Monday September 14, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news...Letters... Where your views make the news
Mr. President, how would you like to be remembered? DEAR EDITOR, A question that is often asked of Heads of State late in their first term in office is, “Mr. President, how would you like to be remembered?” But even if this question is never asked, I am sure it goes through the mind of every political leader before he demits office. Time goes by quickly when there are lots of things to accomplish, and unless a leader prioritize his objectives and remains focused throughout the early stages of his Presidency, he is likely to fall short of achieving these goals. As a historian, President Granger must be aware that he has a unique opportunity to do great things for the country he now leads. His legacy could be anything he
wants it to be. But if David Granger ever aspires to be a great President, he has to be a man of integrity; fair and just; a true visionary with the wisdom and courage to do what is necessary to heal a nation divided by race and ethnicity. He should be concerned about his legacy now, and not wait until his final year in office. He has to be bold enough to lead from the front and not allow others in the APNU or AFC to define his legacy. Since May, Minister of State Joseph Harmon has been the face of the Administration, while a significant amount of the President’s time is taken up traveling. Whatever is done by his Administration even in his absence, reflects directly on
his ability to lead and to control the hardliners in his Cabinet. Since May, the “Fresh Approach” practiced by his Administration have caused a slowdown in the economy and a spike in the unemployment rate. The President cannot hide in the background and allow his Ministers to indiscriminately fire thousands who are perceived to be supporters of the PPP/ C and expect Amna Ally to succeed as Ministry of Social Cohesion. Similarly, The Government cannot “transform the economy” and create jobs when thousands of families are suffering from the loss of income inflicted by an Administration that appears to practice intolerance and lacks compassion.
This tragedy was poorly covered DEAR EDITOR, In a media landscape where there is an abundance of resources should allowed our media in Guyana (both the print and electronic) to have covered the missing Kaieteur Falls woman much, much better. I could not see the story on most nightly newscasts or even followed the progress of the search on such newscasts. There were a few repetitive newspaper articles with similar details from the previous. The electronic media did not make use of simulation videos of the Falls and a possible jump; the print media did not make use of family accounts or even maps. The entire story lacked investigative journalism. Headlines like that—a woman missing at a world- famous falls even would have attracted millions of eyes worldwide since similar falls
exist at Niagara, NY and Canada. Our journalists should have had a field day with such a human- interest story. There were no interviews of the woman’s relatives—we didn’t hear about any problem or issue she might have been going through prior and during the trip….she was crying during the trip, as some sections of the media revealed. We did not get enough information from the press— our gatekeepers of knowledge. I do not know if the media were allowed to accompany the army on the search (they should have) but again—no pictures from
those searches. Doesn’t the army have a photographic/ media section? Not every day someone jumps from the Kaieteur Falls. The reportage of the story had several missing links and gaps. Sad. Today (Sunday) the news broke that a woman’s body was spotted at the bottom of the Falls. I can only hope some of our press members were allowed to travel to the search area to bring us firsthand information. We, as media must go deep into stories, especially of such nature. Instead of just presenting the facts, we should start analyzing more. Leon Suseran
How can the President justify giving over $1 billion in electricity subsidies to his stronghold in Linden while taking away the electricity and water subsidies from the elderly, and while disconnecting street lights in Cotton Tree, Berbice? These are discriminatory acts that will negatively impact his legacy. It is wrong for the APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate Granger to promise the Army and Police a 20% increase in wages, and break that solemn promise made to our brave men and women in uniform after he is elected President. And the President cannot, if he is indeed serious, appoint Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo to head a delegation charged with the responsibility of conducting meaningful dialogue with the People’s Progressive Party in hopes of reaching consensus on national unity. In a press
statement, the PPP made it clear that, “it will not participate in such talks if Nagamootoo leads the team.” And in his Kaieteur News column of September 12, Peeping Tom wrote, “There will only be token gestures at achieving national unity through the usual meetings and talks but there is nothing to convince anyone that even APNU or the AFC is serious about a government of national unity. How is the ruling coalition going to be serious about national unity when there were serious divisions within the coalition over the violations of the Cummingsburg Accord which brought APNU and the AFC together?” Editor, national unity is too important an issue to be entrusted to someone with an axe to grind with the PPP. President Granger must lead from the front to ensure these talks are conducted in good faith, and is perceived by all
to be a genuine attempt to heal the nation. Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan should not be part of any negotiating team to meet with the PPP/C if meaningful results are expected. These two former PPP stalwarts may be assets in raging a battle against the PPP, but the bitter, contemptuous relationship they’ve had with that Party’s leadership in recent years, should automatically disqualify them from being part of any negotiating team charged with brokering a peace agreement with the PPP. For the sake of all Guyanese, I would like to see progress continue. But I see a dangerous, almost sinister pattern developing with this Administration: Whenever they’re unable to properly manage the economy; or to reduce the out-of-control crime rate; or to keep their campaign promises made to Continued on page 23
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Kaieteur News
Monday September 14, 2015
Publish concessions granted to foreign companies in the media - Presidential Advisor By: Kiana Wilburg In the season of transparency and accountability under the coalition government, Presidential Advisor on Sustainability, Dr. Clive Thomas believes that concessions granted during the year should not only be tabled in the National Assembly as the law stipulates, but also published in the newspaper. In fact, the Economist feels so strongly about this that he intends to make recommendations to the Minister of Finance and President David Granger for this to be done. He told Kaieteur News that the “secrecy” and “level of unaccountability” which prevailed under the previous administration in that regard should remain as a mere characteristic of that “dark past.” Professor Thomas added, “Under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), you had the former Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and the Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, showing disregard for the laws in this respect,” Professor Thomas said. “Sharma failed in tabling in the National Assembly, the concessions which would have been granted to foreign companies as stipulated by the country’s Investment Act. I am of the belief that all concessions must be published in the newspapers so that the people can see what is really being granted and then they will be able to later assess if the nation was
Presidential Advisor Dr. Clive Thomas
Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram
Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma
properly compensated.” Dr. Thomas continued, “I certainly believe that the people have a right to know this and there should be no objection to this. It should not only be tabled in the National Assembly but also published in the papers so that it can reach a wider audience, it can be subjected to constructive criticism and confidence in the system and the process can be restored.” Also in agreement with Dr. Thomas’ suggestions is Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran. He expressed that such a recommendation by the Economist should be supported and welcomed, as the concessions being published in the newspaper would readily bring the information to the ordinary folk. Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram had also criticized Dr. Ashni Singh and the country’s Auditor General, for having failed, over several years, to adhere to the country’s investment laws. Ram was referring specifically to the sections of that Act which call for transparency surrounding the monitoring and disclosure of
tax concessions granted to foreign and local businesses annually. Ram emphasized that both financial officers have ignored their statutory duty and stressed that this needs to change in the new era of governance. The lawyer said that Sharma has been pressured on several occasions to report on the tax concessions as stipulated by the country’s tax laws, but he has continuously turned a blind eye to the issue. Guyana’s Investment Act, Section 38 (1) states that the Auditor General, or any suitably qualified person, designated by him for the purpose, shall annually carry out a procedural or process audit of incentives granted under Section 2 of the Income Tax (In Aid of Industry) Act to an investor or an investment enterprise. It goes on to state that the report of the audit carried out , shall be laid in the National Assembly within six months after the end of each financial year. This has never been done. Further, Section 37 of the said Investment Act says that the Government shall publish
in the Gazette, information regarding all fiscal incentives granted under Section 2 of the Income Tax (In Aid of Industry) Act. The Chartered Accountant said that given the failure of both Dr. Singh and Sharma to respect and obey the country’s laws, it becomes imperative for the
whole matter of tax concessions to be part and parcel of the tax reform process with the aim of minimizing the cases for which exorbitant concessions are granted in an ad hoc fashion. He said that the rules need to be made tighter and applied across the board. In doing this, the lawyer
asserted that the country would stand to benefit more from greater revenues. When Sharma was contacted by this newspaper yesterday to explain why he failed to report on the incentives granted annually, his response was, “I remember they used to be published in the papers between 2007 and 2008 but my memory of that is vague. I am not sure why it has stopped. I would have to go into office to see and check the laws. I am not in a position to say why this was stopped or why a report was not tabled in the House. By the way, there was a report on the re-migrant duty free concessions. So that’s one. But I really think your question should be posed to the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Autho r i t y, Khurshid Sattaur.”
Pres. Granger wants co-operation with Opposition on crime, sugar and rice With the spike in the crime rate, and two of the country’s biggest revenue earners- sugar and ricefacing economic challenges, President David Granger has disclosed that he wants his government to co-operate with the opposition to tackle these matters effectively. Granger made this, among other statements, to a panel of journalists on a government show, “The Public Interest”. The Head of State said, “We would like to cooperate with the People’s Progressive Party on crime, sugar and rice and on forging national unity through the process of civil cohesion.” He said that this is apart from his desire to have both sides work in harmony on a bipartisan committee on the 2016 budget. The President added, “All of us, whether we are in the political parties or nongovernmental organizations or the private sector, have an obligation to build better relations rather than practice adversarial behaviour”. He emphasized that it is
PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee
President David Granger
that “very disposition which got us into trouble since the disturbances in the 1960s.” Granger said that he does not want the country to return to those days. Come next year May, he said, the country must celebrate its anniversary in an atmosphere of national unity. He said that he is confident that dialogue with the Opposition will move into new areas too. The President asserted that he would like Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo to engage the Central Committee of his Party so as to regulate
the dialogue in Jagdeo’s own terms and pace. Granger said that he is optimistic that things will be moving much faster in the near future. PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee said that his party is already making moves to cooperate with the government on crime, sugar and rice at the parliamentary level. In this regard he reminded of the recent appointments of PPP members to the Parliamentary Oversight Committees which will look into crime, rice and sugar.
Monday September 14, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Labour faces divisions over new leader Corbyn R e u t e r s - B r i t a i n ’s opposition Labour Party must unite behind new leader Jeremy Corbyn, his deputy said yesterday as he revealed his own differences with his new boss over issues such as defence and foreign policy. Left-wing veteran Corbyn won the support of 59.5 percent of members and supporters but he has far less backing among Labour MPs, with several saying that the party cannot win the next election in 2020 if it lurches left. “I understand the concern of my colleagues in parliament, this is a huge change for the party, there is no point in denying this a huge political realignment too but Jeremy Corbyn has got a huge mandate from our members,” Tom Watson, who was elected deputy leader on Saturday, told the BBC. “I say to my colleagues watch this space, respect the mandate that he has been given from our members, try and unify.” Watson said there was “zero chance” of a coup against Corbyn but acknowledged there were differences to overcome on policy, which he said could be
The new leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn stands next to newly elected deputy leader Tom Watson (left). REUTERS/ STEFAN WERMUTH put to the vote of Labour members. At odds with the existing Labour position, anti-war campaigner Corbyn opposes the renewal of Britain’s Trident nuclear-armed submarine programme and has advocated withdrawing from the NATO military alliance. “I need to be honest about where I stand on things, I think NATO has kept the peace in Europe for half a century,” Watson said, adding that he did not believe
most members had backed Corbyn solely for his views on NATO. “I aim to convince him of the merits of NATO ... These things have got to be worked out.” Watson, who backs the renewal of Trident, also said he would definitely be supporting Britain staying in the European Union at a referendum due by the end of 2017. The rise of Corbyn, who voted ‘No’ to Europe in a 1975 referendum and has been
ambiguous about how he plans to campaign in the upcoming vote, has raised fears among some British proEuropeans that he will scupper the hopes of drawing out millions of Labour voters in support of the EU. Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives have quickly sought to play on Corbyn’s foreign policy views, saying he is a risk to Britain’s security and highlighting his past meetings with Palestinian militant group Hamas and
Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah - something Corbyn has defended in the interest of gathering a wide range of views. Hamas and the military wing of Hezbollah are both officially designated as terrorist organisations by Britain. “Unlike Corbyn, the mainstream Labour Party does not believe in ducking our international responsibilities, it would never offer succour to terrorist groups,” Labour lawmaker John Mann wrote in the Mail on Sunday newspaper. Mann warned if Labour achieved success at local and regional elections in May next year under Corbyn he would have earned the right to lead the party into the 2020 national election. “But if he fails to do that, my party must act,” he wrote. “We cannot ... sit on our hands once more if it turns out that we have indeed elected the wrong leader.” Corbyn told the Observer newspaper he had a “huge mandate” and members and supporters would expect Labour MPs to cooperate with him but Britain’s mainly right-wing press was dominated by
warnings over the party’s future. The Mail on Sunday declared the party “Red and buried” while the Sunday Times front page said Corbyn had sparked a civil war. A Survation poll for the Mail carried out after Saturday’s result found 44 percent of the 1,031 people surveyed believed Cameron would make the best prime minister, compared to 27 percent for Corbyn. Asked whether Labour would lose the next two national elections, 39 percent said yes and 22 percent no. Former Labour minister Peter Mandelson said the party had taken a “leap backwards”. “We may not see an immediate, dramatic collapse. Many voters may even be attracted initially by Corbyn’s populism and anti-establishment pitch. But that is not the same as deciding he should be B r i t a i n ’s n e x t p r i m e minister,” he wrote in the Times. “The danger is that Labour simply decides to muddle through, resigning ourselves to our fate rather than doing anything big enough to alter it.”
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Kaieteur News
Monday September 14, 2015
Monday September 14, 2015
Kaieteur News
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North Ruimveldt Multilateral School celebrates 40th
Forty years later ‘Multi’ has been upgraded to an ‘A’ List institution Forty years ago, in 1975, the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School came into existence. The late founder leader, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, aided by the Canadians, had decided to create an educational institution that catered for the all-round development of Guyanese children. ‘Multi’ has produced some of the most brilliant minds. A check will uncover many of them within some of the major sectors locally and abroad. The school had experienced fluctuating fortunes resulting in it being one of the List ‘B’ Secondary Schools but, despite the adverse comments of the naysayers, the school has endured the vicissitudes. Due to the hard work of students, past and present, teachers and other stakeholders, ‘Multi,’ as it is familiarly called, has risen like the mighty phoenix and was
recently promoted to a List ‘A’ Secondary School. Officials of the Ministry of Education had lauded the efforts of the significant principals at a special ceremony in the school auditorium on February 18, last, when former Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, delivered the keynote address. She was full of praise for the strides made by those stakeholders and envisaged further development through the input of that government. Now, the school administration has joined with officials from the subject Ministry, members of the local and overseas alumni and students to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The programme will commence with a church service slated for Tuesday at 9.30hrs in the school auditorium. At the same time executives will rededicate the auditorium in honour of the
second headmaster of the school, the late, Clement Sylvester. Already, the members of the executive have created a wall plaque which will be officially mounted during the dedication process. The first headmaster of the school was Mr. Shem Ali. Already the mural, painted on the eastern wall of the auditorium, has been repainted by former student and artist, Michael Griffith. On Wednesday morning, several past students will visit the school to hold interactive workshops and mentoring sessions with the students. The local alumni, also referred to as the ‘old students,’ are headed by Kaieteur News journalist, Michael Benjamin with Andrea Hunter as its Vice President. Arthur Gibbs is the Treasurer while Lincoln Lewis is the Public Relations Officer.
Dem boys seh...
Bobby should lower he pants Spite is a hell of a thing. Is when somebody do something and you vex so you want to do something back to dem. De coalition promise to lower de toll pun de Berbice River Bridge and when dem win de elections dem try. De Berbicians did glad when dem hear that de government want to reduce de toll but when dem see de Bridge people refuse dem get vex. Nuff of dem did vote fuh de opposition but when it come to you pocket is another story. Suddenly de same bridge people who was complaining that dem losing money suddenly decide that dem gun mek school children travel free. De opposition sit down and decide to get vex. Nuff of de people in Essequibo didn’t vote fuh dem but dem want de support suh dem calling pun de government to lower de toll fuh Essequibo. Dem boys seh that is de same government that fix de toll fuh Essequibo, even raise
it but dem want de government to lower it. Why dem didn’t lower it when dem been in power? Well dem boys want nuff other things lowered. Dem want Jagdeo to lower he pension and de pension that he give Donald and Sam. Dem want de opposition lower de pressure it putting pun de government. Before de elections people did want to see Jagdeo and he people lower de money de government was giving to Bobby fuh bring in drugs. That didn’t happen and now a Permanent Secretary got to pay. De Pee Ess didn’t seh nutten even when Bobby didn’t tek money and didn’t supply de drugs. Of course, Soulja Bai shoulda realize that nobody coulda seh nutten. De Pee Ess woulda loss he wuk long before now. He can console heself that at least he get pay but now dat pay gone. But two people ain’t got to worry bout dat. Ram and
Goolsarran conducting de audit and dem tekking long. Jagdeo already talking how dem wouldn’t find anything but dem still searching. And even if dem don’t find nutten, dem gun still get pay. Dem boys seh that de two of dem shoulda realize that de people who been in government was smart and dem woulda hide wha dem tek. To find anything Soulja Bai got to call in dem torture cops and loose dem pun de government people. Talk half and see if somebody gun call pun Bobby to lower he pants.
There are also several committee members including Dexter Wyles, Julia Mckenzie, Ricardo Manbodj and Rawle Carter. This group has played a major part in the school’s affairs and is responsible for the clearing of the field aback the school with aid from officials of the Ministry of Education who had released a two million dollars grant to offset the costs. Ms. Hunter explained that the mentoring process is a key
part of the celebrations activities. She said that those facilitators are past students who had excelled in a specific field and will be sharing their experiences with the current batch with an aim of inspiring them to their respective goals. The activities will spill over to October with an Interhouse quiz competition that encompasses historical issues of the school as well as other general knowledge topics. Activities will heat up on October 30 when the members of the local alumni host their Back in Time party at the Loft Night Club, Alberttown. This has been a signature event of the alumni and has served a bifurcated objective of raising much needed funds while facilitating a planned reunion of past and present students and teachers. In November, the planning committee will host the second part of interactive workshops/seminars/ mentorship, facilitated by members of the local alumni. As the celebration activities wind down the organizers
have planned a night of singing and frolic at a karaoke and lime in the school auditorium. Members of the ParentTeachers Association (PTA) are also scheduled to participate in these activities. On November 26 there will be the Graduation and Prizegiving Ceremony for those students completing their tenure at the school. One day later, the students will throw down the gauntlet in a day of sports and games night that will feature indoor and outdoor games that will also include members of the local alumni. ‘Multi’ has always been known for its dominance in the music sector, more specifically, the steel pan and on November 28 those students will showcase their talent during a session dubbed ‘Celebration of Music, Dance and Drama.’ Several other activities are planned for the auspicious occasion, none more significant than a tree planting exercise administered by the local alumni.
Monday September 14, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Commission salutes Granger’s proposals for eradication of Gender disparity but… He has to “walk the walk” – Chairman
President, David Granger The Women and Gender Equality Commission is ready to work with the new government in its quest to attain the full realization of gender equality in Guyana. However, Chairman of the Commission, Indra Chandrapal is calling on the government to “walk the walk.” In an invited comment yesterday, Chandrapal expressed that the Commission is looking forward to continue fulfilling its constitutional duties under the new administration. With reference to a column written by President David Granger and published in this newspaper’s Sunday edition, Chandrapal noted that it is motivating to know that some of the measures Granger said must be taken were actually put forward by her Commission. She said that while she is heartened by the government’s stance on gender equality, she hoped that it would have been reflected in the choices the President has made so far. Chandrapal added that women, a lot of whom just simply refused to be left behind, are looking to see hard evidence of upliftment and the government has a major role to play in this regard. But her desire for the government to “walk the walk” may be fulfilled as President Granger himself said in his column that “Attending conferences, signing conventions and passing laws are good” but “enforcement and compliance” is what is really required. Granger ’s piece went quite deep and would present a ray of hope for all women with ambition to move beyond their present status but remain constrained by circumstances. The President acknowledged that over the past century, the status of
Chairman of the Women and Gender Equality Commission, Indra Chandrapal
women has moved from the stage of blatant ‘discrimination’ in which they were denied the right to vote in colonial elections; to one of ‘agitation’ in the postWorld War II struggle for Independence; to one of ‘representation’ in the postIndependence period to one of “intense legislation.” Granger said that these changes were all necessary, “but not sufficient. We must now move forward to the fifth stage, that of full ‘realization’ of gender equality.” He went on to note that the momentum for change has slowed and the economic and political gap between men and women remains too wide. The Head of State said, “Women and girls, despite a few remarkable exceptions, are being left behind and are still relatively disadvantaged.” After acknowledging such an unfavourable reality, Granger stated “Your government aims, in the first instance, at designing, along with its social and political partners, a national policy aimed at ensuring that five principal objectives are met – equality of women in politics and society; eradication of extreme poverty; enhancement of employment opportunities; elimination of violence against women and enhanced access to education, especially in the sciences and technology.” EQUALITY OF WOMEN The President promised to make Guyana a more equal society. He said that equality for women is essential if everyone is to benefit from this country’s bountiful resources. Granger said that the gap in economic, political and social achievement between men and women remains wide; as episodic initiatives to promote women’s rights and offer them greater opportunities have failed to
bring about full equality. He posited that a comprehensive, long-term gender policy aimed at opening opportunities, promoting empowerment and providing protection to women is needed. During the interview yesterday, Chandrapal said that such a policy is the brainchild of her Commission. She divulged that submissions were made to the Coalition and the PPP while the parties were preparing their manifestos. Chandrapal said, “Well, it was our idea, so we look forward to working on it.” Granger referred to the policy as the National Gender Policy and said that it should aim to eradicate discrimination against women. The President proposed that the policy should be used to safeguard the emotional and mental integrity and physical safety of women. It should result in women having a greater say in decision-making at all levels of society. Noting that enforcement and compliance with legislations and policy sometimes poses as a problem; President Granger said, “Your government will work more assiduously with women’s organizations.” ERADICATION OF POVERTY Granger promised to eradicate extreme poverty. He said that a major obstacle to equality is the prevalence and persistence of poverty. The President noted that poverty impacts significantly on the wellbeing of mothers and babies across the country. It is a fact that children born to mothers living in poverty – among who are mothers who head single-parent households – face the greatest challenges to everyday survival. Granger further stated
that it is a modern-day miracle that many mothers manage their families on their meager earnings in the face of massive impediments in Guyana today. He admitted “Poverty is spreading, not shrinking.” The President said that the number of homeless and destitute persons continues to rise. “The solution is to reduce poverty, rather than increase the number of institutions such as drop-in centres for street children, night shelters for the homeless and the hopefullynamed ‘Centre for Rehabilitation and Integration’ for the destitute, to house the poor.” President Granger pointed out that the task of running impoverished households falls disproportionately on women. “The sole breadwinners of households in many instances are women. These burdens must be lightened if we are to have happy families and happy households. Women must be provided with greater opportunities if they are to escape from poverty,” said Granger. The President said that his government proposes to consider various measures to assist women to lift their families out of poverty and will encourage greater entrepreneurship by women. “Micro-credit and access to small business loans can have a positive impact on poor households headed by women. It can increase their incomes and improve their quality of life. Your government is also prepared to negotiate concessionary financing for micro-credit organizations for lending to women. In addition, it is prepared to expand existing micro-credit schemes targeting women and singleparent households. Thousands of our women can lift their families out of poverty and join the numbers of happy families and happy households through such measures.” EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Granger promised to ensure that a greater percentage of women will occupy the workforce as he admitted that many women cannot find satisfactory jobs. While Granger’s want for more women in the workforce was well accepted by Chandrapal, as well as his previous statement about women in key positions, she said that she needs to see more action from Granger.
In this regard, Chandrapal alluded to statements made in Parliament by her colleague, Priya Manickchand to the effect that while government is preaching women equality, not one of its four Vice Presidents is a woman. Manickchand had also noted that the amount of female senior Ministers is lacking. Chandrapal said that her commission subscribes to Manickchand’s statement that the government missed a glorious opportunity to highlight women. Also, complaints were made about the absence of proportionate women on boards and commissions appointed by the new government. Chandrapal said that Granger can show his commitment to gender equality in these areas. Granger has pointed out that young mothers, in increasing numbers, have been travelling to the Eastern Caribbean and near abroad – Suriname, Venezuela and Brazil – in search of work. He said that their contribution of ‘remittances’ to support their families and as an element in the gross national income is substantial. “This, however, is not necessarily a satisfactory solution to longterm joblessness.” The President posited that it can also be a symptom of serious social problems
which, as a result of prolonged separation could have an adverse, long-term impact on their children’s upbringing. He added that young female school-leavers might have been given academic education, practical skills and a social orientation. But, the economy, however, does not provide employment opportunities for them. Granger noted that the relatively high rate of teenage pregnancies aggravates the ‘motherhood’ problem. He said that schoolgirls who become pregnant and bear children are likely to find it more difficult to get satisfactory jobs and to earn enough to educate and nourish their offspring. The jobs crisis is real and is getting wider and deeper. Working mothers, once they receive their wages, have to stretch and spread their earnings thinly just to afford food as expenses rise. Granger also stated, “Children of poor mothers are more likely to do worse at school and to become involved in juvenile delinquency than youngsters whose mothers are comfortable enough to be able to stay at home to bring them up. They are more likely to drop out of primary and secondary school and will be at greater risk of unemployment as young adults after their partial or interrupted schooling.”
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Kaieteur News
Police statistics show… August was seemingly a good month for the Guyana Police Force Traffic Department with recorded declines on almost all fronts. The GPF recently released its monthly traffic statistics, this time for the period of January 1 to August 31, 2015. According to the information provided, the GPF recorded declines in fatal accidents, deaths, and child fatalities, when compared to the same period last year. Declines were also noted in serious, minor, and damage accidents. In fact, August was the month which recorded the biggest decline in both accidents and road deaths for the year thus far. While for 2015 to date, there have been declines – ranging from minimal to notable – August’s declines were the most obvious. The police statistics show that in August 2014, there had been 21 fatal accidents. This number dropped to seven in August, 2015, representing a decline of 67 percent. Furthermore, from the 21 fatal accidents recorded last year August, there had been 22 deaths. However, this figure dropped in August 2015 to eight deaths, a decline of 64 percent. For the other months, declines in fatal accidents
Monday September 14, 2015
August saw biggest decline in road deaths, fatal accidents
ranged from 13 percent up to August’s 67 percent while the declines in road deaths ranged from 13 percent up to 64 percent. Besides fatal accidents, the other categories of accidents fell. In terms of serious, minor, and damage accidents, the GPF indicated that these areas had decreased by nine percent, three percent and four percent respectively. In the serious accidents section, the numbers moved from 295 in 2014 for the same period under review to 269 at the end of August 2015. For minor accidents, the numbers dropped from 353 in August 2014 to 344 in August 2015 while for damage accidents, the numbers moved from 556 to 554. Overall, the police recorded a decline of fatal accidents and deaths. In 2014, there were 82 recorded fatal accidents at the end of August. This year, the number stands at 66, representing a decline of 20 percent. Similarly, deaths moved from 89 in 2014 to 80 in 2015, a decrease of 10 percent. The deaths of children remained the same, from 11 last year to 11 this year. August’s lowered statistics come right after particularly concerning statistics in July. July had recorded the most accidents
for the year thus far, with 14 persons dying from 13 accidents. Meanwhile, speeding and inattentiveness continue to outstrip other causes of fatal accidents for the period under review. According to the police, speeding accounted for nearly half – 47 percent – of the fatal accidents up until the end of August. Out of the 66 fatal accidents which occurred, 31 were caused by speeding, the police said. A d d i t i o n a l l y, inattentiveness accounted for 32 percent of the fatal accidents, that is 21 out of the 66 total. Other causes of fatal accidents include driving under the influence of alcohol (11 cases), failure to conform to sign (one case) and breach of traffic light signal (one case). Furthermore, pedestrians remained the group most affected by fatal accidents. At the end of August, 28 pedestrians were killed. The second most affected group was passengers in cars, which saw 17 persons being killed. Other affected groups include motorcyclists, drivers and pedal cyclists which saw 11, 10 and six deaths respectively. Additionally, 86 vehicles were involved in the 66 fatal accidents which occurred by the end of August, the police
said. Of these vehicles, the private cars accounted 38 percent (33 out of 86 vehicles), nearly three times the other categories. After private cars, motorcycles accounted for 16 percent (14 out of 86 vehicles) followed by motor lorries or vans with 14 percent (12 out of 86).
The police said that up to September 10, there had been one road fatality recorded for September 2015. This fatality occurred on the Canje Public Road, Berbice on September 6 and claimed the life of Behaspattie, 52, of Lot 315 Last Street No. 2 Village.
According to reports, the woman had been crossing the Canje road when a black Mazda coming from New Amsterdam struck her. She was hurled into the air and landed several feet away. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the New Amsterdam Hospital.
Several fatal accidents were unreported... (From page 2) Liability Insurance to be in place, in order to provide a mechanism for compensation, with clearly defined guidelines for implementing. Meanwhile, among the COI’s recommendations was for workers to take a more proactive role in health and safety initiatives. This, the COI report stated, required legislative guidance from Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). It was also noted that there was a necessity for everyone involved in the mining industry to be certified and actively engaged in basic health and safety training on an annual basis.
The report said that the managers of active mining operations must have clear and certified OSH qualifications and be deemed competent as required under the mining regulations. All of this, the report advised, could be tied in with the granting of mining privileges. It was also noted that there are gaps between the OSH Act and GGMC guides to health and safety, which needed to be filled. In addition, it was highlighted in the report that operating regulations supporting OSH acts were either absent or not specific. The COI also determined that the pending draft regula-
tions are outdated in the current mining situations locally and need to be recalled for revision. These changes, the COI determined, could be advanced by a special task force. The COI into mining deaths was ordered by President David Granger following Guyana’s worst mining accident in recent memory- the collapse of a Mowasi, Potaro mining pit that buried 10 miners alive. It was conducted by Chairman Dr. Grantley Waldron, Colin Sparman, of Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA), a representative of the Ministry of Social Protection, with Jo Bayah as the Technical Advisor.
Monday September 14, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 21
Storm in a peecup When we refer to people as being part of, or even constituting, the “elect” it generally means that they have been chosen or singled out. One can say that “President Obama is one of this century’s elect.” He contested the election for president and was elected. However, not every election candidate can be considered part of the “elect” especially one of the candidates representing the ruling Conservative party in Canada’s October 19, 2015 national elections, Mr. Jerry Bance, who runs an appliance-repair company. According to the story on the CBS News, “A Toronto businessman who had been running for Parliament with Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s party made the wrong kind of splash and is out of the race after being caught on video urinating in a coffee cup. The tinkling tale of Jerry Bance, who had been filmed while working as an appliance repairman, caps a bad week for Harper. The
prime minister now faces reelection as Canada has entered a recession.” The Huffington Post explained how this came about, not the recession but the urinary track on the tape. It revealed that footage from a 2012 episode of the consumer show, Marketplace, of the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) resurfaced on Reddit showing Bance discreetly relieving himself into a homeowner’s cup while hidden cameras recorded his indiscretion. At the time, the former Toronto-area candidate worked as an appliance repairman and was called in to fix a broken dishwasher as part of a sting operation to catch and confront repairmen overcharging homeowners for simple repairs to home appliances. Hidden cameras captured the incident, which occurred while Marketplace producer posing as a homeowner was in the next room. “He just peed in the cup,” said shocked Marketplace host Tom
Harrington, watching the scene through a multiple monitors set up in another room. After doing his business, cameras show Bance pouring his urine into the sink. He also rinsed the cup. The original Marketplace episode had referred to Bance only as “Jerry.” A tip received by CBC News pointed out “Jerry” was Bance. The “peegate” scandal then erupted and even though Bance sent an explanation and apology to the Post, it was too late. Claiming it was a “lapse in judgement”, Bance said that he deeply regretted what he did. He wrote, “A 30-second decision made three years ago can really change one’s life. I had a health situation and needed to make an emergency decision, ironically to save myself from embarrassment back then. I have always been a hardworking person who loves this country and it saddens me that in spite of all my effort to serve this Riding, all that is left is this negative
impression.” Unfortunately it did not end with his resignation. Thomas Mulcair, the Leader of one of the contesting parties, the New Democrats, quipped, “I guess that this was one mug shot that Canadians weren’t expecting from Conservatives. He must be someone who’s adept at Stephen Harper’s trickledown theory of economics.” Stephen Harper was said to be “pissed off” at both Mr. Bance and Mr. Muclair. As if this wasn’t enough, the CBC commented that every federal election campaign has candidates who land their party in hot water and this election year is no different: “After three weeks of campaigning, several candidates are no longer running after comments they made over social media have come back to haunt them. Others have switched allegiances after embarrassing their party, while others still have the confidence of their party despite a faux pas.” In this week’s Trinidad
Tourism Minister puts “New Guyana”... (From page 20) diaspora. It will culminate in Guyana with an international symposium and a nationalwide literary festival during the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations. In the immediate future the GCA plans to establish a Cultural Center, launch a robust communications infrastructure to support conversations across global Guyana on matters related to heritage and creativity, and in December 2016 a symposium is slated for Guyana under the theme: “Masquerade Jamboree.” On Sunday 6th September the Tourism Minister joined thousands of Guyanese and their friends at the Folk Festival & Family Fun Day. There a “Guyana Services and Infor-
mation Booth” attracted a large number of visiting Guyanese, resident Guyanese, Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Americans and Canadians, Mexicans, Cubans, Chinese and other interested people. The Tourism Ministry made full use of the event to put on display the new tourism brand: “Guyana – South America Undiscovered” with the variety of memorabilia designed to enhance international visibility of this country as a paradise for lovers of nature. She met and spoke with a large number of people, many of whom vowed to return home (or visit Guyana for the first time) to participate in the Jubilee. This was after she was accorded the honour of declaring the Folk Festival
open. In her remarks she lauded the GCA for their unwavering commitment to “Bridging the Cultural Gap” among Guyanese everywhere. Then she passed on H.E. President David Granger’s best wishes to the Guyanese diaspora and his congratulations to the planning committee for coordinating another Festival to honour Guyanese citizens resident in that country. Entertainment was provided by a number of outstanding Guyanese performers including the Ninja Band, Eddie Nebblett, Adrian
Dutchin and Michelle (Big Red) King. The Minister’s sensitization tour to the Brooklyn Festival concluded with the Annual Carnival launch Breakfast at which she was introduced to the Governor and Mayor of New York state and city, other municipal executives, diplomats and delegations from other Caribbean countries. She was also able to re-connect with WSEE Weatherman Jim and his sidekick “Bob the Parrot” who promised to return to Guyana in the foreseeable future. (GINA)
elections, the governing People’s Partnership, now the Opposition, announced a candidate for one of the Constituencies and then within less than two days withdrew that person and introduced another one while at the same time rejecting the incumbent, Government Minister, Winston Peters. As a Calypsonian known as “Gypsy”, Peters was famous for his early songs like “The For Cane Man (is here again)” and “She Went For Cane” as well as his catalytic role in the defeat of the George Chambers Government in 1986 with his composition telling Prime Minister Chambers, “Captain, the ship is sinking…” Immediately after he was dropped from the team, Gypsy accused the Prime Minister at the time, and now Leader of the Opposition, Kamla PersadBissessar of being ungrateful (using the Hindi term “neemakharam”). He then appeared at meetings of the now governing party, the People’s National Movement. It is said that Mrs. PersadBissessar in any reference to
Gypsy repeatedly used the title of the first mentioned song but that cannot be verified. What is known is that Gypsy sang at meetings of Jack Warner’s Independent Liberal Party (ILP) which did not unduly trouble the scorers or enumerators, all of his candidates losing their deposits. While the actions of Mr. Bance would be considered a storm in a teacup compared to Mr. Warner’s, the redoubtable Jack, a former Minister in the PersadBissessar Cabinet, claimed victory for her loss boasting, “ I made Kamla in 2010 and I broke her in 2015.” One of his critics commented that if Jack, who is facing an extradition order from the US Government, is convicted and his funds seized, he too will be broke in 2015. *The latest Jack Warner story is that when as a FIFA big-shot he went to the South Korean capital he highly praised the people for loving their city so much that in his presence they said repeatedly, “Ah Seoul!”
Page 22
Kaieteur News
Monday September 14, 2015
VEHICLE FOR SALE
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana Passport application. Graphics design, Advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. PARTY DECORATING: balloon creation, back drops etc. for weddings, birthdays, anniversary etc. Make your event extra special! Tel Maya: 642-6664
Fully furnished Apartment, luxury 2 and 3 bedrooms selfcontained, long and short term- Contact:603-9671
Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665 Persons wanted to work at Café/Restaurant, flexible hours, interested person – Contact: 687-2666; 610-5664
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New company hiring; security officers needed: $3,000 per day-Contact: 2316052 between 8am and 4:30pm Contract Cars with driversContact Triple ‘S’ Taxi – Tel: 220-0060; 622-7772
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SALON
WANTED Canter Truck to sell 5 gal bottle water- Call: 623-2728; 618-1967
One live in domestic must know to cook Indian dishes $70,000 monthly. 25yrs40yrs-Call: 610-3974 Straight stitch/Over edge machine operators. Call: 2222541 (8:00am-4:00pm MonFri)
Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building. visadocumentsgy@yahoo.comCall : 225-6496, 662-6045
FOR RENT
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VACANCY Work from home; earn $5,000$20,000 daily Call MondayFriday 9am-5pm #233-6517, 6 3 8 - 0 5 9 5 www.jobfairworldwide.com One Junior Accountant; qualification: certified accountant technician, 2 years experienced. Contact: 673-5475 or email: Kevin@expresstrukingcorp.com Teacher Primary & Secondary levels for homework centre, text qualification & experienced for speedy response . Text/ Call: 690-9378 Computer legal clerk-Phone 258-0213; 624-7087 or 2264283 Experienced bartender & Cleaners- Call: 225-8572 Male sales representative wanted to work in New Amsterdam on Commission, Valid Driver ’s Licence, between age 25-40.Call: 6093650 One Driver; apply @ Technical Services Inc, 18-23 Industrial Site, Eccles E.B.D
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Accounts clerk: experienced in QuickBooks, accounting software, managing VAT NIS & PAYE, apply @ Technical Services Inc, 1823 Industrial Site, Eccles E.B.D Bond Supervisors, Delivery Clerk, Office Assistant, apply with written application and passport size picture call: 227-5286/9 1 Clerical staff for copy centre, no previous experience required must be pleasant Risans 51, Main Street, Georgetown. Experienced sales clerk @ growing organization. Apply: The manager, Curtains & Drapery Designs, 110 Regent Road Bourda. Call: 225-2224 1 Live in caretaker for restaurant, apply in person, 44 Public Road Kitty – Call: 231-1908 LAND FOR SALE 5 Acres, Enmore Public Road E.C.D, Ideally suitable for large investment-Call: Richard: 609-7675; 674-1705; 233-2614
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FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. One 318 BMW never registered for $ 3M down payment $500,000 contact # 650-0402 or 616-0429 Land at Schoonord (Next To Demerara Harbour Bridge), 45' X 100' $ 6 M, 60' X 100' $ 7.5M- Contact 650-0402 / 260-4988 One never used Hydromatic sewa g e pump, model 5k50M2 -$86,000 –Call: 6259281 Automatic Gate opener, garage door opener, chainsaw 51 HP, Dell Projector, Toyota Fielder, year 2003 –Call: 644-4582, 662-8665 5 Toyota Coaster, 1 Mitsubishi 30 seater, 1-320C bucket, must be sold- Call: 648-0121; 628-1832 Great Deals on video games & all gaming consoles. PC, phone games & applications. Delivery also – Call: 672-2566; 265-3232 One Massey Ferguson Tractor 175 – Call: 255-0343; 694-7154 Section 1, Stall 71/72, La Penitence Market, Albouystown – Contact: 6631597; 218-4837 33.6 Acres Farm land, one 2" water pump, 1 STHL M.Blower, 1 Tiller-garden purpose-Call: 225-7794; 679-1151 Reduced Prices: Dell/HP laptop & desktop computers complete, from $55,000, free games and educational software @ Future – Call: 2312206 Lovely Tibetan Terrier pups for sale –Call: 649-4247 1 Two base music set for saleCall: 669-9055; 674-1291 F5-160 Shil Weeding Machine equipment included. Call: 661-2888 1 Complete six inch dredge inclusive of pick up and ATVprice 6,000,000-Contact: 6600422 1-45FT Fishing Boat with 800lb 5 inch Nylon Seine, 240 engine, Yamaha and 1 GPS for $4.8M-Call: 260-2591 4 Gold claims located in Mining District #5, Wanamu Calalu, area Barama River – Contact: 690-7932 VEHICLE FOR SALE Unregistered pit-bull bus (3M) Noah, Voxy (1-8)-Call: 603-9700 1 Nissan Canter for sale – Contact: 265-4867 Continued on page 23
Monday September 14, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 23
Letters... Where your views make the news
Nope! No renaming please DEAR EDITOR, My…my…is Vincent Alexander seeking to earn “brownie points”? Now is this idea of his going to help improve the condition and performances of President’s College? The whole report highlighted the problems and difficulties that President’s College is current experiencing and instead of addressing them he purports to have a renaming done! Where is Vincent Alexander sense of balance and reality? Is a renaming going to solve the current difficulties being faced? Seems to be pure posturing and trying to gain brownie points in my opinion. In its early days of its existence President’s College had the best students heading there but all too soon the government changed and so too the strength of it faded. Academic performance lessened. Now look at the current problems to wit, 1. first and foremost is infrastructural support, including
the aesthetics of the school, 2. repairs, a swimming pool, parking lot for the teachers, and 3. a multipurpose hall. We do not have one, so whenever there is a function it is held in the dining hall,” And what does Vincent Alexander talk about? … renaming of the school.!! This is so ridiculous that it begs the question: why is Vincent Alexander in that job? There should be no name change. It serves no clearer purpose than what LFS wanted. He did not want his name as part of the college, a fact which Vincent Alexander should go and check up. That LFS founded it was sufficient for him. LFS’s hope was that the name would be an eternal one and would be supported by any future President, as the name of the founder would be an eternal one. Vincent Alexander…drop that foolish thought of renaming. Think deeply mister. Carl Veecock
Mr. President, how would you like... From page 5 the electorate, they blame it all on the PPP/C. For example: • A 20% salary increase was promised to the joint forces, but they were given the same 5% that the APNU+AFC had previously deemed grossly inadequate while in opposition. Instead of admitting to being over generous on the campaign trail, the APNU+AFC Government blames the PPP/ C for “mismanaging” the nation’s resources making it impossible for the Administration to fulfill its campaign promise. Not true! • The “$10,000 “Because We Care” Education Cash Grant that was given to every child in the public school system was heartlessly discontinued by the APNU+AFC Government, again blaming the PPP/C for initiating the project as a “campaign gimmick.” Again, not true! • The political witch hunt which continues as thousands lose their jobs since the APNU+AFC took office, is justified as getting rid of persons doing political work for the PPP/C on the
government’s payroll. The few individuals I know from this lot, were all fired because of their association with the PPP/C. • Berbicians were promised that the APNU+AFC Government will eventually reduce the fare to cross the Berbice Bridge to $500. This will not happen. The measly $300 reduction in toll, dropping it from $2200 to $1900 for cars and busses announced by the Administration is yet to take effect, and the $36 million subsidy which will be given to the Berbice Bridge Company will be paid by taxpayers, many of whom may never have seen the Berbice Bridge. Commuters traveling in those busses and cars will never benefit from this minuscule toll reduction. But as always, the former PPP/C Administration is blamed for allowing private investors to have controlling interest of the bridge, making it impossible for the Administration to force a reduction in the toll to facilitate the APNU+AFC campaign promise. I certainly welcome and support a
reduction in the toll that would provide real relief to commuters of Regions 5 and 6, but Government must find a way to do so without jeopardizing the investments made by the private investors, and without eroding private sector confidence in Guyana. The APNU+AFC knew they could not deliver on this promise, but they were desperate to win votes in the PPP stronghold. • Old Age Pensioners were promised a significant increase in benefits, but here again, the $3,875 increase they will receive will have to be used to pay their electricity and water bills. Electricity and water subsidies that were given by the former PPP/C Government, are now discontinued by the APNU+AFC, that claims the subsidies were selectively given. • The promised phased reduction of the Value Added Tax -VAT is another campaign promise that was broken by the new APNU+AFC Government, citing the “bankrupted economy” left by the PPP/C as reason for not reducing the VAT.
With all the broken promises made by the APNU+AFC, why should anyone believe that this Government is really committed to, “Establish and entrench an inclusionary democracy through the appointment of a Government of National Unity...” as is written on page 10 of the 2015 APNU+AFC Manifesto? The fact that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is appointed to head the team that is expected to bring this to fruition, is “clearly a nonstarter and will end up dead in the water.” Sending a warrior to do a diplomat’s job can only result in failure. If David Granger is really serious about “inclusionary democracy” touted in his manifesto, he has to find the time to lead this delegation himself, and send a strong message to the 200,000+ Guyanese who did not give him their votes, that he is truly committed to, “The implementation of a sustained programme for the healing, reconciliation and social integration of the nation.” Harry Gill, MP, JP
From page 22
EDUCATION Princeton College Forms 1-5 (5000) CXC adult classes $1,500 a subject, Phonics/ Grade 2,4,6,9 lessons Call: 231-1209, 690-5008,657-7398 I.A.E currently registering students for full time secondary school, lessons & evening CXC classes for adults- Call: 683-5742
PROPERTY FOR SALE Property for sale, Grove $20M / Rent: $50,000 per month. Tel: 625-5461. Property @ Tuschen New Housing Scheme –Call: 6699055; 674-1291
Register now! 6 weeks course, pedicure & manicureCall: 618-8536; 696-2295
Property for sale, business place at Kuru kururu, New Town on High Way- Call: 261-6282 or 676-4787
Spanish Classes!!! Learn Spanish in 3 Months: Introductory, Intermediate, Advance, children, CSC Form 1-5 –Tel: 673-8605. Register Now!!!
Pearl: Well built 1,995 SF concrete building on 58X165 lot, formerly used at meeting halls-$13.5MTel: 649-1670
Didn’t do well for CXC; let us help you- $2500 per subject @ Micrograhics, Vreed-EnHoop. Call: 264-3057
Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities - $45M –Call: 6629335; 612-3244
New Advanced Diploma in Computers office 2016, window 8/10, 9 courses @ Micrographics, Vreed-EnHoop-Call: 264-3057 Lessons/Homework Centre, Primary, Secondary & Adults Students, Class Teacher to student ratio 1:10 & 1-15- Call: 690-9379
Property @ West Minister W.B.D, 3 Bedrooms, 1 bathroom & 2 Verandahs Property Vacant possession- Call: 660-9478; 672-0865, see T&T Realty on FaceBook. House & Land located @ Lot 17 Pike Street Kitty, location perfect for business & residence for more info call Anwar Rahaman on Tel: 6388513 or 600-8513 Business Property for sale @ Friendship Public Road –Call: 621-6878
LAND FOR SALE Parfaite Harmonie 80X45 $1,250,000. Call: 683-0009 Concrete fenced land in residential high income area at Republic Park, Water, light, etc-Call: 233-0570
2 Storey building with bond, fully grilled with modern amenities @ Tuschen. Owner leaving Country. Call: 614-1030 Three bedrooms upstairs and downstairs concrete house, located at 204 Charlotte Street Lacytown, GeorgetownCall: 617-0384
Monday September 14, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 25
Germany re-imposes border controls to slow migrant arrivals
Migrants are escorted by Police officers after their arrival by train at Schoenefeld railway station, south of Berlin, Germany, yesterday. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Last chance for Brazil’s Rousseff to save mandate – newspaper Reuters - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has one last chance to stem a growing political and economic crisis before being forced to step down, one of the country’s leading daily newspapers said yesterday. In an unusual front-page editorial, Folha de S.Paulo said Rousseff needs to take “drastic measures” including additional spending cuts and tax hikes to make up for a 2016 budget gap that has cost Brazil its investment-grade rating from Standard & Poor’s. Rousseff, a leftist who was re-elected by a thin margin in 2014, is facing impeachment calls as her government struggles with a deep economic recession and a massive corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras that has implicated several of her political allies. In a cabinet meeting on Saturday, Rousseff ordered
Dilma Rousseff her ministers to find an additional 15 billion reais (£2.5 billion) in budget savings, daily Estado de S.Paulo reported on Sunday. Folha, which tends to lean
centre-right, said deep budget cuts are needed for the government to gain credibility before demanding more tax hikes that will face strong popular opposition. “The country, however, has no choice” but to accept higher taxes, Folha said. “Neither has President Dilma Rousseff: if she bends under the weight of the crisis, she will have no option other than leaving her presidential duties and, eventually, the position she holds.” Folha also called for an end to some pension benefits and economic subsidies, as well as temporary cuts in health and education programs that are currently mandatory. A spokeswoman for Rousseff declined to comment on the editorial.
Reuters - Germany reimposed border controls yesterday after Europe’s most powerful nation acknowledged it could scarcely cope with thousands of asylum seekers arriving every day. A day before deeply divided European Union ministers tackle the migrant crisis, the U.N. refugee agency also called on every member state to take in a share of asylum-seekers under a Brussels plan which some countries are fiercely resisting. Berlin announced that the temporary measure would be taken first on the southern frontier with Austria, where migrant arrivals have soared since Chancellor Angela Merkel effectively opened German borders to refugees a week ago. “The aim of these measures is to limit the current inflows to Germany and to return to orderly procedures when people enter the country,” said German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere. Open borders among the European countries which signed the Schengen Treaty are a crucial part of the EU project, but controls can be re-introduced, provided they are only temporary. “The free movement of people under Schengen is a unique symbol of European integration,” the EU’s executive Commission said in a statement. “However, the other side of the coin is a better joint management of our external borders and more solidarity in coping with the refugee crisis.” At an emergency meeting today, interior ministers from the EU’s 28 member states will discuss Commission
proposals to redistribute about 160,000 asylum seekers across the bloc. “We need swift progress on the Commission’s proposals now,” the Commission said in a statement issued as tens of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in Syria and other parts of the Middle East, Asia and Africa made their way north. EU envoys meeting yesterday evening in Brussels failed to break the deadlock, with some eastern states still refusing to accept binding quotas of refugees. They argue the plan will draw more people to Europe and disrupt their homogeneous societies. Amid the political bickering among European governments, the crisis claimed yet more lives. Yesterday 34 refugees, almost half of them babies and children, drowned off a Greek island when their boat sank, the coast guard said. Germany, Europe’s largest and richest economy, has become a magnet for migrants making journeys by sea and land, often via Turkey and the Greek islands, and then onwards through the
Balkans, Hungary and Austria. Police said around 13,000 arrived in the southern German city of Munich alone on Saturday, and another 3,000 yesterday morning. Now Germany has joined smaller and poorer countries such as Greece and Hungary that are struggling to manage the huge flow of desperate people. As trains for Germany were stopped, groups of refugees and migrants camped out in an underground carpark in the Austrian city of Salzburg, near the border. Traffic backed up along one of the highways between the two countries. Austrian news agency APA quoted Chancellor Werner Faymann as saying that Vienna would not introduce additional border controls for now but that the effect of Germany’s decision on Austria was hard to predict. Trains from Austria to Germany would be stopped until 5:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) today, the interior minister of the state of Bavaria said. A Reuters photographer also saw a German police checkpoint on one of the Austrian roads into Germany.
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U.S., Chinese officials meet on cyber Russia’s Lavrov says Moscow to continue military support of Syria: reports security issues: White House WA S H I N G T O N (Reuters) - Senior U.S. and Chinese officials concluded four days of meetings on Saturday on cyber security and other issues, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington later this month, the White House said. Cyber security has been a divisive issue between Washington and Beijing, with the United States accusing Chinese hackers of attacks on U.S. computers, a charge China denies. U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice had a “frank and open exchange about cyber issues” in her meeting this week with Meng
Jianzhu, secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, the White House said in a statement. The Chinese delegation also had meetings with Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and representatives from the Justice, State and Treasury departments and the intelligence community, the statement said. China’s official Xinhua news agency said that Meng, who is the country’s domestic security chief, had reached “important consensus” with the U.S. during his visit.
Both countries agree it is “vital” they cooperate on fighting hacking, Meng said, adding that China will punish anyone who hacks from within China’s borders or steals corporate secrets. “China’s position on opposing hacking and stealing commercial secrets online is resolute,” Xinhua cited Meng as saying. President Barack Obama said last month he would raise concerns about China’s cyber security behavior when he meets with Xi in Washington. The Obama administration is considering targeted sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies for cyber attacks against U.S. commercial targets, several U.S. officials have said. Chinese hackers have also been implicated in the massive hacking of the U.S. government’s personnel office disclosed this year. Two breaches of security clearance applications exposed the personal data of more than 20 million federal employees.
MOSCOW (Reuters) Russia will continue with military supplies to Syria, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies yesterday. Moscow has come under increased international pressure in recent days over what Wa s h i n g t o n a n d G u l f states say is a Russian military build-up in Syria, where the Kremlin has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad in a fourand-a-half-year war. “There were military supplies, they are ongoing and they will continue. They are inevitably accompanied by Russian specialists, who help to adjust the equipment, to train Syrian personnel how to use these weaponry,” Lavrov said. Lavrov also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is traveling to New York for the U.N. General Assembly meeting later this month, plans to address the assembly on the topics of Syria, the
Sergei Lavrov conflict in Ukraine, the state of the global economy and sanctions against Russia. “He (Putin) will touch specific aspects, such as Syria, the Ukraine crisis. All these crises arise from systemic problems regarding attempts to freeze the process of forming polycentric world,” Lavrov said. The United States and its allies oppose Assad, whose government has
been fighting an array of insurgent groups, including hardline Sunni Islamist militants, Islamic State. A U.S.-led coalition is conducting air strikes on Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Moscow says its military assistance to the Syrian army is in line with international law and that Russian servicemen, including military experts, have been present inside Syria for many years, including before the start of the war. The Syrian civil war in which around 250,000 people have died has caused nearly half Syria’s pre-war 23 million strong population to flee, with many thousands attempting to reach Europe. Lavrov was quoted as saying that Russia is and will continue taking in those who qualify as refugees. Russia is under Western sanctions due to its role in a conflict in Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian forces.
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Israeli police, Palestinians clash at Jerusalem holy site
Israeli policemen prevent Palestinian women from entering the compound which houses al-Aqsa mosque, known by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City yesterday. REUTERS/Ammar Awad Reuters - Israeli police raided the plaza outside Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque yesterday in what they said was a bid to head off Palestinian attempts to disrupt visits by Jews and foreign tourists on the eve of the Jewish New Year. Police used tear gas and threw stun grenades towards Palestinian youths, who barricaded themselves inside the mosque and hurled rocks and flares, a Reuters witness said. Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, in a statement, said the Palestinian youngsters also had pipe bombs. There was no sign these had been detonated. No serious injuries were reported and the compound, revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount, was opened to visitors after the violence subsided, police said. A statement from
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he “strongly condemned the aggression of the Israeli storming of al-Aqsa this morning with troops and occupation police”. Al Aqsa official Radwan Amr said 32 of the mosque’s windows were completely or partially destroyed, a door was shattered and the carpet burnt in 12 places. The Palestinian youths, Israeli police said in a statement, had intended “to disrupt the routine of visits to the Temple Mount on the eve of Rosh Hashana”, the Jewish New Year, which began at sunset yesterday. “A police force ... surprised the barricaded youngsters and entered the Temple Mount area” so that the visits could get under way, the statement added. Jewish ultranationalists have been pushing the Israeli
government to allow Jewish prayer on the compound outside al-Aqsa, which stands above Judaism’s Western Wall. Such worship, certain to stir Muslim anger, has been banned on the plaza by Israel since it captured East Jerusalem, and its Old City, in the 1967 Middle East war. Clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian youths last erupted outside al-Aqsa in late July, on the annual Jewish day of mourning for Jerusalem’s two destroyed Biblical temples. Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its indivisible and eternal capital, a claim not recognised internationally. Palestinians want East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel after the 1967 war, as the capital of a state they aspire to establish in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.
Iran nuclear official says uranium exploration results promising Reuters - Preliminary exploration surveys for raw uranium in Iran are progressing well but it is too early to announce any discoveries, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran (AEOI) was quoted as saying yesterday. Behrouz Kamalvandi spoke to the ISNA agency a day after AEOI chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying recent “discoveries” had made Iran confident of its reserves and a new mine would become operational soon. The discovery of raw uranium, which can be refined to make nuclear fuel, would make Iran’s disputed nuclear programme more self-
Ali Akbar Salehi sufficient and raise concerns among those who fear the programme is aimed at developing a bomb, a charge Iran denies. “Mr Salehi said aerial exploration surveys across
the country are going well and the results are promising. Of course, after aerial surveys the work of ground exploration will begin,” Kamalvandi said. “At the moment these efforts are proceeding well, but for the final results and analysis we must wait until aerial and ground operations are finished throughout the country.” Salehi noted yesterday that Iran had conducted aerial exploration of 63 percent of its territory and hoped to complete the work after four years. Mineral prospectors often conduct wide aerial surveys to find promising areas before starting more detailed explorations on the ground.
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Cuba detains dissidents ahead of Pope Francis visit HAVANA (Reuters) Cuban police detained about 50 people when a predominantly Roman Catholic dissident group led a march in Havana yesterday, less than a week before Pope Francis visits the communistruled country. Such detentions have become common following regular Sunday marches by the Ladies in White, a group that has Catholic Church and Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega for failing to advocate on its behalf with the Cuban government. Ladies in White leader Berta Soler told Reuters the women planned to attend masses that Pope Francis will lead in Havana and Holguin while in Cuba from Sept. 1922. The pope will also visit Santiago de Cuba. “I would discuss with the pope the need to stop police
Pope Francis violence against those who exercise their freedom to demonstrate in public,” Soler said. Cuba’s government considers the dissidents to be provocateurs who are financed by anti-communist groups in the United States
as part of an effort to destabilize the government in Havana. In their weekly rally following mass at Havana’s Santa Rita Catholic Church, about 40 of the women, accompanied by about a dozen male supporters, marched outside their authorized route and down a side street where they were set upon by some 200 government supporters and police. Female police pushed, pulled and carried the women onto buses as some sat down in an attempt to resist. The men were handcuffed and shoved into police cars and vans. Similar incidents have occurred over the last few months, with those detained soon released. Dissidents have said about 100 people are typically detained each Sunday across Cuba.
Clico policyholders agree DPP should probe payout Trinidad Guardian - The Clico Policyholders Group (CPG) says it feels vindicated with the referral of the Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran’s report to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Especially since, according to CPG chairman Peter Permell, the group had raised the first red flag in respect of that “obscene, unauthorised and possibly illegal multi-million dollar payout to a few former Clico directors while over 15,000 ‘assenting’ Clico policyholders are still waiting to be paid their just due.” Permell, through a statement in response to queries from the Sunday Guardian, said the group was looking forward to working with newly sworn-in Finance Minister Colm Imbert to bring closure to the Clico matter in the shortest possible
Peter Permell timeframe. He also added that he was monitoring the developments between the Central Bank Governor and former Clico chairman Gerald Yetming which had been unfolding in the public domain. Last week, the Trinidad Express reported that
Rambarran, in his report on the events surrounding the removal of Yetming and Clico managing director Carolyn John, referred the issue to the DPP to determine if there was any possible criminal liability on Yetming’s and John’s part arising out of the payments to former Clico directors. Yetming has dismissed the claims as he said both he and John followed procedure and were in constant communication with Central Bank officials on the payment made under the Clico Resolution Plan. When asked to comment on the issue Permell referred to the old African proverb: “When two elephants fight only the grass gets hurt.” He said, “Prudence and good sense dictated” that the CPG be very careful not to allow itself to be drawn unwittingly into what appeared to be “a looming Battle Royale or Clash of the Titans, between Rambarran and Yetming which is likely to have a sequel in the courts.” He said for the most part both men seemed to have agreed with the CPG and the wider public that these payments should not have been made. “However, without having sight of either the Central Bank’s or the former Clico chairman’s report, it is virtually impossible to properly glean who’s at fault and/or whether there may have been more in the mortar than the pestle,” he added.
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No payment for Myrie’s lawyers Jamaica Observer Barbados Government fails to compensate attorneys who represented Jamaican woman in infamous cavity search case. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has still not managed to secure payment for lawyers who represented Shanique Myrie in the infamous case almost two years since its historic judgment, the Jamaica Observer has been informed. Word reaching the Sunday Observer is that the Government of Barbados remains unmoved, and there is no indication as to when payment, in part or full, will be made to the attorneys, it emerged last week. Myrie, in a story first carried by the Jamaica Observer in March 2011, complained of being subjected to a dehumanising cavity search by a woman immigration officer at the Grantley Adams International Airport in the eastern Caribbean island of 260,000 people. Myrie said that she was
Shanique Myrie locked overnight in a filthy room and sent back to Jamaica the following day. She initiated a legal procedure through the CCJ for damages, and the CCJ, in its most pronounced ruling to date, subsequently found that she was unlawfully treated and ordered the Government of Barbados to pay compensation to her and to cover the costs of her legal representation. The CCJ did not reach a decision on some aspects of the treatment
allegedly meted out to Ms Myrie, but the Court decided that she had been illegally refused entry into Barbados, and ordered that damages be paid for this. Myrie has been paid, but her lawyers have not, although 23 months have passed since the court’s judgment was delivered in October 2013. At the initial stages, Myrie’s case was prepared by Michelle Brown, G Anthony Hylton (now Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce), and Marc Ramsay, all of the law firm HyltonBrown. Professor Stephen Vasciannie served as a consultant to HyltonBrown. By the time the matter went to trial, Brown and Nancy Anderson were the lawyers arguing on behalf of Myrie, as Hylton was named to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, while Professor Vasciannie was appointed to serve as Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. Both
Hylton and Ambassador Vasciannie were obliged to observe the later stages of the proceedings from afar. The case was in two stages, and the Barbados Government was required to make payments at both stages, meaning that it must compensate the lawyers for amounts from the end of the first stage on April 18, 2012, and the second stage, October 4, 2013. Based on the operations of the CCJ, an individual seeking to bring an action in the Original Jurisdiction of the CCJ must first seek the leave of the court by way of an Application for Special Leave. Assuming that this application is successful, the individual can then file an Originating Application to make the claim. Myrie’s lawyers applied for Special Leave for the embattled woman and the matter was heard on April 18, 2012. At the end of the hearing, Barbados conceded that Myrie should be granted special leave and the court made the order granting
special leave and awarded Michelle Brown and Marc Ramsey who appeared, joined in preparation by Anthony Hylton and consultation by Stephen Vasciannie, the costs for that application, which have not been paid. The Originating Application was heard by the court over a three-month period between February and April 2013. When the court ruled in Myrie’s favour in the Originating Application on October 4, 2013, the court made another award of costs to Myrie’s attorneys Michelle Brown and Nancy Anderson, with respect to the trial of the matter. These costs have also not been paid. Costs refer to both the attorneys’ fees and the legal expenses for the matter. The attorneys’ fees would include attorneys’ time for preparation and appearances in court, while the legal expenses would include sums already paid by the attorneys for the preparation and filing of documents, sending hard copies of documents to the court in Trinidad & Tobago
for all parties in the matter, witness expenses, travel expenses to Barbados on two occasions for the hearing of the Application for Special Leave and for Trial, as well as travel expenses to Trinidad & Tobago for the trial. The Sunday Observer understands that invoices and receipts for these costs were sent to the CCJ and to the Government of Barbados, but the Government of Barbados has refused to pay them, thus not meeting the obligation. Efforts, the Sunday Observer understands, are being continued to secure payment through legal means. One senior attorney contacted by the Sunday Observer remarked that the situation must be embarrassing for the Caribbean Court of Justice and its supporters. “Imagine: The CCJ’s President said recently that the Shanique Myrie Case is the most important decision of the court’s first 10 years, and still, the lawyers in that case are unpaid.”
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Rowley: No job cuts Cane Expansion Fund’s Loan with smaller Cabinet Valid And Transparent – Rickards Trinidad Guardian - Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has promised there will be no job cuts despite his smaller Cabinet. Speaking to the media at the first People’s National Movement (PNM) meeting since its triumph at the polls last Monday, Rowley dismissed rumours that his contracted Government meant that staff at some ministries would be jobless. The Cabinet held a retreat at the Hyatt, Port-of-Spain, Saturday. During the ministerial swearing-in ceremony on Friday, it was revealed that Rowley had delineated his Government among 23 ministries as opposed to the People’s Partnership which ended its tenure with 33 ministries. “The ministries which have not been named as separate entities, that block of officers, public servants, whatever they are, they now fall under one of the existing ministries,” he said. Rowley said that in his new template, several permanent secretaries would now liaise with a single minister as opposed to the previous model which saw
Dr. Keith Rowley one PS per minister. “For example, there was a minister of water resources. That whole block of whoever, whatever was there is now under the Minister of Public Utilities and there is a Minister of Public Utilities,” he said. He said the same concept also applied for other ministries. “So every single area of governmental activity sits within a ministry somewhere and there is a minister responsible,” he said. He described the shift as a mere “relocation” of
manpower. “So this rumour of job losses is just not true,” he said, adding that the ministerial chop just meant that there were ten fewer administrative heads. During the three-month campaign, Rowley had reiterated a plan to devolve the Local Government Ministry and the work under that ministry to the regional corporations. In addressing that issue Saturday, Rowley said it would be done on a phased basis. “That commitment still stands but it will be phased. We set out to do that but we have to create the architecture of the new arrangement before we replace what is there now,” he said. Local Government is currently linked to Rural Development under party chairman Franklin Khan. He said that the planned absorption would not take place just yet and the new template had to be worked out before Local Government could be completely devolved. “This is a work in progress. The process has begun,” Rowley said.
More flooding in Dominica as storm’s remnants pass
More flooding in the Island. (Photo from Facebook page of press attache to the Dominica Prime Minister) ROSEAU, Dominica – There was more flooding but no more loss of life as storm-hit Dominica was pounded by heavy rains associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Grace on Friday. Several roads were underwater and some trees toppled during the downpours. There were also reports of residents stranded in some areas but, fortunately, no loss of life. The rains came as Dominica continued the process of recovering from the
widespread destruction caused by Tropical Storm Erika two weeks ago. A flood warning had been issued before the bad weather came on Friday, amid concerns that with the land still saturated by Erika’s rains, any additional rainfall was likely to cause further flooding and landslides. Erika resulted in more than 30 deaths, destruction to infrastructure and nine communities being declared special disaster areas. (Caribbean 360)
The Gleaner - “Valid and transparent” is how Allan Rickards, chairman of the AllIsland Jamaica Cane Farmers’ Association has described the process under which Donovan Stanberry, permanent secretary in the agriculture ministry, received a loan under the Cane Expansion Fund. In a press release Saturday, Rickards said Stanberry was a registered cane farmer in good standing, and the process of application and approval was exactly the same as all other farmers as prescribed by the Cane Expansion Programme. The European Unionfunded programme provides loans at the preferential rate of five per cent for the planting, harvesting, and replanting of sugar cane, as well as for purchasing equipment. On Wednesday, Stanberry admitted to the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) that he had benefitted from the loan programme, a decision he defended, insisting that there was no conflict of interest.
Allan Rickards “I applied for a loan like anybody else. I was not a member of any committee that awards those loans. I have written to the Services Commission and declared it,” he told PAAC members. Rickards Saturday told The Gleaner that one has to be a registered cane farmer to access the loan. Rickards said he was a member of the loans committee that approved St a n b e r r y ’s l o a n . H e explained that applications are rigorously vetted before they reach the
committee. “There is a process before it comes to us where they check off certain requirements - registration, business plan, suitability of the area for growing cane, and credit worthiness - as far as the People’s Co-operative Bank, Jamaica Cane Products and Sales, and Sugar Industry Authority are concerned,” Rickards disclosed. He took issue with the implication that there was a conflict of interest. Rickards expressed deep regret that a member of the association could be subject to such personal and unwarranted criticism and calls on those responsible to have greater affection for the facts before making such inaccurate public utterances. “While acknowledging that the country is perhaps entering a certain ‘silly season’ in which there are those who might be desperate for morsels of sensationalism, nevertheless I hope that there could still be areas in which responsible statements could find refuge,” he said.
Venezuelan military jets ‘entered Colombian airspace’ BOGOTA (Reuters) Colombia has asked for an explanation from Venezuela after detecting two military airplanes that flew into its airspace late on Saturday, the defense ministry said. The two aircraft entered Colombia’s northern La Guajira province, flew about 2.9 kilometers (1.8 miles) over the border and then circled above a military unit, Colombia’s government said in a statement yesterday. The incident comes amid a diplomatic row between the conservative administration of Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia and the socialist government of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro closed several major border crossings and deported 1,300 Colombians last month in what he called a crackdown on smuggling and crime on the frontier. As many as 16,000 Colombians have left neighboring Venezuela, according to the United Nations. Maduro says he is protecting his country from criminals who smuggle everything from gasoline to flour across the border, but his political opponents say he is using Colombians as
scapegoats to distract from Venezuela’s economic crisis. Colombians were made to leave their homes in several Venezuelan border towns and forced in many cases to cross rivers and bridges with their belongings on their backs. Foreign Ministers from the two nations met on Saturday in Ecuador to try and smooth the way for the two leaders to meet and resolve the spat. Santos has blamed the border crisis on Maduro and said last week that Venezuela’s socialist revolution had failed. Venezuelan officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Juan Manuel Santos
New AG studying Jack extradition Trinidad Express - Newly-appointed Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has until tomorrow to sign the Authority to Proceed in the extradition matter against corruption-accused Jack Warner. Failure to do so could see the former FIFA vice president walk free when the matter comes up for hearing on September 21 before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayres-Caesar at the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court. Legal sources told the Sunday Express that more than likely Al-Rawi will be seeking an extension from the courts to peruse the extradition documents given that the Government has changed.
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WADA responds to Putin grants Russian citizenship to U.S. boxer Jones Radcliffe call for help MOSCOW (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to Roy Jones Junior, a prominent U.S. professional boxer who had asked for it last month when he met Putin in the disputed region of Crimea, the Kremlin said on Saturday. The move is the latest example of the Kremlin publicizing cases of prominent Westerners who praise Russia or offer symbolic support for Putin’s policies, at a time when Putin is at odds with Western governments over the Ukraine crisis. A short presidential decree on the Kremlin website said Jones’ request had been granted under an article of the constitution giving the president power to solve questions of Russian citizenship. Jones, a former Olympic silver medalist and winner of multiple world championship titles, met Putin in August in Crimea, the region that Russia annexed from Ukraine last year, where Jones appeared as a guest on a boxing television show. In televised comments, the boxer had told Putin that a Russian passport would
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with U.S. boxer Roy Jones, Jr. in Sevastopol, Crimea, August 19, 2015. (Reuters/Aleksey Nikolskyi/ RIA Novosti/Kremlin) make it easier for him to travel to Russia and that he hoped he could “build a bridge” between Russia and the United States. Jones is not the first Russophile Western celebrity to have been granted citizenship by Putin. French actor Gerard Depardieu made headlines in 2013 when he became a Russian citizen in similar fashion. Depardieu has often praised Putin, including his
policies in Crimea, as a result of which he has been banned from traveling to Ukraine. Putin is in Crimea again to meet with his old friend Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian Prime Minister, who has also often defended Putin’s policies. In July, Italian newspaper La Stampa quoted Berlusconi as saying that Putin had offered him Russian citizenship and wanted to make him economy minister.
Singapore Grand Prix: Haze concerns before F1 night race
A cloud of smog hanging over Singapore is being monitored. (Getty Images) BBC Sport - A cloud of smog hanging over Singapore is being monitored by organisers of next weekend’s grand prix. At this time of year the city-state is shrouded by a haze caused by farmers in neighbouring Indonesia burning forests to clear land for agriculture. The smog is rated as being in the mid- to low-range of unhealthy air quality. A race spokesperson said the haze would only become an issue if it causes “visibility, public health or operational issues”. The statement added that organisers will “work closely with the relevant agencies before making any collective decisions regarding the event”. “The possibility of haze is just one of the many potential issues that are covered in the contingency plan.” A number of local sports events in
Singapore were cancelled this weekend due to health concerns. The Singapore National Environment Agency said that the Pollutant Standards Index levels were likely to remain in the “unhealthy” range for the next week. Smog concerns are nothing new to F1 with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai routinely affected by concerns over air quality. In 2013, the final practice session for the Indian Grand Prix was delayed by 20 minutes due to poor visibility caused by pollution, which meant the medical helicopter was unable to take off. The floodlit night race around Singapore’s Marina Bay street circuit is the 13th round of the 2015 season. World champion Lewis Hamilton goes into the race with a commanding 53-point lead.
LONDON (Reuters) The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has responded to marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe’s call to “help clear her name” by saying it is committed to protecting the confidentiality of all athletes’ blood data. The Briton, who retired from competitive running this year, complained this week that a parliamentary committee hearing into wideranging accusations of blood doping in athletics had “effectively implicated” her. A statement on Friday from the agency’s director general David Howman noted that media reports had included an appeal to WADA by Radcliffe who has faced calls to release her data and denied cheating “in any form”. Her husband and coach Gary Lough had also told the BBC that WADA must “protect clean athletes”. The WADA statement emphasised that no information dating from before 2009 “could ever be considered as doping, legally or otherwise. “Tarnishing an athlete’s name based on values from pre-2009 would be wholly irresponsible,” it said. “Even athletes’ data from post-2009, when the ABP (athletes’ biological passport) had been introduced, is not necessarily indicative of doping. “WADA is committed to protecting the confidentiality of athletes. In particular their private medical information,” read the statement. Radcliffe, 41, was not mentioned by name during the hearing at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport but a question was asked
Great Britain’s Paula Radcliffe poses with a trophy after the Virgin Money London Marathon. (Reuters / Suzanne Plunkett) about the validity of the performances of British women in the London Marathon, an event she has won three times. The hearing took place following recent reports by Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper and German TV station ARD of alleged blooddoping in athletics. Radcliffe set her marathon record time of 2:15:25, which remains nearly three minutes faster than any other time clocked by a female runner, in 2003. “If any athlete feels their rights are being eroded or inappropriately challenged as a result of the ARD and
Sunday Times reports they must refer those concerns to the Commission,” said WADA. “This is the correct channel versus trial by media. “It is very unfortunate that any athlete should feel implicated and that they have to defend their reputation as a result. “WADA has a clear and established process set out in the World Anti-Doping Code that protects athletes,” the agency added. “If any athlete were to have a case to answer it allows them a full hearing and an opportunity for their voice to be heard. Our actions must remain impartial.”
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Pacquiao laughs at Mayweather drug plight: ‘Truth finally came out’
Manny Pacquiao (left) weighed in Thursday on the allegations surrounding Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s (right) drug testing history. (Getty Images) New York Post - Manny Pacquiao, the silent protagonist in this week’s Floyd Mayweather Jr. drug-testing drama, blistered his rival in a brief interview — saying the tables have been turned. For years, it was Pacquiao enduring doping insinuations from Mayweather. A report from SB Nation, however, illuminated a questionable intravenous injection Mayweather received before their lackluster May megabout — which Mayweather won via an easy decision — and seemingly preferential treatment from the United States Anti-Doping Agency. “Truth finally came out and I was vindicated,” Pacquiao told reporters in the Philippines late on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse. “[The] Mayweather camp accused me of using PEDs. Now look what happened. I hope Floyd Mayweather
would learn a good lesson out of [the experience].” The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight never happened in the two fighters’ primes, in part because of Mayweather ’s barbs about Pacquiao using performance-enhancing drugs and insistence on a strict testing regime for the fight (presumably to be administered by USADA). Pacquiao sued for defamation, and the two settled out of court. Though the substances in Mayweather’s IV are not prohibited under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, administering them intravenously is a breach of regulations because they can be used to mask the use of performance enhancing drugs. Mayweather retroactively obtained a therapeutic use exemption to avoid rule-breaking. “I am very proud to be a clean athlete and will continue to champion the cause,” Mayweather said in a statement.
Paes, Hingis win third mixed major with U.S. Open triumph NEW YORK (Reuters) Martina Hingis and Leander Paes once again proved to be a potent partnership as the Swiss-Indo duo captured their third mixed doubles title of the year with victory at the U.S. Open on Friday. The Australian Open and Wimbledon champions came back from 4-1 down in the championship tiebreak to storm to victory with a 6-4 3-6 10-7 win over Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey. Hingis and Paes became the first duo to capture three major mixed titles in the same year since Margaret Court and Marty Riessen achieved the feat in 1969. The triumph earned 42year-old Paes a ninth mixed doubles trophy and 17th grand slam title while Hingis took her overall grand slam tally to 19 (five singles, 10 women’s doubles and four mixed). “I just love to play tennis and I am fortunate to have Leander as my partner,” Hingis told reporters. Paes added: “Martina is a
Martina Hingis of Switzerland plays with mixed doubles partner Leander Paes of India during their finals match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey of the U.S. at the U.S. Open Championships tennis tournament in New York, September 11, 2015. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton Picture Supplied by Action Images) legend on and off the court. She’s my best friend. She’s just fantastic.” Hingis could add to her
haul over the weekend when she teams up with another Indian, Sania Mirza, in the women’s doubles final.
Monday September 14, 2015
Mayweather beats Berto in farewell, ends 49-0 LAS VEGAS (Reuters) F l o y d M a y w e a t h e r J r. cemented his place among the pantheon of boxing greats with a unanimous decision over fellow American Andre Berto on Saturday in what he has repeatedly said would be the final fight of his career. Mayweather, 38, easily outboxed his younger opponent over the 12 rounds to retain his WBC and WBA welterweight titles and improve his perfect career record to 49-0, matching the benchmark set by former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. Five-division world champion Mayweather dominated most of the exchanges in the MGM Grand Garden Arena with his lightning jabs, control of space and agile movement about the ring to finish well ahead on all three judges’ scorecards. Berto, a 30-1 underdog against one of the best defensive fighters of all time, dropped to 30-4 as he suffered his fourth loss in his last seven fights. “Andre Berto has heart, a tremendous chin, he wouldn’t lay down,” Mayweather said in a ringside interview after sinking to his knees after the final bell sounded before looking up at the rafters as the fans snapped pictures with their cell phones.
“It was a good fight. I knew he would be a tough competitor. Experience played a major role tonight. He is a very athletic boxer. What can I say? I was the better man tonight.” Asked if he might be tempted to come back for a 50th fight, Mayweather replied: “My career is over. It’s official. I’m financially secure and I’m in good health. “You’ve got to know when it’s time to hang it up, so I think it’s about time for me to hang it up. I’m close to 40 years old, I’ve been in this sport 19 years, been world champion for 18 years, I’ve broken all records. “There’s nothing left to prove in the sport of boxing,” said Mayweather, who has made more than $700 million during his stellar career. Back in the ring for the first time since May when he beat Manny Pacquiao in a ‘megafight’ that became the richest bout in boxing, Mayweather landed 232 of 410 punches thrown while Berto connected with just 83 of 495. Mayweather also dominated the jabs count, connecting with 83 of 191 compared to his opponent’s paltry 39 of 301. LOW ON ENTERTAINMENT However, it was a welterweight showdown that failed to capture the public’s imagination given Berto’s
relatively low profile globally and his mixed run of results over the past four years, and it was low on entertainment value on the night. Barely five hours before the start, the MGM Grand box office said “a bunch of tickets” were still available for the arena in the price range between $300 and $1,500, and the official attendance ended up at 13,395 — 3,000 short of full capacity. Among those in the crowd were American actor, singer and comedian Jamie Foxx, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber and boxing Hall of Famers Evander Holyfield and Thomas Hearns. “I was in shape but he was difficult to hold on to, he’s really, really slippery,” said Berto, a 32-year-old twice former welterweight world champion who overcame a careerthreatening shoulder injury in 2013 to knock out Josesito Lopez in March. “I was coming forward, I used a lot of speed but he was really crafty, he was using little things to kind of get me out of my rhythm. It is what it is. “Tonight I felt like we put on a great performance. We pushed him to the limit but we fell short. He’s where he is for a reason. Floyd is definitely one of the best out there, for sure.”
Lydia Ko becomes youngest major winner BBC Sport - New Zealand’s Lydia Ko has become the youngest winner of a major with a six-stroke victory at the Evian Championship in France on Sunday. The world number two is 18 years, four months and 20 days old. The previous record was held by American Morgan Pressel, who was 18 years, 10 months and nine days old when she won the Kraft Nabisco in 2007. Ko shot eight birdies in a final round of 63 to finish on 16 under par, with American Lexi Thompson on 10 under. In February, aged 17, Ko became the youngest player to reach the top of the rankings and she also holds the record as the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour after her Canadian Open victory as a 15-year-old amateur in 2012. It was Ko’s last opportunity to beat the age record as she would have
Lydia Ko has become the youngest winner of a major. (Getty Images) been too old by the next major, the ANA Inspiration, in April. “It has been such an unbelievable experience,” Ko told Sky Sports. “Now everybody won’t ask me when I will win my first major because it is done. “It is definitely one of the top rounds of my whole life.” Ko had started the day in third place, two shots behind overnight leader Lee Mihyang of South Korea. Tournament organisers
decide to use split tees, using the first and the 10th, due to the threat of thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon. Lee’s challenge faded and she finished tied for fourth place, nine shots behind Ko, after carding a three over par 74. England’s Charley Hull was six over for the day and finished tied for 38th place, while Republic of Ireland amateur Leona Maguire was tied for 34th.
Monday September 14, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Marquez wins, Rossi Mo Farah wins Great North Run for second year in a row extends lead, Lorenzo falls
Mo Farah (centre) won the race for a second year in a row. (PA) BBC Sport - Britain’s Mo Farah won the Great North Run for the second year in a row in a thrilling finish ahead of Stanley Biwott of Kenya on Sunday. Kenyan Mary Keitany retained the women’s title she won in record time last year. Six-time Paralympic gold medallist David Weir claimed a record-equalling sixth men’s wheelchair crown. And fellow Briton Shelly Woods won her seventh wheelchair title after her main rival crashed close to the finish. Farah, 32, was made to work hard as Biwott, runner-up at the 2014 London Marathon, led for much of the race. But the Olympic and world 5,000m and 10,000m champion produced a trademark sprint finish to take the lead in the final 400 metres and win in 59 minutes 22 seconds - the fastest half marathon by a British athlete. “The crowd were amazing,” said Farah. “If it wasn’t for them edging me towards the end it definitely would have been a different result. “I want to come back and see if I can do a hat-trick.” Keitany enjoyed a more comfortable morning as she won in 1:07.32,
nearly three-and-a-half minutes ahead of British runner-up Gemma Steel. The 2012 London Marathon winner, who beat Paula Radcliffe’s previous record when she won last year , said: “It’s a really amazing day for me. I love the city and the people here.” Briton Alyson Dixon, 36, finished fourth, behind two-time New York marathon winner Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia. Weir dominated the men’s wheelchair race from the start, finishing in 42.46, one minute and 58 seconds ahead of fellow Briton Simon Lawson. The 36year-old said: “I had a bit of a problem in the first three or four miles with stomach cramps. “I got a second wind after that but it cost me a minute - otherwise I could have broken the record. But was it was a fun day.” There was drama in the women’s wheelchair race when leader Margriet van den Broek hit a hay bale near the end. Woods capitalised to win in 53.38, just ahead of course record holder and 2009 winner Amanda McGrory of the United States, with Van den Broek of the Netherlands finishing third.
(Reuters) Valentino Rossi extended his MotoGP lead over luckless Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo to 23 points at the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday despite a strategy blunder that handed victory to Spaniard Marc Marquez. Rossi had the 92,000strong home crowd cheering as he took the lead at Misano’s Marco Simoncelli circuit in eastern Italy but the joy was short-lived in a thrilling dry-wet-dry race involving two pitstops to change bikes. With Marquez’s Honda team pitting the reigning champion with 10 laps remaining, Rossi and Lorenzo — who had started on pole — stayed out. Lorenzo came in with eight laps to go but his hopes vanished when he crashed on the next lap just as Rossi, who ended up fifth, was brought in for his switch back to slick
tyres. For the first time since the days of Barry Sheene in 1979, two British riders stood on the podium in the top category with Bradley Smith second on a Tech3 Yamaha and Scott Redding third for Marc VDS Honda. Rossi has 247 points to Lorenzo’s 224, with Marquez on 184 after his fourth win of the season and 23rd of his career. There are five races left with Spain’s MotorLand Aragon hosting the next one on Sept. 27. “The championship is a lot more important that winning this race, it‘s the main target,” said Rossi, who had hoped for much more in the race closest to his home. “It was a crazy race and when you have to change the bike, in this case twice, you need luck and rapid thinking to understand the situation.” Lorenzo cursed his misfortune.
“I think I‘ve been unlucky this year in general, but especially these last two races because I could have won both or finished second, but that‘s racing,” said the Spaniard. “In previous years, my rivals in the championship crashed and this year it‘s me who‘s unlucky, but all is not lost.” Smith reaped the reward for staying on slick tyres during the rain shower and coming through from 19th. “I just kept telling myself ‘luck favors the brave’,” said the Briton. Scott Redding’s first MotoGP podium was even more remarkable after he went into the gravel on the seventh lap. “The marshalls tried to hold me back but I was fighting to get on the track. It was an incredible race and the adrenalin was through the roof,” he said.
Ex-boxing champ Prince Naseem looks almost unrecognisible
Pitches not helping with proper development of spinners — Gibbs BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Legendary former West Indies off-spinner Lance Gibbs says poor pitches in the Caribbean are inflating the ability of spinners in the region and compromising their development. “I believe the wickets in domestic cricket are too under-prepared and spinners are being made to look better than they are,” ZIZonline quoted the Miami-based Gibbs as saying. “In my day, for example, when we played in Barbados or Guyana, spinners had to work hard for their wickets, because they were very good batting surfaces. “The wickets in Guyana now, and at times in Trinidad, turn too excessively, which is not helping in proper development of spinners or batsmen and their ability to play spin.” Gibbs, who turns 81 at month-end, remains the finest spinner to ever emerge from West Indies.
Lance Gibbs In 79 Tests between 1958 and 1976, he snared 309 wickets at an average of 29, with 18 five-wicket and two 10-wicket hauls. Gibbs also said the technique of many regional spinners needed to improve, noting Sunil Narine, Devendra Bishoo and Shane Shillingford as the only standouts. “When I was taught to
bowl spin, it was to be done with a high arm action and delivering the ball at shoulder length where you literally would touch your ear,” Gibbs contended. “This is one of the reasons why I believe those three (Narine, Bishoo and Shillingford) have had success [internationally].” He continued: “I don’t see this, other slow bowlers in the region, and it’s a big handicap for them because a high arm action allows spinners to get bounce, which is key to troubling batsmen at the highest level.” However, Gibbs advised Narine, in light of the ongoing problems with his action, to abstain from bowling the controversial doosra. “I might suggest Narine should stop bowling the doosra or any other deliveries that may complicate his action and just focus on perfecting the off-break and other line variations, because, in my time, spinners didn’t bowl that delivery.”
Prince Naseem - who stands at only 5 ft 4 and weighed less than 10 stone in his hey-day - was renowned for flamboyant fighting syle, often somersaulting his way into the ring.
Former featherweight champ Prince Naseem Hamed looked almost unrecognisable as he enjoyed a day out in London this week. (Stenning, Noble Draper)
Daily Mail - He was famous for his flamboyant entrances to the boxing ring and his lightning-speed fighting style. But former featherweight champ Prince Naseem Hamed looked almost unrecognisable as he enjoyed a day out with his wife Eleasha in London this week. The 41-year-old has piled on the pounds since his boxing hey-day following his retirement at the age of 28. Strolling down the street in Knightsbridge, Prince Naseem appeared in high spirits as he playfully put on a PDA with his partner of 20 years. The portly ex-sportsman wrapped his arms around Eleasha, who didn’t seem to reciprocate his embrace. The slim blonde who became his wife in 1998 - kept her hands in her pockets and a smile on her face as he swept her into a hug. The Sheffield-born fighter’s appearance will come as a shock to fans who fondly remember his self-assured boldness before and during his bouts in the ring.
His most notorious entrances included him flying over an arena on a flying carpet, driving up in a car, being carried on a palanquin and re-enacting Michael Jackson’s thriller video. Prince Naseem - who stands at only 5 ft 4 and weighed less than 10 stone in his heyday - was also renowned for somersaulting his way into the ring. He became Britain’s youngest world champion in 1995 aged just 21, winning 36 of his 37 professional fights, losing only to Marco Antonio Berrera in 2001. The sportsman first started piling on the pounds after he was involved in a serious car accident in 2006. He was jailed for causing the 90-mph three-car collision, in which another driver suffered fractures to every major bone in his body. The star left prison after 16 weeks looking noticeably bigger. Following his retirement from the sport he oversees a management company with offices in LA and London.
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Australia thrash England to win one-day series
Australia’s Aaron Finch in action as England’s Jonny Bairstow looks on. (Action Images via Reuters / Philip Brown) MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) Australia thrashed England by eight wickets in their fifth and final one-day international at Old Trafford on Sunday to win the series 3-2 and take some consolation for the pain of Ashes defeat. The result looked inevitable long before lunch, with England dismissed for 138 and captain Eoin Morgan retiring hurt after being hit on the head by a bouncer from Australia’s Mitchell Starc in the seventh over. With England winning the toss and opting to bat, Australia’s bowlers let rip and seized crucial early wickets — reducing the hosts to 22-3 and 72-6 before wrapping up the England innings in only 33 overs. Both England’s openers fell for four, Jason Roy given
out lbw to Starc, although had he gone to the third umpire he may well have been reprieved. Alex Hales went shortly after, slicing a John Hastings delivery to point. Only Ben Stokes offered any real resilience but when he was lbw to Mitchell Marsh for 42, leaving England on 857, the hosts were already staring at a crushing defeat. Marsh also took the wickets of Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and David Willey for a haul of four for 27. Adil Rashid hung around for 35 but England were all out before the scheduled interval. Australia, who had Aaron Finch 70 not out in a 109-run unbroken partnership with George Bailey, cruised to victory with more than half their overs to spare. Fielders rushed to help Morgan after he was struck
on the back of the head, with Starc visibly shaken by the incident. The captain was replaced by Bairstow at the wicket while James Taylor assumed his role. “It was a nasty knock and I really hope his health and well-being is OK,” said Steve Smith after his first series win as full-time Australia captain. “This team’s been through a few tough things, none more than last summer and you never want to see anything like that happen out on the cricket field. “It was a tough couple of moments but I thought the boys put in a really good effort today.” Taylor said Morgan was groggy and being treated for concussion. Last November, Australian international Phillip Hughes died two days after being struck on the head by a ball while he was batting in a first-class state match in Sydney. “The way Morgy had to depart was unfortunate and I think that probably cost us,” said Taylor. “Then we lost clumps of wickets, which you can’t afford to do against the world champions”. Smith hailed his bowlers, with Marsh man of the match. “I think that’s one part of the series we haven’t done so well in the first four games, starting with the ball and we addressed that,” he said. “Today we were able to get out there and hit some good areas and let the wicket do the work. It was an early morning start and it was probably a good toss to lose in the end.” Scores: Australia 140 for 2 (Finch 70*) beat England 138 (Stokes 42, Marsh 4-27, Hastings 3-21) by 8 wickets.
Novak Djokovic defeats Roger... From page 35 had been broken in the tournament, and it had come on the 25th shot of the rally. Serving to consolidate the break, Djokovic slipped and fell at the net. He looked fine as he stood up, but it looked like something might be wrong as he allowed Federer a quick break. That evened the set at 2-2. The momentum briefly shifted there, as Federer took four straight points to hold serve and take the advantage. Djokovic responded by holding serve, sealing the game with an ace, then quickly breaking Federer. Federer was giving away points with uncharacteristic errors. They rallied throughout the set, Djokovic earning his first set point on a short winner at the net. Federer held to 4-5, but Djokovic answered with a quick 40-0 hold to take the set. It was the first set Federer surrounded in the fortnight. He came into the match with a 28-set win streak. Federer had two opportunities to break in Djokovic’s first service game in the third set, but failed. He’d had 15 chances to break serve
to that point, but only converted on three. Serving for the set, Djokovic game Federer jumped out 15-40. Djokovic held off the first break point. They rallied on the next point, Djokovic finally winning it when a Federer shot went long. Djokovic fought all the way back to take the set, and the 2-1 lead. And from there, the writing seemed to be on the wall. Djokovic proved why he is the one who already held two major titles this year; why he is the world No. 1. In the fourth, Djokovic earned an early break, and another at 4-2 to take complete control. As the Serbian served for the trophy, the crowd continued rallying behind Federer. He gave them a final gift with a massive forehand slam to get to 1530, then a forehand winner to force break point. But as he had all night, Djokovic fought it off. There was no rattling Djokovic. He played the solid tennis that as been his trademark. He responded with an ace. But then Federer showed his fight. He broke to push the set to 5-3. The crowd went absolutely crazy with every point he won.
Monday September 14, 2015
Upper Corentyne 4R T20 competition
Lakeram Latchman, Deoprakash Ramdat highlight second round action The cricket fever is in high gear in the Upper Corentyne area as the second round of the 4R T20 competition for teams was played recently. In all 16 matches were played at 8 venues. Results of some of the games played showed that at the No. 73 village: No. 72 All Star batted first and scored 107 for 9 in their 20 overs with Devendranauth Jairam hitting 29. Bowling for No. 73 Young Warriors Chanderkumar Ramjass took 3 for 23 and Lakeram Latchman 2 for 21. In reply No. 73 Young Warriors reached 110 for 4 in
17.2 overs with Lakeram Latchman undefeated on 62, leading the way with extras being 21. Bowling for No. 72 All Star Keith Joseph took 3 for 13. In the second game at No. 73 Ground; No. 73 Young Warriors batted first in the encounter against Corriverton All stars and were bowled out for 75 in 19.2 overs with Lakeram Latchman 19. Bowling for Corriverton Deoprakash Ramdat bagged 5 for 15 with Eric Phillips supporting with 2 for 6. Corriverton in reply reached 76 off 9.3 overs with Clavern
Beresford 41 and Amzan Appalsammy 24 being the main run getters. Bowling for No. 73 Young Warriors’ Lakeram Latchman returned to take 2 for 11. Some other results shows: No. 52 Survival defeated No. 58 Riot Squad by 114 runs. No. 69 Vikings won from No. 72 Cut and Load by 8 wickets, No. 69 Vikings beat No. 70 ‘A’ by 8 wickets, Springlands had the better of No. 72 Cut and Load by 6 wickets and Corriverton wining the second game by defeated Scottsburg by 7 wickets.
Hingis, Mirza end perfect U.S. Open with doubles title
Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India with the US Open Trophy after beating Casey Dellacqua of Australia and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan in the Women’s Doubles final on day fourteen of the 2015 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports) NEW YORK (Reuters) Top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza beat Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 6-3 to win the U.S. Open doubles title on Sunday and cap off a perfect visit to Flushing Meadows. Switzerland’s Hingis, the former singles world number one and her Indian partner Mirza, tore through the doubles tournament without dropping a set to claim backto-back grand slams after their victory at Wimbledon. It has been a productive and busy visit to New York for Hingis who also captured the U.S. Open mixed doubles title with India’s Leander Paes. Having only joined forces in March, Mirza and Hingis have enjoyed a successful
partnership reaching six finals in 12 events and winning two majors. “We started playing in March, obviously in America, and we won three out of three. That rarely happens,” said Mirza. “We hit it off and obviously we have become more friends now. “I think we trust each other on and off the court. I think that helps us through a lot of tough moments on the court. “Obviously our games match, kind of complement each other, you know, with her at the net and from me at the back. I think that’s the best combination.” After easily taking the first set Hingis and Mirza broke to open the second and apart from a late wobble were
never really threatened by the Australian Dellacqua and Kazakhstan’s Shvedova. For Hingis it was her second U.S. Open doubles title coming 17-years after she won her first in 1998 with Jana Novotna. “I won the doubles in ’98, and that was like finishing off the Grand Slam,” recalled Hingis. “I won all four in that same year. It was just like incredible. “We all felt like there was a little bit of nervousness, definitely, especially today because... it’s been a while. “I know I have the support and the trust that I have for her (Mirza) shots and for her game. It’s even building up every time we step out together.”