.

First Bauxite Company stated that “as part of the discussions on the mining licence extension, it had agreed to allocate some of the proceeds from a recently competed $15-million private placement to initial design, permitting and infrastructure construction activities in Guyana during 2016.”

It was expected activities would focus on preliminary detailed design and engineering, the construction of wharves on either side of the Demerara river and on initial mine development.

It added that

a further extension to January 31, 2019, might be granted, should a review of the performance and financial standing of the company indicate an extension had merit.”

The company also said that it would use a portion of the proceeds from the private placement to undertake a bulk sample pit programme to confirm mining and processing assumptions in the Bonasika project feasibility study and to produce commercial volumes of ceramic proppants in a fullscale ceramic proppant

Mother of dead suspected bandit says she wouldn’t put her ‘head on a block’ for him The mother of 21 year old Edgar Blackman said that she is not sure that her son was involved in any criminal matter that caused him to be gunned down by the police on Wednesday morning, but said that she will not be putting her head on a block for him.

The woman, Dian Blackman, made the comments during an interview at her Tucville Home in the presence of the dead man’s other siblings and family members.

According to Blackman she was at home at the time the incident was taking place

and was only alerted to a shootout when a family friend informed them of the incident and that her son might have been a victim of a fatal shooting.

The Guyana News Network was told that the young man and his mother last saw each other on Tuesday and up to the time of his death they had not seen each other again. She said that it was not unusual for her son to be out late or sleep out since he sometimes spend time at his girlfriend’s home. When he did not return home on Tuesday

evening she was not bother.

Blackman added too that her son was picked up by the police recently for questioning in relation to a robbery and he was released without any charge after being held for 72hrs.

During the interview the woman was

asked if she ever noticed her son with a weapon and she responded in the negative. Other family members also said that they never saw the young man with a weapon in the past.

Both Blackman and her son were working as part of the City cleanup campaign.

President presents ‘Zamzam’ Water to Muslim community

President David Granger shares a warm handshake with Shaykh Abdul Aleem Rahim, President of the Guyana Islamic Trust, as he presents him with a bottle of Zamzam water, while Minister of State Joseph Harmon and another representative look on, during a meeting today at the Ministry of the Presidency

President David Granger distributed several bottles of ‘Zamzam’ water, which was sourced from a well in Saudi Arabia, to various Muslim organisations during a meeting today at Ministry of the Presidency.

The President handed over the bottles of the water to representatives of the United Sadr Islamic Anjuman, the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana and the Guyana Islamic Trust. The water was sourced during his trip to Riyadh, Saudi

Arabia in November.

Zamzam is the name of the well that provides water for billions of people, especially during the Hajj Pilgrimage.

The Zamzam Well is believed to have sprung up at the feet of a baby Prophet Ishmael in 2000 BC and it continues flow up to present day.

The word Zamzam means “stop stop”.

S chol ars believe that water from the Zamzam Well has significant healing powers and as such, it is often given to the sick.

Another boat donated to President’s ‘three Bs’ programme Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally, yesterday received another boat to ferry children to school in Moraikobai, Mahaicony River, Region Five. Ally received the boat on behalf of the Government and the President of Guyana, at a simple presentation ceremony held at the Guyana Goldfields Incorporated/Aurora Gold Project Buck Hall, Essequibo Coast.

President David Granger is expected to commission the boat next week in Moraikobai.

In handing over the boat, Logistics Manager of the Buck Hall operations, Kenrick Glasgow said that the commitment to gift the President a boat for his ‘Buses, Boats and Bicycles’ or ‘three Bs’ programme, aimed at ensuring

that all the children of Guyana are able to get to school, was made the same day that the company poured its first gold bar.

“This is a present from the people of Guyana Gold Fields for the children of Moraikobai in the Mahaicony River. It is indeed a pleasure and an honour to give this gift for the children so that they can go to school,” Glasgow said.

Minister Ally, in accepting the gift, said the government and country is grateful for the boat as it will ensure that children’s access to education in that community is made easier.

“I am happy to be here and to receive this gift. I would like to thank Guyana Gold Fields for this effort that they have made to the people and

Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally,shakes hands with Kenrick Glasgow, Logistics Manager at Guyana Goldfields Inc/Aurora Gold Project as she receives a boat the company donated to President David Granger’s ‘’three Bs’ programme to benefit school children

children of Guyana and more particularly the recipients of this boat. The President has a passion for education and the Ministry of Social Cohesion is working in tandem with him to ensure that we can bridge the gaps that exist in

our country; that is poverty and equality and so on, which all hinder and hamper [the]development of our country,” Minister Ally said.

She related that this will be the fourth boat which will be commissioned by the

President as corporate Guyana has responded to the President’s call for action on education; recognising that education is the key to the nation’s development.

At the commissioning of the third boat in Upper

Pomeroon last month, President Granger had said that the idea for the ‘three Bs’ programme was birthed in the Pomeroon when a resident told him that he was forced to pay $5000.00 per week to get his children to school.

MESSAGE BY HON. VOLDA LAWRENCE, MINISTER OF SOCIAL PROTECTION, ON THE OCCASION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015

My Dear Guyanese sisters and brothers, today is Human Rights Day. Guyana has been observing this significant day since we signed the Treaty in 1979.

So after 36 years of observances what do we have of substance to point to?

Are we guilty of a mere national genuflection to the day and merrily ignore its deep implications for the rest of the year? Do parents remember the rights of their children?

Do husbands respect the rights of their wives? Do our nation’s teachers still have rights?

What about the rights of those in prison? What about the rights of workers? Who among us really

care about the rights of senior citizens?

Let us remember that children are H U M A N S ?

Battered Wives are HUMANS? The socalled ‘JUNKIES’ are humans too.

The unemployed and/or terminally ill are HUMANS TOO and they also have rights.

Rights, which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature, are not confined to the wealthy and famous.

E V E R Y HUMAN BEING, regardless of her/his race, class, gender, sexual orientation, r e l i g i o n , educational achievement, p o l i t i c a l connection, economic power

or social influence, is entitled to her/ his human rights.

T o d a y concludes the 16 Days of Activism (November 25 to December 10) as designated by the United Nations under the theme ‘From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: education for all’.

The family holds the key to unlocking our understanding and releasing us into society to respect the human rights of others.

The family is the nursery where the seedlings of human rights should be planted, nurtured and, transplanted in the most savage manner. But alas the home is today an arena of violence: defenseless family members are targets for uncontrolled rage.

Men and women are victims of domestic violence and unfortunately so too are children.

It is difficult for victims to grasp, and appreciate, the true meaning of rights when theirs have been trampled in a most savage and brutal manner.

We in Guyana have been engaged in a

number of activities to bring awareness as well as sensitize the populace of the effects of Violence in the society, families, and communities.

We have engaged with personalities in sports, DJ’s, media, religion, various youth and other groups to ensure that the message of violence and its effects and results on the family is known to all and will be spread to all our people.

In our continued covenant with this nation, the APNU/AFC government will persist in honouring the human rights of all our citizens: as parents,

workers, union members, political party activists, devotees to their various religious persuasions, or whatever other sub-categories Guyanese feel comfortable a l i g n i n g themselves.

I call upon you if you have experienced violence of any kind to seek couselling, speak to someone do not take matters in your hands, do not engage in violent actions you will regret later; I call upon you divorced parent to remember the human rights of your child(ren); who were born with rights no one should take from them;

I call upon all public servants to remember that they have a responsibility to the citizens under the Constitution to deal fairly with issues and not use coercive methods to access information.

I call upon all of us as Guyanese to renew our covenant with each other to ensure that we all HONOUR, RESPECT AND uphold the human rights of each other as our Constitution p r o c l a i m .

I thank you all for your support as we continue to do justice to all concerned.

Police Christmas concert set for Saturday Members of the public will be afforded the opportunity to experience the Guyana Police Force Christmas concert which be held on Saturday, December

12 from 19:00hrs.

D u b b e d “Christmas at Eve Leary”, the event will be held at Young Street between Camp Road and Parade Street, Eve Leary.

Slated is the lighting up of Young Street, (outside of Police Headquarters) which will be followed by a cultural programme featuring dances, songs,

skits and poems by members of the Police Force, Police Youth Clubs and Local Entertainers.

The event is open to the public free of cost.

VALMIKI VIDYALAYA FREE

HIGH SCHOOL

WILL HOST A SPECIAL 5 DAY

YOGA AND

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT CAMP FOR CHILDREN BY

HIS HOLINESS SWAMI KAIVALYANANDA KAIVALYA ASHRAM INDIA CHAIRMAN, INTERNATIONAL VEDANTA UNIVERSITY TRUST DATE: 14th – 18th December, 2015 CAMP TIME: 8.00 AM - 10.00 AM (DAILY) VENUE: VALMIKI VIDYALAYA HIGH SCHOOL 169 PETER ROSE AND CROWN STREETS, QUEENSTOWN, GEORGETOWN TELEPHONE: 226-1293 or 628-1242

The five days training sessions is specially designed for your children. It focuses on the Science of Yoga, mental development of the Child as well as spiritual and cultural aspects of life. The aims and objectives of the camp are to develop and prepare Your Child for the future and provide the necessary tools for them to understand this rich culture, its traditions and human values.

We encourage ALL parents to register their children for this once in a lifetime rare opportunity to be taught by Swamiji THE HEADMASTER, STAFF AND MANAGEMENT VALMIKI VIDYALAYA HIGH

Swami Kaivalyanandaji, a renowned Yoga Guru, former Academician attached to Universities. Swamiji has been teaching Vedanta, Yoga and Sanskrit for many years in India and abroad. He hails from Kerala, the birth place of Aadi Sankaracharya in India.

20 Cadet Officers promoted to rank of Ensign

GDF Chief-of-Staff Mark Phillips pinning a badge on one of the Cadets

20 Cadet Officers were yesterday promoted to the rank of Ensign after completing nine months of rigorous training.

At a short ceremony held yesterday at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Camp Stephenson base at Timehri, the Ensigns were all pinned with

their badge of honour by Chief of Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips who was first awed with a military parade which was skillfully executed by members of GDF. The ceremony was also punctuated by musical performances by a faction of the GDF band.

Following critics levelled against Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo with regard to corruption and discrimination, the former President is maintaining that he is a credible figure.

According to him, “as the days pass more and more I am going to be justified.”

Jagdeo was responding to a question posed by the media at his press conference yesterday on whether he considers himself a credible messenger in the eyes of the general public. He said his credibility will be seen clearly long before the A Partnership for National Un it y + A l l i anc e for Change (APNU+AFC) term in office ends.

T h e former President told reporters that the Guyanese public

wants to see the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) back in office, adding that his party has a better manual for good governance when compared to the David Grangerled coalition government.

“People would want the PPP because things are bad and it is getting worse; people will want the PPP back,” he said.

Jagdeo noted that “my credibility is on the ground. I see tons of people from the business community coming to meet with me now to say they’re clueless about what they’re doing.”

With regard to the steering of the economy, the opposition leader said that the PPP can present a plan at any given time that would see a turnaround in the economy.

This, he said is what

The nine months course had initially seen 45 registrants, however, only 20 had achieved the rank of Ensign since the other 25 had either withdrew from the course or failed to meet the minimum requirement.

Of the 20 though, only 18 had

been present since two are currently enrolling at the US Naval Academy at West Point. The remaining 18 comprised 15 Guyanese, 2 Belizean and one person from St. Kitts and Nevis.

Delivering the featured address, Phillips noted that the training that the individuals would have had to endure has instilled a higher level of disciple in them. This training, he said, was aimed at building their confidence, character and intellect and sharpening their overall skills necessary to face this complex world today.

As the newest batch of leaders, the Chief of Staff encouraged the ensigns to discover how ethics and value will aid in executing

their purpose in military life. “Regardless of how competent you are, success in mission and task, will from start and end, depend on your character” he told them.

To this end, the GDF head underscored the role of duty, discipline, identity integrity and loyalty and responsibility in respecting the law, respecting others, having the right conduct and appropriate social behavior of the new ranks.

He even offered that as leader, these military men and women will need to use their skills to foster discipline and train subordinates using these very techniques and skills. In addition, they will have to create and sustain unit, with the skills,

trust and confidence needed to be successful.

As such, Phillips noted that leadership is a means of providing direction and motivation for subordinates who, according to him, should be so motivated, that they are willing to follow their leader into danger and discomfort in order to accomplish a task.

Highlighting too that military work, requires the skillful use of technology, he urged the Ensigns to continue to aim to protect Guyana’s borders despite the operating environment of Guyana. “We are a major stakeholders in the internal security of Guyana and we must provide better security for our citizens” he charged them.

Jagdeo boasts of his credibility despite corruption allegations

Former Presdient Bharrat Jagdeo

brings credibility.

He boasted too that his party is clear on environmental issues.

“I believe we are an extremely credible party based on our track record of change in this country; that in spite of all these difficulties we moved this country forward,” Jagdeo said.

He also made

reference to the fact that the critics of the PPP has not submitted their statements of assets and income to the Integrity Commission, which is a requirement.

Jagdeo urged that the Ministers of government follow the law in this regard.

“The people who been crying wolf, the

same people on the other side, who been crying wolf, all the time, why don’t the Stabroek News or the bloggers ask them why for the past ten years, some of them have not submitted their statements of asset and income to the Integrity Commission, when they are required by law to do so.”

In addition, Jagdeo called on the APNU+AFC government to release the findings of the forensic audits, Commission of Inquiries and probes.

He believes that the government will have to apologise to the PPP for its numerous c o r r u p t i o n allegations.

Why it’s so hard to kick your sugar habit It seems like we’re always being told to cut down on sugar -- but for many of us, that’s easier said than done.

Sugar is hard to avoid, even for people who don’t consider themselves to have a sweet tooth. Even if you ignore the copious amount present where we expect to find it, like in a soda, sugar is hiding in many of our foods -- even those that aren’t especially sweet.

According to Lisa Drayer, nutritionist and author of “The Beauty Diet,” some breads can contain six grams of sugar per slice. Some pasta sauces may contain up to 12 grams of sugar per serving, and some low fat salad dressings, which people might associate with healthy eating, can contain 10 grams of sugar per serving.

“I think a lot of people think that just because something is natural, it’s healthy,” says Drayer.

“So for example, honey is natural, but it’s very caloric and a lot of people might not know that a teaspoon of honey, or agave for that

matter, has more calories than a teaspoon of sugar or sucrose.” Complicating matters, scientists view some sugars as worse than others.

Natural sugars are found in foods like fruit and milk, in the form of fructose and lactose. The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is no reported evidence of adverse effects from eating these sugars, and fruits and vegetables also contain vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Added sugars, on the other hand, are included during processing or preparation of food and drinks. These provide no nutritional benefits and can contribute to weight gain and obesity. This can lead to serious problems.

“We’ve seen an increase in risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, simply by consuming just one to two sugarsweetened beverages each day,” says Drayer.

The WHO recommends adults and children reduce their intake of added sugars to less than 10% of their daily energy intake -- and says

that reducing it to below 5% is even better.

Another reason why it’s so hard to cut down on sugar is that we simply love to eat it. While it’s not known if sugar is actually addictive, some research shows it fires off the same reward centers in the brain as cocaine. “It seems to induce cravings and hunger that are comparable in magnitude to addictive drugs,” says Drayer.

Managing sugar also means managing other aspects of your diet, including portion sizes. So cutting down on sugar is not impossible. But, like other aspects of dieting and nutrition, it requires a conscious effort to manage. (Adapted from CNN)

Men’s self-image puts them in danger of dying from AIDS, research shows

Nairobi- Men’s selfimage as strong, sexually active risktakers means they are more likely to die from HIV/AIDS than are women, experts said on Wednesday, calling for more HIV workplace testing to reach men and greater efforts to change gender norms.

Although six out of ten Africans with HIV are women, men are 25 percent more likely to die from the disease, according to research by the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies in South Africa, which has the world’s biggest AIDS epidemic.

“A lot has been achieved

in the AIDS response, but we will be more successful if we put greater emphasis on engaging men and boys,” Dean Peacock, founding director of South African advocacy group Sonke Gender Justice. “The majority of people who don’t access services are men - and

that’s bad for everyone.”

Men are less likely to test for HIV, less likely to start or adhere to antiretroviral therapy (ART) to manage the disease and more likely to start treatment late and die, Peacock said in a paper he co-authored and presented to United Nations program on

HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on Wednesday.

Men will soon make up almost 70 percent of AIDS-related deaths in some high-prevalence countries, the paper said, even though rates of HIV infection among women aged 15 to 24 are twice as high as those of men the same age.

Women are more vulnerable to HIV/ AIDS because their lower social status, poverty and violence often mean they cannot choose whether to have sex or use a condom. As a result, health services have focused heavily on ensuring women get tested, usually when they are pregnant, and take ART to prevent transmission of the virus to their babies.

Men often avoid HIV tests because they

assume they are positive and drive long distances to clinics where they will not be recognised, the paper said, citing research in Malawi.

“Men shouldn’t define their manhood by the number of women they have sex with, by how dominant they are in their relationship (and) by how much alcohol they consume.”

Greater efforts also need to be made to reach men who have sex with men (MSM), who are 19 times more likely to be HIV positive than the general population but find it hard to access services due to stigma and discrimination, the paper said.

Homosexuality is illegal in most African c ou nt r i e s . ( Ad apt e d from MSN Health)

U.S. judge denies another Texas request to block Syrian refugees A U.S. federal court judge dismissed a request by Texas shortly after it was filed on Wednesday seeking a restraining order to block the imminent entry into the state of nine Syrian refugees, saying the evidence presented was “largely speculative hearsay.”

This is the second attempt by Texas to seek immediate court help to halt the refugees, with Texas saying the U.S. government had not met

its legal obligation to consult with local officials about the resettlement.

The Texas action came after U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump touched off a global firestorm by saying that Muslims should be denied entry into the United States.

“The (Texas) Commission has failed to show by competent evidence that any terrorists actually have infiltrated the refugee program, much less

that these particular refugees are terrorists intent on causing harm,” U.S District Judge David Godbey said in his decision.

The results of this case could determine whether the governors of more than 30 states will be able to go through with plans to bar the local resettlement of Syrian refugees.

A previous attempt for a temporary restraining order was dropped last week by Texas. The move

came hours after the U.S. Justice Department filed a brief at the U.S. District Court in Dallas saying the federal government and not the states sets U.S. policy on immigration.

After the November 13 attacks in Paris for which the group Islamic State claimed responsibility, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, was one of the first governors to seek to block on security grounds the resettlement of Syrians in their states.

A family of eight Syrian refugees, including six children ages 6 to 15, is due to arrive in Houston on Thursday, along with a 26-year-

old Syrian woman whose mother resides in the area, the Justice Department said last Friday in a court filing.

(Adapted from MSN)

Sarker Haque, 53, a store owner from Astoria, Queens, was beaten in broad daylight on Saturday by a man who reportedly told him, “I’ll kill Muslims.”

A customer who did not wish to be identified witnessed the assault and rushed forward and pinned down the attacker, a man identified later as Piro

Kolvani.

Another customer called the police, who arrived and arrested Kolvani.

Haque was rushed to Mount Sinnai hospital to receive treatment for his dislocated hand, bruises and bleeding.

Because of what Kolvani said during the assault, the NYPD is investigating the case as a hate crime.

In the wake of

the Paris terrorist attacks on Nov. 13, hate crimes against Muslims are on the rise. The Huffington Post has compiled a list of at least 52 incidents of Islamophobia and assaults against Muslims and mosques in North America since then.

(Huffington P o s t / Ya h o o )

Bill Clark

Store owner viciously beaten for being Muslim was aided by loyal customers

Over 2,400 killed in Saudi hajj stampede, crush - AP The September stampede during the hajj in Saudi Arabia killed at least 2,411 pilgrims, a new Associated Press count shows, three times the number of deaths acknowledged by the kingdom three months later.

The AP figures establish the Sept. 24 crush at Mina as the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage. It occurred just weeks after a fatal crane collapse in Mecca.

Saudi Arabia rebuffed criticism from its regional Shiite rival Iran and efforts by other countries to join a probe into the deaths. And while King Salman ordered an investigation into the tragedy almost immediately, few details have been made public since.

The AP count is based on state media reports and officials’ comments from 36 of the over 180 countries that sent citizens to the hajj. Hundreds of pilgrims remain missing. The official Saudi toll of

769 people killed has not changed since Sept. 26, and officials there have yet to address the discrepancy.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency has not mentioned the investigation into the disaster since Oct. 19, when it reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also the kingdom’s interior minister, was “reassured on the progress of the investigations.” The crown prince is the next in line to the throne and any blame cast on the Interior Ministry, which oversees safety during the hajj, could reflect negatively on him.

The ruling Al Saud family maintains its major influence in the Muslim world through its oil wealth and its management of Islam’s holiest sites. Like Saudi monarchs before him, King Salman has taken the title of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

Authorities have said the Mina crush and stampede occurred when two waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow road,

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, file photo taken with a slow shutter speed, Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. The September stampede during the hajj in Saudi Arabia killed over 2,400 pilgrims, a new Associated Press count shows, three times the number of deaths acknowledged by the kingdom even months later. The AP figures establish the Sept.

24 crush at Mina as the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage. It occurred just weeks after a fatal crane collapse at Mecca.

(AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy, File)

suffocating or trampling to death those caught in the disaster. (Adapted from Yahoo/AP)

Argentina’s ex-President exits in handover spat betrayed by the new centre-right government.

Macri will receive the presidential sash and baton. Fernandez had insisted that the handover should also take place in Congress, where her party holds a majority of seats.

She argued that both she and her husband and predecessor in office, Nestor Kirchner, had received the symbols of power in Congress and it had therefore become a tradition to be followed.

Mr Macri argued that

according to presidential protocol, the handover should be held in the presidential palace, as it did before 2003.

Local media reported that Macri’s decision was probably driven not just by tradition but also by a concern that followers of Fernandez could disrupt the ceremony in Congress. Aides to Macri said they feared her party could fill the gallery with her hardcore supporters.

Annoyed by Macri’s insistence, Fernandez announced she would

skip both ceremonies altogether. Macri’s party in turn sought a court injunction affirming that Fernandez’s term ended at midnight on Wednesday to settle the matter.

As a result, power was temporarily transferred to Senate Speaker Federico Pinedo, who is acting as head of state for 12 hours until Macri’s inauguration. In his inaugural speech, Macri is expected to call for unity and reconciliation.

The conservative politician is not only inheriting a nation divided into supporters and opponents of

A six year-old second year student of the Carapichaima Anglican Primary School, apparently jilted by a

six-year-old girl from his class attempted suicide on Tuesday during the lunch break by tying a sweater around his

neck which he attached to burglar proofing in the school’s courtyard before jumping.

Thankfully, the child was found gasping for breath by another six-year-old who immediately alerted the school’s principal and a teacher who rushed to the hanging schoolboy and took him down.

Social workers were summoned to the

school and the boy was spoken to at length.

Newsday understands he confessed that he had an interest in a particular six-year- old girl, but she struck him and told him she did not like him.

It was then, in a fit of rage, the boy attempted the take his own life by hanging, while classmates were having their lunch.

According to

An Arima street vendor in Trinidad and Tobago who had threatened to kill his estranged lover and then himself, committed suicide on Tuesday after chopping the woman, who survived the attack.

The man, Narine Singh, attacked Marilyn Gallan, 56, as she walked along Pro Queen Street in the heart of the eastern borough, metres away from the police station.

Police said after chopping the woman Singh ran and

collapsed on Woodford Street where he died.

Police said the woman was chopped four times and remains warded in a serious condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.

An employee of Circle Square Recreational Pub, where Singh was once employed, said yesterday Singh had threatened to kill the woman and then himself in the past.

She said the man, who she described as “jolly and a little ignorant,” had a temper, was

warned against such violent threats and would calm down.

She said on two previous occasions Singh attempted to take his life, once by ingesting poison and another by jumping off a building.

A street vendor said after seeing Singh chop Gallan he and other men chased after him. While running behind Singh they saw him pelt away the cutlass. When he was confronted the men began beating Singh the woman. During said, Singh drank who denied chopping that struggle, police poison and collapsed.

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has left the Argentine presidency, but is refusing to attend a ceremony to hand over to her successor Mauricio Macri. The outgoing left-wing leader and the centreright president-elect disagree over where the ceremony should be held.

Fernandez bid farewell to a large crowd of her supporters in an emotional speech on Wednesday. She urged people to take to the streets if they felt

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Fernandez but also burdened with a host of economic problems, correspondents say. The current administration has been repeatedly accused of being less than transparent about

information, after the boy was rescued, he told the school’s principal that he missed his daddy and when he reached home, he would take a knife and kill himself.

Sources revealed that a male relative of the boy recently committed suicide and the child was left traumatised.

The girl was not at school yesterday but she

key statistics such as the real rate of inflation.

Macri made it abundantly that Fernandez’s combative style had damaged Argentina’s image abroad. (Adapted from the BBC)

Six year-old attempts suicide allegedly over girl confirmed to teachers that she had struck the boy and told him that she did not like him.

Newsday understands that counsellors have been assigned to the school by the Ministry of Education. The boy was also not at school yesterday. (Adapted from the Trinidad Newsday)

Man kills self after chopping woman

(Adapted Trinidad

from the Guardian)

War on ISIS: Why Arab states aren’t doing more Arab members -- all of them much closer geographically to the terror group than their Western partners -- is drawing down.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are down to about one mission against ISIS targets each month, a U.S. official told CNN on Monday. Bahrain stopped in the autumn, the official says, and Jordan stopped in August. CNN contacted

all of these countries for comment and is yet to receive a response.

Why aren’t Arab countries more involved in the fight against ISIS? Analysts say Yemen is at the center of a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the region’s biggest powers.

Religion and ethnicity are at the heart of the longstanding hostility between the two countries. Iran is majority Shia Muslim and non-Arab. Most of the other countries in the region -- including, and led by, Saudi Arabia

-- are majority Sunni Arab, and are suspicious of Iran’s motives.

So when Iranian-backed rebels seized Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, last year, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states (including Egypt, Jordan and the UAE) was launched to try to defeat them. The governments under the most immediate threat from ISIS -those of Syria and Iraq -- are both key Iranian allies, so why can’t the Iranians handle it?

That’s been the prevailing logic amongst the Sunni Arab states, according

to regional experts.

They say Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are also less inclined to carry out strikes against ISIS targets if doing so helps Iran’s allies in Damascus and Baghdad.

“We’re seeing the Egyptian army focus on

the Sinai and its internal problems, we’re seeing the Syrian army doing that, and in Yemen it’s almost seen as the Saudi army cleaning up their own backyard -- but not really intervention on the international level.”

(Adapted from CNN)

A shaken father told reporters Wednesday that he never knew his son had returned to France after a stint in Syria. If he’d found out, Said MohamedAggad said he wouldn’t

have let his son join the ranks of attackers who unleashed carnage at the Bataclan theater in Paris last month.

“I would have killed him beforehand,” he said in an interview with French

media. Instead, Foued Mohamed-Aggad, a 23-year-old from eastern France who traveled to Syria two years ago, blew himself up.

His name was first reported Wednesday by CNN affiliates BFMTV and France 2, who described him as the third gunman who stormed the Eagles of Death Metal concert as part of a series of shootings and explosions in Paris on November 13. The attackers sprayed

gunfire and slaughtered people inside the concert hall for 20 horrific minutes. Ninety people were killed.

Foued MohamedAggad was from a small town near Strasbourg, BFMTV and France 2 reported. He went to Syria in 2013, the stations said. BFM also said Mohamed-Aggad was close to Mourad Fares, one of the main jihadist recruiters in France.

Mohamed-Aggad was known to French anti-

terrorism services and had a police record in Strasbourg, France 2 reported. His father told reporters that his son, who was born and grew up in France, had been brainwashed and become another person.

In all, the coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13 killed 130 people and wounded more than 350.

A radio reporter who attended the Bataclan concert described the attackers there as

calm and determined, telling CNN they reloaded their weapons three or four times.

Besides MohamedAggad, the other attackers at the theater had also traveled to war zones in the Middle East. They were Samy Amimour, a 28-year-old from Paris who fought in Yemen, and Omar Ismail Mostefai, a 29-year-old from Courcouronnes, a Paris suburb, who traveled to Syria in 2013.

(Adapted from CNN)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has appeared to suggest his country possesses a hydrogen bomb, in comments published on state media.

The country was “ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb”, KCNA quoted him as saying.

If true, the development would mark a significant advancement in North Korean nuclear capabilities.

But the claim has not been independently verified and has drawn scepticism from experts. Mr Kim made the remarks as he inspected a historical

military site in the capital Pyongyang.

The work of his grandfather Kim Il-sung had turned North Korea into a “powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb to reliably defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation”, he is quoted as saying.

While North Korea has made previous claims about its nuclear weapons capabilities this is thought to be its first reference to an H-bomb. Such devices use fusion to create a blast far more powerful than a more basic atomic bomb.

North Korea has carried out three underground nuclear tests before, but experts cast doubt over the latest suggestions. John Nilsson-Wright, Head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House, was sceptical, saying it fitted into a previous pattern of bold claims from the North Korean leader.

The comments were likely to be an “attentiongrabbing effort to assert North Korean autonomy and his own political authority”, he told the BBC. “It’s hard to regard North Korea as possessing an H-bomb,” Lee Chun-geun, a

research fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Institute in South Korea, told Yonhap.

But he added: “I think it

seems to be developing it.”

Independent observers are rarely allowed access to the secretive communist state, making

U.S. President Barack Obama is sending Special Forces. British jets have joined French warplanes over the skies of Syria. Even Germany, whose post-World War II constitution puts restrictions on fighting battles on foreign soil, is becoming increasingly involved.

But as the West steps up its war against ISIS, it appears that the involvement of the U.S.-led coalition’s

Father of a Paris bomber says, ‘I would have killed him’

North Korea claims to have Hydrogen bomb

Kim Jong-un

verifying the authorities’ claims difficult.

(Adapted from the BBC)

WI vs Aus – 1st Test - Voges Marsh flay hapless Windies

Adam Voges hit an unbeaten 174 and Shaun

Marsh 139 not out as Australia amassed 438-

3 on the opening day of the three-Test series

against West Indies.

David Warner made a rapid 64 as Australia slipped to 121-3, but Voges and Marsh put on an unbroken 317, the second highest Test stand in Hobart. Voges, whose century took 100 balls, hit 19 fours in his highest Test score.

West Indies left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican removed Warner and captain Steve Smith in claiming 2-111. The tourists’ seven bowlers conceded almost

five runs per over on a tough day after Australia won the toss.

Warner and Joe Burns scored 75 in the opening hour before the latter was bowled between bat and pad by Shannon Gabriel for 33 Smith edged to slip off Warrican, who had Warner caught down the leg side after the left-hander became the first Australian to score 11 half-centuries in a calendar year.

However, Voges and Marsh, who both began

cautiously, exploited an increasingly ragged West Indies attack as the day wore on. Voges beat Adam Gilchrist’s record of 110 balls for the quickest century at Bellerive Oval, while Marsh brought up his third Test hundred off 150 deliveries.

They are closing in on Australia’s record fourth-wicket stand of 336 in Tests against West Indies, by Bill Lawry and Doug Walters in Sydney in 1969. (BBC)

they want all venues completed by 2020.

Khater added that organisers “would have enough time”

to adapt their plans to whatever number is chosen by FIFA. (Adapted from Yahoo)

FIFA postpones decision on Qatar World Cup stadiums

FIFA has delayed a decision on finalising the number of stadiums to be used during the 2022 Qatar World Cup until next year, tournament officials in the Gulf confirmed Wednesday.

A final decision was expected before the end of this month, but following a meeting in Doha of the Qatar 2022 Local Organising Committee

(LOC), the body overseeing preparations for the controversial tournament, that number will be fixed in January.

“There was an agreement about deciding the number of stadiums for the World Cup by the end of this year but because of the importance of this matter, we decided to postpone the decision,” said Nasser al-Khater,

the assistant general secretary of Qatar’s 2022 organising committee.

He added that the decision would be taken in “January and that the final decision will be taken by FIFA. It has been widely predicted that only eight stadiums will be used in Qatar, though the inital bid allowed for up to 12.

If eight is agreed, it

will be the smallest number of venues used at a World Cup finals since Argentina in 1978, where games were played at just six different stadiums.

However, just 16 teams qualified for that tournament 37 years ago. In Qatar, 32 nations will take part.

Work has already begun on six stadiums and Qatari officials say

Lara slams WICB and players

Champion batsman Brian Lara says it is no surprise there is a shrinking pool of youngsters aspiring to play for the West Indies, above all else because current senior players are setting a bad example by chasing cheques in Twenty20 competitions.

But Lara also said the players were not totally culpable, slamming the “badly run” West Indies Cricket Board and hinting there would be an upheaval in Caribbean cricket administration be-

cause the WICB was ignoring member nations’ leaders and “acting like a law unto themselves”.

“What you’re talking about is a badly run cricket board, and when the player relationship with board members is not really good you’re going to head in the direction where you feel comfortable,” Lara said. “The guys don’t trust the board any more.

They don’t even trust the players’ association.

I mean, what choice do they have?” Former Australia captain Allan Border sympathised with the circumstances that have led the likes of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo to focus on domestic Twenty20 tournaments, such as the looming Big Bash League where they will represent Melbourne Renegades, ahead of playing for the West Indies.

“The reality is you’ve got an offer of US$2 million here [in IPL] and US$100,000 there [from the West Indies]. I mean, what decision are you going to make? You want to play for your country, yes, but that is just poles apart,” he said.

“We’ve got to work out some sort of compromise so it’s country first and franchise-cricket second.”

Lara said he was inspired during his childhood by watching the dominant West Indies team, and its cornerstone players. He lamented current young cricketers did not have those sort of role models.

“You’ve got youngsters coming in and (critics) saying they don’t have the passion to play for the West Indies team, but that can only come from examples,” Lara said.

“I believe that the example being set now is that guys are heading off to franchise cricket, everyone wants to make a lot of money out of the game, and the West Indies seems to be very much secondary. (Adapted from the Trinidad Newsday)

Archery Extravaganza on this weekend

Archery Guyana, a discipline under the Guyana Sport Shooting Federation (GSSF), announced that plans are on stream to host their final archery

Guyana a few months ago by Top Columbian Archer Diego Torres.

New members in attendance will be able to obtain instructional training and in order to practice the art with a bias towards Indoor Olympic Style shooting in this upcoming Archery Extravaganza.

President of the GSSF, Ms. Vidushi Persaud reported that the Board of Directors is planning a rigorous Calendar for the New Year that will include regularly scheduled shooting sessions for this Olympic sport.

The 2016 calendar will include both indoor and outdoor Archery Indoor Archery being done at the National Gymnasium seminars, safety event for 2015. Mandela Avenue. styled Bows that were instructions, practice The group Members of fabricated with the sessions, extensive will host their the GSSF present at assistance of World training and a series of “Christmas Archery the indoor facility Archery Americas competitions all using Extravaganza 2015” will be able to try the through their Archery the Federation’s PVC this weekend at the Federation’s member Development Seminar bows, arrows, targets National Gymnasium, made PVC Olympic- that was held in and other resources.

Banks DIH/GFA Team up for 5th Knockout Football Cup

GFA president Clifton Hicken collects the winner trophy from Banks Beer Brand manager Brian Choo-hen in the presence of other GFA Executives

Beverage giants Banks DIH and the Georgetown Football

Association yesterday partnered to host the 5th edition of the Banks

DIH knock out Football tournament which will kick off on Sunday.

The tournament features a winning purse of 2 million dollars and a trophy while the runners up will take home 1 million dollars and the 3rd and 4th place team will cart off 500,000 and 250,000 respectively.

President of the GFA Clifton Hicken in a brief comment during Thursday’s launch said, “we need to maintain this partnership if we are to grow football in our country, that is Guyana,” adding that they are keen on developing the sport from the grass root.

Banks Brian Choo-Hen contended that “We

look forward to getting the support from the football fans once again for this tournament.

The tournament will kick off on Sunday December 13th when Western Tigers take on Hope FC from 18:00 while Sunburst Campton lock horns with Northern Rangers from 21:00.

A march pass ceremony is planned for 20:00.

The final of the tournament will be played on New Year’s day with the National Stadium Providence being touted at the venue.

The 16 team tournament will feature 4 Berbice

In this regard, Persaud extended thanks to the Government of Guyana, Ministry of Education, Department of Sport and the National Sports Commission for the support they have given to the development of this sport in 2015.

She also indicated that under the Archery Guyana tag the GSSF will be taking the sport to various communities around Guyana in an effort to tap into skilled archers in these areas.

Some locations air marked for Archery sessions are the National Gymnasium, the Leonora Synthetic Track, the Providence National Stadium and the Carifesta Sports Club Ground

units in Rosginol United, Hope FC, New Amsterdam United and Cougars and will be played at 4 venues across Guyana (Number 5 Village Berbice, GFC ground, Guyana Defence Force Ground and Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary.)

The Georgetown based sides are the Western Tigers, Sunburst Camptown, Northern Rangers, Blackwater FC, Guyana Police Force, Eastville FC, Santos, Blackpearl, Beacon, Flamingo, Riddim Squad and Houston Stars.

In the last edition of the tournament, Alpha United produced a 3-1 win over the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) while Pele beat off Western Tigers for third place.

Thursday December 10, 2015

-See page 17

Outdoor Archery Training with Mr. Diego Torres (left) of Columbia at the Leonora Track & Field Facility

ARCHERY EXTRAVAGANZA ON THIS WEEKEND